In the Law of God spoken by Him (the Word Who became Jesus of Nazareth) and recorded by Moses we find recorded in the first commandment these words that would be sent forth to those who thereafter would seek to be His people: “You will have no other gods before Me” (Exo. 20:3). God views any idol as another god one has placed before Him, thereby making one an idolator. In the eyes of God, any sin is an idol that one has chosen to obey rather than Him. He who chooses to manifest sin (obey Satan) rather than manifest righteousness (obey Him) has deliberately embraced another god–an idol–making him an idolator–a worker of iniquity (a Lawless one).

Concerning those who are called His people, God is jealous (Deut. 4:9; 5:24; 6:15) of all sin (idols). Like a jealous husband, His wrath toward the idolator is deep and powerful as He tells us in chapter nine in the Book of Ezekiel. Let us turn to chapter eight to learn what turns the loving God into a wrathful destroyer. There we will discern what brings out His jealousy and causes Him to react in prophetic ways such as sickness, diseases, natural disasters (drought, flooding, earthquakes, tornados, hurricanes, ice storms, extreme heat and cold, insect infestation, crop failures, etc. He uses such acts to punish the idolator and to call him/her away from Satan and to Himself. Read The Voices of God. Key word: Voices.

In the eighth chapter of Ezekiel we find the prophet being taken in vision (vss 1-3) to the Temple in Jerusalem (vs 3) where he is shown the “image which provokes (God) to jealousy.” Today, among those who call themselves His people, this image (idol) continues to invoke jealousy in the Creator God. This image is the idol the entire world recognizes at the characteristic that identifies professing Christendom. It is the part of the Law that 99.99% of professing Christendom proudly professes to reject.

In His infinite knowledge the Lord knew what commandment Satan would use to seduce those who would seek salvation in the future. As the Word (Jn. 1:1-3,14) he warned the ancient Israelites about this idol. As Jesus of Nazareth He warned the end-time church about Satan’s powers of deception as recorded in Matthew 24:4,5. He knew that the fourth commandment would be his target. For this reason He made a separate covenant with Israel that strengthened the fourth commandment of His Ten Commandment Law. This special covenant is recorded in Exodus 31:12-17.

The Creator God (the Word/Jesus–Jn. 1:1-4,14), knowing “the end from the beginning” (Isa. 46:10), knew that the religious entity that would one day become known as “the church” (ekklesia/congregation) would be attacked by His enemy, and that the vast majority of her parishioners would be seduced by him. Jesus would later prophesy this Truth as recorded in Matthew 7:13,14 and 24:4,5. Few, He said, would answer His call to enter His church and obey His Law that would lead to eternal life. He knew that their primary sin would be the fourth commandment. Satan has used that commandment to draw billions of salvation seekers into his religious sewer known as the two headed religious beast known as Catholicism and Protestantism.

The fruit of Satan’s labor relative to the rejection of God’s holy Sabbath was the subject of Ezekiel’s vision. It is also the subject of this series. I have been chastised for relentlessly emphasizing the Lord’s Sabbath.. People do not like to be told that they are worshiping and serving Satan–“the god of this world” (2 Cor. 4:4). However, the Biblical Truth is that, no matter what else one does or refrains from doing, no matter how religious one is or how many wonderful works one has have done in Jesus’ name (Mat. 7:16-23), if one does not obey the fourth commandment, everything else is “in vain.” Truth seekers will notice that God had more to say about HIS Sabbath than about any other commandment, including numbers one and two combined. These two commandments summarize the entire Law (Mat. 22:35-40)–Genesis to Revelation. Why did God place so much emphasis on the Sabbath commandment? Because He knew Satan would use it to seduce salvation seekers. Law-breakers will argue relentlessly for the right to observe Satan’s Sunday Sabbath. This shows how much control he has over the Catholic/Protestant Church System world-wide. So powerful is His Sabbath lie that even non-believers know that the Sunday Sabbath is the primary characteristic (idol/sin) of professing Christendom.

To break one commandment is to break the entire Law of God (Jam. 2:10). Sin is the breaking of His Law (1 Jn. 3:4). The wages of sin is spiritual death–separation from God (Rom. 6:23/ Isa. 29:2). The wages of righteousness/holiness is eternal life (Rom. 5:21; 6:22). THE BREAKING OF COMMANDMENT NUMBER FOUR IS SPIRITUAL DEATH THAT WILL LEAD TO ETERNAL DEATH IF NOT CORRECTED. In Revelation 12:9 we are told that “Satan has deceived the WHOLE WORLD,” which includes the church world which, because she rejects the Lord’s Sabbath, is rejected by Him. Jesus told the rich man that “one thing” separated him from any possibility of receiving salvation. That “one thing” was the breaking of the tenth commandment. For the church, that “one thing” is the desecration of the fourth commandment. Any commandment can be that “one thing.” Pick a commandment; any commandment–to break it results in spiritual death. Number four is by far the most popular, followed closely by number two, as is evidenced by the popularity of crosses by professing Christians.

In Ezekiel we find the Lord, in vision, carrying the Prophet Ezekiel into the city of Jerusalem, into the Temple and to the room where the alter (place of God worship) was located. The “image of Jealousy” was visible from the gate leading to the alter of God (vs 4). In verse five the Lord reveals the form of the image of jealousy–THE IMAGE CONSISTED OF WHAT THE PEOPLE ASSYMBLED BEFORE THE ALTER WERE DOING. They were worshiping various gods whose images were seen on the walls. Those idols (animals, etc.) were minor compared to the main idol. As we will see, two of the actions of the congregation relative to the main idol were highlighted by the Lord. It was these two acts that drew the focus of His wrath. It is these two acts to which He draws our attention.

Note in verse four that THE GLORY OF THE GOD OF ISRAEL WAS ALSO before THE ALTER. The people were worshiping an idol while in the presence of God, expressed in His glory. Those who attend church on Sunday commit the same abominations as did those Israelites. Jesus addressed this duel god situation in Matthew 15:8,9 where He says: “This people draw near to ME with their mouth, and honor ME with their lips, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR FROM ME. In vain do they WORSHIP ME, teaching man’s (Satan’s) commandments instead of My doctrines.” Notice what Jesus is emphasizing–CHURCH PEOPLE DO INDEED WORSHIP HIM, but because of their sins, THEIR WORSHIP IS ALL IN VAIN AND IS THE OBJECT OF HIS HATRED–HE DESPISES THEIR WORSHIP BECAUSE THEY ARE PERFORMING THEIR RELIGIOUS ACTIVITIES WHILE PROVING THEIR HATRED TOWARD BOTH FATHER AND SON BY THEIR IDOLATRY (Lk. 10:16). Read the previous posting to learn about the Lord’s attitude toward the worship of church sinners–HE HATES (DESPISES) EVERY ASPECT OF IT. Also read Psalm 5:5.

The Word “iniquity” means LAWLESSNESS. This is the same word Jesus used in Matthew 7:21-23 to describe those whom He will reject, saying: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father Who is in heaven.” He says that, on the day of judgment, many will stand before Him and remind Him of the wonderful works they had done in His name. To them He will say: “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who WORK INIQUITY” (break His Ten Commandment Law). How? By breaking His Sabbath commandment. L.J.