Ezekiel Chapter 8 – Lee Duigon

Introduction to Ezekiel | Evidence Unseen

I asked our friend Erlene to send me a copy of a Bible study she said she was working on, and I’ve just read it this morning.

My own Bible reading has just brought me into some of the grimmer chapters of Ezekiel’s prophecy… and what do you suppose Erlene’s Bible study essay is about? Exactly the same chapters as I read yesterday!

How does that happen? And around here, on this blog, it seems to happen fairly often. Is the Lord blessing our assembly? I like to think so.

I don’t think Erlene publishes these essays anymore; I’d give you a link to them, if I could.

In Ezekiel Chapter 8, God shows the prophet all the abominations with which His people are polluting His Temple and His word… for which He will take vengeance. Oh, God–here in 21st century America, we have invented sins, and wallowed in them, that those doomed people in Jerusalem never even thought of. How will we answer for that?

We’re all wondering, aren’t we?

11 Ezekiel 8:4-5 | Ezekiel, Major prophets, Chapter

The executive committee of the Southern Baptist Conference this week has “disfellowshipped” the SBC from four churches: from two of them for “affirming homosexual behavior” and from two more for having registered sex offenders as pastors (https://religionnews.com/2021/02/23/southern-baptists-expel-four-churches-for-abuse-two-more-for-gay-member/).

The SBC represents the largest Protestant denomination in America.

We don’t know how a church can “affirm homosexual behavior” without taking the position that the Bible, the word of God, is wrong about it. Of course we understand that any church that would not take in sinners would be an empty church. But I think that here we’re talking about not only presumptuous, unrepented sin, but also rejection of God’s word. Really–you can’t go into a church and say “I steal cars, it’s part of who I am, I’m not a bit sorry for it and I fully intend to keep on doing it: and the Bible is wrong for saying ‘Thou shalt not steal’!”

As for the other two churches, what explanation could there possibly be for allowing a known sex offender to take the pulpit?

“I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou has tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars” (Revelation 2:2). Such were the words of Jesus Christ to the church at Ephesus.

Churches are not to be pastored by false apostles, false prophets! God had Ezekiel deliver the same message to His temple in Jerusalem, whose leaders permitted–and abetted–all sorts of pagan practices there. These abuses are described in detail in Ezekiel Chapter 8.

The SBC was right to break off relations with these four churches.

It should not be forgotten that “judgment must begin at the house of God” (1 Peter 4:17).