In Ezekiel 8, the prophet is whisked away by the manifestation of God appearing again. Ezekiel is taken to Jerusalem and placed before the Temple. He is then shown abomination after abomination of what is happening there:
- An image of jealousy given a prominent place in the Temple, competing with the worship of the Lord (vs. 5 and 6). Probably this refers to the image of Asherah, set up by Manasseh (II Kings 21:7).
- Seventy elders of Israel engaging in pagan worship of unclean images (vs. 7-12).
- Jewish women weeping for Tammuz, a Sumerian god (vs. 14).
- Twenty-five men turning their backs to the Temple and worshiping the sun instead (vs. 16).
God reveals to Ezekiel that the Temple has become polluted with idolatry and abominations. Thus God has decreed that judgment shall fall upon the nation of Judah and the city of Jerusalem: "Therefore I will act in wrath; my eye will not spare, nor will I have pity; and though they cry in my hearing with a loud voice, I will not listen to them" (vs. 18).
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