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The prophet was called upon to receive visions instigated by the Lord. He first saw a hand, the hand of the Lord. The hand with its five digits is a type of the redemption found in the Lord Jesus. Five is the number of atonement. In a past study we noted that the hand is representative of the fullness of the presence of the Lord. With such a heavy anointing present anything could happen, and it did. Certainly, the Lord has a sense of humor. To garb Ezekiel by a lock of hair would demand his immediate attention. By the Spirit, by means of visions he was transported to Jerusalem where he was to see what may have been unseen by the eyes of man but definitely seen by the Lord. The eyes of the Lord run to and fro through out the whole earth, beholding the deeds of man. Heb. 4:13.
In the spirit, he was taken to the inner gate that faced the north, placing him within the city. The corruption which he was about to view was well established and had a strong grip on the people of Jerusalem. The north is used as a type of those religious activities which corrupt the true worship of the Lord. To the people of that time it symbolized bad fortune and was considered to be a dark place. They were well aware of prophetic words such as spoken by Jeremiah, that trouble would come from the north.
Jer. 1:14 It represented trouble, difficulties, darkness, gloom and so on.
He was carried there that he might behold the direct and undisputable disobedience of the spiritual leaders in the temple. Judah had become the worshiper of idols. On prominent display was the image of jealousy which provoked the Lord to jealousy. In Israel and Judah He had expected to find a people totally dedicated to Him. Now they were corrupting His holy house and themselves as well, by their imagery. Here, once again, we are given an insight into a human trait, which we all know too well, only to find that the Lord also has these feelings. However there is a vast difference between the reason for human jealousy and that which is Divine. He feels jealousy, when those whom He loves go after other gods. Ps. 78:58 We find jealousy manifesting itself in us over a great variety of reasons, most of which are completely unreasonable. Eze. 8:3.
Here too, as so often in the scriptures, we see a type of an end time event which is well documented in the book of Revelation. The great image, of the antichrist, built by the religious leaders of the world, under the instigation of the false prophet. Rev. 13:14.