The Omega Times February 2007 - A Idol Mind is an Idle Mind Part I

One of the most arresting descriptions of idolatry amongst God's people is seen in Ezekiel Chapter 8. The Lord takes Ezekiel into the spirit to see a vision of His Holy place, His temple.

"And it came to pass in the sixth year, in the sixth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I sat in mine house, and the elders of Judah sat before me, that the hand of the Lord GOD fell there upon me. Then I beheld, and lo a likeness as the appearance of fire: from the appearance of his loins even downward, fire; and from his loins even upward, as the appearance of brightness, as the colour of amber. And he put forth the form of an hand, and took me by a lock of mine head; and the spirit lifted me up between the earth and the heaven, and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the inner gate that looketh toward the north; where was the seat of the image of jealousy, which provoketh to jealousy." Ezekiel 8:1-3

Ezekiel is led by God to the north gate in the inner court where he sees the "seat of the image of jealousy." This image was likely an Asherah identical to the grove erected by Manessah (2 Kings 21:7) in worship of the mother goddess or what Scripture refers to as the Queen of Heaven. Goddess worship has several attributes:

It depicts the divine as female
It views the earth, nature, and the universe as manifestations of the goddess (i.e. Mother Nature)
It presents a matriarchal authority structure
It uses sexual perversion to maintain control

It is amazing to consider that God's people would so defile his temple as to erect such an image. However, the more revealing truth is that God is not only showing Ezekiel a temple of brick and stone, but of flesh (I Corinthians 3:17). God is showing Ezekiel the condition of His people. Likewise, the northern gate of the inner court represents the mind of man. The Asherah is an idol set in front of the minds of the people.

"And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel was there, according to the vision that I saw in the plain. Then said he unto me, Son of man, lift up thine eyes now the way toward the north. So I lifted up mine eyes the way toward the north, and behold northward at the gate of the altar this image of jealousy in the entry. He said furthermore unto me, Son of man, seest thou what they do? even the great abominations that the house of Israel committeth here, that I should go far off from my sanctuary? but turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations." Ezekiel 8:4-6

This Scripture tells us two important facts: 1) this northern gate is the way to the altar, and 2) the Asherah blocks this entry.

The word altar in the text is the word Mizbeach which comes from a root word meaning "to slaughter." This gives a vivid description of how God feels about the carnal mind; it is the enemy of God and must be eradicated. When we understand that the root of idolatry is in the mind, then we can gain more insight into the transformation Christians undergo in salvation as well as the sacrifice that Christ made on the cross. God calls us to be living sacrifices unto Him, but we must present our bodies for this to be done. This takes an act of our will.

We need the washing of the water of the Word to cleanse and renew our minds so that we can be transformed by the seed of God's word as it is planted and grows within us. Even the weapons of our warfare are designed to fight satanic influences over the mind. "(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled." II Corinthians 10:4- 6 The battle we face is a war against internal strongholds of imaginations and thoughts that are against God; we are in a battle to possess our own souls against the satanic influences of this world (Luke 21:19). Doing this requires a denial of self, but this sacrifice cannot be made with an idolatrous image blocking the way to the altar.

Being set-up in the front of man's mind not only allows the Asherah to block the way to the altar, but it also means that input into the mind goes through the Asherah. God communes with us through His word. It is by receiving, understanding, and meditating on His word that our minds are washed and renewed. We can then put on the mind of Christ, hear God's voice, and become fit for His use. When our interaction with God is filtered through an idol, we come away with a perverted view of God. Instead of receiving the pure word, our understanding becomes cloudy and muddy. With all of our getting, we are to get understanding.

A clear understanding of God is essential in order to worship Him in Spirit and truth. When we meditate on - and conform ourselves to - a false presentation of God, we merely cement ourselves in error. Our minds are not transformed, but rather we begin to fashion God after the idolatrous image set-up in our minds. This is why the Baptists can say, "Once you are saved, you are always saved." This is how the word of faith doctrine can teach, "Jesus was rich." This is how false doctrine is propagated. No matter what is said or what is shown directly from the Bible, when the mind has been blinded, you cannot see the truth because what is received comes through the Asherah. This is not about finger pointing, but about understanding what is at the root of spiritual blindness. Psalms 115:4-8 states, "Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men's hands. They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not: they have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell not: they have hands, but they handle not: feet have they, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat. They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them."

This image in the mind defiles God's temple, obstructs the way to the altar whereby we become living sacrifices to God, and perverts our very understanding of who God is. What does God say is the result of this idolatry? It causes Him to go far from His tabernacle. God wants to prepare us to be His sanctuary, but in order to be a sanctuary we must be sanctified from things that defile. He cannot abide in perversion nor will He share us with other gods. He is a jealous God.

God then instructs Ezekiel to go into the inner court itself where he will see even greater abominations.

"And he brought me to the door of the court; and when I looked, behold a hole in the wall. Then said he unto me, Son of man, dig now in the wall: and when I had digged in the wall, behold a door. And he said unto me, Go in, and behold the wicked abominations that they do here. So I went in and saw; and behold every form of creeping things, and abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, pourtrayed upon the wall round about. And there stood before them seventy men of the ancients of the house of Israel, and in the midst of them stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan, with every man his censer in his hand; and a thick cloud of incense went up. Then said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the chambers of his imagery? For they say, The LORD seeth us not; the LORD hath forsaken the earth." Ezekiel 8: 7-12

Let us really consider what God is showing Ezekiel here. Outwardly, it looks like the temple of God, but inwardly it is filled with every unclean thing. In the midst of this perversion are the elders of the congregation offering up worship to these images. This is an accurate description of much of the church world today. Too many people mistakenly believe that God accepts lip service. It is okay to fornicate as long as I pay my tithe. It is okay to lie, cheat, and steal as long as I go to church once a week. The leaders of these churches do not confront error, but instead are the ones propagating the lies and false worship.

Man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks on the inside, at the heart. He examines what is going on in the "chambers of our imagery." What are our thoughts and intents? What is really the focus of our worship? Is there idolatry hiding behind the glory of the temple?

Deep in the recesses of the mind, we see the effects of the Asherah's presence: every form of creeping things, abominable beasts and all the idols of Israel are imprinted all around. Every type of unclean and idolatrous work has its foundations in this Asherah because the Asherah is filtering input into the mind.

In the center of this filth, helping to orchestrate this false worship, is Jaazaniah, the son of Shaphan. Shaphan was a scribe for King Josiah and served him during the repairing of the breaches in the temple. During this time, the High Priest found the book of the law hidden away in the temple and gave it to Shaphan to bring to the king. As Shaphan read the book to the king, he rent his clothes and cried out for the sins of the people, which were great. For his quick repentance, and what the Bible says was his tender heart, God promised King Josiah that he would go to the grave in peace. Contrarily, He would bring judgment on the people because they had forsaken Him and burned incense onto other gods. After hearing God's response, King Josiah takes the following actions:

"And the king sent, and they gathered unto him all the elders of Judah and of Jerusalem. And the king went up into the house of the LORD, and all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the people, both small and great: and he read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant which was found in the house of the LORD. And the king stood by a pillar, and made a covenant before the LORD, to walk after the LORD, and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes with all their heart and all their soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people stood to the covenant. And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, and the priests of the second order, and the keepers of the door, to bring forth out of the temple of the LORD all the vessels that were made for Baal, and for the grove, and for all the host of heaven: and he burned them without Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron, and carried the ashes of them unto Bethel. And he put down the idolatrous priests, whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah, and in the places round about Jerusalem; them also that burned incense unto Baal, to the sun, and to the moon, and to the planets, and to all the host of heaven. And he brought out the grove from the house of the LORD, without Jerusalem, unto the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron, and stamped it small to powder, and cast the powder thereof upon the graves of the children of the people. And he brake down the houses of the sodomites, that were by the house of the LORD, where the women wove hangings for the grove." II Kings 23:1-7

In order to turn the people back to the Lord, the King:

Made sure that all of the people knew the law
Made a covenant with God on behalf of the people to obey His word
Removed all of the idols from the temple
Displaced all of the idolatrous priests
Took the grove (Asherah) from the temple and burned it at the Brook Kidron
Broke down the house of the sodomites

We notice from the text that there is a direct link between the presence of the sodomites and the dedication to the grove (Asherah). This relationship is also seen in Romans Chapter 1, where the process of reprobation is very similar to Ezekiel's description of the inner court of the temple: "Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things." Romans 1: 21-23

Once again we see the process outlined: Failure to honor God -> Vain imaginations -> Worship of "creeping things" and idols -> Sexual perversion. The text in Romans shows us the outward characteristics of this reprobation while Ezekiel offers a glimpse into the inner spiritual condition. Regardless of the vantage point, it all leads to the same end: homosexuality.

Continuing in Ezekiel, we see more of the unfolding parallel between the spiritual corruption of idolatry relayed in this text and the outward manifestation of reprobation as seen in Romans. As in Romans, God directs His attention first to the condition of the women.

“He said also unto me, Turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations that they do. Then he brought me to the door of the gate of the LORD's house which was toward the north; and, behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz.” Ezekiel 8:13-14

When God says, “Even the women" in Romans Chapter 1, you can almost hear the astonishment. God holds up the women as a barometer of the decay in society. We know that things have truly gone awry when even the women start turning aside to perversion. It is with this sense that we examine the great abomination in Ezekiel where the women are weeping for Tammuz.

According to tradition, Tammuz was the son of Nimrod and Semiramis - King and Queen of Babel. In addition to instigating construction of the tower of Babel, Nimrod is credited as establishing the Babylonian religious system which was bathed in the zodiac, astrology, magic and sexual perversion. When Nimrod died, Semiramis had him deified as the Sun-god (later referred to as Baal). Semiramis then claimed to have been impregnated by Nimrod via the rays of the sun. The resulting child, Tammuz, was considered to be both the reincarnation of Nimrod as well as his son. In this, the people worshipped Tammuz as a supernaturally conceived son of god and Semiramis was revered as a goddess of the moon and fertility. This set the pattern for much of the mother goddess - son worship we see throughout the religious world.

It is said that Tammuz was killed as a young man by a wild boar. Semiramis was so grief stricken that she led the people into a period of lamentations before going down to the underworld to rescue him. The return of Tammuz brings back fertility and life to the earth as seen in the arrival of Spring. Many assert that this 40-day period of “weeping for Tammuz” practiced in the Babylonian religion is where the Roman Catholic ritual of Lent originated. The return of Tammuz was celebrated by creating colored eggs (representing fertility) in honor of the mother goddess Semiramis, who is also referred to as Ishtar (or Easter).

According to the text in Ezekiel, the women are in the northern gate of the temple - where the Asherah is located - weeping for Tammuz. Their mourning was a means of identifying and becoming one with the Asherah. The Asherah’s grief was their grief; her desire was their desire. Their mind was devoted to exaltation of the mother goddess.

“Then said he unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations than these. And he brought me into the inner court of the LORD's house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of the LORD, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of the LORD, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east. Then he said unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here? for they have filled the land with violence, and have returned to provoke me to anger: and, lo, they put the branch to their nose. Therefore will I also deal in fury: mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: and though they cry in mine ears with a loud voice, yet will I not hear them.” Ezekiel 8:15-18

While the women weep for Tammuz, the men pray to Tammuz. Symbolizing the beauty, virility, and strength of man, exalting Tammuz allowed them to glory in the creature more than the Creator. Through the worship of Tammuz, they could really glory in themselves.

A more telling view of this self-worship through Tammuz is seen in the Greek civilization. While also worshipping the figure of Tammuz, Greece referred to him as Adonis. One description of Adonis is as follows:

Adonis, an annual vegetation life-death-rebirth deity, imported from Phoenician into Greek mythology, always retained aspects of his Semitic Near Eastern origins and was one of the most complex cult figures in classical times. He had multiple roles and there has been much scholarship over the centuries of his meaning and purpose in the Greek religious beliefs. His Semitic counterpart is Tammuz. His Etruscan counterpart was Atunis. (Some mythologists believe he was later exported to Germania, and his counterpart in Germanic mythology is Balder.) He is an annually-renewed, ever-youthful vegetation god, a life-death-rebirth deity whose nature is tied to the calendar. His cult belonged to women: the cult of dying Adonis was fully-developed in the circle of young girls around Sappho on Lesbos, about 600 BCE, as a fragment of Sappho reveals.
http://en.wiki pedia.org/wiki/Adonis

Consistent with most variations of mother goddess worship, the son of the goddess is always depicted as youthful and dependent upon the goddess. This helps to elevate the mother goddess as supreme above, and more powerful than, her male counterpart.

Just like the women weeping for Tammuz, the cult mourning the dying of Adonis belonged to the women. The rituals for this worship were “fully- developed” amongst young girls from the Greek island of Lesbos (who were called Lesbians).

The worship of an Asherah brings forth the sodomite nature because it promotes the love and idolization of one’s self. It is because one idolizes his/herself that one can only desire that which is just like him/her. Man, the Adonis, becomes the epitome of what is right, resulting in the biggest idolatry seen today: humanism.

Humanism is an approach where society is defined by the values, thoughts, and interests of man. The beliefs of all people are validated and the rights of man to create his own destiny are given supremacy over all else. There has even developed a 'Christianized' humanism where people worship the work of their own minds. What is most disturbing about the idolization of the mind is that it becomes easy to think that man's thoughts are God's thoughts; that man's causes are God's causes. It leads to a rejection of anything that contradicts our understanding of truth. This is just as defiling as those who practice humanism in the world; only now, man is exalting himself in the name of the Lord.

Minister Derek Prince stated it this way:

"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding." Psalm 111:10

The psalmist there speaks about two wonderful qualities, qualities which are very rare amongst men and women today—the qualities of wisdom and understanding. The psalmist points out that each of these has a moral foundation. The foundation for wisdom is the fear of the Lord; the foundation for understanding is following the Lord’s precepts. So it’s fear of the Lord, expressed in obedience, that is the key to true wisdom and true understanding.

We need to observe a distinction between wisdom and understanding on the one hand, and education and cleverness on the other. There are many educated, clever people who do not have wisdom or understanding. Cleverness is a matter of the mind, but wisdom goes deeper than that. It’s possible to have high education and in many ways to be a fool. An American president once said that if a man is a thief and uneducated, he may steal a railroad car, but if you educate that man he’ll steal the whole railroad!

So you see, cleverness and education are no substitute for the moral foundation of wisdom and understanding which are the fear of the Lord and obedience to His precepts. - Derek Prince

At our best, at our brightest, at our most good, the most that we can attain apart from God is the status of filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). When we make an idol of our minds, we actually just wind up with an idle mind; one that is self-blinding to the things of God and is non- productive in generating fruit in the lives of others. Scripture has this to say:

“This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith. But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was. But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience, persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me. Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” II Timothy 3:1-12

There are many churches built upon a theology of humanism. It’s a “feel good gospel” that doesn’t challenge sin, but panders to the fleshly desires in man and is based upon success in this life whether it be financial, relationships, or emotional. The people don’t come to church to be perfected for doing God’s work, they come to see a good show and exalt the personality in the pulpit. They glory in their pastor, in his charisma and his intellect. The standard is not what saith the Lord, but what their pastor says. One minister proudly proclaims, “Your pastor is your preview”, and this is true. The word you sit up under is forging you to be a replica of that vessel. Don’t think that you can just sit passively in the pew and not be affected. The words coming forth are being sown into your soul. If they are God’s words, then you are being forged into the image of God. If they are the words of a sodomite, you are being forged into a sodomite.

This is the modern day worship of Asherah. Outwardly, everything looks beautiful and larger than life, but behind the scenes there is every filthy and diabolical work: fornication, adultery, abortion, homosexuality, oral/anal sex, pedophilia, drunkenness, drugs, witchcraft, etc. God says that this folly shall be made manifest to all; we can see that happening today and it will continue. When God does reveal the true condition of some of these ministries, we often see people in the congregation appearing to be shocked. Yet they cannot distance themselves from the perversion in the pulpit because it is their support that allows it to flourish. God gives us a warning about these false ministries saying, “From such turn away.” If one does not turn away, or can not see the truth in order to turn away, it is because the same thing that is in that preacher is in the people. Just as we saw in Ezekiel, although the elders are orchestrating the false worship, the people are equally engaged in serving the Asherah. It is only the grace of God that can bring someone into a knowledge of the truth, and when He does, He expects a response: come out of her my people that you not be partaker of her sins nor receive her plagues.

These Asherahs are not just limited to the religious world. They can be seen in the entertainment industry, in sports, in politics, etc. Any place where man is exalted and made into an idol, you can be sure that at hand is the work of an Asherah. One of the top rated shows in the United States today is the “American Idol.” This is a sad truth about the condition of the mind in this country. Man is seeking someone to worship; he seeks an idol that embodies all the worldly pleasures he desires to obtain. The result is that everything which is lowly, everything which is corrupt, every base and damnable representation of mankind is exalted. The more perverted they become, the more worship and attention they receive.

Some have said, "I don't worship any idols. I didn't ask to be this way. It is just the way I am." However they do not understand the spiritual impetus behind their acts. The fact that the desire is even present shows that the unclean spirit in the soul. People are tattooing themselves, proudly "coming out" into homosexuality, and even shamelessly walking around without underwear with no comprehension of what is driving them to engage in these bizarre and demonic activities. They are on the path to reprobation.

As Solomon said, there is nothing new under the sun. The same spirits that prompted people to worship the Asherah centuries ago are still around today; the only difference is that now people worship these entities in ignorance. In order for this ignorance to be confronted, they need to hear a word from the Lord. Yet, a word form the Lord has become rare indeed because virtually no one will speak up for Him. Our calling in this ministry is to do just that; to speak God's word in truth and in boldness in order to destroy the works of the devil.

We have seen from Scripture that the Asherah allows every creeping thing and idol to usurp God’s place in His temple. The Asherah not only prevents people from being forged into the image of God, but it perverts the understanding and desires of man so that he begins to lust after that which directly opposes God. The result is that man degrades into self-worship, which manifests itself outwardly as sodomy, an abomination to God.

Throughout the history of Israel, they continued to become entangled in the pagan rituals of the people around them. Whenever there were groves and images in their midst, there also were the sodomites. By way of example, we can read the following text in I Kings:

"And Judah did evil in the sight of the LORD, and they provoked him to jealousy with their sins which they had committed, above all that their fathers had done. For they also built them high places, and images, and groves, on every high hill, and under every green tree. And there were also sodomites in the land: and they did according to all the abominations of the nations which the LORD cast out before the children of Israel." I Kings 14:22-24

However, we soon see that a king came into power who sought to set things right with God.

"And Asa did that which was right in the eyes of the LORD, as did David his father. And he took away the sodomites out of the land, and removed all the idols that his fathers had made. And also Maachah his mother, even her he removed from being queen, because she had made an idol in a grove; and Asa destroyed her idol, and burnt it by the brook Kidron."

Asa did what was right in the eyes of God: he removed the sodomites and the idols. He even dethroned his mother, taking from her the Asherah and burning it by the Brook Kidron. Notice that this is exactly the same action that we noted previously from King Josiah in II Kings 23:6, “And he brought out the grove from the house of the LORD, without Jerusalem, unto the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron, and stamped it small to powder, and cast the powder thereof upon the graves of the children of the people.”

The answer for the Asherah (and the accompanying sodomite nature) is a trip to the Brook Kidron. In the next issue of the Omega Times, we will examine the Brook Kidron including how it was used to rid Israel of idolatry and how it relates to our walk with Christ today.