We had visitors from Brownwood, TX, and during the morning prayer meeting, one of them remarked that the Lord had impressed her while reading Ezekiel 8:14, to trace the word "Tammuz" that is used there. She found that it is no place else in the Bible, so this made her want to know what was so important about Tammuz, that the women of Israel were sitting at the North Gate of the temple, weeping for Tammuz.

Her findings caused me also to ponder the question, "Who was Tammuz?" I found that in the Amplified, New American Standard, Living and King James Bibles, it is spelled Tammuz, and that Ferrar Fenton spells it Thamuz. I also noted that I found no comments about Tammuz in any of the references or concordances, except in the Dake Bible, (Page 812). The Zondervan Pictorial Bible Dictionary, 1970 edition, Page 827, supports Dake’s notes. Halley’s Handbooks Page 327, tells us that part of the worship to Tammuz was wild sex orgies held at the temple itself.

I then went to Clarke’s Commentary, Vol. 4, Pages 443 and 444, where I also found comments coinciding with Dake. I then got out Matthew Henry’s Commentary, Vol. 4, Page 795, and found it similar to the others. I then checked the International Bible Commentary and found three additional secular books listed as references, so decided to see what the encyclopedias had to say. I found that Funk & Wagnalls, Vol. 23, Page 8397, 1959 edition, had a small paragraph stating Tammuz to be part of Babylonian mythology, the counterpart of the Phenician God, Adonis. I then got out the Britannica, Vol. 21, Page 776, 1947 edition, and to my surprise found an entire page to the history of Tammuz, including ten reference books on the subject. Also, my attention was called to my calendar and there, marked on July 5, was the Feast of Tammuz. The things that I found make me ponder ... Tammuz’s worship is traced back as far as Ur and Umma, in the days of Abraham. I found that Tammuz’s mother was known as and called herself the Queen of Heaven. Catholicism picked up this abominable name and applied it to Mary, the mother of Jesus.

I found that December 25th is the day celebrated for Tammuz’s birthday. I found that Easter is the day celebrated for his resurrection from the dead. I found that the cross that we have learned to honor as a symbol of Christ’s death, is in reality, the symbol used in the worship of Tammuz. The cross was really a "T" for Tammuz, used as a symbol for him hundreds of years before the birth of Jesus.

I found that he was killed by a herd of wild swine and lay dead in a village street for three days and then supposedly arose from the dead. I found that he was called the messiah. All of this is in secular history about one word, Tammuz, found only once in the Bible, where God is showing Ezekiel the abominations that are in HIS HOUSE.

I wonder, are these things in God’s House today? Are they celebrated in your home, and if so, are they bringing curses on your family?

Was the worship of a heathen god’s mother transferred to the mother of our Lord? Has the worship of the birth (December 25) of a heathen god been transferred to our Lord? Has the honoring of the so called resurrection of a heathen god been accepted by the church and applied to our Lord Jesus Christ?

This makes me wonder what a so-called Christmas Tree really means?

What does the tinsel, the balls, the candles and the gifts represent?

What do Easter bunnies and eggs mean to pagan god worship?

My heart shivers within me as I ponder. Did Ezekiel see the temple of his day or was it the so-called church of today? Do we practice? are we guilty? Do we have worship to heathen gods in our churches and our homes on Christmas and Easter? Have we sinned a great sin in this as individuals and as a Nation?

Having other gods brings a curse from God on both the individual and the nation. Deuteronomy 11:26-28, "Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse; A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you this day: And a curse, If ye will not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have not known." Only God can remove the curses, if and when we truly repent and turn from our abominable ways.

On these things, I ponder, and ask the Lord Jesus Christ to turn upon us the light of the Holy Spirit.

(Reprinted from August, 1978 edition, "Voices From His Excellent Glory")

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