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There is no need to conjecture as some do that Ezekiel was actually in Jerusalem and literally saw the happenings described in ch. 8-11. Using language and imagery very similar to that which he used in ch. 1, he again spoke of being under the hand/power of the Lord (v.1). In that state of being he was lifted up and transported to Jerusalem where he envisioned the sorry state of affairs existing there. Having been there as a priest before he was exiled, he would have no difficulty in seeing and identifying the various parts and aspects of the temple area. The main point in this chapter is to show how the temple was being desecrated by the elders of Israel who were still resident in Jerusalem. At the very entrance to the temple he saw the idol that provokes to jealousy (v.3). This probably was a Canaanite fertility cult image, something that was not allowed by the commandments (Ex 20:4) and certainly was not permitted within the temple. The disgusting scene of crawling things and detestable animals (8:10) pictured on the very walls of the temple was made even worse as the elders of Israel were standing there worshiping these images (vv.11-12).
At the north gate of the temple, Ezekiel was shown women who were mourning the death of Tammuz, a Babylonian fertility god equivalent to the Canaanite god Baal. According to their religion, Tammuz/Baal died each late spring, resulting in drought and the wilting of all vegetation. The late autumn rains were believed to be the result of the resurrection of this god whose rains restored fertility to the land.
The final abomination was the scene showing Israelite men bowing toward the east in worship of the Babylonian sun god. In order to do this they had to turn their backs to the temple, a sign of their rejection of the true God.
All these sins reflected the fact that Israel had rejected God and had turned to the gods of their neighbors. Their alibi was not unlike that used by people even to this day: “The Lord does not see us; the Lord has forsaken the land” (v.12). Even the worst of sins can be and are rationalized away by those who reject God.