Here we go! The next Study. A Vision. For months I have been hearing 2 Peter 1:1-2
1Beloved, I am now writing you this second letter. In this [as in the first one], I am stirring up your untainted mind to remind you, 2 that you should remember the words spoken in the past [about the future] by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior given by your apostles [His personally chosen representatives].
So prophets is what we’re reading in 2024. Ezekiel is 48 chapters and then another one and Isaiah will continue on Thursday and then it will be Gospel. So that always we’re reading both this year. Come, join me.
Let’s pray:
Lord Jesus the words that follow this today are amazing, beautiful, awesome and dreadful. Help our faith. Grow us into You in even more ways as we study this. Lead me, Lord. For Your Glory.
Please read Ezekiel 1:1-3
The Vision of Four Figures
1 Now it came about [when I was] in my [a]thirtieth year [of life], on the fifth day of the fourth month, while I was among the exiles beside the River Chebar [in Babylonia], the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God. 2 (On the fifth of the month, which was in the fifth year of [b]King Jehoiachin’s captivity, 3 the word of the Lord came expressly to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the [c]Chaldeans by the River [d]Chebar; and the hand of the Lord came upon him there.)
Read the footnotes. Lots of info there. This means it was about 592b.c. Thirty is when new priests assumed the role, but God had other plans for Ezekiel. Because God has plans for everyone if only we would listen and trust Him.
Please read Ezekiel 1:4-14
The Vision
4 As I looked, I saw a stormy wind coming out of the north, a great cloud with fire flashing continually from it; and a brightness was around it, and in its core [there was] something like glowing [amber-colored] metal in the midst of the fire. 5 Within it there were figures resembling [e]four living beings. And this was their appearance: they had human form. 6 Each one had four faces and four wings. 7 Their legs were straight and the soles of their feet were like a calf’s hoof, and they sparkled and gleamed like shiny bronze. 8 Under their wings on their four sides they had human hands. As for the faces and wings of the four of them, 9 their wings touched one another; their faces did not turn when they moved, each went straight forward. 10 Regarding the [f]form and appearance of their faces: they [each] had the face of a man [in front], and each had the face of a lion on the right side, and the face of an ox on the left side; all four also had the face of an eagle [at the back of their heads]. 11 Such were their faces. Their wings were stretched out upward; two [wings] of each one were touching another [the wings of the beings on either side of it], and [the remaining] two [wings of each being] were covering their bodies. 12 And each went straight forward; wherever the spirit was about to go, they would go, without turning as they went. 13 Among the living beings there was something that looked like burning coals of fire, like torches moving back and forth among the living beings. The fire was bright, and lightning was flashing from the fire. 14 And the living beings moved rapidly back and forth like flashes of lightning.
What stood out to you?
Here’s what stood out to me.
They sparkled and gleamed and they moved rapidly back and forth like flashes of lightning wherever the spirit was about to go. What does it do for you to know that God can move rapidly? Come, Lord.
Please read Ezekiel 1:15-18
A Wheel Within A Wheel
15 Now as I looked at the living beings, I saw one wheel on the ground beside the living beings, for each of the four of them. 16 Regarding the appearance of the wheels and their construction: they gleamed like chrysolite (beryl, olivine); and the four were made alike. Their appearance and construction were a wheel [set at a right angle] within a wheel. 17 Whenever they moved, they went in any [one] of their four directions without turning as they moved. 18 Regarding their rims: they were so high that they were awesome and dreadful, and the rims of all four of them were full of eyes all around.
Nothing is hidden. God sees it all. You can trust that He knows where you are, what you’re doing, what’s happening to you, He knows all of it. Never fear. Revere Our Lord.
Please read Ezekiel 1:19-21
The Spirit in the Wheels
19 Whenever the living beings moved, the wheels moved with them; and when the living beings rose from the earth, the wheels rose also. 20 Wherever the spirit went, the beings went in that direction. And the wheels rose along with them; for the spirit or life of the living beings was in the wheels. 21 Whenever those went, these went; and whenever those came to a stop, these came to a stop; and whenever those rose from the earth, the wheels rose close beside them, for the spirit of the living beings was in the wheels.
Wherever the Spirit went, they went. May we be so responsive.
Please read Ezekiel 1:22-25
Vision of Divine Glory
22 Now stretched over the heads of the living beings there was something like an expanse, looking like the terrible and awesome shimmer of icy crystal.23 Under the expanse their wings were stretched out straight, one toward another. Every living being had two wings which covered its body on one side and on the other side. 24 As they moved, I also heard the sound of their wings like the sound of great [rushing] waters, like the voice of [g]the Almighty, the sound of tumult like the noise of an army camp. Whenever they came to a stop, they lowered their wings. 25 And there was a voice above the expanse that was over their heads; whenever they stopped, they lowered their wings.
It must be very important that whenever they stop they lower their wings.
But look, the voice above the expanse! God is enthroned on them. It’s also in Revelation 4, here look…
Revelation 4:6-8
6In the center and around the throne were four living creatures who were full of eyes in front and behind [seeing everything and knowing everything that is around them]. 7 The first living creature was like a lion, the second creature like a calf (ox), the third creature had the face of a man, and the fourth creature was like a flying eagle. 8 And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes all over and within [underneath their wings]; and day and night they never stop saying,
“Holy, holy, holy [is the] Lord God,
the Almighty [the Omnipotent, the Ruler of all],
who was and who is
and who is to come [the unchanging, eternal God].”
The Almighty God who is and was and is to come is Jesus. Jesus is God Almighty, Eternal, Omnipotent. Look what else Ezekiel sees.
Please read Ezekiel 1:26-28
God Appears
26 Now above the expanse that was over their heads there was something resembling a throne, it appeared like [it was made of] sapphire or lapis lazuli; and [seated] on that which looked like a throne, high up, was a figure with the appearance of a man. 27 Now upward, from that which appeared to be His waist, I saw something like glowing metal that looked like it was filled with fire all around it; and downward, from that which appeared to be His waist, I saw something like fire; and there was a brightness and a remarkable radiance [like a halo] around Him. 28 As the appearance of the rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the surrounding radiance. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory and brilliance of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell face downward and I heard a voice of One speaking.
Face down is often the response to a vision like this. We cannot imagine such beauty, such radiance. It’s overwhelming.
Revelation 21:23
23 And the city has no need of the sun nor of the moon to give light to it, for the glory (splendor, radiance) of God has illumined it, and the Lamb is its lamp and light.
All praise and honor and time, talent and treasure belong to Him. Next time, what does He say? For now, just revel in how awesome He is. Yet, He’s with us here too. Praise and Glory to You, O Lord. Thank You, Lord.
Footnotes
- [a] Ezekiel 1:1 ‘thirtieth year’ – If he had not been in exile in Babylonia Ezekiel would have formally begun his service to God as a Levitical priest at the age of thirty. Instead God anointed him to serve as a prophet.
- [b] Ezekiel 1:2 ‘King Jehoiachin’ – Jehoiachin the king of Judah was taken captive when Nebuchadnezzar and his army invaded Jerusalem. Nebuchadnezzar II of the Chaldean Dynasty, more commonly known as Nebuchadnezzar the Great, ruled Babylon from 605-562 b.c. He conquered Jerusalem in 597 b.c.
- [c] Ezekiel 1:3 ‘Chaldeans’ – The Chaldeans dominated and ruled Babylonia from 625 b.c., until their empire fell in 539 b.c., but they were known as early as 1000 b.c. as an aggressive, tribal people in the southern region of Babylonia. They were highly skilled in both the science of astronomy and the pseudo-science of astrology. They kept meticulous records of celestial motion and correctly calculated the length of a year to within just a few minutes. Babylon, their capital city, was the center of trade and learning in the western part of Asia. The classical literature of the Chaldeans was written in cuneiform, but the common language, both written and spoken in Babylon, was Akkadian increasingly influenced by Aramaic.
- [d] ‘the River Chebar’ – Ezekiel 1:3 A canal off the Euphrates, south of Babylon.
- [e] Ezekiel 1:5 ‘four living beings’ – These four angelic beings are identified as cherubim in ch 10. In Scripture, the cherubim seem to be related to the affirmation of God’s perfection and holiness standing in stark contrast to the debased character of godless mankind. They are extremely intelligent, powerful, expeditious servants of God.
- [f] Ezekiel 1:10 ‘form and appearance’ – Various interpretations have been ascribed to the symbolism of the four heavenly beings. The four faces may be regarded as symbolic of “the four portraits of Jesus” as given in the four Gospels (king, servant, man, and God). Another proposes that they represent the four qualities of the angels (intelligent, strong, servile, and swift). Another interpretation identifies them with the four Gospels, and another with the four corners of the earth, implying that the angels serve God throughout the earth. In ch 10 these beings are identified as cherubim.
- [g] Ezekiel 1:24 ‘the Almighty’ – Heb Shaddai.