And I looked, and behold, a stormy wind came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness was about it, and out of the midst thereof as the look of glowing brass, out of the midst of the fire.
Ezekiel is living among the exiles when a storm rolls in from the north, and the first thing he sees is not a throne but the weather. Is this only the Babylonian army on the horizon, or God Himself moving inside it?
(Note: the ESV reads "fire flashing forth continually" and "gleaming metal." Some older Bible versions read "a fire infolding itself" and "the colour of amber." The writers quoted below use that older wording.)
The direction matters. One writer reads this cloud as a warning of what Babylon was about to do:
A fresh storm-cloud of divine indignation was about to burst on Judea out of the north, that is, from Babylon.
Others press further, taking the north as more than a compass point:
The north is not just the direction the invaders come from. The judgment they carry out truly is God's judgment. But the north also has its deeper meaning, as always: it is the place of darkness, and so of mystery — a mystery that God's coming must dispel.
Ezekiel was not watching this disaster from a safe distance. He had already been hurt by it, and there was something in it he had still not seen:
First, what was that whirlwind out of the north? It was Nebuchadnezzar's invasion of Israel. Ezekiel had suffered badly in that wind, and that is why he is where he is. But he has yet to see that God was in the whirlwind too.
The fire folds in on itself instead of opening out. One writer finds a timing in that:
Notice that in this vision the fire folds in on itself. It folds in, rather than unfolding. Soon God's judgments, in Ezekiel's day and in our own, will unfold for all to see. What destruction He will do in this poor world! But in the meantime God's secret is with those who fear Him (Psalm 25:14).
The fire feeds on itself. One writer finds in that a statement about God's nature, not just about His anger:
Fire is always kept alive by whatever it takes hold of. Here it takes hold of itself — it is kept alive by its own nature. This fire is not pure wrath. As a symbol it speaks of the holiness of God. That holiness is indeed a consuming fire to sin. But judgment is not what the fire is at heart, and not what it seeks or enjoys. Judgment is what the perfection of God Himself makes necessary.
Light surrounds the dark cloud. One writer follows where that brightness leads:
It is a storm — the wrath of God — but God shows Himself in it, and so there is brightness all around. Soon we will see that brightness take on the rainbow colours in which the light breaks out into a band of many-coloured glory... It looks ahead to what we find in Revelation: the rainbow around the throne.
The word behind "amber" describes a colour, not the resin we call amber today:
This probably refers not to the mineral we now call amber, but to a mixed metal. Ancient writers described it as four parts gold to one part silver. The Hebrew word is chashmal. It has to do with fire, and refers to its colour and brightness.
What the gleam shows matters more than what it is made of. One writer takes the brass and gold at the centre as God Himself:
Here the nature of God Himself is seen, what is at the heart of the judgment. It carries the fixedness that brass always stands for, and it is the display of the glory of God, which gold always signifies.
A whirlwind hides what is happening inside it. That is why the outside of a trial is a poor guide:
It suggests conditions so bad and so stormy that from the outside no one could quite see what was happening. Unless we could see inside that whirlwind, we would be completely baffled about its purpose... We today must not let outward things rule us. When God lets us see what He is doing at the centre of the matter, we take heart and move on in faith.
- North. The storm comes from the direction Babylon's armies came from. Some add that it also comes from the place of darkness and mystery that God's coming dispels.
- Whirlwind. Ezekiel had already been hurt by this wind; the vision teaches him that God was in it.
- Fire. Folded inward, it keeps God's ways hidden for now. It also pictures His holiness, which consumes evil but takes no delight in judgment.
- Brightness. Light surrounds the dark cloud, pointing on to the rainbow round the throne.
- Centre. Faith does not judge by the outside of the storm. It looks for what God is doing at its heart.
Also out of the midst thereof, the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance they had the likeness of a man.
Ezekiel is a prisoner of war in Babylon when a storm breaks over him. Out of it come four living creatures shaped like men. Two questions follow: who are they, and why do they look human?
A later chapter settles who they are. The number matters too: over the ark there were two gold figures, but here there are four, and the setting is judgment rather than mercy.
If any doubt remains in the reader's mind, Ezekiel 10 shows plainly that the living creatures are the cherubim. Here they are not two but four. The two were the figures made out of the ends of the pure beaten gold that formed the mercy-seat, where God sat as on a throne. The four, I take it, relate to the creature. The God of Israel dwelt between the cherubim on the ark. He was in the midst of His people, and people came to Him by blood, according to divine righteousness. The witness of His judicial authority guarded that righteousness. Ezekiel was given to see His judgments in providence from outside. He would judge His guilty people by Babylon as His instrument.
The human likeness dominates the description. But it does not make these beings divine.
They are, strictly, "living ones." The word "creatures" is not used, though it is certainly implied in the four forms in which they appear: man, lion, ox, and eagle. The human form, however, dominates and gives them their character. Yet each one still has four faces and four wings to match these forms. So it is not a likeness of God that they present — and all likeness of Him is expressly forbidden. They are creatures of His, no more: in His hand, obedient to His will, used for His purposes.
Kelly also traces how badly these figures have been misread. People have made them the four Gospel writers, the four seasons, the four corners of the world, or the four cardinal virtues. He puts such guesses down to one mistake: missing that the prophecy opens with the judgment of the nation of Israel and closes with their restoration.
Each creature carries four faces, and each face is the summit of its own class of life. The point is not variety but supremacy.
The face of a man would convey supreme intelligence. The face of a lion, supreme power. The face of an ox, supreme endurance. The face of an eagle, supreme movement... Satan and rebellious men have great intelligence, and they use it against God. But here are beings who excel in intelligence. Whatever the power, endurance, or speed with which the enemies move to reach their goals, these living creatures will wear them down. They will out-think, out-last, out-wear and out-distance every opposing power. They will never fail to carry out every detail of the will of God in the universe.
The timing matters as much as the imagery. God gave this vision to a man who had lost everything.
At the time of this vision, Ezekiel was in a very trying position. The people of Israel were in captivity, and it seemed that all hope was gone for these prisoners of war. You could hardly find a more hopeless condition. Yet it was exactly there, in those very circumstances, that God gave him this vision. Need we wonder that his name means "God strengthens"?
Notice where the creatures appear: inside the whirlwind, not away from it.
The wind may blow as hard as it can. But while those four living creatures are inside that whirlwind, we can be sure that God is in supreme control.
Does this human shape mean the creatures picture Christ Himself? Davison says no. He rests his case on the layout of the vision itself.
We could not say that these four living creatures were a picture of Christ Himself. The expanse was above them, but the man was above the expanse. The words "they had a human likeness" suggest that they were intelligent beings.
- Storm — The vision comes to Ezekiel at his lowest point, as a prisoner of war. It rises out of the whirlwind itself.
- Creatures — The four are cherubim; the human likeness marks intelligence, not deity. They are servants in God's hand, used for His purposes.
- Four — Man, lion, ox and eagle stand for supreme intelligence, power, endurance and speed. No opposing force can out-think or out-last them.
- Control — The judgment is not God losing His people. He judges His guilty people, and Babylon is His instrument.
- Above — The creatures stay under the expanse; the man is above it. They serve God's will, but they are not a picture of Christ Himself.
And every one had four faces, and every one of them had four wings.
Ezekiel is a captive in Babylon when the heavens open and he sees four living creatures. The first detail about each one is a count: four faces, four wings. What do these numbers and shapes tell a man whose nation has just fallen?
Who are these creatures, and why does the number four keep repeating? One writer answers both.
The prophet is shown the four living creatures coming out of the cloud. They picture the powers God uses to carry out His will in heaven and on earth... These powers described by the living creatures are held by the angels, those beings who serve the heirs of salvation. There were four living creatures, and that suggests these powers reach everywhere; not one spot in the whole universe is outside God's control. Their four faces suggest that they understand every movement in the universe. Their four wings speak of activity everywhere, for they reach every point in creation.
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The number keeps returning because of what the chapter is about.
The number "four" is used again and again in that chapter because God's government of the earth is the subject.
Each creature carries the heads of four kinds of life at once. One writer sets out what the hands, the wings and the four faces stand for.
They looked like a man, though each had four faces and four wings (v. 6)... The hands of a man seem to stand for activity, for skill in doing. The wings stand for swift action from above, never turning aside for a moment from the task in hand; and there are four sides, so the creatures can move in every direction... These make up the symbolic supports of the throne. They are the heads of the creatures kept safe in the ark through the flood. The man stands for intelligence, the lion for strength, the ox for patience or stability, and the eagle for speed of action — the attributes of God, or the qualities of His judgments.
Ezekiel's creatures have four wings. One writer compares them with the six-winged seraphim of Isaiah 6 and finds meaning in the difference.
In Ezekiel (chapters 1—10) it is clear that the cherubim are majestic, awe-inspiring pictures of the power of judgment and how it advances. From Isaiah 6 we can see that the seraph pictures the power of mercy and how it advances. The cherub has four wings, the seraph six. So mercy is swifter than judgment.
Revelation also shows living creatures at the throne. They look similar, but they are not the same. One writer lists the differences and explains them.
In the account given by the prophet of the captivity, each of the four living ones had four faces and four wings (Ezek. 1:6). The seer of Revelation shows only the third living creature with a man's face, and each of the four with six wings (Rev. 4:7-8). Ezekiel's creatures had wheels; those in Revelation have none... One thing explains many of these differences: Ezekiel deals in particular with the judgment of Judah and Jerusalem. That judgment was to come from the north (Babylon), so the wheels would run on earth, picturing the course of judgment on earth.
Another writer names the sharpest contrast, then singles out the human face.
In the vision of Revelation the four forms are separate; here we find them united in each living creature... Of these different forms, the man alone speaks of a moral agent.
Ezekiel saw this while his nation sat in captivity. Each face names a strength at its highest degree.
The face of a man speaks of supreme intelligence; the face of a lion, supreme power; the face of an ox, supreme endurance; the face of an eagle, supreme movement... Satan and rebellious men have great intelligence, and they use it against God. But here are beings whose intelligence is greater. Whatever power or endurance the enemies have, and however fast they move to reach their goals, these living creatures will wear them down. They will out-think, out-last, out-wear and out-distance every opposing power.
- Four = everywhere. Four creatures, four faces, four wings. The number marks God's government of the earth, reaching every point of creation.
- Faces = qualities. Man means intelligence, lion strength, ox patience, eagle speed. These are the attributes of God, or the qualities of His judgments.
- Wings = the pace of judgment. The cherub has four wings, the seraph six. Mercy moves faster than judgment.
- Combined, then separated. Ezekiel's creature holds all four forms at once. In Revelation the forms stand apart, with six wings and no wheels.
- Reach becomes reassurance. These powers out-think, out-last and out-distance every opposing force. That gave a captive prophet confidence instead of despair.
And their feet were straight feet; and the sole of their feet was like the sole of a calf's foot; and they sparkled as the look of burnished brass.
Ezekiel is a captive in Babylon when the heavens open and he sees four living creatures carrying the throne of God. Verse 7 stops at their feet. Every detail there says something about how God moves when He comes to judge.
These living creatures are the cherubim. Wherever they appear, they are doing one job.
Throughout the Old Testament, wherever the cherubim act, they have to do with the judicial power of God, or they carry out the will of that power. In Revelation they usually have to do with providential judgments, and they belong to the throne.
They are the moving parts of a throne, and their feet are where that throne touches the ground.
The first thing said about the feet is that they are straight. Wings and feet are named together, and each points somewhere different.
Their feet are straight and like a calf's. This speaks of the evenness of their course, and of the endurance with which they press on towards their goal. The wings would speak of their activity in heaven, and the feet of their movements on earth.
Nothing here wanders.
A human foot is long and flat. An ox's hoof stands upright and plants hard. Where the ESV says "burnished bronze", older translations say brass, and that gleam matters as much as the shape.
They have in general the likeness of a man, but their feet are like the feet of an ox, "upright," and not extended, as a man's foot is. They sparkle, giving the look of glowing brass. This reminds us once more of Revelation, but there it is said of Him who appears to John, who is the Lord Himself: "His feet like fine (or glowing) brass, as if they burned in a furnace." The treading down in wrath is plain. The sole of the foot is like that of a young bullock, for patient labour is manifest in the exercise of righteous judgment.
Two things meet in one hoof: crushing weight, and the patience of an animal built for long work. This judgment is not a burst of temper. It is labour.
In Scripture this metal carries a settled meaning, and it is not the same meaning as gold.
Looking at the details, I think there are two judgments of God here. First, the judgment of God about our responsibility where we are. Then, the judgment of God about what can come near Him where He is, and as He is. Both are His judgments, but the difference is the difference between the brass and the gold. The brazen altar was judgment about the responsibility of man where he was. He had to bring a sin offering, and meet God according to his responsibility and his failure in it. But the cherubim on the mercy-seat were all of gold, and that was approaching God according to what He was in Himself. "His feet like unto fine brass" — that is the firmness of His judgment as regards human responsibility.
The same metal marks the place where God met sinners.
Brass typifies God meeting man in his responsibility according to divine righteousness. The brazen altar of the tabernacle shows this. There God met man in his sins, and the offered sacrifice met His claims in righteousness.
In Revelation, John sees the Lord Himself, and he describes His feet in almost the same words. Commentators link the two visions, and note what John's vision adds.
Ezekiel 1:7 and Daniel 10:6 say the same thing, though the English versions read differently. But here we have "passed through the fire." I understand this to mean that God applied righteousness in judgment to man according to the full, absolute trial of the fire of God — that is, judgment that allows no evil.
Writers put the emphasis in different places. Some stress the steady, even course; others the patient labour. All agree the gleam means judgment, and that the feet in Revelation are the Lord's own.
- Throne — The living creatures are the cherubim. They carry out God's judicial power, and their feet are where His throne meets the earth.
- Straight — Straight legs mean an even course that keeps going. Wings speak of work in heaven, feet of work on earth.
- Sole — An ox's upright hoof, not a man's flat foot: treading down in wrath, yet with the patient labour of a working animal.
- Brass — The metal of the altar, not of the gold mercy seat. It is God's righteousness meeting man where his responsibility lies.
- Altar — At that same altar the offered sacrifice met God's claims in righteousness. The feet that tread evil down are the feet that passed through the fire.
And they had the hands of a man under their wings on their four sides; and they four had their faces and their wings
Ezekiel is a captive in a foreign land. Heaven opens, and he sees four living creatures carrying the throne of God. Verse 8 adds a strange detail: under those wings, on all four sides, are human hands.
These creatures are the cherubim. God lived between them on the ark, at rest among His people. Now He is on the move against them.
The God of Israel, who lived between the cherubim on the ark, was among His people. People came near to Him by blood, according to divine righteousness, and that righteousness was guarded by the witness of His judicial authority. God let Ezekiel see His judgments in providence from outside. He would judge His guilty people by Babylon as His instrument.
Each part of the picture carries a meaning. One writer takes the hands, the wings and the four sides in turn.
The hands of a man seem to stand for activity, or skill in doing. The wings stand for swift action from above, with never a moment's turning aside from the task in hand. The four sides let them move in every direction.
Another writer goes through the creatures feature by feature, giving the sense of each face as well as the hands:
Their faces were like a man's — intelligence and authority; a lion's — majesty and vengeance; an eagle's — knowing everything and being everywhere; a calf's — patience and stability; and they have hands — the executive faculty.
The hands sit under the wings, joined to the part that flies. The feet touch the ground. One writer draws out what that means.
The wings would speak of their heavenly activity and the feet of their earthly movements. The hands under the wings would assure us that they are capable of serving God both in the heavens and on the earth.
Four faces, four wings, four hands. The number four runs right through Scripture wherever the whole created order is in view.
FOUR. Completeness in what is created or ordained by God. Four winds from the four quarters of heaven. Jer. 49:36. Four quarters of the earth. Rev. 20:8. In the arrangement of the camp of Israel there were four standards. Num. 10:14-25. Ezekiel saw four living creatures, each had four faces, four wings, and four hands. Ezek. 1:5-8: compare the four living creatures in Rev. 4:6.
The hands under the wings are human hands. That says something about who strikes the blow, and whose wrath it really is.
This reminds us of what we have seen before: there was the form of a man's hand under the wings of the cherubim. Human hands, we need not doubt, are to carry out that judgment. Still, that judgment is itself the wrath of God.
Later in the book, those hands reach out and take hold of fire.
So they are also seen with spread wings under the God of Israel (Ezek. 1). The Lord of Israel was about to leave His sanctuary, because His people had turned away from Him and disturbed His rest in Jerusalem. Here they also reach out their hands to take fire and throw it over the city, because the Lord had commanded the judgment of its sins.
Ezekiel saw all this as a captive, watching his nation collapse. The vision came to steady him.
They come out of this cloud to assure us of this: many clouds cross our pathway, but God is behind them all. He is using them to perfect His work in each one of us. That cloud had meant bloodshed, fire, captivity; yet the prophet has to learn that God was accomplishing His will by that very disaster. There were four living creatures. That suggests these powers are universal, for there is not a spot in the whole universe beyond the control of God.
- Hands mean doing. Faces show intelligence and wings show speed. The hands are the executive faculty — the part that carries out the will of God.
- Under the wings. The hands sit under the wings that fly and above the feet that walk. These servants work for God in heaven and on earth alike.
- On four sides. Four is the number of completeness in the created order. These hands reach in every direction, and no spot in the universe lies outside God's control.
- Human hands, God's wrath. Babylon's armies were real men doing real damage. Yet the judgment they carried out was God's own wrath, and the hands in the vision reach out to take fire for the city.
- Comfort in captivity. Ezekiel watched his nation fall as a prisoner. God was accomplishing His own will through the very disaster that crushed him.
their wings were joined one to another; they turned not when they went; they went every one straight forward.
Ezekiel sees this vision as a captive, far from Jerusalem. Four living creatures move with wings touching and never turn aside, which raises the question: with God's people scattered, is anything still under control?
Ezekiel is one of a band of captives by the river Chebar. The heavens open over him there, while the judgment on his people still stands.
Meanwhile the prophet is one among a band of captives by the river Chebar — the "great" or "abundant" river... Babylon has taken Assyria's place, and the oppressing hand gives no relief. Yet, though the judgment is not removed, this is what happens: over the head of a man who bows under it and accepts God's judgment, the heavens are opened and there are "visions of God."
So what do these creatures represent? One writer answers carefully.
These verses do not seem to give us a figure of Christ. What they do give us, in picture form, are the powers under His control that carry out the will of God.
Each part of these creatures means something. One writer reads the hands and the wings together.
The hands of a man seem to stand for activity, or skill in doing. The wings stand for swift action from above, without a moment's turning away from the task in hand. And there are four sides, so they can move in every direction.
The ESV says their wings touched one another. Older translations say "their wings were joined one to another." Either way, these four never act on their own.
Their movement was united. They were not flying off at tangents. They were not moving apart from one another. All was under the control of God Himself. Because they were "joined one to another," nothing could come between them to disrupt their movements.
Where does that unity come from? Not from the creatures themselves.
Their wings were joined together, so there was perfect unity of action among all four living ones. The face guided them in a straight course with no turning aside. A higher Spirit than that of the living creature itself guided and governed everything.
One writer reads each feature of the creatures as a note about God's judgments. The joined wings show how those judgments fit together.
They are four in number — they work everywhere. They have four faces — they look every way... Their feet are straight, like a calf's, and shine like polished brass — their progress is always steady and judicial. Their wings are joined — every act of judgment locks together with every other act of judgment, and they did not turn as they went.
Going straight forward has a practical edge. Human planners keep a fallback ready; these creatures need none.
Generals fighting a war would have what is called "a major plan". If that failed, they would fall back on "a secondary plan". But no secondary plan is suggested here: "each one of them went straight forward". God needs no secondary plan. They are invincible; nothing can deflect them or turn them aside. Nebuchadnezzar with all his power could not turn them aside.
The point of the vision is not light alone. One writer ties it to a treasure carried in fragile jars.
In 2 Corinthians 4:7 we read, "But we have this treasure in jars of clay"... We not only have the light of these things. We are also fully assured of the power God has at His disposal, so we can go steadily on in our service for God.
- Opened — God did not lift the judgment, yet the heavens opened over a captive who accepted it.
- Joined — Touching wings mean united movement. Nothing can come between them.
- Governed — The unity comes from above. A higher Spirit guides and governs all, so the course never bends.
- Unturned — Straight forward means God needs no fallback plan. Nebuchadnezzar's power could not turn these creatures aside.
- Strengthening — The vision gives more than light. It assures us of the power God has at His disposal, so His servants keep going.
And the likeness of their faces was the face of a man; and they four had the face of a lion on the right side; and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four had also the face of an eagle.
Ezekiel sees four living creatures under a throne, and each one carries four faces at once. Verse 10 names them — man, lion, ox and eagle — and the question is what those faces say about the way God rules.
The four faces stand for four qualities of God's rule. One reference work names each one.
Each living creature had four faces. The first was the face of a man, which speaks of "intelligence." The second was the face of a lion, which symbolises "strength." The third was the face of an ox, representing "patient endurance." The fourth was the face of an eagle, which implies "swiftness of execution." All show perfect organisation for carrying out the government of God according to His righteous judgement.
The verse does not say which face pointed which way. William Kelly gives his own reading, and says where these creatures come from.
I take verse 10 to mean this: the face of a man was in front and the face of an eagle behind, with a lion's face to the right and an ox's or steer's face to the left. These make up the symbolic supports of the throne. They are the heads of the creatures kept safe in the ark through the flood.
These figures appear at several points in Scripture. J. N. Darby traces the line through them.
The cherubim, I believe, are judicial power. After the garden of Eden they became the throne. In the tabernacle they stood in connection with the law or covenant. In Ezekiel they stand for providential government and judgment. In Revelation 4 they are still the attributes the throne rests on: stability, strength, speed of judgment, intelligence. But they also refer to the creation; they are the heads of creation on earth — government too is on earth, and refers to this creation.
No hostile power can outmatch these creatures. George Davison presses that point for anyone facing a force that looks unbeatable.
In every sphere in the whole creation these beings are supreme... Satan and rebellious men have great intelligence, which they use against God. But here are beings who excel in intelligence. Whatever the power, or the endurance, or the speed with which the enemies move to reach their goals, these living creatures will wear them down. They will out-think, out-last, out-wear and out-distance every hostile power. They will never fail to carry out every detail of the will of God in the universe.
Among the four, the man's face leads. James McBroom shows how a man's wisdom puts the other three faces to use — and who sits on the throne above them.
Man's face speaks of intelligence and spiritual discernment here. It has a wisdom and knowledge that can put to good use the great strength of the lion, the plodding feet of the ox on the earth, and the speed and height of the eagle's flight, sweeping through the heavens. Confirming all this, the throne, which seems to rest on this complex structure, is occupied by a MAN.
The same four features appear in the four accounts of Christ's life. Samuel Ridout matches each Gospel to a face.
The four Gospels present our Lord Jesus in this fourfold way. In Matthew we see Him as "the Lion of the tribe of Judah," Israel's King. In Mark we see Him in service, bearing, as the patient ox does, His burden, the load of human need. In Luke we see the face of the Man throughout — human intelligence, sympathy, love and example. John shows us the eagle from heaven, soaring back to the place where He was with the Father before the world was.
- Four faces. The man means intelligence. The lion means strength. The ox means patient endurance. The eagle means swift action.
- Four directions. Kelly reads the man in front, the eagle behind, the lion right and the ox left. These are the heads of the creatures saved in the ark, now set under God's throne.
- One throne. The same figures run from Eden to the tabernacle to Ezekiel and Revelation. Every time, they carry judicial power.
- No rival. These creatures are supreme in every sphere. No hostile intelligence, force, stamina or speed can outlast them. Every detail of God's will gets done.
- A Man above. A Man sits on the throne these faces carry. The same four faces mark Christ in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
And their faces and their wings were parted above; two [wings] of every one were joined one to another, and two covered their bodies.
Ezekiel's vision opens with four living creatures, and verse 11 pauses on their wings. Two wings reach up and meet the wings beside them; the other two are folded over the body — why?
One writer explains what these creatures stand for, then reads each part of them as a measure of how far their reach extends:
The four living creatures picture the powers God uses to accomplish His will in heaven and on earth. There were four of them, and that would suggest that these powers are universal, for there is not a spot in the whole universe beyond God's control. Their four faces would suggest that they understand every movement in the universe. Their four wings speak of their universal activity, for they reach every point in the created world. The wings would speak of their activity in heaven and the feet of their movements on earth. The hands under the wings would assure us that they are capable of serving God both in the heavens and on the earth.
The raised wings do not just rise; they touch. Nothing here moves on its own. The writer below quotes an older translation of verse 9, which reads "joined one to another"; the ESV speaks of wings that touched:
Verse 9 says of those wings, "Their wings were joined one to another." They moved together. They were not flying off in all directions. They were not moving on their own, apart from one another. All was under the control of God Himself. Because they were joined one to another, nothing could come between them to disrupt their movements.
Half the wings are for flight. The other half hide the body. One writer turns that into a question about all service for God:
As to the wings of the living creatures, they are four, not six as in Revelation. With only two of these they fly, and these two are joined one to another in perfect unity of action. The other two cover their bodies, as in a higher Presence. In Isaiah's vision the seraphim have six wings, like those in Revelation. Two cover the face, two cover the feet, and with two alone they fly. Can there be any true work for God, or wisdom for it, if the creature does not take its place of nothingness before Him in the presence of His glory?
Ezekiel's creatures differ from the winged beings of other visions. The number of wings, the place by the throne, and the kind of throne all change:
In Ezekiel the cherubim were the support of the expanse above which the God of Israel was. It was a throne of executive judgment. They were like burnished brass, and like fire. They had four wings: two to fly with, two to cover themselves. From Ezekiel 10 it appears they were full of eyes, and it is not said that the eyes were within. This was to govern what was outside according to God; it was not divine intelligence within. In Isaiah 6 the seraphim (or burners) have six wings, as in Revelation; they are above the throne, and cry, Holy, holy, holy!
Why does this throne need wings and wheels at all? Because it no longer stays in one place:
So the throne of God was no longer in Israel. The God of heaven was pleased to use the Gentiles to do His will, and was about to use them in punishing guilty Jerusalem. It is His throne from heaven, not yet His throne in heaven, as in Revelation 4, where we have no wheels, but six wings to each. So the living creatures there are not cherubim only, but seraphim, crying, Holy, holy, holy… They are not the mere base of God's throne when He judges the Jew, in His providence, through the Gentile. They are joined with and identified with the throne of Him who judges all according to His nature.
- Wings — reach. The four wings speak of activity that reaches every point in creation. No spot in the universe lies outside God's control.
- Wings — joined. Reaching up, the wings touch. They move as one under God's hand, and nothing can come between them.
- Wings — covered. Two wings hide the body in a higher Presence. Can there be true work for God if the creature never takes its place of nothingness before Him?
- Wings — counted. Four wings here, six in Isaiah and Revelation. In Ezekiel they hold up the expanse beneath a throne that carries out judgment. In Isaiah the seraphim stand above the throne and cry, Holy, holy, holy.
- Wings — moving. This throne moves because it has left Jerusalem. It is God's throne from heaven, not yet His throne in heaven, and He uses the Gentiles to punish the guilty city.
And they went every one straight forward whither the Spirit was to go, they went; they turned not when they went.
Ezekiel is a captive in Babylon. He sees four living creatures moving under a cloud, and one thing decides where they go: a spirit. They move straight ahead and never turn. So who is steering the events that had just wrecked his nation?
The creatures come out of the cloud. One writer links that cloud to the disaster itself, and the creatures to the powers God has ready.
God lets the prophet see the four living creatures coming out of the cloud. They picture the powers God has at His disposal to do His will in heaven and on earth… Because they come out of this cloud, they assure us of this: many clouds cross our path, but God is behind them all, and He is using them to perfect His work in each one of us. That cloud had meant bloodshed, fire and captivity. Yet the prophet has to learn that God was doing His will through that very disaster.
Generals plan for failure. The movement here makes no such allowance.
Generals fighting a war would have what you might call a major plan. If that failed, they would fall back on a secondary plan. But nothing here suggests a secondary plan: "each went straight forward". God needs no secondary plan. They are invincible. Nothing can deflect them or turn them aside. Nebuchadnezzar with all his power could not turn them aside.
One writer sees two things held together here. The creatures obey the spirit inside them, and they have the ability to reach their goal.
There was no unsteadiness or changeableness in their movement. Each one went in the direction of its face. They obeyed the spirit that lived in them, and they had all the ability they needed to reach their goal. Wherever the spirit was to go, they went, with simple directness of purpose. They did not turn as they went.
The same writer notes that only two of their four wings are used for flying; the other two cover them, in the presence of God's glory.
Can there be any true work for God, or wisdom for it, where in the presence of His glory the creature takes not its place of nothingness before Him?
Which spirit is meant? One writer answers by following the chapter itself.
Here the Spirit seems to be the power working inside them and controlling them. Then in verse 24 the noise of their wings is like the voice of the Almighty — He was commanding them. Finally, in verse 26, the One who has the administration in hand appears as a man above the throne. So while everything springs from God Himself, administration is in the hands of Christ, and the power that works within to bring it all about is the Spirit of God. These are truths we have learned from the New Testament, and they give us a link with the vision we have here.
The creatures are impressive, but they only carry the throne. One writer keeps the focus there.
Intelligence, strength, stability and swiftness in judgment — and with them the movement of the whole course of events on earth — depended on the throne. This living energy drove the whole. It moved the cherubim that support the throne, themselves full of eyes. The same spirit moved the wheels of God's government, and they went straight forward. Everything served the will and purpose of Him who sat on the throne judging right… But all the instruments of His glory were below the expanse; the One they glorified was above (Synopsis of the Bible).
This vision is not given to satisfy curiosity. It is given to strengthen weak people for service.
In 2 Corinthians 4:7 we read, "But we have this treasure in jars of clay." What we have in view today is this: we have light on the glory of God, the government of God, the purpose of God and the will of God, so that we may be strengthened to go on. We not only have the light of these things. We are also quite sure of the power God has at His disposal, and so we can go steadily on in our service for God.
- Throne first. It all starts above. The whole course of events on earth depended on the throne, and God Himself was above it all.
- Spirit moves them. The creatures do not pick their own way. The spirit inside them sets the course, and the same spirit moves the wheels of God's government.
- Straight forward. They never waver. Each goes in the direction of its face, with simple directness of purpose.
- No second plan. God needs no fallback. Nothing can deflect them, and Nebuchadnezzar with all his power could not turn them aside.
- Strength for jars of clay. Light on God's glory, government, purpose and will makes a weak servant steady. The power is His, so we can go on.
And as for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, as the appearance of torches it went up and down among the living creatures; and the fire was bright; and out of the fire went forth lightning.
Ezekiel is a captive by a canal in Babylon. The heavens open, and he sees the throne of God on the move, carried by living creatures. Verse 13 describes how they looked: glowing like coals, with fire darting among them and lightning breaking out. What does that fire mean, and who is its target?
The verse does not say the creatures were fire. It says their appearance was like burning coals, with something torch-like moving between them. One writer keeps those two things apart, and notes that a torch does more than destroy.
The look of the living creatures as a whole witnesses to a judgment that is coming — a judgment God does not want, and one the people have brought on themselves. Yet that judgment is not the heart of what is shown here. Their appearance is indeed like burning coals of fire. Still, the fire is not the living creatures themselves. It looks like torches, and it goes up and down among them — not only destroying, but giving light too. But the judgment is plain: the fire is bright, and lightning comes out of the fire. The movements of the living creatures match this. They go and return like a flash of lightning.
God sat between the cherubim, the figures over the ark, and people came to Him by blood. Here Ezekiel sees that throne from outside, and the whole scene glows. One writer ties the difference to Ezekiel's moment: God was about to use a foreign empire against His own city.
The God of Israel lived between the cherubim on the ark. He was in the middle of His people, and they came to Him by blood, as divine righteousness required — a righteousness guarded by the witness of His judicial authority. God let Ezekiel watch, from outside, how He judges in His government of the world. He would judge His guilty people, using Babylon as His instrument. So here it is fire that marks out this display of His destructive judgment as the God of heaven.
The fire is not the top of the picture. Above the creatures, above the expanse, a human form sits on a throne. That shapes how we read the burning coals of verse 13.
Then we see the throne in its full executive character, under the likeness of glowing creatures. Their appearance was like burning coals, compared to lamps with lightning coming out of them. But over it all, the features of a Man ruled the picture.
The fire does not stay a symbol. Nine chapters later, a man clothed in linen takes this same fire and scatters it over the city.
The cherubim on the mercy seat, which these living creatures explain for us, cover the throne of God. Taking form in the living creatures, the fire of God ran up and down among them. From this fire, in the tenth chapter, the man clothed in linen took the coals to scatter over the city, in judgment for the way the sanctuary had been defiled.
Yet the fire is never loose or random. Neither are the events on earth that it touches.
This is the exact opposite of events left to blind chance. Whatever the upheavals or changes among people, a knowing hand guides it all, even where you would least expect it.
The throne that sends out this fire also offers a way through it. One writer brings that choice down to the reader.
The throne of God is, so to speak, made up of seraphim and cherubim. God must purify by the burning seraphim, by the fire of the altar, or else consume by the cherubim judgments of that same fire. In other words, some have refused the mercy of God that comes through the atoning death of Jesus on the altar. They must endure the same wrath against sin that consumed that holy sacrifice for sin on the altar. My reader, you and I must be either purified by that fire, or judged by it forever.
- Fire — The creatures only look like burning coals. The torch-like flame moves among them, and it both destroys and gives light.
- Cause — The blaze marks God's destructive judgment as the God of heaven. He was about to use Babylon against His own guilty city.
- Control — Above the blaze, the features of a Man rule the throne. Nothing is blind chance; a knowing hand guides every turn of events.
- Consequence — In chapter 10 a man clothed in linen takes this fire and scatters it over the city. The vision becomes an execution.
- Choice — The fire of that throne either purifies through Christ's atoning death or consumes those who refuse it. Everyone meets it one way or the other.
And the living creatures ran and returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning.
Ezekiel is in exile in Babylon when the heavens open and he sees the throne of God on the move. Verse 14 shows the four living creatures under that throne darting out and back like lightning — speed that tells us something about the God whose throne they carry.
A later chapter in the book settles who they are. One writer links that to why Ezekiel sees this vision at all.
If the reader of this account still has any doubt, Ezekiel 10 shows plainly that the living creatures are the cherubim. Here there are not two of them, like the figures made from the ends of the pure beaten gold that formed the mercy seat, where God sat as on a throne. There are four — in relation, I take it, to creation. The God of Israel, who dwelt between the cherubim on the ark, was in the midst of His people... Ezekiel was given to see His judgments in providence from the outside. He would judge His guilty people by Babylon as His instrument.
The same writer reads the parts of these figures as a picture of how they act.
The hands of a man seem to stand for activity, or skill in doing. The wings show swiftness in carrying out what comes from above, without a moment's turning aside from the task in hand. And they have four sides, so they can move in every direction.
The darting movement belongs with the fire burning among them. One writer reads the two together.
The judgment is clear: the fire is bright, and out of the fire goes lightning. The movements of the living creatures agree with this: they go and return like the appearance of a flash of lightning.
The same writer points out that the fire is not only destructive. The appearance among them is that of torches, "not simply destroying, but enlightening also."
Why do they move like lightning? One writer points back to the verse just above, where the Spirit controls them.
"The living creatures darted to and fro, like the appearance of a flash of lightning" (v. 14). "His ministers a flame of fire." This is instant, swift obedience to the control of the Spirit (v. 12).
Another writer traces that control through the chapter.
In that verse the Spirit appears to be the inner power controlling them. Then in verse 24 we read, "I heard the sound of their wings like the sound of many waters, like the sound of the Almighty." He was commanding them. Finally, verse 26 shows the One who has the administration in hand: above the throne, "a likeness with a human appearance". So everything springs from God Himself. Administration is in the hands of Christ. The inner power that carries it all out is the Spirit of God.
Enormous speed on its own would be frightening. One writer draws three conclusions about these figures.
From the scriptures we have looked at, we conclude three things about these figures. They are symbols of God's intelligent creatures, since they give Him worship. They have untold powers, since they go and return with the speed of the lightning. And they are closely tied to His governmental throne and to the judicial carrying out of that throne's righteous judgment.
These same beings appear elsewhere in Scripture, and there they are not moving at all.
The blood on the mercy seat fixes the gaze of these ministers of justice and judgment. It is the blood of the sacrifice sprinkled there on the great Day of Atonement (Lev. 16:14). That blood speaks of judgment already carried out on the Substitute, and it holds the adoring gaze of these holy servants of God. They do not fly with the speed of the wind, or like the lightning flash, against the enemies of God. Instead they bend in adoring worship over what speaks of "Righteousness and peace kiss each other" (Ps. 85:10).
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- Throne — The living creatures are the cherubim, and they belong to God's throne. Ezekiel sees that throne from outside Israel. God is about to judge His people, and Babylon is His instrument.
- Fire — The lightning motion of verse 14 agrees with the fire burning among them. That fire both destroys and gives light.
- Spirit — Their speed is not restlessness. It is instant obedience to the Spirit who controls them. The administration belongs to the Man seen above the throne.
- Government — Untold power, but never loose power. It serves a governmental throne and carries out that throne's righteous judgments.
- Blood — The one thing that stills this lightning speed is the blood on the mercy seat. Judgment already fallen on the Substitute turns these ministers of judgment into worshippers.
And I looked at the living creatures, and behold, one wheel upon the earth beside the living creatures, toward their four faces.
Ezekiel has been watching four living creatures; now his eye drops to the ground, where a wheel stands beside each one. The vision has come down to earth, and it raises the question the chapter answers: who turns the wheels of history?
The living creatures move above; the wheels touch the ground. One writer notes where the wheels stand, what moves them, and what their jewel-like look shows.
Now we have another thing, which is completely outside the vision of Revelation. There, as already said, someone in heaven sees the vision. Here the prophet is on earth, and the wheels appear on earth too. They are tied to earth more closely than the living creatures are. Yet they move in unison with the living creatures — no, the living creatures move them, for the spirit of the living creatures is in the wheels. Their character is reflected in them. The wheels are also gem-like. Their appearance and their work is like the look of a topaz, for in them there is a display of the attributes of God.
Wheels are a picture, and in Ezekiel that picture has a set meaning. Events move, but they move with sight in them, along a path no one can fully trace.
In Ezekiel the wheels are a symbol, linked with the living creatures of God's providential rule on earth. The Spirit was in the wheels. The wheels looked like beryl, and they were full of eyes. This pictures the controlled but intelligent motion of events. Wheels were within wheels, which marks the control of the events as mysterious and hidden.
Ezekiel sees his nation falling under judgment. The wheel beside the creature says that this fall is not random. One writer draws out the contrast.
It is the exact reverse of circumstances left to blind chance. On the contrary, whatever the upheavals or changes among men, God guides everything knowingly, and where you would least expect it. The instruments of that providential government, below the expanse, agreed fully with what was above. Over this was the likeness of a throne.
The wheel on the earth had a name in Ezekiel's day: an invading empire. God judged His own city, and He used a foreign king to do it.
In Ezekiel we see His judgment on Jerusalem. God comes, and Nebuchadnezzar is the instrument. God comes on the cherubim in the way of providence — those wheels were so high that they were dreadful. He spares His own whom He has marked, and gives up the rest to destruction. He executes judgment, leaves them, and goes into heaven.
The wheels are the lowest part of the vision. The chapter climbs from the ground to a throne, and one writer makes that the key.
But how could these wings and wheels, and the living creatures they were joined to, work together toward this great end? The answer comes in chapter 1:26. Above the expanse, above those wheels and wings, there was a throne. On it was the likeness of the appearance of a man, and His voice controlled everything. It was a vision of a present great reality. There is a throne. It is the Father's throne, the supreme throne in the universe. On that throne there is a Man, and that Man is Jesus.
The vision settled this for a whole nation. It settles it for one tangled life too.
Do the times seem out of joint and the wheels always turning against them? Do they begin to think, like those who do not know God, that they are at the mercy of uncontrolled and fickle chance? Let them consider that the Saviour is on the throne, above all the wings and wheels that puzzle them… He is above all circumstances. He controls every wing and wheel that has a part in your life.
- Wheel. The wheel pictures God's providential rule. Events move, but they move with intelligence and control. Wheels within wheels mark that control as mysterious and hidden.
- Earth. The wheels stand on the ground. The prophet is on earth, and the wheels are tied to earth more closely than the living creatures are.
- Guided. History is the exact reverse of blind chance. Whatever changes come among men, God guides it all, and where you would least expect it.
- Instrument. God judged Jerusalem by way of providence, and Nebuchadnezzar was His instrument. He spares those He has marked, and He judges the rest through human power.
- Throne. Above the wheels is a throne, and on it a Man — Jesus. Peace of heart comes from seeing Him above every wheel that puzzles us.
The appearance of the wheels and their work was as the look of a chrysolite; and they four had one likeness; and their appearance and their work was as it were a wheel in the middle of a wheel.
Ezekiel sees four living creatures, and then wheels on the ground beside them. They gleam like a jewel, they are built one wheel inside another, and they answer the question people ask when life feels out of control: who is running events?
The wheels are a symbol. Every detail of them carries meaning.
Ezekiel uses wheels as symbols, in connection with the living creatures of God's providential rule on earth. The Spirit was in the wheels. The wheels looked like beryl and were full of eyes. They picture the motion of events — controlled, yet intelligent. Wheels were within wheels, and these show that the control of events is mysterious and hidden.
Translations differ over the stone, and the writers admit no one can settle which gem it was. Scripture does show where else the same stone appears.
No one knows for certain which stone the word tarshish means. The Septuagint, the early Greek translation, uses different words for it. In Ezekiel 1:16 and Ezekiel 10:9 the "wheels" are compared to its colour, without stating what that was. Some suppose it was the golden topaz; others that it was the chrysolite. It was the first stone in the fourth row of the high priest's breastplate. It also appears in the foundation of the heavenly Jerusalem.
The wheels touch the earth, but they do not move on their own. They take their character — and their shine — from the living creatures above them.
Here the prophet is on earth, and he sees the wheels on earth too. They have a closer connection with the earth than the living creatures themselves. Yet the wheels move in step with the living creatures — indeed, the living creatures move them, for the spirit of the living creatures is in the wheels, and their character is reflected in them. The wheels are also gem-like. Their appearance and their work look like a topaz. God's attributes are on display in them, as in the jewels of the high priest's breastplate. Those jewels are the Urim and Thummim, the divine "lights and perfections" — the glory of the refracted light, which God is.
Another writer finds hope in the colour, and more than a straight line in the double wheel.
"The appearance of the wheels and their construction" is a more hopeful colour, beryl. It connects with the rainbow that in Revelation 4 always rises in divine promise above the fearful prospects of judgment. Their construction was "as it were a wheel within a wheel" — indirect and side results, alongside the leading feature of going straight ahead.
Now the shape itself. Two rims cross at right angles, and that changes how the wheels move.
The four wheels are alike, and have one basic meaning. Their appearance and their structure is "as it were a wheel within a wheel". So they go on four sides, one wheel set into the other, crossing it at right angles. Like the living creatures, they have no need to turn, whatever direction they go.
Nations rise and fall, and it can look like nothing is steering them. This writer draws the opposite conclusion.
It is the exact reverse of circumstances left to blind chance. On the contrary, whatever the upheavals or changes among people, God guides it all knowingly — even where you would least expect it. The instruments of His providential government, below the expanse, were in complete agreement with what was above. And over this was the likeness of a throne.
One writer turns the vision on the reader whose own life feels like a tangle.
Do the times seem out of joint, and the wheels always turning against them? Are they inclined to think, as those who do not know God think, that they are at the mercy of uncontrolled and fickle chance? Then let them consider that the Saviour is on the throne, above all the wings and wheels that puzzle them… He is above all circumstances, and controls all the wings and wheels that have their part in your life.
- Wheels — they picture how God governs the earth: events in motion, controlled and intelligent, never random.
- Wheel within wheel — the same control, but hidden. It works by indirect and side results as well as straight ones.
- Gem-like — the wheels shine like the stones of the high priest's breastplate. God's own attributes are on display in the way events move.
- Uncertain stone — writers differ over beryl, topaz or chrysolite. The same stone sits in the high priest's breastplate and in the foundation of the heavenly Jerusalem.
- Above the wheels — a throne. Events are the exact reverse of blind chance, and the One seated there is above every wheel turning in your life.
When they went, they went upon their four sides; they turned not when they went.
Ezekiel sees four gleaming wheels on the ground beside the living creatures, and what he notices is how they move: four directions, and no turning. That one detail carries the message of the whole vision — what looks like the churn of history has a shape, a direction and a driver.
The verse makes sense once you picture the build described just before it — one wheel set inside another. Older translations say the wheels went "upon their four sides," which the ESV gives as "in any of their four directions":
The four wheels are alike, and have one basic meaning. Their appearance and their structure is like a wheel in the middle of a wheel. One wheel sits inside the other and crosses it at right angles, so they go on four sides. So, like the living creatures, they have no need to turn, whatever direction they may go.
A wheel is the natural picture of events rolling on without anyone at the handle. Ezekiel's wheels teach the opposite:
It is the exact opposite of circumstances left to blind chance. Instead, God knowingly guides every revolution and change among people, even where you would least expect it. Below the expanse, the instruments of His government over events were in full accord with what was above. Over this was the likeness of a throne.
Everyday speech reaches for the same picture when life feels tangled:
We talk about the "flight of time" and "the wheels of fortune." Sometimes life seems so complicated that we talk of "wheels within wheels" — just what Ezekiel saw in his vision. To some, time and circumstances may seem so out of gear that they conclude they are the victims of blind chance. But these wings and wheels that Ezekiel saw were not blind or out of control. They were attached to living creatures that had great intelligence, and they were under very definite control.
Never turning means more than a neat design. It says something about God's plans:
Generals fighting a war would have what we would call "a major plan." If that failed, they would fall back on "a secondary plan." But there is no secondary plan suggested here. God needs no secondary plan. They are invincible; they cannot be deflected or turned aside. Nebuchadnezzar with all his power could not turn them aside.
The wheels are the part of the vision that touches the ground. But they do not supply their own motion:
Here the prophet is on earth. The wheels are seen on earth too, and they have a closer connection with it than the living creatures themselves. Yet they move in unison with the living creatures — indeed, the living creatures move them, for the spirit of the living creatures is in the wheels, and their character shows in them. The wheels are also gem-like. Their appearance and their work is like the look of a topaz, for they display the attributes of God.
The wheels are not the top of the picture. Everything in the vision depends on what is above them:
Intelligence, strength, stability and swiftness in judgment all depended on the throne. So did the movement of the whole course of events on earth. This living energy animated the whole. The wheels of God's government moved by the same spirit, and went straight forward. All was subservient to the will and purpose of Him who sat on the throne judging right. Majesty, government and providence united to form the throne of His glory.
This is not only about empires. The same control reaches into an individual life that feels knotted:
Do the times seem out of joint and the wheels always turning against them? Anyone who thinks that way should consider that the Saviour is on the throne, above all the wings and wheels that confuse them… He has not forgotten you, nor the apparent tangles in your life… He is above all circumstances. He controls all the wings and wheels that have their part in your life.
- Design — A wheel set inside a wheel at right angles moves four ways without ever swivelling.
- Direction — No turning means no detour and no backup plan. Not even Nebuchadnezzar could deflect God's government.
- Drive — The wheels touch earth, but the living creatures move them, and they display God's own attributes.
- Dominion — Above the wheels, the creatures and the expanse stands a throne. The whole course of events on earth depends on the One seated there.
- Daily — The tangles in your life run on the same wheels, and the Saviour on the throne is above them.
As for their rims, they were high and dreadful; and they four had their rims full of eyes round about.
Ezekiel sees a throne carried on wheels, and this verse stops on the wheels themselves — their tall rims and the eyes all around them. Who steers the events that roll over nations and over one life, and does anything escape notice as they turn?
The wheels turn below the throne. They picture how God governs what happens on earth. One writer reads the vision as a direct denial that history drifts on its own.
It is the exact opposite of circumstances left to blind chance. On the contrary, whatever the revolutions or changes among men, all is knowingly guided where it might be least expected. Below the expanse, the instruments God uses to govern events were in full agreement with what was above.
The rims are tall, and the sight is awesome — older translations say "dreadful." One writer links that dread to how little of the wheel a man can trace.
And here the wheel rises so high that it is frightening. A man can see only a brief portion, and follow it only a short way. If he sees no more, the light dies out again.
A wheel rolls wherever something pushes it. Eyes on the rims change that. One summary ties the eyes and the wheels within wheels into one picture.
The Spirit was in the wheels. The wheels looked like beryl and were full of eyes. This pictures the motion of events as controlled but intelligent. There were wheels within wheels, which mark the control of events as mysterious and hidden.
Eyes all around the rim mean sight in every direction at once. One writer points out what that sight takes in.
They are full of eyes — they see everything before and behind, judging not only results but causes.
The dread is not the last word. The writer who described it finds hope in the same eyes.
The supreme control is not in man's hands, and still less can it be in the wheel itself. The eyes in it speak of a wisdom that mere machinery cannot have. If the wheel is only what God has appointed, we may learn hope from Him. His heavens tell us of their control over the earth, and show how He can bring light out of darkness, summer out of winter, life out of death.
One writer meets the same detail elsewhere in the Bible, and looks back to these wheels.
Being full of eyes reminds us of the eyes in the rims of Ezekiel's wheels (Ezekiel 1:18). This teaches us that the eyes of the Lord are in every place. He discerns perfectly every detail of every matter that He deals with.
The wheels are not the top of the vision. Ezekiel keeps looking up, and what he finds there is the answer to how all this movement holds together.
Above the expanse and above those wheels and wings there was a throne. On it was the likeness of the appearance of a man, and His voice controlled everything. It was a vision of a present great reality. There is a throne. It is the Father's throne, the supreme throne in the universe. On that throne there is a Man, and that Man is Jesus.
The same writer turns the vision toward anyone whose own life feels like a tangle.
Do the times seem out of joint and the wheels always turning against them? Are they inclined to think, as those who do not know God think, that they are at the mercy of uncontrolled and fickle chance? Then let them consider this: the Saviour is on the throne, above all the wings and wheels that puzzle them... He has not forgotten you, nor the apparent tangles in your life. He cannot forget you, for you are engraved on the palms of His hands.
- Wheels — the events of this world are not left to blind chance. Whatever changes come among men, God guides them all, even where you would least expect.
- Height — the rims are frightening because a man can see only a brief portion of the wheel and follow it only a short way.
- Eyes — sight all around the rim makes the motion controlled and intelligent. These eyes judge not only results but causes.
- Reach — the eyes of the Lord are in every place. They show a wisdom that machinery cannot have, so the frightening wheel becomes ground for hope.
- Throne — above the wheels sits a Man, and that Man is Jesus. His voice controls everything, even the tangles in your own life.
And when the living creatures went, the wheels went beside them; and when the living creatures were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up.
The wheels in Ezekiel's vision never act on their own. Verse 19 sets the rule for everything that follows. So what do the wheels stand for, and who steers them?
The wheels roll on the earth, and the living creatures are above them. They match each other move for move. One commentator reads that as a flat denial of a world running at random.
This is the exact opposite of circumstances left to blind chance. On the contrary, whatever the upheavals or changes among men, God knowingly guides it all, even where you would least expect it. The instruments of providential government, below the expanse, agreed completely with what was above. Over this was the likeness of a throne. And above all was the likeness of a man carrying out judgment, though with the unfailing pledge of mercy to an evil world.
A wheel turns, and so does history. In Ezekiel the wheels belong to God's rule over the earth.
Ezekiel uses wheels as symbols, tied to the living creatures of God's providential rule on earth. The Spirit was in the wheels, and the wheels had the appearance of a beryl, and were full of eyes: a picture of the controlled but intelligent motion of events. Wheels were within wheels, which marks the control of events as mysterious and hidden.
The verse says the wheels went "beside them." A few lines later Ezekiel gives the reason: the spirit of the living creatures is in the wheels. One writer notes that the wheels touch earth more closely than the creatures do, yet take their character from them.
Here the prophet is on earth, and he sees the wheels on earth too. They have a closer connection with it than the living creatures themselves. Yet they move in step with the creatures. In fact the creatures move them, for the spirit of the living creatures is in the wheels, and their character shows in the wheels. But the wheels are also gem-like. Their appearance and their work is like the look of a topaz, because they display the attributes of God.
Note that commentators differ slightly on the stone named here: some read the older rendering "beryl," others "topaz."
The same Spirit drives every part. So the whole vision moves as one.
There is no hitch or jarring in the divine machinery, if we may say so with all reverence. The chariot of God's government never turns from its straight course. Ezekiel's first chapter gives a magnificent description of it: all its parts move together; wheel within wheel; everything directed by "the Spirit of Life" in the wheels.
When the creatures leave the ground, the wheels leave with them. A throne with wheels is a throne about to travel. That is what sets this vision apart from the throne in Revelation.
In Ezekiel, they are accompanied by wheels, but in the vision of Revelation by crowned and enthroned elders. In the prophet, one spirit animates both them and the wheels... For in those days of Ezekiel, the throne, whose purpose they express, was about to remove itself from the sanctuary, and wheels were suited to it; but in the day anticipated by this vision, the throne is at rest.
If God governs this way, most people will never notice. The machinery is real, but hidden from sight.
Divine power does indeed order and control all things... but it all works through a mysterious combining and overseeing of events that natural men know nothing about. Faith recognises it. Faith sees the hand of God in many things and confesses it in all. But the world at large sees and admits nothing beyond the course of events, and the human agents people credit them to.
- Linked — The wheels never move alone. They go and rise with the living creatures above them.
- Driven — The spirit of the living creatures is in the wheels. So earth's events carry the character of the throne above.
- Ordered — The wheels are the turning course of events: controlled and intelligent, never blind chance. Wheel within wheel keeps that control hidden.
- Unified — Nothing in this machinery jars or veers; every part answers to the One seated above.
- Moving — Wheels fit a throne about to travel. When they rise, God's throne is on the move, and only faith reads it.
Whithersoever the Spirit was to go, they went, thither would [their] spirit go; and the wheels were lifted up along with them for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels.
Ezekiel sees a vision of God's throne. Living creatures move under it, and beside them run huge wheels. The wheels rise, stop and travel exactly as the creatures do. This verse gives the reason for that perfect agreement. It also answers a question we all ask: who is steering the events that roll over my life?
So what does this linked movement prove? One writer starts with what the vision rules out.
It is the exact opposite of circumstances left to blind chance. Whatever the upheavals or changes among men, God guides it all with full knowledge, even where you would least expect it. The instruments of His providential government stood below the expanse, and they agreed completely with what was above. Over this was the likeness of a throne.
Why wheels, and why are they full of eyes? One reference work sums up what they picture.
In Ezekiel the wheels stand as symbols, linked with the living creatures of God's providential rule on earth. The Spirit was in the wheels. They gleamed like a beryl stone and were full of eyes: a symbol of the controlled but intelligent motion of events. There were wheels within wheels, which mark the control of events as mysterious and hidden.
The prophet stands on earth, not in heaven, and the wheels run on earth with him. One writer weighs what that closeness to earth does not change.
Here the prophet is on earth, and the wheels appear on earth too. They have a closer link with the earth than the living creatures themselves. Yet they move in unison with the creatures — no, the creatures move them. The spirit of the living creatures is in the wheels, so the character of the creatures shows in them.
Writers differ over this word spirit: some print it as the Spirit of God, others as the spirit of the creatures. Either way, the power is not the wheels' own. Above them all the chapter shows a throne.
Intelligence, strength, stability and swiftness in judgment all depended on the throne. So did the movement of the whole course of events on earth. This living energy animated the whole. It moved the cherubim who support the throne and are full of eyes. The same spirit moved the wheels of God's government, and they went straight forward. Everything served the will and purpose of Him who sat on the throne, judging rightly. But all the instruments of His glory were below the expanse. He whom they glorified was above.
The same living creatures appear in Revelation, but there they have no wheels. One writer explains the difference.
In Ezekiel the living creatures appear more in connection with the earth. That may be why they are said there to have wheels as well as wings. In Revelation, God has set His earthly people aside for a time and called a heavenly people. So there the creatures have only the wings suited for heaven, and not the wheels suited for earth.
Writers also apply the verse to God's people in action. One points back to Israel's victories under Joshua.
All things are ours. The sun stands still, and the moon stays its course. They witness to the power of God, and to the interest He takes in blessing His people. We may be sure that, wherever the Spirit will go, there the wheels will go (Ezek. 1:20).
The vision also has a personal use. One writer turns it on the reader who can see no order in his own life.
Are any tempted to think that their circumstances are a hopeless tangle? Do the times seem out of joint, and the wheels always turning against them? Do they think, as those who do not know God think, that they are at the mercy of uncontrolled and fickle chance? Let such a person consider that the Saviour is on the throne, above all the wings and wheels that perplex them. He is above all circumstances, and He controls all the wings and wheels that have their part in your life.
- Spirit first — the wheels never move themselves. The spirit of the living creatures is in them, so their motion is controlled and intelligent, not random.
- Wheels next — the wheels touch earth. They stand for the turning of events among nations and people. Wheel inside wheel marks a control that stays hidden from us.
- Character shared — one spirit drives both. So events on earth take the character of the creatures above them, and go straight forward.
- Throne above — every instrument in the vision stands below the expanse. The One they serve is above it, and all their energy depends on His throne.
- Peace below — wherever the Spirit goes, the wheels go. So a believer can stop reading life as blind chance.
When those went, they went; and when those stood, they stood; and when those were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up along with them for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels.
Ezekiel was a prisoner far from home when he saw four living creatures with wheels beside them. The wheels never moved on their own, which raises the question every age asks: does history roll on by accident?
Wheels that move with a life inside them say one thing about the events of nations: they are not random, even when they look it.
It is the exact opposite of circumstances left to blind chance. On the contrary, whatever the upheavals or changes among people, everything is guided on purpose, and in the places you would least expect. The instruments of God's providential government were below the expanse. They agreed fully with what was above. Over this was the likeness of a throne, and above it all the likeness of a man carrying out judgment, yet with a sure pledge of mercy to an evil world.
The details of the wheels — their colour, their eyes, the wheel inside a wheel — each say something about how God governs the earth.
In Ezekiel these wheels are a symbol, linked with the living creatures of God's providential rule on earth. The Spirit was in the wheels. The wheels looked like beryl and were full of eyes. This pictures the controlled but intelligent motion of events. Wheels were within wheels, which mark the control of the events as mysterious and hidden.
One living power runs through the whole vision, and it comes from the throne.
Intelligence, strength, stability and swiftness in judgment all depended on the throne. So did the movement of the whole course of events on earth. This living energy drove the whole vision. The cherubim who support the throne are full of eyes, and this energy moved them. The wheels of God's government moved by the same spirit, and went straight forward. All was subservient to the will and purpose of Him who sat on the throne judging right. Majesty, government and providence united to form the throne of His glory. But all the instruments of His glory were below the expanse; He whom they glorified was above.
The chapter works in layers. The spirit inside the wheels drives from within. The voice and the figure seen higher up direct from above.
In that verse the Spirit seems to be the inward power in control of them. Then in verse 24 we read, "And when they went, I heard the sound of their wings like the sound of many waters, like the voice of the Almighty" — He was commanding them. Then verse 26 shows the One who had the administration in hand: "the appearance of a man above upon it." So while everything springs from God Himself, the administration is in Christ's hands, and the inward power that carries it out is the Spirit of God.
Kelly reads the wheels as a mark of where God's throne now stood, and he compares the scene with Revelation 4.
So the throne of God was no longer in Israel. The God of heaven saw fit to use the nations outside Israel, and He was about to do His will through them in punishing guilty Jerusalem. It is His throne from heaven, not yet His throne in heaven, as in Revelation 4, where we have no wheels, but six wings to each.
The vision is not only about nations. Anyone whose circumstances feel tangled can take it personally.
Do the times seem out of joint and the wheels always turning against them? Are they tempted to think, as those who do not know God think, that they are at the mercy of uncontrolled and fickle chance? Let such people remember that the Saviour is on the throne, above all the wings and wheels that puzzle them... He has not forgotten you, nor the apparent tangles in your life... He is above all circumstances, and controls all the wings and wheels that have their part in your life.
- Spirit — A living spirit is inside the wheels. Events on earth are driven, not drifting.
- Wheels — Full of eyes, and wheel within wheel. The motion is intelligent and controlled, yet how it works stays hidden.
- Accord — Creatures and wheels rise, stop and go together. All of it serves the will of the One on the throne.
- Throne — That throne judged Jerusalem from heaven, using nations outside Israel. The instruments were below; the God they glorified was above.
- Comfort — The Saviour on the throne controls the wheels that turn in your life. A tangle is never proof of blind chance.
And there was the likeness of an expanse over the heads of the living creature, as the look of the terrible crystal, stretched forth over their heads above.
Ezekiel is a captive in Babylon. He has been watching four living creatures and the wheels that move with them. Now he looks up, and sees a gleaming expanse stretched over their heads. What lies above that shining floor, and why does the sight of it fill him with awe?
The word Ezekiel uses is the ordinary word for the sky. A Bible dictionary explains it, and says what the creatures under it are doing:
The Hebrew word is raqia, meaning 'expanse.' It is used for the sky you see when you look up, and also for the air in which the birds fly... The living creatures in Ezekiel 1 move amid the firmament... showing them to be executors of God's judicial government.
The wheels and the creatures run under that covering. Their motion matches what is above it. Nothing below moves on its own:
It is the exact reverse of circumstances left to blind chance. On the contrary, whatever the revolutions or changes among men, all is knowingly guided where it might be least expected. The instruments of God's providential government, below the firmament or expanse, were completely in accord with what was above. Over this was the likeness of a throne. And above all was the likeness of a man carrying out judgment, though with the unfailing pledge of mercy to an evil world.
The creatures and the wheels are striking, but they hold up the throne; they do not sit on it. The expanse marks the line between the servants and their Master:
Intelligence, strength, stability, and swiftness in judgment all depended on the throne. So did the movement of the whole course of events on earth. This living energy animated the whole. The creatures who support the throne, full of eyes themselves, were moved by it. The wheels of God's government moved by the same spirit, and went straight forward. Everything served the will and purpose of Him who sat on the throne judging rightly. Majesty, government, and providence united to form the throne of His glory. But all the instruments of His glory were below the firmament; He whom they glorified was above. He is the One the pagan nations did not know.
Older translations call it "the terrible crystal"; the ESV calls it awe-inspiring. One writer sets this floor beside the sea of glass in heaven, and reads both as a picture of purity:
The "sea of glass like crystal" pictures fixed purity, in contrast with the sea of water in the court of the temple. On earth there was need of purifying; in heaven there is not. So the sea is no longer of water, but of crystal — that "terrible crystal," the spotless purity of holiness. Ezekiel saw the throne of God standing on it. (Ezek. 1:22, 26.)
Look up, and the creatures appear as servants. Stop below the expanse, and they become idols:
As soon as we look up there, the attitude of the living creatures makes us aware that they are themselves in deep subjection to the higher power above. Their harmony with one another turns out to be only the result of a common subjection to One who controls all... This is the plain meaning of the living creatures themselves. The monuments of Babylon show us that the pagan nations worshipped them in such forms, grotesque ones there. They saw only what was under the firmament. They could not see through to the Throne above it, and so they exchanged "the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things" (Rom. 1:23).
- Expanse. The word means a stretched-out space — the word for the sky. Here it is spread over the heads of the living creatures who carry out God's judicial government.
- Below. Under the expanse are the instruments, the creatures and the wheels. They move in full accord with what is above, so nothing among men is left to blind chance.
- Above. Over the expanse is a throne, and on it the likeness of a man carrying out judgment — with an unfailing pledge of mercy to an evil world. The instruments of His glory were below; He whom they glorified was above.
- Crystal. The awe-inspiring crystal speaks of fixed purity — the spotless holiness on which that throne stands. Heaven needs no water for washing, so its sea is glass.
- Look up. Look past the expanse and you see creatures in subjection to One who controls all. Stop below it, and you end up worshipping the creatures — as the monuments of Babylon show.
And under the expanse were their wings straight, the one toward the other every one had two which covered on this side, and every one had two which covered on that side their bodies.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
And when they went, I heard the noise of their wings, like the noise of great waters, as the voice of the Almighty, a tumultuous noise, as the noise of a host when they stood, they let down their wings;
Ezekiel was a prisoner far from home when he heard the living creatures move. He describes the roar of their wings three ways at once: water, the Almighty, an army. So whose voice is heard when these creatures move?
The sound reaches a man with no way out.
At the time of this vision, Ezekiel was in a very trying position. The children of Israel were in captivity and it appeared that all hope was gone for these prisoners of war. Yet it was just there, in those very circumstances, that God gave him this vision. Need we wonder that his name means "God strengthens"? In all our lives there are times when we, like Ezekiel, need a fresh impression of the greatness and glory of God.
The roar could sound like chaos. It is the opposite — and it starts and stops at a word.
As soon as we look up there, the posture of the living creatures tells us something. They are themselves in deep subjection to the higher power above them. Their harmony with one another shows only one thing: they are all in subjection to One who controls all… Now their wings sound like many waters. It is a waterfall of sound, and we soon realise it is the voice of the Almighty. The noise is that of a multitude, yet not disorderly. It is the sound of an army in ordered ranks… At His voice they move before Him, wrapped in their wings. At His voice they are stilled to complete rest, with their wings let down.
Translators have read the words "a sound of tumult" in several ways.
For Ezekiel 1:24, Fuerst gives "voice of speech" and "sound of a multitude"; Henderson gives "tumult"; Rosenmüller gives "falling rain." The same word occurs in Jeremiah 11:16, where it is translated "tumult."
The sound is compared to the voice of the Almighty. That title has a long history, and its exact sense is disputed.
Scholars do not agree where the word shaddai comes from, or what it means. Some give it as 'all bountiful,' others 'all sufficient,' others 'all mighty,' and so on. This is no surprise. Any name of God must be above mere human learning or definition, yet it was the ground of faith to those who had the revelation. The name first occurs in Genesis 17:1, where God said to Abraham, "I am the Almighty God." This links it with the patriarchs: it is the name by which they knew God.
Verse 24 sits between two other statements in the chapter. Together they show who directs the movement. The writer uses an older translation: "voice of the Almighty" where the ESV has "sound."
Earlier in the chapter, the Spirit appears to be the power in control of them. Then in verse 24 we read, "And when they went, I heard the noise of their wings, like the noise of great waters, as the voice of the Almighty" — He was commanding them. Finally, verse 26 shows the One who had the administration in hand: "the appearance of a man above upon it." So while everything springs from God Himself, the administration is in the hands of Christ, and the Spirit of God is the power that brings it all about.
Scripture uses this picture more than once, and one writer follows it through to Christ. He calls the living creatures cherubim.
"And His voice was as the sound of many waters." This figure is a striking expression of majesty and power… In Ezekiel 1:24 the wings of the cherubim make a sound like "the noise of great waters, as the voice of the Almighty." Later comes this: "the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east, and His voice was like a noise of many waters" (Ezekiel 43:2). So a voice like the sound of many waters is a Scriptural figure of the glory and majesty of God. Christ, though man, now appears in that glory.
Ezekiel hears these wings again in chapter 10, and there the meaning is severe.
"And the sound of the cherubim's wings was heard even to the outer court, as the voice of the Almighty God when He speaks." The glory was departing, not coming to dwell there… The Lord is driven away — not by force, but by the wrongdoing and unfaithfulness of His own people. Ezekiel's prophecy is clear: He will return and dwell there. He will never leave His home again as long as the earth lasts.
- Where — God gave the vision to a captive with no way out, at the point where hope looked finished.
- What — the roar of the wings is like great waters. Scripture uses that picture for the majesty and power of God.
- Who — the sound is the voice of the Almighty, the name God first used with Abraham, and one scholars still debate.
- How — the noise is a multitude but not disorder: an army in ranks. At His voice they move; at His voice they stand still and let their wings down.
- Where it leads — the same sound goes with the glory as it leaves Jerusalem in chapter 10. Yet He has promised to return. And the voice like many waters now belongs to Christ in glory.
and there was a voice from above the expanse that was over their heads. When they stood, they let down their wings.
Ezekiel is watching a moving throne, carried by living creatures and wheels, far from the temple in Jerusalem. Now the whole vision halts to hear a voice from above the creatures — so whose voice is it, and why does all that power fall silent for it?
One dividing line runs through the whole vision. Everything that carries, moves, and executes is under the expanse; the One who speaks is over it.
All was under the control of the will and purpose of Him who sat on the throne and judged rightly. Majesty, government, and providence united to form the throne of His glory. But all the instruments of His glory were below the expanse; He whom they glorified was above it. He is the One the nations did not know.
What, then, is above the expanse? Ezekiel's account leads the eye up in stages.
Ezekiel does not see only the wheels, or the living creatures. Over their heads he sees the likeness of an expanse, with the look of terrifying crystal, stretched out above them. And above the likeness of the expanse itself there is the likeness of a throne. On the likeness of the throne there is something strange and wonderful to see: the appearance of a Man above upon it.
In the previous verse the wings made the sound. This voice does not come from them. The living creatures — the cherubim — never speak in Ezekiel's vision. Elsewhere in Scripture they do.
Then a voice spoke — not the voice of a cherub. In Revelation the cherubim speak; in Ezekiel they are silent.
The detail about lowering the wings is not decoration. It shows that these powerful creatures do not direct themselves. They move at a word and stop at a word. Their unity comes from listening to the same Person.
As soon as we look up there, the posture of the living creatures makes something clear. They are themselves in deep subjection to the higher power above them. They act in harmony with one another, and that harmony shows itself to be only the result of a common subjection to One who controls everything… Here they are in their place, and serving. At His voice they move, wrapped in their wings before Him. At His voice they are stilled to complete rest, with their wings let down.
The wheels on the ground and the throne above them are one connected machine.
It is the exact opposite of circumstances left to blind chance. On the contrary, whatever the upheavals or changes among men, everything is guided with full knowledge, right where you would least expect it. The instruments of the providential government, below the expanse, were in full accord with what was above. Over this was the likeness of a throne. Above all was the likeness of a man carrying out judgment, though with the unfailing pledge of mercy to an evil world.
The voice speaks from above a throne that no longer stands in Jerusalem's temple. This throne also differs from the one John later sees in Revelation 4.
So the throne of God was no longer in Israel. Instead, the God of heaven chose to use the Gentile nations to carry out His will in punishing guilty Jerusalem, and He was about to do it. It is His throne from heaven, not yet His throne in heaven. In Revelation 4 there are no wheels, but six wings to each… There the living creatures are in the circle of the throne and in its midst, no longer under it as in Ezekiel.
- Above. The voice comes from over the expanse. Every wheel, wing, and creature is below that line. Above it is a throne, and on the throne the likeness of a Man — the One the nations never knew.
- Silent. The creatures do not speak in this vision. The sound of their wings is one thing. The voice from above the expanse is another.
- Stilled. Lowered wings are the picture of subjection. They move at His voice and stop at His voice. Their agreement with each other comes only from obeying One.
- Steered. Because the throne is above, nothing underneath it is random. God guides the upheavals among nations, right where you would least expect it.
- Moved. This throne has wheels and is no longer in Israel. God judges guilty Jerusalem from it, and He still pledges mercy to the world.
And above the expanse that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone; and upon the likeness of the throne was a likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it.
Ezekiel is a captive in Chaldea, far from Jerusalem, when the heavens open. Above the expanse he sees a throne. On it sits a figure with a human form. It raises two questions. Why is God's throne so far from Jerusalem? And why does the figure above it look like a man?
The place of the throne matters as much as the sight of it. It stands over Chaldea, not over Jerusalem, and from it God judges His own people.
This throne of the supreme and sovereign Lord God is seen in Chaldea — in the place where the prophet then was — among the Gentiles. It is no longer seen at Jerusalem in connection with the land... So the voice of God speaks to Ezekiel as to a "son of man." That title suited the testimony of a God who now spoke from outside His people. He was no longer among them. Instead He was judging them from the throne of His sovereignty. It is Christ's own title, seen as rejected and outside of Israel. Yet He never stops thinking of the blessing of the people in grace.
The stone named here is not a random jewel. Its name carries a meaning that points to the sky itself as God's seat of rule.
First, however, as to the throne: it is as the appearance of a sapphire stone... And when we hear God's own voice claiming the heavens as His throne, how suited is the likeness of a sapphire stone! The word comes from one (saphar) which means "to number," and so "to tell, declare." It is the same word used when Scripture says that "the heavens declare the glory of God" (Ps. 19:1). This sapphire throne, then, is a picture of the starry vault. The vision of God upon Mount Sinai shows it in the same way (Ex. 24:10).
The prophet lifts his eyes to the throne above the expanse. What he finds there is new in Scripture. (The writers quote an older translation of this verse; the ESV reads "a likeness with a human appearance.")
How striking it is, when we lift up our eyes with the prophet to that awesome throne above the expanse, to find there too (Ezek. 1:26) "the likeness of the appearance of a Man"! It is the first time in Scripture that we find even the "appearance" there.
The vision points to judgment. The human form above the throne tells us who will carry it out.
Here also, how beautiful it is to see that on the heavenly throne is the "appearance of a man" (Ezek. 1:26). The Lord Himself tells us that the Father "has given Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man" (John 5:27). It is by a Man that man is to be judged. He is One who knows everything that belongs to man. He was no stranger to a path of obedience, in every condition the fall brought in... Ezekiel is but the mere shadow of such an One in whose hands judgment is safe, and the divine pity shines all through it.
Ezekiel saw only a resemblance. Later Scripture shows that resemblance taking permanent shape in a real, risen Man.
In the last place I mentioned, Ezekiel, His likeness is "the appearance of a man." From now on, however, this Glory, this Angel-Jehovah, takes the form and character of man. It is the risen Son of man who is now carried up to His place on high. It is not just "the appearance of a man." He is One whose manhood is assured and proved. As such He now ascends. The glory has taken His abiding form.
Ezekiel's response to the vision was to fall on his face. The same throne, once we know who sits on it, invites the opposite.
When Ezekiel saw it in vision there was "the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it" (Ezek. 1:26), yet he had no boldness but rather fell upon his face. At best his vision only pointed forward to what our own day would see fulfilled. Thank God it is now realized, but do we realize it? The Son of God sits on the throne, but it is the Son of God in true and tender and sympathetic Manhood. Realizing this, all fear vanishes and we draw near with boldness.
- Throne — God's throne appears in Chaldea, outside Jerusalem. He no longer dwells among His people; He judges them from the seat of His sovereignty.
- Sapphire — the stone pictures the starry heavens that "declare the glory of God." The same throne appeared in the vision at Sinai.
- Man — a human likeness sits above that throne, the first time Scripture places even the appearance of a man there.
- Judgment — the Father gives the Son of Man authority to judge, so One who knows man judges man, and pity runs through the vision.
- Boldness — Ezekiel fell on his face before a likeness. Those who know the Man now on that throne draw near without fear.
And I saw as the look of glowing brass, as the appearance of fire, within it round about; from the appearance of his loins and upward, and from the appearance of his loins and downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about.
Ezekiel is a captive in Babylon. The heavens open, and he sees a storm sweep out of the north, carrying a throne. This verse describes the figure on that throne. Above the waist he sees gleaming metal. Below it he sees fire. Brightness surrounds the whole figure.
Fire fills this verse. Scripture uses fire with one settled meaning. One writer traces it through the Bible and ends at Ezekiel's vision:
Fire, then, is a symbol of God's judgment... The angel of the Lord appeared to Moses "in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush" (Ex. 3:2)... When God gave them the law, He descended upon Sinai in fire (Ex. 19:18)... In Ezekiel, the prophet saw the glory of the Lord in connection with the fire (Ezek. 1:4, 27). "The Lord your God is a consuming fire" (Deut. 4:24).
Older translations call this "amber." A study of the Hebrew word points somewhere else:
This probably does not refer to the mineral we now call amber, which carries a strong electric charge, as its Greek and Latin names show — elektron, electrum. It refers instead to a mixed metal. Ancient writers described it as four parts gold and one part silver. The Hebrew word is chashmal. It is linked with fire, and points to its colour and brightness. Ezek. 1:4, 27; Ezek. 8:2.
The verse splits the description in two, upward and downward. One writer reads the split as the difference between who the Person is and what He does:
From the waist upward this appears in the fire — the glory of the Person who is revealed there. From the waist downward it is more His acts that are in view. There it is more the pure fire, but with a brightness all around, showing the colours of the rainbow of promise, for the work of righteousness carried out is peace.
So the vision holds two things together: who He is, and what He does.
The fire is not shapeless. It surrounds a figure with the appearance of a man. One writer marks how new that is, quoting verse 26 from an older translation:
The judgment is, of course, God's judgment. So how striking it is, when we lift up our eyes with the prophet to that awesome throne above the expanse, to find there too (Ezek. 1:26) "the likeness of the appearance of a Man"! This is the first time in Scripture that we find even the "appearance" there.
The verse ends in brightness all around the figure. One writer sets the whole scene in order: the moving instruments below, the throne above them, and mercy alongside the judgment:
The instruments of God's providential rule, below the expanse, were in full agreement with what was above. Over this was the likeness of a throne. And above it all was the likeness of a man carrying out judgment, yet with the unfailing pledge of mercy to an evil world.
The storm in this vision had a history behind it. One writer names that history, and then names what the sight of the throne gave the prophet:
The wind that "came out of the north" points to the invasion by Nebuchadnezzar. It led to the captivity of God's people and the carrying away of the holy vessels of the sanctuary. From the outside it looked as if God had been defeated. This was in some ways a national disaster, but the priest has the privilege of seeing from the inside what was really happening under the hand of God. Verse 27 shows us that above all circumstances is a blessed Man!
- Above the storm — the storm out of the north looked like the end of everything. Yet a throne rides above it, and this verse describes the One on that throne.
- Above as fire — fire is Scripture's steady symbol of God's judgment, from the burning bush to Sinai. Here it fills the figure on the throne.
- Above as brightness — the word behind "gleaming metal" is chashmal. It is not our amber but a mix of gold and silver, linked with fire for its colour and brightness.
- Above as a Man — for the first time in Scripture, the throne of judgment shows the appearance of a Man.
- Above all circumstances — the brightness all around the figure is an unfailing pledge of mercy. The captive who sees it stops reading his ruin as God's defeat.
As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of Jehovah. And when I saw, I fell on my face, and I heard a voice of one that spoke.
Ezekiel is far from Jerusalem when the heavens open. The vision ends in words that hold back — an appearance, of a likeness, of glory — and in a rainbow around a throne set for judgment.
The wording refuses to give a portrait. One writer sets this verse beside other times people saw God:
Ezekiel saw "the likeness of the glory of the LORD" (Ezek. 1:28). John, on the island of Patmos, saw One seated on the throne who had "the appearance of jasper and carnelian" (Rev. 4:3). In the same way Moses and those with him saw God shown to them. Notice that the account never tries to describe Him.
One writer explains why a vision like this must speak in symbols:
The glory of Jehovah is revealed, but it has to be revealed in symbols. In fact every vision of divine glory must be, apart from "Christ come in flesh." How wonderful, then, to have the deepest revelation here, in the sweet and tender speech of Him who has become Man to bring it to us!
God's throne is not shown where Israel expected it:
Ezekiel 1 opens with Ezekiel seeing a vision of God's throne. It is not seen in Jerusalem now, as it once was, but outside the city and with no connection to it… This is clearly the universal sovereign throne of God, shown here in relation to the nations. From that throne He judges the people He had owned as His own until then. He is no longer among them.
At the top of the vision is a human figure. One writer asks what that figure means for us now:
Above them was the likeness of a throne. On the throne was the likeness of a man, and the man was in the middle of the divine glory… No doubt this whole chapter teaches us how God keeps His glory safe, and shows the divine principles that always order His government. But do we not also see, in a hidden way, that the divine glory is secure in the Man in heaven who now sits on the throne of God?
The bow appears just as Jerusalem is about to be given up:
When Ezekiel watched God about to give Jerusalem up to ruin, he saw "the bow that is in the cloud on the day of rain." So God shows that in judgment He remembers the covenant He has made with the earth.
One writer follows the bow as the glory leaves Zion:
When the throne of the Lord leaves Zion, and the most holy place loses the glory… we see the throne and the glory carrying the rainbow with them. The Lord leaves the earth as the scene of His power and praise for a time, but He still keeps it in mind… He has thrown the very pledge of the earth's safety around His throne on high. The earth no longer holds that throne and cannot see it, yet that throne sees the earth and remembers it.
Ezekiel does not admire the vision. His body reports his condition:
He has no sense of any right to be there. He falls down on his face. He cannot stand, and there is no place for him to stand on. So his falling on his face only expresses his moral standing, his true condition.
The verse ends with a voice. One writer explains why God will not speak to a man lying in the dust:
God takes account of how weak His instrument is, and that weakness calls out Jehovah's might to hold him up. We see it at the very start here: "Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak with you." And more than that, the Spirit enters into him to make him stand. He cannot even listen to the message while he lies face down. That condition may rightly express that the creature is nothing in the presence of God, but it cannot express God's grace towards him. We see this all through the history of the prophets, in Daniel, and again in John the beloved. God cannot speak His thoughts to one lying in the dust before Him.
- Throne — God's throne appears outside Jerusalem, judging the people He once owned.
- Bow — around that throne is the sign of the covenant; God remembers the earth at the very moment He gives the city up.
- Man — at the top of the vision sits a human figure, and the glory is safe there, in the Man now on the throne.
- Face — seeing it, Ezekiel falls flat; he has no ground to stand on, and his posture tells the truth about him.
- Voice — God will not speak to a man in the dust; the voice tells him to stand, and the Spirit makes him stand.