Ezekiel’s
First Spiritual Vision
God
opened up the heavens for Ezekiel to reveal the spiritual realm
similar to what He did for the Apostle John in Revelation. Everything
in Ezekiel’s vision was living and active. Ezekiel
is seeing a vision of the spiritual realm before Jesus came to earth
as Man. God is showing His prophet what is to come! Ezekiel saw a
“windstorm – an
immense cloud with flashing lightning and surrounded by brilliant
light. The center of the fire looked like glowing metal, and in the
fire was what looked like four living beings. In appearance their
form was human, but each of them had four faces and four wings.”
vv2-6 These living,
spiritual beings had the form of humans but were also spiritual and
had the four faces of the offices Jesus carries. Most of us know that
the wind symbolizes the Holy Spirit. The cloud with flashing
lightning, brilliant light and fire is God's glory. Flashing
lightning is the power of the quickening Word of God that brings
light and/or judgment, and is quickened to our spirits.The brilliant
Light symbolizes the Light of the world. In the “natural,” clouds
move by the power of the wind. In the “supernatural,” the glory
and fire of God moves by the power of the wind (ruach)
of the Holy Spirit. God
is both a Light (Illuminator)
and Fire (Eliminator
of Sin and Judgment). God,
the Light (Jesus) and
the wind (Holy Spirit)
operate in perfect harmony and agreement.
The
spiritual beings in Ezekiel’s vision are messengers or agents of
God who are in the image and likeness of Jesus and are the Divine
chariot of God -- the carriers of God‘s Word and will. Holiness
and the cherubim are connected. These cherubim declare the “Man”
on the throne's holiness, transcendence and glory. They guard the
holiness of God's throne. In the Older Testament, the Israelites were
the agents of God on earth. When Christ came to earth and established
the New Covenant, those who love and follow Him no matter what race,
tribe, nation or gender become God’s divine living agents.
The
appearance of the living beings was like burning coals of fire or
like torches.” In
other words, fire and light. “Fire
moved back and forth among the living beings; it was bright and
lightning flashed out of it. The living beings sped back and forth
like flashes of lightning.” vv13 -14 They
went quickly to and fro to do God’s will. Fire and light were quick
and active among these four living beings. The pillar of fire and
light led the Israelites through the wilderness in route to God's
Promised Land showing God’s people the way to go. The Anointed Word
of God is living, active and powerful – a quickening Word full of
fire and light -- because Jesus is the Word of God -- all Truth.
Both the written and the Living Word are full of light and fire that
lead and guide us and also burn sin out of us so we walk in the glory
and light of Jesus Christ. Those who love and follow Jesus are the
light of the world by reflecting His Light, just as Jesus reflects
the Father's light.
The
prophet Daniel also had a dream where he saw the throne of the
Ancient of Days. Daniel said, “His
throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze. Daniel
7:9
God’s
throne is one that glows and moves. Our hearts and lives are to be
the living, moving throne of God on earth.
These
living, moving beings in Ezekiel's vision went “straight
ahead. Wherever the Spirit would go, they would go, without turning
as they went.” Ezekiel 1 In
other words, they went the straight way (the
way of holiness) led
by the Holy Spirit—not turning to the right or to the left. These
living creatures went one way. They had one way, one purpose and one
direction and will.
These
living, moving beings had four faces. Each of these faces are in
Christ– the face of a Man (Luke); the face of a Lion
(Matthew); the face of an Ox (Mark) and the face of an
Eagle (John). They were like Jesus -- in His image and
likeness. The Lord was giving Ezekiel a vision of Jesus and His Body
which would eventually become a reality in the four gospels. Ezekiel
is trying to describe the indescribable! I doubt that Ezekiel fully
knew the meaning of what He was seeing.
Let's
take a closer look at these living beings and how they reveal Christ
and His Body.
Four
Faces
As I noted above, these living spiritual beings had four faces -- one of a lion, an ox, a man and an eagle. Jesus is the Perfect Man; the Lion as Perfect King over all the universe; the Ox as the Perfect Servant and Burden-bearer; and the Perfect Eagle with perfect spiritual vision who soars higher than all the others as the Son of God. The four Gospels of Jesus Christ reveal Jesus in these four offices of His Divine nature. As His Body, we are to be like Him as we carry out His work on earth. Jesus makes us kings and priests. We are to also be His servants and bear the burdens of others with them. He will give us spiritual vision as we seek Him and study His Word.
The
face of Man is on the right side -- the place of power and authority.
Jesus who came to earth as Man, is seated at the right hand of the
Father in power, authority and great glory. He has given mankind the
same power, authority and glory as they walk with Him leading and
guiding them.
Body
These living, moving beings had the form of man, but they had these four faces. Jesus came in the fashion of a Man and is the perfection of these four faces. He and the Holy Spirit are shaping and forming us as His servants, His priests, His kings and His eagles. Although we have a flesh body, Jesus wants us to put on these four offices through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Wings
These living beings also had four wings to carry out God's will over the four corners of the earth, as well as guard against any evil or sinful entity from God's throne. Nothing unholy is to come into the holy presence of God. Four is the number of creation. Jesus came to do the Father's will on earth. His earthly journey produced the four spiritual gospels that are to be carried to the whole world through His followers by the power of the Holy Spirit. David in the psalms often spoke about being under the shadow of God’s wings. And Psalms 18:10 says that God rides on a cherub and flies on the wings of the wind. These living beings, later revealed as cherubim in Ezekiel 10, are God’s wings. They are the carriers of the Divine Spirit. On earth, followers of Jesus are the carriers of the Divine Word and Holy Spirit in all the earth.
The
wings of each of these living beings “touched
the wings of another.” In
other words, they were connected as one and they traveled as one.
They went straight ahead not turning as they moved. There was no
turning back! They are moving forward to carry out the will of God
over the four corners of the earth. Although there were four faces,
they moved as one united body. The four gospels of Jesus touch each
other and are one in Him. The Body of Christ who now carries the Good
News of Jesus Christ to the world are to be connected as one being
also, reflecting Jesus and His four faces as we bring the message of
Jesus to the four corners of the earth.
They each
had two wings spreading out upward...v11 These
two wings of each of the four reached out to each other as one and up
to heaven in reverence and faith as one. 2 x 4 = 8 – the number of
a new beginning and the eternal number. The Body of Christ is to
reach up our hands to heaven in reverence and faith as one Body and
are to operate as one as we do His kingdom work.
Jesus
is our new beginning and gives us eternal life.
Each
had two other wings covering its body. The
two wings that cover the Body of Christ are grace and truth which are
revealed in the two testaments of the Word of God. Both testaments
testify of Jesus. “In Him (Jesus), we live and move and
have our being.” Acts 17:28 They
had two wings upward to God and two downward covering their bodies.
It is grace and truth that take us higher into the spiritual realm
with Jesus. These living beings in Ezekiel’s vision were the bridge
between heaven and earth, just as Jesus is the bridge between heaven
and earth. His true followers are to also be the bridge between
heaven and earth for others.
Ezekiel
goes on to say that the “the
sound of their wings” was
“like the roar of
rushing waters, like the voice of the Almighty, like the tumult of an
army.” The power of the
sound of their wings moving was like the sound of the roar of rushing
waters (powerful Anointed
Word). This sound
was like the voice of the
Almighty and the onslaught of a mighty army. Believers are carriers
of the Word and Spirit of God. When we are united in Spirit and in
Truth, we are the voice of Almighty God and a mighty spiritual army
that will defeat the enemy of the souls of people.
Under
their wings, these living beings had the hands of a man. Jesus came
as a Man to carry the Good News to all creation. Those who believe in
Him are to also serve (hands)
Him and carry the Gospel
of Jesus Christ to the world through our actions, words and deeds.
We
are to be His hands, feet and heart to the world.
Legs
Their
legs were straight (upright).
In other words, these
living, moving beings were like pillars in the Heavenly Home of God.
Jesus walks in righteousness, and the four gospels reveal His
righteousness in His Incarnate form. The two pillars that uphold His
House are grace and truth. Jesus wants believers to also walk
uprightly filled with grace and truth.
When
Solomon built the temple according to the father’s instruction, he
put two pillars at the entrance. The one on the right he named
“Jachin” which means “He shall establish.” The one on the
left was named “Boaz” which means “fleetness.” Fleetness is
rapidity
in motion.
Jesus will establish the temple in the hearts of His followers
through His grace and His quickened Word anointed by the Holy Spirit.
It is interesting to note that both Jews and Gentiles worked on
building Solomon’s temple. Solomon went to Tyre (gentile
territory) to
get Huram and his skilled workers to make the vessels and utensils
for the temple. Huram had both Jewish and Gentile blood. His mother
was a widow from the tribe of Naphtali, and His father was from Tyre.
Throughout the Older Testament scriptures, God used both Jews and
Gentiles to paint a picture of His Kingdom in Christ. Jesus today is
establishing His temple in the hearts of both Jews and Gentiles!
Feet
The
feet of these living beings were like those of a calf -- split hoof
--and like burnished bronze. Bronze is the metal of sacrifice and
judgment. Keep in mind that God says that the Word is double-edged
(Hebrews 4:12), so
it can speak of God’s grace or God’s judgment. The animal
sacrifices in the dwelling places of God in the Older Testament were
offered on the Brazen (Bronze)
Altar -- the altar of
shed blood and sacrifice. As Christ offered Himself a living, perfect
and complete sacrifice for sin, Jesus wants us to willingly offer our
lives sacrificially in service to Him and His Kingdom. The feet of
these living beings faced downward toward earth but their wings
reached upward toward heaven. Christ’s followers are to seek and
save the lost on earth walking by faith in God and worshiping Him.
Since Jesus left earth to return to the Father in heaven, Christ and
the Holy Spirit in us now bridge the gap between heaven and earth.
Jesus
quoted Psalm 110:1 in Matthew to show that He is the
fulfillment of this scripture. “The Lord said to my Lord: ‘Sit
at My right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.’” Mt.
22:44 Jesus said this to also prove that He is God to those who
were questioning Him. And Matthew 5:35 says that the
earth is Jesus’ footstool. The earth was also under the feet of
these cherubim who are a picture of Jesus and His Body. We are to put
the devil who is the prince of the world under our feet. The right
hand of the Father is the place reserved for Jesus alone. The writer
of the Book of Hebrews said in 1:13, “To which of the angels did
God ever say, ‘Sit at My right hand until I make your enemies a
footstool for your feet’?” Only Jesus can sit at the right
hand of the Father because He is God’s only begotten Son who has
all power and authority given Him by the Father.
God's
people could eat the flesh of any animal with a split hoof who chews
the cud. These were considered clean and edible in God's eyes. A calf
is the young of a domestic (tame) animal.
Jesus walked according to God's will and the two testaments in
purity and in faith. Because Jesus is the only “clean” (sinless)
One to walk the earth, He tells us that we are to eat His flesh
and drink His blood in remembrance of all that He has done for us. We
are to also walk according to the “split” Word that becomes One
Word in Christ. It is walking according to the Word of God that makes
our way straight.
Activity is not a substitute for
holiness.
(Next week: Spirit-led)
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