Part 2 God's Throne and the Four Living Creatures

“Just as the Holy Spirit caused Mary to conceive,

so the Holy Spirit can impregnate us with the living Word.”
David Yonggi Cho - Prayer that Brings Revival (P25)

Part 2 God's Throne and the Four Living Creatures


Ezekiel’s Vision of God: Ezekiel 1

1 Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year,
in the fourth month,
on the fifth day of the month,
as I was among the captives by the River Chebar,

Chebar =[force of strength]
Chebar—the same as Chabor or Habor,
where the ten tribes had been transported
by Tiglath-pileser and Shalmaneser
(2Kings 17:6; 1Chronicles 5:26).

A river now called Giulap,
arising out of the mountain Masius,
and falling into Euphrates,
somewhat below a city called by the same name.

that the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God.

It seems apparent that God had specific reason
for appointing Ezekiel as his Prophet.
For thirty-five years Jeremiah
had not ceased to cry aloud, but to little purpose,
as the people of Judah had rejected his warnings.
The calling of the Prophet Ezekiel was at least in part
due to the fact that God
wished to give Jeremiah a co-worker.
At Jerusalem Jeremiah became aware that the Holy Spirit
was speaking through another mouth in harmony with himself;
for by this means the truth of his teaching was confirmed.
(Jeremiah 1:2:)

2 On the fifth day of the month,
which was in the fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity,

Jehoiachin = [preparation, or strength, of the Lord]
Who is also called Jechoniah, and Coniah
He was the last direct heir to the Jewish crown.
He was carried captive to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar
After an imprisonment of thirty-seven years (Jeremiah 52:31ff),
he was liberated by Evil-merodach,
and permitted to occupy a place in the king's household.
Ruled from 597 to 597BC.
Jehoiachin's captivity—In the third or fourth year of Jehoiakim,
father of Jehoiachin,
the first carrying away of Jewish captives to Babylon took place,
and among them was Daniel.

The second was under Jehoiachin,
when Ezekiel was carried away.
The third and final one was
at the taking of Jerusalem under Zedekiah.

3 the word of the LORD came expressly to Ezekiel the priest,

word = What was visions, verse one, is here the word,
both as signifying and declaring
the mind of God, what he would do,
and as continuing his commands
to Ezekiel and to the people.
Ezekiel = [the strength of God]
Expressly = hâyâh (haw-yaw') to exist,
that is, be or become, come to pass
LORD= YHWH Yahweh – [Self Existent One]

the son of Buzi,
Buzi = [my contempt]

in the land of the Chaldeans
Chaldeans = (kăl-dē'ən)
[Babylonians - confusion, mixture]

by the River Chebar;
Chebar =[force of strength]
[see above]

and the hand of the LORD was upon him there.

the hand = He felt the power of God
opening his eyes to see the visions,
opening his ear to hear the voice,
and his heart to receive both.
When the hand of the Lord
goes along with his word,
then it becomes effectual.
LORD= YHWH Yahweh – [Self Existent One]

Many contend that the Holy Spirit’s ministry to men
Was different in Old Testament times than it is now,
They note that in O.T times the Spirit fell on men,
while in N.T. times the Spirit abides in men.
The effect was the same-
men received revelation of the truth

4 Then I looked,
and behold, a whirlwind was coming out of the north,

“the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind”
Job 38:1
whirlwind—emblematic of God's judgments see:
(Jeremiah 23:19; 25:32).

Ezekiel says, behold! a whirlwind came out of the north
Symbolizing; God’s authority, power and judgment
as well as the use of the nation of Chaldea
(Chaldea [kal-de'-a] is the name of the whole of Babylonia)
which was geographically north of Judah
The people had already experienced the vengeance of God,
as he had used first the Assyrians
and then the Babylonians to chastise them.

a great cloud with raging fire engulfing itself;

fire = An orb or wheel of fire:
God being his own cause,
his own rule, and his own end
it requires no fuel as a source.
Much as the burning bush of on Mt. Horeb
There The Angel Of The Lord
appeared to Moses in flames of fire from within a bush.
He saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up.
Exodus3:1-3
fire engulfing itself—laying hold on whatever surrounds it,
drawing it to itself, and devouring it.
Literally, "catching itself," that is, kindling itself.
The same Hebrew occurs in Exodus 9:24,
as to the "fire mingled with the hail."

and brightness was all around it
and radiating out of its midst like the color of amber,

amber or chashmal (khash mal’) =
The color amber is only found
in the KJV book of Ezekiel.

Its use demonstrates God's overbearingly
bright and immediate presence.
the brightness
(literally, 'the eye', and so the glancing appearance)
of polished brass.
The Hebrew, ‘chasmal’, is from two roots,
"smooth" and "brass" (compare Ezekiel 1:7; Revelation 1:15)

out of the midst of the fire.

We should consider the intention of this Vision.
It would seem that God wished
first to invest his servant with authority,
and then to inspire the people with terror.
The Prophet’s duty lay
among a hard-hearted and rebellious people;
their arrogance required them
to be subdued and corrected,
for otherwise the Prophet
might as well have spoken to the deaf.
Ezekiel therefore notes,
that he saw a stormy wind from the north
This rush of the wind may well symbolize
the judgment of God:
for he wished to strike terror into the Jews,
that they should not continue
to be apathetic toward Him
in their false sense of security.
After he has spoken concerning the storm or tempest,
he adds — I saw four living creatures
and four wheels connected together,
to signify that their motion
had not originated from chance but from God.

These two things ought to be joined together,
viz.: that the storm sprang up out of the north,
and that God, the author of the storm,
was beheld upon his throne.

End Part 2

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