"We are half-hearted creatures like an ignorant child
who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum
because he cannot imagine what is meant by
the offer of a holiday at the sea.
We are far too easily pleased."
(Clive Staples) C. S. Lewis
(Clive Staples) C. S. Lewis
Part 5 God's Throne and the Four Living Creatures:
11 Thus were their faces. Their wings stretched upward;
two wings of each one touched one another,
and two covered their bodies.
two wings of each one touched one another,
and two covered their bodies.
The tips of the two outstretched wings
reached to one another denoting unity,
while the other two,
in token of humble awe,
formed a veil for the lower parts of the body.
12 And each one went straight forward;
they went wherever the spirit wanted to go,
and they did not turn when they went.
13 As for the likeness of the living creatures,
their appearance was like burning coals of fire,
coals of fire—denoting the intensely pure and burning justice
wherewith God punishes by His angels
those who, like Israel, have hardened themselves
against His long-suffering and continual wooing
for them to repent and be restored in fellowship with God.
“I will be their God,
they will be my people
and I will dwell among them”
has been God’s continual cry
(see Exodus 29:46; 1 Kings 6:13; Jeremiah 7:23;
Ezekiel 11:20 & 2 Corinthians 6:16)
So in Isaiah 6:2, 6, instead of cherubim,
the name "seraphim," the burning ones,
is applied, indicating God's consuming righteousness;
therefore their cry to Him is, "Holy! holy! holy!"
and the burning coal is applied to his lips,
for the message through his mouth
was to be one of judicial severance
of the godly from the ungodly,
to the ruin of the latter.
like the appearance of torches
going back and forth among the living creatures.
Ezekiel saw something that looked like torches
or burning coals of fire,
as if coming from the bodies
of the living beings themselves.
In apocalyptic literature,
Fire frequently symbolizes God’s judgment
(see Psalm 18:8; 50:3).
8 Smoke went up from His nostrils,
And devouring fire from His mouth;
Coals were kindled by it.
Psalm 18:8 NKJV
3 Our God shall come, and shall not keep silent;
A fire shall devour before Him,
And it shall be very tempestuous all around Him.
Psalm 50:3 NKJV
This image seems to demonstrate
that His judgment is quick and decisive,
covering all the earth.
Not only was lightning flashing from the coals of fire,
but the torches ran back and forth.
This symbol of power
was found among these creatures.
reached to one another denoting unity,
while the other two,
in token of humble awe,
formed a veil for the lower parts of the body.
12 And each one went straight forward;
they went wherever the spirit wanted to go,
and they did not turn when they went.
13 As for the likeness of the living creatures,
their appearance was like burning coals of fire,
coals of fire—denoting the intensely pure and burning justice
wherewith God punishes by His angels
those who, like Israel, have hardened themselves
against His long-suffering and continual wooing
for them to repent and be restored in fellowship with God.
“I will be their God,
they will be my people
and I will dwell among them”
has been God’s continual cry
(see Exodus 29:46; 1 Kings 6:13; Jeremiah 7:23;
Ezekiel 11:20 & 2 Corinthians 6:16)
So in Isaiah 6:2, 6, instead of cherubim,
the name "seraphim," the burning ones,
is applied, indicating God's consuming righteousness;
therefore their cry to Him is, "Holy! holy! holy!"
and the burning coal is applied to his lips,
for the message through his mouth
was to be one of judicial severance
of the godly from the ungodly,
to the ruin of the latter.
like the appearance of torches
going back and forth among the living creatures.
Ezekiel saw something that looked like torches
or burning coals of fire,
as if coming from the bodies
of the living beings themselves.
In apocalyptic literature,
Fire frequently symbolizes God’s judgment
(see Psalm 18:8; 50:3).
8 Smoke went up from His nostrils,
And devouring fire from His mouth;
Coals were kindled by it.
Psalm 18:8 NKJV
3 Our God shall come, and shall not keep silent;
A fire shall devour before Him,
And it shall be very tempestuous all around Him.
Psalm 50:3 NKJV
This image seems to demonstrate
that His judgment is quick and decisive,
covering all the earth.
Not only was lightning flashing from the coals of fire,
but the torches ran back and forth.
This symbol of power
was found among these creatures.
The fire was bright, and out of the fire went lightning.
out of the fire … lightning—God's righteousness
will at last cause the bolt of His wrath
to fall on the guilty;
as now, on Jerusalem.
14 And the living creatures ran back and forth,
in appearance like a flash of lightning.
went back and forth
—expressing the marvelous vigor of God's Spirit,
in all His movements never resting, never wearied.
Incessant, restless motion indicates
the plenitude of life in these cherubim;
so in Revelation 4:8,
"they rest not day or night"
15 Now as I looked at the living creatures,
behold, a wheel was on the earth
beside each living creature with its four faces.
The cherubim and their wings and wheels
stood in contrast to the symbolical figures,
somewhat similar, then existing in Chaldea,
and found in the remains of Assyria.
The latter, though derived
from the original revelation by tradition, came by corruption
to symbolize the astronomical zodiac,
or the sun and celestial sphere,
by a circle with wings or irradiations.
But Ezekiel's cherubim rise above natural objects,
the gods of the heathen,
to the representation of the one true God,
who made and continually upholds them.
out of the fire … lightning—God's righteousness
will at last cause the bolt of His wrath
to fall on the guilty;
as now, on Jerusalem.
14 And the living creatures ran back and forth,
in appearance like a flash of lightning.
went back and forth
—expressing the marvelous vigor of God's Spirit,
in all His movements never resting, never wearied.
Incessant, restless motion indicates
the plenitude of life in these cherubim;
so in Revelation 4:8,
"they rest not day or night"
15 Now as I looked at the living creatures,
behold, a wheel was on the earth
beside each living creature with its four faces.
The cherubim and their wings and wheels
stood in contrast to the symbolical figures,
somewhat similar, then existing in Chaldea,
and found in the remains of Assyria.
The latter, though derived
from the original revelation by tradition, came by corruption
to symbolize the astronomical zodiac,
or the sun and celestial sphere,
by a circle with wings or irradiations.
But Ezekiel's cherubim rise above natural objects,
the gods of the heathen,
to the representation of the one true God,
who made and continually upholds them.
16 The appearance of the wheels and their workings
was like the color of beryl,
beryl—rather, "the glancing appearance of the Tarshish stone";
the chrysolite or topaz, brought from Tarshish or Tartessus in Spain.
It was one of the gems in the breastplate of the high priest
(Exodus 28:20; Song of Solomon 5:14; Daniel 10:6).
and all four had the same likeness.
four had one likeness—The similarity of the wheels to one another
implies that there is no inequality in all God's works,
that all have a beautiful analogy and proportion.
The wheels are the second part of the vision.
was like the color of beryl,
beryl—rather, "the glancing appearance of the Tarshish stone";
the chrysolite or topaz, brought from Tarshish or Tartessus in Spain.
It was one of the gems in the breastplate of the high priest
(Exodus 28:20; Song of Solomon 5:14; Daniel 10:6).
and all four had the same likeness.
four had one likeness—The similarity of the wheels to one another
implies that there is no inequality in all God's works,
that all have a beautiful analogy and proportion.
The wheels are the second part of the vision.
Translating the description is challenging.
The Hebrew term (tharshish) has been suggested
to mean sparkling beryl
(v. 16), chrysolite, yellow jasper, or topaz.
It is important to remember
that the wheels are symbolic
and are not necessarily meant
to be interpreted literally.
The wheels may well represent
the idea of the activity of God
or His movement.
The Jews in Babylonia
perhaps did not believe
that God could come to them there.
The idea existed in the ancient world,
and in many Jewish people’s minds,
that God was confined
to one geographical location.
The Hebrew term (tharshish) has been suggested
to mean sparkling beryl
(v. 16), chrysolite, yellow jasper, or topaz.
It is important to remember
that the wheels are symbolic
and are not necessarily meant
to be interpreted literally.
The wheels may well represent
the idea of the activity of God
or His movement.
The Jews in Babylonia
perhaps did not believe
that God could come to them there.
The idea existed in the ancient world,
and in many Jewish people’s minds,
that God was confined
to one geographical location.
End Part 5
30
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