"It was the Lord who put into my mind
(I could feel His hand upon me)
that fact that it would be possible to sail from here to the Indies.
All who heard of my project rejected it with laughter, ridiculing me.
There is no question that the inspiration was from the Holy Spirit,
because He comforted me with rays of marvelous inspiration from the Holy Scriptures."
Christopher Columbus
Part 6 - God's Throne and the Four Living Creatures:
23Now the servants of the king of Aram said to him,
"Their gods are gods of the mountains,
therefore they were stronger than we;
but rather let us fight against them in the plain,
and surely we will be stronger than they.
28Then a man of God came near
and spoke to the king of Israel and said,
"Thus says the LORD, 'Because the Arameans have said,
"The LORD is a god of the mountains,
but He is not a god of the valleys,"
therefore I will give
all this great multitude into your hand,
and you shall know that I am the LORD.'"
1 Kings 20:23, 28 NASB
They may have believed that He
Was limited to the area surrounding Jerusalem
and therefore could not be with them in Babylonia.
These wheels show otherwise.
The omnipresence of God
is being described in apocalyptic terms.
The appearance of their workings was, as it were,
a wheel in the middle of a wheel.
17 When they moved,
they went toward any one of four directions;
they did not turn aside when they went.
They did not turn aside—Those faces or sides
of the four wheels moved in concert with
the direction in which the cherubim desired to move;
while the transverse circles
in each of the four composite wheels
remained suspended from the ground,
so as not to impede the movements of the others.
18 As for their rims,
they were so high they were awesome;
and their rims were full of eyes,
“9 For the eyes of the LORD
run to and fro throughout the whole earth,
to show Himself strong
on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.
In this you have done foolishly;
therefore from now on you shall have wars.”
2 Chronicles 16:9
eyes—The multiplicity of eyes here in the wheels,
and Ezekiel 10:12, in the cherubim themselves,
symbolizes the abundance of intelligent life,
the eye being the window through which
"the spirit of the living creatures"
in the wheels (Ezekiel 1:20) looks forth
(compare Zechariah 4:10).
As the wheels signify the providence of God,
so the eyes imply that He sees
all the circumstances of each case,
and does nothing by blind impulse.
their rims —The "awesome height" of the rims (Ezekiel 1:18)
indicates the gigantic, terrible energy
of the complicated revolutions of God's will,
bringing about His purposes with unerring certainty.
One wheel appeared traversely within another,
so that the movement might be without turning,
wherever the living creatures might advance (Ezekiel 1:17).
Thus each wheel was composed of two circles
cutting one another at right angles,
"one" only of which appeared to touch the ground ("upon the earth"),
according to the direction the cherubim desired to move in.
all around the four of them.
19 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.
As to the four wheels, they may well signify
those continual changes we see as the world.
These changes, put on, as it were, new faces,
with each fresh revolution of the wheel,
effected by either its own
or by some external impulse.
Since, then, there is no fixed condition in the world,
but continual changes are discerned,
the Prophet joins the wheels to the angels,
as if he would assert that no changes occur by chance,
but depend upon some agency, viz., that of angels;
not that they move things by their inherent power,
but because they are, as we have said,
God’s messengers and agents.
This is noted when the Prophet observes
that they flow with
and are indwelled by the Spirit. (verses 20-21)
because these changes are generally contortions,
cyclical and often complex
the Prophet says, I saw wheel within wheel;
for the course of these things
is not necessarily continuous,
When God begins to do anything,
he seems, by our perception,
to recede: then many things mutually concur,
For this reason men have often fancied
that “fate” has a hand in man’s destiny
But God here teaches his people otherwise,
viz., that the changes of the world
though they may seem detached and irrational
indeed are so connected together,
that all motion depends upon God,
including the angels,
whom he guides according to his will.
Hence the wheels are said to be full of eyes.
I think that God purposely opposed this form of the wheels
to the foolish opinions of men,
because men fancy “fate” or “fortune” blind,
and that all things roll on in a kind of turbulent confusion.
God, then, when he compares the changes
which happen in the world to wheels,
calls them “full of eyes,” to show
that nothing is done with rashness
or through the blind impulse of fortune.
This imagination surely arises from our own blindness:
we are blind in the midst of light,
“1In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
2He was in the beginning with God.
3All things came into being through Him,
and apart from Him nothing came into being
that has come into being.
4In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.
5The Light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness did not comprehend it.”
John 1:1-5 NASB
Therefore when God works,
we think that he turns all things upside down;
and because we dare not
utter such gross blasphemy against him,
we say that “Fortune” acts without consideration,
but in the meantime we transfer
the prerogatives of God to “fate” itself.
This is our condition:
we are blind men attempting to lead other blind men,
and yet we wish to throw
the cause of our blindness upon God himself;
and because we do not dare
openly to bring a charge against him,
we impose upon him the name of “fate’ or “fortune”;
and for this reason
the Prophet says the wheels have eyes.
20 Wherever the spirit wanted to go, they went,
because there the spirit went;
and the wheels were lifted together with them,
for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.
A wheel in the middle of another wheel
could mean that the second wheel
was concentric to the first wheel,
like an archery target,
or that it was perpendicular to the first wheel.
This construction would allow
the wheels to be rolling constantly,
never needing to turn (v. 17).
Ezekiel described the rims
as lofty and awesome (v. 18).
This expression indicates
not only that the rims were very high or tall,
but also that they had a frightening appearance.
It has been well documented
that kings in ancient cultures surrounded themselves
with various objects signifying power.
This vision far surpasses
anything an earthly king could create
or anything one could imagine for a pagan god.
The eyes emphasize the all-seeing nature of God.
Even though the children of Israel were in Babylonia,
a faraway country,
God could still see what they were doing—both good and bad.
This introduces the concept of individual responsibility,
which is covered more completely in chapter 18
(see 8:12; 9:9; Ps. 94:7).
The wheels and eyes, combined, demonstrate both
the omnipresence and the omniscience of God.
Certainly, the “glory of God”
is being fully realized in this spectacular vision.
Moving in complete harmony, the living beings
did not move independently of the wheels (v. 19).
These wheels were not inanimate objects;
they had spirits inside them (v. 20).
The fact that Ezekiel repeated this point is noteworthy.
How were the wheels and the living beings
able to move in perfect harmony?
Ezekiel explained:
For the spirit of the living beings was in the wheels
End Part 6
30
fkj
(I could feel His hand upon me)
that fact that it would be possible to sail from here to the Indies.
All who heard of my project rejected it with laughter, ridiculing me.
There is no question that the inspiration was from the Holy Spirit,
because He comforted me with rays of marvelous inspiration from the Holy Scriptures."
Christopher Columbus
Part 6 - God's Throne and the Four Living Creatures:
23Now the servants of the king of Aram said to him,
"Their gods are gods of the mountains,
therefore they were stronger than we;
but rather let us fight against them in the plain,
and surely we will be stronger than they.
28Then a man of God came near
and spoke to the king of Israel and said,
"Thus says the LORD, 'Because the Arameans have said,
"The LORD is a god of the mountains,
but He is not a god of the valleys,"
therefore I will give
all this great multitude into your hand,
and you shall know that I am the LORD.'"
1 Kings 20:23, 28 NASB
They may have believed that He
Was limited to the area surrounding Jerusalem
and therefore could not be with them in Babylonia.
These wheels show otherwise.
The omnipresence of God
is being described in apocalyptic terms.
The appearance of their workings was, as it were,
a wheel in the middle of a wheel.
17 When they moved,
they went toward any one of four directions;
they did not turn aside when they went.
They did not turn aside—Those faces or sides
of the four wheels moved in concert with
the direction in which the cherubim desired to move;
while the transverse circles
in each of the four composite wheels
remained suspended from the ground,
so as not to impede the movements of the others.
18 As for their rims,
they were so high they were awesome;
and their rims were full of eyes,
“9 For the eyes of the LORD
run to and fro throughout the whole earth,
to show Himself strong
on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.
In this you have done foolishly;
therefore from now on you shall have wars.”
2 Chronicles 16:9
eyes—The multiplicity of eyes here in the wheels,
and Ezekiel 10:12, in the cherubim themselves,
symbolizes the abundance of intelligent life,
the eye being the window through which
"the spirit of the living creatures"
in the wheels (Ezekiel 1:20) looks forth
(compare Zechariah 4:10).
As the wheels signify the providence of God,
so the eyes imply that He sees
all the circumstances of each case,
and does nothing by blind impulse.
their rims —The "awesome height" of the rims (Ezekiel 1:18)
indicates the gigantic, terrible energy
of the complicated revolutions of God's will,
bringing about His purposes with unerring certainty.
One wheel appeared traversely within another,
so that the movement might be without turning,
wherever the living creatures might advance (Ezekiel 1:17).
Thus each wheel was composed of two circles
cutting one another at right angles,
"one" only of which appeared to touch the ground ("upon the earth"),
according to the direction the cherubim desired to move in.
all around the four of them.
19 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.
As to the four wheels, they may well signify
those continual changes we see as the world.
These changes, put on, as it were, new faces,
with each fresh revolution of the wheel,
effected by either its own
or by some external impulse.
Since, then, there is no fixed condition in the world,
but continual changes are discerned,
the Prophet joins the wheels to the angels,
as if he would assert that no changes occur by chance,
but depend upon some agency, viz., that of angels;
not that they move things by their inherent power,
but because they are, as we have said,
God’s messengers and agents.
This is noted when the Prophet observes
that they flow with
and are indwelled by the Spirit. (verses 20-21)
because these changes are generally contortions,
cyclical and often complex
the Prophet says, I saw wheel within wheel;
for the course of these things
is not necessarily continuous,
When God begins to do anything,
he seems, by our perception,
to recede: then many things mutually concur,
For this reason men have often fancied
that “fate” has a hand in man’s destiny
But God here teaches his people otherwise,
viz., that the changes of the world
though they may seem detached and irrational
indeed are so connected together,
that all motion depends upon God,
including the angels,
whom he guides according to his will.
Hence the wheels are said to be full of eyes.
I think that God purposely opposed this form of the wheels
to the foolish opinions of men,
because men fancy “fate” or “fortune” blind,
and that all things roll on in a kind of turbulent confusion.
God, then, when he compares the changes
which happen in the world to wheels,
calls them “full of eyes,” to show
that nothing is done with rashness
or through the blind impulse of fortune.
This imagination surely arises from our own blindness:
we are blind in the midst of light,
“1In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
2He was in the beginning with God.
3All things came into being through Him,
and apart from Him nothing came into being
that has come into being.
4In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.
5The Light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness did not comprehend it.”
John 1:1-5 NASB
Therefore when God works,
we think that he turns all things upside down;
and because we dare not
utter such gross blasphemy against him,
we say that “Fortune” acts without consideration,
but in the meantime we transfer
the prerogatives of God to “fate” itself.
This is our condition:
we are blind men attempting to lead other blind men,
and yet we wish to throw
the cause of our blindness upon God himself;
and because we do not dare
openly to bring a charge against him,
we impose upon him the name of “fate’ or “fortune”;
and for this reason
the Prophet says the wheels have eyes.
20 Wherever the spirit wanted to go, they went,
because there the spirit went;
and the wheels were lifted together with them,
for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.
A wheel in the middle of another wheel
could mean that the second wheel
was concentric to the first wheel,
like an archery target,
or that it was perpendicular to the first wheel.
This construction would allow
the wheels to be rolling constantly,
never needing to turn (v. 17).
Ezekiel described the rims
as lofty and awesome (v. 18).
This expression indicates
not only that the rims were very high or tall,
but also that they had a frightening appearance.
It has been well documented
that kings in ancient cultures surrounded themselves
with various objects signifying power.
This vision far surpasses
anything an earthly king could create
or anything one could imagine for a pagan god.
The eyes emphasize the all-seeing nature of God.
Even though the children of Israel were in Babylonia,
a faraway country,
God could still see what they were doing—both good and bad.
This introduces the concept of individual responsibility,
which is covered more completely in chapter 18
(see 8:12; 9:9; Ps. 94:7).
The wheels and eyes, combined, demonstrate both
the omnipresence and the omniscience of God.
Certainly, the “glory of God”
is being fully realized in this spectacular vision.
Moving in complete harmony, the living beings
did not move independently of the wheels (v. 19).
These wheels were not inanimate objects;
they had spirits inside them (v. 20).
The fact that Ezekiel repeated this point is noteworthy.
How were the wheels and the living beings
able to move in perfect harmony?
Ezekiel explained:
For the spirit of the living beings was in the wheels
End Part 6
30
fkj
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