Ezekiel 1:
the word of Jehovah came expressly unto Ezekiel
Ezekiel 1:3a Darby translation
Context: TIME ~570 years Before Christ; PLACE - Tel-Abib in Babylonia, [later Persia, then Seleucid Empire (Greek) in 21st c. Iraq; PROPHET - yᵊḥezqē'l, captive priest and prophet of Israel taken to Babylon while in his 30's along with his wife and family, the prophets Daniel and Jeremiah (who are in their 50's) and some 10,000 jews.
Yechezkel (Ezekiel) 1 :: Westminster Leningrad Codex (WLC)
וַיְהִי בִּשְׁלֹשִׁים שָׁנָה בָּרְבִיעִי בַּחֲמִשָּׁה לַחֹדֶשׁ וַאֲנִי בְתֹוךְ־הַגֹּולָה עַל־נְהַר־כְּבָר נִפְתְּחוּ הַשָּׁמַיִם וָאֶרְאֶה מַרְאֹות אֱלֹהִים׃
Yechezkel (Ezekiel) 1 :: Septuagint (LXX)
καὶ ἐγένετο ἐν τῷ τριακοστῷ ἔτει ἐν τῷ τετάρτῳ μηνὶ πέμπτῃ τοῦ μηνὸς καὶ ἐγὼ ἤμην ἐν μέσῳ τῆς αἰχμαλωσίας ἐπὶ τοῦ ποταμοῦ τοῦ Χοβαρ καὶ ἠνοίχθησαν οἱ οὐρανοί καὶ εἶδον ὁράσεις θεοῦ
Do you believe this?
Take a look at this scene Ezekiel describes:
CLICK to read NASB20 Translation of Ezekiel 1: OR LISTEN to Ezekiel 1 ESV [4’19”]
- a high wind .. a great cloud with fire flashing intermittently and a bright light around it,
- in the midst of the fire something like gleaming metal
- And within it there were figures resembling four living beings.
- they had human form.
- Each .. had four faces
- their faces did not turn when they moved, each went straight forward.
- each had a human face;
- the four of them had
- the face of a lion on the right
- the face of a bull on the left,
- and.. the face of an eagle.
- and four wings.
- their wings touched one another
- were spread out above; each had two touching another being,
- and two covering their bodies.
- Under their wings on their four sides were human hands.
- Their legs were straight
- and their feet were like a calf’s hoof, and they sparkled like polished bronze.
And each went straight forward; wherever the spirit was about to go, they would go, without turning as they went.
Ezekiel 1:12 NASB20
In the midst of the living beings there was something that looked like burning coals of fire, like torches moving among the living beings. The fire was bright, and lightning was flashing from the fire.
Ezekiel 1:13 NASB
This is Ezekiel’s description of just the glorious creatures!
Do you believe it?
IF you are a Christian or a Jew — perhaps.
But IF you are like most other twenty-first century human beings, you probably DO NOT believe such fantastic scenes from the Bible.
And their actions are even more fantastic!
14 [ESV] And the living creatures darted to and fro, like the appearance of a flash of lightning.
15 Now as I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel on the earth beside the living creatures, one for each of the four of them. As for the appearance of the wheels and their construction: their appearance was like the gleaming of beryl.
And the four had the same likeness, their appearance and construction being as it were a wheel within a wheel. When they went, they went in any of their four directions without turning as they went. 18 And their rims were tall and awesome, and the rims of all four were full of eyes all around.
19 And when the living creatures went, the wheels went beside them; and when the living creatures rose from the earth, the wheels rose.
20 Wherever the spirit wanted to go, they went, and the wheels rose along with them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.
21 When those went, these went; and when those stood, these stood; and when those rose from the earth, the wheels rose along with them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.
22 Over the heads of the living creatures there was the likeness of an expanse, shining like awe-inspiring crystal, spread out above their heads. And under the expanse their wings were stretched out straight, one toward another. And each creature had two wings covering its body.
24 And when they went, I heard the sound of their wings like the sound of many waters, like the sound of the Almighty, a sound of tumult like the sound of an army. When they stood still, they let down their wings.
But wait, there’s more; you sceptical (believer?) of the Bible!
(MORE Scripture to read in the LINK below.)
Ezekiel’s Vision of Divine Glory
And a voice came from above the expanse that was over their heads; whenever they stood still, they let down their wings.
Ezekiel 1:25 NASB20
.. Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD.
And when I saw it, I fell on my face and heard a voice speaking.
Ezekiel 1:28b NASB
Tell the truth (in your comment to this post)
- Suppose you gave this fantastic detailed description of events to just ten (10) of your closest friends or family?
- OR imagine that you read the scroll of Ezekiel 1 to a gathering of one hundred (100) citizens of your town?
- HOW MANY WOULD BELIEVE YOU?
One, perhaps?
Even if some cannot believe this Scripture a few may believe you because of your own integrity.
THAT is the burden of the Prophet — his Word from God will be difficult to receive.
a caution to Pastors & Prophets
IF you speak any word NOT from God, claiming that God spoke it, no one with ears to hear should believe what you preach.
Do you swerve from Scripture to substitute your own visionary words? Good luck convincing your viewers that Ezekiel spoke the very word of the LORD.
Are you quite selective in how much of the HOLY BIBLE you preach? By all means, let us know how your church responds when you preach that this experience of Ezekiel really happened.
And IF you are a Pastor unwilling to confirm that all Scripture is ‘God-breathed,’ your gathering will never have ears to hear Ezekiel or even Christ, who revealed a similar vision to the Apostle John.
The Prediction and Predicament of the Prophet
“SO WHAT?” say the rulers of this world.
What IF I do not preach the WORD OF THE LORD as GOD has said it?
Place Ezekiel into the year of our Lord 2022, or the Lord Christ Jesus into our contemporary ‘evangelical christian‘ church and you will encounter the same predicament.
God has chosen a faithful remnant to receive his testimony with eyes to see and ears to hear. The others of the multitudes have heard the Word of the LORD through you AND rejected it.
Ezekiel 2:
Then He said to me,
“Son of man, I am sending you to the sons of Israel, to a rebellious people who have rebelled against Me; they and their fathers have revolted against Me to this very day. So I am sending you to those who are impudent and obstinate children, and you shall say to them, ‘This is what the LORD [YHWH] GOD says:
As for them, whether they hear or whether they refuse—for they are a rebellious house—yet they will know that a prophet has been among them.
Ezekiel 2:5 NKJV
7 “But you shall speak My words to them whether they listen or not, for they are rebellious.
Ezekiel 3:
NLT 3:10b
“Son of man, let all my words sink deep into your own heart first. Listen to them carefully for yourself. Then go to your people in exile and say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says!’ Do this whether they listen to you or not.”
3:12
Then the Spirit lifted me up, and as the glory of the LORD rose from its place, I heard a loud rumbling sound behind me.
It was the sound of the wings of the living beings as they brushed against each other and the rumbling of their wheels beneath them.
Ezekiel 3:13 New Living Translation
But will Your Hearers have ‘ears to hear?’
— Ears to hear Scripture spoken by the LORD — ears to hear the Word of the Lord Christ Jesus — eyes to see the same glory of Heaven revealed by Jesus Christ to the Apostle John — ears to hear the scene of heaven as the LORD showed and spoke to the prophet Ezekiel?
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