A depiction of ezekiels astonishing, glorious, magnificent, vision of god as described in the bible at ezekiel chapter 1 and 10. This phrase is used fiftynine times in the book of ezekiel and is. Ezekiels vision of the four wheels dramatically illustrates the omnipresence and omniscience of god. In verse 421, we have a description of heavenly purposes being fulfilled. May 23, 2015 and, god has a message to bring personally each time he visits with ezekiel. Throughout the book, his main theme was the sovereignty and glory of god. Daniel along with shadrach, meshach and abednego had been taken captive to babylon daniel, when nebuchadnezzar tried to secure the judahs submission to babylon. In fact, a major section of the book of ezekiel is given over to a temple that the prophet described in detail. Because of the sinfulness of the people of god, the glory of god departed from the temple, and from his people. In ezekiels day, ezekiel was witnesses to the glory of the lord appearing at the temple. The glory of god by david hocking blue letter bible.
Recall that in gods word, the number four is often used to represent that which is fully rounded out, all embracing, or complete. According to the book itself, it records six visions of the prophet ezekiel, exiled in babylon, during the 22 years from 593 to 571 bc, although it is the product of a long and complex history and does not necessarily preserve the very. David guzik commentary on ezekiel 43, describes the glory of god coming. And, god has a message to bring personally each time he visits with ezekiel. Last week the full glory of god was on display in the first chapter of ezekiel. Ezekiel 1 the appearance of the likeness of the glory of. After an account of his call to the prophetical office ezekiel 1. The theme of the glory of god in ezekiel berith road. In both cases, the purpose was to identify with humanity. In the english mind, when we think of glory, we usually think of something that is bright, something that has a radiance to it, something or someone with magnificence and splendor, like a king, for example. Ezekiel lesson 2a verse by verse ministry international.
Only ezekiel saw gods glory depart as he closed his former kingdom over israel. After an introductory chapter describing the vision of the glory of god. His voice was like the roar of many waters, and the earth shone with his glory. True prophets like jeremiah and ezekiel warned the people that gods judgment was coming ezekiel 2. Jan 02, 2020 true prophets like jeremiah and ezekiel warned the people that gods judgment was coming ezekiel 2. Ezekiel is the twentysixth book in the old testament.
Jesus is the fulfiller of the promises laid out in the book. This glory now removed from the place where it used to appear in the inner sanctuary, and came down toward the porch of the temple, and stood, or fixed itself, partly in the temple and partly in the inner court adjoining to it. Ezekiel 1, after a brief introduction, describes ezekiels vision of god and his glory. The book of ezekiel is characterized by what four things. The words like and likeness occurs some 15 times in these verses. God returns from the exile, having promised to return the people to the land 36. He appears in human form as he did when he walked with adam and eve in the garden. Thus saith the lord god to the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys.
Apr 11, 20 what does god look like according to the bible. Then the glory of the lord departed from off the threshold of the house, and stood over the cherubim. One of the major themes of the book of ezekiel is the glory of god. In ezekiel chapters one and two, the glory of the lord commissions ezekiel to. As you study the glory of jehovah ask god to show you his glory, praying. Last week we experienced ezekiels remarkable opening vision of gods glory. The bible says that gods glory radiates throughout all his creation psalm 19. A mighty whirlwind issues from the north, and a dark cloud appears in that quarter of the heavens. More than 90 times in the book of ezekiel, he is called son of man, which was the title jesus preferred when referring to himself. These are not ufos as they are identified, therefore, they are ifos. Ezekiel saw elderled idolatry, people weeping for the god tammuz, people worshiping the sun god, executioners summoned, the elders rebuked, and the glory of god departing jerusalem. In the first half of the book, chapters 124, ezekiel talked about the wrath of god. The god of glory tim chester the good book company. Another important part of this vision is the glory of god, described in the same terms as what ezekiel saw in the vision of his calling in ezekiel.
Ezekiel 1 net a vision of gods glory in the bible gateway. Taken with the qualities mentioned above, they symbolize gods omnipotence, wisdom, swiftness, and lifegiving nature. It has never been an easy thing to think about god. In ezekiel 811, the prophet sees the glory of god leaving the temple.
He continuously warned them so that they might repent and turn from their sin and be forgiven. Then the glory of the lord went up from the cherub in token of his departure from the temple. In the beginning god created the heavens and the earth. The interpretive key to much of the book, but especially to these chapters 811, is the depiction of the grandeur of that inaugural vision of gods glory chaps. All narration is quoted directly from the holy bible, which details the magnificent vision of god. Ezekiel 10 gnt the glory of the lord leaves the temple. In chapter 43, ezekiel sees again a vision like before 43.
Their sin of idolatry takes the most prominent place. Behold, i, even i, will bring a sword upon you, and i will destroy your high places. The four living creatures with four facesezekiel chapter 1. What makes the book of ezekiel so popular, and fascinating to you and i, is that 2500 years ago ezekiel described the political situation surrounding israel today, and the technology of weaponry and the assault on israel, a situation which god set up specifically to show himself strong on behalf of israel. Ezekiel sees in vision four living creatures, four wheels, and the glory of god on his throne. Gods personal flying vehicle described in the book of. Ezekiel 1 the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the lord. Jun 10, 2018 take an aweinspiring journey as ezekiels vision of god is brought to life in all its glory. Because the glory of god and heaven are very hard to describe in the.
When he saw gods glory, ezekiel prostrated himself and worshiped the lord. In the midst of the cloud is an area of dazzling brightness surrounded by encircling flames. Ezekiel 10 good news translation gnt the glory of the lord leaves the temple. The theme of the glory of god in ezekiel one of the major themes of the book of ezekiel is the glory of god. Sixth dwelling place of god third temple the sixth major dwelling place of the lord in his story will be the temple described in detail to the prophet ezekiel which will serve god s purpose in discipling the nations for 1,000 years during the promised reign of peace on the earth. In contrast to various other prophets ezekiel has not been criticised as much. Therefore it is important for us to discover, even in this study, what the significance and importance of the ezekiel temple is, given that jesus himself, and the body of his believers, is the temple of god. Take an aweinspiring journey as ezekiels vision of god is brought to life in all its glory. I never realized how much the glory of god appears in the book of ezekiel. This book of ezekiel begins, then, with a mystic vision of god. He spoke about the judgment of god because of the sinfulness of his people.
Ezekiel study guide the kingdom of god as overarching. He appeared to them in a cloud by day, and a pillar of fire by night, the very presence of god, he nurtured israel in the wilderness providing food and water. They were paneled from the ground to the windows, and the windows were covered. And by the way, that is a glory that we can receive. The glory stood, to show gods unwillingness to leave his people, and give them time to. The first three chapters of ezekiel contain the account of ezekiels call. Rather, chapter 1 focused on cherubim, the angelic guardians of gods glory. There will be no temple in new jerusalem in eternal state as described in revelation 21, but ezekiel is describing the jerusalem of the earthly messianic kingdom before. What might have helped ezekiel to understand what the four faces further represent. Those cherubim dominated ezekiels description of the scene. Gods personal flying vehicle described in the book of ezekiel. The first part of ezekiels vision of god is his description of the cherubim the. The book of ezekiel is the third of the latter prophets in the tanakh and one of the major prophetic books in the old testament, following isaiah and jeremiah.
These four creatures are described as having four faces. Surely this is a measure of the tremendous importance the scriptures attach to it. If we divide the book of ezekiel into two equal parts of twentyfour chapters each. Feb 01, 2011 one of the major themes of the book of ezekiel is the glory of god. Jesus is the incarnation of the glory of the lord, who comes to his temple. In the book of ezekiel, god predicts that in the future, a wicked king from the north named gog, from the land of magog, will come against israel and try to defeat it think ice wall plot in game of thrones. Ezekiel chapters 8 through 11, the glory of the lord departs. Ezekiel witnessed the glory of god as the prelude to receiving. And ezekiel chapter 10 is certainly no exception the same glory ezekiel had seen, experienced, back in. The heavenly chariot, though, makes one last appearance in ezekiel s book. Ezekiel sees the glory of the lord the bible journey. In the days of ezekiel, israel had turned away from god. The first part of ezekiels vision of god is his description of the cherubimthe. Only he described in detail a future reinstatement of a kingdom core that is, a temple and parts closely related to it.
And the house was filled with the cloud the account here given must strike every reader as to its similarity with the description. I encourage everyone to read the book of ezekiel and see what he says about his experiences concerning gods. This section of ezekiel is a sad era in the history of israel. Chapter 8 describes the idol worship by the leaders of israel right in the temple. Folks, this vision of god deserves hours of study and chapters of. Ezekiel 8 describes a series of four abominations involving god s holy temple, but as described in ezek 8. For instance, the patriarch jacob had compared his son judah to a lion and his son benjamin to a wolf. The christological purpose of ezekiel the book of ezekiel anticipates and points to jesus christ throughout.
Glory from the latin gloria, fame, renown is used to describe the manifestation of gods presence as perceived by humans according to the abrahamic religions divine glory is an important motif throughout christian theology, where god is regarded as the most glorious being in existence, and it is considered that human beings are created in the image of god and can share or participate. Indeed, there were several elements in the temple that looked very similar to the creatures ezekiel described, which indicates that these creatures carried the lord himself on his throne. The awesome majesty of god and the honor and glory of the lord in judgment and mercy are constant themes of the prophecies and visions of this book. Sounds a lot like what john saw in the opening chapters of his book of revelation. Theyre the distant barbarian hordes that god drags in from the far north. Ezekiel overview spurgeons verse expositions of the bible. For centuries bible students have been fascinated by the details surrounding the temple revealed in ezekiel 4046. The glory of god refers to what he is, all of his attributes, his greatnessthat is his glory. The appearance of the likeness of the glory of the lord. This is good for us, because we can get so focused on gods grace that we tend to forget there is also a governing role of god, and that his glory requires justice. The old testament book that bears this prophets name. Ezekiels vision of gods glory departing from the temple begin with prayer god had been very patient with his people. This description of the book of ezekiel is from eastons bible dictionary ezekiel, book of. A vision of gods glory in the thirtieth year, on the fifth day of the fourth month.
And your altars shall be desolate, and your images shall be broken. What isaiah described through symbols, ezekiel describes in gory details. The book of ezekiel he will be strengthened of god. God met the man that he would rise up as a prophet where he was, down by the river.
Ezekiel 1 new english translation net bible a vision of gods glory. As we learned in the preceding chapter, ezekiel was in babylon, living among his fellow exiles in a community by the river chebar evidently a navigable, manmade canal that branched off from the river euphrates and later rejoined it. Ezekiel 8 describes a series of four abominations involving gods holy temple, but as described in ezek 8. A series of studies in the old testament book of ezekiel. But remarkably, his vision didnt focus on that detail. Ezekiel was taken into exile to babylon, probably in the second deportation of jews, in 597 bc.
The glory of the lord appeared to moses, in the burning bush on mt. Idols are mentioned more often in the book of ezekiel than any other book of the bible 52 times. Closely related to this usage is the employment of the word to ascribe honor and praise to god. Ezekiel 8 describes a series of four abominations involving gods holy. The glory of god jmsnooks the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of. He sent many prophets to warn the israelites that they were in danger of being punished for their wickedness. Ezekiel described seeing the lord seated on his throne.
These wheels were associated with the four living creatures ezekiel 1. Ezekiel means god strengthens, a rather appropriate name for the ministry god called him to and the situation the people of judea faced. Like moses, ezekiel could not see the face of the god, he described his appearance as fire, with the glow of amber or melting brass. The governing perspective is the majesty of yahweh as glimpsed by ezekiel on the babylonian plain. Ezekiel 43 gods glory comes to ezekiels temple enduring word. I can say he is eternal, omniscient, omnipotent, glorious, love and righteousness.
Here is the description of a firmament that was above the head of the cherubim. What is the significance of ezekiels description of gods. The term glory of the lord is used through out the book of ezekiel for the person of god who is manifested. These 48 chapters of scripture are saturated with that grand concept, with gods very presence. Chalk, john allen, ezekiel, witness to gods glory 1967.