Jesus in Ezekiel
August 28, 2024
“I saw visions of God.” While the captives in Babylon sat down and wept by the rivers of Babylon, Ezekiel was seeing visions of God.
Then I looked, and behold, a whirlwind was coming out of the north, a great cloud with raging fire engulfing itself; and brightness was all around it and radiating out of its midst like the color of amber, out of the midst of the fire. -Ezekiel 1:4
“Behold, a whirlwind was coming out of the north.” This whirlwind out of the north indicates a tremendous movement of judgment coming from the throne of God. A light brighter than the sun flashes forth, an incandescent light, like lightning. This all speaks of the unapproachable presence of God.
Out of the light came the likeness of a creature that was like the four faces of a man. These faces remind us of the four Gospels in which Jesus Christ is revealed in four aspects:
- His kingship (Matthew) symbolized here by the lion
- His servanthood (Mark) symbolized by the ox
- His perfect humanity (Luke) symbolized by the face of a man
- His deity (John) symbolized by the flying eagle
These four living creatures also resemble the description we have of the cherubim who were in the Garden of Eden to guard the way of the Tree of Life. They were not shutting man out from God; they were keeping the way open. When Adam and Eve looked back as they left the garden, they saw a slain animal whose skins they were wearing. And they saw the cherubim overshadowing, keeping open the way to God. It is the blood that makes an atonement for the sin of man. When Moses made the mercy seat, there were cherubim above which looked down upon the blood of the sacrifices. The only way man can approach God is through the blood sacrifice of Jesus Himself (see John 14:6).
God is moving forward undeviatingly, unhesitatingly toward the accomplishment of His purpose in this world today. Nothing will deter or sidetrack Him.
God is not exposed in this vision—He is portrayed. It is still true that no man has seen God at any time. We don’t even know what the Lord Jesus looked like as a man. But the human heart longs to see God. That’s why when asked by His disciple to see God the Father, Jesus said, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:1-9).