PHIL HARRIS | Seeker of Truth |
Introduction
Ezekiel was a part of the second deportation to Babylon when Nebuchadnezzar took the nation of Israel into captivity (Ez. 1:2-3 & 2 Kings 24:10-16) when the temple had been destroyed; therefore, even through a priest, Ezekiel never served in that role. God had something else in mind for him.
Daniel, by contrast, was a part of the first deportation. Even though they were exiled at different times, Ezekiel and Daniel must have been aware of each other, yet there is no record of their having met.
After we are introduced to Ezekiel and learn where he fits into the history of the Hebrew people, the focus of this first chapter of Ezekiel is the glory of God and who He is. In fact, the glory of our eternal, holy God is the foundation of all Scripture, as Paul reminds us:
Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!
“For who has known the mind of the Lord,
or who has been his counselor?”
“Or who has given a gift to him
that he might be repaid?”
For from him and through him and to him are all things.
To him be glory forever. Amen. (Rom. 11:33-36)
Ezekiel, Priest and Prophet
In the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I was among the exiles by the Chebar canal, the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God. (Ez. 1:1)
There were three times when Jerusalem was attacked and the people were carried away to Babylon:
- In 605 BC Daniel, along with other captives, were taken to Babylon.
- In 597 BC the temple was sacked. Ezekiel along with all the skilled craftsmen and men of valor fit for war were taken to Babylon.—2 Kings 24:10-17
- In 587 bc Jerusalem and what remained of the temple were destroyed. All but the poorest of the poor were taken to Babylon.—2 Kings 25:1-21
The age of thirty years is when a Levitical priest would normally begin his ministry. However, the temple had been sacked, and Ezekiel was in captivity, so God was to give him a new way to shepherd the Hebrew people.
It is safe to conclude that the Chebar canal was in the immediate vicinity of the city of Babylon and is what was identified as the “waters of Babylon” in this Psalm:
By the waters of Babylon, there we sat down and wept, when we remembered Zion. On the willows there we hung up our lyres. For there our captors required of us songs, and our tormentors, mirth, saying, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!” How shall we sing the LORD’s song in a foreign land? If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill! Let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth, if I do not remember you, if I do not set Jerusalem above my highest joy! Remember, O LORD, against the Edomites the day of Jerusalem, how they said, “Lay it bare, lay it bare, down to its foundations!” O daughter of Babylon, doomed to be destroyed, blessed shall he be who repays you with what you have done to us! Blessed shall he be who takes your little ones and dashes them against the rock!—Psalm 137:1-9
The people were lamenting over their captivity, yet they had ignored the warning of Jeremiah’s message. Being much older than either Ezekiel or Daniel, Jeremiah had preached a warning for many years to repent of their sins and to return to their God. Instead, the people lusted even more in their sins and listened to false prophets. Now, in captivity, nothing has changed:
“Behold, you trust in deceptive words to no avail.Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, make offerings to Baal, and go after other gods that you have not known,and then come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, ‘We are delivered!’—only to go on doing all these abominations?Has this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, I myself have seen it, declares the LORD.—Jeremiah 7:8-11
Those who had rejected Jeremiah would continue to do so in their captivity. Therefore, God was about to raise up Ezekiel and gave him a unique ministry of acting out visual parables.
The Hand of the Lord Is Upon Ezekiel
On the fifth day of the month (it was the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin)—Ezekiel 1:2
Historians calculate this to be about 593 BC.
…the word of the LORD came to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the Chebar canal, and the hand of the LORD was upon him there.—Ezekiel 1:3
It is here we learn that Ezekiel is a priest. His name is said to mean either “strength of God” or “strengthened by God”.
Four Living Creatures
Ezekiel now receives a vision of “four living creatures” which is not explained here nor anywhere else in Scripture, but it seems to be the same “four living creatures” mentioned in chapters four and five of the book of Revelation. When we compare these two sections of Scripture, they do give us a limited understanding of these creatures.
We need to keep in mind that what is described of the “four living creatures” takes place in heaven, the place where God and his throne exist. While these descriptions seem physical in nature, they are actually describing things that exist only in the spiritual realm.
1. Ezekiel sees “four living creatures”:
Unlike Daniel’s experience recorded in Daniel 8 and 9, there is no angel present to explain the meaning of this vision to Ezekiel. Ezekiel first provides a brief overall description. Since many through the ages have pondered and failed to understand I will let the reader study and consider for him/her self:
As I looked, behold, a stormy wind came out of the north, and a great cloud, with brightness around it, and fire flashing forth continually, and in the midst of the fire, as it were gleaming metal.And from the midst of it came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance: they had a human likeness,but each had four faces, and each of them had four wings.Their legs were straight, and the soles of their feet were like the sole of a calf’s foot. And they sparkled like burnished bronze.Under their wings on their four sides they had human hands. And the four had their faces and their wings thus:their wings touched one another. Each one of them went straight forward, without turning as they went.As for the likeness of their faces, each had a human face. The four had the face of a lion on the right side, the four had the face of an ox on the left side, and the four had the face of an eagle.Such were their faces. And their wings were spread out above. Each creature had two wings, each of which touched the wing of another, while two covered their bodies.And each went straight forward. Wherever the spiritwould go, they went, without turning as they went.As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, like the appearance of torches moving to and fro among the living creatures. And the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth lightning.And the living creatures darted to and fro, like the appearance of a flash of lightning.—Ezekiel 1:4-14
2. Ezekiel now provides a closer description:
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.And their rims were tall and awesome, and the rims of all four were full of eyes all around.And when the living creatures went, the wheels went beside them; and when the living creatures rose from the earth, the wheels rose.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.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.—Ezekiel 1:15-21
3. An expanse of awe-inspiring crystal comes into view:
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.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.—Ezekiel:22-24
Since God provided this vision of the “four living creatures”, they must be real because God does not provide fiction to explain something that is beyond our ability to understand. Perhaps we need to consider what God told Daniel:
He said, “Go your way, Daniel, for the words are shut up and sealed until the time of the end. Many shall purify themselves and make themselves white and be refined, but the wicked shall act wickedly. And none of the wicked shall understand, but those who are wise shall understand.—Daniel 12:9-10
In faith we must believe that what God says as recorded in Scripture is true and has literal meaning.
4. The voice of God
And there came a voice from above the expanse over their heads. When they stood still, they let down their wings.—Ezekiel 1:25
The voice from above the four living creatures suggests that is was the pre-incarnate Jesus Christ sitting above the throne mentioned in the following verses, making it obvious why the “four living creatures” stopped and lowered their wings. While they are beyond our human understanding, they are very real and exist within the spiritual realm of the throne of God.
Glory of the Lord
And above the expanse over their heads there was the likeness of a throne, in appearance like sapphire; and seated above the likeness of a throne was a likeness with a human appearance. —Ezekiel 1:26
In the expanse above the four living creatures there is a throne that has an overwhelming sapphire blue brilliance. The person on the throne has a human-like appearance suggesting that the person is the promised Messiah, Jesus Christ the Savior of both Israel and of the whole world.
And upward from what had the appearance of his waist I saw as it were gleaming metal, like the appearance of fire enclosed all around. And downward from what had the appearance of his waist I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and there was brightness around him. —Ezekiel 1:27
His chest has the glow of bright metal with fire all around down to include the waist. This suggests something similar to when Moses saw the burning bush that wasn’t consumed by the fire and realized he was on holy ground, Exodus chapter 3. Further, this description harmonizes with that of the Lord Jesus in Revelation 1:12–16:
Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength.—Revelation 1:12–16
The brightness, glory, and fire which Ezekiel saw on the Person on the throne is a consistent theme throughout Scripture describing our triune God. Importantly, these descriptions emphasize that God the Son who became incarnate to atone for our sin IS GOD. He did not forfeit His God-attributes when He came to earth. He is eternally God.
Like the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud on the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness all around. Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard the voice of one speaking.—Ezekiel 1:28
Ezekiel records that he sees the brightness of an all-around bow surrounding the person which has the likeness of the glory of God. Ezekiel now knows he is hearing the very voice of God and falls on face. He realized what the author of Hebrews explains clearly to us concerning the Lord Jesus:
He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, (Heb. 1:3a)
SUMMARY
- In the opening verses of the book of Ezekiel, we learn that Ezekiel is a captive on the River Chebar, a canal near the city of Babylon. He is a Levitical priest without a temple to serve in. However, the hand of the Lord is upon him.
- The Hebrew captives Ezekiel is with haven’t repented of their sins; they still follow after false prophets. Therefore, God is preparing Ezekiel for a ministry they cannot ignore.
- The bulk of this chapter centers on “four living creatures” that reside below the throne of God in heaven. These creatures are also mentioned in the book of Revelation. While the description of them is beyond our understanding, they are very real spiritual beings that reveal to us the glory of who God is. The more we ponder these four lining creatures. the more we humbly realize we don’t fully know extent of who God is.
- Ezekiel’s attention is then drawn to the throne and to the one sitting on it. He says he “sees the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD”. This can only be the promised Messiah, Jesus Christ, who is and always will be Lord of lords and King of kings.
- Having observed this display of God’s glory, Ezekiel is now ready to humbly submit to God’s assignment: his ministry as both priest and prophet.
—All references unless otherwise stated are taken from the ESV.
- Ezekiel 1: The Radiance of the Glory of God - December 11, 2025
- Daniel 12: In the Last Days—Abomination of Desolation - October 9, 2025
- Daniel 11:20-45: Antiochus IV Epiphanes - August 7, 2025