PART 4 – EXPLORE THE VISUAL IMAGERY
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Chapter 22 - A WIND FROM THE NORTH:
making sense of the strange and bizarre
There are some visual images in the Bible that are frankly quite bizarre, and difficult either to visualize, or to interpret. A few years ago a new Christian who lived nearby came to see us after she had been exploring the Bible for the first time, and had dipped into the book of Ezekiel. The description of the “living beings” with four wings and four faces, “darting to and fro like flashes of lightening”, and the wheels full of eyes, had her completely mystified and confused. Whatever was this all about? She had never come across anything quite so weird!
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Of course there is meaning within the imagery, and there are very valuable lessons to be learned, but we may need to do some serious exploring and develop our visual imagination in order to benefit fully from studying this passage. As with the imagery of re-clothing explored in the previous chapter, we will be able to understand the visual imagery in Ezekiel 1 much better if we can relate it to similar imagery that occurs elsewhere in the canon of Scripture.
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As this is quite a long and complex passage we will explore the imagery section by section, beginning with the introduction to Ezekiel’s prophecies in Ezekiel 1:1-2.
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A DAY OF RECKONING (Ezekiel 1:1-2 )
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It was five years since King Nebuchadnezzar had conquered Jerusalem, and taken King Jehoiachin captive. He had looted all the silver and gold from the Temple, and brought King Jehoiachin and the rest of us here to the land of Babylon. It was then, while I was with other exiles from Judea beside the river Kebar, that the heavens were opened and I saw amazing visions from God. I was 30 years old at the time. I remember clearly the day it happened – 31st of July.
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This was clearly a very significant day for Ezekiel. The Hebrew here says “On the fifth day of the fourth month” which refers to the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar. According to Biblical scholars, a number of dates in Ezekiel can be cross-checked with dates in surviving Babylonian records and related accurately to our modern calendar (see the footnote on this verse in the NLT). If these calculation are correct, Ezekiel’s vision occurred on July 31st, 593 B.C. But in any case, the fact that Ezekiel can pin down the event to a specific day says just how much it impacted on his memory, and influenced his future life and ministry.
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As we mention elsewhere, the events that we remember most vividly in our lives are the events that have the greatest emotional impact. These events often change the course of our lives and stand out as major turning points. This was indeed the case for Ezekiel.
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Note also that this was Ezekiel’s 30th year, the year at which one was considered mature enough and responsible enough to enter into religious ministry. It was the age at which one was eligible to take on the role of a Rabbi – the age at which Jesus himself was baptized and anointed for ministry.
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It is five years since Ezekiel and the other exiles had been captured by Nebuchadnezzar’s army and brought to the land of Babylon. We might ponder on how the exiles would be responding to their captivity, far from their home country. Probably there would be two main responses:
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A sense of hopelessness and despair… Jerusalem was defeated, the Temple had been ransacked and all the gold and silver contents had been looted… God had abandoned them! (). Many would have given up hope altogether.
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Many among them might also have concluded that there was no longer any obligation to follow God’s commands and live according to his laws… the Temple in Jerusalem was God’s dwelling place. God didn’t have any influence or power here in Babylon, so why not just make the best of things and forge our own future as best we can.
So there was a great need for a fresh vision of God, and a fresh understanding of His power and purpose for the people of Israel.
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A STORM FROM THE NORTH (Ezekiel 1:4 )
I saw in my vision that a violent storm, coming from the north, brought before it a huge towering thunder cloud. Lightening flashed within and around it, bathing the cloud in brilliant light. The heart of the cloud burned with
fire, glowing like a red hot furnace.
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Ezekiel’s vision may seem to us very strange and bizarre, but many aspects of the vision would be familiar to Ezekiel and remind him of things he had seen, or at least already read about in the Old Testament Scriptures. Does this description of the great storm cloud remind you of anything, flashing with lightening, and fire in the middle of the cloud?
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This type of imagery occurs especially in the book of Exodus, and in later related passages, as a symbol of the presence, the power, and the awesome holiness of God.
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Consider this description of God’s power and majesty over Mount Sinai:
A dense cloud came down on the mountain. Thunder roared and lightning flashed… The whole mountain was covered with smoke as God descended on it in a blazing fire... (Exodus 19:16, 18)
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The people of Israel were accompanied through their wilderness journeys by a cloud and pillar of fire. We read, at the point where the construction of the Tabernacle is finished:
The cloud covered the Tabernacle, and filled it with the glory of the LORD… It towered above the Tabernacle during the day, and at night fire glowed inside the cloud so that the whole tribe of Israel could clearly see it. This continued throughout all their journeys through the wilderness. (Exodus 40:34, 38)
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This permanent reminder of God’s presence provided light and heat during the dark nights, guided them on their journey, and protected them from potential attack from the tribes whose territory they passed through. God was their God, and they were his chosen people, even when God was angry with them and judged them for their sin and rebellion. He never turned his back on them.
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Is there any significance in the fact that the storm cloud comes from the north? It could be a reference to the fact that Nebuchadnezzar’s armies descended on Jerusalem from the north, and an indication that God was there fulfilling his plan and purpose for them, even in the pain and the disaster of Jerusalem’s defeat.
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But it may also just be the case that wet, stormy weather normally came from the north. Southerly winds would always bring heat and dust:
As a north wind brings the rain clouds, so a gossiping tongue brings anger. (Proverbs 25:23)
From here on things really start becoming weird!
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RIDING ON THE WINGS OF THE CHERUBIM (Ezekiel 1:5-6, 10-13 )
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In the middle of this raging storm I saw what appeared to be four living creatures. They had the general appearance of human beings, but each had four faces and four wings.
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Each living creature had the same four faces: a human face in the front, the face of a lion on the right, the face of an ox on the left, and the face of an eagle at the back.
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They each stretched out one pair of wings so that they touched the wings of the living creatures on either side. They used the other pair of wings to cover their body.
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These amazing creatures burned like coals of fire or blazing torches. Lightening flashed around and between them. Because they faced in all directions at once, they could move in any direction the spirit chose to move, without any need to turn around.
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There are plenty of unique aspects to the description of these “living beings”, but this vision draws heavily on the imagery of the Tabernacle, and later of Solomon’s Temple.
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When the cloud and fire of God’s glory settled over the Tabernacle in the wilderness, it settled specifically above the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies. On top of the ark was the atonement cover, with two cherubim, one at either side, their wings making a covering for the mercy seat, the place from where God spoke with Moses and revealed his purposes to the nation of Israel.
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The cherubim were also the central feature of Solomon’s Temple. But there is one significant feature of the cherubim in the Temple that is relevant to the imagery of Zechariah’s vision:
When Solomon had finished overlaying the entire Temple with gold, including the altar that sat in the inner sanctuary, he made two cherubim out of olive wood. Each was 10 cubits (15 feet) tall. He placed the cherubim in the inner sanctuary, on either side of the altar. Their outspread wings reached from wall to wall, and their inner wings touched at the center of the room. (1 Kings 6:22-23, 27)
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I’ve always assumed the cherubim in the Tabernacle had two wings, but actually the description in Exodus does not specify whether they had two or four. But it’s quite clear that the cherubim in Solomon’s Temple had four wings, just like the living beings in Ezekiel’s vision, and the attitude of the living beings, with their wings spread out to touch the wings of the living beings on either side, is identical to that of the cherubim in the Temple.
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There are subsequent references which closely associate the cherubim with the appearance of the glory of God.
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The LORD reigns! Let the nations tremble! He sits enthroned between the cherubim. The whole earth shakes! The LORD sits in majesty in Zion. He is exalted above the nations. (Psalm 99:1-2)
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LORD God Almighty, God of Israel, you are enthroned between the cherubim! You alone are God of all the kingdoms of the earth. You alone created the heavens and the earth. (Isaiah 37:16)
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Note how these verses not only reflect on God’s majesty and royal authority over Jerusalem, but over all nations, throughout the world at large. Some of the other details of Zechariah’s vision of the living beings reflect the sense of God’s presence filling the whole world – not being limited only to Jerusalem and to the building of the Temple.
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There are four of them – a reference to the “four corners” of the earth
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Their faces represent humans, wild animals (the lion), domestic animals (the ox) and birds (the eagle) – all the living creatures in the world who are under God’s sovereign power and authority
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They are able to move back and forth, in any direction throughout the world, without any hindrance
This is a picture of God’s glory touching the earth, filling the whole world, reaching into every people and every nation.
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WHEELS WITHIN WHEELS (Ezekiel 1:15-18)
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As I looked at these beings, I saw four wheels touching the ground beside them, one wheel belonging to each. The wheels sparkled as if made of beryl. All four wheels looked alike and were made the same; each wheel had a second wheel turning crosswise within it. The beings could move in any of the four directions they faced, without turning as they moved. The rims of the four wheels were tall and frightening, and they were covered with eyes all around.
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This imagery of the wheels within wheels is unique to Ezekiel. The same wheels feature in a second vision in Ezekiel 10, but that does not add anything to the imagery we see in this first vision. So we can only interpret the image according to the part that it plays in the present context, but it seems as though the significance of the wheels is actually fairly straightforward.
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We have four wheels, one alongside each of the living creatures. The number four signifies their importance in the worldly realm, and this is reinforced by the fact that the four wheels are physically touching the ground.
Each wheel has a second wheel turning crosswise, i.e. at a 45 degree angle. This means the wheels can turn and move in any direction – north, south, east, west – without any hindrance. They would be great gadgets for parking your car in a tight parking spot! But they would hardly fit a family sized car, they are tall and frightening in appearance, as is the rest of the vision. Everything here is strange, awesome, suggestive of the amazing wonder and majesty of God. And they are covered in eyes.
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There are just two words that would seem to sum up the appearance of the wheels:
Omnipresence: meaning that God can go anywhere, and is present everywhere in his earthly creation. Nowhere is outside of his sovereignty and control, and
Omniscience: meaning that he sees everything, knows everything, even our thoughts and innermost desires.
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So there is a very powerful and applicable message here for Ezekiel and the rest of the exiles who felt they were far from God’s dwelling place, that the God of Israel had no influence here among the idols of Babylon. God is not tied to the Temple in Jerusalem, as both Stephen and Paul reminded their audience, “God does not dwell in Temples made by human hands”. He is here too, by the river Kebar, in all his glory and majesty!
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So far Ezekiel’s vision has focused on the four living creatures, and the wheels that move alongside them. The image was frightening, majestic, a tremendous amount to take in, but he now shifts his view to look above and beyond the living creatures, and the vision gets even weirder…
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THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY (Ezekiel 1:22-25)
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Spread out above the living creatures was some kind of opaque surface, as if I was looking up through a layer of ice crystals..
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Just beneath this surface the living creatures stretched forth their outer wings, so that each touched the wings of the creatures on either side. As they flew, their wings sounded like mighty rushing water, or like the voice of the Almighty or like the tumult of a mighty army.
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But as I watched, they stopped, and stilled the mighty fluttering of their wings. And in the stillness, a voice spoke from beyond the crystal surface above them.
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At this point, any resemblance to the Tabernacle or the Temple in Jerusalem seems to have evaporated. Can we find another passage in Scripture where the imagery may help us interpret what Ezekiel is seeing in this surface of ice or crystal. The phrase “crystal sea” may come to mind, as it features in Francis Rowley’s well-known hymn:
Yes, I'll sing the wondrous story
Of the Christ who died for me,
Sing it with the saints in glory,
Gathered by the crystal sea.
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Rowley borrows that imagery from John’s vision in Revelation 4:3-8.
I saw a throne in heaven and someone sitting on it. The one sitting on the throne shone with brilliant light, as brilliant as gemstones. A rainbow circled his throne, glowing like an emerald.
This central throne was surrounded by another twenty-four thrones. Twenty-four elders sat on them, representing the twelve tribes of Israel and twelve apostles of the New Testament church. They were all clothed in white and had gold crowns on their heads.
From the throne in the centre came flashes of lightning and crashes of thunder. And in front of the throne were seven torches with burning flames. These torches represented the sevenfold Spirit of God.
In front of the throne was what looked like a sea of glass, clear and sparkling like crystal.
In the center surrounding the throne were four living creatures, each covered with eyes, front and back. The first of these living creatures had the appearance of a lion; the second was like an ox; the third had the face of a human being; and the fourth was like an eagle in flight. Each of these living creatures had six wings, and their wings were covered all over with eyes, inside and out.
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There are a number of features which differ from Ezekiel’s vision, but the similarities are striking:
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At the centre of both visions is the throne of God, awesome and majestic
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Around the throne are four living creatures. In Revelation they only have one face each, but they have the same four faces between them as appear on the living creatures in Ezekiel.
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The covering of eyes appears in both visions, though in Ezekiel 1 the eyes are on the wheels rather than the cherubim (in the second vision in Ezekiel 10 the living creatures are also covered in eyes).
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And in both visions there is a surface stretching out around the throne described as being like crystal, though in Revelation the living creatures, and the twenty four elders, are all gathered together above the surface (which is likened to the sea). In Ezekiel the living creatures are below the surface of crystal and Ezekiel is looking up through the surface from below.
So can we equate the crystal sky in Ezekiel with the crystal sea in Revelation? For me, it’s just a question of perspective. In Ezekiel, we are looking at a vision of God’s sovereignty over the kingdoms of the earth, at God’s majesty touching and filling his earthly domain. In Revelation we are looking at a vision of Heaven, with the angelic beings and the saints gathered in glory around the throne. In Ezekiel we are looking upwards from earth, in Revelation looking down from heaven.
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Can we be more specific about the nature and the purpose of this sky/sea of crystal? Well, there is in fact another aspect of the visual symbolism of the Tabernacle in the wilderness that might give further clues.
Remember that the cherubim in the Tabernacle were made as a covering and protection for the atonement cover (kapporeth, also translated “place of atonement”, “mercy seat”):
Make two cherubim from hammered gold, and place them at either end of the atonement cover. Mold the cherubim and the atonement cover from one single piece of gold. The cherubim should face each other and look down on the atonement cover, with their wings spread out to overshadow it. (Exodus 25:18-20)
Above the atonement cover, between the wings of the cherubim, is the place where God’s presence appears, from where he communicates with the High Priest, and through him with his people. Below the atonement cover are the tablets with the ten commandments, as a reminder of the sin and corruption which must be atoned for by the ritual sacrifice. The sprinkling of sacrificial blood upon the atonement cover signifies that the sins of the nation are covered and that reconciliation has been achieved.
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But the atonement cover itself has the function of keeping the holiness and majesty of God separated from the sin and corruption of the world. God cannot inhabit the same space as human sin.
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So, in Ezekiel’s vision, God’s glory appears above the crystal sky. God’s majesty and glory is allowed to permeate through the crystal surface, but it is the living creatures who act as his emissaries to carry out his sovereign purposes in the kingdoms of this world. God’s glory and holiness are undiminished.
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In John’s vision in Revelation, we are looking at a new heaven and earth from which sin has been eliminated. Micah 7:19 tells us that God will “trample our sins under his feet and cast them into the depths of the sea.” Here in heaven our sins are symbolically buried underneath that crystal sea, which indicates they are permanently covered and irrecoverable.
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The visual similarity between the crystal sky/sea and the solid gold atonement cover may be a little tenuous, but their function is certainly comparable.
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So Ezekiel is looking up through this crystal surface, in order to make out the vision that appears above. From this point he uses very vague language:
“something that looks like a throne…”,
“a figure whose appearance resembles a man…”
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It’s as if he is looking through a very opaque, indistinct surface and has problems making out the details. Paul says, in 1 Corinthians 13:12:
Now we see as if looking through a glass (or mirror), indistinctly; but then we will see clearly, face to face.
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THIS IS WHAT IT LOOKED LIKE TO ME (Ezekiel 1:26-28)
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Above this surface of crystal was something that looked to me like a throne, brilliant and sparkling like a sapphire.
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On this throne, high above the crystal surface, was – if I could make out the shape – a figure whose appearance resembled a human being. The upper part of this figure, from what could be his waist upwards, looked like a burning furnace, glowing the colour of amber. The lower part of the figure was like pure radiant fire, shining with splendor. The space all around this figure glowed with light, like a rainbow shining in the clouds on a rainy day.
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This is what the glory of Yahweh looked like to me. When I saw it, I fell down in worship, and I heard a voice speaking to me.
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Ezekiel is clearly struggling to comprehend the vision he sees, above the crystal sky. He is also struggling to find words to describe the vision. The description is very vague and confusing, and what we should get from Ezekiel’s description is the general sense of wonder, awe, even terror at this impression of the glory and majesty of God.
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Questions for consideration and discussion
There is one (admittedly impressionistic) detail that we might consider particularly significant.
Ezekiel says that the figure high above the throne had the “appearance of a human being”. We are told many times in Scripture that God does not have a physical appearance – “No-one has ever seen the Father…” (John 6:46). So if Ezekiel does make out a figure with the form of a human being, what does that mean for our understanding of the nature of God? Does God really have a human form – even a long white beard!?
You might like to explore the following verses (and the surrounding context) to help you figure out what this vision might imply.
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Daniel 7:13-14
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Matthew 25:31-32
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John 1:14
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Acts 7:56
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Rev 14:14
We noted at the beginning of this chapter that the day Ezekiel saw this vision from God was a pivotal day in his life. Consider the following questions…
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What was Ezekiel’s emotional response to the vision?
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Why did Ezekiel need the vision at this particular time in his life?
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What ministry was God preparing Ezekiel for? (Read through Ezekiel chapter 2 to understand something of the task which God was calling him to.)
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What difference would this vision have made to Ezekiel in fulfilling that ministry?
What problems or difficulties do you have in your life or ministry for the Lord?
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How would a fresh vision of the glory of God make a difference to your own Christian experience?
