Transcript Ezekiel - God's Character

Chapter 1: Wheels within
Wheels
650
600
586
King
Prophet
Manasseh
Amon
Nahum
Josiah
Jeremiah, Zephaniah, Habakkuk,
Ezekiel
Joahaz
Jehoiakim 605 – 1st invasion (Daniel)
Jehoiachin 597 – 2nd invasion (Ezekiel)
Zedekiah 586 – 3rd invasion (Jeremiah)
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“On the fifth day of the fourth month of
the thirtieth year, I, Ezekiel the
priest…was living with the Jewish exiles
by the Chebar River in Babylonia. It was
the 5th year since King Jehoiachin had
been taken into exile.” (Ezekiel 1:1)
– 593 BC
Ezekiel taken captive in 597 at age 25
Most messages contain the month and
year. The last in 571 BC
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“Ezekiel’s purpose is to declare the holy
character of God and to extol His
glory…His message is much like that of
John in the Book of Revelation, full of
imagery and symbolism.” (Believer’s
Study Bible)
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“The sky opened, and I saw a vision of
God…There in Babylonia beside the
Chebar River, I heard the LORD speak to
me, and I felt his power. I looked up and
saw a windstorm coming from the north.
Lightning was flashing from a huge cloud,
and the sky around it was glowing. Where
the lightning was flashing, something
shone like bronze. At the center of the
storm I saw what looked like four living
creatures in human form, but each of them
had four faces and four wings.
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Their legs were straight, and they had
hoofs like those of a bull. They shone like
polished bronze. In addition to their four
faces and four wings, they each had four
human hands, one under each wing. Two
wings of each creature were spread out
so that the creatures formed a square,
with their wing tips touching. When they
moved, they moved as a group without
turning their bodies.
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“Each living creature had four different faces: a
human face in front, a lion’s face at the right, a
bull's face at the left, and an eagle’s face at the
back. Two wings of each creature were raised so
that they touched the tips of the wings of the
creatures next to it, and their other two wings
were folded against their bodies. Each creature
faced all four directions, and so the group could
go wherever they wished, without having to
turn. Among the creatures there was something
that looked like a blazing torch, constantly
moving. The fire would blaze up and shoot out
flashes of lightning.
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The creatures themselves darted back and
forth with the speed of lightning. As I was
looking at the four creatures I saw four
wheels touching the ground, one beside each
of them. All four wheels were alike; each one
shone like a precious stone, and each had
another wheel intersecting it at right angles,
so that the wheels could move in any of the
four directions. The rims of the wheels were
covered with eyes. Whenever the creatures
moved, the wheels moved with them, and if
the creatures rose up from the earth, so did
the wheels.
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“The creatures went wherever they wished,
and the wheels did exactly what the creatures
did, because the creatures controlled them. So
every time the creatures moved or stopped or
rose in the air, the wheels did exactly the
same. Above the heads of the creatures there
was something that looked like a dome made
of dazzling crystal. There under the dome
stood the creatures, each stretching out two
wings toward the ones next to it and covering
its body with the other two wings. I heard the
noise their wings made in flight; it sounded
like the roar of the sea, like the noise of a
huge army, like the voice of Almighty God.
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When they stopped flying, they folded their
wings, but there was still a sound coming from
above the dome over their heads. Above the
dome there was something that looked like a
throne made of sapphire, and sitting on the
throne was a figure that looked like…
a human being. The figure seemed to be shining
like bronze in the middle of a fire. It shone all
over with a bright light that had in it all the
colors of the rainbow. This was the dazzling
light which shows the presence of the LORD.
When I saw this, I fell face downward on the
ground. Then I heard a voice.” (Ezekiel 1:1-28)
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Is this a literal depiction of heavenly
realities?
Is this symbolic of something?
Is this meant to convey a meaning to
Ezekiel and to the people of that time?
What does it mean to us?
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“I realized I was seeing the brightness of
the LORD’s glory!” (Ezekiel 1:28 – GN)
“This was the appearance of the likeness
of the glory of God.” (Ezekiel 1:28 – NET)
“The sight was like the glory of
Yahweh.” (Ezekiel 1:28 – NJB)
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“Have you rejected us forever? Is there
no limit to your anger?” (Lamentations
5:22)
“Mortal man, do you see what the
Israelite leaders are doing in secret? They
are all worshiping in a room full of
images. Their excuse is: ‘The LORD
doesn’t see us! He has abandoned the
country.’”(Ezekiel 8:12)
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Everything is chaos
“What hurts me most is this – that God is
no longer powerful.” (Psalm 77:10)
God is not involved
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“I looked at the dome over the heads of the
living creatures and above them was
something that seemed to be a throne made
of sapphire. God said to the man wearing
linen clothes, ‘Go between the wheels under
the creatures and fill your hands with
burning coals. Then scatter the coals over the
city.’” (Ezekiel 10:1-2)
God is not involved?
Everything is chaos?
“What hurts me most is this – that God is no
longer powerful.” (Psalm 77:10)
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“God said, ‘I am who I am. You must tell them:
'The one who is called I AM has sent me to you.
Tell the Israelites that I, the LORD, the God of
their ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob, have sent you to them. This is my name
forever; this is what all future generations are
to call me.’” (Exodus 3:13-15)
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“And you will die in your sins if you do
not believe that ‘I Am Who I Am’…When
you lift up the Son of Man, you will
know that ‘I Am Who I Am’…I am
telling you the truth,’ Jesus replied.
‘Before Abraham was born, ‘I Am’. Then
they picked up stones to throw at him,
but Jesus hid himself and left the
Temple.” (John 8:24,28,58,59)
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“So Judas went to the garden, taking with him a
group of Roman soldiers, and some Temple
guards sent by the chief priests and the
Pharisees; they were armed and carried lanterns
and torches. Jesus knew everything that was
going to happen to him, so he stepped forward
and asked them, ‘Who is it you are looking for?’
‘Jesus of Nazareth,’ they answered. ‘I am he,’ he
said. Judas, the traitor, was standing there with
them. When Jesus said to them, ‘I am he,’ they
moved back and fell to the ground.” (John 18:36)
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“I want you to remember, my friends, what
happened to our ancestors who followed
Moses. They were all under the protection
of the cloud, and all passed safely through
the Red Sea. In the cloud and in the sea
they were all baptized as followers of
Moses. All ate the same spiritual bread and
drank the same spiritual drink. They drank
from the spiritual rock that went with
them; and that rock was Christ himself.” (1
Corinthians 10:1-4)
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Angel of the Lord
 Hagar, Jacob, Moses, Gideon
Man of Nazareth
 “Can anything good come from
Nazareth?” (John 1:46 – GN)
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“…saying, ‘Mortal man, stand up. I want
to talk to you.’ While the voice was
speaking, God’s spirit entered me and
raised me to my feet, and I heard the voice
continue, ‘Mortal man, I am sending you to
the people of Israel.’” (Ezekiel 2:1-3)
“When I saw him, I fell down at his feet
like a dead man. He placed his right hand
on me and said, ‘Don’t be afraid!’”
(Revelation 1:17)
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“When I heard his voice, I fell to the ground
unconscious and lay there face downward.
Then a hand took hold of me and raised me
to my hands and knees; I was still trembling.
The angel said to me, ‘Daniel, God loves you.
Stand up and listen carefully to what I am
going to say. I have been sent to you.’ When
he had said this, I stood up, still trembling.
Then he said, "Daniel, don’t be afraid. God
has heard your prayers…”(Daniel 10:9-12)
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“At this point I had another vision and
saw an open door in heaven. And the
voice that sounded like a trumpet, which
I had heard speaking to me before, said,
‘Come up here…’ There in heaven was a
throne with someone sitting on it. His
face gleamed like such precious stones as
jasper and carnelian, and all around the
throne there was a rainbow the color of
an emerald.” (Revelation 4:2-3)
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“In a circle around the throne were
twenty-four other thrones, on which
were seated twenty-four elders dressed
in white and wearing crowns of gold.
From the throne came flashes of
lightning, rumblings, and peals of
thunder. In front of the throne seven
lighted torches were burning, which are
the seven spirits of God.” (Revelation 4:45)
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“Each one of the four living creatures
had six wings, and they were covered
with eyes, inside and out. Day and night
they never stop singing: ‘Holy, holy,
holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who
was, who is, and who is to come.’”
(Revelation 4:8)
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“The four living creatures sing songs of glory
and honor and thanks to the one who sits on
the throne, who lives forever and ever. When
they do so, the twenty-four elders fall down
before the one who sits on the throne, and
worship him who lives forever and ever.
They throw their crowns down in front of the
throne and say, ‘Our Lord and God! You are
worthy to receive glory, honor, and power.
For you created all things, and by your will
they were given existence and life.’”
(Revelation 4:9-11)
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“Then I saw a scroll in the right hand of
the One who was sitting on the throne.
There was writing on the inside and the
outside of the scroll, and it was sealed with
seven seals. And I saw a strong angel, who
shouted with a loud voice: ‘Who is worthy
to break the seals on this scroll and open
it?’” (Revelation 5:1-2)
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“No one in heaven or on earth or under
the earth was able to open the scroll and
read it. Then I began to weep bitterly
because no one was found worthy to open
the scroll and read it.” (Revelation 5:3-4)
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“But one of the twenty-four elders said to
me, ‘Stop weeping! Look, the Lion of the
tribe of Judah, the heir to David’s throne,
has won the victory. He is worthy to open
the scroll and its seven seals.’ Then I saw a
Lamb that looked as if it had been
slaughtered, but it was now standing
between the throne and the four living
beings and among the twenty-four
elders…He stepped forward and took the
scroll from the right hand of the One sitting
on the throne.” (Revelation 5:5-7)
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“As he did so, the four living creatures and the
twenty-four fell down before the Lamb…They sang a
new song: ‘You are worthy to take the scroll and to
break open its seals. For you were killed, and by
your sacrificial death you bought for God people
from every tribe, language, nation, and race...’ Again
I looked, and I heard angels, thousands and millions
of them! They stood around the throne, the four
living creatures, and the elders, and sang in a loud
voice: ‘The Lamb who was killed is worthy to receive
power, wealth, wisdom, and strength, honor, glory,
and praise!’ And I heard every creature in heaven, on
earth, in the world below, and in the sea---all living
beings in the universe---and they were singing: ‘To
him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb, be
praise and honor, glory and might, forever and
ever!’” (Revelation 5:9-13)
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God on the throne holds a scroll. Surrounded by:
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4 living creatures
24 elders
No one is worthy to open the scroll
The violently slaughtered Lamb on the throne is
worthy
A “new song”: “Again I looked, and I heard angels,
thousands and millions of them! They stood around
the throne, the four living creatures, and the elders,
and sang in a loud voice…And I heard every creature
in heaven, on earth, in the world below, and in the sea--all living beings in the universe---and they were
singing…”
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[The act of the scroll being handed to the slaughtered
Lamb] “…does not mean that the throne of the
universe is occupied by two persons, but that God, the
ruler of the universe, has functionally defined his rule
with his act in Jesus. Revelation’s Christology, like
New Testament Christology generally, is not a
response to the question, ‘Who is Jesus?’ but ‘Who is
God?’ Jesus does not replace God, here or anywhere
else in Revelation. God rules, but God has definitively
manifested his rule in Jesus, who turned out not to be
the Lion who devoured our enemies but the Lamb
who was slain.” (Eugene Boring, “The Theology of
Revelation”, pg 266)
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“Christ and the saints conquer by dying; Satan
and the powers of evil by physical force.”
(Anthony Hanson, “The Wrath of the Lamb”, pg
165)
“Omnipotence is not to be understood as the
power of unlimited coercion, but as the power
of infinite persuasion, the invincible power of
self-negating, self-sacrificial love.” (Caird,
“Revelation”, pg 75)
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“The historic Christian doctrine of the
divinity of Christ does not simply mean
that Jesus is like God. It is far more
radical than that. It means that God is
like Jesus.”
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Elton Trueblood
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“Wherever they went, they gave me a bad
name. People said, ‘These are GOD’s people, but
they got kicked off his land.’ I suffered much
pain over my holy reputation, which the people
of Israel blackened in every country they
entered. ‘Therefore, tell Israel…I’m not doing
this for you, Israel. I’m doing it for me, to save
my character, my holy name, which you've
blackened in every country where you’ve gone.
I’m going to put my great and holy name on
display, the name that has been ruined in so
many countries, the name that you blackened
wherever you went.” (Ezekiel 36:20-23 MSG)
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Ezekiel:
God is still involved
 God is still powerful
 Our world is not mere chaos
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Revelation:
God involved himself to the ultimate degree
 God’s ultimate power is his self-sacrifical love
 Our world is chaotic, but follow the Lamb
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“They won the victory over him because
of the blood of the lamb and the word of
their testimony. They didn't love their
life so much that they refused to give it
up.” (Revelation 12:11)