seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Ezekiel 10:1 I looked, and I saw the likeness of a throne of lapis lazuli above the vault that was over the heads of the cherubim. 2 The Lord said to the man clothed in linen, “Go in among the wheels beneath the cherubim. Fill your hands with burning coals from among the cherubim and scatter them over the city.” And as I watched, he went in.
3 Now the cherubim were standing on the south side of the temple when the man went in, and a cloud filled the inner court. 4 Then the glory of the Lord rose from above the cherubim and moved to the threshold of the temple. The cloud filled the temple, and the court was full of the radiance of the glory of the Lord. 5 The sound of the wings of the cherubim could be heard as far away as the outer court, like the voice of God Almighty[a] when he speaks.
6 When the Lord commanded the man in linen, “Take fire from among the wheels, from among the cherubim,” the man went in and stood beside a wheel. 7 Then one of the cherubim reached out his hand to the fire that was among them. He took up some of it and put it into the hands of the man in linen, who took it and went out. 8 (Under the wings of the cherubim could be seen what looked like human hands.)
9 I looked, and I saw beside the cherubim four wheels, one beside each of the cherubim; the wheels sparkled like topaz. 10 As for their appearance, the four of them looked alike; each was like a wheel intersecting a wheel. 11 As they moved, they would go in any one of the four directions the cherubim faced; the wheels did not turn about[b] as the cherubim went. The cherubim went in whatever direction the head faced, without turning as they went. 12 Their entire bodies, including their backs, their hands and their wings, were completely full of eyes, as were their four wheels. 13 I heard the wheels being called “the whirling wheels.” 14 Each of the cherubim had four faces: One face was that of a cherub, the second the face of a human being, the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle.
15 Then the cherubim rose upward. These were the living creatures I had seen by the Kebar River. 16 When the cherubim moved, the wheels beside them moved; and when the cherubim spread their wings to rise from the ground, the wheels did not leave their side. 17 When the cherubim stood still, they also stood still; and when the cherubim rose, they rose with them, because the spirit of the living creatures was in them.
18 Then the glory of the Lord departed from over the threshold of the temple and stopped above the cherubim. 19 While I watched, the cherubim spread their wings and rose from the ground, and as they went, the wheels went with them. They stopped at the entrance of the east gate of the Lord’s house, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them.
20 These were the living creatures I had seen beneath the God of Israel by the Kebar River, and I realized that they were cherubim. 21 Each had four faces and four wings, and under their wings was what looked like human hands. 22 Their faces had the same appearance as those I had seen by the Kebar River. Each one went straight ahead.
a. Ezekiel 10:5 Hebrew El-Shaddai
b. Ezekiel 10:11 Or aside
Well now... that's quite a vision. The four headed cherubim are back. The first commentary is from bible-studys.org.
This vision is showing Ezekiel, that no longer will these people be the only ones with the Word of God. God has left the temple. They left Him and His teachings in the Word first. Now, He has totally removed His presence from the temple.
There was thus written over the entire structure, as well as Israel’s spiritual life, “Ichabod” (the glory has departed).
He goes out the east gate but He is coming back the same way He went out. Jesus will enter this eastern gate, when He enters Jerusalem as King of kings and Lord of lords.
It is interesting that, that particular gate is blocked up today with stones. When the Lord comes back to the earth and puts His feet on mount Olives, the mountain will cleave in two.
This is from the easy English site.Ezekiel describes again the wheels and the cherubim. These were the same as he saw by the River Chebar (see chapter 1). The wheels moved as the cherubim moved. The cherubim moved as the Spirit of God moved. The wheels did not turn. They went forward as the cherubim led them. Each wheel seemed to have a wheel inside a wheel. That is, each wheel had another wheel across its centre. The cherubim went in any direction but they did not turn their bodies.
All the cherubim and the wheels were full of eyes. The cherubim had eyes in their backs, hands and wings. The eyes show that they can see all things. As they see all things, so does God. Nobody can hide anything from the eyes of God (Hebrews 4:12-13).
There were 4 cherubim and each one had a wheel. Someone called the wheels, ‘the wheels that spin.’ They did not turn to move in any direction. But they did spin and they made a noise.
The cherubim each had 4 faces. Three of these are the same as in the first vision (see chapter 1:10). But the 4th face here is not the face of an ox. It is the face of a cherub. We do not know the reason for the change.
The cherubim and their wheels were preparing to leave the temple. They rose from the ground and the wheels rose with them. The cherubim and the wheels always move together as one.
The glory of God left the temple. It had come out of the most holy place already. It had come to the door. Now it moved away from the door to stand above the cherubim. The cherubim, their wheels and the throne moved. They stopped about 50 yards away at the east gate. As they went the glory of God went above them.
God had left his temple. God had warned Israel that he would do so. This is what God told Moses in Deuteronomy 31:17.
The glory of God had been present at the temple for about 4 centuries. You can read how the glory of God entered the temple in 1 Kings 8:6-11. But now Ezekiel watched as God’s glory left the temple. And because God’s glory left, his special protection for Jerusalem ended. Now nothing prevented the punishment of the people in the city. These things were happening because their lives were so evil.
Ok then.... guess I have to deal with the vision this time because that's what the whole thing is about..... Wait.... nope.... still a message here.... This chapter says God left the Temple. For 400 years God had been there for the descendants of Jacob [Israel]. He gave them ten rules to live by.... the first rule was "worship Me". God warned them that He was jealous. He didn't want to share. God knew that once those stupid humans got a glimpse of those shiny baubles they would run to them like magpies. God knew. God also knew that the siege and conquest of Jerusalem would not end until the Babylonians defiled the Temple. God didn't want to be there when the Temple was destroyed..... He didn't have to be there for that event.
When I read this passage.... I think of helicopters. The four faces would be the rotors for the blades.... which are wings..... and the movement of the cherubim is a lot like the movement of a helicopter taking off. Then..... I remember watching a news story about when the troops left Vietnam..... by helicopter...... leaving innocent people behind.
God already provided for the innocent..... in the last chapter, the guy in linen marked the innocent. They are still protected..... but the descendants of Jacob [Israel] as a whole..... well they are toast..... for the most part.... and the coals are in the hands of the same man in linen..... ready to obliterate Jerusalem.
