Markseasigh said:
The Hebrew Study Bible (Which is much like the KJ or NKJ but there are some subtle differences in the editions). I’ve always found this particular portion of Ezekiel very interesting. It’s not like the author was trying to conceal this knowledge, he placed it in the very first chapter of his book. Ezekiel basically figured if you were only gonna read a little of my book, well you would at least read the first chapter… right?
From the Heb. Study Bible Edition
Ezekiel 1:4-6, 15-21
4.
I looked, and lo, a stormy wind came sweeping out of the north-a huge cloud and flashing fire, surrounded by a radiance; and in the center of it, in the center of the fire, a gleam as of amber.
5.
In the center of it were also the figures of four creatures. An this was their appearance. They had the figures of human beings.
6.
However, each had four faces, and each of them had four wings; the legs of each were fused into a single rigid leg, and the feet of each were like a single calf's hoof; and their sparkle was like the luster of burnished bronze.
15.
As I gazed at the creatures, I saw one wheel on the ground next to each of the four-faced creatures.
16.
As for the appearance and structure of the wheels, they gleamed like beryl (amber colored stone). All four had the same form; the appearance and structure of each was as of two wheels cutting through each other.
17.
And when they moved, each could move in the direction of any of its four quarters; they did not veer when they moved.
:blink:
18.
Their rims were tall and frightening, for the rims of all four were covered all over with eyes.
19.
And when the creatures moved forward, the wheels moved at their sides; and when the creatures were borne above the earth, the wheels were borne too.
20.
Wherever the spirit impelled them to go, they went-wherever the spirit impelled them-and the wheels were borne along side them; for the spirit of the creatures was in the WHEELS.
21.
When those moved, these moved; and when those stood still, these stood still; and when those were borne above the earth, the wheels were borne alongside them-for the spirit of the creatures was in the WHEELS
The rims from verse 18 may have been where the idea of halos on angels come from. IF not, Does anyone have any idea where in the Bible it says angels have gold rings over their head.
Later on in the book the angels call Ezekiel son of man. They are sons of God. They later on in the book explain to Ezekiel that they are what are called Cherubim a race of gods angels.
MY QUESTION IS… :unsure:
WHAT ARE THE WHEELS SUPPOSED TO BE? Some type of vehicle?
If not why do the angels have wheels? In other places in the Bible there are fire drawn chariots.
Why do the angels rise up and down from the earth here in machines?
The book of Ezekiel eventually reveals that the creatures are called Cherubim.
Are the Cherubim physical beings like us and the Seraphim more spirit creatures?
I'm sure you all have thoughts....
Feel Free to follow up
Hi! 'Markseasigh'
"Ummm, OK, I'll bite",, as some express it.
Howz 'bout I give you the LONG story?
Yuh see? If I jus' give yuh the short story, I'm afraid that yuh won't be able to 'connect the dots', (as yet another common expression goes).
Do you know what a 'schism' is?
Well, it's the root of the Greek verb "schizo" which means to disrupt.
In the scriptures, when the word "schism" is used, it generally is in the context of disruption in the faithful Church; something which causes a breakdown in unity.
For instance, the most widely known example of a 'schism' in Church history is the great schism of 1054, when there was a split between the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church. Then there was the Reformation, which was a disruption that resulted in the division of the Roman Catholics and the Protestants.
Well, you should be consoled to know that God too was involved in a dreadful schism which had disastrous consequences; namely: the emergence of the kingdom of Satan. This event introduced a division between the heavenly beings.
From the very beginning (in eternity), it was God's desire that there would be man bearing God's image and living on the same level as God. In fact, God sought a partner who would be like Him, share His throne and in whom the whole fulness of God would physically dwell, so that, by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, man would partake of the divine nature. Such a people would have to be great in number, for in them the whole creative faculty and the multi-faceted wisdom of the Almighty would be revealed.
God wants to be the source of life and the inspiration in every believer, so that there will be a time when He will be able to continue His creative work with a heavenly parliament, which will be in complete and unbreakable unity with Him. This sublime intent of God demanded a careful preparation in the invisible, as well as in the visible, world because man would have to be able to function in these two dimensions.
First of all there would have to be suitable surroundings for man on earth and in Heaven, so that man would be able to adequately fulfil his double function.
Thus, on earth, there came into being beautiful vegetation and animals: man was to rule over them and could freely make use of them.
In order to be able to exercise earthly power, God gave man knowledge, wisdom and creativity: "With glory and honour did God crown man. God made him little less than the angels", ('Psalm 8:6,7). That's why it's written in Genesis 1:27 that "God created man in His image".
The next phase should be for man to begin to function in the same manner as God. This would necessitate a transformation in man as recorded in 1Corinthians 15:47, "Man the first is from the earth, material, man the second is from heaven". The Apostle John expresses this change in this way: "Beloved, now are we the sons of God and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him", (I John 3:2). Then the re-created man will have dominion in heaven and on earth. He will sit upon the throne of God as a perfect, spiritual being, just like Jesus, who at this moment is already there.
It is written that God first created the Heavens. This means He first created the spiritual world where He himself belongs. The beings there are entirely invisible to the natural eye. Although, the soul and spirit of man are also invisible, yet, in the unregnerated natural human being, soul and spirit are focused only on what belongs to the earth. Because a natural man remains preoccupied with the same earthly/visible things as, say, the spirit in plants and animals, his citizenship is not in the Heavenlies, (Philippians 3:20).
The angels were created, without exception, to serve God and to minister for the sake of them that shall inherit salvation, (Hebrews 1:14). They neither develop nor go through a process of growth and reproduction: Ezekiel 28:13 says,"Thy pipes were prepared in the day that thou was created". These precious stones describe the splendid talents of the angelic hiercharchy. These stones were their covering and expressed their beauty, (Ezekiel 8:13). The number of angels was complete from the time they were. created. Nevertheless, they are innumerable angels; groups numbering ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands of holy angels, (Dan 10: 7, Heb 12: 22 & Rev 5:11). Revelation 9:16 offers a picture of the fallen angels, (those which are still bound in the great river Euphrates), and mentions the number of twice ten thousand times ten thousand, (A.S.V.), .
When God revealed Himself to the prophet Ezekiel in Babylon, he saw in a wonderful vision something which had the shape of a throne, while a heavy storm raged and out of the darkness of a heavy cloud lightning flashed. In this vision, the heavenly throne was related to the glory of the Lord God but, at the same time, the prophet saw a "likeness as of the appearance of a man above upon it", (Ezek1:16). If we made a slight change in the verse,we can easily quote the words of Jesus from John 12:41, "These things Ezekiel wrote down, when he saw His glory and spake of him, (Jesus)"..
In Jesus' glorified body, His likeness retains the appearance of a man. The altar-like wagon throne was carried by four living creatures (cherubs). The prophet's description is vague because he had to look into what seemed to be like a bright and dazzling fire. Above the throne he saw the rainbow, (predicting the grace and blessing), as a sign of God's eternal covenant with mankind.
Everything the prophet saw and prophesied points to the grace destined for us and the Spirit gave witness to all the glory that would follow the sufferings of Christ, (1Pet 1:10-11). Very much later, the Apostle John received a similar vision, when the Heavens were opened to him in a special way. Around the throne there were some 24 more thrones which belonged to the 24 king-priests of the heavenly Jerusalem. These thrones formed a part of the great white throne, where those will sit who will have overcome the wicked darkness in the same way as their Lord had conquered it, (Rev 3:21).
At the beginning of his vision, Ezekiel talks about four remarkable throne-bearers as four "beings" or "four living creatures". But, later on in his vision, it seems as if they become clearer to him and, in chapter 10, he frequently talks about "cherubim". In Revelation, John uses the more vague expression "the four living creatures", which is a better translation than "the four beasts". He is actually using the same word that is used in the Septuagint, (the Greek translation of the Old Testament used in the days of Jesus and before).
So here we have a group of angels or celestial messengers who bear the name "cherubim" which means "light-figures". In the Babylonian language, the word 'kariboe' is used; which means 'being of light'. According to Ezekiel, a cherub looked like a being with four faces: from the front he looked like a man, in profile he looked like a lion and an ox, from the back he looked like. an eagle.
The additional description also had regard to the living earthly creation whom they are to serve and protect in a special way. In the same way that we should not really consider the throne of God to be a chair in Heaven, we should not consider the "beasts" in Heaven to be solid, natural beasts. Rather, just as the Evil One and the unclean spirit world are described as animals, so too the cherubim are described here.
Ezekiel's prophecies give God's entire plan of salvation in a nutshell.
In the last prophecy of the book, we read about a restored Temple and a rebuilt Jerusalem. But in the middle of the book, we read about the lamentation on the fall of the proud King of Tyre. This latter prophecy gives a close-up in the Heavenly Places in which the fall of Satan is depicted. The proud and violent King of Tyre in Ezekiel 28:11-19 is the personification of the "light-bearer", who is called "morning star",(Isa 14:12).. In Latin his name is "Lucifer".
Here in Ezekiel 28:11-19, the fall of the anti-godly power of Genesis 3 is described: "Thou wast in the pleasures of the paradise of God: every precious stone was thy covering: .... Thou, a cherub stretched out, and protecting, and I set thee in the holy mountain of God, thou hast walked in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day of thy creation, until iniquity was found in thee. By the multitude of thy merchandise, thy inner parts were filled with iniquity, and thou hast sinned: and I cast thee out from the mountain of God, and destroyed thee, o covering cherub, out of the midst of the stones of fire. And thy heart was lifted up with thy beauty: thou hast lost thy wisdom in thy beauty, I have cast thee to the ground .... thou art brought to nothing, and thou shalt never be any more".
From this it becomes very clear that the task of the cherubims is to protect and to cover and to carry that which is of utmost importance in God's being; namely: His thoughts and His words. Verse 14 says, "Thou, a cherub stretched out, and protecting, and I set thee in the holy mountain of God". Lucifer was the angel-in-chief of the highest order of cherubim. He walked in the middle of the stones of fire, the light bearing angels, who carried the throne, (just like the priests who carried the Ark of the Covenant). They are chosen to pass on the light of the Word of God, the everlasting gospel, (Rev 14:6).
Psalm 103:20 says of them: "Bless the Lord, all you His angels, you mighty in strength, who do His bidding, obeying His spoken word". These sons of God, these kings in the spiritual realm, present themselves before the Lord God in order to be instructed by His thoughts and they then pass on these thoughts to those who are subject to them, (Job 1:1).
An archangel is a very important angel and one such angel is called Gabriel, "Who stands in the presence of God", (Luke 1:11). Although the cherubs do not know everything, they long to obtain a glimpse of the plan of God, (1Pet 1:12). As the head of innumerable Heavenly beings, Lucifer was concerned with making sure that the lower angels behaved according to his instructions. Lucifer, the morning star, is also called Son of dawn" because he was the first of the ancient creation, (Isa 14:12), Then the other sons of God were called into existence and afterwards came the "common angels". Jesus is also called "the bright and morning star" because He is the beginning of the New Creation of God, (Rev 3:14 & 22:16).
Everyone who overcomes the kingdom of Satan in the same way as Jesus, appropriates the promise: "And he that overcometh and keepeth my works unto the end .... I will give him the morning star", (Rev 2:26-28). This means that God will unite him with the mighty conqueror, Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
Lucifer was the head of the protecting cherubs. His duties were to give full attention to the carrying out of every detail that proceeded out of the mouth of God. His main task was to protect the vacant position on the throne of God, In other words, he was to ensure that the full word of God would take shape in the heavens, (just like Adam was also given the task of protecting the earth and maintaining the Garden of Eden).
After creating the Heavens, God chose this planet earth, (which, like all celestial bodies was still empty and void), in order to develop and plan the earth. This chaos and darkness was not there because of a pre-Adamic fall of angels but because the Creator was somewhat' like a sculptor, who slowly and steadily gives shape and form to a rough block of stone. The more creation progressed, the more joy there was in Heaven and the more glory and honour was given to the Creator. So it is that when man was created, all the angels were full of joy and gladness, for it is written: "While the morning stars sang in chorus and all the sons of God shouted for joy", (Job 38:7). While this event expanded the work of the protecting cherub, the full counsel of God relating to man was not yet made known to the angels.
As long as Adam remained spiritually immature, (had not undergone the metamorphosis of becoming a Heavenly being), he had to be protected by cherubs in the same way as an immature child is protected by his parents. The words of Hebrews 2:7 applied to Adam, "Thou madest him a little lower than the angels".. The promise of Psalm 91:11-12 also applied to Adam, "For to his angels he has given command about you, that they guard you in all your ways. Upon their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone".
Jesus, too, was protected by angels during the time that when He was sanctified by His Father. Think of the time when an angel told Joseph to flee to Egypt with the Child and His mother. Jesus was well aware of this protection because He said to His disciples, "Put your sword back into its place ... or thinkest thou that I cannot appeal to my Father and He shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?", (Matt 26:52-53). In view of the fully mature spiritual state of the Lord, He did not need to be protected by a fellow man, nor did He need help from angels because He knew that He would fight the battle alone by Himself and that He would overcome as a triumphant conqueror. (From our Lord's temptations in the wilderness, it was evident that the fallen cherub, Lucifer, still knew this task of the angels when he quoted Psalm 91).
According to Exodus 4:16, 'gods' are the ones who inspire. This is why Moses is called "the god" of Aaron. The angels were also called and dedicated to inspire, or to convey, the words of God. Think how Moses was inspired by angels. It has become clear that Lucifer, after his downfall, badly misused this ability in order to change the truth into falsehood.
Originally, Lucifer walked in the midst of "stones of fire".. He was full of wisdom and the great organizer in the Kingdom of God. While man lived on earth, Lucifer was to protect him so that man could develop undisturbed. However, when Adam was placed in the Garden of Eden and started to eat from the Tree of Life, Lucifer's attitude changed because this meant that man had "begun to eat and drink from the table of God". In other words, God was going to appoint His kingdom to man ... meaning to say: that the Kingdom of God had drawn near to him, (Luke 22:29-30).
The Lord God's desire and purpose was for fellowship with man and He began to speak to him independently from the angels who "executed his words". Lucifer saw how, next to the sons of God who are angelic creatures, sons of God from the earthly realm, (mankind), were now being admitted into Heaven. Lucifer understood that, through a period of development, the word of God would take on flesh and blood and man would ascend above the angels. He saw that the transformation had started and the last to be created would be the first. The firstborn of creation felt greviously slighted and overlooked and, when God began to reveal His ultimate purpose for man, Lucifer felt tremendously threatened.
It wasn't Lucifer, but man who would receive heavenly sovereignty. A man would become the firstborn of the entire creation and his sovereignty would be on earth as well as in heaven, (Col 1:15). Lucifer could only accept the natural stature of man and utterly rejected the spiritual man to be "the coming man" who could surpass him.
"For God formed man to be imperishable, the image of His own nature He made him. But by the envy of the Devil death entered the world", (Wisdom 2:23-24:Apocrypha). God had created Lucifer and the angels with a free will. This meant that, within the limits of their assigned roles, they were able to make independent decisions on their own initiative In every respect, they were co-workers with God. However, the light-bearing angel named Lucifer, was expected to remain "living of all the words, that proceeded out of the mouth of God", (Matt 4:4). While it was with joy that he embraced God's creation, his joy was extinguished whenl he realized that man was to be his superior. His regard of himself was shattered and this frame of mind produced wrong thoughts. His aspirations were, "to ascend above the height of the clouds that he would be like the most High", (Isa 14:14).
When Lucifer refused to be inspired by the godly thoughts relating to man, his own opinions and views substituted for the word of God, Later, it would be said of this firstborn of creation, "the only begotten Son, which is in the bossom of the Father, (a sign of a deep contact), he has made him known", (John 1:18). This is because Jesus completely absorbed and followed after the Father's thoughts. Of "the son of dawn", however, it is said: "he abode not in the truth", (John 8:44). He had become the enemy of the Word of which he was to have held fast and, therefore, he became the father (or the originator) of lies and falsehood. The work of Lucifer in the Kingdom of God came to a halt and he looked to earth as his place of operation where he could oppose the plan of God with and for man.
God put a distance between Himself and Lucifer because He steadfastly holds to His plan to put man on His throne.
Once iniquity was to be found in this blameless cherub, he drifted away, far "from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power", (2 Thess 1:1. There was no possibility of restitution in him and, therefore, the return of this lost son is out of the question. Lucifer abandoned the word of God, with the result he was cut off from the source of knowledge and even "his wisdom came to nought", but his strength remained. This faculty was from that time used for "violence's sake".
After his downfall, Lucifer became known as 'the adversary' or Satan, the Devil, the accuser of the brethren. He fell down from Heaven, out of the Kingdom of God, because this kingdom's climate is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit", (Rom 14:17). Lucifer formed another Kingdom in the unseen world (kingdom of darkness) which has a climate of unrighteousness, lawlessness, hatred and depression. Accompanying him too were the dissatisfied angels who also felt aggrieved because of the elevated place that was given to mankind by God.
In 1Timothy 3:6,7, the Apostle Paul warns spiritually ambitious persons to take heed that they do not fall into the Devil's snare: in other words, be careful that in reaching for a place to which they are not entitled, they come under the same condemnation as the Devil. Jesus said about such people that they wanted to force their way into the Kingdom of God with violence. With regard to this, the Apostle also speaks of people who, because of their inflated egos, would also fall under a similar sentence to the Devil.
The judgement or the sentence of the Devil implied that he was put out of the kingdom of God. Whenever highly placed persons fall down from the Kingdom of God they often bring many other people in their path. The people who grumbled were less dangerous to Moses than the rebellion of Korah, Dathan and Abiram with the two hundred and fifty important men. Their sin was that they made themselves equal to Moses In saying, "Enough from you! The whole community, all of them, are holy; the Lord is in their midst. Why then should you set yourselves over the Lord's congregation?", (Num 16:3). Moses, however, was the person who, on behalf of the faithful, understood God's voice and was ordained by God to be His spokesman to His people. The ones who rebelled, however, wanted to introduce a democratic line within a theocratic structure: equality for everybody: just as Lucifer had wanted to be equal to the Most High in order to have his thoughts prevail over God's thoughts.
Consider for a moment John the Baptist.
He had received such a high calling from God but he had a completely different disposition. When those who were baptized went to Jesus in crowds, John said, "No man can accept anything unless it be given to him from Heaven ...... but he that cometh after me is mightier than I .... He must grow and I must become less". John the Baptist did not fall into the Devil's snare but instead became the greatest man of God in the Old Covenant. He rejoiced and was satisfied with his appointed place.
The Kingdom of God had undergone a schism through the sin of Lucifer which resulted in the existence of a counter-kingdom, which was later to be the root of the great Babylon.
Lucifer did not withdraw in silence but instead tried to destroy the creation of God for which he felt no devotion. He brought about a tremendous disruption which caused many a person to be brought to confusion and destruction. His disobedience has made him an example and a warning to everyone who tries to disrupt the work which other people have built up. He became a robber and a thief in the creation of God. The Devil became the organizer of the Kingdom of Darkness and rules there with harsh violence. He is a fanatic, using his rod to overpower nations. The Son of Man did not regard It a robbery to be equal to God, and later said, "Learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart" and he also stressed that the meek would inherit the earth.
"And I cast thee out from the mountain of God and destroyed thee" This high and elevated mountain is the symbol of the Holy Spirit and on It stands the throne of God which symbolizes the sovereignty of God.
On the right-hand side of the Father's throne sits the Son of man, to whom all power is entrusted in Heaven as well as on earth. He is the incarnate Word of God which has not returned to God void but has accomplished that for which it was sent. This Word will also glorify many more sons. In our day, it Is said to those who hunger and thirst for the righteousness of the Kingdom of God: "But ye are come unto Mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and Church of the firstborn, which are written in Heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant", (Heb 12:22-24).
God's Word has a tremendous, irresistable power, Therefore, Almighty God could allow Himself to create angels and men with free Independent wills. He considers His creation to be so good that man will eventually respond to His expectations. This is why, inherent in His Word, is the restoration through the Lamb which was slain from the foundation of the world.
In.the fulness of time God sent the Incarnate Word, behind whom was the full power of His Spirit. This Word goes forth conquering and to conquer. The mature, transformed sons of God follow behind Him. They are renewing Heaven and earth: "They shall not hurt, nor shall they kill In all my holy mountain, for the earth Is filled with the knowledge of the Lord, as the covering waters of the sea", (Isa 11:9).
