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EZEKIEL 1
God Manifests Himself To Man
By Johnny Tatum
PART 5: OH, THAT IS WHAT THAT WAS!
What a Striking Picture!
23
Under the expanse their wings were stretched out straight, one toward the other; each one also had two wings covering its body on the one side and on the other.24
I also heard the sound of their wings like the sound of abundant waters as they went, like the voice of the Almighty, a sound of tumult like the sound of an army camp; whenever they stood still, they dropped their wings.25
And there came a voice from above the expanse that was over their heads; whenever they stood still, they dropped their wings.26
Now above the expanse that was over their heads there was something resembling a throne, like lapis lazuli in appearance; and on that which resembled a throne, high up, was a figure with the appearance of a man.27
Then I noticed from the appearance of His loins and upward something like glowing metal that I looked like fire all around within it, and from the appearance of His loins and downward I saw something like fire; and there was a radiance around Him.
This is the part of Ezekiel's vision that is similar to part of John's vision in the Book of Revelation.
Important
: The Ezekiel vision was seen before the Incarnation.Note
: The "Incarnation" refers to when the second Person of the eternal Godhead, the Word of God, altered His form and took on a human body to become a brand new Person, Jesus of Nazareth.
Let us look at verse 26…
26 Now above the expanse that was over their heads there was something resembling a throne, like lapis lazuli in appearance; and on that which resembled a throne, high up, was a figure with the appearance of a man.
The word appearance is a very unusual word, a strange word not used very often. This word always had a very specific meaning:
"Something that had the outline of something but it was empty" (nothing was in it).
And that is very important. It is only the outline of a man, and it is void -- there is nothing in it.
Remember
: This vision is before the Incarnation of Jesus of Nazareth.That means:
God existed throughout all eternity in His manifest form with an outline [of something] that was empty.I Believe
: Throughout eternity past, whenever spiritual beings were around God and they looked at His form, they saw a part of God that was a mystery. There was a form of something that belonged there, but it was missing; they saw an outline of something, but it was empty.
The Two Aspects of the Outline:
First:
It was the outline of a man.Let us combine that thought with something else that we have seen:
the living beings each had the face of a man. Again, this is before the Incarnation, which means:The concept of man was part of God from all eternity
.[Since there was no beginning…] From time before time, there was a slot for humanity that was not separate from God, but was within God.
Second:
The outline of a man was empty.When God says
Let Us make man in Our image (Genesis 1:26), He does not just mean to give man:Although those attributes are created into man,
Let Us make man in Our image means MORE than that.I Believe:
When the angels saw Adam they shouted for joy!Imagine how long [though there is no time in eternity] the angels had seen this slot for humanity and they wondered what the outline in God was. Then God creates, and there is Adam shaped just like the outline within the Godhead. When the angels saw Adam there must have been immediate recognition
That looks just like that void. Oh, that is what that was!The outline was shaped like a man so when the angels saw Adam they knew:
Man is made in God's image, because this image of man was part of God for all eternity
.
and on that which resembled a throne, high up, was a figure with the appearance of a man.
"above" a throne
The original text does NOT say that Person was
on a throne, but that Person was above a throne.The implication
: The Person who is on the throne is the Godhead. And since the Godhead does not have a body, the throne is where He rules and not where He sits (no body -- no sitting).
Part of the Eternal Godhead
The outline of a man shows that:
God was reserving a place for man in His (God's) form
.This is NOT some whim, nor is this a fleeting glimpse of God at one moment in time. We are looking at:
The Eternal Godhead
.Does that not mean that God Himself is not complete until humanity takes its place within Him?
He had been a God of activity for all eternity. And so there is an infinite number (and maybe more!) of things He has done that are:
God's manifested form is not complete until man is placed into the Godhead. Although God's nature never changes, He condescended to change His very form for us. He did not subtract any deity nor did He replace any deity, but He did add humanity to Himself.
Filling the Void
God wanted to fill that void with man -- a living breathing, physical human being. Why? Because God has always wanted a relationship with a human being. A human being who will lean on Him, whom He can talk to, and with whom He can have fellowship.
God meant for Adam to fill the void, but Adam failed Him. So God sent the eternal Word of God into the world as the second Adam (Jesus of Nazareth). God enjoyed the relationship with that young Child [and later] Man, but Jesus of Nazareth cannot fulfill the void. Why not? Because Jesus of Nazareth -- the Person who was a perfect Human Being -- paid the price for our sin through His death on the cross [the wages of our sin is physical death (see Romans 6:23)] so that void can only be filled by man.
When redeemed humanity fills the void:
Important
: Humanity will always be distinct from God. When redeemed human beings fill the void, they will remain redeemed human beings and NOT little gods.
How Important Am I to God?
Man's real place is part of the Godhead!
Amazingly so, in the same way that Adam was not complete without Eve, the Godhead form is not complete without [redeemed] human beings.
Let us look at one more feature of this part of the vision so we will know how the righteous fit in.
27
Then I noticed from the appearance of His loins and upward something like glowing metal that I looked like fire all around within it, and from the appearance of His loins and downward I saw something like fire; and there was a radiance around Him.There are two features: (1) What He does on the outside, and (2) What He is in the center.
On the Perimeter
: Ezekiel sees fire coming out.Symbolic Of
: God's activities. This is what He does; this is His works.Either
- People want God and the fire is purity, light and warmth. -Or People do not want God and the fire is destruction.
Zooming Down In
: Ezekiel sees glowing metals. Inside the glowing metal is just glowing; it is not sending out fire nor is it doing anything.Symbolic Of
: God's Person. This is not what He does; this is who He is.
Where Is the Outline of a Man?
Is the outline of a man on the outside where God's works are, or is it inside where His person is? The outline is where His Person is. That means God has chosen for humanity to not only complete His perfect works, but also to complete His Person.
Basically, God has said:
I do not need anybody, including the cherubs and seraphs, and the Godhead could be in perfect fellowship for eternity and be in total bliss. However, I would rather manifest my very format such that My very Person is incomplete without Us [the Godhead] with man.
Application
: How does that apply to the lives of the believers? Think how foolish it is now to try to get His approval by our performance. That makes it ludicrous; I can hardly think on it with a straight face (a face revealing no ironic amusement or disbelief)! We do NOT relate to God by having our works line up with His works.We relate to God by having our person match up with His Person.
Unraveling Ridiculous Thinking
Look at God's other created beings, the angels. Where are they? Even the cherubs, who are the closest to God, are on the perimeter -- on the outside -- therefore, they are in His activities. And the seraphs (who are just as close to the cherubs) are not in the core, only the righteous are.
Human beings are the only created beings who can relate to God's Person.When the angels first saw Adam they must have freaked out completely.
There is that outline! Now angels see human beings as the following two extremes:
There is a lot in the following verse:
God made him (man) a little lower than the angels for a while. (Hebrews 2:7 and Psalm 8:5)
Think about the power of the spirit beings and how they are described as being just a little higher. Depending on what side of the fence you are on:
And we are just a LITTLE lower than the angels for a short time! How do you comprehend that? I cannot, particularly when reality sets in -- man is made out of dust.
Angels relate to just God's works. That is why the cherubs always say Holy, Holy, Holy. [They do NOT say Love, Love, Love like the Beatles -- sic!] It is NOT because they do not know God's love; they sense and experience His love. However:
The aspect of love that angels cannot experience (like the righteous) is the oneness with God
.When we come into God's Person, we experience a love that is only manifested within the Godhead Himself:
This is a love in unity; the kind of love the believers can partake of, which the angels cannot.
God does NOT want His own to relate to Him by their actions. God wants the righteous to relate to Him by their will -- their thoughts are His thoughts!
Juxtaposition
: We do not relate to God by what we do, we relate to God by who we are not -- partakers in the divine nature.That is another good reason to know Him more. Obviously, the problem is that human beings are trapped in their bodies with their fallen brains. Man is flesh and God is spirit.
Anytime [in the Bible] when flesh sees Spirit, the reaction for man is ALWAYS fear.
To: Daniel 9-10, Daniel's Prayer and the Divine Revelation
Back To: Ezekiel Home Page
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