Throughout sacred history, men of God who pursued Him have encountered many theophanic experiences to better understand His personality, nature, and purposes. The prophet Ezekiel and others had many such revelations, and I would like to reflect upon some of them to further enhance my contention that many biblical passages disclose the true dignity of Christ.
“And above the firmament over their heads was the likeness of a throne, in appearance like a sapphire stone; on the likeness of the throne was a likeness with the appearance of a man high above it. Also from the appearance of His waist and upward I saw, as it were, the color of amber with the appearance of fire all around within it; and from the appearance of His waist and downward I saw, as it were, the appearance of fire with brightness all around. Like the appearance of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the brightness all around it. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord.” Ezekiel 1:26-28 (NKJV).
Obviously, the prophet Ezekiel could not fully understand exactly what he saw. Moreover, he barely believed his own eyes, so he made a human attempt to describe what he felt he was seeing and experiencing. He saw four-faced angelic beings with four wings. This apparition, however, was not the only phenomenon. All the cherubim had feet like calves hooves. Somehow, the Cherubim were attached to the wheels Ezekiel saw, and he describes it as being a wheel within a wheel. The wheels had eyes and could move in any direction the Spirit desired. The clear implication here is that whoever stands/sits upon the sapphire stone rides upon a living throne. Who else could this be but Christ the Son of The Living God, The Highly Exalted One. Eventually, in the midst of all of these supernatural manifestations, the prophet hears a voice speaking to him:
“And He said to me, “Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak to you.” Then the Spirit entered me when He spoke to me, and set me on my feet; and I heard Him who spoke to me. And He said to me: “Son of man, I am sending you to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against Me; they and their fathers have transgressed against Me to this very day. For they are impudent and stubborn children. I am sending you to them, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’ As for them, whether they hear or whether they refuse—for they are a rebellious house—yet they will know that a prophet has been among them.” Ezekiel 2:1-5 (NKJV)
Everything transpiring within this scenario was designed to impress upon the prophet’s mind and the minds of all those who would subsequently read this passage of scripture the authority, majesty, and awesome power of The Lord Almighty.
“Then He called out in my hearing with a loud voice, saying, “Let those who have charge over the city draw near, each with a deadly weapon in his hand.” And suddenly six men came from the direction of the upper gate, which faces north, each with his battle-ax in his hand. One man among them was clothed with linen and had a writer’s inkhorn at his side. They went in and stood beside the bronze altar. Now the glory of the God of Israel had gone up from the cherub, where it had been, to the threshold of the temple. And He called to the man clothed with linen, who had the writer’s inkhorn at his side; and the Lord said to him, “Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and cry over all the abominations that are done within it.” Ezekiel 9:1-4 (NKJV)
In the above narrative, those spared are people sympathetic to God. They are abhorrent of the abominations enacted around them by wanton sinners, and they cry unto the All-Powerful One day and night without ceasing. Begging Him to intervene in the cesspool of wickedness engulfing the nation. Urging Him to assert His sovereignty and bring the brazen acts of idolatry, immorality, violence, and every form of injustice being perpetrated to an end.
“To the others He said in my hearing, “Go after him through the city and kill; do not let your eye spare, nor have any pity. Utterly slay old and young men, maidens and little children and women; but do not come near anyone on whom is the mark; and begin at My sanctuary.” So they began with the elders who were before the temple. Then He said to them, “Defile the temple, and fill the courts with the slain. Go out!” And they went out and killed in the city. So it was, that while they were killing them, I was left alone; and I fell on my face and cried out, and said, “Ah, Lord God! Will You destroy all the remnant of Israel in pouring out Your fury on Jerusalem?” Ezekiel 9:5-8 (NKJV)
Like Abraham of Old who pled with The Almighty for the City of Sodom: (Suppose there were fifty righteous within the city; would You also destroy the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous that were in it? Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” Genesis 18:24-25 NKJV ). The prophet Ezekiel only sees with human eyes and pleads for the inhabitants of Jerusalem. But he is conversing with One, who sees the full extent of human depravity and knows everything.
The Lord answered the prophet:
“Then He said to me, ‘The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great, and the land is full of bloodshed, and the city full of perversity; for they say, ‘The Lord has forsaken the land, and the Lord does not see!’ And as for Me also, My eye will neither spare, nor will I have pity, but I will recompense their deeds on their own head.’ Just then, the man clothed with linen, who had the inkhorn at his side, reported back and said, ‘I have done as You commanded me.'” Ezekiel 9:9-11 (NKJV)
In the above passage, Christ is portrayed as the supreme Judge and arbiter of human destiny. How can we be certain that this is Christ? We are counseled in scripture that no man has ever seen God. But the Son in the Father’s bosom has declared him. (John 1:18)
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