Table 15 – The throne of God and its surroundings. (LANDSCAPE)


The vision
at the river Chebar (Eze 1,1-28)
The vision
in Jerusalem (Eze 8,1-4; 10,1-22)
The vision
in heaven (Rev 4,1-11; 6.1-8)

 

1,1 Now it came about in the thirtieth year,
on the fifth day of the fourth month, while
I was by the river Chebar among the
exiles, the heavens were opened and I saw
visions of God.
1,2 On the fifth of the month in the fifth year
of King Jehoiachin’s exile,

1,3 the word of the LORD came expressly to
Ezekiel the priest, son of Buzi, in the land of
the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and
there the hand of the LORD came upon him.











1,4 As I looked, behold, a storm wind was
coming from the north, a great cloud with
fire flashing forth continually and a bright
light around it, and in its midst something
like glowing metal in the midst of the fire.

Introduction.

8,1 It came about in the sixth year, on the fifth
day of the sixth month, as I was sitting in my
house with the elders of Judah sitting before
me, that the hand of the Lord GOD fell on me
there.
8,2 Then I looked, and behold, a likeness as
the appearance of a man; from His loins and
downward there was the appearance of fire,
and from His loins and upward the
appearance of brightness, like the
appearance of glowing metal..
8,3 He stretched out the form of a hand and
caught me by a lock of my head; and the
Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven
and brought me in the visions of God to
Jerusalem, to the entrance of the north
heaven gate of the inner court, where the
seat of the idol of jealousy, which provokes to
jealousy, was located.
8,4 And behold, the glory of the God of Israel
was there, like the appearance which I saw in
the plain.

10,15 Then the cherubim rose up. They are
the living beings that I saw by the river
Chebar.

 

4,1 After these things I looked, and behold,
a door standing open in heaven, and the
first voice which I had heard, like the sound
of a trumpet speaking with me, said, Come
up here, and I will show you what must take
place after these things.
4,2 Immediately I was in the Spirit; and
behold, a throne was standing in heaven,
and One sitting on the throne.
4,3 And He who was sitting was like a
jasper stone and a sardius in appearance;
and there was a rainbow around the throne,
like an emerald in appearance.
4,4 Around the throne were twenty-four
thrones; and upon the thrones I saw
twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white
garments, and golden crowns on their
heads.





4,5 Out from the throne come flashes of
lightning and sounds and peals of thunder.
And there were seven lamps of fire burning
before the throne, which are the seven
Spirits of God;



The vision
at the river Chebar (Eze 1,1-28)
The vision
in Jerusalem (Eze 8,1-4; 10,1-22)
The vision
in heaven (Rev 4,1-11; 6.1-8)

 

1,5 Within it there were figures resembling
four living beings. And this was their
appearance: they had human form.
1,6 Each of them had four faces and four
wings.
1,7 Their legs were straight and their feet
were like a calf’s hoof, and they gleamed
like burnished bronze.
1,8 Under their wings on their four sides
were human hands. As for the faces and
wings of the four of them,
1,9 their wings touched one another; their
faces did not turn when they moved, each
went straight forward.
1,10 As for the form of their faces, each
had the face of a man; all four had the face
of a lion on the right and the face of a bull
on the left, and all four had the face of an
eagle.
1,11 Such were their faces. Their wings
were spread out above; each had two
touching another being, and two covering
 their bodies.
1,12 And each went straight forward;
wherever the spirit was about to go, they
would go, without turning as they went.

The four living beings.

10,20 These are the living beings that I saw
beneath the God of Israel by the river Chebar;
so I knew that they were cherubim.
10,14a And each one had four faces.
10,8 The cherubim appeared to have the form
of a man’s hand under their wings.

10,21 Each one had four faces and each one
four wings, and beneath their wings was the
form of human hands.
10,22 As for the likeness of their faces, they
were the same faces whose appearance I
had seen by the river Chebar. Each one went
straight ahead.

10,14b The first face was the face of a
cherub, the second face was the face of a
man, the third the face of a lion, and the fourth
the face of an eagle.

 

4,6 and before the throne there was
something like a sea of glass, like crystal;
and in the center and around the throne,
four living creatures full of eyes in front and
behind.


4,8 And the four living creatures, each one of
them having six wings,






4,7 The first creature was like a lion, and the
second creature like a calf, and the third
creature had a face like that of a man, and
the fourth creature was like a flying eagle.



The vision
at the river Chebar (Eze 1,1-28)
The vision
in Jerusalem (Eze 8,1-4; 10,1-22)
The vision
in heaven (Rev 4,1-11; 6.1-8)

The fire from between the cherubim.
























1,13 In the midst of the living beings there
was something that looked like burning
coals of fire, like torches darting back
and forth among the living beings. The fire
was bright, and lightning was flashing from
the fire.

The fire from between the cherubim.

10,2 And He spoke to the man clothed in
linen and said, Enter between the whirling
wheels under the cherubim and fill your
hands with coals of fire from between the
cherubim and scatter them over the city.
And he entered in my sight.
10,3 Now the cherubim were standing on the
right side of the temple when the man
entered, and the cloud filled the inner court.
10,4 Then the glory of the LORD went up from
the cherub to the threshold of the temple, and
the temple was filled with the cloud and the
court was filled with the brightness of the
glory of the LORD.
10,5 Moreover, the sound of the wings of the
cherubim was heard as far as the outer court,
like the voice of God Almighty when He
speaks.
10,6 It came about when He commanded the
man clothed in linen, saying, Take fire from
between the whirling wheels, from between
the cherubim, he entered and stood beside a
wheel.
10,7 Then the cherub stretched out his hand
from between the cherubim to the fire which
was between the cherubim, took some and
put it into the hands of the one clothed in
linen, who took it and went out.

The first three seals.

6,1 Then I saw when the Lamb broke one of
the seven seals, and I heard one of the four
living creatures saying as with a voice of
thunder: Come.
6,2 I looked, and behold, a white horse, and
he who sat on it had a bow; and a crown
was given to him, and he went out
conquering and to conquer.
6,3 When He broke the second seal, I heard
the second living creature saying: Come.
6,4 And another, a red horse, went out; and
to him who sat on it, it was granted to take
peace from the earth, and that men would
slay one another; and a great sword was
given to him.
6,5 When He broke the third seal, I heard
the third living creature saying: Come. I
looked, and behold, a black horse; and he
who sat on it had a pair of scales in his
hand.
6,6 And I heard something like a voice in the
center of the four living creatures saying, A
quart of wheat for a denarius, and three
quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not
damage the oil and the wine.



The vision
at the river Chebar (Eze 1,1-28)
The vision
in Jerusalem (Eze 8,1-4; 10,1-22)
The vision
in heaven (Rev 4,1-11; 6.1-8)

The whirling wheels.

1,15 Now as I looked at the living beings,
behold, there was one wheel on the earth
beside the living beings, for each of the four
of them.
1,16 The appearance of the wheels and
their workmanship was like sparkling beryl,
and all four of them had the same form, their
appearance and workmanship being as if
one wheel were within another.
1,17 Whenever they moved, they moved in
any of their four directions without turning
as they moved.
1,18 As for their rims they were lofty and
awesome, and the rims of all four of them
were full of eyes round about.




1,19 Whenever the living beings moved, the
wheels moved with them. And whenever
the living beings rose from the earth, the
wheels rose also.
1,20 Wherever the spirit was about to go,
they would go in that direction. And the
wheels rose close beside them; for the spirit
of the living beings was in the wheels.
1,21 Whenever those went, these went; and
whenever those stood still, these stood still.
And whenever those rose from the earth,
the wheels rose close beside them; for the
spirit of the living beings was in the wheels.

The whirling wheels.

10,9 Then I looked, and behold, four wheels
beside the cherubim, one wheel beside each
cherub; and the appearance of the wheels
was like the gleam of a Tarshish stone.
10,10 As for their appearance, all four of them
had the same likeness, as if one wheel were
within another wheel.
10,11 When they moved, they went in any of
their four directions without turning as they
went; but they followed in the direction which
they faced, without turning as they went.

10,12 Their whole body, their backs, their
hands, their wings and the wheels were full
of eyes all around, the wheels belonging to
all four of them.
10,13 The wheels were called in my hearing,
the whirling wheels.

10,16 Now when the cherubim moved, the
wheels would go beside them; also when
the cherubim lifted up their wings to rise
from the ground, the wheels would not turn
from beside them.




10,17 When the cherubim stood still, the
wheels would stand still; and when they rose
up, the wheels would rise with them, for the
spirit of the living beings was in them.

The fourth living creature.

6,7 When the Lamb broke the fourth seal, I
heard the voice of the fourth living creature
saying: Come.
6,8 I looked, and behold, an ashen horse;
and he who sat on it had the name Death;
and Hades was following with him. Authority
was given to them over a fourth of the earth,
to kill with sword and with famine and with
pestilence and by the wild beasts of the
earth.

4,6b and in the center and around the
throne, four living creatures full of eyes in
front and behind.
4,8 are full of eyes around and within; and
day and night they do not cease to say, holy,
holy, holy is the LORD God, the almighty,
who was and who is and who is to come.
4,9 And when the living creatures give glory
and honor and thanks to Him who sits on
the throne, to Him who lives forever and ever,
4,10 the twenty-four elders will fall down
before Him who sits on the throne, and will
worship Him who lives forever and ever, and
will cast their crowns before the throne,
saying,
4,11 Worthy are You, our Lord and our God,
to receive glory and honor and power; for
You created all things, and because of Your
will they existed, and were created.



The vision
at the river Chebar (Eze 1,1-28)
The vision
in Jerusalem (Eze 8,1-4; 10,1-22)
Die Vision
in heaven (Rev 4,1-11; 6.1-8)

The expanse over the cherubim.

1,22 Now over the heads of the living
beings there was something like an
expanse, like the awesome gleam
of crystal, spread out over their heads.
1,23 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.
1,24 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.
1,25 And there came a voice from above the
expanse that was over their heads;
whenever they stood still, they dropped their
wings.




The vision
at the river Chebar (Eze 1,1-28)
The vision
in Jerusalem (Eze 8,1-4; 10,1-22)
The vision
in heaven (Rev 4,1-11; 6.1-8)

The throne above the expanse.

1,26 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 glory of the LORD.

1,27 Then I noticed from the appearance of
His loins and upward something like
glowing metal that 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.

1,28a As the appearance of the rainbow in
the clouds on a rainy day, so was the
appearance of the surrounding radiance.




1,28b Such was the appearance of the
likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when
I saw it, I fell on my face and heard a voice
speaking.

The throne above the expanse.

10,1 Then I looked, and behold, in the
expanse that was over the heads of the
cherubim something like a sapphire stone
 in appearance resembling a throne,
appeared above them.


The glory of the LORD.

10,18 Then the glory of the LORD departed
from the threshold of the temple and stood
over the cherubim.
8,2 Then I looked, and behold, a likeness as
the appearance of a man; from His loins and
downward there was the appearance of fire,
and from His loins and upward the
appearance of brightness, like the
appearance of glowing metal.


10,19 When the cherubim departed, they lifted
their wings and rose up from the earth in my
sight with the wheels beside them; and they
stood still at the entrance of the east gate of
the LORD’S house, and the glory of the God
of Israel hovered over them.

The throne in heaven.

4,2 Immediately I was in the Spirit; and
behold, a throne was standing in heaven,
and One sitting on the throne.










4,3 And He who was sitting was like a
jasper stone and a sardius in appearance;
and there was a rainbow around the
throne, like an emerald in appearance.








The twenty-four elders.

4,4 Around the throne were twenty-four
thrones; and upon the thrones I saw twenty-
four elders sitting, clothed in white
garments, and golden crowns on their
heads.

(See also Excursus 11: "The throne of God.")

(See also Discourse 72: "Who are the twenty-four elders in the Revelation of John?")