# Introduction + Ezekiel 1:1-10 ##### Introduction - Ezekiel is one of the Major Prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel) - Length of time prophesying - Length of book - Written Prophets vs. Spoken Prophets - History of the Old Testament - Pre-History: Creation, Adam/Eve, Cain/Abel, Noah, the Flood - Patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Twelve Tribes (70 individuals) ~ 2000 BC - Law: Moses, Exodus, Passover, Red Sea, Tabernacle, Law (600,000 families) ~ 1500 BC - Judges: Colonizing Promised Land, Joshua, Judges, Samuel the Prophet - United Kingdom: Saul, David, Solomon, Temple ~1000 BC - Divided Kingdom - Idolatry entered into the kingdom (there was idolatry before e.g. golden calf, time of judges, but now it becomes part of life esp. in the Northern Kingdom) - From 900-400 BC - The Books of the Prophets take place during this period - The Prophets overlapped time periods, but not always geographically - Most of the Prophets were killed in Jerusalem ("Oh Jerusalem Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets") - Prophets‘ message was to repent and to point to the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ - Even the last prophet - St John the Baptist - preached repentance and pointed to the Messiah Who was near - The Kings were mostly evil, the Southern Kingdom had some good kings - Assyrians took over the whole world and came to Israel and overtook it. Then they attempted to take Judah but failed (Sennacherib + Isaiah + Hezekiah) - Babylonians came and overtook Assyria and Egypt and the whole world and proceeded into Judah as well - Daniel and Ezekiel were taken during the Babylonian Captivity - They witnessed to the Lord to the non-Jews - Ezekiel is taken in the Babylonian Captivity, and despite being from a priestly line, was never able to serve as a priest because he lived in captivity where there was no Temple - Daniel became a high rank in the government - Daniel lived the entirety of the captivity (that’s why he’s last in the four major prophets) - Prophet Categorization - Pre-Captivity - Captivity - Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel - Post-Captivity - Zechariah, Haggai, Malachi - Ezekiel - Approximately 600 BC - Two messages: Repent and Christ is coming - His main theme is HOPE - The most difficult book in the Old Testament to study because it’s mostly visions (like Revelation) - Some people even accuse John of copying Ezekiel - in reality, they both saw the same heaven! - Name: God strengthens - From a Priestly Family - 30 Years old is the beginning of the priestly service and the first time he would offer a sacrifice - He was taken to captivity BEFORE he was 30 - It’s VERY HARD for a priest to be away from the altar (even in the NT) ##### Chapter 1 ¹Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth *month,* on the fifth *day* of the month, as I *was* among the captives by the River Chebar, *that* the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God. ²On the fifth *day* of the month, which *was* in the fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity, ³the word of the Lord came expressly to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the River Chebar; and the hand of the Lord was upon him there. - ”thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month” - Thirtieth year of his life - Prophets have to give their timeline based on the current ruler - The heavens were opened and I saw visions of God - This is the most comforting thing for anyone - heaven! - Nothing gives more comfort or hope than eternal life and heavenly reward - God is telling him “why are you upset? Here, let me show you the heavens” - The son of Buzi - Because he is a priestly line, it’s important for him to mention his father’s name - Land of the Chaldeans by the River Chebar - A small river in Babylon that was known - The hand of the Lord was upon him there - These words of prophesy are from the Lord ⁴Then I looked, and behold, a whirlwind was coming out of the north, a great cloud with raging fire engulfing itself; and brightness *was* all around it and radiating out of its midst like the color of amber, out of the midst of the fire. ⁵Also from within it *came* the likeness of four living creatures. And this *was* their appearance: they had the likeness of a man. ⁶Each one had four faces, and each one had four wings. ⁷Their legs *were* straight, and the soles of their feet *were* like the soles of calves’ feet. They sparkled like the color of burnished bronze. ⁸The hands of a man *were* under their wings on their four sides; and each of the four had faces and wings. ⁹Their wings touched one another. *The creatures* did not turn when they went, but each one went straight forward. ¹⁰As for the likeness of their faces, *each* had the face of a man; each of the four had the face of a lion on the right side, each of the four had the face of an ox on the left side, and each of the four had the face of an eagle. - Whirlwind - “ree7” and “ro7” in Arabic, and in the old language they are the same word - Whirlwind typically refers us to the Holy Spirit - cf. John 3 (Christ with Nicodemus) - cf. Pentecost - cf. Job (God speaks from a wind) - cf. Elijah (Wind, Earthquake, Fire, small voice) - cf. Moses when God was going to speak to the people - Great Cloud - Also the Holy Spirit - Cf. The Cloud that moved 40 years with the Israelites - Cf. The Cloud of the Transfiguration - Cf. Cloud that filled the Tabernacle - Cf. 1 Kings 8 - Cloud that filled the Temple - Raging Fire - Also the Holy Spirit!!! - Brightness was all around it and radiating out of its midst like the color of amber, out of the midst of the fire - His feet are like brass (Revelation) - The Chariot of God - Carried by four incorporeal creatures of light, constantly moving (not just parked on the land) - Kingship of God - Not “animals” (7ayawanat) but “creatures” (ka-enat) and even the word 7ayawanat in its old meaning “has 7ay” has life. - Each creature has four faces - In Revelation its one face each! - That’s a perspective or what you would say from one angle or from far away! - Each creature has four wings - Elsewhere it’s six wings… - They have two wings on the top which make a dome over them, so Ezekiel only discusses the four wings - Legs feet and soles of feet; The hands of a man were under the wings - Hands and legs = service - Wings = prayer - Spirits that serve humanity - They all moved straight forward - They are working together - Their wings are touching - God told Moses when he makes the mercy seat to have the wings of the two cherubim touch each other - The likeness of their faces: man, lion, ox, eagle - Each face - Eagle: Divinity (high up, can’t see him in heaven) - Man: Christ the Human - Ox: Christ the Sacrifice - Lion: Christ the King - Another interpretation - Man: Incarnation - Ox: Crucifixion - Lion: Resurrection - Eagle: Ascension - Another Interpretation - Gospel of Mark: Lion - Christ who is mighty - Gospel of John: Eagle - meanings that are high and heavenly - Gospel of Matthew: Man - focus on His humanity - Gospel of Luke: Ox - Christ offers Himself as a sacrifice - Another interpretation - Intercessors for the creation - Man - Humanity - Eagle - For the birds - Lion - The Beasts - Ox - The Cattle - Another Interpretation - The components of man - Man - Mind - Eagle - Spirit - Ox - Body - Lion - Strength - Consecration of my mind and my spirit and my body and my actions - As Christ said that we would be like the angels in the end of days - The Chariot of God is an icon of the Church - St Macarius writes about how each Christian should be like these Creatures - Do you have zeal like fire? - Do you have the wind and cloud? - Do you have the hand that serves? - Do you have the prayer that doesn’t stop? - Do you have the ox that would die for someone? - Do you have the man in his perfection? - Do you have the wind, fire, cloud that guide you or you move in your own way? - Etc.