Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Ezekiel 1:2

Clarke's Commentary

Verse Ezekiel 1:2. Jehoiachin's captivity — Called also Jeconiah and Coniah; see 2 Kings 24:12. He was carried away by Nebuchadnezzar; see 2 Kings 24:14.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

1:1-3:27 THE CALL OF EZEKIEL

A vision of God’s glory (1:1-28)

Ezekiel lived in a Jewish settlement that bordered the Chebar River. He had been in Babylon five years and was now thirty years of age, the age at which he normally would have begun his priestly service in the temple in Jerusalem (cf. Numbers 4:2-3). But he had no chance now of returning to Jerusalem. Instead God called him to be a prophet, who would take his message to his people in Babylon (1:1-3).

The call came as Ezekiel was watching a storm approach across the desert. He was looking with particular interest at the startling changes of colour produced across the sky by the reflection of the lightning in the dark thunderclouds. Just then he saw something that appeared to come out of the clouds (4).
Ezekiel would soon discover that the object was a fiery chariot, but his first observation was that it was in the shape of a hollow square, with a living creature standing upright at each corner. These living creatures were of an order of heavenly beings known as cherubim (see 10:20). Each had a human body but four faces, and their outstretched wings met to form the sides of the square. Other wings formed their clothing. The whole thing seemed to be alive and could move in any direction (5-12). Lightning flashed from something that looked like burning coals or a blazing torch that was contained in the middle of the square (13-14).
At each corner of the square was a wheel, which actually looked more like two wheels, one at right angles to the other. By now he could see clearly that the fiery object was a chariot, and the wheels enabled the chariot to move freely in any direction. Even the wheels were alive, for they shared the life of the living creatures (15-21).
When the chariot moved, the sound of the movement of the creatures’ outstretched wings was like a waterfall or thunder. When the chariot stopped, the creatures lowered their wings. Above the heads of the creatures was a shining platform that supported the throne of God (22-25). Seated above this throne and surrounded by a rainbow was a fiery figure, human in outline but so dazzling that Ezekiel could not describe it. Overcome by this awesome vision, he could only fall down and listen to the voice speaking to him (26-28).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

"Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in 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. In the fifth day of the month, which was the fifth year of king Jehoiachin's captivity, the word of Jehovah came expressly unto Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar, and the hand of Jehovah was there upon him."

"In the thirtieth year" It is not known what this means. We agree with McFadyen that it is the same as the fifth year of Jehoiachin's captivity. The sacred writers often gave several points of reference for the dates cited. For example, the evangelist Luke dated the emergence of John the Baptist as occurring in the "fifteenth year of Tiberius," at the time when Pontius Pilate was Procurator of Judea, and when Herod was the tetrarch of Galilee, etc. (Luke 3:1).

The obscurity of what is meant by this "thirtieth year" poses exactly the kind of problem that many commentators love to"solve" with all kinds of speculations, none of the "solutions" having any merit at all! Pearson has provided a list of alleged "meanings." "It applies to the thirtieth year following the reforms of Josiah; it is a reference to the thirtieth year of the current jubilee period; it points to the thirtieth year of the neo-Babylonian empire; it was the thirtieth year of Manasseh's evil reign; it is the thirtieth year of Artaxerxes III."Anton T. Pearson in Wycliffe Bible Commentary, p. 707.

By far the most acceptable understanding of what is meant by this "thirtieth year" goes back to the times of Origen (185-254 A.D.) who considered it a reference to the thirtieth year of Ezekiel's life, that being the age when Jewish priests began their ministry (Numbers 4:3-4).Ibid.

"I was among the captives by the river Chebar" The Chebar was the name given to the great irrigation canal which formed a loop southeast along the Euphrates river, making a loop around Babylon via Nippur and back into the main river near Uruk.J. B. Thompson in Ezekiel, (Leicester, England: InterVarsity Press), pp. 21, 22. Tel Abib was on this canal and is thought to be the place where the vision came to Ezekiel.

"The heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God" Of all the Old Testament prophets, only to Ezekiel were the heavens said to have opened.Charles Lee Feinberg in Ezekiel (Moody Press), p. 17. The heavens were opened unto Jesus (Matthew 3:16), to Stephen (Acts 7:56), and to John the Apostle (Revelation 4:1).

"The fifth year of king Jehoiachin's captivity" This is without doubt the same as the "thirtieth year" already mentioned; and this one is easily identified as July, 592 B.C. or 593 B.C.,Walther Eichrodt in Ezekiel (Westminster), p. 52. or 594 B.C. The student should be aware that a great deal of uncertainty exists regarding the exactness of any assigned dates during this entire period of ancient history. Able scholars may be cited as receiving any of the three dates given above.

"The word of Jehovah came expressly unto Ezekiel the priest" Note the change of persons from the first to the third. We believe that Eichrodt was wrong in finding in this change evidence of a change of writers. Throughout all of the Biblical books which we have studied, a change of persons usually means nothing at all. Jonah used both the first and third persons in two lines of his prayer from the fish's belly; and the use of the third person is so frequent as to arouse suspicion when it is not used. The same goes for the frequent changes from feminine to masculine suffixes (as in Ezekiel 1:10).

As noted in the Introduction, above, "We may approach Ezekiel in the confidence that it is what it purports to be: the record of Ezekiel's 27-year ministry in Babylon to his fellow exiles."G. R. Beasley-Murray in the New Bible Commentary Revised, p. 665.

"And the hand of Jehovah was upon him" Note how many expressions there are in this passage stressing the fact of God's speaking through Ezekiel: (1) the heavens were opened unto him; (2) the hand of God was upon him; (3) he saw visions of God; and (4) the word of Jehovah came expressly unto Ezekiel. The meaning of these expressions is that the words of Ezekiel are expressly the words of God Himself. They are not the hallucinations of Ezekiel, the subjective feelings or impressions of the prophet, nor the projections of his subconscious mind, nor any kind of deductions that the prophet might have himself derived from his own information or observations. They are the words of God.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

The Jewish date. This verse and Ezekiel 1:3, which seem rather to interrupt the course of the narrative, may have been added by the prophet when he revised and put together the whole book. The word “captivity” (as in Ezekiel 1:1) refers to the “transportation” of the king and others from their native to foreign soil. This policy of settling a conquered people in lands distant from their home, begun by the Assyrians, was continued by the Persians and by Alexander the Great. The Jews were specially selected for such settlements, and this was no doubt a Providential preparation for the Gospel, the dispersed Jews carrying with them the knowledge of the true God and the sacred Scriptures, and thus paving the way for the messengers of the kingdom of Christ.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Shall we turn at this time to the prophecy of Ezekiel.

Ezekiel said,

It came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month ( Ezekiel 1:1 ),

So that would be July the fifth. It would be probably the thirtieth year of Ezekiel's life, when he was thirty years old.

as he was among the captives by the river of Chebar, that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God ( Ezekiel 1:1 ).

Ezekiel was taken to Babylon in the second captivity at the time when Jehoiachin was also taken captive. There were three times that Nebuchadnezzar's armies came against Jerusalem, taking captives back to Babylon. Daniel went back in the first captivity. Ezekiel went in the second captivity.

Now, basically Ezekiel was prophesying to the captives, and when he began his prophecy Jerusalem was still standing. Now, there were false prophets in Babylon that were telling the people, "Look, don't settle down. Don't get a house. God is going to soon defeat Babylon, and we're going to go back right away. So, hang loose, because we're only going to be a little while. The Lord is going to deliver His people, and we're going to return from Babylon very shortly. So just don't settle down."

Now, Jeremiah had been writing to them saying, "Don't listen to the prophets or so-called prophets who are telling you not to settle down. But instead, settle down, get adjusted, because you're going to be there for seventy years. Most of you are going to die in Babylon. So you might as well get used to that fact and just settle down, make the best of the situation."

And so, there were two schools of prophets: the true prophets, the false prophets. But Ezekiel, the true prophet of God, was declaring to them the same thing that Jeremiah was saying--that Jerusalem is not going to be restored immediately, but that Jerusalem is going to be completely destroyed by Babylon. The people are going to be destroyed and scattered, and he is telling the people in Babylon. Now, Jeremiah is writing from Jerusalem, but Ezekiel is there among them, saying, "Now, look, listen to the word of the Lord. Just go ahead and settle down here and settle in, because it's going to be a long time that you'll be in captivity."

So, at the beginning of Ezekiel's prophecies, he began his prophecy before Jerusalem was destroyed in 596. So, in the beginning of his prophecies, he is predicting the destruction of Jerusalem. As he moves further into his prophecy, as time goes on and the prophecy is fulfilled and Jerusalem is destroyed, then there is a change, and now he is encouraging the people that God, in His time, is going to restore again the glory to Israel. Now, he saw the glory of God depart from Jerusalem through the east gate. But as the prophecies continue and as the people are discouraged, when they hear the news that Jerusalem has been devastated, destroyed, he then begins to encourage them, "God is going to work yet again among His people. The glory of God shall return. The glory of God is going to fill the house and the latter glory is going to be greater than the former glory." Israel has not yet seen its heyday, in a sense. It's not yet seen the peak. God is going to yet restore His glory and all, upon Jerusalem and upon Israel. Hard times will intervene or be in the intermittent periods, yet God's work will yet be accomplished among His people.

So, Ezekiel's prophecies actually then go out beyond even our present day. Now Ezekiel saw the restoration of the land. He saw the nation being reborn. He predicted the modern Zionist movement, and the rebirth of the nation Israel. And he predicted that when Israel was born again as a nation, that Russia would come and invade Israel. And as we move on into the prophecy of Ezekiel, we get into all of these interesting, marvelous things, because we move actually from the present on into the future. And we see not only what is happening now, but Ezekiel continues to move on and we see things that will be happening within a year or so, or five, ten years at the most. And then he moves on even beyond that. And we see things that will be happening in Israel during the Kingdom Age and the glorious reign of Jesus Christ, as He comes again and enters in through the east gate of the city and establishes His kingdom here upon the earth.

And so, the prophecy of Ezekiel really begins from this point, when he was about thirty years old, when the word of the Lord first came to him, when he saw these visions of God. This is before the fall of Jerusalem, the complete destruction, and he describes here his vision of God.

Now, Isaiah had a vision of God. Ezekiel had a vision of the throne of God, and John in the New Testament had a vision of the throne of God. And so from these insights of these three men, we gather our information, concerning the throne of God, concerning the heavenly scene. Now, immediately there arises a difficulty because we are talking now of heavenly things. But we are seeking to describe them in earthly language. Now, there is, no doubt, words we do not yet know that aptly describe the things in heaven. But at the present time they have to remain to us only as word pictures.

So, you take the language that is common to man, words that are common to man, and you use them to the best of your ability to express things that you've never seen before. Weird-looking creatures like you've never dreamed of, intelligent beings, and you try to describe with human language what you're seeing. And immediately you're limited by language, even as if we tried to describe, if we should suddenly have an insight to, say, the year 2000 and we could see all the technical advances and all that man will have achieved by the year 2000. And we try to describe now with our present language, the modes of transportation and all that man will have developed by that time. As we're looking at weird gadgets that we have no concept what they are all about, and yet we see them operating and moving and all, and we say, "You know, the thing just has these stacks or whatever, and the smoke comes out. And people, you know... " and you try to describe the things, but you're limited because of language.

So, it makes the defining of them or the relating of them difficult because of limitation of language. So, we'll have to sort of try to envision those things which Ezekiel is talking about.

You remember when Jesus was talking with Nicodemus, and talking about the fact that a man has to be born again. And he was trying to explain to Nicodemus these concepts that were unfamiliar to Nicodemus. And Nicodemus was asking these questions, "Well how can a man be born again when he's old? You know, you can't return again to your mother's womb to be born. How can you do it?"

And Jesus said, "Look, if I have talked to you about earthly things and you can't understand them, how would you understand if I tried to talk to you about heavenly things? Now the Bible says, "No man understands the things of God, save the Spirit reveal them unto him." So, in getting into these areas, we're talking about things of God. We definitely need the help of the Holy Spirit in our understanding and comprehension of these things. That we might get somewhat of a glimpse or a grasp of them.

Now, I am convinced that what they saw we will be seeing when we enter into the heavenly scene. So it is well for you to acquaint yourself as best as possible with these things, though for right now they may seem to be difficult to really comprehend in your mind, yet one day when we actually see them, and we put, you know, this side by side, we'll say, "Well, he didn't do too bad a job. Yeah, it looks pretty much like that, you know."

So, this was the fifth year in which Jehoiachin had been brought as a captive unto Babylon. Zedekiah was presently the king in Judah, in Jerusalem. Jehoiachin had reigned only three months when Nebuchadnezzar came and took him captive along with his mother and his family, and others of Judah.

And the word of the LORD came expressly unto Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river of Chebar; and the hand of the LORD was there upon him ( Ezekiel 1:3 ).

Ezekiel uses this expression seven times, "the hand of the Lord was upon me." And this is the first of the seven times that he uses it. We'll find it again in our study tonight in chapter 3, verses Ezekiel 1:14 , and Ezekiel 1:22 , and then we won't find it again until chapter 8.

And I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind came out of the noRuth ( Ezekiel 1:4 ),

Now the north here would be actually the dwelling place of God. In Isaiah in speaking of Satan's exalting of himself, he said, "I will ascend into the sides of the north." It is thought that in relationship, of course, to the earth that that heavenly kingdom of God dwells somewhere in the area of the north.

Recently this past week, in fact, there was an interesting article in the paper of a vast empty space that has been found in the universe that is baffling to the scientists. And it is sort of upsetting certain theories that they have had in the past. It could really be very disturbing to the big bang theory, because supposedly the debris of the big bang was sort of distributed equally throughout the entire universe and doesn't really give place for vast areas of empty space. But yet, there has been discovered recently this extremely vast area of empty space. And the area happens to be actually towards the North Star. And there is this vast area of emptiness in space, which at the present time is a real enigma to the astronomers that are studying it, as they try to align this discovery with the current theories that exist of the origin of the universe.

This whirlwind came out of the north. This would not be out of Babylon. He was in Babylon when he saw it.

a great cloud, and a fire that is infolding itself ( Ezekiel 1:4 ),

Now, have you ever seen fire that enfolds itself? It sort of rolls when there is an explosion of highly volitable materials. And as the fireball goes up, it enfolds itself. It rolls around and catches into itself as it goes up. It's quite a phenomena to observe.

I was coming home from Los Angeles years ago, when I was going to school up there and living in Santa Ana. And there was this... there used to be a lot of olive orchards over here in the area of La Mirada. And there was an olive oil factory there and the thing had caught fire. As we were coming home, we came by and of course, you know, you're always fascinated by fire. We got out to watch the fire. We were getting up sort of close, and suddenly the thing exploded. And we watched this ball of fire going up, and the fire enfolding itself as it went up. This ball of fire is going up, but it keeps coming around and enfolding itself on into this ball. And it's a fascinating phenomena to behold.

And as Ezekiel is seeing now, coming out of this area of the north, this great cloud, and it is interesting that the Bible speaks so often of God being covered with a cloud. The clouds of glory that surround God. There on the mount when God came down and spoke with Moses, there was the cloud of God's glory that covered Mount Sinai and the fire, again, the fireballs that were emitting forth from it.

the brightness was about it [there was a brightness about it], and out of the midst [or the middle] thereof was the color of amber, that was coming out of the midst of the fire. Also out of the middle thereof there came the likeness of four living creatures ( Ezekiel 1:4 ).

So here in the middle of this glorious brightness that's sort of a ball of fire enfolding itself in the cloud, there in the midst of it was this beautiful amber color and also these four leaving creatures.

And this was their appearance; they looked somewhat like a man. But every one of them had four faces, and every one had four wings. And their feet were straight feet; and the sole of their feet was like the sole of a calf's foot: and they sparkled like the color of burnished brass ( Ezekiel 1:5-6 ).

So, again, he's using human language to describe creatures like he had never seen before. And so we have to use our imaginations in trying to, in our minds, picture or visualize these four living creatures, looking somewhat like a man, each one having four faces, each of them having four wings. Their feet are sort of like a calf's, sort of cloven like a calf's foot, but they look like bright burnished brass.

And they had the hands of a man under their wings on their four sides; and they four had their faces and their wings. And their wings were joined one to another, and they turned not when they went; but they went every one straight forward ( Ezekiel 1:8-9 ).

So, their movement was in a straight-line type of movement, rather than rounding, sort of straight type of movement of these creatures.

Now as we go on with the description of these four living creatures, we realize that these are paralleled to the four living creatures that John saw, when in the book of Revelation, chapter 4, he also had a vision of the throne of God. And he saw these four living creatures with their four faces, and John also describes them in the book of Revelation. Ezekiel describes them again in chapter 10, when he sees them in chapter 10. And there he identifies to us what these living creatures are, and there we discover that these are cherubim--a created being of God, intelligent beings of God, beings that surround God. In Revelation we are told that they cease not day or night saying, "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which is, which was, and which is to come."

Now this ties in then with God's directions to Moses in the building of the tabernacle, which the book of Hebrews tells us is a model of heaven. Now most of you fellows have built at some time or other in your life a model of either a car or a plane. And you're not building a P-51, but you're building a model of the P-51. You can't get in and fly it, but when you build the model, it looks like, it resembles the real thing. A model is just a resemblance of the real thing. So, the tabernacle was just a model of the real thing. The real thing is in heaven. The tabernacle was a model of heaven. And in the tabernacle, in the Holy of Holies, which is a model of the throne of God in heaven, Moses was told to have these cherubim made out of gold above the mercy seat. Their wings touching each other, and the edges of their wings touching the edge of this little cubical, which was fifteen feet cubical, golden room, and this is again the model of the heavenly things.

So, there are these cherubim, these living creatures, no doubt highly intelligent creatures, though they look like they are, perhaps, some kind of a genetic freak, as far as combining with four faces and feet like a calf and all, but yet they are these creatures that are there about the throne of God.

He goes on to describe them.

As for the likeness of their faces, the four had the face of a man, and the face of a lion, on the right side: and they had the face of an ox on the left side; and they also had the face of an eagle ( Ezekiel 1:10 ).

So, there were four faces on each of them. The front face was like a man. The right side of it was like a lion. The left side like an ox, and behind like an eagle. Now, as I say, they looked like some kind of genetic monstrosity as you look at them. There are some who see in these four faces the four gospels as they describe Jesus Christ. For in the gospels, Christ is described as the Son of man in Luke's gospel. In Matthew's gospel He is described as the Lion of the tribe of Judah--or rather, Mark's gospel. Matthew's gospel, He is the servant, the ox, the beast of service. And in John's gospel, the deity, the eagle.

But thus were their faces: their wings were stretched upward; two wings of every one were joined one to another, and two covered their bodies. And they went everywhere straight forward: whither the spirit was to go, they went; and they turned not when they went ( Ezekiel 1:11-12 ).

Now because they had faces going in every direction, you just, you know, move you straight. You don't have to turn your head to go, you just move in straight movements.

And as for the likeness of these living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire ( Ezekiel 1:13 ),

Now picture your barbecue and the burning coals of fire on it.

and like the appearance of lamps: and it went up and down among the living creatures; and the fire was bright, and out of the fire there came forth lightning. And the living creatures ran and returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning ( Ezekiel 1:13-14 ).

So they could move with the speed of light almost. Their movement was extremely fast and like a lightning bolt, just, you know. The appearance of a flash of lightning.

Now as I beheld the living creatures, behold one wheel upon the earth by the living creatures, with his four faces. And the appearance of the wheels and their work was like unto the color of a beryl: and they four ( Ezekiel 1:15-16 )

Which would be green.

they four had one likeness: and their appearance and their work was as it were a wheel in the middle of a wheel ( Ezekiel 1:16 ).

So, again, he's using human language trying to describe their appearance and so forth, and these wheels. And it was like a wheel within a middle of the wheel and these flashes of light and so forth as they move in this green glow, like a beryl in color.

And when they went, they went upon their four sides: and they turned not when they went ( Ezekiel 1:17 ).

This is the third time he mentions this, so it's probably quite remarkable to him. He hasn't seen anything like this, as far as, you know, the earth and on the earth.

As for their rings, they were so high that they were dreadful [awesome]; their rings were full of eyes round about them four. And when the living creatures went, the wheels went by them: and when the living creatures were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up. And whithersoever the spirit was to go, they went, and thither was their spirit to go; and the wheels were lifted up over against them: for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels. Now when those went, these went; when those stood still, these stood still; and when they were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up over against them: for the spirit of the living creature ( Ezekiel 1:18-21 )

Again he repeats,

was in the wheels. And the likeness of the firmament [above their heads] upon the heads of the living creatures was the color of an awesome crystal, stretched forth over their heads above ( Ezekiel 1:21-22 ).

In other words, now he's describing the area around the throne of God. These creatures were under the throne of God. And this was like an awesome crystal.

John saw this sea of glass likened to crystal that was there before the throne of God. And as you read, Revelation 4 , you'll find that it parallels very much this vision of Ezekiel as both of these men, bound by human limitations, tried to describe the heavenly scene, the throne of God and the glory of God that they behold in these visions.

And under the firmament were their wings straight, and one toward the other: every one had two, which they covered their side, every one had two, which covered the sides of their bodies ( Ezekiel 1:23 ).

With two they touched each other, with two they covered the sides of their bodies.

And when they went, I heard the noise of their wings, like the noise of great waters ( Ezekiel 1:24 ),

Have you ever been to Niagara Falls? Ever been up in Yosemite to Vernal Falls or Nevada Falls and you hear this noise of great waters, sort of a roar. And so, as they moved there was this roar. The flash is like lightning and the straight direction type movements.

as the voice of the Almighty, the voice of speech, as the noise of a host: when they stood, they let down their wings ( Ezekiel 1:24 ).

So, when they were standing, their wings would come down to their side.

And there was a voice from [this heaven] this firmament [this expanse above them] that was over their heads, when they stood, and they had let down their wings. And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone [which is blue]: and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it. And I saw the color of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about. As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake ( Ezekiel 1:25-28 ).

So, you might find it interesting when you have your own study to read Daniel 7:9 , and 10, as Daniel describes his vision of God. Isaiah chapter 6, as he describes his vision of the throne of God, and then Revelation chapter 4, as John describes his, and you put them all together and you get a pretty good composite of what the heavenly scene must look like.

This bow, John describes it in Revelation chapter 4, a bow like emerald, sort of a greenish in color that is around about the throne of God. Ezekiel describes it here. John had much the same reaction of just falling on his face. Daniel was weak as a result of his vision. He just was totally weakened by it. Ezekiel fell on his face and he heard the voice of one that spake.

Now, flying saucer buffs declare that Ezekiel actually sighted a flying saucer. That there are extraterrestrial beings that have visited the earth and have been visiting the earth during the historic period of man. And that they actually account for many of the otherwise unaccountable phenomena of history, some of the mammoth building projects of ancient man, which still baffle us today. And they, of course, go out to the desert or to various areas, and they have these sightings of these flying saucers, and there is just an awful lot that has been written, has been discussed, has been talked about flying saucers, and there have been many reports and much interesting phenomena surrounding these flying saucers.

Many of them can be accounted for as, perhaps, swamp gases and other things, but yet there are others that reasonably intelligent men have expressed and described and it's hard to discount them all.

Lambert Dolphin who is a scientist up at the University of Stanford, one of the scientists, I believe his area is that of astrophysics, quite outstanding, very intelligent man, was asked to speak at one of these flying saucer conventions. And so he prepared a paper on flying saucers in which he thought that he would, before the convention, thoroughly debunk this whole flying saucer kind of a... what he thought mythology. And he was approaching it from just a purely scientific standpoint, and was going to take so many of the concepts that they had about moving on the magnetic forces and all of this, and seek to thoroughly, from a scientific standpoint, debunk the thing.

As he was sitting there on the platform, and there were about three thousand people at this convention, the speaker, and of course he was interested that these weren't freaky people. You know, you think that people who see flying saucers and all are sort of fringe, freaky kind of people. But he realized that among them there were professors, other scientists, peace officers, a wide cross-section of our society.

The leader of the convention asked the people, "How many of you have ever seen a flying saucer?" And he was shocked that about two-thirds of the hands in the auditorium went up. People had said they had sighted flying saucers. He then asked, "How many of you have been taken aboard a flying saucer?" And a third of the people raised their hands. And he began to get a little concerned. When he stood up to speak, he heard this screaming noise that was extremely distracting to him. And he wondered, "Where is that coming from?" And he looked around the audience to see what direction the people might be looking, because he figured that those that were closest to the screaming noise would be looking at it and he could localize where it was and then ask the ushers or someone to take care of that and get rid of it. But he said, suddenly he realized that nobody was looking around anywhere and that he was the only one that was hearing this screaming noise. And to this man of science there came suddenly the awareness, "Hey, this whole thing is demonic." And he got so shook that he was unable to deliver his paper in which he was going to debunk the whole flying saucer theory or ideas, concepts. He was just totally shaken.

Now, the interesting thing to me is that these people do try to bring Ezekiel into their fold, into their number. "Look, he describes it. He perfectly describes it in his book." Wait a minute, what does Ezekiel describe? As I said, in chapter 10 Ezekiel again describes it, but he tells us what it is, "These are the cherubim that are there before the throne of God." These wheels within the wheels, with the flashes of lightning and the movements and so forth. And if you heard them describe how the flying saucers move in the straight type of lines, they don't make a wide arc when they turn. They just... straight line type of movement, being able to change directions and so forth with tremendous speed. Able to hover and then suddenly move off with tremendous speeds.

Is it possible that these people who are sighting these UFO's are also dabbling into the occult and are seeing fallen cherubim? We know that when Satan fell that one-third of the angelic host went with him. It is interesting that the Bible says that Satan was indeed a cherubim. He was the anointed--not a cherubim, because cherubim is plural. Cherub is the singular. He was an anointed cherub that covered. But there are cherubim, plural. It is very possible that we are dealing in an interesting area of the occult and that there are these cherubim that are making themselves visible to those who are dabbling into that realm of occultism.

Now what Ezekiel saw were the cherubim there at the throne of God, but it would also stand that the cherubim who fell would have a similar likeness or appearance and movements. So, it is possible that we cannot thoroughly discount this whole flying saucer phenomena as a bunch of junk, but it could indeed be that in these last days, as satanic forces are growing, as far as the demonstrations of their power. That as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be in the days of the coming of the Son of man. And there was strong demonic activity in the days of Noah, and we're coming into the area again of strong demonic activity.

Now I offer that as only a suggestion. I'm not declaring to you, "Oh, I've got some great mysterious truth I'm revealing now, you know. This is the way it happened or this is the way." This is just a suggestion. Something to think about. And I'll let it go at that.

Shall we turn at this time to the prophecy of Ezekiel.

Ezekiel said,

It came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month ( Ezekiel 1:1 ),

So that would be July the fifth. It would be probably the thirtieth year of Ezekiel's life, when he was thirty years old.

as he was among the captives by the river of Chebar, that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God ( Ezekiel 1:1 ).

Ezekiel was taken to Babylon in the second captivity at the time when Jehoiachin was also taken captive. There were three times that Nebuchadnezzar's armies came against Jerusalem, taking captives back to Babylon. Daniel went back in the first captivity. Ezekiel went in the second captivity.

Now, basically Ezekiel was prophesying to the captives, and when he began his prophecy Jerusalem was still standing. Now, there were false prophets in Babylon that were telling the people, "Look, don't settle down. Don't get a house. God is going to soon defeat Babylon, and we're going to go back right away. So, hang loose, because we're only going to be a little while. The Lord is going to deliver His people, and we're going to return from Babylon very shortly. So just don't settle down."

Now, Jeremiah had been writing to them saying, "Don't listen to the prophets or so-called prophets who are telling you not to settle down. But instead, settle down, get adjusted, because you're going to be there for seventy years. Most of you are going to die in Babylon. So you might as well get used to that fact and just settle down, make the best of the situation."

And so, there were two schools of prophets: the true prophets, the false prophets. But Ezekiel, the true prophet of God, was declaring to them the same thing that Jeremiah was saying--that Jerusalem is not going to be restored immediately, but that Jerusalem is going to be completely destroyed by Babylon. The people are going to be destroyed and scattered, and he is telling the people in Babylon. Now, Jeremiah is writing from Jerusalem, but Ezekiel is there among them, saying, "Now, look, listen to the word of the Lord. Just go ahead and settle down here and settle in, because it's going to be a long time that you'll be in captivity."

So, at the beginning of Ezekiel's prophecies, he began his prophecy before Jerusalem was destroyed in 596. So, in the beginning of his prophecies, he is predicting the destruction of Jerusalem. As he moves further into his prophecy, as time goes on and the prophecy is fulfilled and Jerusalem is destroyed, then there is a change, and now he is encouraging the people that God, in His time, is going to restore again the glory to Israel. Now, he saw the glory of God depart from Jerusalem through the east gate. But as the prophecies continue and as the people are discouraged, when they hear the news that Jerusalem has been devastated, destroyed, he then begins to encourage them, "God is going to work yet again among His people. The glory of God shall return. The glory of God is going to fill the house and the latter glory is going to be greater than the former glory." Israel has not yet seen its heyday, in a sense. It's not yet seen the peak. God is going to yet restore His glory and all, upon Jerusalem and upon Israel. Hard times will intervene or be in the intermittent periods, yet God's work will yet be accomplished among His people.

So, Ezekiel's prophecies actually then go out beyond even our present day. Now Ezekiel saw the restoration of the land. He saw the nation being reborn. He predicted the modern Zionist movement, and the rebirth of the nation Israel. And he predicted that when Israel was born again as a nation, that Russia would come and invade Israel. And as we move on into the prophecy of Ezekiel, we get into all of these interesting, marvelous things, because we move actually from the present on into the future. And we see not only what is happening now, but Ezekiel continues to move on and we see things that will be happening within a year or so, or five, ten years at the most. And then he moves on even beyond that. And we see things that will be happening in Israel during the Kingdom Age and the glorious reign of Jesus Christ, as He comes again and enters in through the east gate of the city and establishes His kingdom here upon the earth.

And so, the prophecy of Ezekiel really begins from this point, when he was about thirty years old, when the word of the Lord first came to him, when he saw these visions of God. This is before the fall of Jerusalem, the complete destruction, and he describes here his vision of God.

Now, Isaiah had a vision of God. Ezekiel had a vision of the throne of God, and John in the New Testament had a vision of the throne of God. And so from these insights of these three men, we gather our information, concerning the throne of God, concerning the heavenly scene. Now, immediately there arises a difficulty because we are talking now of heavenly things. But we are seeking to describe them in earthly language. Now, there is, no doubt, words we do not yet know that aptly describe the things in heaven. But at the present time they have to remain to us only as word pictures.

So, you take the language that is common to man, words that are common to man, and you use them to the best of your ability to express things that you've never seen before. Weird-looking creatures like you've never dreamed of, intelligent beings, and you try to describe with human language what you're seeing. And immediately you're limited by language, even as if we tried to describe, if we should suddenly have an insight to, say, the year 2000 and we could see all the technical advances and all that man will have achieved by the year 2000. And we try to describe now with our present language, the modes of transportation and all that man will have developed by that time. As we're looking at weird gadgets that we have no concept what they are all about, and yet we see them operating and moving and all, and we say, "You know, the thing just has these stacks or whatever, and the smoke comes out. And people, you know... " and you try to describe the things, but you're limited because of language.

So, it makes the defining of them or the relating of them difficult because of limitation of language. So, we'll have to sort of try to envision those things which Ezekiel is talking about.

You remember when Jesus was talking with Nicodemus, and talking about the fact that a man has to be born again. And he was trying to explain to Nicodemus these concepts that were unfamiliar to Nicodemus. And Nicodemus was asking these questions, "Well how can a man be born again when he's old? You know, you can't return again to your mother's womb to be born. How can you do it?"

And Jesus said, "Look, if I have talked to you about earthly things and you can't understand them, how would you understand if I tried to talk to you about heavenly things? Now the Bible says, "No man understands the things of God, save the Spirit reveal them unto him." So, in getting into these areas, we're talking about things of God. We definitely need the help of the Holy Spirit in our understanding and comprehension of these things. That we might get somewhat of a glimpse or a grasp of them.

Now, I am convinced that what they saw we will be seeing when we enter into the heavenly scene. So it is well for you to acquaint yourself as best as possible with these things, though for right now they may seem to be difficult to really comprehend in your mind, yet one day when we actually see them, and we put, you know, this side by side, we'll say, "Well, he didn't do too bad a job. Yeah, it looks pretty much like that, you know."

So, this was the fifth year in which Jehoiachin had been brought as a captive unto Babylon. Zedekiah was presently the king in Judah, in Jerusalem. Jehoiachin had reigned only three months when Nebuchadnezzar came and took him captive along with his mother and his family, and others of Judah.

And the word of the LORD came expressly unto Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river of Chebar; and the hand of the LORD was there upon him ( Ezekiel 1:3 ).

Ezekiel uses this expression seven times, "the hand of the Lord was upon me." And this is the first of the seven times that he uses it. We'll find it again in our study tonight in chapter 3, verses Ezekiel 1:14 , and Ezekiel 1:22 , and then we won't find it again until chapter 8.

And I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind came out of the noRuth ( Ezekiel 1:4 ),

Now the north here would be actually the dwelling place of God. In Isaiah in speaking of Satan's exalting of himself, he said, "I will ascend into the sides of the north." It is thought that in relationship, of course, to the earth that that heavenly kingdom of God dwells somewhere in the area of the north.

Recently this past week, in fact, there was an interesting article in the paper of a vast empty space that has been found in the universe that is baffling to the scientists. And it is sort of upsetting certain theories that they have had in the past. It could really be very disturbing to the big bang theory, because supposedly the debris of the big bang was sort of distributed equally throughout the entire universe and doesn't really give place for vast areas of empty space. But yet, there has been discovered recently this extremely vast area of empty space. And the area happens to be actually towards the North Star. And there is this vast area of emptiness in space, which at the present time is a real enigma to the astronomers that are studying it, as they try to align this discovery with the current theories that exist of the origin of the universe.

This whirlwind came out of the north. This would not be out of Babylon. He was in Babylon when he saw it.

a great cloud, and a fire that is infolding itself ( Ezekiel 1:4 ),

Now, have you ever seen fire that enfolds itself? It sort of rolls when there is an explosion of highly volitable materials. And as the fireball goes up, it enfolds itself. It rolls around and catches into itself as it goes up. It's quite a phenomena to observe.

I was coming home from Los Angeles years ago, when I was going to school up there and living in Santa Ana. And there was this... there used to be a lot of olive orchards over here in the area of La Mirada. And there was an olive oil factory there and the thing had caught fire. As we were coming home, we came by and of course, you know, you're always fascinated by fire. We got out to watch the fire. We were getting up sort of close, and suddenly the thing exploded. And we watched this ball of fire going up, and the fire enfolding itself as it went up. This ball of fire is going up, but it keeps coming around and enfolding itself on into this ball. And it's a fascinating phenomena to behold.

And as Ezekiel is seeing now, coming out of this area of the north, this great cloud, and it is interesting that the Bible speaks so often of God being covered with a cloud. The clouds of glory that surround God. There on the mount when God came down and spoke with Moses, there was the cloud of God's glory that covered Mount Sinai and the fire, again, the fireballs that were emitting forth from it.

the brightness was about it [there was a brightness about it], and out of the midst [or the middle] thereof was the color of amber, that was coming out of the midst of the fire. Also out of the middle thereof there came the likeness of four living creatures ( Ezekiel 1:4 ).

So here in the middle of this glorious brightness that's sort of a ball of fire enfolding itself in the cloud, there in the midst of it was this beautiful amber color and also these four leaving creatures.

And this was their appearance; they looked somewhat like a man. But every one of them had four faces, and every one had four wings. And their feet were straight feet; and the sole of their feet was like the sole of a calf's foot: and they sparkled like the color of burnished brass ( Ezekiel 1:5-6 ).

So, again, he's using human language to describe creatures like he had never seen before. And so we have to use our imaginations in trying to, in our minds, picture or visualize these four living creatures, looking somewhat like a man, each one having four faces, each of them having four wings. Their feet are sort of like a calf's, sort of cloven like a calf's foot, but they look like bright burnished brass.

And they had the hands of a man under their wings on their four sides; and they four had their faces and their wings. And their wings were joined one to another, and they turned not when they went; but they went every one straight forward ( Ezekiel 1:8-9 ).

So, their movement was in a straight-line type of movement, rather than rounding, sort of straight type of movement of these creatures.

Now as we go on with the description of these four living creatures, we realize that these are paralleled to the four living creatures that John saw, when in the book of Revelation, chapter 4, he also had a vision of the throne of God. And he saw these four living creatures with their four faces, and John also describes them in the book of Revelation. Ezekiel describes them again in chapter 10, when he sees them in chapter 10. And there he identifies to us what these living creatures are, and there we discover that these are cherubim--a created being of God, intelligent beings of God, beings that surround God. In Revelation we are told that they cease not day or night saying, "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which is, which was, and which is to come."

Now this ties in then with God's directions to Moses in the building of the tabernacle, which the book of Hebrews tells us is a model of heaven. Now most of you fellows have built at some time or other in your life a model of either a car or a plane. And you're not building a P-51, but you're building a model of the P-51. You can't get in and fly it, but when you build the model, it looks like, it resembles the real thing. A model is just a resemblance of the real thing. So, the tabernacle was just a model of the real thing. The real thing is in heaven. The tabernacle was a model of heaven. And in the tabernacle, in the Holy of Holies, which is a model of the throne of God in heaven, Moses was told to have these cherubim made out of gold above the mercy seat. Their wings touching each other, and the edges of their wings touching the edge of this little cubical, which was fifteen feet cubical, golden room, and this is again the model of the heavenly things.

So, there are these cherubim, these living creatures, no doubt highly intelligent creatures, though they look like they are, perhaps, some kind of a genetic freak, as far as combining with four faces and feet like a calf and all, but yet they are these creatures that are there about the throne of God.

He goes on to describe them.

As for the likeness of their faces, the four had the face of a man, and the face of a lion, on the right side: and they had the face of an ox on the left side; and they also had the face of an eagle ( Ezekiel 1:10 ).

So, there were four faces on each of them. The front face was like a man. The right side of it was like a lion. The left side like an ox, and behind like an eagle. Now, as I say, they looked like some kind of genetic monstrosity as you look at them. There are some who see in these four faces the four gospels as they describe Jesus Christ. For in the gospels, Christ is described as the Son of man in Luke's gospel. In Matthew's gospel He is described as the Lion of the tribe of Judah--or rather, Mark's gospel. Matthew's gospel, He is the servant, the ox, the beast of service. And in John's gospel, the deity, the eagle.

But thus were their faces: their wings were stretched upward; two wings of every one were joined one to another, and two covered their bodies. And they went everywhere straight forward: whither the spirit was to go, they went; and they turned not when they went ( Ezekiel 1:11-12 ).

Now because they had faces going in every direction, you just, you know, move you straight. You don't have to turn your head to go, you just move in straight movements.

And as for the likeness of these living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire ( Ezekiel 1:13 ),

Now picture your barbecue and the burning coals of fire on it.

and like the appearance of lamps: and it went up and down among the living creatures; and the fire was bright, and out of the fire there came forth lightning. And the living creatures ran and returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning ( Ezekiel 1:13-14 ).

So they could move with the speed of light almost. Their movement was extremely fast and like a lightning bolt, just, you know. The appearance of a flash of lightning.

Now as I beheld the living creatures, behold one wheel upon the earth by the living creatures, with his four faces. And the appearance of the wheels and their work was like unto the color of a beryl: and they four ( Ezekiel 1:15-16 )

Which would be green.

they four had one likeness: and their appearance and their work was as it were a wheel in the middle of a wheel ( Ezekiel 1:16 ).

So, again, he's using human language trying to describe their appearance and so forth, and these wheels. And it was like a wheel within a middle of the wheel and these flashes of light and so forth as they move in this green glow, like a beryl in color.

And when they went, they went upon their four sides: and they turned not when they went ( Ezekiel 1:17 ).

This is the third time he mentions this, so it's probably quite remarkable to him. He hasn't seen anything like this, as far as, you know, the earth and on the earth.

As for their rings, they were so high that they were dreadful [awesome]; their rings were full of eyes round about them four. And when the living creatures went, the wheels went by them: and when the living creatures were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up. And whithersoever the spirit was to go, they went, and thither was their spirit to go; and the wheels were lifted up over against them: for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels. Now when those went, these went; when those stood still, these stood still; and when they were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up over against them: for the spirit of the living creature ( Ezekiel 1:18-21 )

Again he repeats,

was in the wheels. And the likeness of the firmament [above their heads] upon the heads of the living creatures was the color of an awesome crystal, stretched forth over their heads above ( Ezekiel 1:21-22 ).

In other words, now he's describing the area around the throne of God. These creatures were under the throne of God. And this was like an awesome crystal.

John saw this sea of glass likened to crystal that was there before the throne of God. And as you read, Revelation 4 , you'll find that it parallels very much this vision of Ezekiel as both of these men, bound by human limitations, tried to describe the heavenly scene, the throne of God and the glory of God that they behold in these visions.

And under the firmament were their wings straight, and one toward the other: every one had two, which they covered their side, every one had two, which covered the sides of their bodies ( Ezekiel 1:23 ).

With two they touched each other, with two they covered the sides of their bodies.

And when they went, I heard the noise of their wings, like the noise of great waters ( Ezekiel 1:24 ),

Have you ever been to Niagara Falls? Ever been up in Yosemite to Vernal Falls or Nevada Falls and you hear this noise of great waters, sort of a roar. And so, as they moved there was this roar. The flash is like lightning and the straight direction type movements.

as the voice of the Almighty, the voice of speech, as the noise of a host: when they stood, they let down their wings ( Ezekiel 1:24 ).

So, when they were standing, their wings would come down to their side.

And there was a voice from [this heaven] this firmament [this expanse above them] that was over their heads, when they stood, and they had let down their wings. And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone [which is blue]: and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it. And I saw the color of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about. As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake ( Ezekiel 1:25-28 ).

So, you might find it interesting when you have your own study to read Daniel 7:9 , and 10, as Daniel describes his vision of God. Isaiah chapter 6, as he describes his vision of the throne of God, and then Revelation chapter 4, as John describes his, and you put them all together and you get a pretty good composite of what the heavenly scene must look like.

This bow, John describes it in Revelation chapter 4, a bow like emerald, sort of a greenish in color that is around about the throne of God. Ezekiel describes it here. John had much the same reaction of just falling on his face. Daniel was weak as a result of his vision. He just was totally weakened by it. Ezekiel fell on his face and he heard the voice of one that spake.

Now, flying saucer buffs declare that Ezekiel actually sighted a flying saucer. That there are extraterrestrial beings that have visited the earth and have been visiting the earth during the historic period of man. And that they actually account for many of the otherwise unaccountable phenomena of history, some of the mammoth building projects of ancient man, which still baffle us today. And they, of course, go out to the desert or to various areas, and they have these sightings of these flying saucers, and there is just an awful lot that has been written, has been discussed, has been talked about flying saucers, and there have been many reports and much interesting phenomena surrounding these flying saucers.

Many of them can be accounted for as, perhaps, swamp gases and other things, but yet there are others that reasonably intelligent men have expressed and described and it's hard to discount them all.

Lambert Dolphin who is a scientist up at the University of Stanford, one of the scientists, I believe his area is that of astrophysics, quite outstanding, very intelligent man, was asked to speak at one of these flying saucer conventions. And so he prepared a paper on flying saucers in which he thought that he would, before the convention, thoroughly debunk this whole flying saucer kind of a... what he thought mythology. And he was approaching it from just a purely scientific standpoint, and was going to take so many of the concepts that they had about moving on the magnetic forces and all of this, and seek to thoroughly, from a scientific standpoint, debunk the thing.

As he was sitting there on the platform, and there were about three thousand people at this convention, the speaker, and of course he was interested that these weren't freaky people. You know, you think that people who see flying saucers and all are sort of fringe, freaky kind of people. But he realized that among them there were professors, other scientists, peace officers, a wide cross-section of our society.

The leader of the convention asked the people, "How many of you have ever seen a flying saucer?" And he was shocked that about two-thirds of the hands in the auditorium went up. People had said they had sighted flying saucers. He then asked, "How many of you have been taken aboard a flying saucer?" And a third of the people raised their hands. And he began to get a little concerned. When he stood up to speak, he heard this screaming noise that was extremely distracting to him. And he wondered, "Where is that coming from?" And he looked around the audience to see what direction the people might be looking, because he figured that those that were closest to the screaming noise would be looking at it and he could localize where it was and then ask the ushers or someone to take care of that and get rid of it. But he said, suddenly he realized that nobody was looking around anywhere and that he was the only one that was hearing this screaming noise. And to this man of science there came suddenly the awareness, "Hey, this whole thing is demonic." And he got so shook that he was unable to deliver his paper in which he was going to debunk the whole flying saucer theory or ideas, concepts. He was just totally shaken.

Now, the interesting thing to me is that these people do try to bring Ezekiel into their fold, into their number. "Look, he describes it. He perfectly describes it in his book." Wait a minute, what does Ezekiel describe? As I said, in chapter 10 Ezekiel again describes it, but he tells us what it is, "These are the cherubim that are there before the throne of God." These wheels within the wheels, with the flashes of lightning and the movements and so forth. And if you heard them describe how the flying saucers move in the straight type of lines, they don't make a wide arc when they turn. They just... straight line type of movement, being able to change directions and so forth with tremendous speed. Able to hover and then suddenly move off with tremendous speeds.

Is it possible that these people who are sighting these UFO's are also dabbling into the occult and are seeing fallen cherubim? We know that when Satan fell that one-third of the angelic host went with him. It is interesting that the Bible says that Satan was indeed a cherubim. He was the anointed--not a cherubim, because cherubim is plural. Cherub is the singular. He was an anointed cherub that covered. But there are cherubim, plural. It is very possible that we are dealing in an interesting area of the occult and that there are these cherubim that are making themselves visible to those who are dabbling into that realm of occultism.

Now what Ezekiel saw were the cherubim there at the throne of God, but it would also stand that the cherubim who fell would have a similar likeness or appearance and movements. So, it is possible that we cannot thoroughly discount this whole flying saucer phenomena as a bunch of junk, but it could indeed be that in these last days, as satanic forces are growing, as far as the demonstrations of their power. That as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be in the days of the coming of the Son of man. And there was strong demonic activity in the days of Noah, and we're coming into the area again of strong demonic activity.

Now I offer that as only a suggestion. I'm not declaring to you, "Oh, I've got some great mysterious truth I'm revealing now, you know. This is the way it happened or this is the way." This is just a suggestion. Something to think about. And I'll let it go at that. "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

1. The setting of the vision 1:1-3

"The setting of the Mesopotamian dream-visions-which occurred in both the Assyrian period and the Babylonian period . . . -consisted of four elements: (1) the date, (2) the place of reception, (3) the recipient, and (4) the circumstances. Ezekiel included all four aspects in his vision." [Note: Ibid., p. 754. See Oppenheim, pp. 186-87.]

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Perhaps a later inspired scribe added the information in these verses to clarify exactly who Ezekiel was and when he saw this vision. King Jehoiachin’s fifth year of exile was 593 B.C. Both Ezekiel and Jehoiachin went into captivity at the same time, in the second deportation of Judean prisoners in 597 B.C. This is the reference year from which all the prophecies in Ezekiel date.

Ezekiel was a priest as well as a prophet. His father was Buzi, evidently of Zadok’s branch of Aaron’s family (cf. 1 Kings 1:32-35). As a priest, Ezekiel was familiar with the Mosaic Covenant and the priestly functions and paraphernalia of the temple, which becomes clear in this book. The Chaldeans were the rulers of the Babylonian Empire at the time of Israel’s captivity.

The hand of the Lord that came upon Ezekiel is an anthropomorphism expressing the direct control and divine empowerment that Yahweh exercised over Ezekiel ("God strengthens") as He gave him these visions (Ezekiel 3:14; cf. Isaiah 25:10; Isaiah 41:10; Isaiah 41:20).

"The ’hand of the Lord’ is always a metaphor for His power." [Note: Merrill, p. 368.]

"The word of the Lord came to Ezekiel" and "The hand of the Lord was upon him" are phrases that typically introduce revelations from God in this book (Ezekiel 3:22; Ezekiel 8:1; Ezekiel 33:22; Ezekiel 37:1; Ezekiel 40:1; cf. 2 Kings 3:15). The hand reference especially distinguishes Ezekiel as being under the controlling influence of God’s Spirit, compared to other prophets. [Note: See Daniel I. Block, "The Prophet of the Spirit: The Use of rwh in Ezekiel," Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 32 (1989):33.] Perhaps this was important in this book since Ezekiel’s visions and actions have called his sanity into question. Several psychoanalytical studies have been done on Ezekiel. [Note: See idem, The Book . . ., pp. 10-12.]

"These three elements-vision [Ezekiel 1:1], word [Ezekiel 1:3}, and power (or hand) [Ezekiel 1:3]-appear pervasively in Ezekiel’s descriptions of his call and of Yahweh’s self-revelation. The vision is the abstract message itself, the word is its interpretation, and the power is the means by which the message is effectually communicated. For the hand of the Lord to come on the prophet is to assure him of the Lord’s affirmation and enablement." [Note: Merrill, p. 367.]

The "visions of God" referred to in Ezekiel 1:1 receive fuller exposition in Ezekiel 1:4 to Ezekiel 2:7. Likewise the "word of the LORD" in Ezekiel 1:3 gets more attention in Ezekiel 2:8 to Ezekiel 3:11 as does the "hand of the LORD," also in Ezekiel 1:3, in Ezekiel 3:12-27. [Note: Charles H. Dyer, in The Old Testament Explorer, p. 660.]

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

In the fifth [day] of the month,.... The month Tammuz, as before:

(which [was] the fifth year of Jehoiachin's captivity); the same with Jeconiah and Coniah, as he is sometimes called; he was taken by the king of Babylon, when he had reigned but three months, and his captivity held seven and thirty years, 2 Kings 24:8.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      1 Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the river of Chebar, that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God.   2 In the fifth day of the month, which was the fifth year of king Jehoiachin's captivity,   3 The word of the LORD came expressly unto Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and the hand of the LORD was there upon him.

      The circumstances of the vision which Ezekiel saw, and in which he received his commission and instructions, are here very particularly set down, that the narrative may appear to be authentic and not romantic. It may be of use to keep an account when and where God has been pleased to manifest himself to our souls in a peculiar manner, that the return of the day, and our return to the place of the altar (Genesis 13:4), may revive the pleasing grateful remembrance of God's favour to us. "Remember, O my soul! and never forget what communications of divine love thou didst receive at such a time, at such a place; tell others what God did for thee."

      I. The time when Ezekiel had this vision is here recorded. It was in the thirtieth year,Ezekiel 1:1; Ezekiel 1:1. Some make it the thirtieth year of the prophet's age; being a priest, he was at that age to enter upon the full execution of the priestly office, but being debarred from that by the iniquity and calamity of the times, now that they had neither temple nor altar, God at that age called him to the dignity of a prophet. Others make it to be the thirtieth year from the beginning of the reign of Nabopolassar, the father of Nebuchadnezzar, from which the Chaldeans began a new computation of time, as they had done from Nabonassar 123 years before. Nabopolassar reigned nineteen years, and this was the eleventh of his son, which makes the thirty. And it was proper enough for Ezekiel, when he was in Babylon, to use the computation they there used, as we in foreign countries date by the new style; and he afterwards uses the melancholy computation of his own country, observing (Ezekiel 1:2; Ezekiel 1:2) that it was the fifth year of Jehoiachin's captivity. But the Chaldee paraphrase fixes upon another era, and says that this was the thirtieth year after Hilkiah the priest found the book of the law in the house of the sanctuary, at midnight, after the setting of the moon, in the days of Josiah the king. And it is true that this was just thirty years from that time; and that was an event so remarkable (as it put the Jewish state upon a new trial) that it was proper enough to date form it; and perhaps therefore the prophet speaks indefinitely of thirty years, as having an eye both to that event and to the Chaldean computation, which were coincident. It was in the fourth month, answering to our June, and in the fifth day of the month, that Ezekiel had this vision, Ezekiel 1:2; Ezekiel 1:2. It is probably that it was on the sabbath day, because we read (Ezekiel 3:16; Ezekiel 3:16) that at the end of seven days, which we may well suppose to be the next sabbath, the word of the Lord came to him again. Thus John was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, when he saw the visions of the Almighty,Revelation 1:10. God would hereby put an honour upon his sabbaths, when the enemies mocked at them,Lamentations 1:7. And he would thus encourage his people to keep up their attendance on the ministry of his prophets every sabbath day, by the extraordinary manifestations of himself on some sabbath days.

      II. The melancholy circumstances he was in when God honoured him, and thereby favoured his people, with this vision. He was in the land of the Chaldeans, among the captives, by the river of Chebar, and it was in the fifth year of king Jehoiachin's captivity. Observe,

      1. The people of God were now, some of them, captives in the land of the Chaldeans. The body of the Jewish nation yet remained in their own land, but these were the first-fruits of the captivity, and they were some of the best; for in Jeremiah's vision these were the good figs, whom God had sent into the land of the Chaldeans for their good (Jeremiah 24:5); and, that it might be for their good, God raised up a prophet among them, to teach them out of the law, then when he chastened them, Psalms 94:12. Note, It is a great mercy to have the word of God brought to us, and a great duty to attend to it diligently, when we are in affliction. The word of instruction and the rod of correction may be of great service to us, in concert and concurrence with each other, the word to explain the rod and the rod to enforce the word: both together give wisdom. It is happy for a man, when he is sick and in pain, to have a messenger with him, an interpreter, one among a thousand, if he have but his ear open to discipline,Job 23:23. One of the quarrels God had with the Jews, when he sent them into captivity, we for mocking his messengers and misusing his prophets; and yet, when they were suffering for this sin, he favoured them with this forfeited mercy. It were ill with us if God did not sometimes graciously thrust upon us those means of grace and salvation which we have foolishly thrust from us. In their captivity they were destitute of ordinary helps for their souls, and therefore God raised them up these extraordinary ones; for God's children, if they be hindered in their education one way, shall have it made up another way. But observe, It was in the fifth year of the captivity that Ezekiel was raised up amongst them, and not before. So long God left them without any prophet, till they began to lament after the Lord and to complain that they saw not their signs and there was none to tell them how long (Psalms 74:9), and then they would know how to value a prophet, and God's discoveries of himself to them by him would be the more acceptable and comfortable. The Jews that remained in their own land had Jeremiah with them, those that had gone into captivity had Ezekiel with them; for wherever the children of God are scattered abroad he will find out tutors for them.

      2. The prophet was himself among the captives, those of them that were posted by the river Chebar; for it was by the rivers of Babylon that they sat down, and on the willow-trees by the river's side that they hanged their harps,Psalms 137:1; Psalms 137:2. The planters in America keep along by the sides of the rivers, and perhaps those captives were employed by their masters in improving some parts of the country by the rivers' sides that were uncultivated, the natives being generally employed in war; or they employed them in manufactures, and therefore chose to fix them by the sides of rivers, that the good they made might the more easily be conveyed by water-carriage. Interpreters agree not what river this of Chebar was, but among the captives by that river Ezekiel was, and himself a captive. Observe here, (1.) The best men, and those that are dearest to God, often share, not only in the common calamities of this life, but in the public and national judgments that are inflicted for sin; those feel the smart who contributed nothing to the guilt, by which it appears that the difference between good and bad arises not from the events that befal them, but from the temper and disposition of their spirits under them. And since not only righteous men, but prophets, share with the worst in present punishments, we may infer thence, with the greatest assurance, that there are rewards reserved for them in the future state. (2.) Words of conviction, counsel, and comfort, come best to those who are in affliction from their fellow sufferers. The captives will be best instructed by one who is a captive among them and experimentally knows their sorrows. (3.) The spirit of prophecy was not confined to the land of Israel, but some of the brightest of divine revelations were revealed in the land of the Chaldeans, which was a happy presage of the carrying of the church, with that divine revelation upon which it is built, into the Gentile world; and, as now, so afterwards, when the gospel kingdom was to be set up, the dispersion of the Jews contributed to the spreading of the knowledge of God. (4.) Wherever we are we may keep up our communion with God. Undique ad cœlos tantundem est viæ--From the remotest corners of the earth we may find a way open heavenward. (5.) When God's ministers are bound the word of the Lord is not bound,2 Timothy 2:9. When St. Paul was a prisoner the gospel had a free course. When St. John was banished into the Isle of Patmos Christ visited him there. Nay, God's suffering servants have generally been treated as favourites, and their consolations have much more abounded when affliction has abounded, 2 Corinthians 1:5.

      III. The discovery which God was pleased to make of himself to the prophet when he was in these circumstances, to be by him communicated to his people. He here tells us what he saw, what he heard, and what he felt. 1. He saw visions of God,Ezekiel 1:1; Ezekiel 1:1. No man can see God and live; but many have seen visions of God, such displays of the divine glory as have both instructed and affected them; and commonly, when God first revealed himself to any prophet, he did it by an extraordinary vision, as to Isaiah (Isaiah 6:1-13; Isaiah 6:1-13), to Jeremiah (Jeremiah 1:1-19; Jeremiah 1:1-19), to Abraham (Acts 7:2), to settle a correspondence and a satisfactory way of intercourse, so that there needed not afterwards a vision upon ever revelation. Ezekiel was employed in turning the hearts of the people to the Lord their God, and therefore he must himself see the visions of God. Note, It concerns those to be well acquainted with God themselves, and much affected with what they know of him, whose business it is to bring others to the knowledge and love of him. That he might see the visions of God the heavens were opened; the darkness and distance which hindered his visions were conquered, and he was let into the light of the glories of the upper world, as near and clear as if heaven had been opened to him. 2. He heard the voice of God (Ezekiel 1:3; Ezekiel 1:3): The word of the Lord came expressly to him, and what he saw was designed to prepare him for what he was to hear. The expression is emphatic. Essendo fuit verbum Dei--The word of the Lord was a really it was to him. There was no mistake in it; it came to him in the fulness of its light and power, in the evidence and demonstration of the Spirit; it came close to him, nay, it came into him, took possession of him and dwelt in him richly. It came expressly, or accurately, to him; he did himself clearly understand what he said and was abundantly satisfied f the truth of it. The essential Word (so we may take it), the Word who is, who is what he is, came to Ezekiel, to send him on his errand. 3. He felt the power of God opening his eyes to see the visions, opening his ear to hear the voice, and opening his heart to receive both: The hand of the Lord was there upon him. Note, The hand of the Lord goes along with the word f the Lord, and so it becomes effectual; those only understand and believe the report to whom the arm of the Lord is revealed. The hand of God was upon him, as upon Moses, to cover him, that he should not be overcome by the dazzling light and lustre of the visions he saw, Exodus 33:22. It was upon him (as upon St. John, Revelation 1:17), to revive and support him, that he might bear up, and not faint, under these discoveries, that he might neither be lifted up nor cast down with the abundance of the revelations. God's grace is sufficient for him, and, in token of that, his hand is upon him.