Will you please turn to Ezekiel chapter 1? Ezekiel, the first chapter.
Maybe some of you are not too familiar with Ezekiel, so probably I have to read the whole chapter.
Ezekiel 1:1-28:
Now 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.
On the fifth day of the month, which was the fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity,
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.
And I looked, and, behold, a stormy wind came out of the north, a great cloud, with a fire infolding itself, and a brightness was about it, and out of the midst thereof as it were glowing metal, out of the midst of the fire.
And out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance: they had the likeness of a man.
And every one had four faces, and every one of them 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 as the appearance of 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.
Their wings were joined one to another; they turned not when they went; they went every one straight forward.
And as for the likeness of their faces, they had the face of a man; and they four had the face of a lion on the right side; and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four had also the face of an eagle.
And their faces and their wings were separate above; two wings of every one were joined one to another, and two covered their bodies.
And they went every one straight forward: whither the spirit was to go, they went; they turned not when they went.
As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, like the appearance of torches: the fire went up and down among the living creatures; and the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth lightning.
And the living creatures ran and returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning.
Now as I beheld the living creatures, behold, one wheel upon the earth beside the living creatures, for each of the four faces thereof.
The appearance of the wheels and their work was like unto a beryl; and they four had one likeness: and their appearance and their work was as it were a wheel within a wheel.
When they went, they went in their four directions: they turned not when they went.
As for their rims, they were high and dreadful; and they four had their rims full of eyes round about.
And when the living creatures went, the wheels went beside them; and when the living creatures were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up.
Whithersoever the spirit was to go, they went, thither was their spirit to go; and the wheels were lifted up beside them: for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels.
When those went, these went; and when those stood, these stood; and when those were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up beside them: for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels.
And over the head of the living creature there was the likeness of an expanse, like the terrible crystal to look upon, stretched forth over their heads above.
And under the expanse were their wings straight, the one toward the other: every one had two which covered on this side, and every one had two which covered on that side, their bodies.
And when they went, I heard the noise of their wings like the noise of great waters, like the voice of the Almighty, a noise of tumult like the noise of a host: when they stood, they let down their wings.
And there was a voice above the expanse that was over their heads: when they stood, they let down their wings.
And above the expanse that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone; and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it.
And I saw as it were glowing metal, as the appearance of fire within it round about, from the appearance of His loins and upward; and from the appearance of His loins and downward I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and there was brightness round about Him.
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 upon my face, and I heard a voice of One that spake.
Let us look to the Lord.
Our Heavenly Father, how we praise and thank Thee for Thy Word. We ask that Thy Holy Spirit would breathe upon Thy Word and make it living and operative in us. We ask Thee to grant us the spirit of wisdom and revelation, that we may really see what Thou wantest us to see and hear what Thou wantest us to hear. To Thee be all the praise, in the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.
Ezekiel was a captive in the land of Babylon. He was taken captive with King Jehoiachin. When he was thirty years old, he had already been five years as a captive. We find that he was by the river Chebar, which was the Grand Canal of Babylon, because the Babylonian Empire used these captives to dig the Grand Canal. Ezekiel was found in their midst.
He was born of a priestly family. As we know, one who was born to a priestly family was to be trained from childhood for the day when he would serve in the holy temple. So Ezekiel was no exception. Before he was taken captive, he was trained to be a priest.
But when he was twenty-five years of age—the age when probably the priest would go into the temple as an apprentice—that was the year he was taken as a captive. When he was thirty years old, the year that a priest should enter into the holy temple to be a full-fledged priest and serve in the temple, he found that he was still in the land of captivity by the river Chebar.
If we just think for a little moment, we can realize how painful it must have been for Ezekiel. Ezekiel was not only a priest by birth, but he was a priest in heart. Yet there was absolutely no hope of his returning to Jerusalem to serve in the holy temple. On the contrary, Jerusalem would soon be destroyed, and the holy temple would be completely destroyed.
So, humanly speaking, he was in a hopeless situation. There was no hope for his life. His life would become meaningless and empty because his vocation was to serve God as a priest in the temple, but there was no way of his ever fulfilling his vocation. His life was indeed empty.
But the end of man is the beginning of God. So here we find, in the most unlikely situation and at the most unlikely time, the heavens were opened to Ezekiel, and he saw visions of God.
That open heaven, that vision of God, gave Ezekiel a new life. It gave him a new meaning. God called him to be a prophet-priest. Even though he was not able to serve in the earthly temple in Jerusalem, yet he was called to serve among the exiles, the people of God in Babylon—the living temple, the people of God.
He was able to fulfill his life vocation. So his life was no longer a waste and emptiness, but his life was full and fulfilled. It was all because the heavens were open to him and he saw the visions of God.
Now, dear brothers and sisters, we mentioned last night that we who were washed by the precious blood of the Lamb, God has called us to be priests unto God. Our vocation is to serve God.
But we find ourselves in these last days, difficult days. We find that we are pressed on every side. We find that it is even difficult for us to survive. How can we survive as Christians? To be a Christian, to live as a Christian, is hard enough. We are struggling every day, trying to live as believers, as children of God. But we find that the days are getting more and more difficult.
How can we fulfill our vocation as priests unto God—not only to survive as believers, but to serve God’s purpose in our generation, in the last days?
Dear brothers and sisters, we believe that God has a way for us. That way is that we live under an open heaven, that we see the visions of God. Only an open heaven and the vision of God will give us strength, will enable us to go through our life—not only just to live, but to live abundantly for the glory of God.
Thank God, an open heaven is today our portion. Why? Because our Lord Jesus, when He was crucified on the cross, when He shouted, “It is finished,” the veil in the temple was rent from top to bottom. The holiest of all was exposed. The way to the holiest of all was open.
So today, by faith, we can enter into the holiest of all. We can live under an open heaven, and we can live to see the glory of the Lord with unveiled faces. This is our portion.
Now, brothers and sisters, what is an open heaven? What is it to live under an open heaven? Of course, an open heaven means so much. It is all-inclusive. We may say that all things that pertain to spiritual life are included in that open heaven.
But an open heaven means, first of all, that there is communication. There is communication between earth and heaven. There is fellowship, communion, between man—between us—and God. It is our portion, our daily portion, that our Lord Jesus has obtained for us: that we, as His children, could and should live daily in uninterrupted communion and fellowship with the God of heaven.
An open heaven means the presence of the Lord with us. Not only is there communication, but the Lord Himself is present with us. The Lord of heaven is with us. We can live in the abiding presence of the Lord.
An open heaven means that we may know the will of heaven, because there we find heaven revealing His mind to us. We may know what God’s will is, what His purpose is. An open heaven means that we may receive strength from heaven. We may not only know the will of God, but we will be given the power to do the will of God.
It also means that we are given a new position. Even though we live on earth, yet, brothers and sisters, our position today is a heavenly position. We are seated with Christ in the heavenlies. This is our position. Because of this position, it gives us the ground for victory over Satan, all the evil forces, and everything that is in this world.
Dear brothers and sisters, an open heaven is our portion. Let us take it by faith, thanking the Lord that heaven is open to us, thanking the Lord that because heaven is open, therefore we shall be given the spirit of wisdom and revelation.
The greatest need among God’s people today is this matter of vision and revelation. In other words, we find that God’s people today seem to be lacking in seeing what God wants us to see and in hearing what God wants us to hear.
God’s people seem to be lacking in the knowledge of God’s perfect will. God’s people seem to be ignorant of the eternal purpose of God. It is all because we do not have vision.
But, brothers and sisters, remember: the vision is our portion because heaven is open to us. If heaven is open to us, we cannot but see vision. We cannot but receive revelation.
The heavens were opened, and Ezekiel said, “I saw visions of God.” What did he see?
He saw a cloud, a bright cloud, coming from the north. As it came closer to him, he saw in the bright cloud four living creatures. He saw beside the four living creatures wheels, wheels within wheels. Then he saw above the heads of the living creatures an expanse like terrible crystal, a transparent sea. Above the sea was a throne, and upon the throne was the likeness of the glory of the Lord.
Here, brothers and sisters, in that vision which Ezekiel saw, the very center of that vision is God. Whenever heaven is open to you, you will see God, because God is the center of everything.
Our problem today is as if heaven is closed to us, and all we see is the earth and the things that are around us. Because we see things, we see people, we see our circumstances, we see all the things around us, we find that our life is a struggle. We find that survival is difficult. We find that we are not able to breathe. We are not able to serve God as we should.
We lose sight of God. What we need is to see God. If heaven is open to us, we will see Him high and lifted up. Brothers and sisters, every time in Scripture you find heaven is open, invariably you find people see God there upon His throne.
Ezekiel saw the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. Why does he use such an expression: the appearance, the likeness, of the glory of the Lord? Because no one can see God. God is invisible.
But what man can see is the glory of God. What man can see is the likeness of the glory of God. What men can see is the appearance of the likeness of the glory of God. By seeing the appearance of the likeness of the glory of God, you see God. You see the reality there. You get the impression.
You know, brothers and sisters, what is described in the first chapter of Ezekiel, in the vision of God, actually is an impression. It is not something merely physical. You have to use physical terms to describe it—like fire, like brightness, like brass, like glowing brass. These are just descriptive words trying to give you an impression.
Through that impression, you may get the reality of who God is and what God is like. So what Ezekiel saw is the glory of the Lord.
Now, brothers and sisters, what is the glory of the Lord? You know, in Scripture, the most difficult term to define is glory. Of course, the Bible never defines anything, because once you define something, you confine it. With God, He is infinite; therefore, you find in Scripture that it never defines anything.
Even so, we know, for instance, when we talk about righteousness, we say righteousness is the act of God. Whenever God does something, it must be right. We can even say, “What is holiness?” Holiness is the nature of God, because God is holy. He is different. He is unique. He is not common. He is not like us. He stands alone. He is holy.
But when we come to this matter of glory, we find it is very difficult. Yet in Scripture you find the glory of the Lord, the Lord of glory, appears. All we can see of God is glory. We cannot see God Himself. All we can see is the glory of the Lord. When the glory of the Lord appears, then we meet God, we see God, we possess Him. That is all that we can have. But what is glory?
I remember our dear brother Watchman Nee said, “Glory is God appearing.” Now, that is evident, because in the Bible, whenever God appears, you see glory.
If God does not appear, it is darkness. It is shame. It is death. But whenever God appears, there is glory.
You remember when Abram was in Ur of the Chaldeans. As a matter of fact, he was no different from the other people in the world at that time. He lived in a city of idols. His father, we are told by tradition, was a maker of idols, and probably Abram was brought up as an idol worshiper too.
But somehow, Scripture says that one day the Lord of glory appeared to Abraham. When the Lord of glory appeared to Abraham, it changed his life. Abraham was called out of his kindred and out of his land, to follow God to the land that God promised him.
Abraham became a pilgrim and a stranger upon earth. From that day onward, he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose Builder is God. The Lord of glory appeared to him, and that changed his course.
Dear brothers and sisters, is it not true? Whenever God appears, you cannot remain the same. The reason why we do not seem to change much—you know, sometimes people say, “Stephen, you haven’t changed much. You look like you were last year.” Now, it may be a compliment, but to me, I feel it is really bad.
Because if I see the Lord, if the Lord appears to me, I cannot be the same as I was last year. If God appeared to Abram and changed him, surely if God appears to us, we cannot remain the same. We have to go on with Him. We have to change and be transformed from glory to glory according to His image by the Lord the Spirit.
So, if God appears to us, there is bound to be something happening in us. Oh, how we need to see the glory of the Lord, brothers and sisters.
We may listen to messages. We may read the Scriptures ourselves. We may seem to be very zealous and earnest. But unless the glory of the Lord appears to us, all these are external. All these will not change us very much.
What we need is to see the glory of the Lord. You remember, that is the very burden of Moses. Moses said, “Show me Thy glory.” That is all I want. We want to see the glory of the Lord. If only the Lord will appear to us, there is glory, and that glory will transform us and conform us to His image.
But what is glory? I remember dear brother T. Austin-Sparks said, “Glory is God satisfied.” Whenever God is satisfied, you see glory.
You find that when Moses built the tabernacle, after he finished the tabernacle according to the pattern on the mount, the glory of the Lord appeared and filled the tabernacle. Why? Because God was satisfied. He was happy.
The same thing was true with the temple that Solomon built. Solomon built the temple according to the pattern that God gave to his father David. He was the wisest of men; therefore, he built everything according to the heavenly pattern. Because it was done according to God’s pattern, when it was finished, fire came down from heaven and burned the burnt offering, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. The priests had to retreat.
God was fully satisfied. Dear brothers and sisters, in the life of our Lord Jesus, we behold the glory as of the only begotten of the Father. Why? Because in Him, God is always satisfied. God finds His rest in Him. God is happy. God is pleased. Dear brothers and sisters, that is what glory is.
Whenever God is satisfied with us, both as individuals and as a corporate body, you will see the glory of the Lord. Oh, if we should walk through this life and the glory of the Lord is not manifested in us, what a shame, what a failure it must be.
If we, as a company, are worshiping the Lord together, serving the Lord together, and yet the glory of the Lord is not in all this—when people come into our midst and they cannot see the presence of the Lord, they cannot bow down and say, “The Lord is indeed in your midst”—dear brothers and sisters, everything is just superficial, empty, meaningless.
What are we seeking for? What is it that we really desire above all things? It is not spirituality. It is not success. What we really seek for, dear brothers and sisters, is the glory of the Lord.
If we have the glory of the Lord, then that is everything. If we do not have the glory of the Lord, brothers and sisters, we have nothing—just nothing. How important it is that we see the glory of the Lord, that the Lord will be satisfied. That is our reward.
Unless God is satisfied, how can we be contented? How sad it is that many of God’s people today are contented, seem to be happy with what they think they have, and even boast of what they have; and yet the glory of the Lord is not there.
How easily we are contented. Oh, that the Lord will stir our hearts, that we will not rest, that we will press on, that we will seek above all things the glory of the Lord.
In that vision, Ezekiel saw a cloud coming from the north. Now, maybe according to Isaiah 14:14, it seems as if God’s throne is set in the north, in the recesses of the north. So here you find a cloud coming from the north, and it was a bright cloud.
Now, if you turn to Psalm 18, you will find in Psalm 18:10-12:
And He rode upon a cherub, and did fly;
Yea, He did fly swiftly upon the wings of the wind.
He made darkness His hiding place, His pavilion round about Him,
Darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies.
At the brightness before Him His thick clouds passed,
Hailstones and coals of fire.
Here you find that God rode upon a cherub and did fly. He flew swiftly upon the wings of the wind. Now, outside it might be a dark cloud, but within the dark cloud there would be brightness. In other words, here you find the brightness of the cloud, and God was riding upon the cloud.
We wonder if this is the cloud that appeared to the three disciples when they were with Christ on the Mount of Transfiguration. You remember, our Lord Jesus took the three disciples to the Mount of Transfiguration. When Peter said something, suddenly Moses and Elijah disappeared, and a bright cloud covered them. We wonder if it is the same cloud—the Shekinah glory of God. The glory of God came in and covered them.
As the cloud came a little closer, Ezekiel saw four living creatures. These four living creatures are a mystery. Now, I do not pretend that I know what that mystery is, but it is fascinating.
You find four living creatures in that cloud. These four living creatures were cherubim. How do we know they are cherubim? Because in Ezekiel 10:15 it is said, “These four living creatures, these are the cherubim.” So the living creatures are the cherubim. Cherub is the singular number; cherubim is the plural number.
But who are these cherubim? The first mention of cherubim is found in Genesis 3. You remember, after Adam and Eve sinned against God, they were driven out of the Garden of Eden, and God set up cherubim with the flaming sword to guard the way to the tree of life.
That was the first mention of cherubim, but there was no description. Then you find, when Moses was in the wilderness, God commanded Moses to build a tabernacle. In the tabernacle, you find the ark, and above it the mercy seat, which is the throne of God.
In making the mercy seat, God commanded Moses to make two cherubim with wings spread over the ark and their faces toward the ark. Not only that, but the veil that separated the holiest from the holy place had cherubim embroidered all over it. Even the ten curtains that formed the tabernacle had cherubim embroidered upon them.
Now, strange to say, Moses had no trouble making these cherubim, even though there was no description. It seemed as if they knew at that time what the cherubim were like. All we know is that these cherubim have wings and they have faces, but what kind of faces we do not know.
Then, of course, you find at the time of Solomon, when Solomon built the temple, he used olive wood and built two gigantic cherubim, ten cubits high. These cherubim spread their wings across the whole length of the holiest of all. They formed a kind of setting for the ark and the mercy seat.
So you find in the holiest of all four living creatures, four cherubim—two on the mercy seat and two standing behind. On the folding doors and on the walls, you find cherubim all over. Even on the base of the laver, on the panels, you find cherubim being carved.
Not until the book of Ezekiel do you find the living creatures being described. Only two books in the Bible describe these living creatures, these cherubim: one in the Old Testament, Ezekiel; the other in the New Testament, Revelation. Only in these two books do you find these living creatures described.
Yet, even though they were described, you find these cherubim change their form from time to time. Sometimes they have six wings; sometimes they have four wings. They do not seem always to remain the same. They are so flexible, so mobile. Now, who are they?
Brothers and sisters, may I offer an explanation? You may take it or leave it. I believe these cherubim, these living creatures, are the composite spiritual realities concerning God’s creation.
These cherubim represent spiritual principles. But remember, these are not abstract. Sometimes we think spiritual principles are just ideals, abstract. No. These spiritual principles are realities, and realities actually are more real than physical things.
These cherubim represent spiritual principles, realities, concerning all creation in God’s mind.
When Moses built the ark and the mercy seat, of course he built everything according to the pattern shown him on the mount, the heavenly pattern. In other words, whatever Moses and Solomon did on earth was only a representation, only a shadow of the reality that is in heaven.
So the cherubim covering the ark are a shadow, a reflection of what is really there in heaven at the throne of God. Therefore, you find in Ezekiel 28, when it mentions that being—when God created that angelic being—that angelic being was an anointed covering cherub. In other words, he was one of the cherubim that covered the throne of God.
First of all, you find the cherubim are angelic beings, because in God’s creation the angelic beings are the highest of His creation. Therefore, the cherubim at that time were angelic. They represented the idea, the will, the purpose, the full thought of God concerning creation.
Then you find Adam and Eve driven out of the Garden of Eden. Then the cherubim appeared. Why? Why did the cherubim appear at that moment? Because they served as a kind of contrast.
Man was created in God’s image. Man was to reflect the glory of the Lord. But man had sinned. Man had failed. Man had not fulfilled his mission. Yet, even though man had failed, God’s purpose concerning man remained the same.
So there you find the cherubim standing as a contrast to fallen man. Even though man had fallen, God’s purpose concerning His creation, and especially man, remained the same. God will yet get what He has ordained for His creation. That is why you find the cherubim there had the face of man.
God chose the children of Israel, that nation. They were God’s chosen people. Out of all nations, God chose them. They were to be the vessel to stand with God, to guard, as it were, the rights of God, and to execute the will of God. They were a nation to represent God and to manifest God’s glory.
That is the reason why you find in the tabernacle and in the temple these cherubim all around. We may say that the nation of Israel was God’s cherubim under the old covenant. But they failed.
Who are God’s cherubim today? The church of God. The church of God today is to be God’s cherubim. The thought of God concerning the church is represented by these cherubim.
We are supposed to be God’s vessel, God’s instrument. We are supposed to be those that guard, to keep the testimony of Jesus. We are supposed to be those that do the will of God, to bring the will of God upon the earth as it is in heaven. So actually, the cherubim of God today is the church of God.
One day, the cherubim disappear. In the holy city, the New Jerusalem, there are no cherubim. Why? Because God’s purpose concerning His creation is fully fulfilled.
Why do we say that these cherubim represent God’s creation? You find these cherubim have four faces—not four heads, four faces. The face of a man, because man is the king of the earth; the face of an ox, the king of domestic animals; the face of a lion, the king of beasts; and the face of an eagle, the king of the birds of the air.
So you find they represent God’s creation. They are four in number because four is the number of the universality of creation.
These living creatures are most intelligent. In Revelation, we find they are full of eyes. In Ezekiel, you find the eyes on the wheels, and the rims were high and dreadful and full of eyes. Why? They speak of spiritual discernment.
These living creatures are full of intelligence, full of knowledge, full of spiritual discernment. Because they are full of spiritual discernment, they cry day and night unceasingly:
Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God, the Almighty,
Who was and Who is and Who is to come.
That is their knowledge. They know God. They know God is holy—unique, different, separated, above all things, alone—almighty, eternal, never changing, always remaining the same.
Here you find these living creatures, these cherubim, are connected with the holiness of God. In other words, they know God. They are so intelligent that they are always praising and worshiping God and leading the whole creation into worship.
Is it not true that the church today is to lead all creation in worship? Is it not true that we are supposed to be intelligent enough to know God, and in knowing Him to worship Him, and to bring the whole creation to His feet?
You find these cherubim, these living creatures, move swiftly, like lightning. They always go straight. They never turn back or turn around. Wherever they go, they go straight—to the north, to the south, to the east, to the west—because they have four faces.
The wheels are wheels within wheels, so there is no need to turn. They are always straight and swift in going. Brothers and sisters, what is above them? The expanse, the throne of God.
In other words, they are not only highly intelligent, but they are swift in doing the will of God. They are the chariot of the throne of God. They carry the throne of God everywhere. Wherever God wants to go, they carry the throne there. Swiftly they execute the will of God.
Their spirit is in the wheels. Wherever the Spirit—that is, the Spirit of God—moves, the wheels move, because the spirit of the living creatures is in the wheels, and the spirit of the living creatures is one with the Spirit of God.
Oh, dear brothers and sisters, you find there is not any distance. There is not a split second of delay. They move as the Spirit moves, because their spirits are one with the Spirit of God.
Is this not a description of what the church is in God’s mind? There are many things we can say, but suffice it to say this: these living creatures, on the one hand, guard the throne of God; on the other hand, they carry the throne of God.
What is the church of God in the mind of God? The church of God is that corporate vessel that has the testimony of Jesus and guards it. The church of God is that vessel, the chariot of the throne of God.
We are to carry, to execute, to do the will of God, to bring the will of heaven upon this earth: “Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven,” through the church.
Dear brothers and sisters, do not end with a vision of the church. The church is just a vessel. It is just a tent. However attractive, beautiful, useful, effective, wonderful it may be, it is for the throne of God. It is for God.
But, brothers and sisters, notice one thing. Above the expanse is the likeness of a throne, and the throne is the likeness of a sapphire stone.
If you read Revelation 4, you find the throne of God that John saw in heaven was like jasper and sardius. But here you find the throne looks like a sapphire stone. Now, if I am correct—I do not know—sapphire is blue, is it? Good, good. So here you find it is like a sapphire stone. It is blue, with a rainbow around it.
Why is that stone different from the stone you find in Revelation 4? Some people suggest that actually God has two thrones. Does that shock you?
God has a permanent throne set in heaven, and God has a traveling throne.
You know, in the book of Job, Satan appeared before the throne of God. You wonder, if Satan was already cast out of heaven, why was he allowed to go to heaven and appear before the throne of God?
I personally believe that Satan did not appear before that set throne of God. He appeared before the traveling throne of God. You know, God travels. He travels on the wings of the wind. He travels on the chariot of the cherubim. He travels to look after His creation.
He travels all around to see what happens and what is going on. Our God is very active. Our God is very interested in His creation. Our God is most concerned, and He knows everything that is going on. He has a traveling throne, and it is to that traveling throne that Satan appeared.
What Ezekiel saw was not the set throne of God in heaven. He saw the traveling throne of God.
Brothers and sisters, so far as Ezekiel went, humanly speaking, to him it was the end of his life. He was thirty years old. He was to be a priest in the temple, but there was no hope. To him, it was not only the end of his life; it was the end of the world. To him, everything was lost. Everything was finished.
He must have been in distress, despair, disappointment. There was no hope. Everything was dark, bleak, black. But God was there.
There he saw the throne of God. There he saw God was traveling. There he saw God was interested. God was concerned with His people. God had not forsaken His people. There he saw that God was still on the throne.
Not only was God on the throne, but the cherubim were there. In other words, all God’s thoughts concerning His people remained the same.
You may find on earth everything has changed: “Change and decay in all around I see; O Thou who changest not, abide with me.” Brothers and sisters, we do see everything changing. There is nothing that we can stand on. We find everything becoming corrupted. We find everything bleak and black and hopeless. You may be in despair, disappointed.
But, dear brothers and sisters, remember one thing: God is still on the throne. Remember that the throne is carried by the cherubim. Remember that whatever God has ordained for you, whatever God has ordained for His church, whatever God has ordained for the nation of Israel, whatever God has ordained for the whole creation, remains unchanged in the sight of God.
It is always there, and it will be there. Brothers and sisters, how we thank God. If we only have a vision of God, if we only look up and see God on the throne, He is in charge. He knows. He is watching. He is working. He is active. He is ruling and overruling.
He is bringing everything upon this earth according to that vision Ezekiel saw, according to the cherubim that Ezekiel saw. Everything God has ordained for His people, for the whole creation, will eventually be brought to the satisfaction of God.
The glory of the Lord endureth forever. In Psalm 104:31:
Let the glory of the Lord endure for ever;
Let the Lord rejoice in His works.
In other words, the glory of the Lord never changes. We may not see His glory, and yet the glory of the Lord endures forever. It is always there.
In the presence of God, His will is already finished. His purpose is already fulfilled. The church is already there. The holy city, the New Jerusalem, is complete there. It is always there. The glory of the Lord endureth forever.
Blessed be the glory of the Lord from His place. What we need to do is to catch a glimpse of that glory. That will give us hope. That will give us faith. That will give us love.
That we may press on until that day when the glory of the Lord shall fill the earth as the waters fill the sea. May the Lord help us. Shall we pray?
Our Heavenly Father, how we praise and thank Thee that the glory of the Lord endures forever. We do praise and thank Thee that things may change upon this earth. We may change. Everything may change. But the glory of the Lord endures forever.
Oh, how we praise and thank Thee that Thou art satisfied with what Thou hast purposed. Thou hast already obtained in Thy Son what Thou hast ordained. We only pray that our eyes may be opened, that we may be strengthened by the glory of the Lord to press on unto that fullness that Thou hast ordained for Thy church and for the whole creation.
That Christ may be glorified in the church, in the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.