It has been my observation that Ezekiel was given a profound glimpse of the one true living God as he describes in chapter 1 of his opus. In a nutshell, we see God on the move, leaving the Temple in Jerusalem, drifting in a mobile throne room, displaying all his glory and splendor. The first four verses set the stage for the main event. Then we read about the windstorm and the center mass of the storm…
Ezekiel 1:4-11 says — I looked, and I saw a windstorm coming out of the north—an immense cloud with flashing lightning and surrounded by brilliant light. The center of the fire looked like glowing metal, and in the fire was what looked like four living creatures. In appearance their form was human, but each of them had four faces and four wings. … Under their wings, on their four sides, they had human hands. All four of them had faces and wings. … Their faces looked like this: Each of the four had the face of a human being, and on the right side each had the face of a lion, and on the left the face of an ox; each also had the face of an eagle. Such were their faces [NIV].
We have here an account of four angels. Oh my, what amazing view we have of them. They are alive, with multiple faces and immensely strong wings. They receive life from the fountain of life, in the same manner that we see the sun, the clouds, the moon and the stars as part of the creation, we see these four angels as part of the throne. They are integral to how Ezekiel describes the Glory of God as they amplify the visual we see through Ezekiel’s eye. This is a vibrant scene!
The four faces of each angel suggest to me that they are set to view the four winds of heaven (see Matthew 24:31). The four faces emerge again in Revelations 4:7 as four creatures around the throne. If I only saw one side of the angel, I would say one had the face of a eagle, another one had the face of an ox, not realizing they each had four faces. I recall that Zechariah described the four angels as four chariots heading North, South, East, and West (Zechariah 6:1). God sends his messengers all directions, his kingdom reaches as far as we can imagine and then a bit farther (beyond our imagination).
Ezekiel tells us that each angel had the face of a man. This suggests they may have understood things, seen their surroundings, and experienced feelings similar to the way we function, but given their situation, they far exceed our abilities. With the face of a lion, I might expect them to be strong and bold. With the face of an eagle, I might expect them to have a strong, strategic vision of God’s plan.
In the account from Ezekiel we notice each angel had four wings. John saw them with 6 wings (Revelations 4:8), Isaiah saw them with 6 wings (Isaiah 6:2), we are wise to notice that when Isaiah say the angels and the throne, they were above the throne and they covered their face with two of the wings (respect for the Glory of God). when I consider the meaning of all this, I get the feeling that faith and hope rest on their wings which soar upward. They carry godly devotion and affection to us with cheerful readiness. When Ezekiel observes their joined wings, I see a simile of unity, unanimity, and community among them. This is truly a profound window into the throne room of God.
The deeper truth – this community of angels is somewhat shielded from our eyes, they work in the smoke, not of darkness, they work within the smoke of God’s Glory. When they enter our realm, they hide their true body with a shield so they appear in a manner that we can assimilate. We see what God wants us to see for the moment, just a moment.
I choose Jesus.
Shalom Talk 