{"id":9938,"date":"2020-06-26T20:00:56","date_gmt":"2020-06-27T03:00:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/?p=9938"},"modified":"2020-06-26T23:07:23","modified_gmt":"2020-06-27T06:07:23","slug":"ezekiel-1_15-28","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/ezekiel-1_15-28\/","title":{"rendered":"Heaven Ain’t No Boring Place (Part 2)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ezekiel 1:15-28\u00a0 \u00a0Click here for Bible Verses<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Ezekiel 1:15-28.\u00a0 Apparently I ran a little further ahead by writing on yesterday’s passage and today’s passage in my GAME sharing for yesterday.\u00a0 In case you missed it, below is my GAME sharing concerning Ezekiel 1:15-28.\u00a0\u00a0Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Ezekiel 1:15-21 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n15\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0As I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel on the ground beside each creature with its four faces.
\n16\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0This was the appearance and structure of the wheels: They sparkled like chrysolite, and all four looked alike. Each appeared to be made like a wheel intersecting a wheel.
\n17\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0As they moved, they would go in any one of the four directions the creatures faced; the wheels did not turn about as the creatures went.
\n18\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Their rims were high and awesome, and all four rims were full of eyes all around.
\n19\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0When the living creatures moved, the wheels beside them moved; and when the living creatures rose from the ground, the wheels also rose.
\n20\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Wherever the spirit would go, they would go, and the wheels would rise along with them, because the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.
\n21\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0When the creatures moved, they also moved; when the creatures stood still, they also stood still; and when the creatures rose from the ground, the wheels rose along with them, because the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 15-21:\u00a0 For those of you who like gadgets, you\u2019ll love heaven and in particular the wheels that run beside the four living creatures.\u00a0 Like a scene from Star Wars where people are accompanied by incredibly smart druids, each of the four living creatures is accompanied by its own wheel.\u00a0 Each wheel is sparkly like chrysolite (v16) and moves in any one of four directions that the living creatures move in (v17).\u00a0 Each wheel appears to have another wheel inside of it so that it can effectively move in any direction without turning (v16).\u00a0 Each wheel is tall, full of eyes and could move not just horizontally but vertically as well, rising whenever its living creature rises (v18-20).\u00a0 Highly intelligent and seemingly sentient, each wheel would follow its living creature wherever the living creature went.\u00a0 In fact, verse 21 says that somehow each wheel is filled with the spirit of its living creature (v20-21).<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0 Some scholars think that the wheels reflect certain aspects of God\u2019s nature.\u00a0 For example, the fact that these wheels can go anywhere speaks to God\u2019s omnipresence (He is everywhere).\u00a0 The fact that these wheels are full of eyes speaks to God\u2019s omniscience (He sees everything).\u00a0 The fact that these wheels are \u201chigh and awesome\u201d (v18) speaks to God\u2019s omnipotence (He is all powerful).\u00a0 For me, I just think these wheels are really cool.<\/p>\n

Ezekiel 1:22-25 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n22\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Spread out above the heads of the living creatures was what looked like an expanse, sparkling like ice, and awesome.
\n23\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Under the expanse their wings were stretched out one toward the other, and each had two wings covering its body.
\n24\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0When the creatures moved, I heard the sound of their wings, like the roar of rushing waters, like the voice of the Almighty, like the tumult of an army. When they stood still, they lowered their wings.
\n25\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Then there came a voice from above the expanse over their heads as they stood with lowered wings.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 22-25:\u00a0 Above these amazing living creatures and their really cool wheels is what Ezekiel calls an awesome expanse, sparkling like ice (v22).\u00a0 This expanse seems to act like a platform for God\u2019s throne.\u00a0 For those of you who like art and architecture, you\u2019ll never see anything like what you\u2019ll see in heaven. Also, when God\u2019s voice speaks above that expanse (v25), these awesome living creatures stand still with lowered wings, showing humility and reverence for God.<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0 \u00a0Those living creatures are awesome, but notice that they show a tremendous reverence and humility before God.\u00a0 Similarly, you are an awesome living creature yourself, maybe not awesome the way that these cherubim are awesome, but even more awesome and in your own way — you are made in God\u2019s image and will in fact rule over angels the Bible says (1 Corinthians 6:3)!\u00a0 So, awesome creature, like the four living creatures, be reverent and humble before your Creator God.\u00a0 When He speaks, be still and humble before Him.<\/p>\n

Ezekiel 1:26-28 (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n26\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Above the expanse over their heads was what looked like a throne of sapphire, and high above on the throne was a figure like that of a man.
\n27\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0I saw that from what appeared to be his waist up he looked like glowing metal, as if full of fire, and that from there down he looked like fire; and brilliant light surrounded him.
\n28\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him.\u00a0This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the\u00a0LORD. When I saw it, I fell facedown, and I heard the voice of one speaking.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 26-28:\u00a0 Here, after seeing the awesome living creatures and their amazing wheels, Ezekiel catches a glimpse of the most awesome one of all: the Lord Himself.\u00a0 He can be seen high above the expanse on what looks like a throne of sapphire (v26a).\u00a0 He has an appearance similar to that of a man (v26b), except just the brightest, most brilliant, most fiery and most lit man you\u2019ve ever seen (v27).\u00a0 The radiance around Him is like a rainbow (v28).\u00a0 John in the book of Revelation sees a similar picture of the Lord (Revelation 4:1-16).\u00a0 What Ezekiel is seeing is so awesome that he falls facedown as he hears God\u2019s voice.<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. There are no words that can fully describe just how beautiful, glorious, and awesome God is.\u00a0\u00a0As awesome as the living creatures and the wheels are, God the Creator is incomparably more awesome, more interesting, more intelligent and more powerful.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
      \n
    1. The way Ezekiel\u2019s vision of heaven matches John\u2019s vision of heaven in Revelation is yet one more reason to believe that the God of the Old Testament is the same as the God of the New Testament.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Awesome God, the world has no idea just how amazing, exciting, and awesome You are and how amazing, exciting, and awesome heaven is.\u00a0 Be exalted, O God, above everything else in heaven, on earth, and in my life.\u00a0 In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

      Today\u2019s passage is Ezekiel 1:15-28.\u00a0 Apparently I ran a little further ahead by writing on yesterday’s passage and today’s passage in my GAME sharing for yesterday.\u00a0 In case you missed it, below is my GAME sharing concerning Ezekiel 1:15-28.\u00a0\u00a0Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

      Ezekiel 1:15-21 (NIV)
      \n15\u00a0\u00a0As I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel on the ground beside each creature with its four faces.\u00a0
      \n16\u00a0\u00a0This was the appearance and structure of the wheels: They sparkled like chrysolite, and all four looked alike. Each appeared to be made like a wheel intersecting a wheel.\u00a0
      \n17\u00a0\u00a0As they moved, they would go in any one of the four directions the creatures faced; the wheels did not turn about as the creatures went.\u00a0
      \n18\u00a0\u00a0Their rims were high and awesome, and all four rims were full of eyes all around.\u00a0
      \n19\u00a0\u00a0When the living creatures moved, the wheels beside them moved; and when the living creatures rose from the ground, the wheels also rose.\u00a0
      \n20\u00a0\u00a0Wherever the spirit would go, they would go, and the wheels would rise along with them, because the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9939,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9938","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9938","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9938"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9938\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9941,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9938\/revisions\/9941"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9939"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9938"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9938"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9938"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}