The Terrifying Glory of God

Ezekiel 1

This morning I want to do two things. I want to layout some background to the book of Ezekiel and explore this first vision we find in the book. Ezekiel is a difficult book. It is filled with visions and enacted parables that are not always explained in enough detail for a reader to fully understand what an observer what have understood. It is difficult also because it has to do with prophecy and prophecy has, historically, invited a variety of attempts to interpret. It is cited or alluded to in the New Testament 65 times, 48 of which are in the book of Revelation. The visions of John have many connections to the visions of Ezekiel. So, it is no surprise that Ezekiel is a difficult book.

On the other hand, Ezekiel isn’t as difficult to understand as it might seem on the surface. Yes, the visions are hard, if not impossible to fully visualize, but that is okay. They are visions, not reality. In a vision, just as in a dream, you can see things that are hard to describe but make sense within the dream. I think that is going on here to a degree. What Ezekiel sees has meaning that we can discern, even while we can’t get a clear picture in our minds.