Girl with Black Eye
1953
The Saturday Evening Post
Oil on canvas 34 x 30 in. Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, Connecticut |
Ezekiel
I
will be skipping over Isaiah and Jeremiah for now as there is a lot to cover so
I will save them until the end. As for Daniel I have done a series on Daniel and Revelation already so I will be skipping Daniel completely as I have covered that ground in the Apocalypse Prophecy series last year. As such I will move on to Ezekiel.
For
a time Jeremiah and Ezekiel were contemporary. Like Jeremiah, Ezekiel will have to preach and prophesy to hammer-headed people. Like Jeremiah he took up the theme
concerning the future of his people. Ezekiel was a priest as well as a prophet,
and in the thirtieth year of which he speaks, God withdrew His presence from
His sanctuary at Jerusalem, and His chosen people were afterwards represented by
the captives in Babylon. To these He promised to be "as a little sanctuary"
in the land of their captivity, indicating that He would not confine His glory
to any particular spot. The people had made the Temple their object of worship
instead of God so God removed them from their Temple.
Vision of the Cherubim.
First
is the vision of the Cherubim. Ezekiel stands out as a man entirely at God's disposal.
To prepare him for service the Lord granted him a double vision. In the vision
of the cherubim Ezekiel saw four living creatures which were absolutely at
God's disposal.
Ezekiel
1:12 Each one went straight ahead. Wherever the spirit would go, they would go,
without turning as they went.
The
same unwavering shadowing the Lord expected from Ezekiel. It is the same
devotion that God expects from us also. There is the image of the lion, the
strongest, the ox, the most steadfast and enduring; the eagle, the one that
soars the highest; and we had man made in the image of God. These four bring
the highest forms of natural life. They move with the synchronicity of one creature.
In the midst of "the enfolding fire," we see an image of God's will
perfectly executed, as His redeemed saints will fulfill it
Parallels: Vision of the Lord
We
barely start reading and we immediately encounter Christ in Ezekiel. The
prophet beholds Him in vision in the very first chapter. For surely the "Man"
upon the throne can be none other than Jesus, Son of the invisible God. We recognize
in this vision the prophetic announcement of the Incarnation.
It
is interesting that within Ezekiel there is minutiae and detail in the
prophecy(ies) that is equivalent to the Revelation of John. What is even more interesting
is that the minutiae in some cases is similar at many points if one reads
closely enough. As with Revelation the One discussed is not totally clear but
the signature of Jesus Christ is all over the descriptions in their glory.
Ezekiel saw a Man…
Ezekiel 1:26 ~ “Above the vault
over their heads was what looked like a throne of lapis lazuli, and high above
on the throne was a figure like that of a man.
John
the Revelator saw
Revelation 4:2 ~ “At once I was in
the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone
sitting on it.
They
both saw the rainbow the symbol of the covenant (Genesis 9).
Ezekiel 1:28 ~ Like the appearance
of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him.
And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and ruby. A
rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled the throne.
Revelation 4:3 ~ This was the
appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. When I saw it, I
fell facedown, and I heard the voice of one speaking.
They
both saw the purity of God's presence, which nothing can escape. In Ezekiel it
appeared as a firmament or vault of sparkling crystal.
Ezekiel 1:22 ~ Spread out above the
heads of the living creatures was what looked something like a vault, sparkling
like crystal, and awesome.
In
John a Sea of Glass
Revelation 4:6 ~ Also in front of
the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal. In
the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were
covered with eyes, in front and in back.
Revelation 15:2 ~ And I saw what
looked like a sea of glass glowing with fire and, standing beside the sea,
those who had been victorious over the beast and its image and
over the number of its name. They held harps given them by God
As
I continue to read the opening of Ezekiel I continue to have my memory rattled
by echoes of Revelation.
They
both had a vision of lamps of the fire of the Spirit.
They
both had a vision of the four living creatures, with the sound of many waters.
To
both was given a book which he was commanded to eat, and then told to prophesy.
…and
so on.
The
"glory” in this book is in the manifestation or presence as revealed by
the Son, Jesus Christ. It is interesting that Ezekiel would say that the Spirit
entered him and it was at that point that he heard Him speak to him. I believe
here we see a direct allusion to the Holy Spirit as another or like kind or
another of the same kind (John14-16).
A Vessel For God’s Use
Like
the modern day believer who is commanded to take the Gospel out into the world,
Ezekiel was commanded to be a prophet of God. Whether they accept or reject the
believer or Ezekiel is irrelevant. What the world should not be able to deny is
that, “a prophet was among them [the world]." In other words, for us, the work of God
should be so obvious in our lives that even those that reject God or those in
secular culture should note something different about us just as they did in
Ezekiel’s time. Ezekiel was a faithful and obedient prophet and he spoke when the
Lord opened his mouth. He was willing to be mute when the Lord closed it.
There was no mistake when the Lord spoke forth through Ezekiel. Can God use us
in like manner?
We
are not in a unique or different situation from Ezekiel when we go to evangelize the world and are
roundly and soundly rejected (if not mocked outright).
Ezekiel 3:5-11 ~ “You are not being
sent to a people of obscure speech and strange language, but to the people
of Israel— not to many peoples of obscure speech and strange language,
whose words you cannot understand. Surely if I had sent you to them, they would
have listened to you. But the people of Israel are not willing to listen to
you because they are not willing to listen to me, for all the Israelites are
hardened and obstinate. But I will make you as unyielding and hardened as
they are. I will make your forehead like the hardest stone, harder
than flint. Do not be afraid of them or terrified by them, though they are
a rebellious people.” And he said to me, “Son of man, listen carefully and take
to heart all the words I speak to you. Go now to your people in exile
and speak to them. Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says,’ whether
they listen or fail to listen.”
Ezekiel
was charged with taking God’s word to difficult and inflexible people.
Sometimes we are too. We need to get thicker skin to do the work Jesus
Christ has called us to. I know this from personal and recent experience I mean good grief, Ezekiel was charged with speaking to dry bones!
Jesus had to do the same in the form of the religious people of his time, the
rich and the spiritually destitute. It required that Jesus and Ezekiel needed to be resilient and "harder than flint." We also need to be thick-skinned and resilient in the face of adversity. We do this by residing in Christ, His word and His principles. We cannot cave into the push-back from culture.
This means we must stand fast in our theologies and doctrine. We must stand fast on the Inerrancy of Scripture and other core truths of the Bible while simultaneously being understanding of the fact that people can be sincere in their beliefs and still be sincerely wrong. It is up to us to correct them if their error leads them down the primrose path to false teachings and heresy. Jesus confront false teaching and error with truth of Scripture, not ecumenicalism and a watering-down of God's word. We must be impervious to unbiblical criticisms by depending on the Lord and be able to respond in a rational and reasoned manner to still win people to the truth of Christ (therefore the faith). Sometimes we are going to get black eyes. It is better for us to get black eyes for the Faith than it is to give black eyes to the Faith with negligent behavior or failures to carry-out our duty to Christ
Do we honestly believe it will be easier for us than it was for them? Seriously? If it was an easy task all of us could do it and everyone would respond. If it was easy everyone would be Christian. Such is not the case. You should consider this and ask yourself why. It is why many never find God and die in their sins to face condemnation. Another question you need to ask yourself is this:
This means we must stand fast in our theologies and doctrine. We must stand fast on the Inerrancy of Scripture and other core truths of the Bible while simultaneously being understanding of the fact that people can be sincere in their beliefs and still be sincerely wrong. It is up to us to correct them if their error leads them down the primrose path to false teachings and heresy. Jesus confront false teaching and error with truth of Scripture, not ecumenicalism and a watering-down of God's word. We must be impervious to unbiblical criticisms by depending on the Lord and be able to respond in a rational and reasoned manner to still win people to the truth of Christ (therefore the faith). Sometimes we are going to get black eyes. It is better for us to get black eyes for the Faith than it is to give black eyes to the Faith with negligent behavior or failures to carry-out our duty to Christ
Do we honestly believe it will be easier for us than it was for them? Seriously? If it was an easy task all of us could do it and everyone would respond. If it was easy everyone would be Christian. Such is not the case. You should consider this and ask yourself why. It is why many never find God and die in their sins to face condemnation. Another question you need to ask yourself is this:
Did
they die in their sins due to their hardness of heart or were they condemned
because you did not take the Gospel of Jesus Christ to them in a firm and
forthright manner (or both)? If is someone you care about, isn't it worth taking the risk to try and determine which?
So remember, black eyes for the Faith, not given to the Faith. Learn to take it on the chin, keep smiling...and preach the Gospel in season and out (2 Timothy 4).
2 Timothy 4:1-2 ~ In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.
So remember, black eyes for the Faith, not given to the Faith. Learn to take it on the chin, keep smiling...and preach the Gospel in season and out (2 Timothy 4).
2 Timothy 4:1-2 ~ In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.
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