1 And it cometh to pass, in the thirtieth year, in the fourth `month', in the fifth of the month, and I `am' in the midst of the Removed by the river Chebar, the heavens have been opened, and I see visions of God.
and he said, `Lo, I see the heavens having been opened, and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God.'
And having been baptized, Jesus went up immediately from the water, and lo, opened to him were the heavens, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming upon him,
And the cherubs are lifted up, it `is' the living creature that I saw by the river Chebar.
And He saith, `Hear, I pray you, My words: If your prophet is of Jehovah -- in an appearance unto him I make Myself known; in a dream I speak with him;
And He putteth forth a form of a hand, and taketh me by a lock of my head, and lift me up doth a spirit between the earth and the heavens, and it bringeth me in to Jerusalem in visions of God, unto the opening of the inner gate that is facing the north, where `is' the seat of the figure of jealousy that is making jealous,
It `is' the living creature that I saw under the God of Israel by the river Chebar, and I know that they are cherubs.
and he doth behold the heaven opened, and descending unto him a certain vessel, as a great sheet, bound at the four corners, and let down upon the earth,
And I saw the heaven having been opened, and lo, a white horse, and he who is sitting upon it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness doth he judge and war,
After these things I saw, and lo, a door opened in the heaven, and the first voice that I heard `is' as of a trumpet speaking with me, saying, `Come up hither, and I will shew thee what it behoveth to come to pass after these things;'
and he saith to him, `Verily, verily, I say to you, henceforth ye shall see the heaven opened, and the messengers of God going up and coming down upon the Son of Man.'
`In the third year of the reign of Belshazzar the king, a vision hath appeared unto me -- I Daniel -- after that which had appeared unto me at the beginning. And I see in a vision, and it cometh to pass, in my seeing, and I `am' in Shushan the palace that `is' in Elam the province, and I see in a vision, and I have been by the stream Ulai.
And according to the appearance `is' the appearance that I saw, as the appearance that I saw in my coming in to destroy the city, and the appearances `are' as the appearance that I saw at the river Chebar, and I fall on my face.
As to the likeness of their faces, they `are' the faces that I saw by the river Chebar, their appearances and themselves; each straight forward they go.
The Visions of Isaiah son of Amoz, that he hath seen concerning Judah and Jerusalem, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
from a son of thirty years and upward, even till a son of fifty years, every one going in to the host, to do work in the tent of meeting.
After these things hath the word of Jehovah been unto Abram in a vision, saying, `Fear not, Abram, I `am' a shield to thee, thy reward `is' exceeding great.'
and they see the God of Israel, and under His feet `is' as the white work of the sapphire, and as the substance of the heavens for purity;
But all this I have laid unto my heart, so as to clear up the whole of this, that the righteous and the wise, and their works, `are' in the hand of God, neither love nor hatred doth man know, the whole `is' before them. The whole `is' as to the whole; one event is to the righteous and to the wicked, to the good, and to the clean, and to the unclean, and to him who is sacrificing, and to him who is not sacrificing; as `is' the good, so `is' the sinner, he who is swearing as he who is fearing an oath.
Thus said Jehovah, God of Israel, Like these good figs so do I acknowledge The removed of Judah -- that I sent from this place, `To' the land of the Chaldeans -- for good. And I have set Mine eyes on them for good, And have brought them back to this land, And built them up, and I throw not down, And have planted them, and pluck not up. And have given to them a heart to know Me, For I `am' Jehovah, And they have been to Me for a people, And I am to them for God, For they turned back unto Me with all their heart.
in visions of God He hath brought me in unto the land of Israel, and causeth me to rest on a very high mountain, and upon it `is' as the frame of a city on the south.
And it hath come to pass afterwards, I do pour out My Spirit on all flesh, And prophesied have your sons and your daughters, Your old men do dream dreams, Your young men do see visions.
And as they are coming down from the mount, Jesus charged them, saying, `Say to no one the vision, till the Son of Man out of the dead may rise.'
And Jesus himself was beginning to be about thirty years of age, being, as was supposed, son of Joseph,
And there was a certain disciple in Damascus, by name Ananias, and the Lord said unto him in a vision, `Ananias;' and he said, `Behold me, Lord;' and the Lord `saith' unto him, `Having risen, go on unto the street that is called Straight, and seek in the house of Judas, `one' by name Saul of Tarsus, for, lo, he doth pray, and he saw in a vision a man, by name Ananias, coming in, and putting a hand on him, that he may see again.'
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Ezekiel 1
Commentary on Ezekiel 1 Matthew Henry Commentary
An Exposition, With Practical Observations, of
The Book of the Prophet Ezekiel
Chapter 1
In this chapter we have,
And the more we are acquainted, and the more intimately we converse, with the glory of God in these three branches of it, the more commanding influence will divine revelation have upon us and the more ready shall we be to submit to it, which is the thing aimed at in prefacing the prophecies of this book with these visions. When such a God of glory speaks, it concerns us to hear with attention and reverence; it is at our peril if we do not.
Eze 1:1-3
The circumstances of the vision which Ezekiel saw, and in which he received his commission and instructions, are here very particularly set down, that the narrative may appear to be authentic and not romantic. It may be of use to keep an account when and where God has been pleased to manifest himself to our souls in a peculiar manner, that the return of the day, and our return to the place of the altar (Gen. 13:4), may revive the pleasing grateful remembrance of God's favour to us. "Remember, O my soul! and never forget what communications of divine love thou didst receive at such a time, at such a place; tell others what God did for thee.'
Eze 1:4-14
The visions of God which Ezekiel here saw were very glorious, and had more particulars than those which other prophets saw. It is the scope and intention of these vision,
Now, to answer these ends, we have in these verses the first part of the vision, which represents God as attended and served by an innumerable company of angels, who are all his messengers, his ministers, doing his commandments and hearkening to the voice of his word. This denotes his grandeur, as it magnifies an earthly prince to have a splendid retinue and numerous armies at his command, which engages his allies to trust him and his enemies to fear him.
Eze 1:15-25
The prophet is very exact in making and recording his observations concerning this vision. And here we have,
Eze 1:26-28
All the other parts of this vision were but a preface and introduction to this. God in them had made himself known as Lord of angels and supreme director of all the affairs of this lower world, whence it is easy to infer that whatever God by his prophets either promises or threatens to do he is able to effect it. Angels are his servants; men are his tools. But now that a divine revelation is to be given to a prophet, and by him to the church, we must look higher than the living creatures or the wheels, and must expect that from the eternal Word, of whom we have an account in these verses. Ezekiel, hearing a voice from the firmament, looked up, as John did, to see the voice that spoke with him, and he saw one like unto the Son of man, Rev. 1:12, 13. The second person sometimes tried the fashion of a man occasionally before he clothed himself with it for good and all; and the Spirit of prophecy is called the Spirit of Christ (1 Pt. 1:11) and the testimony of Jesus, Rev. 19:10.
Lastly, We have the conclusion of this vision. Observe,