Ezekiel's Vision
In my thirtieth year ... 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 ... Fire moved back and forth among the creatures; it was bright, and lightning flashed out of it. The creatures sped back and forth like flashes of lightning. As I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel on the ground beside each creature with its four faces. This was the appearance and structure of the wheels: They sparkled like topaz, and all four looked alike. Each appeared to be made like a wheel intersecting a wheel. As they moved, they would go in any one of the four directions the creatures faced ... When the living creatures moved, the wheels beside them moved; and when the living creatures rose from the ground, the wheels also rose. ... Spread out above the heads of the living creatures was what looked something like a vault, sparkling like crystal, and awesome. 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. I 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. Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. When I saw it, I fell facedown.
EZEKIEL 1:1, 4-6, 13-17, 19, 22, 26-28
Ezekiel was a visionary prophet. He saw the heavens open up like Jacob, Nathaniel, and John did. "In his thirtieth year the heavens were opened, and he saw visions of God" (Ezekiel 1:1). Ezekiel was both a prophet and a priest (1:2). And every priest who joined the temple priesthood was required to wait until he was thirty years old before they were inducted into the priesthood
from thirty years old and above, even to fifty years old, all who enter the service to do the work in the tabernacle of meeting. Numbers 4:3
This was to be the year Ezekiel was to begin his ministry as a priest, but he and his people were in exile! There was no temple, and therefore no ministry to perform. Ezekiel was denied the opportunity that every priest dreamed about: coming before the Lord and into the temple to worship Him. But God had other plans for this priest. He was going to anoint him as a prophet instead. Ezekiel began his prophetic ministry as a watchman at the age of thirty
Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore hear a word from My mouth, and give them warning from Me: Ezekiel 3:17
He had been separated to be a priest, but he also became the anointed prophet to Israel. And as an enthroned intercessor, Ezekiel had a throne-room encounter by the River Kebar. Kebar means "long ago." It was the river of long ago, the river of revelation knowledge that God has kept from eternity. The divine hand of the Lord came upon Ezekiel and anointed him as a prophet. Immediately, he was taken into the Spirit realm and saw an immense windstorm: a whirlwind of divine activity, a hurricane of holiness, a tempest of truth. What a vision this was! It was glowing, and there was flashing and a twisting pillar of cloud and fire. How would one come into that whirlwind and survive? It was wind, fire, and a spiritual volcano. Before Ezekiel's eyes, he saw the spinning fire of glory! And as he gazed upon this pillar of fire, he saw four living creatures walking in the fire, just like Nebuchadnezzar had seen four "men" in a different fire
“Look!” he answered, “I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.” Daniel 3:25
These living creatures all appeared in their form as men too (Ezekiel 1:5). The living creatures that Ezekiel saw was like men intercessors in the fire! Scholars conclude that Ezekiel's living creatures were, in fact, cherubim. They become a spiritual picture of the man who stands before God, the Lord Jesus Christ. With a face on each side, each one represents Jesus as seen in the four different Gospels. There was a face of a man, a lion, an ox, and an eagle, each representing the four-fold nature of the man Christ Jesus. Yet they also represent the ministry of Jesus before the throne: Jesus, our magnificent intercessor. As one with Him, the enthroned intercessors are to join in partnership with Him and become the fiery "cherubim" with wings touching one another, flying in perfect unity! Intercessors, it's time for us to touch wings! As you link arms with others together with the prayer partners, the glory storm will come over our land. What about the wheels? And what is "the spirit of the living creatures that was in the wheels?" I believe these spinning wheels speak of three things:
1. The spinning wheels of God are generators of power. The wheels spin as we pray on earth. The more prayer, the more power is released. It's our prayers that cause the wheels to spin.
2. These wheels within wheels are like heavenly gyroscopes of glory that turn as we intercede! Our place is before the Father, showing our faces to Him and crying out for the whirlwind of divine activity to stir the hearts of men to worship and surrender to God.
3. The wheels also speak of government. God's kingdom is in motion as it comes to the earth. The throne of God sits on wheels
I watched till thrones were put in place,
And the Ancient of Days was seated;
His garment was white as snow,
And the hair of His head was like pure wool.
His throne was a fiery flame,
Its wheels a burning fire; Daniel 7:9
The governmental throne of the universe sits on spinning wheels of glory! And God, the Father, governs on top of these wheels. When you look at the earth's rotation around the sun, you'll see an example of a spinning wheel within a spinning wheel. As the earth spins, it rotates around the spinning sun. This is how God created His universe to operate. It all spins around His throne as His redeemed ones, His living creatures, praying. And a wheel does not move by itself. It must be pushed, pulled, or driven. There must be a power or force that causes the wheels to spin. Ezekiel's vision was of the "spirit of the living creatures" which caused the wheels to turn. It was as though the living creatures themselves were the ones exerting the power to cause the wheels to roll. They moved the wheels by spirit-power. When the creatures moved, the wheels 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. (Ezekiel 1:21)
The government of God moves as the intercessors flow as one in the power of the Spirit of God within them. As they rise up in intercession, the wheels of God also rise up along with them. The partnership of heaven and earth begins to happen. The wheels had rainbow rims and were high, with wheels within wheels. Spread out over the heads of the creatures was an expanse of sapphire, sparkling like ice. Think about that for a moment. It's like a great Sea of Glass mingled with fire, a sparkling sapphire with fire flashing upon it Before the throne there was a sea of glass, like crystal. And in the midst of the throne, and around the throne, were four living creatures full of eyes in front and in back. Revelation 4:6
And I saw something like a sea of glass mingled with fire, and those who have the victory over the beast, over his image and over his mark and over the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, having harps of God. Revelation 15:2
You could hear the rushing wings of the cherubim! They were so powerful that they sounded like an army and like the voice of the Lord. They stirred up the winds as they rode the wheels. This is a picture of God's end-time intercessors, we cry out for God's power to move. The appearance of the living creatures was like burning coals of fire or like torches. Fire moved back and forth among the creatures; it was bright, and lightning flashed out of it. The creatures sped back and forth like flashes of lightning.
As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, like the appearance of torches going back and forth among the living creatures. The fire was bright, and out of the fire went lightning. 14 And the living creatures ran back and forth, in appearance like a flash of lightning. Ezekiel 1:13-14
The Lord's living ones are like lightning flashing. They're executing orders from their commanding officer. Like John the Baptist, we can become a burning and shining torch. Let the lightning of God flash within us! Take another look at what Ezekiel saw: a whirlwind, a rainbow of glory, the jasper throne, the sapphire pavement, cherubim, the cloud of His presence, flashing lightning, spirit beings beneath the throne surrounded by brilliant light, the center of the fire looking like glowing metal, the amber glow of the radiance of God, and sparkling wheels. Does this make prayer a little more exciting for us? How can we be bored in a prayer meeting when we see ourselves before this heavenly whirlwind? How can we not help but to be overwhelmed! Remember that this is the scene every time we come to prayer before God. The rainbow of promise encircles us as we stand before the throne. And if you look closely, you'll see that every saint has a crown of gold on their head! As we stand before the throne as intercessors, we have golden crowns upon our heads. What an honor God has bestowed on us! There's an energy unleashed by your prayers with powerful answers released from the throne. Every time we lift our hearts toward God in prayer, an angel takes the incense in his hand, mixes it with fire from the altar of heaven, and flings it back to the earth. And as this fire enters the atmosphere of earth, it creates a shock wave of power that becomes spiritual thunder. This should give us encouragement to pray! Around the throne, the angels are crying out, "Holy!" And the more of Him they see, the more they cry out. After all, what would you say if you saw His glory? God invites each one of us to pass through the cloud of holy smoke, walk on the sapphire, past the spinning sparkling wheels, past the rainbow, the flashes of lightning, the peals of thunder, and participate in the purposes of God. We are His kingdom officials who come to ask for divine intervention! Our intercession is urgent kingdom business. He's the King of Kings, and we are His royal priesthood
and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Revelation 1:6
And have made us kings and priests to our God;
And we shall reign on the earth.” Revelation 5:10
We intercede to one who reigns over kings. This should help those who have an identity crisis. This King invites us to His throne and washes us in His love. We are enthroned with Him as kings to intercede!
God made man lord over the earth and gave man the power to take dominion and exercise authority over every living thing. Genesis 2
Jesus wants to be the "Amen" to our prayers
“And to the angel of the church in Sardis write,
‘These things says He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: “I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. Revelation 3:1
Join Him as one of His enthroned intercessors. We were made to breathe together with Him. We will influence destiny every time we pray. Come to Him with faith, courage, boldness, and by the power of the blood. Wisdom, grace, and strategies are released at the throne room because the answers we need are not on earth; they're in heaven. His wheels spin in response to our prayers. This is so powerful! By contrast, we have already come near to God in a totally different realm, the Zion realm, for we have entered the city of the Living God which is the New Jerusalem in heaven! We have joined the festal gathering of myriads of angels in their joyous celebration! And as members of the church of the Firstborn all our names have been legally registered as citizens of heaven! And we have come before God who judges all, and who lives among the spirits of the righteous who have been made perfect in his eyes! And we have come to Jesus who established a new covenant with his blood sprinkled upon the mercy seat; blood that continues to speak from heaven, "forgiveness," a better message than Abel's blood that cries from the earth, "justice."
But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, 23 to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, 24 to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel. Hebrews 12:22-24
Pray this today: Father God, we draw near to you today in the heavenly realm. we take my place next to Jesus, our Prayer Partner. We bring before you our hearts with all its needs. we want you to use us as we pray to you today. Give us inside information, prophetic revelation that we can use in our ministry of prayer. We pour out our hearts before you this day, our King, and our God. Amen.
