For those of you who haven't been with us, we are looking at a series of oracles against the people of Israel in this book of Ezekiel, and the series that we're looking at started with chapter 4. In the immediately preceding chapter, we had reached the place where Ezekiel had been transported from the land of Babylon in a vision, that is to say, in a visionary form to Jerusalem, and the Lord had just shown him some of the abominations symbolically represented that characterized the nation at that time. And now tonight, we really see the abandonment of the nation of Israel as God's specially blessed covenant people, as this great chariot of God departs from the temple and the judgment of God falls upon the nation in the symbolism of this vision. What we really have then in chapter 9 is a description of what God is doing to his covenant people by way of judgment and chapter 10 shows us really the same thing from a more heavenly perspective. You see at first you might say from a more earthly point of view and then secondly from the standpoint of this tremendous vision of God himself enthroned upon the cherubim. Let us look then at chapter 9 verse 1. Then I heard him call in a loud voice, bring the guards of the city each with a weapon in his hand." This term, guards, is a Hebrew word denoting authority and power. And I believe that these seven persons that we meet in this vision here consist of six angels of God, commissioned for judgment, and one, the seventh, is none other than the Son of Man, our Lord Jesus Christ in his pre-incarnate glory. The fact that there are seven in this vision surely denotes the fact that this is a divine mission, because seven is so often used in the Bible to denote those things in visions and symbols that have to do with God's great work. The book of Revelation which we went through together is full of that. the seven spirits, the seven trumpets, the seven vials, and so on. And my statement that the seventh is surely the angel of the Lord, the pre-incarnate Christ, I think is substantiated if you look with me into the book of Daniel for a moment, chapter 10 and chapter 12. In Daniel chapter 10, verse 5, And don't forget that Daniel was a near contemporary of Ezekiel. He also lived during the time of this awful calamity, the end of the Old Testament theocracy and the captivity in Babylon. In chapter 4 of, pardon me, in verse 4 of chapter 10 of Daniel, we read, on the 24th day of the first month, As I was standing on the bank of the great river Tigris, I looked up, and there before me was a man dressed in linen, with a belt of the finest gold around his waist. His body was like chrysolite, that term appeared in the chapter we just read. His face like lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and his voice like the sound of a multitude. Again in chapter 12 of the same, verses 6 and 7, We'll pick it up at verse 5. Then I, Daniel, looked, and there before me stood two others, one on this side of the river and one on the opposite bank. One of them said to the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, how long will it be before these astonishing things are fulfilled? The man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, lifted his right hand and his left hand toward heaven, and I heard him swear by him who lives forever, saying, It will be for a time, time, and half a time." Clearly, the description in chapter 10 as underlined by this floating person above the river, is identical with the person we meet in Revelation chapter 1, and his title is the same as what we find here in this chapter. So it is one and the same person. And we can see his deity in a number of ways in this chapter. First of all, you'll notice that it is this unique person, different from the six, who is charged to go through the city and mark those who grieve. And that denotes omniscience, because in order to go through the city and put a mark on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament, you have to be able to read the thoughts and intents of the heart. and only someone who is divine can do that. The second thing that you'll notice, if you look at chapter 10, verse 2, this same man is charged to go in among the wheels beneath the cherubim. Could a mere creature go in amongst the cherubim of the throne of God and fill his hands with burning coals? And by the way, the burning coals of fire are symbolic of the judgment of God. In other words, can anyone but the Son of God really be the agent of the infliction of the wrath, the pouring out of God's wrath, the dropping of the hot coals of God's wrath upon the city? The fact that he is able to go in amongst the cherubim and in his own hands take the hot coals of God's judgment, denotes that he is more than creature. And indeed, if you look at John chapter 5 in the New Testament, the gospel according to John chapter 5 verse 22, I believe John confirms this when he says, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. We believe there is no doctrine in the New Testament that is not at least latent in the Old. No principle, no doctrine in the New Testament that is out of line with the Old. The third thing, then, is the fact that he executes judgment symbolically while the six execute judgment instrumentally. In other words, while the six actually go out and kill the person representing, in my judgment, the theophany of the pre-incarnate Christ, He does it symbolically as the one who goes into the presence of God, gets the hot coals, and then drops them on these people. Now in verses 3 and 4 of chapter 9, we see the Shekinah glory, the cloud of glory, which in the Old Testament denotes the presence of the God of Israel with his people It goes up from above the cherubim where it had been, and that, of course, means from the place in the temple where it had been, and it moves to the threshold up the temple. And there, of course, is where this movable throne chariot of the vision cherubim is seen. So the Shekinah glory, the cloud of glory, departs from the temple where it had been for centuries. The second thing we notice is that this departure of the Lord from the Temple of Israel, which had been his designated house of abode, was also the signal for the immediate judgment. Then the Lord called to the man clothed in linen, who had the writing kit at his side, and said to him, Go throughout the city and mark these people. And as I listened, he said to the others, Follow him through the city and kill, showing no pity. Now, we note here that even in the midst of wrath, God remembers mercy, for he does distinguish between the righteous and the wicked. There were not many, as we shall see in a moment, but there were some who did grieve and lament over all the detestable things that we have already seen, especially in the 8th chapter where we saw a vision in representational form of the idolatry of Israel. We can always take heart from the fact that even in the darkest of times, where the Church of God is almost completely defiled, that there yet will be at least a few whom the Lord himself preserves, who grieve and lament over all the detestable things done in it. I believe the mark here, again, like everything else in the vision, is not to be taken literally, but symbolically, and it is really equivalent doctrinally to 2 Timothy chapter 2 verse 19. And you'll notice the context in which this occurs. Paul is here warning about false teaching. He is saying that we must avoid godless chatter and so on. And in verse 17 of 2 Timothy 2, He says their teaching will spread like gangrene, a deadly disease. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have wandered away from the truth. They say the resurrection has already taken place, and they destroy the faith of some. And then he says, nevertheless, God's solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription, The Lord knows those who are his. And then comes the exhortation, and everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness. But that phrase, the Lord knows those that are his, is the real meaning of this. The Lord does observe and mark out his own. One other reference I'd like you to note is in Malachi. Chapter 3, where you have the same idea. In the day when many were saying, in chapter 3, 14 of Malachi, it is futile to serve God, and other like statements. Verse 16 says, Then those who feared the Lord talked with each other, and the Lord listened and heard. a scroll of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who feared the Lord and honored his name." Well, you see, in the one case it's putting a mark on them, on another it's writing in a scroll, and in the New Testament it's simply the principle that the Lord infallibly knows, discerns, and distinguishes these persons. Now in verses 5 and 6 we see symbolically the execution of God's wrath against this people, and this task is given to the other six persons, and I argue that they are Symbolically, they represent the angels of God, not literally six in number, so there will be the seven together, but they represent this agency in God's judgment. It's my understanding of the scripture that all temptation and oppression of man that comes from a higher realm comes through the fallen angels that are called demons and the devil. Our enemy the devil goes about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour and so on. You know the biblical teaching. And it is also as clearly taught in the New Testament that behind the human agents of destruction and war and so on are the angels, the holy angels of God, the good angels, for they are always instrumental in the punishment of the wicked. So these would represent God's holy and good angels and their agency in this judgment. Now, verse 6 shows clearly that there is a corporate solidarity in human existence because this affects old men, young men, maidens, women, children. However, it's my judgment that the primary emphasis of that verse is not on that fact that I just mentioned, the corporate solidarity, but rather upon the severity of this judgment. I say that because usually in biblical times, in war and conquest, some pity was shown to old men, very young boys, maidens, women and children, so that the primary objective would be the strong men of military conscription age. Others might be spared. In this instance, they are not spared because of the severity of God's judgment. Now, historically, the reason for that was that the Babylonians had been very much provoked to finally execute very severe wrath against the remnant of the people in Israel because of their treachery and duplicity. They would swear fealty to Nebuchadnezzar or the ruler of the Babylonian Empire and then they would engage in intrigue and they were not faithful to their covenant. And so finally, the judgment that came was most severe, and this is what is represented here. You'll notice also that it begins at the house of God. That, by the way, is also a biblical principle carried over to the New Testament. 1 Peter 4, verse 17. In 1 Peter... Chapter 4, 17, the Apostle says, If you suffer as a Christian, don't be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name, for it is time for judgment to begin with the family or house of God. And if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? in any culture, society, or nation, when the judgment of God comes, it first comes there because it's the unfaithfulness of the church which explains the degeneration of the nation. And so that principle is a valid and abiding principle. Now in verses 7 and 8, ordinarily the temple and its courts would be protected from any desecration. preserved from pollution. Here, the six destroyers are told to disregard this completely. Why? Well, because God has left it. What is it then? It was a temple, but now it is no more than a pigsty. So go ahead, fill it with dead bodies. It makes no difference. That's the idea here. That's why he says, defile the temple and fill the courts with slain, go. It is a clear command from God showing that they are to utterly disregard any idea that the temple remains sacred. How could it remain sacred after what we saw in chapter 8, its desecration by the people, and in the early part of chapter 9, God taking leave of it. If God leaves it, it's not God's house anymore. So you see the reason for this command. In the vision, so many were killed then immediately that it almost looked to Ezekiel like he was left completely alone. I think that's the force of verse 8. While they were killing, And I was left alone. I fell face down crying out, Ah, Sovereign Lord, are you going to destroy the entire remnant?" What he had heard a moment ago didn't prevent him from feeling this way when he saw what happened. He had heard God say, put a mark on those who grieve and lament. But when he sees the killing going on, he doesn't see anybody alive. They're all dead. And so he cries out in this way. And I think that also deepens the impression that we are to get here of the severity of the judgment. His cry of pain is such as to indicate to us through the vision how really terrible this judgment of God upon the nation was. Now in verses 9 and 10 you have the Lord's answer, and it's very clear and straightforward. He answered me, The sin of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great, The land is full of bloodshed and the city is full of injustice. They say the Lord has forsaken the land the Lord does not see. So, I will not look on them with pity or spare them." In other words, he says to the Prophet, in effect, look at the conditions of this nation. Look at the vertical. They really are now atheists to all intents and purposes. They don't say there is no God, but they say the Lord is not, in effect. They really deny the true God, and that is the same in all practical terms as atheism. For they say the Lord has forsaken the land and the Lord does not see. When you deny to Jehovah his own attributes, you really deny Jehovah. You in effect say he doesn't exist. And then horizontally look at the bloodshed and injustice in the land. There is the vertical and it's completely gone, a right attitude and concept of the living God, and there's the horizontal, and it's completely gone because immorality, injustice and iniquity fills the land. And so, when the prophet sees that, he has an adequate answer to his question. He does not dare to complain because the severity of God's judgment is commensurate or in accord with the magnitude of their sin and iniquity. And the thing that is most tragic of all is that they do not even understand their own chastisements. They do not even see that the very opposite is true. Had the Lord forsaken the land, to the contrary, it is the Lord who is riding through the land to judge, and they didn't see that anymore. When I went through the historical building the other day with Kathy and Dan and the family, I noticed one of the early governors of the state calling on churches all over the place to pray for some kind of an emergency. And you'll notice that that is becoming so very rare in American life. It's because calamities just are not seen anymore as the hand of God, and so it is not seen that there is any great need to cry out for his mercy and repent and so on. Well, there was a day when that was a fact. When the fear of God is gone, what is left then but judgment? Now, chapter 10 gives us a vision of the same event from a more heavenly perspective. And right away you'll see that we are meeting for the second time through this vision, as Ezekiel tells it, that same heavenly revelation that we saw in chapter 1. The great chariot the winged chariot of the cherubim. It has wheels, but it also has these wings, and it has enthroned upon it the Shekinah cloud of glory of Jehovah the living God. And it's obvious that we are to see here that while the temple in Jerusalem is destroyed, yet God's program is not destroyed. and the Lord still is seated above the cherubim, just as he was symbolically in the temple, so now on this movable throne. However, there is a notable difference between these two visions, and I want to point out some of them because I think this underscores the correctness of our understanding of it. This vision of the cherubim chariot, if I can call it that, shows the Lord God in the context of judgment. And I believe that this explains the differences between the two visions, which have perplexed the Bible commentators all down through the generations. Some of the things that have perplexed the Bible commentators are the fact, for example, that one of the faces described is now different. Please look at chapter 1, verse 10, and 10, verse 14. In chapter 1, verse 10, we read their faces looked like this, each of the four had The face of a man, and on the right side the face of a lion, and on the left side the face of an ox. Each also had the face of an eagle. Well, that's four faces. Now look at 10.14. Each of the cherubim had four faces. One face was that of a cherub. The second face, the face of a man. The third, the face of a lion. The fourth, the face of an eagle. So where you had the face of an ox, now you have the face of a cherub. Why? Secondly, if you look at chapter 1, verse 28, you will notice that you had as the crowning feature 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." Well, you can look through chapter 10 to your heart's desire and content. You won't find the rainbow because it's not there. Why isn't it there? And again, there is a third difference, and that is in chapter 1, and I won't try to read it all, but you can see it if you read the chapter carefully. The fire is there, but it is contained. Here it is taken and applied. Verse 6, When the Lord commanded the man and woman, Take fire from among the wheels, from among the chariots, the man went in and stood beside a wheel. Now, I believe the reason for this is quite simple. The cherubim are not literal beings, and I have explained this before in the context of the book of Revelation. Please look quickly at Revelation 4, verse 8. This just adds one, I think, conclusive element. In Revelation 4, verse 8, we read each of the four living creatures had six wings. Six wings. Well, as you know, in Ezekiel they only have four, and in the temple they had two. Obviously, then, you're not dealing with a literal creature. because the continuity isn't there. If you have a creature that is entirely in the realm of symbolism, then you can change the features without any harm at all, because it's not literal. It's not a living creature, not a living being in reality, but in the realm of symbolism. And I've already explained to you that this composites representation really means that the Lord is seated above his world. And you have the animal kingdom and the bird kingdom and you have mankind and so on. And it really represents the fact that God sits in control of all these creatures that he has made and they are representationally headed up under each of these different types. Well, the fact then that The symbol is not literal, but is meant to be a composite representation of God ruling over his providential kingdom of this world so that things take place in this world according to his will. Using the words of Daniel, he does his will in the armies of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. Then, the variations in this Makes sense. Why isn't the rainbow there? Because this is not a vision of God dispensing his mercy. Rainbow always represents mercy. This is not God dispensing his mercy, but his wrath. So, no rainbow. Why is the fire not contained here as in chapter 1? Because here the fire of God's wrath is outbursting. It's coming down upon these people. And why is the ox face represented in the one by a cherub in the other? In other words, why is the ox face missing? I believe it is because the ox face, of course, is that part of the representation which reminds us of the whole sacrificial system of the Old Testament. And sacrifice has to do with God's mercy. How did the Old Testament saints get peace with God? Through sacrifice. Well, there's no provision for sacrifice in this vision because this is God's wrath against His disobedient people. I believe then that that explains the reason for these differences. Beyond that, we tried to explain the details of that representation earlier. You can even see that it's not a literal thing because in verse 17 it says, when the cherubim stood still, they also stood still. They don't act like an actual living being. They don't even turn. They just are rigid and move this way or that way on these different wheels that intersect and so on. It's clearly meant to be symbolism, but not like a living being. A living being doesn't move in that way. And then it says, because the spirit of the living creatures was in them. In other words, the wheels, are not a representation of something other than the cherubim, it's another representation of the same thing, because the same spirit is in it, and it represents God's all-knowing control of everything. It reminds us of that phrase in the Old Testament, the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the earth, beholding the wicked and the just. Well, it means, in other words, that God is omniscient and absolutely omnipotent over all things. Now, finally, a few comments about the significance and meaning of the whole passage we've looked at. Jehovah, the living God, sits enthroned over the whole natural order. and he rules it in such a way that his will is accomplished. Look at Psalm 33, verses 10 and 11, please. Psalm 33, verses 10 and 11. The Lord foils the plans of the nations. He thwarts the purposes of the peoples. But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart throughout all generations." To give you just one other, Daniel chapter 4, and always remember that Daniel spoke out of the same historical crisis. And what does he say in chapter 4, verses 34 and 35? Then I praised the Most High. I honored and glorified Him who lives forever. His dominion is an eternal dominion. His kingdom endures from generation to generation. All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back his hand or say to him, what have you done? That's really what is being taught here in a symbolic way. Secondly, what looks like chaos to us from an earthly point of view, and indeed even in this vision did to Ezekiel momentarily, is really not chaos at all from heaven's perspective. You think about the terrible moments in the history of western civilization, World War I and II, and yet God was doing his will with perfect precision. The third principle is There comes a time when you have to write Ichabod over a body that is considered at one time to be God's covenant people. Of course, this was both church and nation in one. But there comes a time when you have to write Ichabod, the glory has departed. Yet there was a remnant according to the election of grace, and there always will be. When does the point of no return come when you have to write Ichabod? Well, it came for them when the land was full of iniquity, when the people in effect were saying that the true and living God, the God of the Bible, is dead, and when they were not even able to understand when they were being chastened by him. That was when Ichabod was written over them. We see from this principle number five that the Lord is not dependent on any church. No institution is indispensable to God. We should surely learn that, if nothing else, from the end of the theocracy of the Old Testament. The sixth principle. We need to learn to interpret the events of history and the world from a God-centered point of view. Only when we try to look at them from a God-centered point of view can we really penetrate to an understanding of what really happened. And then if God gives us the grace to do this, we will feel an incredibly heavy, sad feeling for others around us who cannot see it at all. And now I hope this time that it was recorded.