Ezekiel 1:4

Ezekiel 1:4 says, And I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness was about it, and out of the midst thereof as the colour of amber, out of the midst of the fire.  Ezekiel said the first vision that he saw was a whirlwind from the north that was like a cloud of fire enfolding in on itself.  From the midst of the fire, he saw a brightness the color of amber.  It was one of the purposes of the prophets to see visions from God, and we as followers of Jesus Christ today should still have visions of Who God is.  Matthew Henry says the purpose of this whirlwind was to allow Ezekiel to see into heaven, but whether he physically saw into heaven and its glory, I cannot say.  I do know that he realized it was a great vision from God.  We will never see God face to face in this lifetime, but we need to have a clear vision of Who He is.  Of course, some of Ezekiel’s visions were not all that clear as to their meaning.  I believe we can also say that our vision of God will never be totally clear.   

Verse five adds, Also out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance; they had the likeness of a man.  Ezekiel said that out of this this whirlwind of fire came the likeness of four living creatures who had the appearance of men, though it wasn’t the creatures themselves. Matthew Henry says they were like hieroglyphics that represented the angels since the angels themselves are spirits that cannot be seen, but we know of several instances when we are told of angels appearing to different people, so I am not sure I can agree that they cannot be seen.  Of course, I know angels can have different appearances since we are told sometimes, we may entertain angles unaware that we are doing so. 

Verse six adds, And every one had four faces, and every one had four wings.  Ezekiel had said they had an appearance like unto men, but this doesn’t sound like any man I have ever seen.  Matthew Henry says there were four to represent the four faces they had and the four winds of heaven or the skies.  He says that unlike what some people that he doesn't think they represented four particular angels, whom some name as Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, and Uriel.  As we go through the book of Ezekiel, we will find that there are different interpretations as to what these visions represent, but we do know that God gave Ezekiel the visions for a purpose.  In John’s vision, which in some ways parallels Ezekiel’s here, each of the four living creatures had one of the faces and here, each of the four had all four faces.  Matthew Henry says that in Ezekiel’s vision this means that they were all equally qualified to do the overall work of God and in John’s it may mean that some were more qualified to do a particular task.  In the church today, we are all equally qualified to  carryout the overall mission of God, but we also have different areas that we are more qualified in,   

Verse seven continues, And their feet were straight feet; and the sole of their feet was like the sole of a calf's foot: and they sparkled like the colour of burnished brass.  Their feet were straight and strong, ready to go in any direction they were sent and to bear any burden put on them.  We need to be the same way as followers of Christ today.  We should willing go anywhere God tells us to go and be willing to bear any burden serving Him might bring.