Ezekiel 1:5-9 – The Cherubim

Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the river of Chebar, that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God.

Ezekiel 1:1

Visions of God

We know that God the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, is both God and man, and in His glorified and risen _____ body ____________ we can easily picture Him – John 20:26-28; 21:12-14; Luke 24:41-43; Acts 10:41.

Consider the Holy Spirit, it becomes harder to picture Him because He is a spirit and at best can be ____ perceived_________ through His working and the effects He causes – like the wind – Acts 2:1-4.

God the Father is a spirit, who no one can see – 1 Timothy 6:15, 16:

God began His orders to Ezekiel, who is God’s ______ agent or representative _____ in a special

       way – Ezekiel 1:3.

Who are the Four Living Creatures?

God’s manifests Himself with a whirlwind, a Cloud (the Shekinah Glory) and a fire; similar to that experienced by Job (38:1) and by Moses in the wilderness.

There in the center or midst of it, were “four living creatures” supporting God’s throne. They were in appearance like “a man” – Ezekiel 1:5.

Here it does not say what these living creatures are, but in a subsequent vision, when he saw them again in connection with the Temple, Ezekiel _____ identifies _______ them as cherubim (Ezekiel 10:15; Ezekiel 10:20).

The term, “cherubim,” is actually the plural of ______ cherub _________ - Exodus 25:18-20

From the writer of Hebrews (8:5) we see that the depiction of Cherubim at the throne of God in the Tabernacle served as earthly artistic expressions of a _____ heavenly ____________ reality.

As the High Priest approached the veil separating the most holy place of the tabernacle, he was reminded that he was about to enter into the ______ presence ______ of God (Exodus 26:31).

This is a good reminder to us as we approach God to worship at church or in prayer, Hebrews 4:15, 16:

In our next session, we will see the descriptions of these angels and how they support and move the throne at God’s bidding. We will then see Ezekiel’s description of “the glory of the Lord” (v. 28).