The Berean Pursuit
In the thirtieth year, on the fifth day of the fourth month, while I was among the exiles by the River Kebar, the heavens opened and I saw visions of God.
On the fifth day of the month-it was the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin- the word of the LORD came directly to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the River Kebar. And there the LORD's hand was upon him.
I looked and saw a whirlwind coming from the north, a great cloud with fire flashing back and forth and brilliant light all around it. In the center of the fire was a gleam like amber, and within it was the form of four living creatures.
And this was their appearance: They had a human form, but each had four faces and four wings. Their legs were straight, and the soles of their feet were like the hooves of a calf, gleaming like polished bronze.
Under their wings on their four sides they had human hands. All four living creatures had faces and wings, and their wings were touching one another. They did not turn as they moved; each one went straight ahead.
The form of their faces was that of a man, and each of the four had the face of a lion on the right side, the face of an ox on the left side, and also the face of an eagle. Such were their faces.
Their wings were spread upward; each had two wings touching the wings of the creature on either side, and two wings covering its body. Each creature went straight ahead. Wherever the spirit would go, they would go, without turning as they moved.
In the midst of the living creatures was the appearance of glowing coals of fire, or of torches. Fire moved back and forth between the living creatures; it was bright, and lightning flashed out of it. The creatures were darting back and forth as quickly as flashes of lightning.
When I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel on the ground beside each creature with its four faces. The workmanship of the wheels looked like the gleam of beryl, and all four had the same likeness. Their workmanship looked like a wheel within a wheel. As they moved, they went in any of the four directions, without pivoting as they moved. Their rims were high and awesome, and all four rims were full of eyes all around. So as the living creatures moved, the wheels moved beside them, and when the creatures rose from the ground, the wheels also rose.
Wherever the spirit would go, they would go, and the wheels would rise alongside them, because the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. When the creatures moved, the wheels moved; when the creatures stood still, the wheels stood still; and when the creatures rose from the ground, the wheels rose alongside them, because the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.
Spread out above the heads of the living creatures was the likeness of an awesome expanse, gleaming like crystal. And under the expanse, their wings stretched out toward one another. Each one also had two wings covering its body.
When the creatures moved, I heard the sound of their wings like the roar of many waters, like the voice of the Almighty, like the tumult of an army.
When they stood still, they lowered their wings. And there came a voice from above the expanse over their heads as they stood still with their wings lowered.
Above the expanse over their heads was the likeness of a throne with the appearance of sapphire, and on the throne high above was a figure like that of a man. From what seemed to be His waist up, I saw a gleam like amber, with what looked like fire within it all around. And from what seemed to be His waist down, I saw what looked like fire; and brilliant light surrounded Him.
The appearance of the brilliant light all around Him was like that of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell facedown and heard a voice speaking.
"Son of man," He said to me, "stand up on your feet and I will speak to you." And as He spoke to me, the Spirit entered me and set me on my feet, and I heard Him speaking to me.
"Son of man," He said to me, "I am sending you to the Israelites, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against Me. To this very day they and their fathers have rebelled against Me. They are obstinate and stubborn children. I am sending you to them, and you are to say to them, 'This is what the Lord GOD says.'
And whether they listen or refuse to listen-for they are a rebellious house-they will know that a prophet has been among them.
But you, son of man, do not be afraid of them or their words. Do not be afraid, though briers and thorns surround you, and you dwell among scorpions. Do not be afraid of their words or dismayed by their presence, though they are a rebellious house. But speak My words to them, whether they listen or refuse to listen, for they are rebellious.
And you, son of man, listen to what I tell you. Do not be rebellious like that rebellious house. Open your mouth and eat what I give you."
Then I looked and saw a hand reaching out to me, and in it was a scroll, which He unrolled before me. And written on the front and back of it were words of lamentation, mourning, and woe.
"Son of man," He said to me, "eat what you find here. Eat this scroll, then go and speak to the house of Israel."
So I opened my mouth, and He fed me the scroll.
"Son of man," He said to me, "eat and fill your stomach with this scroll I am giving you."
So I ate, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth.
Then He said to me, "Son of man, go now to the house of Israel and speak My words to them. For you are not being sent to a people of unfamiliar speech or difficult language, but to the house of Israel- not to the many peoples of unfamiliar speech and difficult language whose words you cannot understand. Surely if I had sent you to them, they would have listened to you.
But the house of Israel will be unwilling to listen to you, since they are unwilling to listen to Me. For the whole house of Israel is hard-headed and hard-hearted.
Behold, I will make your face as hard as their faces, and your forehead as hard as their foreheads. I will make your forehead like a diamond, harder than flint. Do not be afraid of them or dismayed at their presence, even though they are a rebellious house."
"Son of man," He added, "listen carefully to all the words I speak to you, and take them to heart. Go to your people, the exiles; speak to them and tell them, 'This is what the Lord GOD says,' whether they listen or refuse to listen."
Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard a great rumbling sound behind me: 'Blessed be the glory of the LORD in His dwelling place!' It was the sound of the wings of the living creatures brushing against one another and the sound of the wheels beside them, a great rumbling sound.
So the Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness and in the anger of my spirit, with the strong hand of the LORD upon me. I came to the exiles at Tel-abib who dwelt by the River Kebar. And for seven days I sat where they sat and remained there among them, overwhelmed.
At the end of seven days the word of the LORD came to me, saying, "Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from My mouth, give them a warning from Me.
If I say to the wicked man, 'You will surely die,' but you do not warn him or speak out to warn him from his wicked way to save his life, that wicked man will die in his iniquity, and I will hold you responsible for his blood. But if you warn a wicked man and he does not turn from his wickedness and his wicked way, he will die in his iniquity, but you will have saved yourself.
Now if a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I put a stumbling block before him, he will die. If you did not warn him, he will die in his sin, and the righteous acts he did will not be remembered. And I will hold you responsible for his blood. But if you warn the righteous man not to sin, and he does not sin, he will indeed live because he heeded your warning, and you will have saved yourself."
And there the hand of the LORD was upon me, and He said to me, "Get up, go out to the plain, and there I will speak with you."
So I got up and went out to the plain, and behold, the glory of the LORD was present there, like the glory I had seen by the River Kebar, and I fell facedown.
Then the Spirit entered me and set me on my feet. He spoke with me and said, "Go, shut yourself inside your house. And you, son of man, they will tie with ropes, and you will be bound so that you cannot go out among the people. I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth, and you will be silent and unable to rebuke them, though they are a rebellious house.
But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you are to tell them, 'This is what the Lord GOD says.' Whoever listens, let him listen; and whoever refuses, let him refuse, for they are a rebellious house.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made, and without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
There came a man who was sent from God. His name was John. He came as a witness to testify about the Light, so that through him everyone might believe. He himself was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light.
The true Light who gives light to every man was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God- children born not of blood, nor of the desire or will of man, but born of God.
The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John testified concerning Him. He cried out, saying, "This is He of whom I said, 'He who comes after me has surpassed me because He was before me.'?"
From His fullness we have all received grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is Himself God and is at the Father's side, has made Him known.
And this was John's testimony when the Jews of Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him, "Who are you?" He did not refuse to confess, but openly declared, "I am not the Christ."
"Then who are you?" they inquired. "Are you Elijah?"
He said, "I am not."
"Are you the Prophet?"
He answered, "No."
So they said to him, "Who are you? We need an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?"
John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet:
"I am a voice of one calling in the wilderness,
'Make straight the way for the Lord.'?"
Then the Pharisees who had been sent asked him, "Why then do you baptize, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?"
"I baptize with water," John replied, "but among you stands One you do not know. He is the One who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie."
All this happened at Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is He of whom I said, 'A man who comes after me has surpassed me because He was before me.' I myself did not know Him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that He might be revealed to Israel."
Then John testified, "I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove and resting on Him. I myself did not know Him, but the One who sent me to baptize with water told me, 'The man on whom you see the Spirit descend and rest is He who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.' I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God."
The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus walking by, he said, "Look, the Lamb of God!" And when the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus.
Jesus turned and saw them following. "What do you want?" He asked.
They said to Him, "Rabbi" (which means Teacher), "where are You staying?"
"Come and see," He replied. So they went and saw where He was staying, and spent that day with Him. It was about the tenth hour.
Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two who heard John's testimony and followed Jesus. He first found his brother Simon and told him, "We have found the Messiah" (which is translated as Christ).
Andrew brought him to Jesus, who looked at him and said, "You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas" (which is translated as Peter).
The next day Jesus decided to set out for Galilee. Finding Philip, He told him, "Follow Me." Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the same town as Andrew and Peter.
Philip found Nathanael and told him, "We have found the One Moses wrote about in the Law, the One the prophets foretold-Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph."
"Can anything good come from Nazareth?" Nathanael asked.
"Come and see," said Philip.
When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, He said of him, "Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is no deceit."
"How do You know me?" Nathanael asked.
Jesus replied, "Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree."
"Rabbi," Nathanael answered, "You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!"
Jesus said to him, "Do you believe just because I told you I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these." Then He declared, "Truly, truly, I tell you, you will all see heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man."