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"wheel in the middle of the wheel" (Ezekiel 1)?
Q. What is your interpretation of Ezekiel's "wheel in the middle of the wheel" ( Ezekiel 1)?
(Submitted by: A. W. )
A. Of the many fascinating scriptural descriptions of heavenly things, this one of chapters 1 and 10 of Ezekiel is by far the most stunning and complex. The description itself is hard enough for us to understand since there is nothing similar to it in the Bible nor are we told what to compare these descriptions to so that we may understand them. Ezekiel had to describe in the Hebrew language what he saw, which was so incredible and foreign to his experiences as a human. The difficulty of understanding these scriptures (or any others) is compounded by the fact that translation of the texts from Hebrew to English is sometimes not easy nor perfect. Since there is no certain and crystal clear understanding of this subject simply by reading the text, (if someone has it please share it with us), even after consulting Bible commentaries we can only come to an imperfect, general understanding. The Apostle Paul explained our limited vision and understanding of spiritual things:
"For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known." ( I Cor. 13:12)
Even a generalized description of Ezekiel's visions would take quite a lengthy and detailed exposition, because of the many factors and elements involved in this glorious and indescribable segment of the Bible. I will therefore focus my answer to the pertinent question of "a wheel in the middle of a wheel ".
In Ezek. 1:1 we are introduced to "visions of God". Verse 4 describes the startling sight of a whirlwind with a raging fire having great brightness. Verses 5 to 15 describes the four Cherubim, each having four faces (one on each side). These powerful spirit beings were like fire in appearance with lightnings emanating from them. The following description is from an old Abingdon Bible Commentary:
"The description is full of the splendor of flashing light, so brilliant that the details are minutely revealed, but so dazzling that they are not clearly seen . . . Textual corruption, which do not seriously affect the general interpretation, have aggravated the obscurity in some points of detail" Beside each Cherub a wheel was set with another " wheel in the middle of a wheel". The Commentaries make it to be one traversing inside of the other. Like in a cross, they determined four directions to which the Spirit beings were darting to whatever direction they were commanded ( verses 16, 17), without turning. As for the "engineering" aspect of the wheels, our human understanding can't help much since we are dealing with supernaturally-composed matter. The Jamieson, Fausset and Brown Commentary gives this description: " . . . each wheel was composed of two circles cutting one another at right angles, 'one' only of which appeared to touch the ground ( "upon the earth" ) ". The biblical description, "a wheel in the middle of a wheel", however, would indicate the one inside to be smaller than the other. Two more important facets are depicted. The first facet is that the "rings were full of eyes" ( verse 18). Since men's eyes are for seeing, and man is made in the likeness of God ( Gen.1:26), we can safely assume that they are meant for the same. The great number of eyes on the wheels may portend or symbolize how great is God's awareness and direction of events. The other facet of the wheel was their rings (rims) were high and dreadful ( verse 18). As far as the geometrical shape is concerned it is not clear whether it means a fantastic size of spokes (wheel diametrically large) or the depth of the ring. In either case it surely would surpass any of Hollywood's "special effects", only that this is very real, even as unseen to us today. Some commentaries indulge in various allusions on this subject that is really merely speculative and cannot be substantiated by the Bible. The Scriptures are not for "private interpretation" ( I Pet. 1:20). We need to be satisfied with what God allows us to comprehend about Ezekiel's vision in this day and age. Other Recommended Bible Study Materials:
Answer Given By: Adriano Borean |
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