Ezekiel's Vision of God's Throne Chariot

In the thirtieth year, while Ezekiel was among the exiles by the Kebar River in Babylon, the heavens opened and he saw visions of God. An immense cloud with flashing lightning and brilliant light came from the north, and in the fire was what looked like four living creatures with an extraordinary appearance:

Each had four faces (human, lion, ox, eagle), four wings, and human hands under their wings. They moved in any direction without turning, and beside each was a wheel within a wheel, their rims full of eyes all around. When the living creatures moved, the wheels moved; when they rose from the ground, the wheels rose. The spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.

Above the creatures was an expanse, sparkling like crystal, and above that was a throne of lapis lazuli. On the throne was a figure like that of a man, glowing like metal in fire, surrounded by brilliant light and a radiance like a rainbow.

“This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD.”

When Ezekiel saw it, he fell facedown and heard a voice speaking—commissioning him as a prophet to a rebellious people.

This vision (called the Merkabah or “chariot” vision in Jewish mysticism) demonstrated that God’s glory wasn’t confined to Jerusalem’s temple. The wheeled throne could move anywhere—even to Babylon among the exiles. God hadn’t abandoned His people; He was present even in exile.

The vision became central to Jewish mystical tradition (Merkabah mysticism) and later inspired Christian apocalyptic imagery. The four living creatures appear again in Revelation 4:6-8, surrounding God’s throne in heaven.