Today’s Bible Reading: Ezekiel 10 – 13

“And He spake unto the man clothed with linen, and said, Go in between the wheels…and fill thine hand with coals of fire from between the cherubims…” Ezekiel 10:2

How would you explain the beauty of the color blue to a blind person? Or how do you describe the delightfully sweet sound of a song bird to someone who has never heard? You’d be hard pressed to articulate the wonder of such experiences to a person who doesn’t have a point of reference. And I’m willing to bet this is how Ezekiel felt as he tried to convey his vision of heaven to mere mortal men. The truth is, we are like blind and deaf men and women when it comes to the glory of heaven that awaits (1 Cor. 2:9).

Nevertheless, Ezekiel aims to describe the indescribable – a firmament and a throne of glory and the cherubim that shine as sapphires around the throne (Ezek. 10:1-2). But the focus quickly turns to a man dressed in linen (Ezek. 10:2-7). This same man is spoken of in Ezekiel 9, Daniel 10:5, and Revelation 1:12-20.

This is where we find Jesus in Ezekiel! Consider this heavenly man’s attributes and you will undoubtedly see our Savior. Ezekiel saw a wheel and coals that were representing judgment. The man in linen, knowing He was to bring judgment using those coals, first took them in His own hands (Ezek. 10:7; 1 Peter 2:24). The judgment that Christ was to give, He first received. He took our judgment through His nail pierced hands.

The man in linen held an inkwell and used it to mark those who were protected from the coming judgment. That same Jesus is our protector and Savior! The mark He gave speaks of those who have the seal with the Holy Spirit and whose names are written in the Lambs book of Life and have passed from death to life (Eph. 1:13; Eph. 4:30; 2 Cor. 1:21-22; 2 Tim. 2:19; Rev. 7:3-4).

This same Jesus, our blessed Messiah, who holds the writer’s inkwell, has written your name in heaven. Because Jesus took our judgment and has written our names in His book – we too, like Ezekiel will one day see these same glories in heaven.