Then I looked, and, behold, in the firmament of the cherubim there
appeared over them as it were a sapphire stone, as the appearance of
the likeness of a throne. And he spake unto the man clothed with
linen, and said, Go in between the wheels, even the under cherub,
and fill thine hand with coals of fire from between the cherubim,
and scatter them over the city. And he went in my sight. Now the
cherubim stood on the right side of the house, when the man went in;
and the cloud filled the inner court. Then the glory of the Lord
went up from the cherub, and stood over the threshold of the house;
and the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was full of
the brightness of the Lord's glory. And the sound of the cherubims'
wings was heard even to the outer court, as the voice of the
Almighty God when he speaketh. And it came to pass, that when he had
commanded the man clothed with linen, saying, Take fire from between
the wheels, from between the cherubims; then he went in, and stood
beside the wheels. And one cherub stretched forth his hand from
between the cherubim unto the fire that was between the cherubim,
and took thereof, and put it into the hands of him that was clothed
with linen; who took it, and went out (verses 1-7).
Once more the Prophet beholds in the firmament above the cherubim the
likeness of a throne. It is the throne of the Lord. However, the
occupant of the throne is not seen; His voice only is heard. The man
clothed with linen is commanded to go in between the wheels, under the
cherub, to fill his hands with coals of fire and then to scatter them
over the city. Who is this man clothed in linen? He appeared for the
first time in the preceding chapter. With the inkhorn at his side, he
set the mark upon the foreheads of the faithful ones. Here we see him
again executing the judgment upon Jerusalem. Judgment is given into his
hands. That he is a supernatural being is clear. And he is more than an
angel. He held the place of pre-eminence among the other angels (chapter
ix:2-4). This angel is the Angel of the Lord, the same who appeared to
the Patriarchs, to Moses, Joshua, Gideon, Manoah and to others. It is
the Son of God in the garb of an angel. In the same form he also
appeared to Daniel on the banks of the river Hiddekel. "Then I lifted up
mine eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in linen, whose
loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz. His body also was like the
beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as
lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in color to polished
brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude" (Dan.
x:5-6). Here we have a complete description of the same person whom
Ezekiel saw taking the coals of fire and scattering them over Jerusalem.
Judgment upon the guilty city came from his hands.
When we turn to the Book of Revelation, we find a similar scene which
has not yet been enacted. "And another angel came and stood at the
altar, having a golden censer; and there was given to him much incense
that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden
altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, which
came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the
angel's hand. And the Angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of
the altar, and cast it into the earth; and there were voices, and
thunderings, and lightnings and an earthquake" (Rev. viii:3-5). This
angel who presents the prayers before the throne and who casts the
judgment fire into the earth is the One who received from God's hands
the seven sealed book (Rev. v:1), the Lamb of God, the Lion of the tribe
of Judah. This Angel-Priest, into whose hands also judgment is
committed, is the Son of God. John saw Him dealing in judgment with the
earth, a judgment which has not yet come, and Ezekiel beheld Him as the
executor of the judgment upon Jerusalem, which was carried out through
Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon.
Ezekiel saw the man clothed in linen enter in between the wheels. As he
went in the cherubim, these majestic creatures of God, stood at the
right side of the house, while the cloud filled the inner court. This
cloud is the visible sign of Jehovah's presence (Exod. xix:9;
xxiv:15-18; Numbers ix:19; xii:10; 1 Kings viii:10). Then the glory of
the Lord went up; the withdrawing from the city began. It stood over the
threshold of the house which was filled with the cloud and the whole
court was full of the brightness of the Lord's glory. From the hand of
the cherub, the man in linen cloth received the fire that was between
the cherubim. And he took it and went out.