The primary fulfilment of Ezekiel too is in the restoration from Babylon. The great emphasis on the Angel-cherubim shows the importance of the Angels in it. The Cherubim of chapter 1 "came out of the north" (v. 4). "The North" in the prophets often refers to "the north country" of Babylon. Is the whole vision primarily describing the Angels coming from Babylon, with the wheels "upon the earth" (v. 15) representing natural Israel under Angelic control? Thus "when the living creatures (Angels) went, the wheels went by them "(v. 19), due to the Angelic inspiration of the Jews and their touching the hearts of men like Cyrus, Ezra and Nehemiah "according to the good hand (Angel) of. . God upon" them; "the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels" (v. 20). Remember that the Angels are the vehicles of God's Spirit. The visions of the glory progressively removing from the temple show the Angel departing from Jerusalem, and then in chapters 40-48 the glory Angel returns to a re-built Jerusalem. Recall how the Angel in Ex. 33 and 34 is also described as the "glory".

3:5- see on Jer. 23:18,22

The four Angels or groups of Angels that comprised them had wings which "kissed one another" (Ez. 3:13 A. V. mg. ) and moved with a soft, smooth sound, despite all four being distinct in some ways. Thus the loving co-operation of the Angels in their work is emphasized. See on Gen. 1:26.

The way Peter was given a vision and asked to eat what he had previously thought unclean has many similarities with Ezekiel going through a similar experience (Ez. 4:10-14 cp. Acts 10:14).

5:17 see on 1 Kings 22:22

Ez. 7:4 eye- see on 2 Kings 17:23

Israel’s Angel ministered judgement on Israel- Ezek. 7:14 and 20:17 describe God's eye (the Angel Michael) not sparing or pitying, and in so doing goes back to the language of Is. 63 where we see that the Angel was capable of showing pity, but ceased to because of Israel's sin (v. 9,10).

It is worth considering whether the visions Ezekiel had of the progressive departure of "the glory of the God of Israel" (Ez. 8:4) from the temple to the East of Jerusalem and then further away are describing the literal departure of the Angel from His dwelling place over the ark in the temple. Similarly "the glory" Angel departed (1 Sam. 4:21) when the ark over which He dwelt was taken by the Philistines. See on Ps. 78:60

Text Box: Ezekiel 9: Angelic Interpretation The case of the Angelic keepers of Jerusalem in Ezekiel 9 mentioned earlier is an example of Angelic cooperation. "The Lord (the angel of v. 1) said unto him (the v. 3 man in linen), Go through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations. . and to the others (angels) He said. . Go ye after him through the city and smite" (v. 4,5). So as at the Passover we have one Angel protecting and others executing judgement, each limited in the role assigned them. These ideas are brought together in Ez. 20:17 where concerning Israel in the wilderness God says "Mine eye (i. e. an Angel- the Angels are the eyes of God going to and fro in the earth) spared them from destroying them, neither did I make an end of them in the wilderness". When God gave Israel an Angel to go with them who would bear His Name in Ex. 23, God warned them that this Angel would not pity them but would be easily provoked by their errors. I suggest that this Angel was the 'destroyer' which went with them, while the Angel of Is. 63 which "in His love and in His pity redeemed them; and bare them and carried them all the days of old" (v. 9) was the one which we read here in Ez. 20 spared them from destruction- i. e. from the destroyer Angel which went with them. Presumably this shows that the Angel of mercy was more powerful than the Angel of righteous anger and justice, the destroyer, and that only occasionally was the 'destroyer' allowed free reign, e. g. when the people lusted as recorded in 1 Cor. 10:10. This would reflect the basic characteristics of God Himself- mercy more powerful than judgement in His character. And amongst us the potential elohim, perhaps there is the same mixture of 'destroyers', sincerely upholding the high standards God expects and feeling justified in acting to that end, and the 'Angels of mercy' who restrict their action except in severe cases. But amazingly God works through and in all, to His glory. Both types of elohim are sincere, not even misguided, but rather fulfilling the role in God's way of working which they have been called to play. It is possible for the Angels to do this in a manner which God finds inappropriate (how similar to us in this life!). A good example of this is found in Ez. 9:4,5: "And the LORD said unto Him (the man in linen of v. 2- another Angel), Go through the midst of the city. . . and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof. And to the others (Angels) He said in mine hearing, Go ye after Him through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have pity". The 'LORD' of v. 4 here seems to be an Angel; it is the 'He' of verse 1 who "cried also in mine ears. . saying, Cause them that have charge over the city to draw near. . ". The phrase "also" refers back to the "spirit" of 8:3 who put forth "the form of an hand" (language used about the cherubim, which as we shall see were representative of Angels) and carried Ezekiel to various places in the vision. The mighty being of 8:2 with "the appearance of fire. . as the colour of amber" also refers to this same Angel. Those of v. 1 which "have charge over the city" were Angels (as in Is. 62:6). These Angels were now being told to go through the city and slay without pity any that did not have the mark the other Angel had put on them, thus showing how the same Angels that preserve us through life can also turn against us to minister God's judgements if we are unworthy. For the present we want to note the repeated command to these Angels to not allow emotions of pity to hinder their work: "Let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity: slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children and women". Surely this implies that the Senior Angel speaking to these Angels knew that their judgement could be affected by emotional considerations, therefore the point was stressed. In the same way, we know God does make judgements based on what to us we would call 'emotion'- we read of God pitying Israel in their early days for no logical reason, and also of Him refusing to pity them in His judgements upon them. So many of David's prayers show him persuading God to show pity on him. The psalms often start off with him in trouble, claiming God has cast Him off and is insensitive to him, and then progress to a triumph of faith and the power of prayer, through him sensing that God has now pitied and helped him. All this can be understood in terms of God’s Angels being the ones who have such control over our lives and situations. 9:8 - see on Ex. 12:23

There seems to be a strong  implication  that  the  Angels were involved with writing the Bible through their inspiration of men. So close is the connection between the word of God and of Angels that "the sound of the (Angel) cherubim. . . was heard . . . as the voice of the Almighty God when He speaketh" (Ez. 10:5). Zechariah stresses that the prophecies of the restoration were given by an Angel (1:9-14; 4:1,5; 5:5,10; 6:4,5). The true prophet is one who “has stood in the council of the Lord to perceive and hear His word” (Jer. 23:18,22); and yet these are exactly the words used of how the Angels stand in the council of Heaven and hear Yahweh’s word (1 Kings 22; Ps. 103:18-22). The Angels are therefore reflective of the situation on earth; as they stood before the Father’s throne to hear the word in the council of Heaven, they were representative of the prophet on earth whom they were used to inspire. As the prophets were gathered together before the thrones of the Kings of Israel and Judah, they were reflecting how the Angels in Heaven were assembled before the throne of Yahweh, on whose throne the human kings were ruling (1 Kings 22:10). The lying spirit / Angel which appeared before Yahweh’s throne would therefore have been reflected in Micaiah (:15). What we have here is the court of Heaven being reflected in the situation upon earth, seeing that each of the prophets was represented by an Angel in Heaven.

Consider the implications of Ez. 12:25: “I will speak, and the word that I shall speak shall be performed. It shall be no more deferred: for in your days, O rebellious house, will I speak the word, and will perform it, saith the Lord” (R.V.). There seems to be the suggestion that God ‘speaks’ a word / plan / intention; and when He decides to operationalize it, then He speaks it again- presumably in the court of Heaven.

13:9- see on Ex. 32:32

Angels can give those who are closing their minds to the clear truth of the word the temptation to believe wrong things, in a similar way to which God through the Angels hardened Pharaoh's heart as a result of his own already hardened heart. Ezekiel 14:9 clearly states "If the prophet be deceived when he hath spoken a thing, I the LORD hath deceived that prophet".  Jeremiah says that "O LORD Thou hast deceived me, and I was deceived (mg. 'enticed')" (Jer. 20:7); although Jeremiah was not actually deceived in the prophecy he was given, it seems that he sensed there was a possibility that he had been, which is backed up by the Ezekiel reference. In  1 Kings 22:22, the Angels made the false prophets of Ahab to prophesy falsely. This fact is picked up in the New Testament by Paul saying it was possible for an Angel from Heaven to preach a wrong Gospel to them (Gal. 1:8). If it was fundamentally impossible for an Angel to do this, why does Paul say it? See on 2 Thess. 2:2; 1 Tim. 4:1; Is. 19:13,14; Ez. 20; 1 Jn. 4:1.

Ez. 14:21 talks of God sending "My four sore judgements upon Jerusalem, the sword and the famine and the noisome beast, and the pestilence". These are four similar judgements to those ministered by the four living creatures in Rev. 6 and by the four Angel chariots of Zech. 6. There is reason to think that these creatures and chariots represent Angels; so it is worth speculating that whenever a group of four judgements are mentioned, there is a reference to the four cherubim Angels bringing them. Ezek. 6:15,17 mentions the same four judgements as 14:21, and describes them as "the evil arrows" sent by God- His "Angels of evil" (Ps. 78:49)? The context in Ez. 14 is God saying that even if Noah, Daniel and Job were in the land, they would not stop the judgements coming (v. 14,20). This seems to be directly referring to the Angels deciding to bring their judgements on Sodom (which typifies Jerusalem- Is. 1:10) despite a handful of righteous being there (Gen. 18:24). It is even possible that the "noisome beasts" of Ez. 14:15 which were to spoil the land in judgement are the four beasts/ living creatures of Dan. 7 controlling the various nations used to execute these judgements.

Moses is set up as example and representative of his people Israel. Israel is likened in Ez. 16:5 to a child rejected at birth, but miraculously found and cared for, and brought up with every pampered blessing. Just as Moses was. Stephen described the ‘putting out’ of Moses with the same word used in the LXX for what happened to Israel in Ezekiel 16 (Acts 7:21; Ex. 2:3 LXX).

16:59-62 - see on Zech. 11:10,11

 

Text Box: Ezekiel 20: Angelic interpretation Ezekiel 20 provides an example of Angels as 'seducing spirits' (see on 14:9). The whole chapter is full of references to the Angel that cared for Israel: v. 8 "they rebelled against Me" -cp. Is. 63:10, where Israel are said to have rebelled against the Holy Spirit Angel. v. 10 "I caused them to go forth out of the land of Egypt, and brought them into the wilderness"- this was all done by the Angel who promised to do so to Moses in the burning bush. v. 11 "I gave them My statutes, and shewed them My judgements. . . I gave them My sabbaths"- these commands were given by the Angel on Sinai. v. 13,14 "Then I said, I would pour out My fury upon them in the wilderness, to consume them"- such changing of mind must refer to the Angel rather than to God Himself (Cp. the Angel telling Moses that He would no longer go up with Israel, and then deciding to go). v. 17 "Mine eye (Angel) spared them from destroying them. The eye or Angel of God spared Israel from a destroying Angel ("the destroyer" of 1 Cor. 10:10). v. 22 "I withdrew Mine Hand"- an Angelic phrase. Because of their continued disobedience, the Angel "Therefore. . . gave them also statutes that were not good, and judgements whereby they should not live; and I polluted them in their own gifts, in that they caused to pass through the fire all that openeth the womb, that I might make them desolate, to the end that they might know that I am the Lord" (v. 25,26). These "statutes that were not good, and judgements whereby they should not live" were not the actual laws which comprised the Law of Moses. By contrast it is emphasized that if a man kept those judgements, "he shall even live in them" (v. 13)- cp. "judgements whereby they should not live". "The law is holy and the commandment holy, and just, and good" (Rom. 7:12). Therefore the language of Ez. 20:25 cannot apply to the actual Law of Moses. It must therefore apply to the traditions and 'Halacah' built up by the rabbis which were considered by the Jews to be equivalent in value to the Law given to Moses initially. It was these human commands "that were not good" (cp. "holy, just and good"), and which led to sacrifices being unacceptable to God. These commands were invented by men- and yet in a sense the Angel "gave them" these commands by operating on the hearts of men, working through the perverse thinking of men to create them- although ultimately to the end that the Jews "might know (better and more meaningfully) that I am the Lord" (i. e. the true nature of God). 20:6 espied- see on Num. 10:33

20:8-13 - see on Ex. 12:23

20:17- see on Ez. 7:14; 9:1; Ex. 34:9

The idea of two Angels being present with Israel is found in Ez. 20:17,22; God’s “eye”, which is definitely Angelic language, spared them from being destroyed- by the destroyer Angel. And therefore God “withdrew mine hand”, also Angelic language, in order not to destroy them. Note too how it is the Angelic “eye of the Lord” which is paralleled with God’s mercy in Ps. 33:18,22.

Ez. 20:38 says that the rebels in the wilderness “shall not enter into the land”, with reference to how when Moses called the people “rebels” and beat the rock, he was disallowed entry into the land. Because he called them rebels, i.e. unworthy of entry to the Kingdom, he also was treated as a rebel. If we condemn others, we likewise will be condemned. On another level, he was simply barred for disobedience; and on yet another, his prayer to the effect that he didn’t want to be in the land if his people weren’t going to be there was being answered; and on yet another and higher level, his offer to be blotted out of the book of inheritance for Israel’s sake was also being heard. Thus God works within the same incident in so many ways!

Ez. 20:35 shows how the 'second Exodus' of the Jews from their dispersion at the time of the second coming will also involve the activity of the Angel Michael. "I will bring you into the wilderness of the people, and there will I plead with you face to face". It must be through the Angel Michael that God pleads with them face to face (cp. Ex. 33:10).

31:15 waters- see on Rev. 16:5.

35:6 prepared- see on Rev. 6:9

Perhaps it is to the physical presence of the Angel in the land (see on Dt. 11:12) that Ezek. 35:10 refers " Thou (the Arabs)  hast  said, These two nations and these two countries (Israel and Judah) shall be mine, and I will possess it; whereas the LORD (the Angel Michael) was there".

36:26- see on 1 Sam. 10:9

Ezekiel's prophecies of Israel's regathering have their primary fulfilment in the restoration. Ez. 36:36: "The heathen that are left round about you (the other nations that the Babylonians had placed in Israel) shall know that I the Lord build the ruined places" (by the miraculous rebuilding of the temple amidst great opposition).

Ez. 37:9: "Prophesy unto the wind. . . and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord God; come from the four winds, O breath (wind), and breathe upon these slain, that they may live". Is this the command to Michael, Israel's Angel which comes into action for them in the last days (Dan. 12:1) to start  to regather Israel? He is called forth from his exalted place dwelling between the four  cherubim Angels. The language is reminiscent of that in Gen. 2:7, where the Angel breathed into man the breath of life, which caused him to stand up upon his feet (cp. Ez. 37:10)- and here the Angel is being asked to do the same, to Israel. Further connections between the "wind" and Israel's Angel are in Jer. 4:11-13.

37:14 alludes directly back to the vision of the Angel-cherubim's spirit being placed in the "wheels" of natural Israel in 1:20,21: "I (the Angel) shall put My spiirt in you, and ye shall live".

There are many similarities between Assyria and the Gog invasion. The two invasions of Gog (or three? Ez. 38:4,8,10; or four if v. 4 implies two invasions: "I will turn thee back. . and bring thee forth"-again) find their basis in Assyria coming up several times before the final onslaught on Jerusalem. It seems evident to the present writer that there is only one coming of Christ- not a coming to the saints which is an invisible coming to the rest of the world, followed by a public "coming". This seems to rest on a misapplication of the coming of Christ with the suddenness of a thief on the unworthy saints; it also leads to advocating a kind of invisible 'parousia' almost identical to that believed in by Jehovah's pseudo witnesses.

One cannot miss the emphasis in Ezekiel 38 on the many "horses and horsemen", and the type of armour described ("Bucklers and shields", 38:4) gives the impression of many well armed cavalry men. Notice Ez. 38:15 too: "All of them riding upon horses". Why this emphasis on cavalry? The Angels are described as horse riders in Zechariah and Revelation; the horses in the chariots of Zech. 6 are also Angels (see Chapter 11), and there is the obvious connection with the Angel-cherubim chariot. Further Angelic language is found in 38:20 "My presence"; 39:7 "The Holy One".

Ezekiel 38 and 39 speak of the Gog invasion in very similar language to prophecy concerning Assyria. The following connections are clear:

Gog in Ezekiel      

Assyria in Isaiah

38:4

37:29

38:8                

24:21,22 (this concerns "the kings of the earth" in the Gog confederacy)

38:9                

28:2

38:11               

37:24

38:12               

10:6

38:19               

30:27

38:19,20             

29:6; 30:25

38:22               

29:6 RV; 30:30

39:10               

33:1-3

 

The fact the Angels lead Assyria/Gog to invade Israel in the last days suggests that the "spirits" of Rev. 16:13-16 which gather the nations (notably the Gog confederacy) to Armageddon have something to do with Angels, perhaps through controlling other factors which act as influencing spirits on the nations.

Ez. 38:7  is  the  Angels  speaking to  Gog:  "Be  thou prepared, and prepared for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard (prison) unto them".

Gog was to "be visited" (38:8). This is Angelic language. The parallel passage in Is. 24:21-23 also speaks of the Gog confederacy: "And it shall come to pass in that day that the Lord shall punish (Heb. 'visit') the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth. And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered together in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited. Then. . the Lord of Hosts (Angels) shall reign". There are clear parallels with Gog's confederacy being visited by God, after they have been 'imprisoned' by Gog in order to support Gog's invasion. Gog is to be a "guard"- 'a prison' (s. w. Gen. 42:19)- to the other nations (38:7).  "The host of the high ones that are on high (Heaven), and the kings of the earth upon the earth" refers to both the Angels and their earthly charges. The Isaiah passage implies a gathering together of the confederacy  associated with a first Angelic 'visiting', followed by a "many days" period after which  there will be a second Angelic visiting and the final invasion. The phrase "many days" does not necessarily imply a very long period of  years- "Jacob. . mourned for his son many days" (Gen. 37:34)- not more than twenty years at the outside. A woman could have "an issue of her blood many days" (Lev. 15:25). "Ye abode in  Kadesh many days" (Dt. 1:46). Shimei "dwelt in Jerusalem  many  days"  (1 Kings 2:38). These two Angelic visitings are spoken of in Ez. 38 too: "I (the Angels) will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth". And secondly "After many days thou (Gog) shalt be visited" by the Angels; "things (shall) come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought: and thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages. . "(v. 10,11). This thinking was a result of Angelic visiting of Gog- to achieve their purpose of making both Assyria and Gog invade Israel, the Angels acted and will act directly on the hearts of the leaders of those nations.

There is much evidence that the Kingdom starts initially in Jerusalem and then spreads worldwide slowly. Many of the prophecies concerning it are addressed to "Jerusalem" and "Mount Zion". The stone of Daniel 2 hits the earth and grows from there to cover the earth. It is logical if it hits the earth at Jerusalem, where all the kingdoms of men represented by the metals will be present, gathered together against Jerusalem. It appears that the unworthy having been destroyed, a colony of saints is established around Jerusalem, living in Kingdom conditions. They live in "the land of unwalled villages. . dwelling safely all of them. . . without walls, and having neither bars nor gates" (Ez. 38:11)- Kingdom language. The Angels give Gog the "evil thought" of invading the "land of unwalled villages", apparently after the invasions of the land as a whole. The people living there are "gathered out of the nations"- capable of reference to the saints (Mt. 25:31-34) who have just been gathered from all nations. The great wealth which attracts Gog must be due to the Kingdom conditions there- the Arab invasions of Zech. 14 (which must be before the second coming, seeing that Jerusalem is ransacked) will have devastated the land of its present wealth. The sudden prosperity reported around Jerusalem will no doubt intrigue the world, and prove a fatal attraction. "The desolate places that are now inhabited" (v. 12)  probably refers specifically  to the temple area/old city of Jerusalem which will have been the scene of much bitter Israeli/Arab fighting. Thus the final onslaught of Gog and his followers occurs, this time with Christ and the redeemed in Jerusalem, thus fulfilling Psalm 2: "The kings of the earth (cp. Is. 24:21) set themselves. . . against the Lord, and against His anointed (Christ). . . yet have I set My King upon My holy hill of Zion". Any who find it hard to imagine Christ and the saints temporarily giving ground to Gog and allowing themselves to be besieged in Jerusalem by him should reflect that an almost   identical  situation  will  occur at the end of the Millennium, when another (how different?) Gog and Magog will push the saints back into Jerusalem with Christ, until He breaks out upon them again.

 

 

Human armies are often described in Angelic language because there are Angels controlling them. This is also the case here with the Gog invasion, which is fitting seeing that Angels were behind the initial Assyrian invasion which is the prototype of that of Gog. They are described as "a great company, a mighty army" (Ez. 38:15)- reflecting the mighty Heavenly host. "Gomer. . Togarmah. . and all his bands" may refer to the Angels of those lands bringing forth their Angel-armies, in the same way as there was an Angelic "prince of Persia" in Dan. 10:13. Yet it is also so that all aspects of true spirituality have their antithesis in the false system of the world. Thus the real Christ is aped by an anti-Christ; and the armies of Heaven are matched by the armies of the earth, who are described in the same outline language. It is also emphasized that the invasion came from "the north". Whilst not in any way questioning the geographical reference here, "the north" is also a reference to Heaven. The word implies a hidden place, and a closely related word is translated "hidden" in Ps. 83:3: "They. . . consulted against Thy hidden ones". Other examples include:

- "He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing" (Job 26:7)- the north seems to refer to the Heavens, a place void of man's presence.

- Lucifer said: "I will ascend into Heaven I will exalt my throne above the stars of God I will also sit upon the mount of the Congregation in the sides of the north… above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High" (Is. 14:13,14). This shows the connection between the north and Heaven, both literally and the figurative Heaven of the temple against which Lucifer aspired, and in which the "Most High" (an Angelic title) dwelt.

- "I have raised up one (Jesus) from the north" (Is. 41:25)- a reference to Christ's Heavenly origin?

- "The secret place of the most High" (Ps. 91:1) refers to the tabernacle- which is the "Heavenlies" (we have earlier mentioned the connections between Heaven and the temple/tabernacle).

- The believers coming down from 'Heaven', a place void of man's human presence and where they cannot be harmed by man (1 Thess. 4:14; Rev. 6:9-11;21:2; Matt. 6:20; Heb. 12:23) is perhaps connected to the idea of the believers as the Cherubim in Ez. 1 coming from the figurative north.

- The offerings were slain on the north side of the altar (Lev. 1:11)- because the north represented God's presence?