In this sermon, the preacher describes a vision of four living creatures that he saw coming out of a glowing storm cloud. These creatures had the appearance of a man, but with four faces and four wings. Their feet were like the soles of a calf's foot and they sparkled like burnished brass. The preacher emphasizes the importance of engaging the mind while studying the Word of God and encourages listeners not to get discouraged when faced with challenging concepts. He also highlights the manifestation of God's glory and holy character in the Bible.

Hello, this is Brother Denny. Welcome to Charity Ministries. Our desire is that your life would be blessed and changed by this message. This message is not copyrighted and is not to be bought or sold. You are welcome to make copies for your friends and neighbors. If you would like additional messages, please go to our website for a complete listing at www.charityministries.org. If you would like a catalog of other sermons, please call 1-800-227-7902 or write to Charity Ministries, 400 West Main Street, Suite 1, EFRA PA 17522. These messages are offered to all without charge by the freewill offerings of God's people. A special thank you to all who support this ministry. I appreciated the song that we sang this morning and I am endeavoring at the beginning of each one of these sessions on the attributes of God to choose songs that we can sing that speak and edify and teach and challenge us on God and who God is. That's why we chose the one this morning, Rise Glorious Conqueror. The second verse stood out to me as we were singing. But it's a picture, one of those pictures of the glory of God, which we will be looking at this morning. Notice what it said in verse 2 in this song. Victor or death and hell, cherubic legions swell. Legions, 12,000 and 12,000 and another 12,000 and another 12,000. Legions of cherubim swell the radiant train, the beautiful train that manifests the glory of God in heaven. Praises all heaven inspire. Each angel sweeps his lyre. Picture it. Picture it, brethren. Each angel sweeps its lyre and claps its wings of fire. We're talking about God, brethren. That's a picture, a picture of God. The holy attributes of the living God, that is our subject for the next three weeks. Brethren, this course is theology in its purest sense. Theology is the study of God. And that is what we will be doing for the next 15 sessions. We are going to do a study of God. Nothing can affect your life more than how you apply yourself to this subject for the next three weeks. I promise you. Nothing will affect your life more than how you apply yourself to this subject. Obviously, God is the foundation of everything that we have to do with. We are going to cause our hearts and minds to meditate on the supreme being called God. And I think that you will all agree with this next statement. We have lost our lofty view of God in this land of ours. And many evils have come in because of it. It's not right to just focus on the many evils and say how wrong they are. If we never focus on the reason why the many evils are coming in, we have lost our lofty concept of God. By God's grace, we want to gain a vision of the high and lofty one that inhabiteth eternity. But, we must engage our hearts and seek after God. These sessions are meat and not milk. I don't know how you have viewed the hearing of the word of God in the past. Maybe you have felt, okay, preacher, feed me, delight me, stir me, envision me, challenge me. But in these sessions, you're going to have to engage your mind. I'm going to give you things that will stretch your mind. And at the first thought of it, you won't know what to think. Don't get discouraged. Engage your mind. You may get a bit discouraged for a few days. I did too. I set myself three months ago to begin studying for this course. And for about the first two weeks, I thought I was studying a foreign language. And then all of a sudden, it all started falling into place. And it will also be that way with you. So, don't get discouraged and don't turn off. When you find yourself being stretched, that means you get more intent to listen, to think. What is he saying? What does that mean? I must confess that I have been disheartened a few times in my preparation for this. And I found myself talking to God about it and saying, Oh, Lord, what have I done? I am not fit to do this. Here I am. I am now stuck. I must do what I planned already to do. And I must confess that I felt a bit shallow as I was studying. So, if you feel shallow, don't worry about it. I also feel the same way. The nature of God is that way. No matter how much you know, as you gaze into His glorious attributes, you will come away feeling very shallow. I think that's how Isaiah felt when he got a glimpse of the glory of God. I think that's how Isaiah felt. And I think that we are going to feel that way also. Well, let's get on with the title of the first session here. Visions of the Glory of God. In order for us to consider the title of the first session, we must head for one of our definitions. One of the definitions that we have written on your paper there is a definition of the glory of God. The glory of God is the bright outshining of God's nature. The bright outshining of God's nature. It is God's holy character manifesting itself. Now, I want you to get that. I want that to be in your heart. As you read in the Bible, you'll find that phrase many, many times in the Bible. The glory of God. I don't know what you think of when you find that phrase. But it is the bright outshining of God's nature. It is God's holy character manifesting itself. And I will prove that to you in the Scriptures as we go. Maybe you think that the glory of God is something beautiful. Maybe that's what comes into your mind when you see that phrase in the Bible. The glory of God. Oh, it must be something beautiful. Well, it is. It is something beautiful. But it is much more than something beautiful. Maybe you think that it is something bright and shining. And it is. But it's much more than something bright and shining. You see, God is not a bunch of pretty colors. Although as we read today, we will see colors. But God is not a bunch of pretty colors. He's much more than that. God is beautiful. God is radiant. God is bright and shining. God is light like you've never ever seen. God is a bunch of beautiful colors. But what is it that makes Him all of this? It is the outshining of His holy character. That's what makes God all of those things. You see, when the Bible says that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. The Bible is not saying that God is like a light. Turn on the light bulb. No. God's light is more than that. When the Bible says that God is light, it is speaking about the fullness of the manifestation of all the character of Almighty God. Shining out of Him. God is light. And in Him is no darkness at all. So what is it that makes God beautiful? It is the outshining of His holy character. Manifesting itself. Turn with me to Exodus chapter thirty-three. In Exodus chapter thirty-three. Ah, one of my favorite portions of Scripture. Moses said something wonderful. Moses prayed one of the most life-changing prayers that a man could pray. He had an audience with God. God was listening. He was speaking with God face to face. And he knew he had an audience with God. And he thought, I've got an audience with God. I'm going to ask Him. I'm going to ask Him a big prayer. In Exodus chapter thirty-three. We're breaking in here in verse eighteen. Moses said, I beseech Thee, show me Thy glory. I beg You Lord, show me Thy glory. What do you think Moses was praying when he prayed that? Lord? Do you think he was thinking, Lord, I know that You're beautiful. And I know that You're colorful. And I know that You're radiant. Give me something neat to look at, God. Do you think that's what he was praying? I don't think that's what he was praying. See, it's a few verses before that. It says that God talked with Moses face to face. In a cloud. Hiding himself in a cloud. But God talked to Moses face to face. I want you to notice the words that God gave to Moses in response to his plea. In verse nineteen. And he, God, said, I will make all my goodness pass before Thee. And I will proclaim the name of the Lord before Thee. Now, God is going to show Moses His glory. But what is His glory? I will make all my goodness pass before Thee. And I will proclaim the name of the Lord. And will be gracious to whom I will be gracious. And will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. And he said, God said, Thou canst not see my face. Moses, I'm going to give you a little more insight into who I am. You cannot see my face. For there shall no man see me and live. Well, you're asking a very big question, Moses. Your prayer is a very big prayer. Show me Thy glory. No man can look into my face and see all of my glory. All at one time and live. And the Lord said, Behold, there is a place by me. And thou shalt stand upon a rock. And it shall come to pass while my glory passeth by. That I will put thee in a cleft of the rock. And will cover thee with my hand while I pass by. And I will take mine hand, take away mine hand. And thou shalt see my back parts. But my face shall not be seen. Here we get a glimpse into the nature of God. You can't see my face, God says. No man, sinful man, corrupted man, fallen man can see my face and live. The pure holy angels can. The seraphim, the cherubim, they can. But sinful man cannot. Why? Because it is the outshining of all of God's character. Picture it. What God says. Okay, Moses. I hear your prayer. I hear. This is what we're gonna do. There's a place by me. And a rock by me. And a cleft in that rock. And I'm gonna pass by you with all my glory. But just so you know what's going on. When I come, I'm going to put my hand out in front. And block my glory as I go by. And when I get by you, I'll take my hand away and you can see my backside. That's all the glory you can handle, Moses. It's the outshining of God that comes out from His hinder parts. It's not that God is some big fire and that you'll get burnt by looking at Him. It's not that God is some monster and you'll be scared by looking at Him. It's that God is such a holy righteous God. If all of His character and all of His divine attributes are shining out of Him all at once out of His face. If you look at it, you can't live. That's how Moses got it from God. But we get some insight into the character of God just from that phrase that God gave to Moses. So, when God goes by Moses, what does Moses see? Does he see something beautiful? I think so. I'm sure he was in awe at what he saw. Does he see something radiant? I think so too. I think it was very light and glowing, even God's hinder parts, that Moses saw. But he saw much more than that. He saw who God is. That's what Moses saw. And somehow, by God's grace, that's what we want to do in these next three weeks. We want to see who God is. And yes, it was radiant and it was beautiful. And He is radiant and He is beautiful. But He is holy. Again, turn with me over to Exodus 19. Now, in Exodus 19, and we're going to read from verse 14 through 19, this is the place, the account, where God is preparing the children of Israel to hear His law, His ten commandments. God is wanting to make an impression on the children of Israel. He wants them to hear His voice. And they, the children of Israel, heard God's voice speaking the ten commandments. And it was so awesome to them that they went to Moses afterwards and said, Not again. Not again. You go hear His voice. And come back and tell us what He said and we'll do it. That was just His voice. They couldn't bear even His voice. In Exodus chapter 24 and verse 17, it gives an account of what this is that we're going to read. Moses, or God, looking back says, And the sight of the glory of the Lord was like devouring fire on the top of the mountain. Now, we're going to read about this, but I want you to notice that God is calling this scene the glory of the Lord. The sight of the glory of the Lord. Exodus 19 and verse 14. And Moses went down from the mount unto the people, and sanctified the people, and they washed their clothes. And he said unto the people, Be ready against the third day. Come not at your wives. And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud, so that all the people that was in the camp trembled. They're in the camp. And they hear this sound. And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the nether part of the mount. Now, we need to picture this. Put yourself in their shoes to hear this morning. All of this is happening. They're all in their tents right now. And God comes down upon Mount Sinai. And the cloud covers the mountain. I mean, a mountain, you know, it's big. So they can all see it. You know, they're very small compared to this mountain. God comes down on this mountain in a cloud. And there's fire, and there's smoke, and there's thunder, and there's lightning, and there's the sound of a trumpet, and it's exceedingly loud, and they're all getting ready. How do you think you would be getting ready that morning? You look outside your tent, that's what you see. Moses said, Prepare ourselves. Get rid of your earrings. Get rid of this. Wash, you know, put on new clothes, clean clothes. And you hear this sound. You look out your tent, and this whole thing is over there trembling. I mean, God has their attention. And Mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire. And the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly. That means it's shaking. Just go with me. Now Moses calls them out of their tents to the nether side of the mountain. And as they are getting close to this mountain, the ground is shaking underneath them. While they're walking, they feel the ground shaking. Why? Because God came down on that mountain. And just like it says in the Scriptures, when God comes down on the mountain, the mountain quakes. Because the God who made the mountain is on the mountain. And these people are walking up. They're not allowed to go on the mountain, but they're walking up to the edge of this mountain, and everything is shaking while they're walking. And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long and waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice. The people saw the glory of God, and they trembled. In this portion of Scripture, and in others we will see, God hides Himself in a dark cloud, and warns the people of the danger of getting near to Him. And He warned Moses and said, Don't let anyone, not even an animal, touch that mountain, for if they touch that mountain, they will die. You may look at that and say, Whoa, what does that mean? Well, by the end of these three weeks, you'll understand, that statement was an expression of one of God's attributes. Not all of them, but one of them. And we need to understand that attribute, so that we can understand why, if you step on that mountain, you die. The people saw the glory of God, and they trembled, and they feared. The people saw the glory of God when they heard Him speak like a trumpet. And the glory of God was manifested as the voice of God gave those Ten Commandments. Can you imagine being there, hearing that voice that sounded like a trumpet, giving the Ten Commandments? God's holy, righteous character is manifested all over this portion of Scripture. Turn with me to Isaiah, and chapter 6. In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and His train filled the temple. Remember that radiant train? Swelling the radiant train, His train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims. Each one had six wings. With twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. We're getting a glimpse again of the glory of God. And one cried unto another and said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is full of His glory. There it is again. The whole earth is full of His glory. Is it the green grass? Is it the bright, beautiful, shining star? Is it the majestic mountain? Yes and no. It is the majestic mountain. But it's the holy character that God, His own holy character, that He stamped on that majestic mountain. Have you seen it lately? The whole earth is full of manifestations of God's holy character. Have you seen it? Oh, we just walk by it. Oh hum, oh hum. Green grass, blue sky. The whole earth is filled with a revelation of God's holy character. Do you see what I mean about learning those definitions? Isaiah is seeing the Lord high and lifted up. And he sees these creatures called seraphims with six wings. And the posts of the door moved at the voice of Him that cried. This is not God's voice. This is just one of those angels. They have pretty powerful voices too. And the house was filled with smoke. Then said I, Woe is me, for I, I am undone. Because I am a man of unclean lips. And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips. For mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. We don't get a lot of detail here on what Isaiah saw. But we only know that it was awesome by Isaiah's response. It was awesome by Isaiah's response. Woe is me, I am undone. Ezekiel chapter 1 In this chapter and in those other accounts that we've just read, we have what theologians call a theophany. Theol meaning God. Phany meaning a manifestation. Or a manifestation of God. A theophany. In verse 1, Ezekiel says, I saw visions of God. And also in verse 28, he uses this phrase, the likeness of the glory of God. So again, Ezekiel saw the glory of God. I saw the outshining of God's holy attributes. Ezekiel said. And I fell on my face. In your first reading of this chapter, you may not see the glory of God. But I guarantee you, by the end of these three weeks, you will see the glory of God in this chapter. But in your first reading, you may just see some scary creatures and a beautiful throne. But it will not be that way, I trust, at the end of the three weeks. I trust at the end you will be able to see God's beautiful, majestic character all through it all. And when I read this chapter, and we are going to read this chapter, only one word describes this scene. Awesome. Awesome. Some. I studied that word. I can't use that word in any other way but about God anymore. I studied that word. In fact, I went to Webster's 1828 Dictionary. It's not even in there. Awesome is not in the 1828 Dictionary. The word you find there in the 1828 Dictionary is the word awful. But that word has changed. Now that's a bad word. How do you feel? Oh, I feel awful. How was your weekend? It was awful. That's a bad word. But in 1828, that was the word awesome. Filled with awe. That brings us to another one of the definitions. Awesome. Full of awe. Listen. Fear mingled with admiration and reverence. That's what it means to be full of awe. Fear mingled with admiration or reverence. Dread inspired by greatness. These are words defining awesome. You know, once I studied that word, it seemed sacrilegious to me to say, Oh, that was awesome pizza. Isn't it? Oh, that was awesome pizza. No, it wasn't. No, it wasn't. This is a word that belongs only to God. Only God is awesome. Only God fills the heart full of awe. Only God fills the heart with fear, mingled with admiration and reverence. Only God does that. Amen? We know that. Only God. Let's read here. Now, it came to pass in the thirteenth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives, I'm sorry, it's the thirtieth year, as I was among the captives by the river Kebar, that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God. In the fifth day of the month, which was the fifth year of King Jehoiakim's captivity. And the word of the Lord came expressly unto Ezekiel, the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Kebar. And the hand of the Lord was there upon him. And I, Ezekiel, looked. And behold, a whirlwind came. A big storm. Remember? Remember? God hides Himself in thick darkness. So all Ezekiel sees first is a whirlwind. A storm. He sees this thing coming. Out of the north, a great cloud. And that would be enough to put some fear in anybody's heart. But this cloud had a fire in it. There was a fire enfolding itself, and a brightness was about it. And out of the midst thereof, as the color of amber, out of the midst of the fire. So this is a different kind of cloud. It's got a fire in it. Not just lightning. I mean, that's kind of frightful at times anyway, isn't it? Have you ever been in one of those storms? That can be frightful all by itself. But this isn't a cloud with a little lightning shooting out here or there. No. It's way more than that. This is a cloud that is coming, that is on fire. It's enfolding itself in fire. And in the center of it, it is like the color of amber. You know, if you've ever seen metal that's stuck in the fire, and it's stuck in there so long that it begins to glow like amber or orange red. That's what the cloud looked like. Also out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living creatures. Now, when you see four living creatures walk out of a fire like that, that's going to get your attention. Four living creatures. And this was their appearance. They had the likeness of a man. In other words, they stood upright. As we're going to see, they don't look very much like a man other than that they stand upright. And everyone had four faces. And everyone had four wings. And their feet were straight feet. And the soles of their feet was like the sole of a calf's foot. And they sparkled like the color of burnished brass. Now, they look just like that glowing storm cloud. They've come out of that glowing storm cloud. And now there they are standing. They sparkle. They glisten. They glow like metal that's just about ready to break out of its solid form and melt into its liquid form. That's the way they look. What odd looking creatures. And they had hands. They had the hands of a man under their wings on their four sides. And they four had their faces and their wings. Their wings were joined one to another. They turned not when they went. They went every one straight forward. Now, imagine that. If we want to go somewhere, we have to turn and go this way. Or if I want to go that way, I have to turn and go this way. But not these creatures. They could go all four directions just like that. If you've got a face here, they could go this way, that way, this way, that way, and they didn't turn. As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a man and the face of a lion on the right side. And they four had the face of an ox on the left side. They four also had the face of an eagle. Thus were their faces. And their wings were stretched upward. Two wings of every one were joined one to another. And two covered their bodies. And they went every one straight forward whither the spirit was to go. They went and they turned not when they went. They were four, yet they were almost like they were one. And wherever the spirit said to go, they went. I mean, what a picture of instant obedience. Not even a turning to go. But whither the spirit wanted them to go, that's the way they went. As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire. That's what they looked like. And like the appearance of lamps, it went up and down among the living creatures. And the fire was bright. And out of the fire went forth lightning. Now you have to imagine that. This is what Ezekiel saw. Lightning, fire. Creatures? Yeah, A.W. Tozer called them fire burners. Or beings on fire. Wow, I like that. May God make us fire burners. Or beings that are on fire. They were on fire. They were on fire for God. And they were on fire physically. Don't doubt it. It was both. I guarantee you. The one made the other. They were on fire for God. And they were on fire physically. It was a little bit like Moses, you know, when he went up there. He got the commandments, the laws from God. And he came down. And the first time he came down, he didn't realize, but he was on fire. Wasn't he? He had been in the presence of God so long. And his face shone out. It glowed. And they said, wow, they were afraid of him. And they ran away. He's been hanging around up there where the cherubims and the seraphims hang around for a long time. And he's now beginning to glow like the seraphim glows. And everybody ran away from him. And the living creatures ran and returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning. Talk about instant obedience again. They were over there. Now they're over there. Now they're over here. And Ezekiel's standing there. He's watching this. Back over here. Just like that. Whatever the Spirit of God said, they were there. Now over here. And Ezekiel was amazed at these creatures. Now as I beheld the living creatures, behold, one wheel upon the earth by the living creatures with his four faces. The appearance of the wheels and their work was like under the color of beryl. That's glowing green. Now we have amber, which is glowing yellow-orange. And we have fire, which is a glowing red-orange. Now we have green. A beautiful glowing green. And therefore had one likeness. And their appearance and their work was, as it were, a wheel in the middle of a wheel. Now I first thought as you read that, you might think, okay, here's a wheel. Let me just get a marker up here. Here's a wheel. And here's a wheel. A wheel in the middle of a wheel. But I've spent about a whole day in this chapter, and as I've been thinking about those wheels, I believe it's more like this. Kind of interlocked with each other. And you'll see why as we read on a little bit further. That's how they were able to go this way without turning, and that way without turning. Wheel in the middle of the wheel. When they went, they went upon their four sides, and they turned not when they went. As for their rings, they were so high that they were dreadful. Or their circumference, so high, Ezekiel looked at these huge wheels, and dread filled his heart as he looked upon them. And their rings were full of eyes round about them four. Now that's a very different thing. We think of a wheel, tires, something that rolls, and here all of a sudden now we get a glimpse of a heavenly wheel, and this wheel is alive. It's not just some wheel that rolls something. This wheel is alive. You say, Brother, I can't figure that. I told you you were going to get your mind stretched. Stretch your mind. We're in heaven. This is heavenly. Things in heaven are very different than things here on this earth. A wheel that's alive, and it has eyes in it looking out at you. Seems to me like everything in heaven has eyes. Did you read in the book of Revelation? There were eyes on their wings, and there were eyes on their backs, and eyes looking out at you. And when the living creatures went, think about it, these creatures, and by the way, these creatures were not scary. You know, our humanness, we think, well, it sounds like something out of a science fiction book, you know. These creatures were not scary. Guaranteed. You know why? The nature of God shined out of them. They were not scary. Psalm 104 verse 4 says, "...who maketh His angels spirits, His ministers of flaming fire." Here we have some of God's ministers. Flaming fires. And living wheels. How mysterious. Full of eyes. Glowing green in color. Let's read on. And when the living creatures went, the wheels went by them. And when the living creatures were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up. Whithersoever the spirit was to go, they went thither. They went. Thither was their spirit to go. And the wheels were lifted up over against them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. I don't understand. Neither do I. I don't need to understand. But I'll tell you something, brethren, that we do need to do. Whether we understand it or not, we need to believe it. We need to put it in a reality box. Not an unreality box. We need to put it in a reality box. This is not science fiction. This is a glimpse into heaven. And it doesn't make sense to my mind. But it doesn't have to make sense to my mind. There it is. The spirit of a living creature was in the wheels. Now, I want you to notice this also. And when those went, these went. When those, the creatures went, these, the wheels went. And when those, the creatures stood, these, the wheels stood. And when those were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up over against them, for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels. I want you to notice also in the next verse, and the likeness of the firmament upon the heads of the living creature, singular. Now, we have four living creatures. But it seems like the text changes from four to one. And that may seem odd to you, but in heaven, it goes that way. There's no division in heaven. No church splits in heaven. No one wanting to rise up over the other. No one wanting glory over the other. There's none of that. It's just like, Oh, God sends me to do something and I'm one. I go and do it. God sends us four to go do something. These four become one and we go and do it. That's the way it is in heaven. For the spirit of God is in those living creatures. And the spirit of God is one. What a beautiful picture of unity. Some of the commentators call this God's chariot. Or a chariot for the throne of God. We're moving out of the creatures and into what the creatures were carrying. They're carrying a throne. A chariot for God's throne. And the likeness of the firmament upon the heads of the living creatures was as the color of terrible crystal or glowing crystal. Crystal that glows. Stretch forth over their heads above and under the firmament were their wings straight. The one toward the other. Every one had two, which covered on this side. And every one had two, which covered on that side of their bodies. And when they went, I heard the noise of their wings like the noise of great waters, as the voice of the Almighty, the voice of speech, as the noise of the host, when they stood and let down their wings. A spance, a firmament. Something that they're holding up. These four creatures. Something that they're holding up. Imagine it. What a beautiful picture of a firmament. Imagine what Ezekiel was seeing there. As he is describing this firmament and these living creatures. As we said, some commentators call it God's chariot. And even in the Psalms, you'll find that phrase being used that he rideth on a chariot through the clouds. But imagine the picture, the scene of this. This glorious chariot. Four fire burners. Four fiery creatures with wings. And their wings are holding up this immense firmament. This firmament of terrible crystal or clear crystal that is glowing like fire. And I don't know what that looks like. And that's a beautiful picture as we see it. But my brethren, this morning, that picture is only secondary. That's just that holy creature which carries God's throne. That's all it is. And I can imagine Ezekiel as he's there and he's looking at all of this, that yes, he's captivated by these creatures, but as his eyes begin to go up and he sees them and he looks up at them and then he sees this beautiful firmament and he's captivated by the firmament, but his eyes continue to go upward. And as they go upward more, he sees something more awesome than all of what he's already seen. What does he see? In verse 26, and above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne as the appearance of a sapphire stone. And upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it. Now this is not just a chair sitting on this firmament. This is a throne. This is a throne like no throne we've ever seen. You know, we just read the other day in Family Devotions about Solomon's throne and how his throne was made of ivory and how it had six steps going up to it and six lions on each side and then two lions sitting on each side of the throne and lions going down each one of the steps. And this throne was made out of ivory and it was overlaid with pure gold. It must have been majestic to look at it. This is not at all like that throne. In fact, my dear brethren, that throne in Solomon's day was simply a picture and a type of this throne which is the throne of the God of the universe. That's what Ezekiel saw. A throne. A blue throne. I like blue. That's my favorite color. A blue throne. A sapphire blue throne. A sapphire blue that glows from within. I mean, come on brethren, in heaven they paved the streets with gold. That's blacktop in heaven. This is a sapphire blue throne that glows from within. And sitting on the throne, the likeness as the appearance of a man. And I saw as the color of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it. From the appearance of his loins even upward and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire and it had brightness round about it. As the appearance of a bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face. And I heard a voice of one that spake. I want to remind you, brethren, nobody needed to tell Ezekiel, fall on your face. This is God's throne. There's nothing else that he could do but fall on his face. And there's nothing else that any of us could do but fall on our face. He saw the likeness of the glory of God. He saw a throne. He saw one as the appearance of a man sitting upon that throne. And again, fire. Fire. Amber. Here is one sitting on the throne, the appearance of a man, but yet it's like amber. It's like this man, this appearance of a man sitting on the throne is like hot metal that's glowing. And the whole throne is surrounded with a beautiful rainbow. But brethren, it's not like any rainbow you've ever seen. And I've seen some beautiful ones, and maybe you have too. Those times when, you know, clouds come through, and rain is there, and yet the sun starts coming at the same time, and there's some beautiful rainbows. But this one is nothing like anything you've ever seen before. These colors glow! They glow with heaven's glory! They glow with heaven's brightness! They glow with heaven's colors like no colors we've ever seen! Now picture this thing all together now. Here they are, these creatures. Glowing creatures. Fiery burners with wings. Two of them up like this. And two of them like this. Get the picture? Humble. Humble. Holding up this expanse, this firmament, this crystal, fiery crystal firmament. And then on top of that, this beautiful blue throne with a fiery appearance of a man sitting on the throne, and a glowing rainbow around about it. That's what he saw. And he fell on his face. What made him fall on his face? Was it the blue? Was it the red? Was it the fire? No. He saw the glory of God. The outshining of God's nature is what he saw. Yes, he saw some things with his eyes, but he saw deeper than that. He had impressions that went so much deeper than what goes into the eyes inside of our head. He saw with the eyes of his heart. He saw the glory of God. He saw the nature of God. He saw God in all of His awesome beauty. And he fell on his face. Job said it this way in Job 42, verses 5 and 6, I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear. That's probably where most of us are at. But now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore, I abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes. And Job doesn't tell us what he saw. But we just see the response. The Apostle Paul had a similar experience as he was on the road to Damascus. And suddenly, there was a gray light appeared. And he also fell on his face. And the glory of that light which Paul saw blinded his eyes. And I'm not sure if I can prove it, but someday we'll see. I think that it kind of half-blinded him the rest of his life. The glory of God. Why else would Paul be saying, who art thou, Lord? See, he didn't just see a bright light. A bright light. There are a dime a dozen. Right? He didn't just see a bright light. Who art thou, Lord? He knew he was in the presence of deity. And his response, and it's the only response, and the normal response was, with his blinded eyes, he said, down on his face, what will thou have me to do? All right. Let's bow for prayer. Lord, we don't understand, but we believe. It puts all in our hearts. That's okay. We want it. I pray, God, you will continue to show us who you are. That's our prayer, Father. Show us who you are. That we may become like thee. In Jesus' name. Amen.