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On the fifth day of the fourth month of the thirtieth year, I, Ezekiel the priest, son of Buzi, was living with the Jewish exiles by the Chebar River in Babylonia. The sky opened, and I saw a vision of God.
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(It was the fifth year since King Jehoiachin had been taken into exile.)
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There in Babylonia beside the Chebar River, I heard the LORD speak to me, and I felt his power.
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I looked up and saw a windstorm coming from the north. Lightning was flashing from a huge cloud, and the sky around it was glowing. Where the lightning was flashing, something shone like bronze.
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At the center of the storm I saw what looked like four living creatures in human form,
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but each of them had four faces and four wings.
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Their legs were straight, and they had hoofs like those of a bull. They shone like polished bronze.
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In addition to their four faces and four wings, they each had four human hands, one under each wing.
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Two wings of each creature were spread out so that the creatures formed a square, with their wing tips touching. When they moved, they moved as a group without turning their bodies.
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Each living creature had four different faces: a human face in front, a lion's face at the right, a bull's face at the left, and an eagle's face at the back.
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Two wings of each creature were raised so that they touched the tips of the wings of the creatures next to it, and their other two wings were folded against their bodies.
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Each creature faced all four directions, and so the group could go wherever they wished, without having to turn.
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Among the creatures there was something that looked like a blazing torch, constantly moving. The fire would blaze up and shoot out flashes of lightning.
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The creatures themselves darted back and forth with the speed of lightning.
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As I was looking at the four creatures I saw four wheels touching the ground, one beside each of them.
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All four wheels were alike; each one shone like a precious stone, and each had another wheel intersecting it at right angles,
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so that the wheels could move in any of the four directions.
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The rims of the wheels were covered with eyes.
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Whenever the creatures moved, the wheels moved with them, and if the creatures rose up from the earth, so did the wheels.
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The creatures went wherever they wished, and the wheels did exactly what the creatures did, because the creatures controlled them.
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So every time the creatures moved or stopped or rose in the air, the wheels did exactly the same.
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Above the heads of the creatures there was something that looked like a dome made of dazzling crystal.
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There under the dome stood the creatures, each stretching out two wings toward the ones next to it and covering its body with the other two wings.
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I heard the noise their wings made in flight; it sounded like the roar of the sea, like the noise of a huge army, like the voice of Almighty God. When they stopped flying, they folded their wings,
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but there was still a sound coming from above the dome over their heads.
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Above the dome there was something that looked like a throne made of sapphire, and sitting on the throne was a figure that looked like a human being.
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The figure seemed to be shining like bronze in the middle of a fire. It shone all over with a bright light
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that had in it all the colors of the rainbow. This was the dazzling light which shows the presence of the LORD. When I saw this, I fell face downward on the ground. Then I heard a voice
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saying, "Mortal man, stand up. I want to talk to you."
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While the voice was speaking, God's spirit entered me and raised me to my feet, and I heard the voice continue,
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"Mortal man, I am sending you to the people of Israel. They have rebelled and turned against me and are still rebels, just as their ancestors were.
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They are stubborn and do not respect me, so I am sending you to tell them what I, the Sovereign LORD, am saying to them.
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Whether those rebels listen to you or not, they will know that a prophet has been among them.
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"But you, mortal man, must not be afraid of them or of anything they say. They will defy and despise you; it will be like living among scorpions. Still, don't be afraid of those rebels or of anything they say.
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You will tell them whatever I tell you to say, whether they listen or not. Remember what rebels they are.
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"Mortal man, listen to what I tell you. Don't be rebellious like them. Open your mouth and eat what I am going to give you."
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I saw a hand reaching out toward me, and it was holding a scroll.
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The hand unrolled the scroll, and I saw that there was writing on both sides---cries of grief were written there, and wails and groans.
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God said, "Mortal man, eat this scroll; then go and speak to the people of Israel."
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So I opened my mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat.
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He said, "Mortal man, eat this scroll that I give you; fill your stomach with it." I ate it, and it tasted as sweet as honey.
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Then God said, "Mortal man, go to the people of Israel and say to them whatever I tell you to say.
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I am not sending you to a nation that speaks a difficult foreign language, but to the Israelites.
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If I sent you to great nations that spoke difficult languages you didn't understand, they would listen to you.
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But none of the people of Israel will be willing to listen; they will not even listen to me. All of them are stubborn and defiant.
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Now I will make you as stubborn and as tough as they are.
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I will make you as firm as a rock, as hard as a diamond; don't be afraid of those rebels."
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God continued, "Mortal man, pay close attention and remember everything I tell you.
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Then go to the people of your nation who are in exile and tell them what I, the Sovereign LORD, am saying to them, whether they pay attention to you or not."
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Then God's spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me the loud roar of a voice that said, "Praise the glory of the LORD in heaven above!"
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I heard the wings of the creatures beating together in the air, and the noise of the wheels, as loud as an earthquake.
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The power of the LORD came on me with great force, and as his spirit carried me off, I felt bitter and angry.
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So I came to Tel Abib beside the Chebar River, where the exiles were living, and for seven days I stayed there, overcome by what I had seen and heard.
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After the seven days had passed, the LORD spoke to me.
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"Mortal man," he said, "I am making you a lookout for the nation of Israel. You will pass on to them the warnings I give you.
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If I announce that someone evil is going to die but you do not warn him to change his ways so that he can save his life, he will die, still a sinner, but I will hold you responsible for his death.
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If you do warn an evil man and he doesn't stop sinning, he will die, still a sinner, but your life will be spared.
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"If someone truly good starts doing evil and I put him in a dangerous situation, he will die if you do not warn him. He will die because of his sins---I will not remember the good he did---and I will hold you responsible for his death.
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If you do warn a good man not to sin and he listens to you and doesn't sin, he will stay alive, and your life will also be spared."
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I felt the powerful presence of the LORD and heard him say to me, "Get up and go out into the valley. I will talk to you there."
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So I went out into the valley, and there I saw the glory of the LORD, just as I had seen it beside the Chebar River. I fell face downward on the ground,
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but God's spirit entered me and raised me to my feet. The LORD said to me, "Go home and shut yourself up in the house.
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You will be tied with ropes, mortal man, and you will not be able to go out in public.
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I will paralyze your tongue so that you won't be able to warn these rebellious people.
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Then, when I speak to you again and give you back the power of speech, you will tell them what I, the Sovereign LORD, am saying. Some of them will listen, but some will ignore you, for they are a nation of rebels."
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"To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: "This is the message from the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand and who walks among the seven gold lampstands.
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I know what you have done; I know how hard you have worked and how patient you have been. I know that you cannot tolerate evil people and that you have tested those who say they are apostles but are not, and have found out that they are liars.
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You are patient, you have suffered for my sake, and you have not given up.
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But this is what I have against you: you do not love me now as you did at first.
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Think how far you have fallen! Turn from your sins and do what you did at first. If you don't turn from your sins, I will come to you and take your lampstand from its place.
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But this is what you have in your favor: you hate what the Nicolaitans do, as much as I do.
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"If you have ears, then, listen to what the Spirit says to the churches! "To those who win the victory I will give the right to eat the fruit of the tree of life that grows in the Garden of God.
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"To the angel of the church in Smyrna write: "This is the message from the one who is the first and the last, who died and lived again.
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I know your troubles; I know that you are poor---but really you are rich! I know the evil things said against you by those who claim to be Jews but are not; they are a group that belongs to Satan!
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Don't be afraid of anything you are about to suffer. Listen! The Devil will put you to the test by having some of you thrown into prison, and your troubles will last ten days. Be faithful to me, even if it means death, and I will give you life as your prize of victory.
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"If you have ears, then, listen to what the Spirit says to the churches! "Those who win the victory will not be hurt by the second death.
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"To the angel of the church in Pergamum write: "This is the message from the one who has the sharp two-edged sword.
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I know where you live, there where Satan has his throne. You are true to me, and you did not abandon your faith in me even during the time when Antipas, my faithful witness, was killed there where Satan lives.
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But there are a few things I have against you: there are some among you who follow the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak how to lead the people of Israel into sin by persuading them to eat food that had been offered to idols and to practice sexual immorality.
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In the same way you have people among you who follow the teaching of the Nicolaitans.
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Now turn from your sins! If you don't, I will come to you soon and fight against those people with the sword that comes out of my mouth.
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"If you have ears, then, listen to what the Spirit says to the churches! "To those who win the victory I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give each of them a white stone on which is written a new name that no one knows except the one who receives it.
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"To the angel of the church in Thyatira write: "This is the message from the Son of God, whose eyes blaze like fire, whose feet shine like polished brass.
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I know what you do. I know your love, your faithfulness, your service, and your patience. I know that you are doing more now than you did at first.
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But this is what I have against you: you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a messenger of God. By her teaching she misleads my servants into practicing sexual immorality and eating food that has been offered to idols.
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I have given her time to repent of her sins, but she does not want to turn from her immorality.
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And so I will throw her on a bed where she and those who committed adultery with her will suffer terribly. I will do this now unless they repent of the wicked things they did with her.
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I will also kill her followers, and then all the churches will know that I am the one who knows everyone's thoughts and wishes. I will repay each of you according to what you have done.
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"But the rest of you in Thyatira have not followed this evil teaching; you have not learned what the others call 'the deep secrets of Satan.' I say to you that I will not put any other burden on you.
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But until I come, you must hold firmly to what you have.
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To those who win the victory, who continue to the end to do what I want, I will give the same authority that I received from my Father: I will give them authority over the nations, to rule them with an iron rod and to break them to pieces like clay pots. I will also give them the morning star.
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"If you have ears, then, listen to what the Spirit says to the churches!
