Wheels, Wings, and Wild Visions: Ezekiel Doesn't Hold Back

Ezekiel doesn't ease you in. I opened to chapter one expecting maybe some standard prophetic warnings, but instead got something that reads more like science fiction: creatures with four faces, wings that touch each other, and wheels that seem to be alive.

I had to reread it a few times to even begin picturing what he was describing. Even then, I'm not entirely sure I've got it right.

Meet the Creatures: Part Beast, Part Symbol

These "living beings" each have four faces—human, lion, ox, and eagle. I think these might connect to the gospel writers somehow, though I'm not completely sure about that connection. They move together as one unit, accompanied by wheels that Ezekiel describes as "a wheel within a wheel."

I tried sketching it out to help myself visualize it, but honestly, that just made me more confused about the logistics of the whole thing.

I keep wondering what Ezekiel's original audience made of this vision. Did the imagery make more sense in their cultural context, or were they just as puzzled as I am? It's hard to know whether I'm missing something obvious or if this description is meant to be overwhelming by design. There's something universal about trying to describe an experience that goes beyond normal categories, though. We've all been there.

Wheels That Watch

The detail that really stuck with me was this: "The rims of the four wheels were tall and frightening, and they were covered with eyes all around." Eyes on wheels. It's unsettling in a way that's hard to shake. Like if your car suddenly started watching you—there's something fundamentally wrong about objects that observe. Maybe that's the point? A way of showing divine awareness that sees everything, even from the most unexpected places?

Above all this sits a throne, and on it a figure that Ezekiel describes as having the appearance of a man, glowing with fire and light. What strikes me is how tentative his language becomes here—lots of "looked like" and "something like" and "appearance of." It reads like someone reaching for words that don't quite exist. I can relate to that feeling of trying to describe something that exceeds your vocabulary.

When Description Breaks Down

The whole vision has this quality of pushing against the limits of language. Whether you read this as spiritual experience or symbolic literature, there's something honest about Ezekiel's struggle to capture it in words.

Rather than building up to the mystical stuff, Ezekiel opens with his most bewildering vision. Whatever message follows, it begins with a moment designed to exceed normal understanding. I closed the chapter feeling like I'd glimpsed something important that I couldn't quite grasp. Which might be exactly the response Ezekiel was going for.