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Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy
Welcome to Day 961 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.
I am Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom
Bizarre Visions for the Worst of Times - Wisdom Wednesday


Thank you for joining us for our five days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. We are broadcasting from our studio at ‘The Big House’ in Marietta, OH.  Today is Day 961 of our Trek, and it is Wisdom Wednesday.  Creating a Biblical Worldview is important to have a proper perspective on today’s current events.  To establish a Biblical Worldview, it is required that you also have a proper understanding of God’s Word.  Especially in our western cultures, we do not fully understand the Scriptures from the mindset and culture of the authors.  In order to help us all have a better understanding of some of the more obscure passages in God’s Word, we are investing Wisdom Wednesday reviewing a series of essays from one of today’s most prominent Hebrew Scholars Dr. Micheal S. Heiser.  He has compiled these essays into a book titled  ’I Dare You Not to Bore Me With the Bible.’

If we are not studying God’s Word regularly and living by His precepts, we may have a very tainted perspective of God from some of the Old Testament passages. Today’s essay will explore:
Bizarre Visions for the Worst of Times
We are prone to make assumptions about God and His favor towards us when life has us down due to sin, mistakes, or incomprehensible circumstances. Of all the Scripture passages we might turn to during these times, the bizarre vision that opens the book of Ezekiel would not register high on our list.  However, reading this passage with its original ancient context in mind reveals a powerful message
for its original recipients and for every believer.
·       The Babylonian Context
If you have never read the visions contained within the book of Ezekiel, it is an unusual and fascinating read.   Ezekiel had his vision in Babylon as one of the captive exiles (Ezekiel 1:1-3). Comparing his vision to Babylonian iconography reveals that Ezekiel saw a divine '"throne-chariot” of the heavens, widely described in the ancient biblical world. Just as human kings had chariots, so did deities.  It is said that a deity would traverse the heavens in his chariot throne, inspecting his domain and exercising authority over it. In Ezekiel‘s vision, this throne sits above the surface or expanse in Ezekiel 1:26 which is the same word used in Genesis 1:6-8 for the heavens.  Psalms 29:10 and Psalms 150:1 also gives us a snapshot of God's abode.

Back to the divine throne, wheels supported the chariot throne, along with four unusual creatures identified as cherubim in Ezekiel 10:4. Each creature had four faces: human, lion, eagle, and ox (Ezekiel 1:10).  Next to each cherub were four gleaming wheels in Ezekiel 1:15-16. These wheels were set on edge, since they are described as "tall” in Ezekiel 1:18. They had wheels within them—that is, each one had at least one concentric circle within it. The vision describes the outer edge, or "rim,” of each wheel as having “eyes,” which is translated from the Hebrew word “Ayin.” The prophet Daniel, who was also in Babylon, described the very same blazing throne with wheels Dan 7:9.
·       The Vision in Context
The four faces of the four animals or cherubim correspond to the iconography of the Babylonian zodiac. Each represents a seasonal constellation in Babylonian astrology, and each face or constellation also represented one of the four directions, North, South, East, and West.  This is also referred to as the quadrants of the sky. Babylonians knew that the heavens were connected to what happened on earth such as times, seasons, crops, and weather.  The Babylonians believed their gods controlled those functions. Information about the stars was laid out on Mesopotamian astrolabes,