Ezek 3.1-27 continues with the account of the commission and his preparation. It will tell us to whom he was sent and what follows. Ezekiel must consume the content of the scroll he has been given before he can communicate it.
v 1…Then he said to me, “Son of man, eat (consume it now) what you find; eat this scroll (study is not casual but repeated as this command is repeated), and go, speak to the house of Israel (teaching them).”
v 2…So I opened my mouth and he fed me this scroll.
v 3…And he said to me, “Son of man, feed your stomach and fill your body with this scroll (the word of God) which I am giving you.” Then I ate it, and it was sweet as honey in my mouth (because it was the word of God-Psa 119.103; Prov 24.13).
v 4…Then he said to me, “Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak with my words to them (not his own words or opinions),
v 5…For you are not being sent to a people of unintelligible speech or a difficult language, but to the house of Israel (his own family and people),
v 6…nor to many peoples of unintelligible speech or difficult language, whose words you cannot understand. But I have sent you (as a shaliach) to them who should listen to you (but won’t);
v 7…yet the house of Israel will not be willing to listen to you, since they are not willing to listen to me. Surely the whole house of Israel is stubborn and obstinate (they will put up a strong front against you).
v 8…Behold, (take note of), I have made your face as hard as their faces (undaunted in resolve, a strong personality), and your forehead as hard as their forehead (a parallelism).
v 9…Like emery (shamir), harder than flint (a rock) I have made your forehead (the seat of the intellect). Do not be afraid of them or dismayed before them, though they are a rebellious house.”
v 10…Moreover he said unto me, “Son of man, take into your heart all my words which I shall speak to you and listen closely.
v 11…And go to the exiles, to the sons of your people, and speak to them and tell them, whether they listen or not, ‘Thus says the Lord God (Yehovah Adonai).'”
v 12…Then the Spirit (ruach) lifted me up (this concludes the Maaseh Merkavah vision), and I heard a great rolling sound behind me, “Blessed be the glory of the Lord (the name Yehovah is written with full vowels in the Aleppo Codex here-the second time is in Ezek 28.22) in his place.”
v 13…And I heard the sound of the wings of the living beings (chaiyot) touching one another (Hebrew “kissed, a woman to her sister” denoting affection and agreement), and the sound of the wheels (ophanim) beside them, even a rumbling sound (a great rushing sound like in Acts 2).
v 14…So the Spirit lifted me up (to start his mission) and took me away, and I went embittered (knowing his message was going to be rejected) in the rage of my spirit (ruach) and the hand of the Lord (Yehovah) was strong on me (enabling him to fulfill his calling. If the Lord calls us to something, he will do this for us, too).
v 15…Then I came to the exiles who lived beside the river (canal) Chebar at Tel-Aviv (mound of green ears, a main city of the exiles), and I sat there seven days where they were living, being appalled among them (at their sad condition and at the powerful things he had to say to them).
v 16…Now it came about at the end of seven days that the word of the Lord (Yehovah) came to me, saying,
v 17…”Son of man, I have appointed (made you) a watchman (to give warning, to see ahead; this ability comes from God and a shepherd did this-Isa 40.11) unto the house of Israel; wherever you hear a word from my mouth, warn them from me (as a “shaliach” or agent of Yehovah he was to repeat exactly every word that he was told to say. No errors were allowed. That’s why if a so-called prophet said anything that did not come to pass or was not true, he was not sent by God. This rules out any so-called prophet today).
v 18…When I say to the wicked (rasha which is like Nabal in 1 Sam 25. There are three categories people are in. The righteous or tzaddikim by faith, then the ordinary sinners or chataim). But the wicked are the rashim), “You shall die” (not just bodily but spiritually for eternity) and you do not warn him or speak out to warn the wicked from his wicked way that he may live, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand (he will answer to Yehovah for his negligence).
v 19…Yet if you have warned the wicked and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered yourself (having done your part).
v 20…Again, when a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity (this is not to be understood as a truly righteous one, but one outwardly towards other people), and I place an obstacle before him (that reveals who he really is, in appearance as a righteous one), he shall die (the second death); since you have not warned him (of his sins), he shall die in his sin, and his righteous deeds which he has done (as defined by the Torah) shall not be remembered (will not save him, no account of them taken), but his blood will I require at your hand (answer for his negligence).
v 21…However, if you have warned the righteous man that the righteous should not sin, and he does not sin (the warning moved him to follow the Torah), he shall live because he took warning; and you have delivered yourself (in 1 John 3.4-12 we have four different words for ‘sin” and understanding these differences will help us understand those verses, but also Ezek 3.18-21. The Greek word “amarteaon” means sins or sinful acts, offense or sin. The base verb, amartano means to miss the mark, to sin, with indication of the result that it doesn’t lead to death. This and the next three definitions are taken from the classic Greek lexicon by Walter Bauer, augmented by William F. Arndt, F.W. Gingrich and Frederick Danker, a Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, London, England: The University of Chicago Press, 1979, p 42, section 5. The Greek word “amarteas” or “amarteah”, is the sin nature, the Adamic nature, the conditions of sinful man. The action itself as well as its results; every departure from the way of righteousness. In John’s writings, this word is used as a condition or characteristic iniquity of man’s condition. In Paul’s letters men serve it in Rom 6.6, are slaves in Rom 6.17, 20 and it dwells in man. In Hebrews as well as the Old Testament, sin appears as the power that deceives men and leads them to destruction. The Greek word “amartanay” or “amartanain” means to direct a sin against someone. It is used as a special condition or offense directed towards God. The Greek word “amartano” is a great sin or special sins that lead to death).
v 22…And the hand of the Lord (Yehovah) was on me there (at Tel-Aviv-a fresh impulse of the purpose of God), and he said to me, “Get up, go out to the plain (in the valley below Tel-Aviv) and there I will speak to you.”
v 23…So I got up and went out to the plain; and behold (he took note of), the glory (kivod/weight) of the Lord (Yehovah) was standing there, like the glory (kivod/weight) which I saw by the river (canal) Chebar, and I fell on my face (overcome by the weight of the vision).
v 24…Then the Spirit (ruach) entered me (gave him a fresh impulse on the purposes of God) and made me stand on my feet, and he spoke with me and said to me, “Go, shut yourself up in your house.
v 25…As for you, son of man, they (the people) will put ropes on you and bind you with them, so that you cannot go out among them (to converse or prophesy-this was to signify to them that Judah will not be able to go out of Jerusalem when they are under siege by the Babylonians. In truth, the people are obstinate and will not listen to Ezekiel, and they will not accept the fact that Jerusalem and the Temple will be destroyed. They only knew that Yehovah intervened in the past. The false prophets were going to drown out Ezekiel’s words, so he is going to communicate to them through his actions about the terror and destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple, and the coming exile).
v 26…Moreover, I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth so that you will be dumb (no more words-Gen 6.3) and cannot be a man who rebukes them, for they are a rebellious house.
v 27…But when I speak to you, I will open your mouth (loose your tongue), and you will say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’ He who hears, let him hear (perceive the truth and be instructed); and he who refuses, let him refuse (to perceive the truth and not be instructed), for they are a rebellious house.”
Now before we leave Ezek 1 through Ezek 3 and the Merkavah visions, let’s clear up a big misconception that is out there about these chapters. For decades these chapters have been used by UFO and alien researchers to show that the Bible “refers to UFOs and aliens.” But these chapters have nothing to do with that. These chapters are visions of God and the “chariot” of Yehovah called the Masseh Merkavah or “work of the chariot/throne.” A “chariot of God” is how God’s glory is displayed in creation. So, what is the truth about UFOs and aliens?
We live in an “evolutionistic society” or world view that says everything evolved. That makes everything easy to understand and explain. Just look at the movies out there like Star Wars, Close Encounters and Star Trek for instance. They do not put forth the Biblical view of the universe or even think in that direction. Let’s look for aliens in Gen 1.1-31.
Now, are you going to believe what the Torah says, or are you going to fall prey to saying, “It doesn’t mean what it says.” It says the God made “the heavens” where the sun and the moon are. He also made the earth on the first day, which we believe would be Tishri 1 on the Jewish civil calendar. Then in Gen 1.16 it says, “V’et ha kokavim” or “and the stars.” This is the billions and billions of galaxies that we know of, and the ones we cannot even see yet, etc. Yehovah devotes three Hebrew words to all these galaxies, and yet he talks about every inch of this planet like the mountains, seas, plains, valleys, dirt, water, sky, clouds and on and on. Job talks about how he laid the foundation of the earth.
Yehovah makes a distinction in all of this. He minimizes the vast universe to two words in Hebrew, and maximizes the earth and devotes many verses to it. That is the account in Genesis. In Col 1.15 it says the Messiah Yeshua is the image of the invisible God. He is the only God that has ever been seen when he had a body. He is the first born (bekor) of every creature. This means he is the head and sum of all that is, like the word “summit” of a mountain. Yeshua is the creator of Gen 1, as seen in Col 1.16, the majority of which we can’t even see yet, or is invisible. The Bible knew that 3500 years ago when Moses wrote down what Yehovah told him to write. The Scriptures say the earth “hangs on nothing ” in Job 26.7; is circular in Isa 38.8. Science only found that out for sure a few years ago by pictures, well after these verses were written. Everything was created by him and for him, even the good and bad angels.
Col 1.17 says he is before all things, and by him all things consist. Humans are made from the earth, not the stars. Earth is the center of the universe because God’s throne is there, and Jerusalem is the center of the center, and the Temple and the Holy of Holies is the center of the center of the center.-Isa 45.18. 2 Pet 3.5 talks about the creation, and it has the same cosmology as Moses. The universe, or heavens, was created with three words. The Bible never says, “All the planets and people groups, suns, etc.”
Did you know about the concept called the Anthropic Principles? There are dozens of precise measurements in the universe that make man’s life on earth possible. For example, if the sun was any closer to earth we would burn up. If it was farther away we would freeze. It is exactly where it needs to be to support life on earth. If the earth was tilted in a different way the weather would be different. The speed of the rotation of the earth is exactly the way it should be to sustain life. That is just a few examples. These principles are fine tuned for human life, and evolutionists and some scientists can’t explain why the universe has the properties it has. But we can explain it in one word, Yehovah!
There is no other place that can meet all the anthropic principles and qualifiers. 2 Pet 3.6 says that there was a great flood, and that same world is reserved for a future judgment. In 2 Pet 3.7 he adds that the cosmos, or the heavens and earth, are waiting for that judgment, in other words, mankind is waiting. There are no higher intelligences or room in the Scriptures for other life forms. If they exist, Yehovah says nothing about them.
The plan of redemption is about mankind. The angels watch over mankind, and there is no room for aliens in the Scriptures. Many people get their theology from the “white spaces” between the words and insert their own beliefs. Moses, Paul, and Peter believed that man was the center of the universe in the plans of God. God is not limited to our four dimensions, he is above all that. He sees it all going on at the same time. Time is a creation of God and it does not impact God at all-2 Pet 3.8. The day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night and the elements will melt, or change, with fervent heat, including the heavens.
If there is other life forms out there they have a short life expectancy. Only mankind is redeemed by Messiah. Only Yehovah, the angels and mankind will survive-3 Pet 3.11. Then we have a new heaven and a new earth-2 Pet 3.12-13. The redeemed will inhabit the earth in a redeemed universe. Until then, we shall have the curse that has existed since Adam-Rev 21-22. Rom 8.19-22 says, “All creation” eagerly awaits this time when all is redeemed. Yeshua came to die for mankind, and only once-Heb 7.27, 9.26-28, 10.10. If all creation now suffers under a curse, than any life outside of the earth in the universe suffers. If moral beings exist elsewhere, they suffer again when everything changes in 2 Pet 3.10. If they have never sinned, it would be unjust for God to punish them. If they have sinned and Messiah only died for mankind, then they are left in their own sin.
What about the non-moral and non-emotional life on other planets? If all creation groans until the Olam Haba, what purpose would God have in creating them to suffer on other planets? There is extra-terrestrial life out there but it isn’t what many suppose. A natural or supernatural explanation are the only two choices we have to explain aliens or UFOs.
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