LIFE-STUDY OF EZEKIEL
Message 2
Introduction (2)
WEEK 1 - THURSDAY
Scripture Reading: Gen. 28:11-17; 1 Kings 18:46; Ezek. 1:1-3, 40:4; Matt. 3:16-17; Acts 7:56
Read and pray: “And he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven; and behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.” (Gen. 28:12)
THE CONDITIONS FOR SEEING THE VISIONS
Finally, concerning the introduction, in 1:1-3 it is necessary to consider the conditions for seeing the visions.
The heavens are opened
“The heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God” (v. 1b). The opening of the heavens is the special visitation of God. Whenever the people on the earth are one with God, the heavens will be opened to them. In the land of captivity there was a man, Ezekiel, who was mature and who was one with God, and the heavens were opened to him.
Today the principle is the same. We need the heavens to be opened to us; however, for the heavens to be opened in our experience, we need to be Ezekiels. If we are today’s Ezekiels, we will have an opened heaven.
The first time the Bible mentions the heavens being opened was when Jacob was wandering in his attempt to escape from his brother Esau. He had a dream, and in that dream the heavens were opened to him (Gen. 28:11-17). This meant that God intended to gain Jacob as His safe harbor on the earth so that the heavens could be opened to the earth.
When the Lord Jesus was baptized, the heavens were opened to declare that there was a man on the earth who was one with God in heaven (Matt. 3:16-17). When Stephen was martyred, the heavens were opened to him (Acts 7:56). When the Lord Jesus comes back, the heavens will be opened once again. It is a great blessing for the children of God to have the heavens opened to them.
After the earth had been occupied by Satan and the people on the earth had been damaged by him, God could not come to the earth, and the heavens, where God is, could not be opened to the people on the earth. This was the situation in Ezekiel’s time.
The people of Israel had been damaged by Satan and carried away into captivity, and as a result the heavens could not be opened to them. However, among those in captivity there was a priest who was seeking and contacting Him and who was linked to the heavens.
Therefore, the heavens could be opened to him and even descend to the earth, allowing the heavenly things of God to be seen by the people on the earth and to be carried out among them on the earth. This was truly a great matter.
God still needs a people who can cause His heavens to be opened. Today the earth is still occupied by Satan; the people on the earth are still in the hands of Satan; and the majority of God’s people are still in captivity. Therefore, there is an urgent need for some, like Ezekiel, to seek God, to have fellowship with God, and to be priests of God ministering before Him.
If God has such Ezekiels today, the heavens will be opened, the people on the earth will be able to see the heavenly visions, and the heavenly things will be carried out on the earth. May in these days we all seek God and have fellowship with Him, and may the heavens be opened to us!
A vision received
Not only were the heavens opened to Ezekiel, but the visions came, and something was revealed, unveiled, to him. God said to Ezekiel, “See with your eyes, and hear with your ears, and set your heart upon all that I show you” (40:4).
The heavens were opened for the purpose of allowing Ezekiel to see the visions of God. The visions of God are His revelations, which enable us to see the divine, spiritual, and heavenly things. Those to whom the heavens are not opened cannot see the heavenly things of God.
In chapter one God opened the veil in heaven and let Ezekiel see what was behind the veil. Ezekiel saw four living creatures and the glorious throne of God. Because of what he saw, he was filled with a burden to convey these visions to others.
What he spoke was not a teaching or something imaginary, but a heavenly vision that he had seen in spirit. Every minister of the word of God must convey the spiritual, heavenly visions to others. In these messages I am not ministering theory, concept, doctrine, or anything of systematized theology; I am ministering a vision of the opened heavens.
All the churches and all the saints need to see the heavenly visions. Therefore, what we present to the children of God should not be mere teaching, doctrine, or knowledge acquired from reading, but a vision that we have seen in spirit under opened heavens through our fellowship with God.
This will cause the people of God to be restored from their captivity, and this will bring in the building up of the churches of God. I hope that all the messages released among us in the Lord’s recovery will be saturated with the visions of God.
The word of God comes expressly
God not only gave His visions to Ezekiel — He also gave him His words. The visions are the revelations of God, which cause us to see something. The words of God are His explanations, which cause us to hear something.
Because God wanted Ezekiel not only to see with his eyes but also to hear with his ears (40:4), He gave him words along with His visions. He explained His visions with His words.
The words that came to Ezekiel were not common or ordinary; they were special. The words given to Ezekiel were special, fresh, and living, different from the words given to Moses, Isaiah, and Jeremiah. In fact, they are different from the words of any other book of the Bible.
When we read the book of Ezekiel, we sense that the words of this book are special. The words in Ezekiel are special words of God, which came in a particular way to a man who was in a close relationship with God.
Ezekiel 1:3a says, “The word of Jehovah came expressly to Ezekiel the priest.” This was not a common word — it was an express word. Today we also do not need a common word but an express word.
For such an express word, do not go to the expositions of the Bible, nor even to the books of Watchman Nee and Witness Lee. You need to have an express word from the Lord. With Ezekiel, the heavens were opened, the visions came, and the word came expressly.
Those who are ministers of the word of God need God to give them not only visions but also special words, fresh words. We need to see the heavenly visions of God, and we need to hear special words from God. We need the words to enable us to understand the visions, and we need the words to enable us to declare and explain what we have seen. May the words of God come to us expressly along with His visions!
The hand of God was upon him
Ezekiel 1:3b goes on to say, “And there the hand of Jehovah was upon him.” Here we see that the hand of the Lord follows the word of the Lord. The sequence is significant: the opened heavens, the visions, the word of God, and the hand of God. The hand of God always follows His speaking.
Whatever He says, He does. If what we minister is truly the word of God, the hand of God will follow. However, if you minister many things and nothing happens, this means that you have a babbling mouth, but the hand of God is not operating. You need the powerful hand of God to carry out what you are speaking.
Today we need the opened heavens; we need the vision that comes to us; we need the word of the Lord to come expressly to us; and we need the hand of the Lord to be upon us. If we speak and the divine hand does not follow, then our speaking is empty talk, and others do not pay attention to it.
However, if what we minister is the express word of God, others must be careful how they deal with such a word. The one who speaks the express word of God may be an insignificant person, but the hand of God is not an insignificant matter.
God will come to accomplish what He says and to work according to His speaking. The hand of God upon man is also to lead him and bring him to act (cf. 1 Kings 18:46). The visions are for seeing; the words, for hearing; and the hand, for acting. The hand of the Lord upon Ezekiel supported him, guided him, raised him up, and carried him so that he could act.
After the hand of the Lord came upon Ezekiel, everything he did was due to the leading and direction of the hand of the Lord. The hand of God guided and directed Ezekiel as a person speaking for God. All his actions were under the hand of God. Wherever he went, everything he did, and how he acted and behaved were all due to God’s leading and the direction of the hand.
Whether he was bound or free, whether he mourned or rejoiced, whether he went out or came in — everything was under the leading and direction of the hand of God. Here we see that a man who speaks for God no longer has his own freedom and can no longer do things according to his own convenience.
If the hand of God leads him to go to a certain place, he must go there. If the hand of God directs him to do a certain thing, he must do it. His actions are according to the direction of the hand of God and are under the strict direction of the hand of God. Where he goes and what he does are not according to his choice but are under and according to the leading and direction of the hand of God. This requires that the one who speaks for God pay a considerable price.
Every minister of the word of God must fulfill the four conditions to have the visions of God. Everyone who speaks the words of God in a normal way must be one to whom the heavens are opened, one who has had visions of God, one to whom the words of God came expressly, and one who has the hand of God upon him.
May we all reach the “thirtieth year,” and may we all be together by the river Chebar and not in the tide of Babylon. May we all have an opened heaven, see the visions of God, receive the words of God, and have the leading and direction of the hand of God upon us. God needs such people today, and the church also needs them. May we all become such people to meet God’s need!
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