God’s glory is boundless and displayed in the magnificent expanse that hovers above His servants, saturating every realm with His sovereign presence.
Now over the heads of the living beings there was something like an expanse, like the awesome gleam of crystal, spread out over their heads. (v.22)
Ezekiel, a prophet who ministered to the Jewish exiles in Babylon between approximately 593 BC and 571 BC, describes here a majestic vision of God’s glory. This expanse appears above the four living beings—angelic creatures serving the Lord—reflecting a brilliant, gleaming quality reminiscent of crystal or polished sapphire. Some sources discuss how sapphire in Scripture can symbolize the heavens, drawing a parallel with the radiance of divine presence and the firmament that stretches over creation. Though Ezekiel ministered far from Jerusalem, by the river Chebar in Babylon, his revelation of the heavenly realm reminds Israel that God’s splendor cannot be confined to earthly boundaries and remains sovereign over every nation (Ezekiel 1:1).
The awe-inspiring scene offers a picture of God’s throne room, foretelling the reality that His holiness transcends human limitation. As New Testament believers later see in visions such as Revelation 4:6, the imagery of crystal-like expanses conveys purity and grandeur. It also emphasizes God’s complete authority, a theme continued throughout Ezekiel’s prophecies, where judgment and restoration both find their source in the One whose throne rests upon this shining, heavenly canopy. In Ezekiel’s context, this vision served to reassure a displaced people that the Lord above all creation remained firmly in control, even when they were in exile.
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Ezekiel 1:22 meaning
Now over the heads of the living beings there was something like an expanse, like the awesome gleam of crystal, spread out over their heads. (v.22)
Ezekiel, a prophet who ministered to the Jewish exiles in Babylon between approximately 593 BC and 571 BC, describes here a majestic vision of God’s glory. This expanse appears above the four living beings—angelic creatures serving the Lord—reflecting a brilliant, gleaming quality reminiscent of crystal or polished sapphire. Some sources discuss how sapphire in Scripture can symbolize the heavens, drawing a parallel with the radiance of divine presence and the firmament that stretches over creation. Though Ezekiel ministered far from Jerusalem, by the river Chebar in Babylon, his revelation of the heavenly realm reminds Israel that God’s splendor cannot be confined to earthly boundaries and remains sovereign over every nation (Ezekiel 1:1).
The awe-inspiring scene offers a picture of God’s throne room, foretelling the reality that His holiness transcends human limitation. As New Testament believers later see in visions such as Revelation 4:6, the imagery of crystal-like expanses conveys purity and grandeur. It also emphasizes God’s complete authority, a theme continued throughout Ezekiel’s prophecies, where judgment and restoration both find their source in the One whose throne rests upon this shining, heavenly canopy. In Ezekiel’s context, this vision served to reassure a displaced people that the Lord above all creation remained firmly in control, even when they were in exile.