An Expert Breakdown of Ezekiel 1:22-28: God's Glory Revealed

A Vision in Exile: The Setting and the Sight

This vision comes not in the temple courts or the promised land, but in a foreign land, far from home, where God’s people had been scattered because of their rebellion.

Ezekiel was a priest taken to Babylon during the exile around 597 BC, when Jerusalem was still standing but soon to fall. The people of Judah had broken their covenant with God - turning to idols, ignoring justice, and trusting in political alliances instead of Him. They thought God was confined to the temple, but He showed up in Babylon, proving He rules everywhere. This vision reminds us that even in judgment, God is present, not silent.

Above the living creatures, Ezekiel sees a crystal-like expanse, then a throne like sapphire, and on it a figure with a human appearance surrounded by fire and radiant light, like a rainbow in the clouds. This is not God Himself - no one can see His face and live - but a glorious representation of His presence, a theophany meant to reveal His holiness and majesty. The voice from the throne confirms this is the Lord’s glory, and Ezekiel falls in worship, overwhelmed by what his eyes have seen.

Just as the heavens declare God’s glory in Psalm 19:1, this vision shows that glory is not silent, even in exile. And though the people had lost the temple, the land, and the king, they had not lost God - He is still on His throne, still speaking, still sovereign.

The Throne and the Rainbow: Seeing God’s Glory in the Midst of Exile

Ezekiel’s vision pulls back the curtain of heaven to show that God has not abandoned His people, even in Babylon.

The expanse above the living creatures, shining like awe-inspiring crystal, echoes the firmament in Genesis 1:6-7, where God separated the waters to form the sky - now transformed into a dazzling symbol of divine order and holiness. Under it, the creatures’ wings stretch out in perfect unity, not for flight but for worship, reminding us that all creation is oriented around God’s throne. When they move, the sound is like a rushing flood or a mighty army, the voice of the Almighty Himself shaking the air. But when they stand still, the silence becomes sacred, making space for God to speak.

Above the expanse, the throne shaped like sapphire - a deep blue stone associated with heaven and royalty - reveals a figure with a human appearance, wrapped in fire and radiant light. This is not a prediction of a distant future king, but a powerful message to Ezekiel’s generation: God is still ruling, still present, still holy. The rainbow-like glow around Him recalls God’s covenant with Noah in Genesis 9:13, where the rainbow was a sign that He would never again destroy the earth by flood - now repurposed as a symbol of mercy surrounding divine glory. Even in judgment, there is hope. The voice from the throne confirms this is the Lord’s glory, and Ezekiel falls facedown, overwhelmed by both light and an unrelenting love.

This vision is both a comfort and a challenge: God is not confined by temple walls or national borders. He reigns over Babylon just as He does over Zion. And though the people had broken their covenant, He remains faithful. The next vision will show how this glory moves - and what it means when God’s presence departs.

The Glory That Points to Jesus: From Vision to Fulfillment

This dazzling vision of God’s glory is a promise pointing to the one who will later embody that glory in flesh.

When John writes in Revelation 1:13-15 that he saw ‘one like a son of man’ surrounded by fire and brightness, with a face shining like the sun, he’s echoing Ezekiel’s vision, showing that Jesus is the living fulfillment of what Ezekiel saw - a human-like figure on the throne, not just a symbol but the real presence of God with us. The voice from the expanse that Ezekiel heard is the same voice John hears declaring, ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega.’ This continuity shows that the glory Ezekiel fell before is the very glory revealed in Christ.

Jesus once said in John 12:41, ‘I saw his glory,’ referring to Isaiah’s vision of the Lord on high - but Ezekiel’s vision also finds its end in Jesus. Just as the rainbow surrounded God’s throne as a mercy sign after judgment, Jesus stands as the new covenant, the true sign that God will never abandon His people. The glory that filled the temple and later departed (as Ezekiel will see) has now returned, not in cloud and fire alone, but in a man who walked among us. In Jesus, the voice from above the expanse speaks not only in thunder but in grace and truth.

So when we see Ezekiel fall on his face in worship, we’re seeing a preview of every knee bowing before Jesus - this vision doesn’t end in Babylon, it moves toward a cross, an empty tomb, and a Savior who now reigns on high.

The Glory That Was and Is to Come: From Ezekiel’s Vision to God’s Final Promise

This vision of God’s glory is a promise of what is still to come, echoing through Scripture to the final restoration of all things.

Just as Ezekiel saw a throne above the expanse with a rainbow-like brightness, so John in Revelation 4:3 writes, 'There before the throne was something like a sea of glass, clear as crystal. In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures… and around the throne was a rainbow that looked like emerald.' This isn’t coincidence - it’s God’s way of showing that the same glory Ezekiel saw in exile is the glory that will fill the new creation. The rainbow, first seen after the flood in Genesis 9, now encircles God’s throne in heaven, not as a reminder of past judgment, but as a pledge of lasting mercy.

Exodus 24:10 says, 'They saw the God of Israel, and under his feet was something like a pavement made of lapis lazuli, as bright as the sky.' The elders of Israel saw a glimpse of God’s holiness, but Ezekiel sees it more fully - yet even his vision is not the final sight. The 'likeness of a human form' on the throne points forward to Jesus, who in John 1:14 'became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, full of grace and truth.' He is the fulfillment of that vision - yet not the end of it.

Because even now, we wait. We wait for the day when the glory Ezekiel fell before fills the earth completely, when every tear is wiped away and death is no more. The voice from the throne still speaks, not only to call us to worship, but to remind us: He is coming again. And when He does, we will see Him as He is - and fall before Him not in fear, but in joy everlasting.

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