Ezekiel 1:22-25 is very profound and deep. These verses tell us that upon the heads of the four living creatures there is the firmament, or the expanse, which we call the sky. The appearance of the sky is like terrible crystal. It is so clear that it looks terrible. This sky stretches forth over the heads of all the creatures. Under this sky the living creatures stretch their two wings straight. In a previous message we saw that two of the wings of each of the living creatures are stretched forth and joined to the wings of others. The living creatures use their other two wings to cover their body. Whenever they move and whenever they act, a voice, or a sound, comes from their wings. This voice is like the noise of great waters and also like “the voice of the Almighty” (v. 24), that is, the Almighty God. It is also like the voice of tumult, the voice of a host or army. (The word host in verse 24 means “an army.”) Furthermore, when the living creatures stop and stand still, they lower their wings (v. 25). We need to consider the spiritual significance and application of all these matters. If we do not understand this spiritual significance and application, then to us these points may appear either nonsensical or meaningless.
These verses are based on the preceding verses. This means that we first need to experience the blowing wind, which brings in the cloud of the Lord’s presence to overshadow us. As we enjoy the Lord’s presence, the cloud brings in the burning fire, and we experience the burning. Out of the burning fire, we gain the electrum, and then we become living creatures. As living creatures, we move in coordination with others to express Christ. We have four faces to express the all-inclusive Christ in a corporate way. In order to have these four faces, we need to be dealt with by the cross. Following this, we need to experience and enjoy the eagle’s wings; that is, we move by the divine power and strength and by the grace of Christ. We also cover ourselves, hiding ourselves under His overshadowing wings, hiding ourselves under the grace and power of Christ. Furthermore, we need to learn to work as a man by using the man’s hands and also learn to walk on the calf’s straight feet, having a walk that is straight, frank, honest, sincere, and faithful. This will qualify us to be in coordination. Within the coordination we will have the fire up and down, the burning coals, and the enlightening torches. When we reach this point, the holy God as a consuming fire will be among us in a corporate way. Then there will be a high and dreadful wheel beside us, indicating that we have God’s move on earth by us and with us. Within this wheel is a wheel, signifying that within our move is the Lord’s move. He is moving within us. By having such a wheel, such a move, we will be full of eyes and have insight and foresight. Now we need to see that when we have all these matters in our experience, we will have a clear sky and a very particular sound—the sound of great waters, a sound that is the voice of the Almighty.
Ezekiel 1:22 says, “The likeness of the firmament upon the heads of the living creature was as the color of the terrible crystal, stretched forth over their heads above.” This reveals that after we have experienced all the things in the first twenty-one verses, the sky over our heads will be crystal clear. It will be like a great expanse of crystal. We will have a wide, clear expanse above us. This means that above us is an open, clear heaven.
The sky is not only clear; it is also expanding. It is not just a matter of having a clear sky vertically, from heaven to earth, but also a matter of having a clear sky horizontally. This means that the clear sky is expanding. Our sky, therefore, should be clear and expanding.
Before we were saved, our sky was dark and cloudy, even foggy. It was also narrow, without any expanse. With us there was hardly any heaven, hardly any sky. But one day we repented, confessed our sins, and received the Lord Jesus as our Savior. The more we confessed our sins, the more clear our sky became. After we made a thorough confession, we had the sense, for the first time, that the sky above us was clear. We sensed that the day was dawning, that the clouds were leaving, and that the fog was lifting. When we were saved, we received not only a clear sky but also an expanding sky. We had the sense that our sky was expanding.
Later, however, some problems might have arisen with ourselves personally, with our relatives, with the church, or with some of the brothers and sisters. Immediately our sky became somewhat cloudy again. It was not as cloudy and dark as before we were saved, but still it was no longer clear. Clouds and fog reappeared. We all have had this kind of experience. Eventually, we confessed our failures, condemned such things as our attitudes, motives, intentions, and goals, and received God’s forgiveness and the cleansing of the blood of Jesus (1 John 1:9, 7). The sky above us became clear again, and once again we were under a clear sky. Then the sky began to open and expand above us. In our experience we should always have a clear, open, and expanding heaven.
The kind of sky a Christian has depends upon his conscience. Your conscience is connected to your sky. If there is no blemish on your conscience, your sky will be clear. If your sky is not clear, this means that there is some offense on your conscience. In order to have a clear sky, we need to deal with any offense and condemnation in our conscience. The story of our sky is the story of our conscience.
When we as living creatures reach the point of having a clear, open, and expanding heaven, there will be nothing between us and God and nothing between us and one another. There will be nothing cloudy or foggy covering us or separating us from one another. All the clouds, coverings, separations, and fog will be gone, and we will have a sky that is thoroughly clear and continually expanding. Our expanse will be as clear as crystal. When others look upon our clear sky, they will be astonished. Our sky is terrible because it is crystal clear and expanding.
This clear and expanding sky is also stable. As a rule, the sky above the earth usually has some kind of movement. Either the clouds are moving or the wind is blowing. But the sky above the living creatures is not moving; rather, it is as stable as crystal. There is no change.
We need to consider this in light of our experience. At the time we were saved, we had a clear sky. However, we enjoyed such a sky only for a short time. Like the weather in certain places, our sky fluctuated very much. Sometimes our sky became cloudy, but after we confessed our sins, it became clear again. Later we would have another failure, such as losing our temper, and our sky would become cloudy once again. There were many fluctuations in the sky above our head.
With the living creatures, however, the situation is altogether different. The sky above the heads of the living creatures is perfectly stable, like crystal. There is no fluctuation. The heaven above them is clear, expanding, and stable. They have a thorough fellowship with the Lord vertically and also a clear fellowship among themselves horizontally. They have a wide and stable span of fellowship.
A proper local church should be like this. Unfortunately, however, the sky in some local churches seems to be cloudy and narrow. The sky over that church is very small and narrow. There is no expanse, and the situation is dark and touchy, making it difficult for anyone to say anything. If you say anything in this touchy situation, some of the saints will be offended. No matter what you say, certain ones will be unhappy with you. However, if a local church is proper, the sky over it will be clear and broad. No matter what you say, no one will be offended.
This does not mean that we should try in ourselves to be broad-minded. If we are like a frog in a well, it matters little whether we are broad-minded or narrow-minded. We need to jump out of the well and come under a clear sky where the horizon is broad. Once we are under such a sky, even if we are narrow-minded, we will spontaneously become broad. It is impossible for the living creatures to be narrow-minded, because there is a wide expanse above their heads. The sky above them is clear, expanding, and terrible to behold. Under such a sky we have the proper fellowship with the Lord and with one another.