What was Jesus like before his incarnation?
Ezekiel 1:26-28
How can we possibly comprehend the Old Testament visions of Christ enthroned? When God called Isaiah to his prophetic ministry, he did so by an overpowering vision like Ezekiel’s. Isaiah said, “I saw the Lord, seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple” (Isaiah 6:1). Attending the enthroned Lord in that vision were creatures called seraphim, which literally means “burning ones,” since the Hebrew verb seraph means to burn. An interpretive key for me comes in John 12:37-41 in which the apostle John is summing up Jesus’ public ministry among the Jews and explaining why the overwhelming majority of Jesus’ own people refused to believe in him. John quoted Isaiah 6:9-10 about God blinding their eyes and deadening their hearts so that they would not turn and be healed. Then John says, “Isaiah said this because he saw his glory and spoke of him” (John 12:41). Given the context, there can be no doubt that John means that the glory Isaiah saw in his vision was that of the pre-incarnate Christ. John 12:37-41 makes no sense otherwise.
Applying that interpretive key to Ezekiel’s corresponding call to prophetic ministry seems eminently reasonable for me. Ezekiel also saw a man seated on a throne of radiant glory high above the heads of the cherubim. Like the seraphim, the cherubim were characterized by a brilliant light and flashing fire moving back and forth among them. Later in Ezekiel 10:6, the cherubim will take some of the fire between them and scatter it on the city of Jerusalem to destroy it. The fire represents heaven’s all-consuming holiness. So also, the man seated on the throne in Ezekiel’s vision is characterized first—waist up—by “glowing metal as if full of fire” and secondly—waist down—simply by fire itself. It must have been like looking directly into the sun at full light of day. Blinding, overpowering brilliance. This is Jesus on fire… perfectly displaying the glory of his Father, who is a consuming fire (Deuteronomy 4:24, Hebrews 12:29).
What does that mean, that God is a “consuming fire?” It seems to represent his zeal for his own holy glory, and the danger that zeal is to any who would oppose it. The fire does not destroy the cherubim or seraphim (burning ones) for they seem completely immersed in it as their native habitat. The vision shown to Ezekiel does not include seraphim crying to one another, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty.” But the vision of the preincarnate Christ as if on fire himself captures that cry just as powerfully.
Jesus is a consuming fire of holiness. He is as zealous for his own glory as God the Father is.
Jesus is a consuming fire of holiness. He is as zealous for his own glory as God the Father is. John’s vision on the Island of Patmos of the glorified Christ moving through the seven golden lampstands corresponds perfectly to this, for he sees Jesus as having eyes of blazing fire, feet like bronze glowing in a furnace, and a face shining like the sun in maximum brilliance (Revelation 1:14-16). Overpowering brightness, a consuming fire.
It is vital for us to understand this about Jesus’ nature. He is certainly gentle and humble of heart, one who attracts little children to sit comfortably on his lap, one who is welcoming to all broken-hearted sinners. But it is just as true that he is deadly dangerous to the enemies of his holiness. His commitment to that holiness will fuel the fires of hell for all eternity as it will also illuminate the New Jerusalem forever and ever.
This is the glorious Lord who called Ezekiel to his dangerous and difficult prophetic ministry. And this is the Lord who commands us to walk in full obedience to his word every day.
