parallelism, has wheels—fiery wheels!!

[‘His throne was ablaze with flames, its wheels were a

burning fire,’ [NASB] The angels actually move the wheels (Daniel 7:10; see the description of
the same throne in Ezekiel 1) as they bring the Father into the most holy place. But note that
there is not only one throne. There are thrones [plural]. How many are there and who sits upon
them? We are not told in Daniel 7 but one thing is certain, it is not the angels who sit on the
thrones. How do we know this? The Bible makes it clear that the angels are constantly on the
move. They are ministering spirits sent out to minister to those who will inherit salvation
(Hebrews 1:14). In the Bible the angels always stand before God and are sent to minister
throughout the universe. In fact, in Ezekiel 1 the angels are in constant movement, never having
a restful moment! Notice the following awesome description given by Ellen G. White:

“The Bible shows us God in His high and holy place, not in a state of inactivity, not in silence and
solitude, but surrounded by ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands of
holy beings, all waiting to do His will. Through these messengers, He is in active communication
with every part of His dominion. By His Spirit He is everywhere present. Through the agency of
His Spirit and His angels He ministers to the children of men.” (Ellen G. White, The Ministry of
Healing, p. 417)

Revelation 5:11 makes it abundantly clear that God is surrounded by ten thousand times ten
thousand and thousands of thousands of angels. But it is not the angels who sit upon the
thrones but rather the 24 elders (Revelation 4:4). As we study Daniel 7 and Revelation 4-5
together, we discover that there are 24 thrones and the elders sit upon them. But who these
elders are and what their role is remains to be seen. There is undoubtedly a close link between
Daniel 7 and Revelation 4-5 which we must return to later, but before we do, we must make a
few remarks about the relationship between Daniel 7 and Ezekiel 1-11. Even a hasty glance at
these two passages will reveal their close relationship. In both we have a chariot-throne, angels
who guide the wheels, fire, clouds, and an awesome being who sits on the chariot-throne In
both, the idea of judgment is at the forefront.

It should not surprise us that Daniel and Ezekiel spoke in similar terms because they were
contemporaries. A thorough study of Ezekiel 1 is far beyond the scope of this paper, but as
William Shea has shown elsewhere, Ezekiel 1 describes the journey of God from heaven to
earth to judge apostate Jerusalem. The date for Ezekiel 1 is 592 B. C. It is of critical importance
to remember that in Ezekiel it is God’s apostate people who are in view. They are committing
abominations, the greatest of which is sun-worship (8:16), they are called a harlot (chapter 16),
they are shedding innocent blood, the priests do violence to the law, and prophets and kings
are corrupt But in their midst is a remnant who sigh and cry because of the abominations which
are being committed. These will be sealed for salvation while the apostate ones will be marked
for destruction (9:1-6). Finally, the Shekinah departs (11:22-23), the city is left desolate and
Nebuchadnezzar comes and executes God’s judgment upon it in 586 B. C. Like Daniel, Ezekiel
presents three steps in the judgment process: Investigation (9:1-4), sentence (11:22-23, the
Shekinah leaves), execution of the sentence (9:5-6).

I believe that what happened with Jerusalem locally and historically (Ezekiel’s view) is a type of
what will take place universally and prophetically (Daniel’s view). In other words, Ezekiel depicts

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