Ezekiel 1:28 - Exposition

As the appearance of the bow. The glorious epiphany was completed, as in Revelation 4:3 and Revelation 10:1 , by the appearance of the rainbow. The symbol of God's faithfulness, and of the hope that rested on it ( Genesis 9:13 ). was seen in the glory of the Divine perfection, even in the midst of the fire of the Divine wrath. Mercy and love are thought of as over arching all the phenomena of the world and its history, attempering the chastisements which are needed for those with whom that love is dealing. The whole complex appearances of Ezekiel's descriptions, including the arch of prismatic colours, finds its nearest natural analogue, as has been before suggested (note on verse 4), in the phenomena of the Northern Lights. I fell upon my face. As in Ezekiel 3:23 ; Daniel 8:17 ; Revelation 1:17 , the prostrate attitude of lowliest adoration, the dread and awe of one who has seen the King, the Lord of hosts, and vet survives, was a preparation for the more direct revelation to his consciousness of the Word and will of Jehovah (comp. Dante 'Inferno,' 3:136; 5:142).