Scripture

Ezekiel has always been hard for me to understand. 

I have decided that it will always be hard to understand until I put some time into it.

There has to be something for me in the hard to understand imagery. And this imagery is repeated in other books.

So this is what I have been thinking about.

I thought of this other scripture:

Man is the offspring of diety. The potential that rests in each human is unmeasurable. Man is able to choose, to act, and to create. Man is God in embryo.

A Lion: the king of beasts. Frequently the lion is a symbol of royalty. An apex predator. The only large cat that lives in family units called prides. Lions live in complex societies and cooperate in care of young and feeding the family. Lions are symbols of bravery. Lions are used as a symbol for the tribe of Judah, and ultimately a symbol of Christ.

The celebrated Christian author, CS Lewis, used a lion as a symbol for Christ in his beloved series: The Chronicles of Narnia.

The Ox: the ultimate beast of burdon. The domesticted animal that made farming possible: strong and consistent at the plow. The ox or bullock was also a sacrificial animal under the Law of Moses. The bullock was an important part of the sacrifice on the Day of Atonement as described in the Books of Moses. The ox was important as actual wealth in ancient Israel. Oxen were important to travel even until the 19th Century: the Mormon pioneers relied on them as they migrated to Utah in 1849 and beyond until the railroad opened the path to the West.

I almost forgot this:

A picture from the Internet, identified as the Pheonix temple baptistery.

The Eagle: The biggest of the predator birds. They make their nests up high to protect their young. They soar on thermals with locked wings - a modern understanding. But to the ancient people who observed them, the biggest of birds flying without flapping their huge wings must have been amazing and somewhat miraculous.  And in Exodus, Christ used Eagles as symbols for himself:

The eagle is another symbol of royalty worldwide. They are famous for the altitude of their flight and their good eyesight. Hunting from such heights and then being able to swoop down on those massive wings and pluck their prey from the ground or sea. Eagles live in the air and are able to change the venue of life and death struggle. Snakes have the advantage on the ground, but eagles have the advantage in the air.

The Boy Scouts of America have used the eagle as their highest achievement. Josh and I have been on the eagle journey. Boaz and I are starting it again.

Each of these four are the apex of their categories. They all represent power and majesty (to some degree). The domesticated ox included with the wild eagle and lion break natural barriers. The addition of man to these beasts blows open barriers and elevates the beasts, or lowers man. I think elevates is the better thought. The vision says they had wings (vs 8,11)  and had the apperance of lamps (vs 13). Imagery from the rest of the chapter relates to Heaven.

These same beasts are grouped together in Revelation 4 and a partial explaination is given in D&C 77.

So, I'm not really sure what this means still, but I have studied a bit more about what it might mean, or what the living creatures might traditionally represent.

I'm requiring more of myself than I normally do. That is a good thing. Step by step, right?