If you get a headache trying to visualize Ezekiel's vision in Chapter 1, you are not alone. Like a complicated dream, Ezekiel's vision defies visualization after the dream has ended. Like other apocalyptic visions, this multifaceted vision is highly symbolic. And it is the meaning of the symbols that we should seek to understand, rather than trying to picture the scene.
The dream-like nature of Ezekiel's vision is seen in the modifiers he uses: Ezekiel describes the vision in terms that reflect something beyond our normal comprehension: “something like” (v. 4), “resembling” and “appearance” (v. 5); “something that looked like” and “like” (v. 13); “appearance of,” “like,” and “as if” (v. 16); “something like” (v. 22); “like” 2x (v. 24); “something resembling,” “appearance 2x,” and "resembled” (v. 26); “something like” 2x, “appearance of” (v. 27); “appearance” 2x, and “likeness” (v. 28) (citations from NASB95)
I'm sure you have seen artists' depictions of this vision. The description of the "wheels" has led some to suspect they were alien space crafts! All this misses the spiritual significance of the vision as a whole and the elements in particular. We shouldn't miss, for instance, the fact that the "living beings" described are similar to visions of cherubim in other passages. The vision of the throne above the "living beings" corresponds with the description of Yahweh as the One "enthroned above the cherubim." (1 Samuel 4:4) And we should ask, Why is the vision coming out of the north? And what is the significance of the Spirit moving the wheels and living beings? What is the significance of the different faces on the beings? Why do the details of other depictions of cherubim differ from one another? Is the manifestation of these beings changeable in order to convey a special message each time?
Many other questions could be asked that would lead us to greater insight into Ezekiel's vision. But trying to envision an artist's depiction of the vision is fruitless.
