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Ezekiel 1:27 "And upward from what had the appearance of his loins I saw as it were gleaming bronze, like the appearance of fire enclosed around about; and downward from what had the appearance of his loins I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and there was brightness round about him." So Ezekiel describes his vision of "the likeness of the glory of the Lord" (Ezekiel 1:28). 

 

Fire is a symbol of power. It can consume everything in its path, but it can also be controlled for great benefit. It is a fitting symbol for God, and is used to represent the power of the His Spirit. But Jesus also describes hell as fire ("Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels'" Matthew 25:41). Hell is the consuming fire that burns forever. It is still God's power, it is His love that forever burns those who have rejected Him.

 

God's fire is completely under His control, burning away sin and corruption to make us and the world clean again. So Ezekiel sees God as having open fire below his midsection, and enclosed fire, like gleaming bronze, in his upper section. He thus sees God's power and control over everything. He sees that God may let His fire burn, but ultimately He controls it.

 

I like images like this that remind me of God's tremendous power. I can sometimes fall into thinking of God as a kindly, loving old man. He certainly is loving, but love is power, it is the most powerful force in the universe. It burns and consumes anything that is not love, and since we are often not loving, God's love can feel quite terrible at times. "Love in action is a harsh and dreadful thing", as Dostoyevsky says, but how lucky are we that it is the power that controls the universe? I wouldn't want it to be any other way.