This vision of God’s fearful and holy glory was almost the same as the one Ezekiel had seen earlier in Babylonia (Ezekiel 1). Now he saw it again, but this time in the temple in Jerusalem.
The temple was filled with symbols of heaven. In this vision, Ezekiel understood clearly that the living creatures he had seen before were cherubim. Cherubim are powerful heavenly beings who guard God’s holiness and carry out his judgment (Genesis 3:24).
A priestly figure was told to gather burning coals from among the cherubim. This action showed that Jerusalem, which had become unclean because of sin, would be destroyed by fire. This judgment was like what happened to the city of Sodom (see Ezekiel 16:46–50).
The vision also showed that the Lord was leaving his city. Later, this became a reality in history. A few years after this vision, King Nebuchadnezzar burned Jerusalem and filled the city with dead bodies.