There were four living creatures. Each had the form of a human, but each one had four wings. The sound of the wings was “like the roar of a great waterfall, like the voice of The Strong God, like the noise of a battlefield.”(The Message, Ezekiel 1:24) Each figure had four faces. The faces were those of a human, a lion, an ox, and an eagle. The creatures gleamed like polished bronze.

Underneath each creature was a wheel. Each wheel had another wheel inside it. The wheels moved back and forth and to the sides. The creatures moved along with the wheels. This was a chariot. Later, in Chapter 10, the wheels of the chariot are described as being full of eyes.

Above the heads of the creatures was a throne. The creatures guarded the throne. Seated on the throne was a figure shaped like a human. Fiery light surrounded the throne in splendid, beautiful brightness. “This,” Ezekiel writes, “was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD.” (NRSV, Ezekiel 1:28)