Ever wonder, what is God like? I mean, what does God look like, how does he appear in the cosmos? Is he always invisible? Does he manifest himself in certain ways? God took physical form and came to earth in the person of Jesus, but what exists beyond?

Ezekiel the prophet saw visions of heaven, strange and glorious. Describing one he wrote:

I looked, and I saw a figure like that of a man. From what appeared to be his waist down he was like fire, and from there up his appearance was as bright a glowing metal. He stretched our what looked like a hand and took me by the hair of my head. The Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven and in visions of God he took me to Jerusalem…

Perhaps this man was an angel, or an appearance of Jesus Christ. Then, like carrying a puppy by the loose skin of its neck, the fiery man picked Ezekiel up by his hair. I imagine a towering inferno gazing at the dangling Ezekiel from arm’s length.

The man from heaven appeared as blazing fire and glowing metal. Daniel saw similar visions of heavenly beings, as did John in the book of Revelation. Moses watched a bush burn but not be consumed. We’re told by Timothy that God dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see.

Finally, the author of Revelation wrote that the city of God does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp.

So what is God like? So bright we cannot look upon him. Like staring at the sun until going blind, or experiencing the inner core of a nuclear explosion. Too much for me or you to handle.

But also just exactly what we need. Those who follow Jesus will bask in the light of the Lord for eternity, and there’s no reason not to believe that day will come.

Ezekiel 8 in reading the Bible in 2023

Photo by Mark Harpur