52. 6. JEHOVAH HIMSELF, THAT IS, THE LORD, SPOKE THE WORD BY THE PROPHETS. We read of the prophets that they were in vision, and that Jehovah spoke with them. When they were in vision they were not in their body, but in their spirit; and in this state they saw such things as are in heaven. When, however, Jehovah spoke with them, they were in their body, and they heard Him speaking. These two states of the prophets should be clearly distinguished. In the state of vision, the eyes of their spirit were opened, and the eyes of their body closed. Then also they appeared to themselves to be carried from place to place, the body still remaining where it was. In this state at times were Ezekiel, Zechariah, Daniel, and John when he wrote the Revelation; and it is then said that they were in vision, or in the spirit, for Ezekiel says,
The spirit lifted me up, and brought me into Chaldea, to them of the captivity, in a vision of God, in the spirit of God. So the vision that I had seen went up over me. Ezek. xi 1, 24.
He says too,
That the spirit took him up, and he heard behind him an earthquake, and other things.
Further, that the spirit lifted him up between the earth and heaven, and brought him in the visions of God to Jerusalem, where he saw abominations. Ezek. viii 3, and following verses. He was also in a vision of God, or in the spirit, when he saw
Four living creatures, which were cherubs. Ezek. i and x;
Also, a new earth and a new temple, and an angel measuring them; concerning these see chapters xl to xlviii.
That he was then in the visions of God, he says in xl 2; and that the spirit then took him up, xliii 5. The same happened to Zechariah, and he was then accompanied by an angel, when he saw
A man riding among the myrtle trees. Zech. i 8.
Four horns, and afterwards a man in whose hand was a measuring line. Zech. i 18; ii 1;
Joshua the high priest. Zech. iii 1, and foll.;
A candlestick, and two olive trees. Zech. iv 2, 3;
A flying roll, and an ephah. Zech. v 1, 6;
And four chariots coming out from between two mountains, and horses. Zech. vi 1, 2.
Daniel was in the same state, when he saw
Four beasts coming up from the sea. Dan. vii 3;
And the battle between the ram and the he-goat. Dan. viii 1, and foll.
That he saw these things in visions is stated in chapters vii 1, 2, 7, 13; viii 2; x 1, 7, 8. That the angel Gabriel was seen by him in vision, and spoke with him, is stated in chapter ix 21, 22. The same happened to John when he wrote the Revelation, for he said that
He was in the spirit on the Lord's day. Rev. i 10;
He was carried away in the spirit into the wilderness. Rev. xvii 3;
He was carried away in the spirit to a high mountain. Rev. xxi 10;
He saw horses in the vision. Rev. ix 17.
Elsewhere he says that he saw those things which he described, and consequently was in the spirit or in vision; as in i 12; iv 1; v 1; vi 1; and in each of the following chapters.
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