What is the context?
The temple vision continues. Above the cherubim, Ezekiel sees the likeness of a sapphire throne. The man in linen who marked people for protection now receives another command: take burning coals from beneath the cherubim and scatter them over Jerusalem.
The cherubim stand on the south side of the temple. A cloud fills the inner court, while the Lord’s glory rises to the threshold. Brightness fills the court, and the sound of the wings reaches the outer court.
One of the cherubim uses a hand beneath its wings to place fire into the man’s hands. He receives it and goes out. The same divine presence before which some were marked for preservation now supplies the fire of judgment against the city.
How is this passage commonly understood?
Henry and Wesley understand the coals as a sign of the Lord’s judgment on Jerusalem. The city’s coming destruction is presented as something God has commanded, rather than an event that has escaped His control.
Wesley also reads the man in linen as Christ. That identification is an interpretation of the figure; Ezekiel names his clothing, task and obedience without explicitly naming him as the Messiah. The connection between the coals and judgment is clear without settling the figure’s identity.
Where does this fit in God's plan?
Revelation 8:3–6 presents a related scene: an angel offers incense with the saints’ prayers, then fills a censer with fire from the altar and throws it to the earth before the trumpet judgments.
This is a biblical parallel, rather than an explicit quotation. Both visions connect judgment on the earth with God’s holy presence. Revelation also brings the prayers of God’s people into the scene, showing that the evil they endure has not gone unnoticed by Him.
What is our position?
We don't have a position on this passage yet. When our study reaches a conclusion the text supports, it will appear here.