Ezekiel 1:1

Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the River Chebar, that the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God. [Ezekiel 1:1 NKJV]

NOW [when I was] in [my] thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was in the midst of captivity beside the river Chebar [in Babylonia], the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God. [Ezekiel 1:1 AMPC].

Ezekiel began his Book with telling us his age: and that was not to mark his 'birthday's date,' but rather to mark and register his “Revelation day's date.” May your days or age date reflect more the Day of the Lord, the Day and age you encountered God and saw visions of God, more than any other day from when you were born. The Day you became born again, the day salvation came into your house, the day the heavens were opened to you and you saw visions of God.

Joseph was 30 years old when he stood before Pharaoh as the Governor of Egypt and Savior. David at 30 years was already a king. But for Ezekiel at 30 years, 4 months and 5 days, the heavens were opened to him and he could see God in direct visions from the earth in crossing billions of light-years to see He, who is invisible. And the Lord Jesus Christ at 30 years of age had already the heavens opened to Him, the Spirit of God descending like a Dove upon Him to show Him respect, the Father confessing Him as His Begotten Son in whom He is well pleased and outside/without Him God cannot be well pleased; and at 30 years, Jesus Christ already overcame all Satan's direct temptations/deceptions (which Adam and Eve could not do). Therefore, Satan had no more direct temptations/deceptions for Jesus Christ at 30 years, and so Satan was left with “indirect temptations” using people or coming behind men to tempt Jesus because Satan could no longer come face to face to try or tempt Jesus Christ after the 30 years Jesus Christ, who after 40 days and nights fasting, defeated and cast away Satan from direct face to face or one on one battle in temptations. 

Ezekiel at 30 years was among the captives by the river Chebar, but he attained a very great Spiritual Milestone of reaching the top of the spiritual mountains where a man has to reach to see God.

This was not "Psalms 137" with the message of the captives that sat down by the Rivers of Babylon and wept, when they remembered Zion. Rather, this is "Ezekiel 1" with the Lines of one among the captives by one of the Rivers of Babylon (River Chebar), who was neither weeping nor remembering Zion past, but was rather seeing Zion future and seeing visions of God under an opened heaven. That was Ezekiel, who was also a captive and yet a very great man of God in captivity. 

Why was the terrible captivity of Babylon having to affect the righteous as well as the unrighteous? Why were the true men of God under the same bondage and yoke with the sinners, despite the anointing of those men of God such as Ezekiel in captivity, Daniel in captivity, etc? Who told you anointing breaks everything yoke?

Such was not a yoke for anointing to break or destroy; for some priest (pastors) thought they are breaking yokes on people's shoulders, no knowing they are replacing the wooden yokes with iron yokes on those people, and those are heavier yokes than those they had before. When a priest took off the yoke from Jeremiah the prophet's neck and broke that wooden yoke, it was figuratively replaced with an iron yoke (Jeremiah 28:13). Let not that anointing be to replace wooden yoke with iron yoke; rather let the anointing be to replace heavy yoke with light yoke that Jesus Christ gives: for His yoke is easy and His burden is light (Matthew 11:29-30). For it's part of the cross the righteous must carry, as the Lord Himself carried, for the sake of the sinners who are rightfully facing the captivity or tribulation for their sins. Remember Joseph too was innocent though among the slaves or prisoners that offended the king in the dungeon. 

God allowed His righteous, innocent and great men/women of God to be numbered (counted) among the sinners or transgressors in their captivity, tribulations or natural disasters, in order for God to leave and preserve remnants and lightbearers or Intercessors amongst them. Therefore, in all their afflictions, God too was afflicted (Isaiah 63:9) — having His own people among the afflicted or affected. Such righteous people of God (numbered among the suffering sinners under captivity, affliction, disaster, poverty, pandemic, etc) are God's Ambassadors or Light-bearers among those sinners who deserve those sufferings.

For example in Ezekiel's Lines, he was God's Light or Ambassador used in keeping tabs under the reign of the affliction. As you saw in the top Bible verse above, Ezekiel was as the Time-Keeper or Watcher, who's days in captivity was well documented to determine the lifespan of the captivity. Ezekiel began his Book by announcing his age or years on earth, and days under captivity, triggered by the day and place the Heavens were opened to him and he saw the visions of God "Elohim." 

It was not Ezekiel's Birthday celebrated, neither was it Ezekiel's graduation day, wedding day, freedom/independence day from the captivity or any anniversary that some pastors of these days would have marked or registered. Rather Ezekiel marked or registered the Day and place the Heavens were opened to him and he saw visions of God. — It was Ezekiel's 30th year, 4th month and 5th day, and he was among the captives by the River Chebar. 

Did he win award that day in worldly accomplishments? Was that a day of freedom or independence from the captivity? Ezekiel's testimonies were not about what "God did for him," but about what "God revealed to him." You know childish men of God when their testimonies are filled with what God did or gave to them; and you will know mature and spiritual men of God when their testimonies are filled with what God revealed or shown to them in visions, revelations, knowledge and manifestations. For revelations must come ahead of acquisitions in Spiritual order. 

When the Lord Jesus rejoiced in His Spirit for His disciples, it was not for what the Father gave to them materially, but for the hidden things the Father revealed (shown) to them (Luke 10:21). Peter was blessed because what flesh and blood couldn't reveal was revealed to him by the Father of Jesus Christ in heaven. Even the Son of God (Jesus Christ) testified of God's Love for Him expressed by God's Revelations of hidden things or secrets to Him:

[John 5:20 FBV] — For the Father loves the Son, and reveals to Him everything He does; and the Father will show to Him even more incredible things that will completely amaze you.

[I Corinthians 2:9‭-‬11 NKJV] — But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God.

The book of Ezekiel opened with marking the date in which the man of God under captivity was also under opened heavens and he saw the visions of God, not by a church but by a River Chebar, as Daniel or John would later see at the Island of Patmos. I did not call it  "Open Heaven" but I called it "Opened Heaven(s)." 

"Open Heaven" was meant for birds to fly in as they wish (Genesis 1:20), and now even witches, wizards, aircrafts, smokes, missiles, bullets, darts and dirt, have joined in flying in the "Open heaven." I use a well or bottle of drink to illustrate. Jacob rolled away the stone from the well's mouth to water Rachel's sheep, and that meant he opened the well for her and that well was not an "open well" but an "opened well" to Rachel's flock. The earth opened her mouth but did not left her mouth open; but sinners are described as having throats that as figured as open sepulcher (Romans 3:13). 

So grow above "open heaven" to "opened heaven(s)." This means perceiving the heaven(s) getting opened for you or for a specific time and purpose. See when the heaven is getting opened, not just meeting the heaven already open. These are parts of the rudiments of Doors, Gates, in Spiritual realms. If you saw the spiritual Doors getting opened because of you while you're approaching or while you were watching, its a great honor: for the Doors, Gates, are honoring you or doing it for you specifically like the door in "Acts 12:10." John in Revelation usually saw Doors, Gates, opened. Mary Magdalene and her fellas were thinking about who would open the Lord's Grave for them, but as soon as they met it an open-grave they were worried and assumed robbers had come in and stolen the Lord's Body. They would rather have it opened when they get there, than open before they got there. Jesus Christ Himself would rather have the Everlasting Doors or Gates opened when He's there than open without Him.

[Psalms 24:7-8] — "Lift up your heads, O you gates; and be you lifted up, you everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle."

Behold Ezekiel sensitive to the heavens being opened, and seeing the visions of God. Not just one vision, but multiple visions of God. How could a man, standing on earth among the captives, at a River side, be able to see far into the Realms of Heaven and seeing God clearly, with his two naked eyes that cannot even look into the sun in full brightness? It was by visions of God he was able to see. Ezekiel was not even in a dream or dead or in spirit on the Lord's Day as John was when he saw Him: Rather Ezekiel was in his body, and it was not in the Lord's Day but in the 5th day of the 4th month of the 30th year among captives by the river Chebar.

Moses had to separate from the people to go see God alone, unless when the people have to also see or hear God that Moses stayed among them when they saw God: Elisha also saw the Chariot of fire that took Elijah because he was with him there unseparated while the other prophets afar did not see what the two saw. But behold Ezekiel was among the captives by the river, and yet only him saw those Manifestions and Revelations the others couldn't see without separating from them. Later Daniel too was with men and yet  seeing great visions that those men couldn't see or Paul during his conversion saw the Lord Jesus Christ in Heaven while the other men with him to Damascus couldn't see what he was seeing though they were together.