The holy Prophet Ezekiel, whose name means “God strengthens,” is assigned third among the major prophets, and was the first prophet who addressed Jerusalem from the Jewish exile in Babylon. In addition to being a prophet Ezekiel was also a priest, being included as a member of the family of Zadok the priest. Ezekiel grew up in the kingdom of Judah during the reign of king Josiah, a time period spanning from 640 – 609 BC, and was among the aristocracy who were exiled in the first wave of Jewish deportations to Babylon around the year 597 BC. Holding the office of both prophet and priest during the exile, Ezekiel continued his ministry in Babylonia until his death in c. 570 BC.
Though Ezekiel’s message was primarily directed to his fellow Jewish captives in Babylon, many of Ezekiel’s prophecies were also addressed to other nations besides the Jewish nation, such as Egypt for example (Ezekiel 29:1-7). Now Ezekiel preached to the Jewish exiles in Babylon, explaining to his fellow countrymen how God had allowed them to be taken captive due to the magnitude of their sins. Ezekiel simply expressed to the Jews that if they ever wished to return to their homeland of Judah, that they would first have to return to the Lord in repentance, and do so with all their heart.
The Book of Ezekiel, though a prophetic book of the Old Testament, also shares literary symbols and archetypes as found in the most prophetic book in the New Testament, namely: The Book of Revelation. For example, in the third chapter of the Book of Ezekiel God instructs Ezekiel to eat a scroll, which the prophet says was in his mouth like honey for sweetness (Ezekiel 3:1-3). Similarly we see in Revelation how St. John eats a book which was also in his mouth as sweet as honey (Revelation 10:8-10). Now it must be clearly understood that these two holy men did not literally eat paper or parchment, but the “eating” of these books is symbolic of the reading and the retaining of the sacred Word of God.
Continuing with signs and symbols, the Prophet Ezekiel was no stranger to divine visions. For in the opening passages of the book of Ezekiel, the prophet writes that he saw visions of God while among the captives by the River Chebar. Ezekiel goes on to describe a whirlwind which came out of the north, along with a great cloud with raging fire, and out of the midst of the fire came the likeness of four living creatures which each had four faces. The four faces of the creatures, had the appearance of the face of a man, the face of a lion, the face of an ox, and the face of an eagle. This vision of Ezekiel is again reminiscent of the vision of St. John as recorded in the book of Revelation. For as we see in John’s vision there were four living creatures around the throne of God in heaven. “The first living creature was like a lion, the second living creature like a calf, the third living creature had a face like a man, and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle” (Revelation 4:7). It would seem that these two different yet nearly identical visions both describe the appearance of God’s throne. Thus it is revealed that the God of the Old Testament is the same as the God of the New Testament.
Another vision recorded by Ezekiel which reveals a truth, or more accurately declares a prophecy fulfilled in the New Testament, is that of the shut eastern gate of the Temple of the Lord. For it is written: “Then he brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary which faces toward the east, but it was shut. And the Lord said to me, “This gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter by it, because the Lord God of Israel has entered by it; therefore it shall be shut” (Ezekiel 44:1-2). This eastern gate which the Lord entered in by and which shall remain shut is symbolic of the Ever Virgin Mary. For just as the Lord entered this world in the flesh through the womb of the Virgin Mary, so too did her womb remain shut even after the birth of Christ.
Another vision found in the Book of Ezekiel is that of the resurrection of the dead. For in this vision the Lord brings Ezekiel to a valley of dry bones and the Lord commands Ezekiel to prophecy over them. Then as Ezekiel was prophesying there came a shaking, and the bones began to reconnect and flesh and skin covered them (Ezekiel 37:7-8). St. Irenaeus tells us that this passage of Prophet Ezekiel is proof of the resurrection, and holds that the same God Who created us will also raise us up: “…the Creator is vivifying our dead bodies, and promising resurrection to them, and resuscitation from their sepulchers and tombs.” However, from a Jewish perspective this prophecy of the resurrection of dry bones is interpreted as God gathering all the children of Israel together again and placing them in the Land of Israel. A prophecy believed to have been fulfilled on May 14, 1948.
Apart from the visions and prophecies of Ezekiel, tradition tells us that some of the Jewish exiles could not bear the censure of Ezekiel, and thus murdered the man of God. The late Bishop Nikolai Velimirovic (+ 1956) writes that, “the Jews bound [Ezekiel] to the tails of horses and he was torn asunder.” Later other Jewish captives buried Prophet Ezekiel in the field of Thur, in the double cave tomb of Arphaxad and his father Shem, who was the son of none other than the Antediluvian patriarch Noah. However, it is also believed by both Jews and Muslims that Ezekiel’s Tomb is located in Al Kifl, Iraq and that it currently forms part of the Al-Nukhailah Mosque complex. This religious site is held by faithful Jews as their most holy shrine in all of modern Iraq, which was once ancient Babylon.
References:
Holy Apostles Convent. The Lives of the Holy Prophets. (Buena Vista, CO: Holy Apostles Convent, 1998).
Nelson. The Holy Bible, New King James Version. (Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 1984).
Regal Books. What The Bible Is All About. (Ventura, CA: Gospel Light Publications, 1989).
Tarazi, P.N. The Old Testament: Introduction Vol. 2: Prophetic Traditions. (Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1994).
Zondervan. The Holy Bible, King James Version. (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2009).