The book of ezekiel: introduction

A lot of people doubt that most of Ezekiel's ministry (about 99 percent) happened in Babylon. Why? Because while Ezekiel claimed to be in Babylon, he knew details of what was going on in Jerusalem, including seeing certain people at the Temple. How? God transported Ezekiel in a vision in real time; he was taken, in his spirit, to Jerusalem to see what was happening.

Ezekiel was a totally different person from Jeremiah. Though Jeremiah is fairly easy to get to know through the Bible [and probably better than anyone else in the Old Testament], Ezekiel is not. And, because the focus of the Book of Ezekiel is on God and not on Ezekiel, the importance of the man is going to be diminished.

The book of Ezekiel is the most difficult book to understand in the Old Testament, and possibly, in the Bible unless one approaches it correctly. Most importantly, the book is impossible to follow unless one knows what form of literature was used and how that literature works. Fortunately, the form of literature used to produce the Book of Ezekiel [and one that remains very common in the Orient today], is easy to identify because certain elements are at work.

The Book of is written in the same form of literature as the Book of Ezekiel. Examine the following verse and see if you can identify the striking elements:

Daniel specified certain elements that led to his heavenly vision, as follows:

Continuing in the Book of Daniel, what are the elements of the following verse?

Again, the four elements were specified as follows:

These four elements also appear in the introduction to the Book of Revelation, as follows:

An allegory is a written work with a deeper meaning underlying the literal meaning (speaking of one thing under the guise of another). An allegory is extended metaphor -- something concrete (for example, a character or an object) representing something intangible (for example, a spiritual being, a quality, or a process) -- to create in the mind of the reader the exact equivalent.

A single metaphor is a symbol such as what is seen in the Book of Revelation -- the dragon is a symbol of Satan, the hill is a symbol of Rome, and the woman is a symbol of the apostate church. An extended metaphor, or an allegory, occurs when those symbols are extended out to form a story that has two layers, such as what is seen in Esther (see our study, "Esther: An Allegory").

Though Ezekiel is classic apocalyptic literature, there is a structural difference from that found in Daniel and Revelation. Consider Ezekiel 1:

That was Ezekiel's thirtieth year; Ezekiel was 30 years old.

There is the time.

There is the person, Ezekiel.

There is the place.

Ezekiel was in exile in Babylon.

This is classic apocalyptic literature.

Let us continue…

Do you recognize what is different about the introduction of Ezekiel from that of Daniel and of Revelation? Ezekiel went through the four-element cycle twice. He gave the person, the place, the place was where the person was in exile, and the time, and then he repeated the cycle. Ezekiel was not being redundant; he repeated the cycle for a reason.

In Oriental literature, if the four-element cycle is given once, as in Daniel and Revelation, then the reader looks for two levels of meaning. Alternatively, if the four-element cycle is given twice, as presented in Ezekiel, then the reader looks for a third level of meaning. When you begin the Book of Ezekiel, know that:

1. There is going to be a story that is true in a literal sense, and
2. There are two other levels of meaning.

Father, we thank You for the book of Ezekiel. This is another one of the treasures that You have given us to help us to grow in the knowledge of who You are if we will just take it from You as a gift and then take the time to digest it. Thank You that we have Holy Spirit abiding within us so that we may do just that, if we will simply turn to His leading and not rely upon our own creative abilities and intelligence to do so.

We see that this book is written in a form a literature, with which we may or may not be familiar, and we ask that You guide us into all understanding as You unveil the layers of the allegory. How exciting it is to know You can be found in a manner that is common in Oriental literature.

Would You help us to enjoy the passages found within the book of Ezekiel, and may we rest in the assurance of where we are in You because of what Your Son, Messiah Jesus, has done for us?

We pray this in His name. Amen.