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CHRIST IN EZEKIEL Ezekiel 2:1-10: The term “son of man” is the standard title used for Ezekiel throughout the book. In the New Testament, it is the Lord Jesus Christ who wears this title, so Ezekiel (“God will strengthen”) becomes a type of Christ. Here he pictures Christ in that he receives a commission to be a faithful prophet and not be discouraged by the rejection of the people. Jesus was very faithful in this regard by fulfilling the Father’s will to every jot and tittle. Ezekiel 17:22-24: “Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will also take of the highest branch of the high cedar, and will set it; I will crop off from the top of his young twigs a tender one, and will plant it upon an high mountain and eminent: In the mountain of the height of Israel will I plant it: and it shall bring forth boughs, and bear fruit, and be a goodly cedar: and under it shall dwell all fowl of every wing; in the shadow of the branches thereof shall they dwell. And all the trees of the field shall know that I the LORD have brought down the high tree, have exalted the low tree, have dried up the green tree, and have made the dry tree to flourish: I the LORD have spoken and have done it.” So Jesus the meek and lowly Galilean has been exalted by the Father and will be yet even more exalted in His kingdom when the times of the Gentiles expire, the world powers fall, and Christ’s Millennial Kingdom is firmly established from Jerusalem (Isa. 2:2-4). Ezekiel 20:46-49: “Son of man, set thy face toward the south, and drop thy word toward the south, and prophesy against the forest of the south field; And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein. And all flesh shall see that I the LORD have kindled it: it shall not be quenched. Then said I, Ah Lord GOD! they say of me, Doth he not speak parables?” Notice how it is pointed out that fiery judgment from God is interpreted by many as being “parables.” Sound familiar? It should because that’s how Jesus’ words from Luke 16:19-31 are interpreted by the liberal scholars and commentators. Ezekiel 33:7-9: “So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me. When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.” So Christ the “son of man” was a perfect watchman that left no work unfinished. In fact, He said of the lost religious crowd of His day, “If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloke for their sin.” (John 15:22) Ezekiel 34:11-18: This whole chapter deals with the irresponsible shepherds of Israel in contrast to Christ the “good shepherd.” (John 10:11, 14) The key verse is verse eleven: “For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out,” which goes very well with Luke 19:10: “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” Ezekiel 40:2: “In the visions of God brought he me into the land of Israel, and set me upon a very high mountain, by which was as the frame of a city on the south.” Ezekiel chapters forty through forty-eight cover the measurements and order of the millennial temple, the entire existence of which points back the Christ’s finished work at Calvary. As such, the section begins quite appropriately on “a very high mountain.” That would be Mt. Moriah, the location of the temple (II Chron. 3:1) and the location of Abraham’s efforts to sacrifice Isaac (Gen. 22:2), which pictured God’s sacrifice of His Son at Calvary. The mention of the “very high mountain” here is to emphasize the fact that this concerns Christ’s kingdom, since mountains picture kingdoms in the Bible. Ezekiel 17:22 is a good reference: “Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will also take of the highest branch of the high cedar, and will set it; I will crop off from the top of his young twigs a tender one, and will plant it upon an high mountain and eminent.” Ezekiel 47:9: “And it shall come to pass, that every thing that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live: and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed; and every thing shall live whither the river cometh.” This river pictures the water of life that is found in Christ alone. John 7:38-39 is a good reference: “He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)” Also see Revelation 22:17.