Ezekiel & The Gospel —

Of the sixty-six books of the Bible, one of the more challenging to read is Ezekiel. As Bible scholar Charles Dyer admits,

“For the average reader of the Bible the Book of Ezekiel is mostly a perplexing maze of incoherent visions—a kaleidoscope of whirling wheels and dry bones that defy interpretation. This impression often causes readers to shy away from studying the book and to miss one of the great literary and spiritual portions of the Old Testament.”

I think it’s safe to assume that if you’re reading this, then you’re like me and don’t want a few mysterious passages to come between you and Ezekiel! So let’s see if we can break this down and come to an understanding of what the Holy Spirit is trying to teach us. Actually, you might be surprised to learn that in some ways Ezekiel can be easier to understand than some of the other prophetic books especially in regard to its arrangement, structure, and overall message. For example, more than any other major prophet Ezekiel arranges his prophecies with extreme chronological precision which makes the timeline easier to follow. Even when we include the minor prophets, only Haggai and Zechariah’s prophecies are arranged like Ezekiel’s. In addition to the chronological order scholars have also identified a structural order to Ezekiel. In fact, it is organized into three distinct sections. In the first part (chapters 1-24) Ezekiel focuses on God’s judgment of Judah for her sin. Then in the second section (chapters 25-32) the focus shifts to God’s judgment of other nations for their iniquity. And the third part (chapters 33-48) is all about restoration.
Interestingly, once we recognize this structural order of Ezekiel the overall message of the book also comes into focus. Pay attention to the pattern: 1) God judges the Jews for their sin, 2) God judges the Gentiles for their rebellion, both are called to repent. 3) If they respond to God’s call and humble themselves before Him then He will forgive their iniquities and bring restoration and new life. Does that sound familiar? It’s the Gospel message, and it’s written all over the pages of Ezekiel! There are many passages we could look at as examples but let’s focus on the famous vision of the dry bones.seemingly a prophecy regarding the restoration of Israel, it’s bigger than that because it ultimately points to Jesus Christ who brings those who are dead in their sin to life again. Notice that even the man prophesying over the dead bones, Ezekiel, seems to be a type of Christ.
Three well-known titles of Jesus are the prophet like Moses (Acts 3:22; 7:37), Son of Man (Matt. 8:20; 9:6; Mk. 8:31; 9:12; Lk. 11:30; Jn. 1:51; 3:13, etc.), and the Last Adam (1 Cor. 15:45). Interestingly, Ezekiel is also connected to these titles. For instance, Ezekiel could rightly be referred to as a prophet like Moses since he fulfilled “a role similar to Moses, renewing the covenant at a time of breakdown of the relationship.” In fact, “In the biblical narrative, Ezekiel is the only person other than Moses to communicate divine laws to Israel (chs. 43-48).” As for the title son of man (which is a well-known messianic title) God refers to Ezekiel this way numerous times in his book (Ez. 2:1, 3, 6, 8; 3:1, 3, 4; etc.). On top of that, son of man can also be translated son of Adam. So Ezekiel could be seen as a second Adam just as Christ is the last Adam. As Bible scholar Thomas Renz concludes, “As a second Adam and Moses, the prophet is a type of Christ, who is the ultimate second Adam and Moses, the beginning of a new creation.”
Thus, Jesus and His Gospel is what the book of Ezekiel is ultimately all about!