📖 Biblical Definition
Ezekiel is the priest-prophet of the exile — called by God through an overwhelming vision of divine glory by the river Chebar in Babylon (Ezekiel 1). He prophesied to the Jewish exiles before and after the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC. His message contains some of the most vivid imagery in Scripture: the valley of dry bones brought to life by the Spirit (Ezekiel 37), the departure and return of God's glory from the Temple (Ezekiel 10-11, 43), the shepherd chapter where God Himself promises to shepherd His people (Ezekiel 34), and the vision of the eschatological Temple (Ezekiel 40-48). Ezekiel 37 is the definitive Old Testament passage on regeneration — God breathing life into dead bones, pictures the new birth. Ezekiel 34 directly foreshadows Christ as the Good Shepherd. His prophecy of a new heart and new spirit (Ezekiel 36:26-27) parallels Jeremiah's New Covenant: "I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh."
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
A Hebrew priest and prophet of the Babylonian exile; noted for visions and symbolic prophecies.
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EZE'KIEL, n. [Heb. יחזקאל, God strengthens.] A priest of the line of Zadok, carried captive to Babylon with Jehoiachin. He received his prophetic calling in the fifth year of exile and prophesied for at least twenty-two years. His visions of divine glory, the valley of dry bones, and the future Temple are among the most sublime passages in Scripture.
📖 Key Scripture
• Ezekiel 36:26-27 — "I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. I will remove the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh."
• Ezekiel 37:5-6 — "Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live."
• Ezekiel 34:23 — "I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them."
• Ezekiel 1:28 — "Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell on my face."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
Ezekiel's visions are hijacked by UFO enthusiasts and his Temple vision is reduced to dispensationalist blueprints.
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Ezekiel suffers two primary modern distortions. First, his throne-chariot vision in chapter 1 has been co-opted by ancient astronaut theorists and UFO enthusiasts who claim the "wheels within wheels" describe extraterrestrial spacecraft. This is rank blasphemy — Ezekiel is describing a theophany, the glory of the living God attended by angelic beings, not an alien encounter. Second, his Temple vision (chapters 40-48) is treated by many dispensationalists as a literal blueprint for a future rebuilt Temple with restored animal sacrifices — which would contradict the book of Hebrews' declaration that Christ's sacrifice is once for all and the old covenant sacrificial system is obsolete. The Temple vision, properly understood, presents the reality of God dwelling with His people in fullness — a vision fulfilled ultimately in the New Jerusalem where God Himself is the Temple (Revelation 21:22).
Usage
• "The valley of dry bones is the definitive picture of regeneration — dead sinners cannot raise themselves; only the breath of God can bring dead bones to life."
• "Ezekiel's promise of a new heart is the Old Testament declaration of what Jesus called being 'born again' — God must replace the heart of stone with a heart of flesh."