Who is the Prince in Ezekiel? Why can it not be the Messiah? 521-2 - 21 - 6

Who Is the “Prince”? CM discusses three possibilities, the Messiah, King David or of the line of King David.

I remember watching the Lone Ranger on TV and as he would ride off into the sunset the town’s people would say, “Who was that masked man?” It seems rather the same with the Prince of Ezekiel 44. Far better minds than mine seem to have drawn a blank.

Ezekiel 44:3, “It is for the prince; the prince, he shall sit in it to eat bread before the Lord; he shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate, and shall go out by the way of the same.” [KJV] Here the prince is sitting in the presence of the Lord and is allowed to eat bread in his presence. The Prince had to enter by way of a gate other than the East gate, reserved for the Lord and the Shekinah glory.

So rather than saying who the Prince is, it’s easier to say who he is not. The Prince is not the Messiah. The Prince has no priestly right unlike our Messiah who is our high priest. The Prince offers a sin offering when we know that Jesus was the propitiation for sin. Again, the prince cannot enter through the East gate which is reserved for the Lord.

What of other versions of the Bible?

Ezekiel 44:3, "As for the ¹Prince, He will sit in it as a prince to eat food before Jehovah; He will enter through the porch of the gate and go out the same way." [Living Stream Ministry. Holy Bible Recovery Version]

LSM Footnote ¹, Ezekiel 44: 3 ¹ Prince, “The Prince here is Christ as the King in the coming millennial kingdom. The word in vv. 1-3 indicates that Christ and God have an equal position, for only Christ can enter in and go out by the gate through which God has passed. Thus, God and Christ have a special, holy portion among God’s people.”

Here we have Jehovah, Jesus and the Shekinah glory, the Trinity?

Ezekiel 44:3, “The Regent² Prince³ will be seated there, ⁴ as Regent Prince, and will dine in the LORD’s presence, entering through the portico of the gate and exiting through it also.” [International Standard Version ISV]

ISV Footnotes:

2 44: 3 The Heb. lacks Regent; and so through chapter 48

3 44: 3 I.e. a ruler who will govern with a king’s authority in the name of one holding higher supremacy; and so through chapter 48

4 44: 3 Lit. will sit in it

Here the prince is in a management position with authority.

Could the prince be King David? Unlikely as Ezekiel often referred to King David and would likely have used his name and title. As for the line of King David, blood curse on David’s son Solomon’s line. King David’s son Nathan’s line, well maybe, Jesus born to Mary, a direct descendant of Nathan.