One Who Speaks

There are many times in the Book of Ezekiel when the prophet Ezekiel hears One who speaks. Who is that One?

… I heard the voice of One speaking (Ezekiel 1:28).

He said to me, ‘Son of man, stand up on your feet and I will speak to you.’ As he spoke, the Spirit came into me and raised me to my feet, and I heard him speaking to me. He said: ‘Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites…’

‘You must speak my words to them, whether they listen or fail to listen… But you, son of man, listen to what I say to you. Do not rebel like that rebellious people; open your mouth and eat what I give you.’ Then I looked, and I saw a hand stretched out to me. In it was a scroll, which he unrolled before me… (Ezekiel 2:1-3; 7-10)

… he said to me, “Son of man, listen carefully and take to heart all the words I speak to you. Go now to your people in exile and speak to them. Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says,’ whether they listen or fail to listen.”

Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me a loud rumbling sound as the glory of the LORD rose from the place where it was standing. It was the sound of the wings of the living creatures brushing against each other and the sound of the wheels beside them, a loud rumbling sound.

The Spirit then lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness and in the anger of my spirit, with the strong hand of the LORD on me (Ezekiel 3:10-14).

Is this One who speaks the same one who entered Ezekiel’s body, and the same one who lifted Ezekiel up? If it is, then it’s the Holy Spirit because we’ve already proven that only the Holy Spirit will enter the body of a human being—angels won’t do it—and we’ve already proven that a pattern of behavior of the Holy Spirit is to snatch people up, even in the New Testament.

If the One who speaks is not the same one as the one who entered Ezekiel’s body, and the same one who lifted Ezekiel up, then the One who speaks must be an angel.

However, we believe that the One who speaks is the Holy Spirit. Here are three reasons for believing that he's the Holy Spirit:

1.   All God’s prophets are inspired by the Holy Spirit.

This is a fundamental truth of Scriptures. Prophets have always heard the voice of the Holy Spirit. Peter says that we should know this ‘first of all.’ What Peter means is that it’s standard Christian belief that the prophets were led by the Holy Spirit. It’s a basic "elementary level" Christian truth.

… know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God (2 Peter 1:20-21; NASB).

As the Nicene Creed from 325 AD says, the Holy Spirit “…has spoken through the prophets.” That ancient belief summarized by the Nicene fathers is derived from various Scripture passages, like these three:

For many years you were patient with them. By your Spirit you warned them through your prophets (Nehemiah 9:30).

… [they] would not listen to the Law or to the words that the LORD Almighty had sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets (Zechariah 7:12).

In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways… (Hebrews 1:1)

Is the same Spirit that lifted Ezekiel up, the one who spoke to him in Chapters 1-8, and 11? Yes. A straightforward reading of those passages should lead you to that conclusion.

… the Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the gate of the House of the LORD… The LORD said to me, ‘Son of man, these are the men who are plotting evil… Therefore prophesy against them…’

Then the Spirit of the LORD came on me, and he told me to say: ‘This is what the LORD says: That is what you are saying, you leaders in Israel, but I know what is going through your mind. You have killed many people… but I will drive you out...’ (Ezekiel 11:1-7)

Mind you, this same chapter, which begins with the Spirit lifting Ezekiel up, and the Spirit of Yahweh talking to Ezekiel, also has a verse which clarifies that the Spirit of God was the source of Ezekiel's visions:

The Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the exiles in Babylonia in the vision given by the Spirit of God (Ezekiel 11:24).

2.   A natural reading of the text makes the speaker the Spirit.

Most commentators think that the One who is speaking is different from the Spirit who lifts up the prophet—but that is unnatural, and there is no grammatical reason to interpret the passage that way.

The original Hebrew is not complex. It reads the same way it does in English. In both cases, the plain interpretation of the text is that the one who is speaking is also the one who lifts Ezekiel up. Look at the passage here:

I heard the voice of One speaking. He said to me, “Son of man, stand up on your feet and I will speak to you.”

As he spoke, the Spirit came into me and raised me to my feet, and I heard him speaking to me. He said: “Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against me... Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says…’” (Ezekiel 1:28b-2:4)

An intelligent but weak argument against this being the Holy Spirit is that a parallel passage (Revelation 10:9-10) has an angel giving a scroll to John to eat. Why is that argument weak? Because the Holy Spirit can easily do the same things an angel can do. The fact that an angel does something in one passage does not disqualify the Spirit from doing it in another.

Otherwise, there is no legitimate argument to say that the One speaking and the one who lifted Ezekiel to his feet were two different beings.

3. The One who is speaking is speaking from God.

Another reason to believe that the One who lifts Ezekiel up is the same one who is speaking is because the One who is speaking is speaking from God! That’s something the Spirit does throughout the Bible. Angels don’t speak on God’s behalf. They’re not authorized to do so because they’re not God’s official spokes-beings. The Holy Spirit and Jesus do speak on behalf of God, and he has authorized them to speak in his stead.

Below are three cases where angels speak in the Bible. Notice that they never presumptuously speak from God (in the first person), but they respectfully speak about God (in the third person):

… he [John the Baptist] will be great in the sight of the Lord… he will turn many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God (the angel Gabriel speaking to Zacharias; Luke 1:15-16).

…the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David … nothing will be impossible with God (Gabriel to Mary; Luke 1:32, 37).

For God has put it in their hearts to execute his purpose… until the words of God will be fulfilled… God has remembered her offenses (an angel to John; Revelation 17:17-18; 18:5).

Can you answer these two questions correctly?

1. Can the Holy Spirit speak the Words of God?

Answer: Yes, God has authorized him to do so.

2. Can the Spirit speak with God’s voice?

Answer: Yes, God has authorized him to do so. He’s the Spirit of God! In other words, he's the Spirit who answers directly to God and who is at his beck and call. He is God's most special spirit that serves him.

The Bible is God’s Word, and the Holy Spirit gave the Bible to us. The Spirit has given us God’s Word because God speaks through the Spirit, putting his words in the mouth of his Spirit. That's why he is called the Spirit of Yahweh. Do you get it?

All Scripture is God-breathed… (2 Timothy 3:16)

The Holy Spirit has spoken the Words of God. He has done this through the prophets in such a way that men spoke from God! If prophets spoke and said ‘thus sayeth the Lord’ cannot the Holy Spirit also speak and say ‘thus sayeth the Lord’? Of course he can.

On the other hand, angels do not speak from God. They speak about God, but they do not speak from God with the authority with which the Holy Spirit or a prophet filled with the Holy Spirit speaks.

See Him, Hear Him

Now are you able to see the Holy Spirit in Ezekiel? The prophet Ezekiel saw him. Can you see him? Can you identify him? He’s magnificent. He's more beautiful than the most glorious angel. Here's what a glorious angel looks like:

I looked, and I saw a figure like that of a man. From what appeared to be his waist down he was like fire, and from there up his appearance was as bright as glowing metal.

He stretched out what looked like a hand and took me by the hair of my head. The Spirit lifted me up between Earth and Heaven and in visions of God he took me to Jerusalem… Then he said to me, ‘Son of man, look toward the north’ (Ezekiel 8:2-5).

Here's what glowing fire looks like:

The Holy Spirit was the One who spoke to the prophet Ezekiel. He speaks to you too. Are you listening?