In the last post, we saw eight Bible passages that state unequivocally that the Holy Spirit lifts people up. In this post, we'll examine the ninth, Ezekiel 8:2. In this verse, the appearance of the One who lifted Ezekiel up is revealed.
Anyone who will deal properly with Ezekiel 8:2 must first make up their mind about whether verse 3 (below) is the Holy Spirit or not:
The Spirit lifted me up between Earth and Heaven and in visions of God he took me to Jerusalem (Ezekiel 8:3).
We believe that verse 3 fits the pattern of many other passages from the same book, and that it also fits the pattern of the Bible—it's highlighting the very common activity of the Holy Spirit of snatching up God’s servants. Now, let’s examine Ezekiel 8:2.
Who did the prophet Ezekiel see in 8:2? Who was this who had ‘a figure like that of a man’?
… while I was sitting in my house and the elders of Judah were sitting before me, the hand of the Sovereign LORD came on me there.
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… (Ezekiel 8:2-3)
Not the Father
The supernatural being we see here is not Yahweh, the Father. Ezekiel sees the Father in the next verse, 8:4—where Ezekiel tells us that he sees “the God of Israel.”
… there before me was the Glory of the God of Israel, as in the vision I had seen in the plain (Ezekiel 8:4).
Not Jesus
The preachers who say that the being who appears in 8:2 was Jesus make that assertion because the being looks like a man. However, God and angels also look like men. Why can’t the Spirit look like a man? In fact, why would he not look like a man?
It’s preposterous to think that the Spirit would look like anything different than a man. For example, does anyone dare propose that the Spirit might look like one of the four-faced “living creatures” of Revelation 4:6-8? We think not.
In the center, around the Throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with lenses, in front and in back. The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle. Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with lenses all around, even under its wings (Revelation 4:6-8).
Or will we deny the Holy Spirit any appearance at all, call him formless, and so rob him of an identity? We refuse to do so. Rather, we'll undo the damage that centuries of Trinitarianism has caused. We'll let the Bible speak for itself about what the Spirit looks like. He is a personal spirit and must be understood as someone with a body.
It’s not Jesus in Ezekiel 8:2-3 because Jesus never snatches people up to take them around to see visions in any part of the Bible. These are the things that the Holy Spirit does. For example, notice how the Sprit snatches up Philip in Acts 8. Here, the Greek term snatch away is used.
When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; and the eunuch no longer saw him, but went on his way rejoicing. But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through, he kept preaching the Gospel (Acts 8:39; NASB).
Paul uses this same term snatching up when he describes the Rapture in the passage below. Below, it’s translated as caught up.
… we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:17).
Not an Angel
We know that angels can snatch people up too. That is, this is not something that exclusively the Holy Spirit can do. In the next verse we see that Jesus will send his angels to gather us up during the Rapture.
… he [Jesus] will send his angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the Earth to the ends of the heavens (Mark 13:27).
The Holy Spirit
So, let’s get back to the passage under investigation. Can we interpret it correctly now?
… while I was sitting in my house and the elders of Judah were sitting before me, the hand of the Sovereign LORD came on me there.
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… (Ezekiel 8:2-3)
The One who Ezekiel sees standing before him is also the one who stretches out his hand, grabs Ezekiel by the hair, and lifts Ezekiel up into the atmosphere. To identify the One standing there as the Father, Jesus, or an angel is to ignore the fact that this is the same being who is called the Spirit of God twice in Ezekiel 11.
… the Spirit of Yahweh fell on me, and he said to me, “Say, ‘thus says Yahweh…’” (Ezekiel 11:5; LEB).
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).
A straightforward reading of the text should lead you to the conclusion that this is the Holy Spirit, the same Spirit that hovered over the surface of the deep in the second verse of the Bible!
Interesting