Why is Ezekiel, of Zadokite priesthood, so correct in naming prophecy dates ?
Twelve of the 13 dates specify times when Ezekiel received a divine message. The other is the date of the arrival of the messenger who reported the fall of Jerusalem (33:21).
http://cityprophet.wordpress.com/ Continue the historical journey of Ezekiel's birth rights, to see how
he understood prophecy relating to the four living creatures of the Mazzaroth.
( excerpt's for demonstration )
http://www.biblewheel.com/wheel/Spokes/Dalet_Wheel.aspFour Living Creatures
And I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness was about it, and out of the midst thereof as the colour of amber, out of the midst of the fire. Also out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance; they had the likeness of a man. And every one had four faces, and every one had four wings. And their feet were straight feet; and the sole of their feet was like the sole of a calf's foot: and they sparkled like the colour of burnished brass. And they had the hands of a man under their wings on their four sides; and they four had their faces and their wings. Their wings were joined one to another; they turned not when they went; they went every one straight forward. As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a man, and the face of a lion, on the right side: and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four also had the face of an eagle. Thus were their faces: and their wings were stretched upward; two wings of every one were joined one to another, and two covered their bodies. [Ezekiel 1.4-11]
These Four Living Creatures have been associated with the Four Evangelists since the days of the early church. Unfortunately, the tradition varies greatly and there are no indisputable Scriptural associations. They appear twice in Scripture - forming the following KeyLink between Ezekiel and Spoke 4 of the Inner Wheel of Revelation (cf. [Inner Wheels] > Revelation 4 ):
http://www.biblewheel.com/InnerWheels/Revelation/Rev04.aspBoth Ezekiel and Revelation 4 describe the Throne of God as surrounded by a rainbow, and both use precious stones to describe the color. These are the only verses in all the Bible where God's Throne is described this way. We have therefore another KeyLink:
KeyLink: The Rainbow and the Throne of God
EzekielRevelation 4
Consider the degree of integration going on here! Revelation 4, Ezekiel, the meaning of the Fourth Letter and even its numerical value are all deeply integrated! There is no end to God's Wisdom as revealed in His Holy Bible! Glory to God in the highest!
Yet there is one more thing I must mention. The exact words written at the end of Ezekiel 1.28 (the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD) are numerically equivalent to the Name Yehoshuah HaMeshiach, which is Jesus Christ in Hebrew. This is explained in the Gematria Reference.
http://www.biblewheel.com/GR/GR_754.asp http://www.piney.com/MuOutLaw.htmlAnd he said unto me, this chamber, whose prospect is toward the south, is for the priests, the keepers of the charge of the house. Ezekiel 40:45
And the chamber whose prospect is toward the north is for the priests, the keepers of the charge of the altar: these are the sons of Zadok among the sons of Levi, which come near to the Lord to minister unto him. Ezekiel 40:46
http://www.bible.org/page.php?page_id=3999The priesthood traced its lineage from Aaron through his son Eleazar to Zadok; the other son was Ithamar. The line of the High Priests was in the Zadokite family until the time of Antiochus IV Epiphanes, when Onias III had to flee for his life. Until that time, the office had a life-long tenure; but afterward the high priests were appointed and deposed at the will of the ruler, whether Seleucid, Roman, or Herodian.
The last High Priest of the Jewish state was a commoner chosen by lot when the Zealots took the Temple. The High Priest was supposed to be able to be able to trace his lineage from the High Priestly families. He also had to maintain ritual purity in himself and in his descendants. His major tasks were to make atonement in the Holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement, to officiate in the Temple, and (at certain historical times) to preside over the Sanhedrin. Of course, as High Priest he could officiate any time he wished.4
The priesthood was divided into 24 courses or families, 16 were Zadokite and 8 were of Ithamar. Each group was responsible for one week of service in the Temple at a time, so in a given year they would serve a total of two weeks as well as the times of the festivals. The rest of the year they ministered throughout the land in the areas in which they lived.
http://www.christianorigins.com/zadok.htmlAfter the exile there was no king – only the high priest, a blood descendant of Zadok. For a significant part of the second temple era the House of Zadok supplied high priests who were in effect kings. It also supplied the higher priesthood, those priests with specific duties within the temple. This continued into the era of Macedonian conquest of the area, when Judaea became a vassal state, subject to whichever was the stronger of the two Macedonian kingdoms of Egypt and Syria. These difficult times made Jews nostalgic for the glorious days of David, and the idea of the restoration of a Davidic king, a ‘Messiah,’ took hold.
We can be certain that those belonging to the House of Zadok were numerous and were the most powerful Jewish institution. High priests had to be physically perfect; a limp or a squint could disqualify, so fecundity was required. Large families assured the succession, protecting against infant mortality and death from disease, war and murder. Redundant male offspring naturally had families too, so the death of a high priest who had no son, or whose sons were too young, allowed the closest male relative to assume the sacred role. The system worked; there was an unbroken line of Zadokites ruling the people for several centuries.
http://www.mazzaroth.com/Introduction/FourthDayGenesis.htmcalendar cycles - Heb. mo’adhim, "appointed assemblies" of the Lord; Day and night determined by the sun, the week determined by the phases of the moon, month based on the recurrence of the new moon. The year was divided into two seasons, seedtime or winter, and harvest or summer.
Although no connection to the Hebrew word here, Muzaloth was the eighth heaven of the translation of Enoch, and a place of changing of the Season. Similar to the Hebrew mazzaloth in 2 Kings 23:5, RSV, "constellations," as a reference to Mazzaroth .
http://www.mazzaroth.com/Introduction/MazzarothDefined.htm http://encyclopedia.jrank.org/Cambridge/en.../Zadokites.htmlDescendants of Zadok, a priest apparently of Aaronic lineage and of the family of Eleazar, who opposed the conspiracy of Abiathar against Solomon and was appointed high priest, serving in Solomon's temple. His family continued to hold this office until Jerusalem fell in 587 BC, and again later in the Second Temple period until the office became a political appointment of the occupying power under Antiochus IV (c.171 BC). The Qumran community continued to look for a renewal of the Zadokite priesthood, and described its own priestly members in these terms. Some derive ‘Sadducees’ from Zadokites.
End of Article: Zadokites
Biography
Main article: Ezekiel
The Book of Ezekiel gives little detail about Ezekiel's life. In it, he is mentioned only twice by name: 1:3 and 24:24. Ezekiel is a priest, the son of Buzi (my contempt), and his name means "God will strengthen". He was one of the Israelite exiles, who settled at a place called Tel-abib, on the banks of the Chebar, "in the land of the Chaldeans." The place is thus not identical to the modern city Tel Aviv, which is, however, named after it. He was probably carried away captive with Jehoiachin (1:2; 2 Kings 24:14-16) about 597 BC.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BuziFor a river in Mozambique, see Buzi River.
Buzi (my contempt) was the mother or the father of Ezekiel the priest. (Ezek. 1:3). Ezekiel, like Jeremiah, is said to have been a descendant of Joshua by his marriage with the proselyte Rahab (Talmud Meg. 14b; Midrash Sifre, Num. 78). Some scholars claim that he (Ezekiel) was Jeremiah or the son of Jeremiah, who was (also) called "Buzi" because he was despised by the Jews. In the event Jeremiah and Ezekiel were indeed the same person, Buzi was the wife of Hilkiah the priest.
http://cityprophet.wordpress.com/Ezekiel lived about 2600 years ago, during the time that the Babylonian Empire had subdued the nation of Judah and had destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple. He was the son of Buzi, a Zadokite priest. Ezekiel was among the Jews in Judah who were taken as captives by the Babylonians to Babylon. He received his call as a prophet during the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin. Ezekiel’s ministry lasted about 22 years.
Author
What is known of Ezekiel is derived solely from the book that bears his name. He was among the Jews exiled to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar in 597 b.c., and there among the exiles he received his call to become a prophet (see 1:1-3). He was married (see 24:15-18), lived in a house of his own (see 3:24; 8:1) and along with his fellow exiles, though confined to Babylonia, had a relatively free existence there.
He was of a priestly family (see NIV text note on 1:3) and therefore was eligible to serve as a priest. As a priest-prophet called to minister to the exiles (separated from the temple of the Lord with its symbolism, sacrifices, priestly ministrations and worship rituals), his message had much to do with the temple (see especially chs. 8-11; 40-4 and its ceremonies.
Ezekiel was obviously a man of broad knowledge, not only of his own national traditions but also of international affairs and history. His acquaintance with general matters of culture, from shipbuilding to literature, is equally amazing. He was gifted with a powerful intellect and was capable of grasping large issues and of dealing with them in grand and compelling images. His style is often detached, but in places it is passionate and earthy (see chs. 16; 23).
More than any other prophet (more even than Hosea and Jeremiah) he was directed to involve himself personally in the divine word by acting it out in prophetic symbolism.
Date
Since the book of Ezekiel contains more dates (see chart, p. 1661) than any other OT prophetic book, its prophecies can be dated with considerable precision. In addition, modern scholarship, using archaeology (Babylonian annals on cuneiform tablets) and astronomy (accurate dating of eclipses referred to in ancient archives), provides precise modern calendar equivalents.
Twelve of the 13 dates specify times when Ezekiel received a divine message. The other is the date of the arrival of the messenger who reported the fall of Jerusalem (33:21).
Having received his call in July, 593 b.c., Ezekiel was active for 22 years, his last dated oracle being received in April, 571 (see 29:17). If the “thirtieth year” of 1:1 refers to Ezekiel’s age at the time of his call, his prophetic career exceeded a normal priestly term of service by two years (see Nu 4:3). His period of activity coincides with Jerusalem’s darkest hour, preceding the 586 destruction by 7 years and following it by 15.