Ezekiel 44

Jehovah, the God of Israel

Jehovah — the covenant name, rendered LORD; the premortal Christ

Then said the LORD unto me; This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter in by it; because the LORD, the God of Israel, hath entered in by it, therefore it shall be shut. Ezekiel 44:2

The east gate is sealed because the LORD, the God of Israel, has passed through it into His temple (43:2-4). The way the Lord came is made holy by His coming. Latter-day Saints understand the God of Israel to be Jesus Christ before His birth.

How we know: Jehovah is the premortal Christ (Abraham 1:16; D&C 110:3–4)

• the same event in Ezekiel 43:4 — The glory of the LORD came into the house by the way of the east gate.
• interprets 3 Nephi 15:5 — Jesus declares, 'I am he that gave the law, and I am he who covenanted with my people Israel.'

The prince (Davidic ruler)

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. Ezekiel 44:3

Ezekiel earlier calls the coming Davidic ruler 'my servant David ... a prince among them,' and this prince alone may sit in the Lord's gate to eat bread before Him. The prince here is a human ruler (he offers for his own sins in 45:22), but his special place echoes the promised King from David's line, Jesus Christ.

• the same title in Ezekiel 34:23-24 — My servant David shall be a prince among them.
• the same title in Ezekiel 37:25 — My servant David shall be their prince for ever.

Jehovah (the glory of the LORD)

Jehovah — the covenant name, rendered LORD; the premortal Christ

Then brought he me the way of the north gate before the house: and I looked, and, behold, the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD: and I fell upon my face. Ezekiel 44:4–5

Ezekiel again sees the glory of the LORD filling His house and falls on his face, and then the LORD speaks to him directly. The premortal Christ is present in His temple and personally gives its laws.

How we know: the verse itself names Him

• the same event in Ezekiel 43:5 — The glory of the LORD filled the house.

Jehovah

Jehovah — the covenant name, rendered LORD; the premortal Christ

But the priests the Levites, the sons of Zadok, that kept the charge of my sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from me, they shall come near to me to minister unto me, and they shall stand before me to offer unto me the fat and the blood, saith the Lord GOD: Ezekiel 44:15–16

The Lord GOD speaks in the first person about the faithful priests who may come near to Him, stand before Him, and offer the fat and the blood. Jehovah, the premortal Christ, is the one to whom every sacrifice was offered, and those sacrifices pointed to His own.

How we know: Jehovah is the premortal Christ (Abraham 1:16; D&C 110:3–4)

Jehovah, the priests' inheritance

Jehovah — the covenant name, rendered LORD; the premortal Christ

And it shall be unto them for an inheritance: I am their inheritance: and ye shall give them no possession in Israel: I am their possession. Ezekiel 44:28

Instead of land, the priests receive the Lord Himself: 'I am their inheritance ... I am their possession.' Jehovah, the premortal Christ, offers Himself as the greatest reward for those who serve Him.

How we know: the verse itself names Him

• alludes to Numbers 18:20 — The LORD told Aaron, 'I am thy part and thine inheritance among the children of Israel.'