The only Christadelphian book on the whole of the prophecy of Ezekiel was written some 70 years ago by Brother W. H. Boulton (1). While it is a lucidly written book and provides an easy introduction to the prophecy, it lacks detailed exposition, being a short volume of some 200 pages. There are, of course, many detailed expositions in Eureka (2) and Elpis Israel (3) and others writings of Brother Thomas of parts of the prophecy. These include the cherubim, the prophecies of the restoration of Israel and the Gogian invasion. Bro. H. Madeley produced an uplifting booklet on the Cherubim (4) and there have been several other articles and booklets by various authors.(5)

Now, however, a major addition to the Truth's literature on Ezekiel has been made by Brother John Allfree. This is an exposition of chapters 1-39, based on articles written some years ago in The Bible Student but extensively revised and rewritten. Some 472 pages long, it is both lucid and scholarly, written with a conviction and understanding of the prophetic message which is most refreshing in these last dark days of Gentile times. Even if one disagrees with the author's ideas, his well reasoned arguments and lively style make compelling reading. Another valuable feature is the numerous expositions of other parts of Scripture in the form of digressions and footnotes

The cherubim-symbol of the rulership of God

The exposition begins by showing that the whirlwind, fire and cloud, out of which the cherubim emerged, are associated with God coming to Israel for the purpose of judgement. The work of the cherubim is traced from their appearance in Eden and they are seen as the angelic manifestation of God, sent to keep the way of the Tree of Life. Brother Allfree stresses the importance of the scriptural setting in which the cherubim are set forth. He writes "Again the importance of the historical context must be kept in mind. Many of the details of the description of the cherubim are used in other scriptures with reference to Christ and the saints. We read, for example, of Yahweh's feet standing upon the Mount of Olives, in Zechariah 14:4. We read of Christ as the Lion of the tribe of Judah in Revelation 5:5. Such scriptures, however, do not indicate that the cherubim of Ezekiel 1 represent Christ and the saints. They demonstrate rather that Christ and the saints will perform cherubic duties in relation to the human race in the future as the angels have done in the past. They confirm the teaching of the apostles that "unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come...." (Heb. 2:5)". As Brother Allfree expounds the feet, hands, wings, faces, wheels etc., the reader is treated to splendid expositions that go all over scripture in the time honoured Christadelphian approach of comparing scripture with scripture. In this section the reviewer especially appreciated the exposition of the man upon the throne.

The hand of the LORD was upon me

The prophecies that follow are prefaced by one of two statements:- "And the hand of the LORD was there upon me", or" the word of the LORD came unto me saying". Brother Allfree reasons that the former prophecies were visions in which Ezekiel played an active part. These visions include Ezekiel being made dumb, being made to lie on his side for a total of 430 days(some interesting suggestions for understanding this prophecy are made on page 71), and having to survive on an impossibly meagre diet of food and liquid. The other type of prophecy includes some where literal things happened to Ezekiel which also had a symbolic import to Israel. His wife dying is one example.

Allusions to the Law

The chapters following (4-7) give the reasons for the judgements that God was about to bring upon Jerusalem and his people. There are many allusions and citations from the Law. Detailed parallels between Ezekiel 5:5-17 and the prophecies of Moses in Leviticus and Deuteronomy are set out. Brother Allfree writes "For nine centuries God had showed His forbearance and long-suffering towards them. His eyes had spared and He showed pity. Now was the time for all the anger detailed in their Law to be unleashed upon them-mine anger shall be accomplished (v13)."

In this section, in an interesting footnote on page 84, Brother Allfree makes a comparison between Ezekiel's hair cut off and divided into 3 parts, and the prophecy of the third in Zechariah 13:7-9 which had a fulfilment in the time of Jesus. There are many riches of exposition which can only be obtained by a reading of the book.

The glory departs

This is a "hand of the Lord GOD" vision in which Ezekiel takes part, and Brother Allfree includes some useful diagrams that help in understanding these visions about the abominations of Israel. In a footnote on page 101, Brother Allfree compares the abominations of Israel in passing their sons through the fire in pagan worship and their deviant sexual activities with similar behaviour in society around us today, and the warning this has for today's covenant people. In chapter 9 of Ezekiel, Brother Allfree shows that the man with the writer's inkhorn has a role similar to the man on the throne in chapter 1. The whole scene is argued to be the impending sacrifice of Israel to the Babylonian armies. A link is made between this judgmental sacrifice beginning at the sanctuary and Peter's statement in 1 Peter 1:17 "that judgement must begin at the house of God". This had a fulfilment under Nero and the Romans, but has a fulfilment in the judgement yet to come:-"Firstly, the judgement of the ecclesia when Christ comes "as a thief": then the final judgement of Israel as a result of the Gogian invasion and then the judgement of the nations beginning with the overthrow of the Gogian confederacy" (page 113). The man with the writer's ink horn then performs yet another priestly activity as Ezekiel the priest observes him in the vision. He took coals of fire and scattered them over the city, speaking of divine judgement: Brother Allfree connects these coals with the offering of incense on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16:12,13) and the cloud of Ezekiel 10:3. Israel was offering strange incense, unacceptable prayers at this time and so they were to be consumed like Nadab and Abihu. Ezekiel saw the glory move from the most holy place to the threshold of the door of the temple, and then to the throne of the cherubic chariot. The author comments: "Thus, in preparation for the judgement soon to come upon His people, Yahweh was removing His Divine presence from their midst." The next time Ezekiel sees the cherubim is in his vision of the restoration, where, having been shown the temple of the age to come, he is brought to the east gate and sees the glory return(Ezekiel 43 :1-7). Brother Allfree's exposition of chapter 11 is splendid. He is careful to summarise what has preceded in chapters 8, 9 and 10 and highlights the drama of Pelatiah one of the corrupt princes of Israel, dropping dead as Ezekiel uttered his prophecy, a type of Israel falling like the carcass of Deuteronomy 28 :26.

A man of sign

Chapter 12 shows Ezekiel as a man of sign like Joshua and his fellows in Zechariah 3:8. The actions are imaginatively described by Brother Allfree, with a powerful exhortation for us in his concluding paragraph on page 137. In this section where the prophet speaks about the daughters of Israel, there is an exhortation about the role of women in the ecclesia. In Ezekiel's day as no less in our own, there was a feminist movement which tried to influence the eccclesia. The New Testament scriptures show plainly that both teaching and the public preaching of the Truth was carried out by brethren. And associated with this problem, Israel was served by unfaithful elders, as chapter 14 describes(verse 3). The great need for personal integrity is emphasised, quoting the examples of Noah Daniel and Job. Clearly linked to this is Ezekiel's short little parable of the vine in chapter 15. God looks for the fruits of righteousness that only can deliver from judgements to come. The author concludes his exposition on page 158 "But the time will soon be here when this dead vine will be quickened, and Israel will call upon God's name(Psalm 80:18). Then "the vine shall give her fruit, and the ground shall give her increase, and the heavens shall give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things"(Zech. 8:12)."

Further prophecies against Judah and Jerusalem

The long chapter on Jerusalem as God's unfaithful wife(16)is one of those like Deuteronomy 28 which gives the broad sweep of God's dealings with his chosen nation. Brother Allfree expounds it with the care and attention to detail which are a hallmark of his exposition throughout. Israel's story of unfaithfulness is a sad one. His summary of the last 4 verses reads: "the conclusion to the allegory is a happy ending to a sad and terrible story. The everlasting covenant will be established and God will marry His nation again". Brother Allfree's exposition of chapter 18 is very interesting. Here the subject is not the national judgement but the judgement of the individual. It is a message relevant for the Jews of today, just prior to the establishment of the 'tender one' as king prophesied in the previous chapter. The repentance and receiving again of Israel will be on an individual basis, and we await the presence of their king to bring about the change of heart in the people to fulfil the words verses 30-32. The treatment of chapter 20 gives us another gripping exposition. The reviewer particularly appreciated the passage on page 197 :-"He wrought for his name's sake". It was true then, as it has been through their history, "I am the LORD, I change not: therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed"(Mal. 3:6). The purpose of God epitomised in the name He Who will be involves the nation of Israel, as the rest of this chapter makes plain. Therefore God says, "Mine eye spared them from destroying them, neither did I make an end of them in the wilderness (17)." Brother Allfree sees Israel's deliverance from Egypt to the promised land as fulfilling the chapter to verse 32, but their redemption from Babylon, the offering of the kingdom to Israel by the work of Jesus and the apostles, and their subsequent wandering in the wilderness of the peoples as the fulfilment of verses 33 - 44. He also considers the various interpretations of the wilderness of the peoples.

The king of Babylon on his way

Christadelphians are familiar with Ezekiel 21:25-27 to show the divine right that Christ has to the kingdom of God which was to be overturned. Brother Allfree's exposition puts this passage into its proper context, as the idolatrous king of Babylon made his way southwards to execute God's judgements. It is a splendid exposition, particularly of the phrase, 'He whose right it is'. Detailed footnotes referring to Gen.49:10, Zech.6:13 Dan.4:17 and Luke 1:52 help make this section one of the highlights of the book. The remainder of this section of Ezekiel, chapters 22 to 24, ends with one of the few personal details we are able to glean about this great prophet. His wife died, but despite his personal grief he was told not to express it in the usual way. He would pine away as the nation has done over the centuries, a grief only to be ended when Zion is raised from the dust.
 

Prophecies against the nations

Seven nations surrounded Israel. By the third century A.D. the Ammonites and Moabites finally disappeared as a people, but today the kingdom of Jordan occupies the territory of those two ancient peoples. The Edomites also disappeared after the fall of Judea under the Romans, but all three of these nations have a latter day role to play in the purpose of God. The Palestinian Arabs are the latter day Philistines. But Ezekiel devotes 3 chapters to prophecies concerning Tyre. Brother Allfree analyses these chapters with great care and there are maps a and a photograph showing the fulfilment of the prophet that Tyre would be scraped bare and never built again. Brother Allfree says "The fall of Tyre holds a great lesson for us. The system of commerce and finance which props up the modern world is every bit as vulnerable as was Tyre, and like Tyre is soon to pass off the scene and never shall be anymore (v.36)". We cannot avoid involvement in the financial and commercial activities of the world, but it ill behoves us to become too concerned with a system which is to pass away in a political upheaval far greater than that which brought an end the influence of Tyre. "Where your treasure is there will your heart be also."

The prophecy against the Prince of Tyre in chapter 28 is not an easy one to understand, and most Christadelphians have had to refute the erroneous ideas of Jehovah's Witnesses about this chapter, without perhaps themselves understanding the chapter in its entirety. Brother Allfree gives a fine exposition in harmony with the principles of cherubic activity set out earlier in the book. It is commended to all seeking clearer ideas about this unusual passage of Scripture. The last 3 verses of chapter 28 are of great interest, for they describe the situation we see today in the Middle East. The Arab countries around Israel are described as "pricking briars and grieving thorns". Brother Allfree draws the parallels between Ezekiel 28:24 and 25 and the situation described in Ezekiel 38. We see the prosperity and peace in the land coming about as a result of the peace treaties being made between Israel and her Arab neighbours, all of which are to be shattered by the Gogian Invasion.

The seventh nation, Egypt, has 4 chapters devoted to it in Ezekiel. Brother Allfree's treatment of them is again analytical and scholarly, yet with clarity of expression. Maps, quotations from historians, and a chronological table all testify to the care taken to seek the right understanding of these prophecies. One of the highlights of this section for the reviewer is the exposition of the "horn of Israel" where we are taken all over the scriptures. The other highlight comes at the end, the section entitled "Egypt's shame in sheol".

Prophecies of Israel's restoration

The final section of Brother Allfree's exposition commences with chapter 33 on the watchman. He writes (page 316) "Since the restoration of which the prophet speaks in the later chapters refers to a restoration far greater than that which occurred some 70 years after Ezekiel's prophecies were given, it follows that this work of the son of man(v.2) was also a typical work. It was a shadow of the work of the greater Son of man whose work was foretold by the prophet Isaiah-"Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins"(58:1) Not until Israel listens to the voice of this Son of man will her restoration be accomplished." There are 7 prophecies in Chapters 34-39 and Brother Allfree links them with "the times of restitution of all things which God hath spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began"(Acts 3:21). Following the prophecy of the one shepherd and his sheep, there is the prophecy of God's judgement on Edom. In a synthesis of Edom in Old Testament prophecy, Brother Allfree reviews the ideas in the brotherhood past and present about the identity of Edom, and gives his reasons for believing the Edom nations today are Israel's Arab neighbours who have characteristics like those of ancient Edom. He suggests that these Arab nations will be judged in two distinct phases: before the Gogian invasion and after the Gogian invasion. Those who are watchers on Zion's walls and whose prayers give Israel's God no rest till He establish and till He make Jerusalem a praise in the earth, will thrill to these pages.

The latter part of Ezekiel 36 deals with the restoration of Israel and Brother Allfree makes an interesting connection between the miracle of the woman with the issue of blood in Mark 4 and Israel having the uncleanness of a removed woman. The author comments on why it is, despite the creation of the Jewish State, Israel must experience a time of trouble. Among other reasons given for this, he writes "In their endeavours to secure peace with their Arab neighbours they have shown such a disregard for the covenants of their God, that they are prepared to barter land promised to them for the sake of short term advantage". At this point in the book there is a section on "God's name vindicated" and the 4 ways He will do this. Brother Allfree contends that the State of Israel as it is today, not recognising Christ or honouring God, is to be overthrown by the Gogian invasion, and humbled, and a further regathering of Jews will then take place. As a child, the reviewer can remember hearing many lectures about the return of the Jews and the setting up of the State of Israel as the fulfilment of Ezekiel 37. Brother Allfree argues convincingly that scripture compels us to think otherwise. When Ezekiel is told that the bones were the whole house of Israel who say "our hope is lost and we are cut off for our parts", this is the desolate condition Israel and the diaspora Jews are reduced to during the Gogian invasion and all its anti-semitic 'repercussions. The question 'can these bones live?' is answered by the vision following. The 'noise' and 'shaking' refer not to the Zionist Movement and the return of the Jews prior to 1948, but rather to the overthrow of Gog and his host by the earthquake of chapter 38 and the entry of Jesus and the saints into the Middle East situation. The bringing to life of the bones is the instruction of Israel in the Truth. Then they stand up an exceeding great army, ready at the hands of Christ and the saints to become, amongst other things, God's battle-axe and weapons of war This 'pivotal' section of Ezekiel, as Brother Allfree describes chapter 37, is convincingly expounded and it seems to the reviewer that the progress of Israel since 1948 as a more and more ungodly nation, now even having relations with the Vatican, and developing material prosperity, bears out this exposition.

The parable of the two sticks follows, and the main value of this section is Brother Allfree's scriptural explanation that Judah refers to the Jews in the land.(the partial and primary restoration of Jews before the manifestation[coming of Christ]' that Brother Thomas wrote of in Elpis Israel). Joseph stands for Ephraim, the diaspora Jews. The culmination of the unifying of all the Jews under the Son of David is that they enter covenant with God and the Sanctuary is built in their midst.
 

The destruction of Gog and his armies

In an interesting exposition of verse 17, Brother Allfree links Gog with Amalek and Balaam's prophecy that "his latter end shall be that he will perish for ever", and in expounding the 'shaking of the land in verse 19 connections are made with Habakkuk 3, Joel 3 and Zechariah 14. The exposition of chapter 38 ends with these words: "The eyes of the nations will thus be directed to the great victory achieved on behalf of the remnant of Israel by Yahweh their king. With great interest, amazement and ,in some quarters, apprehension and antagonism, the nations will watch as the King of Israel begins to rule in the midst of his enemies. With his brethren, he commences the long awaited task of raising Zion from the dust (Psalm 102:15,16)."

In chapter 39 Brother Allfree expounds the passage in verses 6-8 to show that the fire upon Magog and on them that dwell carelessly (securely) in the isles means God's wrath extends beyond the Middle East into more distant nations. Another useful tabular comparison brings out parallels between Ezekiel 38 and the Armageddon passage in Revelation 16. Brother Allfree endorses our understanding that Armageddon is not a town or city, but a sign word for the great judgements of God in the Middle East. Events subsequent to the invasion are dealt with next, and are full of interest, especially the connection made between Hamon-gog where Gog's army is buried, and Haman the Amalekite who was hanged on his own gallows. There follows a fine exposition of the sacrificial feast made for the birds and beasts, which are expounded as the Jewish people cleansed and chastened, carrying out the judgements of God against the papal western European nations, under the supervision of Jesus and the saints. The final restoration process in the regathering of all the Jews will be accomplished under the hand of their Messiah and his brethren.

Brother Allfree's book is highly recommended. It is well produced and very good value for money. It has an extensive Bibliography, a list of Bible references and a substantial index. There are several maps diagrams and tables. But most of all, it is a detailed exposition presented in vigorous manner, of the prophetic word, taking us all over the Bible, and has the effect of lifting up our minds to the glorious future that awaits those who have faith in God's promises and who will be part of the Israel of God.