Son of a priest from the city of Sarira. Carried into captivity in Babylon with King Jeconiah and many other Israelites. Living in slavery, Ezekiel prophesied for twenty-seven years. He was a contemporary of the prophet Jeremiah. And while Jeremiah was teaching and prophesying in Jerusalem, Ezekiel was teaching and prophesying in Babylon. They learned the prophecies of Jeremiah in Babylon, and the prophecies of Ezekiel in Jerusalem. The prophecies of both holy men coincided. And both were afflicted and tormented by the unbelieving Jewish race. The prophet Ezekiel had terrible and unheard of visions. At the river Howar he saw the heavens opened, a cloud, fire, and glittering, and four beasts like molten copper. One animal had the face of a man, the other the face of a lion, the third that of a calf, and the fourth that of an eagle. The human face represents the Lord incarnate as a man, the lion's face represents His Deity, the calf's face His sacrifice, the eagle's face represents His resurrection and ascension. Another time he was shown a picture of the resurrection of the dead. The prophet saw a valley full of dry dead bones and when the Spirit of God came upon them all the dead came to life and stood on their feet. He also saw the most terrible destruction of Jerusalem, when the wrath of God cut down all but those who resisted and were marked with the Greek sign called tav, and that sign is like our letter T, which, in turn, is the sign of the cross. The wickedness of the Jews did not spare even this holy man. Indignant at him for perverting them, the Jews tied him to the tails of horses and thus tore him to pieces. He was buried in the tomb of Noah's son Shem.