Ezekiel 2:8

"But thou, son of man, hear what I say unto thee; be not thou rebellious like that rebellious house; open thy mouth, and eat that which I give thee. And when I looked, behold a hand was put forth unto me; and, lo, a roll of a book was therein; and he spread it before me: and it was written within and without; and there were written therein lamentations, and mourning, and woe."

This passage in which the prophet is commanded to eat "the roll of the book" has its counterpart in the New Testament, in Revelation, where the apostle John is likewise commanded to eat the "roll of the book" (Revelation 10). In the New Testament, John's eating the book became a symbol of the Word-filled Church, one of God's Two Witnesses, the other being the sacred Word itself, held open forever in the hands of the mighty angel, these Two Witnesses being in fact the only witnesses God has during the current dispensation.

The command to eat the roll indicated that Ezekiel was to read and digest its contents, that he was to make it indeed and continually a part of his very person, that the prophet was commissioned to speak God's Word, not his own, and that all of the messages that he would communicate to the people would be those from God Himself.

"It was written within and without ..." (Ezekiel 2:10) Some have speculated on why the roll is here represented as being written "within and without"; and as Taylor noted, "Ellison's suggestion is most likely, that there was no room left for any additions by the prophet himself,"[10] of his own words.

Here in the Old Testament we find the conception of the Redemption of Mankind as being ultimately dependent absolutely upon the application with utmost fidelity of the principles and commandments written "IN A BOOK." "The Great Book" upon which the salvation of everyone who ever lived is dependent is, of course, The Holy Bible, especially the New Testament, which is so dramatically symbolized by the little book open in the hands of the Rainbow Angel (Revelation 10).

In all ages, the true religion of God has been nothing more nor less than the "Religion of the Book." As Bunn noted, "Here there is an introduction to revelation by written word which became to Ezekiel a religion of written statutes and ordinances."[11] It is our own opinion that the current generation also needs to receive the same conception of holy religion.