“the prince.” This will be Jesus Christ, the ruler over the Millennial Kingdom. He will be both prince and High Priest. There is no one else qualified to be the prince. The Hebrew word translated “prince” is nasi (#05387 נָשִׂא or spelled נָשִׂיא nasiy). The root meaning refers to being lifted up, and thus it can mean prince, leader, chief, captain, etc., the context determines the best translation. It can also refer to a rising mist or vapor. In this context or in other contexts in which it refers to the Messiah, “prince” is a very good translation because God is the king and the Messiah is His only son and rules under Him and with His authority. The prince is called “David” by the figure of speech antonomasia (“name change) in Ezekiel 34:23-24). Also, he is called the “king” in Ezekiel 37:24 because he will be the de facto king on earth, ruling with the full authority of God. The Messiah is called the “prince” quite a few times in Ezekiel (Ezek. 34:24; 37:25; 44:3; 45:7, 16, 17, 22; 46:2, 4, 8, 10, 12, 16, 17, 18; 48:21, 22).

“to eat bread before Yahweh.” Here “bread” refers to food in general. This eating would seem to certainly include the sacrificial meals that he would get to eat as the High Priest.

“he must enter by the way of the vestibule of the gate.” Even the prince will not be allowed to enter through the east gate that Yahweh had entered through because it was closed to all traffic (Ezek. 44:3). He must enter the east gate area from inside the Temple court, and the vestibule was the room that was closest to the inside of the gate (Ezek. 40:9, 15). This verse shows a clear distinction between the prince (the Messiah; Jesus Christ) and “Yahweh the God of Israel” (Ezek. 44:2). The prince is not God, nor does he have the privileges of God.

[For more on Jesus Christ not being God, see Appendix 10, Jesus is the Son of God; Not God the Son,” and Appendix 11, “What is the Holy Spirit?”]