In Ezekiel's vision in chapters 40-48, one figure mentioned several times is "the prince" (nasi in Hebrew). This is a righteous human leader who will sponsor worship at the Temple described in the vision. Too often in ancient Israel's history there was corrupt leadership, but Ezekiel looks forward to a time when there would be godly leaders (Eze 45:8-12).
It seems reasonable to view the prince as a type of the Messiah; on the other hand, the vision also seems to distinguish the prince from the Messiah of Christianity. For one thing, the prince will provide purification offerings for himself and the people--Eze 45:22---while Christ requires no such offerings (Heb 7:27-28). Moreover, the priest is someone who may have physical descendants---Eze 46:16.
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