What Ezekiel is describing in these last chapters is the Millennial Temple in Jerusalem. According to the Book of Revelation, we, born again believers will reign with King Jesus on earth for 1000 years. The whole concept of the Millennial Kingdom is hard to grasp, so I embedded 2 videos at the bottom which explain it well. What’s really wonderful, is the river of living water that’s going to flow from the temple into the Dead Sea and bring it back to abundant life. Let’s dig in…
Ezekiel 44-46
I won’t bore you with all the tech specs and measurements of the temple. You can read them here for yourself. There are a few interesting things and Pastor Sandy Adams and Amir Tsarfati explain it all better than I could.
Ezekiel 47 – The River of Healing
This is the chapter that is really special.
In my vision, the man brought me back to the entrance of the Temple. There I saw a stream flowing east from beneath the door of the Temple and passing to the right of the altar on its south side. 2 The man brought me outside the wall through the north gateway and led me around to the eastern entrance. There I could see the water flowing out through the south side of the east gateway.
3 Measuring as he went, he took me along the stream for 1,750 feet and then led me across. The water was up to my ankles. 4 He measured off another 1,750 feet and led me across again. This time the water was up to my knees. After another 1,750 feet, it was up to my waist. 5 Then he measured another 1,750 feet, and the river was too deep to walk across. It was deep enough to swim in, but too deep to walk through.
6 He asked me, “Have you been watching, son of man?” Then he led me back along the riverbank. 7 When I returned, I was surprised by the sight of many trees growing on both sides of the river. 8 Then he said to me, “This river flows east through the desert into the valley of the Dead Sea. The waters of this stream will make the salty waters of the Dead Sea fresh and pure. 9 There will be swarms of living things wherever the water of this river flows. Fish will abound in the Dead Sea, for its waters will become fresh. Life will flourish wherever this water flows. 10 Fishermen will stand along the shores of the Dead Sea. All the way from En-gedi to En-eglaim, the shores will be covered with nets drying in the sun. Fish of every kind will fill the Dead Sea, just as they fill the Mediterranean. 11 But the marshes and swamps will not be purified; they will still be salty. 12 Fruit trees of all kinds will grow along both sides of the river. The leaves of these trees will never turn brown and fall, and there will always be fruit on their branches. There will be a new crop every month, for they are watered by the river flowing from the Temple. The fruit will be for food and the leaves for healing.”
Ezekiel 47:1-12 NLT
Sandy Adams Comments…
Obviously this speaks of a literal river, but there are some spiritual lessons we can draw. Have you ever noticed the further you go with God, and the more you abide in His presence, the deeper your faith and experience, and appreciation abounds? You wade into God’s mercies and forgiveness… Then you’re knee-high in supernatural peace… Before long you’re waist-deep, splashing in joy… Finally, you’re in over your head, drowning in love!
Recall what Jesus said on the Last Day of the Feast, John 7:37, “If anyone thirst, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, out of His heart will flow rivers of living water.” The further we go with God, the deeper the flow from God.
The stream that flows from the throne of God becomes a river of miracles. There’s life-giving potential in these waters. Trees grow along its banks! These waters cause the desert to bloom. They have the power to transform barrenness into fruitfulness….
…Today, it’s so salty nothing lives in the Dead Sea. But in the Millennial Kingdom the Dead Sea will become a fisherman’s paradise. The same genre of fish you find today in the Mediterranean, you’ll find in its waters.
Sandy Adams
Check out the bonus video at the bottom by Amir Tsarfat on the “Dead See”. (There is a pun intended.)
Read the rest of chapter 47 here.
Ezekiel 48
In the final chapter, God tells Ezekiel how the land of Israel will be divided once again by each of the 12 tribes. Sandy Adams has a nice map that shows where each tribe ends up. Remember, back in the Book of Joshua, each tribe was allocated some land. It’s sad to think that they could have had it all if they’d only just obeyed God.
Everyone will face God’s judgment in the not too distant future. Those who…
- accepted the salvation of Jesus Christ…
- believed the Good News…
- have repented and are born again…
will be living new lives just like the Dead Sea will live again. Furthermore, they’ll have a get-out-of hell-free card and a 1-way, non-stop ticket to Heaven.
If you’re not sure if you’re saved or not, if you truly want to be born again and have the assurance of salvation, receive the Holy Spirit, feel His Shalom — a peace that surpasses all understanding, and get a 1-way, non-stop ticket to Heaven after you die, or that you won’t be left behind at the Rapture, which can happen at any moment, this is what you have to do…
