The Waters Will Be Healed
Book of Ezekiel
Chapter 47:1-12
Since Chapter 40 the
Prophet Ezekiel has been giving us information about a Temple that
has never been built in the history of the nation of Israel.
This Temple
according to Ezekiel, will be built during the Millennial reign of
Jesus Christ.
King Jesus will
restore worship to the people of Israel, and we can only guess that
He will show them where they went wrong.
Things we know:
1) The entire
creation as we know it will be made as it was in the days of Adam.
2) All unbelievers
have been removed by the wrath of God.
3) The time of the
Church has ended, and the Church is with Christ Jesus forevermore.
4) The Lord will be
dealing with the nation of Israel and the strangers that have helped
them.
5) The Temple
according to Ezekiel has been built.
6) King Jesus sits
upon the throne of David (which means He is the government) in
Jerusalem.
7) All the world
will be ruled by King Jesus!
Ezekiel says that
pure, healing waters will flow from this new Temple.
Spiritually
speaking, water is a type of the Holy Spirit, but we should accept
these healing waters just as written to us by Ezekiel, inspired by
the Holy Spirit of God.
What did Jesus say?
Rev 21:6 And he
said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the
end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the
water of life freely.
What did the Lord
describe to the Apostle John?
Rev 22:1 And he
shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding
out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.
What is the truth of
this river from the Book of Revelation?
Rev 22:17 And the
Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come.
"And let him that is athirst come". "And whosoever
will, let him take the water of life freely".
What can we learn
from this water flowing from the Temple that Ezekiel describes which
will be in "typology" a picture of the things of the New
Heaven?
*****Eze 47:1
Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house; and,
behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house
eastward: for the forefront of the house stood toward the east, and
the waters came down from under from the right side of the house, at
the south side of the altar.
Eze 47:2 Then
brought he me out of the way of the gate northward, and led me about
the way without unto the utter gate by the way that looketh eastward;
and, behold, there ran out waters on the right side.
This house of God is
the Temple described by Ezekiel, which is not like any of the
previous temples.
We should
understand, that at this time near the beginning of the Millennial
reign of Christ, all the world has undergone many physical changes.
The lands will be restored as in the days of Adam and will all the
world except a certain designated place, will resemble the Garden of
Eden.
Jerusalem will be
located upon the highest mountain and the Temple described by Ezekiel
will be the House of King Jesus.
All the world will
be ruled by King Jesus and He will be worshiped as God, because He is
Jehovah God, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit!
Water is one of the
chief necessaries of life!
Before this event in
our future, water could be very scarce in the area called Palestine
by this world.
Besides the bodily
needs of water to live, water is also used in the sense of
purification, "washing away of sin" which is impossible as
it can only wash away the filth of this world.
Cool clear water is
a symbol of great good!
Muddy and stagnate
water is a symbol of mire and filth!
Isa 57:20 But the
wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters
cast up mire and dirt.
Isa 57:21 There is
no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.
Troubled waters are
a symbol of the multitude of nations.
Isa 17:12 Woe to
the multitude of many people, which make a noise like the noise of
the seas; and to the rushing of nations, that make a rushing like the
rushing of mighty waters!
Isa 17:13 The
nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters: but God shall
rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, and shall be chased as the
chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like a rolling thing
before the whirlwind.
These troubled
waters were against the Lord Jesus Christ!
Rev 17:15 And he
saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth,
are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.
After all the things
of the old world are gone, we now see that the purest of all water
will flow from beneath the new Temple, the House of God.
This water can now
be called the "River of Life"!
Now we must not be
mistaken, these things are not of Heaven but are of the restored
earth after the devastation of those 7 terrible tribulation years!
We must know that
without water there would be no life and without the House of God
there would be no Spiritual Life!
As we will read that
this water flowed south of the altar after it passed the eastern
gate, then toward Judah, then means this water must have originated
from the Holy of Holies!
The Millennial
Temple will:
1) Demonstrate the
Holiness of Jehovah.
The people of Israel
had rebelled against Jehovah on and off since the time of Adam.
They had turned to
idolatry and it became necessary that Jehovah would judge this
people.
Now after they
repented, they would witness the divine "grace" of Jehovah.
2Ch 7:14 If my
people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and
pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I
hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their
land.
2) Provide a
temporary dwelling place for the Shekinah Glory of God.
Remember the Lord
Jesus Christ, the Messiah had returned in all His glory.
Eze 43:7 And he
said unto me, Son of man, the place of my throne, and the place of
the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children
of Israel for ever, and my holy name, shall the house of Israel no
more defile, neither they, nor their kings, by their whoredom, nor by
the carcases of their kings in their high places.
3) To provide a
place for the "memorial" of salvation.
We know that this
nation of Israel now knew that they rejected the Messiah when He
first came, but now, they had a personal relationship with Him as He
had returned as He had promised.
The sacrifices that
will be made in this new Temple of Ezekiel's vision, will be for
memorial just as the feast of the Passover was for memorial.
To remember the day
they were delivered for the second time, this time forever!
4) To provide a
center for the Divine Government of Jehovah God.
The center for the
government of all the world will be this Temple.
Isa 9:6 For unto us
a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be
upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful,
Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of
Peace.
Isa 9:7 Of the
increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the
throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish
it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The
zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.
5) To show the
victory over the curse.
This river of life
issuing and flowing southward in ever increasing volume of
refreshment until it flows into the Dead Sea where it will cleanse
and heal the Dead Sea of all impurities, and both banks of this river
will be clothed with luxurious trees of never fading leaves and
perfect fruit to provide medicine and food.
Even the desert
south of the Dead Sea will be healed!
Joh 4:10 Jesus
answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who
it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked
of him, and he would have given thee living water.
Joh 4:14 But
whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never
thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of
water springing up into everlasting life.
This flow of water
from this Temple increased as it flowed toward the Dead Sea.
*****Eze 47:3 And
when the man that had the line in his hand went forth eastward, he
measured a thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the
waters were to the ankles.
Eze 47:4 Again he
measured a thousand, and brought me through the waters; the waters
were to the knees. Again he measured a thousand, and brought me
through; the waters were to the loins.
Eze 47:5 Afterward
he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass
over: for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that
could not be passed over.
The cubit can be
estimated to be 18 inches so a thousand cubits would be 1500 feet.
Our lesson also says
1500 feet, but others will use different measurements for the cubit.
Some use 21 inches, some 22 inches, some 18 inches we are using
today. It is not worth an argument.
We should understand
that the trickle of water that was coming from the Temple had now
grown to a flow ankle deep in 1500 feet.
In another 1500 feet
it was knee deep.
In another 1500 feet
it was waste deep.
In another 1500 feet
it was so deep Ezekiel could not pass over unless he swam.
Waters so deep that
only the experienced swimmer could pass over them!
The direction of the
flow of this River of Life was in the direction of the waste land of
Israel.
In all the years of
Israel, there has never been enough life-giving water flowing in this
land.
One purpose of this
water would be to nourish this land, cleanse this land, and bring
life to dead wilderness and the desert.
The truth is, there
has never been such a river as this one upon the face of this earth!
There were no other
sources of water to increase the flow of this river, so Ezekiel was
witnessing a true miracle.
According to some,
it is 15 miles from the City of Jerusalem to the head of the Dead Sea
and there has never been this much pure living water flow into the
Dead Sea since the flood in Noah's day.
If we remember that
the Temple of Ezekiel will be on the highest mountain of Jerusalem
and the Dead Sea is the lowest place upon this earth, we can imagine
how the flow of this river would increase just be gravity.
We must also know
that the earth before the return of Christ cannot be compared to the
earth during the Millennial reign of Christ!
What we should
understand is that when King Jesus sits upon the throne in Jerusalem,
He will transform this entire earth.
Israel will be as
the Garden of Eden and a model or example of the New Jerusalem.
*****Eze 47:6 And
he said unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen this? Then he brought me,
and caused me to return to the brink of the river.
In all his days,
Ezekiel had never seen real peace in Judah.
He had witnessed sin
and destruction.
He had preached
against these things.
The Lord now showed
him such wonderful things, it would change his message of doom to the
people of Israel to a message of hope.
Sure this river is
in the future and during the Millennial reign of Christ, but it
teaches us the lifegiving power of God.
Because the Dead Sea
is the lowest place upon this earth, all filth and trash run into it
and there is no life in the Dead Sea.
With all things dead
removed, Israel will become the garden spot of all the world.
*****Eze 47:8 Then
said he unto me, These waters issue out toward the east country, and
go down into the desert, and go into the sea: which being brought
forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed.
Eze 47:9 And it
shall come to pass, that every thing that liveth, which moveth,
whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live: and there shall be a
very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come
thither: for they shall be healed; and every thing shall live whither
the river cometh.
The water of this
river will bring life to everything that it touches. It will
transform the land from death to life!
Animals will
multiply.
Fish will abound in
a sea that has never held fish.
Everything will live
where there was only death.
The trees that grow
along the river side will flourish with abundant fruit.
This land will be
revived.
The power of this
river is not in floods. The power of this river is in life!
In reality, the Dead
Sea is the Sea of Sodom because it did not exist until Jehovah
destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah with fire and brimstone.
Even this land will
be healed. This water flows from the Temple of God so in reality, it
is a River of Grace!
It heals the corrupt
nature of this land just as Christ heals the corrupt nature of all
believers!
In reality mankind
is like a dry place, is like as a salty barren land, but all these
things did not hinder Christ coming as a river of life.
Joh 7:37 In the
last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying,
If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.
Joh 7:38 He that
believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall
flow rivers of living water.
It is by Jesus
Christ that the Holy Spirit will flow upon us as the water of life!
Joh 7:39 (But this
spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should
receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was
not yet glorified.)
I was a dry place
until Jesus found me!
I was without
strength.
I was without
desire.
I was without life
and Jesus now flows in me with His river of Grace.
My old dry parched
nature is gone!
There will be a new
song sung in all of Israel.
Isa 12:1 And in
that day thou shalt say, O LORD, I will praise thee: though thou wast
angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me.
Isa 12:2 Behold,
God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD
JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation.
Isa 12:3 Therefore
with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.
Isa 12:4 And in
that day shall ye say, Praise the LORD, call upon his name, declare
his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted.
Isa 12:5 Sing unto
the LORD; for he hath done excellent things: this is known in all the
earth.
Isa 12:6 Cry out
and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of
Israel in the midst of thee.
Everything shall
live that this river of life touches!
*****Eze 47:10 And
it shall come to pass, that the fishers shall stand upon it from
Engedi even unto Eneglaim; they shall be a place to spread forth
nets; their fish shall be according to their kinds, as the fish of
the great sea, exceeding many.
Engedi lay south of
the Dead Sea and was west of the lake of Sodom.
Englaim was a city
to the north. East of the Dead Sea and the Scriptures say fishermen
will spread forth their nets on the west side of the that old Dead
Sea which will become the Sea of life. Full of life and multitudes of
fish.
This will be another
miracle transformation!
The wilderness will
be turned into a fisherman's dream!
It will take an
enormous amount of pure water flowing into the Dead Sea continuously
to make such a transformation.
It will be the same
for the Word of God that will flow from the Temple of God, throughout
this entire world as the pure Word of God will flow in abundance
through that entire New World.
The fishers of men
will cast the "Gospel" net into the sea of life and our
Lord will still take those men and clean them and make something that
our Father in Heaven will accept as His children!
Those of us who
already know the Lord Jesus Christ can never forget the day He saved
us.
It will be the same
for all these!
All life flows from
our Savior to become the eternal children of our Father in Heaven.
Joh 14:6 Jesus
saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh
unto the Father, but by me.
In these Scriptures
we see a picture of the "Amazing Grace" of God.
Isa 12:1 And in
that day thou shalt say, O LORD, I will praise thee: though thou wast
angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me.
Isa 12:2 Behold,
God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD
JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation.
Isa 12:3 Therefore
with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.
Isa 12:4 And in
that day shall ye say, Praise the LORD, call upon his name, declare
his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted.
Isa 12:5 Sing unto
the LORD; for he hath done excellent things: this is known in all the
earth.
Isa 12:6 Cry out
and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of
Israel in the midst of thee.
But there will still
remain some miry places!
*****Eze 47:11 But
the miry places thereof and the marishes thereof shall not be healed;
they shall be given to salt.
1) There is always a
need for salt.
There is a "Covenant
of salt" made to these children of Israel.
2Ch 13:5 Ought ye
not to know that the LORD God of Israel gave the kingdom over Israel
to David for ever, even to him and to his sons by a covenant of salt?
This covenant of
salt was a covenant of perpetual obligation.
Newborn children
were rubbed with salt.
Eze 16:2 Son of
man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations,
Eze 16:3 And say,
Thus saith the Lord GOD unto Jerusalem; Thy birth and thy nativity is
of the land of Canaan; thy father was an Amorite, and thy mother an
Hittite.
Eze 16:4 And as for
thy nativity, in the day thou wast born thy navel was not cut,
neither wast thou washed in water to supple thee; thou wast not
salted at all, nor swaddled at all.
The disciples were
likened to salt.
Mat 5:13 Ye are the
salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith
shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be
cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.
2) Salt can also be
a sign of wickedness.
Zep 2:9 Therefore
as I live, saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, Surely Moab
shall be as Sodom, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrah, even the
breeding of nettles, and saltpits, and a perpetual desolation: the
residue of my people shall spoil them, and the remnant of my people
shall possess them.
Zep 2:10 This shall
they have for their pride, because they have reproached and magnified
themselves against the people of the LORD of hosts.
3) Salt can be a
blessing.
Lev 2:12 As for the
oblation of the firstfruits, ye shall offer them unto the LORD: but
they shall not be burnt on the altar for a sweet savour.
Lev 2:13 And every
oblation of thy meat offering shalt thou season with salt; neither
shalt thou suffer the salt of the covenant of thy God to be lacking
from thy meat offering: with all thine offerings thou shalt offer
salt.
4) Salt can heal
some waters.
Most of us know that
salt is used in many swimming pools to make those waters safe to swim
in.
2Ki 2:21 And he
went forth unto the spring of the waters, and cast the salt in there,
and said, Thus saith the LORD, I have healed these waters; there
shall not be from thence any more death or barren land.
2Ki 2:22 So the
waters were healed unto this day, according to the saying of Elisha
which he spake.
Salt was to be
offered and never wanting in every meat offering in the Temple!
Eze 20:40 For in
mine holy mountain, in the mountain of the height of Israel, saith
the Lord GOD, there shall all the house of Israel, all of them in the
land, serve me: there will I accept them, and there will I require
your offerings, and the firstfruits of your oblations, with all your
holy things.
Eze 20:41 I will
accept you with your sweet savour, when I bring you out from the
people, and gather you out of the countries wherein ye have been
scattered; and I will be sanctified in you before the heathen.
We should also
understand those of Sodom and Gomorrah will never be healed. Though
there are several places in the Scriptures where we witness the wrath
of God, I do not believe there is any of those places where death and
destruction are so vivid as Sodom and Gomorrah, until we get to the
apocalypse.
Deu 29:21 And the
LORD shall separate him unto evil out of all the tribes of Israel,
according to all the curses of the covenant that are written in this
book of the law:
Deu 29:22 So that
the generation to come of your children that shall rise up after you,
and the stranger that shall come from a far land, shall say, when
they see the plagues of that land, and the sicknesses which the LORD
hath laid upon it;
Deu 29:23 And that
the whole land thereof is brimstone, and salt, and burning, that it
is not sown, nor beareth, nor any grass groweth therein, like the
overthrow of Sodom, and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim, which the LORD
overthrew in his anger, and in his wrath:
Deu 29:24 Even all
nations shall say, Wherefore hath the LORD done thus unto this land?
what meaneth the heat of this great anger?
On the banks of the
pure waters of this miracle river shall there be fruit trees for all
occasions. For meat and for medicine and these trees would not be
subject to seasons!
*****Eze 47:12 And
by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side,
shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither
shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit
according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the
sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf
thereof for medicine.
The seasons depict
the true of the "Gospel"! The death the burial and the
resurrection to new life. These things will not be necessary because
all will accept the truth of the Gospel during the Millennial reign
of the Lord Jesus Christ!
Gen 2:9 And out of
the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to
the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of
the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
In this New World
there would be no tree of the knowledge of good and evil!
Rev 22:2 In the
midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there
the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her
fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of
the nations.
Rev 22:3 And there
shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall
be in it; and his servants shall serve him:
A lot of Scriptures
are used but the most important thing is, that the Millennial Reign
of Jesus Christ will bring a healing to this world that will last for
1000 years.
The waters of this
world will certainly be healed!
Amen
Let's Pray!
