Visions of the Kingdom: Week 50

Ezekiel 47:1-23: The River of Life

• 47:1 "water flowing from the temple" - "There is a river whose streams delight the city of God", Psalm 46. While there are valid spiritual applications, do not miss that this very literal river is prophesied not just here:
  • Joel 3:18 - "a spring will flow from the house of the LORD"
  • Zechariah 14:8 - "living water will flow out from Jerusalem"
  This is not the eternal city of Revelation 21, because that river flows from the throne of God, and this river flows from the temple.
• 47:5 "river was deep" - growing from a tiny stream to a deep river.

  Like a river, glorious Is God’s perfect peace,
  Over all victorious In its bright increase;
  Perfect, yet it floweth Fuller every day,
  Perfect, yet it groweth Deeper all the way.
  Stayed upon Christ Jesus, Hearts are fully blest;
  Finding, as He promised, Perfect peace and rest.

• 47:8 "it's waters are healed" - God cares about the environment.
• 47:9 "where the river flows, everything will flourish" - it is a river of living water John 7:38, John 4:10-14

  Borders of the Land

• 47:15 "from the Great Sea" - the Mediterranean. This is not the new Earth, because Revelation 21 tells us there will be no more sea.

  "to Hethlon" - while landmarks are listed, we already know that the landscape will be greatly changed before this temple is built. The borders seem larger than those given to Moses. "Enlarge the place of your tent" - Isaiah 54

• 47:22 "inheritance for yourselves and for the foreigners who dwell among you" - like much of what we have read of this future temple, the laws of inheritance go beyond the Torah, which calls only for humane treatment of the stranger.