Ezekiel 47

Ezekiel 47:1-12-THE WATER FROM THE TEMPLE


We see now that there is a river coming out of the Temple. Remember the 144,000 exiles have came back (from Pella) to the destroyed ruins of 70AD to rebuild the city. Israel always had difficulties developing a water system that flowed into the city. The desert/wilderness is now abundantly hydrated with the glorified presence of the 144,000. This is a symbolic connection to the spear that pierced Christ's side during the crucifixion. As a result, water poured out (See Zechariah 14:8, John 4:14, John 7:38, John 19:34, John 20:20, and Revelation 22:1). This water flowing out of the Altar is the Living Water of Christ. Wherever it flows, the abundance of life follows it. In Verse 2, it starts out as a little trickle and it gets deeper and deeper as Ezekiel progresses through the vision. The water flowed to the now permanently closed East Gate (Ezekiel 43:4-5; 44:1-2) and out to the door of the sanctuary. This suggests that the beginning of the church (Word of God) will start out small, but it will increasingly grow after the destruction of the Temple in 70AD. Dead things will come to life. There is a similar event in the Book of Acts. We see John and Peter preaching in Solomon's Portico. When people got saved in the Temple they were "flowing" out of it- like the Living Water back to their home country -bringing the gospel back to their fellow countryman (Acts 8:1). 

In Verse 8, Arabah means dry and barren place despite the occasional oasis. It is no longer a place of death. This was located near the River Jordan to the Red Sea. The fish represented abundance and provision for the 144,000 exiles. In verse 10, the places in Moab are Engedi= means Spring of the Goat. Christ identified as a goat for the DOA sacrifice while Eneglaim means Fountain of the Calves (God's New Covenant People), which symbolizes Israel's idolatrous past in 1 Kings 12:28-30 or their newfound freedom from the Old Covenant yoke in Malachi 4:2. This river will touch every surrounding nation. In verse 11, we reach the swamps and marshes. This represents the Wicked who are outside the covenant/New Jerusalem. We see similar imagery from Lot’s wife (Luke 17:32). The Holy Spirit will help the the 144,000 and the nations bear fruit (Matthew 7:17; Psalm 1:3; Psalm 92:13-14; Isaiah 27:3, 61:1-3; Philippians 1:11, and Jeremiah 17:8). Notice at the end of verse 12 (Revelation 22:2 parallels this verse), that the reason the trees do not wither is because the source of water comes from the sanctuary. Jesus is the source of our healing and spiritual nourishment. The Hebrew word for healing is rapa, which means to heal a diseased body. Sin is a disease that is healed with the gospel.


Ezekiel 47:13-23-UNITY IN THE HOLY LAND (Psalm 47:4, 87:1-7; Isaiah 49:19-26; Zechariah 2:1-13) 

This section refocuses on the land allotments portrayed in Ezekiel 45:1-6 about the Holy Land (See Numbers 34:1-29 and Romans 11:11-15). We see how the geographical landscape has changed due to Prince Jesus' DOA sacrifice back in Ezekiel 45-46. Heaven and Earth are  merged together. These divisions are the inheritance of the New Jerusalem (the rebuilding project) in OT terms (Obadiah 1:15-21). In NT terms, we can see this expressed in Galatians 3:16, 3:29, and Romans 4:13-16. Everything is distributed fairly under the leadership of Christ, unlike the past transactions in Ezekiel 45:7-9. The names of the places are listed as follow: Hethlon=Refuge, Lebo-hamath=Entrance to the Fortress, Zedad= Side of the Mountain, Berothath=A Spring, Damascus=Sack of Blood, burning, or well watered-land (Cost of redemption/Jesus), Hamath=Fortress, Hazer-Hatticon=Villages,  Hauran=Hollow Land/Caverns, Hazer-enan=Village of Fountains, Jordan=Flow Down, Gilead=Heap of Stones (Memorial/Testimony), Tamar= Palm Tree (Victory/Eden-like), Meribah-kadesh (Holy Struggle/Yearning-Longing). In Verse 22, it states that 144,000 believers and the Gentiles will get an inheritance together as co-heirs (Romans 10:12; Jeremiah 12:14-15; Ephesians 2:19, 3:6,Isaiah 19:24-25, and Isaiah 56:3). They will be treated as a native-born Israelite in the New Covenant (Leviticus 23:42-43). This doesn't remove their "Gentile-ness." It means they have the same covenant access. The living water will flow to the 70 nations (symbolic of the ancient world to the original audience) listed in Genesis 10. See Diagram 1, 2, and Chart 1 for clarification.

                                                                 DIAGRAM 1
                            
                                    DIAGRAM 2



                            CHART 1

Ezekiel 47-Geographical Table

Name of City

Meaning of Name

Location

Arabah

Dry/Barren

Right side of Holy Portion near Dead Sea

Engedi (Moab)

Spring of the Goat

Right side of Simeon’s

Eneglaim (Moab)

Fountain of Calves

Right side of Benjamin

Great Sea/Mediterranean Sea 

N/A

Left side of entire land allotment

Hethlon (Palestine area)

Refuge

Upper regions of Dan

Lebo-hamath (Canaan)

Entrance to the Fortress

Located in the middle of Dan

Zedad (Canaan)

Side of a Mountain

Right side of bordering on Dan and Asher

Berothah

A Spring

Right side of bordering on Dan and Asher

Sibraim

To be exposed/revealed

Right side of bordering on Dan and Asher

Hazer-hatticon

Village

Right side of Ephraim

Hauran

Hollow Land/Caverns

Right side of Ephraim

Hazer-enan

Village of the Fountain

Right side of Asher and Naphtali

Damascus

Syriac meaning: A well-watered land or sack of blood or to burn

Near Naphtali and Manasseh

Jordan River

To flow down

Right side of Reuben and Judah

Gilead

Memorial

Right side of Reuben

Tamar

Palm Tree/Victory

Near Zebulun and Gad

Meribah-Kadesh

Quarreling/Struggle that became Holy

Lower regions of Gad

Sea of Salt

N/A

Right side of Benjamin

Brook of Egypt

N/A

Starts at left side of Issachar


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