For the last time, Ezekiel returned to the *temple in his *vision. The *angel took him near to the *temple building in the inner area. There, Ezekiel saw something new. He had not seen it before in the *vision. And it did not exist in the original *temple. There was a stream of water that ran acros... [ Continue Reading ]
EZEKIEL’S LAST *VISION EZEKIEL CHAPTER S 40 TO 48 _COMMENTARY: KEITH SIMONS; TRANSLATION: IAN MACKERVOY._ CHAPTER 47 THE *TEMPLE RIVER – EZEKIEL 47:1-12 V1 The man brought me back to the entrance of the *temple. And I saw that water was coming out from under the doorway. It flowed toward the e... [ Continue Reading ]
The stream continued through the outer area. The *worshippers had to cross this area whenever they visited the *temple (46:9). And the prince had to cross it too (46:10). So they all had to cross the stream. They all needed God’s Holy Spirit to give them new life. They all needed God to remove their... [ Continue Reading ]
Ezekiel left the *temple. But the *angel told him to follow the stream. God’s work did not end in the *temple. By his Spirit, he would reach out across the country. God’s Spirit would work in the hearts and lives of his people. God’s Spirit would bring about changes that seemed impossible. The stre... [ Continue Reading ]
Ezekiel was only a little more than a mile from the *temple. (That is, about 2 kilometres.) But already the stream had become a river. It had not become a river because other streams had joined it. It became a river because God had done something wonderful. He had increased its size. And what God wo... [ Continue Reading ]
Much of the country called *Israel is dry. Many areas are too dry for agriculture. Only a few wild bushes grow there. Even Jerusalem city does not have many good natural supplies of water. King Hezekiah was very aware of this problem. He built an extraordinary underground system to supply water to J... [ Continue Reading ]
The river’s purpose was to bring life to the country called *Israel. But the river in this *vision also had a second purpose. It would cure all that is bad in the country. The Arabah is the valley of the Jordan river. The Jordan is *Israel’s main river. It is on the east border. The sea is called t... [ Continue Reading ]
God’s Spirit brings life and hope (Psalms 104:30). He brings freedom and joy (Romans 8:2). He brings love and peace (Galatians 5:22). These places seemed dead before the river came. But everything changes when God works in the life of a person or nation.... [ Continue Reading ]
En Gedi and En Eglaim are two towns near the shore of the Dead Sea. Nobody fishes there now, because there are no fish in the sea. But there are very many kinds of fish in the Great Sea (that is, the Mediterranean Sea). It is a good place to fish. Only God could make the Dead Sea like the Mediterran... [ Continue Reading ]
The problem with the Dead Sea is not its salt. Salt is a good thing. The problem is that there is no life. In the *vision, God cured that problem. But he did not remove all the salt. In the Bible, salt is sometimes a word picture. It seems to mean the good qualities that make some people different... [ Continue Reading ]
Usually trees only have fruit in certain months. But these trees in the *vision did something that would be impossible by natural means. They had fruit all the year. They had fruit because of the water that came from God’s *temple. In the Bible, fruit is often a word picture. It means the good thin... [ Continue Reading ]
Jacob had 12 sons. The families of those sons became the 12 *tribes of *Israel. So, each *tribe receives a share of the land that God promised to their nation (Genesis 15:18-21). The *Levites would not receive a share of the land like the other *tribes. Instead they would live in a special place ne... [ Continue Reading ]
God had made a promise to the *Israelites. He promised that he would be present with them (48:35). But that could only happen after they *turned back to God. And it could only happen after he had changed their hearts, their minds and their attitudes (36:24-32). If ever the *Israelites needed to hea... [ Continue Reading ]
This is a description of the extent of the country called *Israel in Ezekiel’s *vision. We can learn several useful lessons from this passage: * God’s promises were for the benefit of all God’s people. All 12 *tribes would benefit. After the *exile, few people from the northern *tribes returned t... [ Continue Reading ]
We must never suppose that God’s plans for *Israel are against the rights of people from other nations. It is God’s plan that people from every nation will serve him. We can see that in God’s original promise to Abraham. God promised that he would use Abraham to show his (God’s) kindness to people f... [ Continue Reading ]