Ezekial 47 - Our Victory is through PRAISE !
tears4abba@gmail.com
1) Then he brought me back to the door of the temple; (house) (Joel 3:18) and there was water, flowing from under the threshold of the temple toward the east, (symbol of sunrise, God's light and glory, the Sun-rising, Cherubim) for the front of the temple faced east; the water was flowing from under the right side of the temple, south of the altar.
2) He brought me out by way of the north gate, and led me around on the outside to the outer gateway that faces east and there was water running out on the right side. (south side) (south symbolic of the place of refreshment)
3) Then, when the man went out to the east with the line in his hand, he measured one thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the water came up to my ankles.
4) Again he measured one thousand and he brought me through the waters; the water came up to my knees. Again he measured one thousand and brought me through; the water came up to my waist. 5) Again he measured one thousand, and it was a river that I could not cross; for the water was too deep (water in which one must swim), a river that could not be crossed.
Thought:
We can't just walk and get our feet wet in the river of life, we must swim in it- get soaked! It doesn't work to be part pure/part-washed (like Peter when Jesus washed his feet, he said, then wash all of me Lord) we must be whole-hearted in our desire for God to be with Him, to obey Him, to be like Him; to be empty of self, and filled with the Holy Spirit. (like Gideon and his 300 men, the pitchers dropped to the ground representing our broken flesh, leaving only the torch; the fire of the Holy Spirit)
6) He said to me, Son of man, have you seen this? Then He Brought me and returned me to the bank of the river.
7) When I returned there, along the bank of the river, were very many trees (symbol of nations, individuals, the church & Christ Jesus) on one side and the other.
(Rev. 22:2-4) "And he showed me a pure river of water of life clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. (fruitfulness) And the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. (leaf=symbolic of life amidst prosperity or adversity)
And there shall be NO MORE CURSE, but the throne of God and the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. (ref. Matt 5:8, Rev. 14:1, etc)
Matt. 5:8 NKJ Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.
Revelation 14:1 "Then I looked and behold a Lamb standing on Mt. Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His father's name written on their foreheads." (12=number of Divine Government, Apostolic fullness)
8) Then he said to me:"This water flows toward the eastern region, goes down into the valley and enters the sea. (sym. Of the restless masses of people, the wicked nations) When it reaches the sea, its waters are healed. (purifies, heals; salvation and healing to souls and bodies)
9) "And it shall be that every living thing that moves, wherever the rivers (lit. 2 rivers) go, will live.
(Whosoever follows the Lord in this move of the Spirit-place of Lord's presence-shall live) There will be a very great multitude of fish (Ingathering spoken of by Joel "multitudes, multitudes in the Valley of Decision) because these waters go there; for they will be healed, (all who bathe in the river) and everything will live (prosperity of spirit, soul & body) wherever the river goes." { Thought: Life breathes more life, light overcomes darkness.}
10) "It shall be that fishermen (Evangelists, disciples) will stand by it from En Gedi to En Eglaim; they will be places for spreading their nets. Their fish will be of the same kinds as the fish of the Great Sea, exceedingly many.
( A great variety of peoples all over the world will be saved from desert and wilderness places and there will be great victory over sin through ministry of praise and thanksgiving to the Lord .)
I thought, why would the Lord use these places on the map ? Why wouldn't He say from here to all around the world or something....there were places known much broader than this at the time....so I looked up the words and here is what I found.....
EN GEDI: En Gedi means "spring of the kid" goat being a symbol of sinners or sin. En Gedi is on the west side of the Dead Sea. It's the name of a spring and associate streams which issue from beneath limestone cliffs on the west side of the Dead Sea. (due east of Hebron)
I believe it represents people covered with death, desert places are representative of the absence of God.
Also, 2 Chron. 20:2 calls En Gedi, Hazazon-tamar which suggests the presence of palm trees which are symbolic of VICTORY. The wilderness of En Gedi is one of the bleakest parts of the wilderness of Judah. (Judah also means praise) We come to victory with death to self as well.
EN EGLAIM: En Eglaim means "spring of a calf or heifer" calf is symbolic of PRAISE, & THANKSGIVING. The exact site is not known, but probably several miles south of Khirbet Qumran (site where dead sea scrolls were found).
What the Lord showed me out of this was VICTORY comes through PRAISE and thanksgiving.
11) "But it's seas, swamps and marshes will not be healed; (where it is not allowed to flow through stagnant water) they will be given over to salt. (place of death, spiritually - Reminds me of Lot's wife who was turned to salt-for whom this world's goods held too great a place in her heart)"
12) "Along the banks of the river, on this side and that, will grow all kinds of trees (symbolic of us- Is. 61-trees of righteousness), used for food; (Daniel 12:3, those used to teach, disciple, nurture) their leaves will not wither, (their source of life will not diminish) and their fruit will not fail. (symb. Of increase or multiplication) They will bear fruit every month, because their water flows from the sanctuary.
(They're fed and watered by God Himself). Their fruit (fruitfulness) will be for food, and their leaves for medicine.
This last verse shows symbolically where God is taking us to a place of death to self so we can be filled with His glory that will produce this kind of fruitfulness in us....a continual flowing of the waters of life; His life flowing through us that we would be poured out like Paul....to the lost.
