I'd like you to turn to chapter 47 and 48, and we're going to be looking at how the titles are restored to the various tribes and how they all know where they're supposed to live and what's supposed to happen. But first of all, he says in chapter 47 in verse 1 these words, flowing from under the threshold of the temple toward the east for the front of the temple faced east and the water was flowing from under the right side of the temple south of the altar. If you look at the drawing that we had of the temple complex that we studied there in chapter 40 and 41 and 42 etc. You recognize that the temple proper is right there in the center of it all. And we recognize the Holy of Holies, the holy place. There's no veil in between anymore. There's the big altar as you come in. You can come in from the east, from the south or from the north, but all around it are the various aspects of it. And he says, you know, he brought me back into there and right near the altar on the south and east side of that all, he brought me to a place. And here's what happens. water was flowing from under the right side of the temple just in the south of the altar. He brought me out by way of the north gate. Remember, the eastern gate we had studied was a gate that had already been blocked up. This eastern gate here was blocked up because the prince had come in and now we couldn't use that, although he could come back there and he could worship and sacrifice there. But Now entrance had to be from the south or from the north. And so he has shown that water is kind of coming out of the near the altar from this corner of the temple. It's going around the altar and it's making its way this way, but he can't go out to see it. So he's got to go up the north gate. He's going to come around here and he's going to come and look at it. And here's what he finds in verse three. And when the man went out to the east with the line in his hand, we'd studied that line. He was a measuring tape that he had used. Here's what he finds. He measured 1000 cubits. And he brought me through the waters. So he goes east of this gate here, goes out 1000 cubits and a cubit is in Ezekiel's terms about 18 inches, but more than likely was 21 inches for him. So he goes out about that distance. And when he gets to the river, 1000 cubits out, he says in verse three, it's ankle deep. That's not much, not very big at all. He says, I go. He took me another thousand verse four, and he brought me through the waters and he let me walk through it. And guess what? It was needy. And then he measured again a thousand cubits, so he's three thousand cubits out at this point. And he brought me through the waters and the water came up to my waist. So it's ankle deep, knee deep, waist deep. So he goes out another thousand cubits in verse five and he measured a thousand. He brought me there and I couldn't cross it for the water was too deep. water in which one must swim, a river which could not be crossed. And he said to me, son of man, have you seen this? Then he brought me and returned me to the bank of the river. And when I returned there along the bank of the river were very many trees on one side and the other. So he takes us to this place. He goes to the east side of this is in the millennium. This is the millennial temple and all those kinds of things. And as you go to the east, You find that the river just gets bigger and it's flowing greater and greater and greater. In fact, the commentators will tell you this, the expansion of the river from ankle deep, only a thousand cubits, a thousand times 21 inches, is not a long distance. It gets up to knee deep, another thousand, it gets to waist deep, another thousand, it's so deep you can't walk through it anymore. You got to swim. They say it expands so rapidly, it gets so big so fast, there is only one thing you can say, this cannot be a real river. No river in all the world expands like that. No river that you've ever seen could just come from nowhere, just come from under a building, has a little trickle. Only 4,000 cubits later, it is so big that you cannot walk through it. You have to swim across it. Therefore, this entire section has to be taken not literally, but symbolically. because we have no record of any other streams flowing into it. It just kind of appears out of nowhere. Well, you have to deal with that in your own heart and mind, whether God can do that or not. But we know this. Ezekiel is describing a very real river. At least it seems like that to us. And it's very big. Now, here's what happens. It's flowing east. And he tells us this in verse seven. There are many trees on one side and the other. This sounds strangely familiar to us, does it not? rivers and trees and flowing out of the temple. And it's almost like we've heard this before somewhere. Something about rivers and trees. We've heard it before. He says in verse eight, then he said to me, this water flows towards the eastern region, goes down into the valley and enters a sea. When it reaches the sea, its waters are healed. So if you go from Jerusalem now, in our day and age, and you go to the east, it's about 12 to 15 miles and you come to Jericho, not far beyond Jericho, you come to a place called the Dead Sea. If you stand on the little road there and look at the Dead Sea, It's hard to imagine that place being a bunch of value, to be honest with you. You understand that the Dead Sea used to come up where the road is. Just 40 years ago, that's where the Dead Sea came. It has been drained so much, it is drying up so rapidly in the last 40 or 50 years that now you have to walk almost a mile from the road to get it. It is draining up. In fact, it used to be one sea. And of course, now if you look at the satellite images, it's two seas because the land has bridged itself in the middle. There's just nothing around it. There aren't trees around it or anything. And it says that the river is going to flow out of Jerusalem, flow east, flow down. And it says it's going to go into the Arabah, which is this rift valley, which is now called the Dead Sea. And if you study it at all and go there today, you'd recognize that there's one place that's got a little bit of an oasis. It's called Ein Gedi. And he's going to talk about that in just a minute. And there's really not a lot to see there because all it is is Dead Sea. And you can float out there if you so desire, but there's no fish in it. There's no life in it. It really is a dead sea. And all around it, if you take the time to look, you recognize that there's a few trees right here at the oasis of Ein Gedi, but basically, as you look around, it's just dead, barren land. What he tells us is this, when you study Ezekiel chapter 47, is that somehow in a millennium, there's a river that's going to flow down. There are going to be trees on both sides of it. And here's how he describes it in verse 8. When it reaches the Dead Sea, the waters will be healed. The Dead Sea, which is now dead, full of salt, will become a freshwater lake. It'll be phenomenal. Here's what he says in verse 9. It shall be that every living thing that moves, wherever the river goes, will live. There will be very great multitude of fish, because these waters go there, for they will be healed, and everything will live wherever the river goes. It shall be that fishermen will stand by it from Ein Gedi all the way to Ein Egline. Ein Gedi is a word that means the spring of the kid, and Ein Egline means it's a spring of two calves. And there is a real place called Ein Gedi and Ein Eglan. Some people believe they know where it is. The rest of us have no idea, but it surely is a place by the time of the millennium. So all along here, there's great, great fishing. There'll be places for the spreading of their nets. Their fish will be of the same kinds as the fish of the Great Sea. In other words, the Mediterranean Sea, exceedingly many. It'll be a great place to fish down here at the Dead Sea. Verse 11 says, but its swamps and marshes will not be healed. They will be given over to salt. So although the Dead Sea becomes a freshwater lake, and although it's teeming with fish, all the swamps that surround it will remain a Dead Sea, be it salt marshes and salt flats. You might say, what's the value of that? I'll just tell you this, that the Jewish people, and on the other side, the land of Jordan, I'm very happy that the Dead Sea is a Dead Sea. It is full of minerals. It is of great value to them. You look at their mining operations, not only for salt but for potash and some of the other minerals. The fact that there are salt marshes might be of great benefit in the Millennial Kingdom because we need salt as well as we need fresh water. He says in verse 12, along the bank of the river, on this side and on that, will grow all kinds of trees used for food. Their leaves will not wither. Their fruit will never fail. They will bear fruit every month because their water flows from the sanctuary. Their fruits will be for food and their leaves for medicine. So this will be a spectacular, just a spectacular change to this region called the Aradha, this Dead Sea area. Teeming with fish, salt marshes to supply what they need in regards to minerals. There'll be trees there that never lose their leaves. There'll be trees there that are always bearing fruit. Every month they'll bear fruit. You'll always have a continuous supply of food and fruit and shade in this wonderful, wonderful place. Beyond that, the leaves will be for medicine, or literally for healing. And it's a phenomenal description. In fact, it's so phenomenal, how many here could possibly believe that? Do you think God could possibly pull that one off? And he could do something like that. How many think he will do something like that? It's one thing to believe that he can. It's another thing that to believe that he will. In fact, as you read through the commentators, you recognize that many just say this. There's just too many things about it that are too hard to understand. It's too spectacular. God could never take a trickle and make it so deep you couldn't walk across it within 4000 cubits. God could never do that. God could never make a stream where trees are on both sides where now it's a desert and have healing in the leaves, et cetera, et cetera. So therefore, it is stated this way. This is an idealistic description of the Holy Spirit who comes in the heart of every Christian. One commentator, another commentator, said it this way. It is symbolic of the blessings of God that flow from him at all times to all of his people in all the ages. And so he's just talking here in symbolic languages of how the blessings of God flow into the hearts and lives of people. And it sounds nice and it looks nice. And surely this would be a symbolic description of it. Another one said it portrays the spiritual blessings that come to the church in our age as God just showers us with blessings and healing and all of those kinds of things. They base that somewhat on the Gospel of John, where Jesus Christ said, if anyone thirsts, let him come to me. Christ will talk often about himself as being the one who can supply a water that would be needed for the hearts and lives of people Which is true from John chapter 4 and John chapter 7, but perhaps does not match Ezekiel chapter 47 some say it is the same river that is described in the book of Revelation chapter 21 and 22 talks about a river with trees on both side and healing and whatever However, if you read him you recognize if you read Ezekiel and you read Revelation as much as there is similarity rivers, trees, healing, etc. There are also massive differences, and so it doesn't seem like they could be the same. In fact, as you read it, you understand that from Genesis chapter 2 to Revelation 22, God is always talking that a great thing to have will be rivers. He often talks about the Genesis chapter 2 in the Garden of Eden, there was four rivers going out and there were trees and there was healing and there was all the kinds of things that they needed. And all the way through the Bible, it talks about rivers. I'll just read a couple of verses. Psalm 46 says, there is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High. Isaiah 33, we'll talk about in verse 20 and 21. a stream that is broad and will flow and heal the nations. Joel chapter 3 in verse 18, it says, A fountain shall come from the house of the Lord and water the valley of the Achilles. Zechariah chapter 14 says, And in that day it shall be that the living water shall flow from Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea and half of them towards the western sea. In both summer and winter, it shall occur. Zechariah 13 1 will talk about the rivers of water that will flow in the millennial kingdom. And we recognize that it was great to have a river or rivers of water in the Garden of Eden. It'll be great to have rivers of water in the millennial kingdom. It'll be great to have a river in Revelation chapter 21 and 22, the eternal state. But they all can be different and they all can be distinct. In fact, as you read them, they are different in their description. What he says is this in millennial living, there'll be the life flowing river for a people to survive and a people to live. Having said that, he says, let's look at the land and let's get a sense of what this land will really be like. In Ezekiel chapter 47, and I'm going to talk about that. He says this in verse 13, thus says the Lord God, these are the borders by which you shall divide the land as an inheritance among the 12 tribes of Israel. Joseph shall have two portions. You recognize he's going to move into a section where he's just going to describe the description of the distribution of the land of Israel in the millennial kingdom. And he's going to talk about 12 tribes, although Levi will not be mentioned. Of course, Levi was a tribe for the priest, and Levi has a portion around there by the temple and the city workers and the place for the Levi. So to end up with 12 tribes, when you take one of them out, namely Levi, you got to have Joseph have two sections. Ephraim and Manasseh are his two sons. He says there in chapter 47, verse 14, they shall inherit it equally with one another. And as you look at it, each tribe will basically get the same kind of sections. As you read through it and look at it, you could just pick up these words. You shall inherit it equally, verse 14, for I raised my hand in an oath to give it to your fathers, and this land shall fall to you as your inheritance. God said a long time ago, this will be your land. He has promised it to the children of Israel. It has never completely been fully fulfilled in history, but he says someday it will happen. I always live up to my word. I always do what I say and it will be because I made an oath to your fathers that someday I'll pull this one off and you will have it. Verse 15 says, This shall be the border of the land on the north from the great sea. And he would take us from just a little bit north of Tyre, and he would take us along a route just about to Damascus on the north side. He would take us down the crest of the mountains all the way down to the land of Gilead and come back. And you shoot back on the east side here to the Jordan River, take us down the Jordan River, go through the Dead Sea, what is now the Dead Sea. He'll take us in the south here to the Brook of Egypt, which is not the Nile River. It took me a long time to figure that one out, that the Brook of Egypt is not the Nile River. There's a little wadi called the Brook of Egypt down there in the Negev down here. He'll take us to that, and then you come back up to the Mediterranean Sea. If you read verses 13 down through verse 20, you would go down north, east, south, and west. He describes distinct boundaries for this land, and so he gives them to us. You will notice in verse 21 it says, Thus you shall divide this land among yourselves according to the tribes of Israel. It shall be that you will divide it by lot as an inheritance for yourselves and for the strangers who dwell among you and who bear children among you. They shall be to you as native born among the children of Israel. They shall have an inheritance among you among the tribes of Israel. And it shall be that in whatever tribe the stranger dwells, there you will give him his inheritance, says the Lord. Although the focus seems to be on Israel, there is always place for the non-Israeli people who are repentant, who turn to God, who want to be a part of the kingdom. And so we recognize he distributes it. And contrary to some earlier sections of scripture in the book of Joshua, for example, here we have the distribution and the sojourners, the non-Jewish people are surely welcome if they want to be a part of what God is doing. So the boundaries are clearly established. You will notice as well, as he gets to chapter 48, he will give the distinct distribution to the distinct tribes. So each tribe will get his titled land. And you will notice verse one, he starts with the tribe of Dan. Verse 2, he goes to Asher. Verse 3, he goes to Naphtali. Verse 4, he goes to Manasseh. To verse 5, he goes to Ephraim. To verse 6, he goes to Reuben. To verse 7, he goes to Judah. And so he describes the first seven that are north of this central area. As you look at it, it is totally different than the way God distributed it earlier in the history of Israel. So this is not a rehash of what God did in the Old Testament. It's totally different ordering. But here's the point. There are seven tribes to the north. He then says in chapter 48 in verse 8, By the border of Judah from the east side to the west shall be the district which you shall set apart 25,000 cubits in width and in length the same as one of the other portions from the east side to the west with the sanctuary in the center. The district that you shall set apart for the Lord shall be 25,000 cubits in length and 10,000 in width to these priests The Holy District shall be long." Here he's going to describe in verses 8 down through verse 22, this central portion. This central portion he's already described for us in chapter 45 primarily. It is 25,000 cubits wide. Maybe they're rods, we don't know, but I think they're cubits wide. There's a piece 25 by 10. There's another 25 by 10 with a temple in the middle, you remember that, which is 500 by 500. There's another one that's on the south that is 5 by 25, and the center of that is a where the prince will live, the actual throne of the prince who is the political leader. There's place for city workers. Then the land from that central district all the way to the Mediterranean and also from the central district to the Jordan River will be the prince's land. It will be for the provision of all that goes on for the Levites and also for the prince, the ruler of this land. And it's well described for us. If Ellicott said this, it is in a way and in a geographic position entirely unknown, either in the past or in subsequent history of Israel. The whole is so different from the arrangements of the mosaic economy and so foreign to the restoration of that economy when the exiles returned that it can be explained only as a symbolic picture, which both the prophet and the people understood was not to ever be fulfilled. literally. In other words, if you look at what happened under Moses, this does not describe it or actually Joshua. This is not close to what happened in the days of Joshua. When you look at what happened when the exiles came back after Daniel's day under Zerubbabel and Ezra and Nehemiah, it doesn't fit that at all. Therefore, since it doesn't fit the days of Joshua, it does not fit the days of the exiles return. Therefore, it can only be taken as a symbolic thing that will be fulfilled, not literally, but symbolically. There are some reasons why it might just be. Why couldn't it be fulfilled literally and historically? Why couldn't it be that God in some day in the future would just decide to do this and do it just the way he wants? We find, for example, in Zechariah chapter 14, and we will not turn there, but in Zechariah chapter 14, in the first 10 verses, it will tell us the whole landscape will be radically altered in the millennial kingdom. and mountains will be knocked down and valleys filled in and this and that and the other thing is described there. So surely, even though right now you couldn't put these pieces of property on the physical land in Israel today, surely the temple and the city of Jerusalem and so could be put on a modified land that would happen in a modification that's described for us in the book of Zechariah. Many people object and say, why does it have to be so big? The temple is huge and all the land around it is just huge. There has never been a temple this big in all of the history of Israel. This surely cannot be real. It has to be symbolic. Just imagine, though, if in the world, and we think of the millennial kingdom, where the prince will rule with a rod of iron. Imagine if all the people of the world worshiped the same God and wanted to go to the temple. Or even a portion of them wanted to go at some time. You would need a huge temple. You would need a huge outer court. You would have to have huge areas to put all these people. You have a little sense of that when you watch the TV once in a while and watch what happens when the Muslims go to the Hajj in Mecca. And that's growing every year. As more and more Muslims get more and more money and are capable of flying or driving or doing whatever it takes to get to Mecca every year. They are having greater and greater problems containing all these people. Where do you put all these people? And if they're having a difficulty in Mecca, imagine what it will be like when the prince is here for a thousand year reign and all these people want to come and be a part of it. So although there are objections, it seems to me that it surely could be real and that God could really do that. So he's described the north He's also described these northern seven tribes. He's described the central area. And of course, that takes the greater portion, even though we didn't read it all. He takes more time to describe that little piece than any of the others, because that's very important. Then he describes the south in verse 23 and as for the rest of the tribes from the east side to the west, Benjamin shall be have one section by the border. Benjamin shall be Simeon. Next to Simeon shall be Issachar. Next to Issachar shall be Zebalon. Zebalon next to him shall be Gad. by the border of Gad on the south side toward the south. The border shall be from Tamar." And he describes that whole southern area. So there are seven tribes to the north. There is the Holy Land, which is called the portion of the Lord, which is sometimes translated the Appalachian or the Lord's section. Very central. Then there are five tribes to the south. Everything's described. The boundaries are described. The rivers are described. The seas are described. The distances are described. It seems like a very real place. It almost seems like God was trying to describe something that's more than symbolic. He was trying to describe something that is very, very real. And so we have the river, we have the boundaries, we have the distribution, but there's one last thing in verse 30. These are the exits of the city on the north side measuring 4,500 cubits. The gates of the city shall be named after the tribes of Israel. The three gates northward, one gate for Reuben, one gate for Judah, one gate for Levi. On the east side, 4,500 cubits, three gates, one gate for Joseph, one gate for Benjamin, one gate for Dan. On the south side, measuring 4,500 cubits, three gates, one gate for Simeon, one for Issachar, and one gate for Zebulun. On the west side, 4,500 cubits with their three gates, one gate for Gad, one gate for Asher, and one gate for Naphtali. So not only is the land distributed and we have 12 tribes, since the Levites really don't get one of the distributed areas, they actually are servants of the Lord and live in his area. Therefore, the tribe of Joseph is split up and you have Manasseh and Ephraim, so you end up with 12. When it comes really to the gates of the city, There are twelve gates, but now Levi is one of them, and therefore Manasseh and Ephraim cannot be two, but have to become one, and there's one gate for Joseph. But there are three in the north, three in the south, three in the east, and three in the west. And he describes this city, it's a square, how wide it is, 4,500 cubits, how long it is, etc., and the three gates on each side. Now, what does that mean? Well, some people have read, have you ever read Revelation 21 and 22? I think you have. When you read Revelation 21, it talks about a city, doesn't it? It talks about a river. It talks about trees on both sides. And it talks about gates. And it has twelve gates. It has three in the north, three in the south, three in the east, three in the west. There's a lot of similarities to Revelation 21 and 22. But it is the same as Revelation 21 and 22. And what you'd find is if you compare Ezekiel 48 to Revelation 21 and 22, although there are many similarities, there are many differences. And therefore they are not the same unless differences do not matter to God. In the eternal state, the new heaven and the new earth, there'll be another city. It'll be huge compared to this one. This one's big, but nothing compared to the new Jerusalem. Nothing compared to it. It's totally different in size. It's totally different in style and structure. It's totally different in many other ways. In fact, You remember Revelation 21, 22, not only have 12 gates with the 12 tribes names on it, they also have 12 foundations with the 12 apostles names on them. So there are many, many differences. Revelation 21 and 22 talks about the eternal state, the new heaven, the new earth. Ezekiel is talking about the millennial kingdom and he's talking about what it will be like for that thousand year reign of Jesus Christ in a very real place that we call today Israel or Palestine. Having said all of that, he says, we have one last thing to look at. Verse 35, all the way around shall be 18,000 cubits huge. And the name of the city from that day shall be the Lord is there. So you might be impressed with the gates, you might even be impressed with the size, how perfectly it's laid out, all the dimensions, et cetera, et cetera. But do you know where Ezekiel has been going all along? He's been going to one little statement. The Lord will be there. The Lord's gonna be there. It'll be a great, great place. Not because of its size, or because of its layout, or because of who's on the tribe to the north and who's to the south. All of that's important. God's got it all figured out. He's laid it all out for mankind. But what will be impressive to all of us, and what will be important in the Millennium Kingdom to those who are a part of it, will be the fact that the Lord is there. Ezekiel had the privilege of watching the presence of the Lord. You remember that in vision early on, remember the the chariots and thrones that he saw in vision and how they hovered around in the cherubim and all that kind of stuff. He had a privilege of seeing that he shared it with you and me. And we were very impressed with the presence of God, even though we are reading about somebody who had a vision about a reality. It was still impressive to us. And then he had the privilege of, well, I don't know if it's a privilege. Might have been not a privilege of watching the glory of the Lord depart from the temple. Ezekiel chapter 8, chapter 9, chapter 10 and 11 and Ichabod was written over the reality that glory is left. He had an opportunity to talk about in chapter 45, the Lord will be there. But now as he sees the fulfillment of the whole plan of God, history is linear. It's not circular. We are not going around in circles. God's going somewhere on every event of life is moving forward towards his ultimate plan. And one of the great things he wants. God just wants to live in the middle of his people. He always has. And he always will. God just wants to be the center of your heart. He wants you to wake up, and He's what's important to you. He wants you to walk through your day, and He is central to your life. That's what He wants. The Eternal God wants to be with you and with me. Can you imagine what a disappointment it would be tomorrow morning if the Eternal God, who just wants to spend time with you, finds that you're just too busy? You're wrapped up in a thousand lesser things that are important to you. That's why, as you read from Genesis to Revelation, not only do you sense that God just wants to be with His people, but you also sense that God's people just want to be with God. The psalmist said it so well again and again. In thy presence is the fullness of joy. Psalm 23 talked about, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Again and again, the psalmist will tell us that the Lord is there. And he was with me. And in his presence is the fullness of joy. And on and on it will go. God has just always wanted to be with his people. And when we, his people, are in tune with spirituality, we just want to be with him. And there will come a day in the millennium, which is not the eternal state, a millennium which is designed primarily for Israel and the people that will survive through the tribulation and who will enter into the millennium. It'll be a day when the Lord will be there. It'll be great. We will already be with him because we are believers in Jesus Christ and we will have been raptured. We will rule and reign with Christ. We will spend all of eternity with Christ. That'll be great for us, but it will be great for the children of Israel when God establishes himself in his land.