Amen. Alright, well we're there in Ezekiel, chapter number 47, and we've been going through the book of Ezekiel on Wednesday nights.
It's been a long journey through the book of Ezekiel. We're almost done. This is chapter 47, and then next week we'll be in chapter 48.
Some of you have been here for every single sermon in the book of Ezekiel, and hopefully you've learned a lot from Ezekiel and gathered a lot.
Tonight we're here in chapter 47, and of course for the last several months, or couple of months, we've been dealing with this last section of Ezekiel,
which is chapters 40 through 48, and this deals with Ezekiel's end times prophecy and with Ezekiel's temple. We've talked a lot about that.
Tonight we are in chapter 47, and this is probably, out of this section and out of a lot of the book of Ezekiel,
this is a very famous chapter in the book of Ezekiel, and it's definitely the most famous of the end times chapters.
If you do hear preaching out of the book of Ezekiel, a lot of times it'll be. Out of chapter 47, it's a very well known chapter, a very memorable chapter,
and it deals with the river of life, and we're going to go through the chapter, and we're going to talk about the river of life tonight,
but I want you to notice that this river is mentioned in other end times prophecy literature. Let's look at it just real quickly.
Go to the book of Revelation, Revelation chapter 22, and we're just going to read this, and then we're going to come back to Ezekiel.
We're not going to develop it just yet. We'll come back to Revelation 22 towards the end of the sermon,
but I want you to just notice the similarities. Revelation 22 and verse 1, last book in the Bible, Revelation 22 verse 1,
the Bible says this, and he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.
In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruit,
and yielded her fruit every morning, and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations,
and there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and his servants shall serve him.
So we read here about this river, this pure river of water of life, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb,
and on either side of this river you have the tree of life, and it has the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations, there's no more curse.
So we're talking about this river of life, which is mentioned in Revelation, and of course mentioned in Ezekiel 47,
and I want you to notice that this is an actual river, I believe that this is literal, that there is the throne of God,
and here in this passage there's the temple of God, and the river's flowing out of it,
but I do want you to notice that I believe that there is symbolism here, that God wants us to connect as New Testament believers,
and that's what I'll focus on tonight, and if you're taking notes, maybe you can write these things down.
The first thing I'd like you to notice is this, that the river flows from the temple,
so if you're there in Ezekiel 47, you know we've been dealing with the subject of the temple throughout the book of Ezekiel,
notice verse 1, Ezekiel 47 1,
Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house.
Now if you remember, the house has been a reference to the temple that Ezekiel's been prophesying about,
giving us all the measurements, all those things.
Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house, and behold, notice what it says,
waters issued out from under the threshold of the house.
So the source of this water that will eventually turn into a river is the temple,
the river flows from the temple is what the Bible's telling us here,
it says that waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward,
for the forefront of the house stood toward the east,
and notice what it says, the waters came down from under, from the right side of the house,
at the south side of the altar, notice verse 2,
then brought he me out of the way of the gate northward,
and led me about the way without unto the utter gate by the way that looketh eastward,
and behold, notice what it says, there ran out waters on the right side.
So we have the house, the temple, and we have waters that are gushing out from this house.
So what does this represent, and how does this apply for us as New Testament believers?
What's the application of the symbolism?
Well, I want you to understand this, keep your place there in Ezekiel,
go ahead and read the book of 1 Corinthians, 1 Corinthians chapter 6,
you should be familiar with this, I know you're smart, but let's look at it together.
In the New Testament you have Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, 1 Corinthians, 1 Corinthians chapter 6.
Now, in the New Testament, we, as New Testament believers,
meaning, when we say New Testament, we're not just talking about a section in your Bible,
we're talking about as believers under the second covenant, or the new covenant,
we do not have a physical temple that we go to worship at.
We don't have a physical temple that we go and, you know, worship the Lord in.
The Bible tells us that our bodies are the temple, 1 Corinthians 6, notice verse 19.
What? Know ye not that your body, notice what it says, 1 Corinthians 6 and 19,
that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in you, which ye have of God,
and ye are not your own, for ye are bought with a price.
Therefore glorify God, notice, in your body and in your spirit, which are God.
So, this is just one passage, we go to other places to prove the same thing,
we won't take the time to do that, but the Bible is clear,
for us as New Testament believers, our bodies are actually the temple of the Holy Ghost.
Now, you're there in 1 Corinthians, head backwards to the book of John,
you're going to go past Romans, past Acts, into the book of John, John chapter number 7.
Here's what's interesting, Jesus taught that out of our bodies,
which Paul just told us which are the temple,
that out of our bodies would flow rivers of living water.
Let me show it to you, John chapter 7, verse 37.
John 7, 37, the Bible says this,
In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying,
If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink.
He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said,
out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
So Ezekiel talked about a temple that had water flowing out of it,
and we know it's the river of life as you get deeper into the context,
and then Jesus said, your body, out of your body, out of your belly,
are going to flow rivers of living water, and then Paul says that our body is the temple.
So you see the symbolism here, and what it symbolizes,
this gushing water coming out of the temple, symbolizes the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
Because notice verse 38 again,
He that believeth on me, that's how you get saved,
as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
Notice verse 39,
But this spake he of the Spirit.
So when he's speaking of the flow of rivers of living water coming from your belly,
he's speaking about the Holy Spirit of God.
But this spake he of the Spirit, notice,
which they that believe on him should receive.
So we're talking about the indwelling of the Holy Spirit,
and I don't have time to develop this, we'll touch it a little bit tonight,
but if you were with us on our Holy Spirit series,
if you remember we did a, I think it was like 12 weeks,
where we went through and systematically learned about the Holy Spirit on Sunday nights,
if you remember that, you'll remember that in the Old Testament,
in the Old Covenant, the Holy Spirit would come upon individuals,
just like He does in the New Testament or the New Covenant,
the Holy Spirit's power comes upon individuals,
but in the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit did not indwell people.
In the New Testament, the Bible says when we believe,
we receive the Holy Spirit of promise, we receive the earnest of our redemption,
we get sealed with the Holy Spirit of God.
This is what Jesus is referring to when it says in verse 39,
the parenthetical statement there says,
but this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive,
for the Holy Ghost was not yet given, why?
Because that Jesus was not yet glorified.
So the Holy Ghost would not be given until Jesus died, was buried,
resurrected in his glorified body,
and then of course you remember when Jesus appeared in his resurrected body,
he looked at his disciples and he breathed on them,
and he said, receive ye the Holy Ghost,
because the indwelling of the Holy Spirit did not happen until after the resurrection of Christ,
but Jesus referred to that indwelling as the fact that there would be,
out of our bellies shall flow rivers of living water.
So we see this in Ezekiel, the temple, and we see the water gushing out of it,
but it is a picture or symbolism,
and I do believe it was a physical temple with actual water,
but I believe that it represents the fact that we as New Testament believers,
our bodies are the temple of the Holy Ghost,
and out of our bodies will flow the Holy Spirit,
picturing the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
And if you are going to be the temple of God, the temple of the Holy Ghost,
you have to be indwelled with the Holy Spirit, which is pictured here as a river.
Go back to Ezekiel 47.
Let me give you the second kind of picture or analogy here.
We saw number one, the river flows from the temple,
picturing the indwelling of the Holy Ghost, or the indwelling of the Spirit.
But I want you to notice, secondly, that the river grows in depth and intensity.
It grows in depth and intensity. Notice verse 3, Ezekiel 47 and verse 3.
And when the man that had the line in his hand went forth eastward,
he measured a thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters.
So now they're following the river, they're measuring the river,
and he goes out a thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters.
And notice that Ezekiel is identifying for us the depth and the intensity of the river.
He says there at the end of verse 3, the waters were to the ankles.
So he's walking through this river, and the river is not very deep.
He can put his feet through it and walk through it with his feet, but it reaches up to the ankles.
Notice verse 4.
Again, he measured a thousand, talking about a thousand cubits, and brought me through the waters.
The waters were to the knee. So now it's getting deeper and a little more intense.
We go from the water being at his ankles, now to the water being to his knees.
Notice again, the Bible says again, he measured a thousand and brought me through.
The waters were to the loins. Now they're up to his hips.
So this river begins, the temple begins to gush water out, and this water begins to form into a river.
Ezekiel is following this river, and it's up to his ankles, then it's up to his knees, then it's up to his loins.
Notice verse 5.
Afterward, he measured a thousand, and it was a river that I could not pass over, for the waters were risen.
Notice, waters to swim in, meaning he could be fully immersed into this river.
The river had gone big enough to where he could swim in it, a river that could not pass over.
Now, keep your place there in Ezekiel. Go back with me to the book of Matthew.
The first book in the New Testament should be fairly easy to find.
And this is again illustrating the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
Because when you first got saved, or when you get saved, when somebody gets saved, the Holy Spirit indwells them,
and immediately you now have this fountain of living water inside of you.
And by the way, all of it connects, and I wish I had the time to develop it, I just don't,
but all of it connects to eternal security.
Because the reason that you are secure in Christ is because you are sealed with the Holy Spirit, right?
He is the earnest of our redemption.
The Bible says that we believed and we were sealed, and we are sealed until the day of redemption.
But another illustration of the Holy Spirit giving us eternal security is the fact that he is the source of life, of living water.
Remember, Jesus told the woman at the well, he says, if you drink of this water, you'll thirst again.
But if you drink of the water that I'll give you, he said, you'll never thirst.
And she said, give me this water to drink.
And he was referring to the fact that salvation produces in you a source of water.
The Holy Spirit is a river of living water that will produce in you eternal life.
But here's what you need to understand. That's just the first step.
The indwelling of the Holy Spirit just gets you saved, or puts you in a state of salvation, and preserves you, and gives you everlasting life.
But that's not all that God wants for you. God wants you to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
Now here's where a lot of people get confused, and especially the Charismatics and Pentecostals,
and they don't understand the separation, that there is a difference between being sealed with the Holy Spirit and being filled with the Holy Spirit.
There's a difference between having a measure of the Holy Spirit that seals you, and then having the Holy Spirit be completely overwhelming you.
And this is what God wants. God wants us to not only have the source of life, the water springing in our bodies through the temple,
but God wants eventually the Holy Spirit to flow in us, like we see with Ezekiel, where it starts small but it ends up being big,
to the point where it overwhelms us, to the point where it's waters deep enough to swim in, to the point that it's waters deep enough to be baptized in.
And this is what the Bible talks about, and we're not talking about literal physical baptism, we're talking about the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
Are you there in Matthew 3? Look at verse 11. Notice what the Bible says. Matthew chapter 3 and verse 11.
I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but he that cometh after me.
So this is John the Baptist speaking. He says, yes, I have been baptizing you physically into water.
He says, but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, notice, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear.
He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire.
So he says, look, I've been baptizing you with water, but that's just a picture, that's just an illustration.
Me taking you and dunking you under the water, that's just an illustration of what Jesus is going to do.
He's going to baptize you with the Holy Ghost. Go to Acts chapter 1. You're there in Matthew, you've got Mark, Luke, John, Acts chapter 1.
Now, there's a lot of confusion about the baptism of the Holy Spirit, because you've got many Baptists today,
a lot of Baptists today will teach that the baptism of the Holy Spirit happens at the day of salvation,
that when you get saved, you get baptized with the Holy Spirit.
I agree with the fact that the moment you get saved, you get sealed with the Holy Spirit of God.
But to say that you receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit, there's a problem with that, because the Bible just doesn't line up with Scripture.
And I think a lot of times Baptists shy away from talking about the baptism of the Holy Spirit,
because they don't want to sound charismatic or Pentecostal, because then we've got our Pentecostal friends who say,
well, yeah, you believe, you know, that's just one step. Then you have to repent of your sins, that's another step.
And then eventually you get baptized with the Holy Ghost, and you start, you know, laughing uncontrollably,
and barking like a dog, and rolling around the aisles, or whatever brand of Pentecostalism craziness you're into.
You know, you start speaking in tongues, you start doing all these crazy things.
Look, that's not in the Bible either. Okay, so what does the Bible actually say?
Are you there in Acts 1? Look at verse 4. Acts chapter 1 and verse 4.
And being assembled together with them. Now remember, we're in the book of Acts.
This is after the resurrection. Jesus is in his glorified bodies. He already breathed on them and said,
receive you the Holy Ghost. And then he says this in verse 4, or the Bible says this in verse 4.
And being assembled together with them commanded that they should not depart from Jesus,
but wait for the promise of the Father, which saith he, ye have heard of me.
Notice verse 5. For John truly baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost.
Notice what he says. Not many days hence.
So at this point, according to Acts 1.5, have they already been baptized with the Holy Ghost? No.
In fact, Jesus is telling them, you're about to get baptized with the Holy Ghost.
He said, in fact, it's not going to happen many days hence, meaning it's not going to be too much longer,
not going to be too many days before it happens. Notice verse, well let's just read 6 and 7.
When they therefore were come together, they asked him, saying, Lord, will thou at this time restore again the kingdom of Israel?
And he said unto them, it is not for you to know the time or the seasons which the Father hath put in his own power.
They're asking him questions about when he's going to establish the kingdom. He says, don't worry about that.
That's not something you need to worry about. Here's what you need to worry about, verse 8.
But ye shall receive power. After that the Holy Ghost has come upon you, and ye shall be witnesses unto me,
both in Jerusalem, and in Algeria, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
Now, that receiving power and the Holy Ghost coming upon them, we were already told in the context that that is the ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost.
Not many days hence. Well, let me ask you this. What happened not many days hence from the time that Jesus said,
but ye shall receive power after the Holy Ghost has come upon you, to the church in Jerusalem, to the early church?
Well, look at Acts chapter 2 and verse 1. And when the day of Pentecost was fully come,
because remember, Jesus walked on the surface for 40 days after his resurrection. Then he ascended.
Fifty days after his resurrection, we have the day of Pentecost. It's a holiday that happens after the Passover,
50 days after the Passover, which is why it's called Pentecost. So we're talking about 10 days later.
You know, Jesus ascends up to heaven, and 10 days after his ascension, we're in Acts 2-1,
and when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place,
and suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting,
and there appeared unto them clothing tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
Because remember that he said that he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire.
So we see here in Acts 2-3 that they had these clothing tongues like as of fire, and again, I always like to mention this.
The Pentecostals like to say, we call ourselves Pentecostals because we're just like the day of Pentecost.
Well, here's the problem, Mr. Pentecostal. At the day of Pentecost, they had fire over their heads, and they weren't consumed.
So unless you want to be like Michael Jackson and you want us to set your head on fire,
don't tell me you're doing what we do is what happened on the day of Pentecost. Don't think so. Look at verse 4.
And they were all filled. You see that? They were filled with the Holy Ghost and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
And again, I don't have time to develop it. If you look at the context, it's very clear the word tongues, the word languages are used interchangeably.
They're speaking languages they did not know, but they are speaking languages that other people understand.
There are foreigners there for the special day of Pentecost, and they get saved. That's the result.
Verse 14, But Peter standing up with the eleven, lift up his voice, and said unto them,
Ye men of Judea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words.
For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing as but the third hour of the day.
He's talking to the locals who do not understand the languages that they're speaking.
Notice verse 16, But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel.
And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams,
and on my servants and on my handmaids I will pour out in those days of my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.
So I want you to notice that Acts 1 says you're going to be baptized with the Holy Ghost, not many days hence.
Then he says you're going to receive power after that the Holy Ghost will come upon you.
Then not many days hence you have the day of Pentecost where the Holy Spirit was poured out upon them.
They had already been indwelt with the Holy Spirit of God.
Now they have the Holy Spirit coming upon them.
They have the Holy Spirit being poured on them.
They're being filled with the Spirit.
They're being baptized with the Spirit.
These are all terms that are used interchangeably to speak about the empowering of the Holy Spirit.
Because here's the truth.
Just because you are indwelt with the Holy Spirit does not mean that you are empowered by the Holy Spirit.
This is why the Bible says quench not the Spirit.
Grieve not the Spirit. Why?
Because you can have the Holy Spirit in you and be quenching Him.
You can have the Holy Spirit in you and you can be quenching the Holy Spirit.
You can be grieving the Holy Spirit.
But the Bible tells us that we are to walk in the Spirit.
The Bible says that if we walk in the Spirit, we won't fulfill the lust of the flesh.
So here's what I want you to understand.
In Ezekiel, we've got this temple and it has water gushing out of the temple.
The water source is in the temple.
That is a picture of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Why?
Because your body is a temple and Jesus said that out of you would gush out pure living waters,
a river flowing out of living waters and He was referring to the Holy Ghost.
And then we see Ezekiel, as he continues on his journey, the flow of the river,
the intensity of the river increases, the depth of the river increases to the point where now it's over his head.
He says it's waters to swim in. He says it's waters that he cannot pass over.
And that picture is a fact that God wants you to be filled.
He wants you to be baptized. He wants you to be empowered by the Holy Spirit of God.
Go back to Ezekiel 47.
Let me give you the third lesson in regards to this river and we'll be done.
Ezekiel 47, notice verse 6.
Here's point number 3. Point number 1 was the rivers flow from the temple, picturing the indwelling.
Point number 2, the rivers grow in depth and intensity, picturing the filling or baptism of the Holy Spirit.
Point number 3, the river produces fruit and healing.
The river produces fruit and healing. Notice Ezekiel 47 and verse 6.
And he said unto me, Son of man, has thou seen this?
Then he brought me and caused me to return to the brink of the river.
So he goes, you know, he's out there swimming in this river or whatever.
And then he's brought back by his guide and he says, have you seen this?
And he brings him to the brink of the river. Notice verse 7.
Now when I returned, behold, at the bank of the river were very many trees.
Now when we started the sermon, we went to Revelation 22 and we saw the same thing.
We have the river with the trees.
He says there were very many trees on, notice that last part of verse 7, on the one side and on the other.
Look at verse 12.
And by the river, upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat.
The word meat in the Bible simply refers to food.
We use the word meat in regards to what the Bible calls flesh.
Meat in the Bible is just food.
He said these trees are growing.
They shall grow all trees for food, for meat, whose leaves shall not fade.
Neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed.
It shall bring forth new fruit according to his months.
Remember when we read in Revelation 22, it said that there was a tree of life and they brought forth 12 different fruits, a different fruit for every month.
Here we are told the same thing.
The fruit thereof shall be for meat, for the leaf thereof, well, I'm sorry, I got ahead there a little bit.
Notice verse 12 again.
And by the river, upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaves shall not fade.
Neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed.
It shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary.
And the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine.
I want you to notice that the leaves are for medicine.
Verse 8, Then said he unto me, These waters issue out toward the east country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea, which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed.
So the way that the nation of Israel is laid out is that you've got, of course, the northern kingdom and you've got the southern kingdom, you've got Judah, and then you've got the Dead Sea.
Now the Dead Sea is a sea, basically, that it's actually the lowest part of the planet, which means that water runs down and it always takes the path of least resistance, which means it's always headed down.
And when you get to the Dead Sea, there's no more down to go to, it's the lowest part of the earth.
Because of that, waters flow into the Dead Sea, but waters don't flow out of the Dead Sea.
And the Dead Sea is filled with salt. In the Bible, in the Old Testament, it's not called the Dead Sea, it's called the Salt Sea.
It's filled with all sorts of minerals, and it's crazy. When I was in Jordan, we spent time at the Dead Sea, and you float, you know, you actually don't sink.
You can sit there, just your legs crossed, Indian style, and just float on the water, because it's got all this salt, because it has all these minerals.
The Bible says here, though, that at this day, the waters are going to flow, notice verse 8,
Then said he unto me, The waters issue out towards the east country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea, which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed.
These waters are actually going to heal the Dead Sea, and make it not dead anymore.
You know, make it remove all that, all those things that are causing it to be that type of water, notice verse 9,
And it shall come to pass, that everything that liveth, which moveth whithersoever the river shall come, shall live.
Because it's the river of life, it produces life. So everything the water touches, it shall live.
And there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come hither, for they shall be healed.
And everything shall live whither the river cometh.
So I want you to notice that the river produces fruit, and the river produces healing.
Now we've been talking about the fact, go to Galatians chapter 5, we've been talking about the fact that this river represents the Holy Spirit.
The river flowing from the temple is a picture of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and then the river grows in depth and intensity.
That is a picture of the filling, or the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
Then we see that the river produces fruit, it produces these trees, the trees of life, and they are producing fruit.
It gives life, the trees give life, the river gives life, the trees are for medicine, it produces fruit, and it produces healing.
How does this fit with the illustration of the Holy Spirit?
Well, it fits in the sense that the Holy Spirit should produce the fruit of the Spirit in our lives.
Are you there in Galatians 5?
Look at verse number 19 just to get the context.
In verse 19 we're told what your flesh produces.
When you walk in the flesh, this is what you'll produce in your life.
Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these, adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred,
And such like, of which I tell you before, as I've also told you in times past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
But, here's a contrast. When you walk in the Spirit, which we were told earlier in Galatians 5, to walk in the Spirit, here's what the Holy Spirit will produce in your life.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance, against such, there is no law.
And here's what he's saying, that the Holy Spirit will produce, when you walk in the Spirit, when you're filled with the Spirit, it'll produce fruit so you have the fruitfulness of the Holy Spirit.
But you know what it'll do for your life? It'll heal.
Because you know what destroys the relationships in your life? The works of the flesh, right?
The adultery, the fornication, the uncleanness, the lasciviousness, the idolatry, the witchcraft, the hatred, the variance, the emulations, the wrath, the strife, right?
The wrath, the strife, the seditions, the heresies, the envying. What does envy produce in your life?
The murders, the drunkenness, the revelings, all those things produce death in your life.
We're not talking about physical death, although it might end up being physical death with the murder, right?
But I mean, it produces death in your relationship with your spouse, in your relationship with your children, in your relationship with your fellow church members, in your relationship with your neighbors, with your co-workers.
This is what is produced in your life. If you walk in the flesh, you're gonna have a life filled of all these things.
But he says, when you're filled with the Spirit, the Spirit will produce love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.
And you know what those people need? Against such, there is no law.
Those people don't need anybody telling them what to do. They don't need any commandment telling them what to do.
Because when you're filled with the Spirit and you're producing the fruit of the Spirit, your life gets better and you get better at life.
It produces the life that Jesus referred to as the abundant life.
Because he did not just come to give you eternal life. He came to give you the abundant life that he desires for your life.
So this river, this river producing the fruit, pictures the fruit of the Holy Spirit.
It produces fruit and healing. Go back to Revelation 22.
So this is a picture of the Holy Spirit.
The river flows from the temple, pictured in the indwelling.
The river grows in depth and intensity, picturing the filling or baptism of the Spirit.
And then the river produces fruit and healing, picturing the fruit of the Spirit.
But it's not just symbolism. This is an actual river. These are actual trees.
And I'd like to just end tonight this sermon by showing you how this works in Revelation.
Because if you remember, and I'm not going to take the time to rehash the whole thing.
If you haven't been with us, you need to go back and listen to several sermons about what we believe about Ezekiel's prophecy.
But just real quickly, what we believe, the best theory we've got is that Ezekiel's prophecy is a prophecy of the end times under the first covenant.
Or what the end times would have looked like under the first covenant.
Now we know that the first covenant was repealed and replaced, not because there was fault with the covenant, but there was fault with the people.
So now we are under the new covenant. The new covenant has a different end times.
It's similar because of the same God, but it plays out differently.
But in this new covenant, we also have this river, we also have the tree of life.
So I want you to notice how this applies to us in our end times prophecy and how this works.
Revelation 22, look at verse 1. We already read it, but let's look at it together.
And he showed me a pure river of water of life.
Clear as crystal.
Proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.
I want you to notice it proceeds, the word of there means it's referring to the source.
The source is the throne of God and the source is the Lamb.
Notice verse 2.
So this river with the tree of life, the trees alongside on either side of it,
are obviously very similar to Ezekiel 47.
Let me just show you or point out to you a couple of differences.
Number one, in Ezekiel's prophecy, it's flowing out of the temple.
In John's prophecy in the book of Revelation, it's flowing out of the throne of God.
In Ezekiel's prophecy, and this is my opinion and people might have different opinions.
In Ezekiel's prophecy, that temple, Ezekiel 40 through 48, that has to do with the millennial reign.
That's what the millennial reign of Christ would have looked like under the first covenant.
So how do we know that? Well, we know that one major way to know that's because animals are dying.
People are reproduced. Remember, the prince has children and it's the millennial reign.
Here in Revelation 22, we're no longer in the millennial reign.
If you remember in Revelation 20, and when we were in the Gog and Magog chapters,
I went over this in a lot of detail, so I'll just go through this quickly
and you can go back and listen to those sermons if you need to.
But in Revelation 20, you've got Satan.
The chapter begins with Satan being cast into the bottomless pit. Remember?
Then you have the thrones and they ran with Christ for a thousand years.
You have the millennial reign of Christ.
Then you have Satan loosed after a thousand years, after millennial reign.
You have Satan loosed out of the bottomless pit and then he gathers the nations together,
Gog and Magog, to fight against God. Right?
God fights it. We covered all this in Ezekiel already.
And then you've got the great white throne.
Because remember, the millennial reign is bookended by two battles and two judgments.
You've got the Battle of Armageddon, the judgment seat of Christ.
You've got the millennial reign.
And then you've got the Battle of Gog and Magog and the great white throne.
The judgment seat of Christ is for believers to be rewarded for the works they did in their bodies.
The great white throne is for unbelievers to be thrown into the lake of fire.
Then in Revelation 21, we see the new heaven and the new earth.
This is what we would call the eternal state or this is what generally we call heaven.
When we talk about heaven and the pearly gates and the streets of gold, we're really referring to the new heaven and the new earth.
Revelation 22 is just continuing on the description of Revelation 21.
So when we read in Revelation 21, and he showed me a pure river of water of life, we're getting a glimpse of heaven.
All right? Not the millennial reign.
In Ezekiel's prophecies of millennial reign, here it's heaven and it's the throne of God and we've got the river flowing and the tree of life.
Let me prove to you just one other way in the book of Revelation that this is heaven, the new heaven, the new earth, the eternal state, whatever you want to call it.
Revelation chapter 2, look at verse 7.
Revelation 2, 7, of course in Revelation 2 and in Revelation 3, we've got Jesus giving the letters to the seven churches in Asia and he gives introductions and conclusions.
I want you to notice what he says at the conclusion of Revelation 2, 7.
He says this,
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
To him that overcometh, which is referring to someone who's saved, you can study that out in scripture if you'd like.
I don't have time to develop that.
It says to him that overcometh, will I give to eat of the tree of life?
Notice, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.
Alright, so where's the tree of life?
In the paradise of God.
If you ask Paul, where's paradise?
He would tell you it's the third heaven.
He uses those terms interchangeably.
Because we're talking about heaven, the new heaven, new Jerusalem, whatever, all those things is what he is referring to.
So, you have these, go back to Revelation 22 and I just want you to notice this real quickly.
Verse 2, Revelation 22 says,
In the midst of the street of it, on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruit.
Remember we saw in Ezekiel that it bore fruit every month.
And yielded her fruit every month.
Notice, and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
So the tree is for the healing of the nations, verse 3,
And there shall be no more curse.
And sometimes people will ask, what is the point of this tree of life?
What is the point of all the tree of life up and down this river?
If we're in heaven, if we're in our glorified body, what's the point, what's the purpose?
Well, go back to Genesis chapter 3.
And I want you to remember that it said that it was for the healing of the nations.
And I want you to remember in verse 3 that it said,
Revelation 22 3,
And there shall be no more curse.
There shall be no more curse.
Go back to Genesis chapter 3, and let me just explain this.
What I'm about to explain to you is my theory.
I feel like I've been saying that a lot lately in Ezekiel.
The Bible says this, the secret things belong unto the Lord our God.
But those things which are revealed, those are for us.
And really there are secret things in the Bible that we don't understand.
Paul, who wrote most of the New Testament,
Paul, who wrote much of end times prophecy,
he said, we see through a glass darkly in regards to prophecy.
He said, we see through a glass darkly, but then face to face.
He said, now I know in part, but then shall I know, even as also I am known.
So I'm not going to sit up here and pretend like I've got it all figured out
and this is exactly how it's going to work out.
If Paul didn't know, good night, okay?
The rest of us are seeing through a glass darkly.
But let me give you my thoughts in regards to the purpose of this tree of life,
of the tree of life.
You say, what's the point of the tree of life if we're already in heaven or whatever?
Genesis 3, verse 22.
And the Lord God said, behold, the man has become as one of us.
Now remember in Genesis 3, we had Adam and Eve, they've sinned, right?
And as a result of their sin, they are now under a curse.
Remember God said that the earth, the ground would be cursed,
that he would have to work from the sweat of his brow.
Women are going to have to give birth in pain and labor.
That's why I always think it's funny when women want to go to work.
It's like you want both punishments? You want the labor and Adam's?
Man, send that guy to work, you know?
And the Lord God said, behold, the man has become as one of us to know good and evil
and now lest he put forth his hand and take also notice of the tree of life
and eat and live forever.
Why did God not want Adam or Eve to have access to the tree of life?
Here's why.
Because if they ate of the tree of life, they would live forever.
Because at this point, they're under the curse.
At this point, the Bible says that as of by one man, sin entered into the world and death by sin.
And so death passed upon all men for that all have sinned.
Adam is now dying. Eve is now dying.
And if they were to eat of the tree of life, it's for the healing of the nations.
It's for medicine and the Bible says that they would live forever.
God did not want that, verse 23.
Therefore, the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden to till the ground from whence he was taken, verse 24.
So he drove out the man and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden cherubims and a flaming sword
and turned every way to keep the way of the tree of life.
If they were to eat of the tree, they would have lived forever.
God had put them under a curse that says that they needed to die.
Of course, they needed salvation, the wages of his death, all those things.
And go to 1 Corinthians 15. We're almost done. 1 Corinthians chapter 15.
If you remember in Revelation 20, we end the millennial reign, right?
Gog and Magog, the great white throne.
And then in chapters 20 and 21, we're describing the eternal state, new heaven and new earth.
Here's what you need to understand and just try to kind of keep up with me.
During the millennial reign, we are raptured before the millennial reign, right?
We're raptured. We receive our glorified bodies. We come down with Christ.
He fights the battle of Armageddon. He puts the devil in the bottomless pit.
And then we rule and reign with Christ for a thousand years in our glorified bodies.
But there are still human beings, mortal humans, just normal men and women that are living upon this earth.
And those are the people that we are judging.
Remember, we'll be ruling and reigning and judging.
And we'll be ruling and reigning over this earth and we'll be judging those people.
Some of those people are going to get saved. Some of those people are not going to get saved.
And those people, when they die, they don't get resurrected immediately, all right?
It's not like, I believe in Jesus and then I die and then I'm back.
They die during that millennial reign and they get buried just like we now.
So when do they get resurrected? Well, they get resurrected at the great white throne.
In 1 Corinthians 15, the Bible outlines for us the different resurrections of the dead.
Are you there in 1 Corinthians 15? Look at verse number 22.
For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
But every man in his own order. So there's an order to the resurrection.
So as in Adam we all die, in Christ we're all going to be made alive.
But we're going to be made alive in a certain order, verse 22.
But every man in his own order. So here's the order.
Christ, the first fruit. And he's using harvest terminology as an example.
Because when you're harvesting a field or when you're harvesting land, it doesn't all come out at once.
First you have what they call the first fruits, which is the first batch that comes out of the ground.
By the way, they were supposed to tie the first fruit, right?
Because the first 10% went to God. That's another sermon for another day. I've already preached that.
But that's the point. You have what first initially comes out of the ground.
And here that's being equated to the resurrection.
And we had Christ who was resurrected in his glorified body.
He was the first fruit. You say, well, there were people resurrected before that.
Yeah, but they were resurrected from the dead in their mortal bodies to die again one day.
Christ was resurrected in his glorified body to never taste of death again.
That's what we're talking about in verse 23.
But every man in his own order, Christ the first fruit, afterward they that are Christ at his coming.
What is that? Now if you listen to the pre-tribbers, you'll get all confused here because they're not sure what the second coming of Christ is.
But let me just let you in on a secret. The second coming of Christ is the rapture all throughout the Bible.
So then who gets resurrected? They that are Christ at his coming.
That's the vast majority of believers. That's the harvest.
And it's called that all throughout the Bible and Matthew, Revelation.
It's called the harvest. It's a great harvest of souls when Jesus returns in the rapture, in the clouds.
But notice verse 24, then cometh the end. Then cometh the end. That's the great white throne.
So you've got the great white throne. In other passages we're told that they're going to be resurrected,
some to the resurrection of damnation because of the great white throne.
I need to stop. There's so much to say. I'll just try to say this quickly and we'll finish. I promise.
Right now when an unbeliever dies, their body goes to the grave just like the body of a believer. Their soul goes to hell.
The great white throne is not them just coming out of hell. It's also their body being resurrected.
And they are reunited back with their body, their soul and their body. They stand before the great white throne.
They're judged and then they're sent to the lake of fire.
The difference between the hell in the center of the earth and the lake of fire, they're basically the same thing,
except the lake of fire has a person's soul and body.
But at that great white throne, we're told that some are resurrected unto life everlasting or life eternal.
And then some are resurrected unto damnation because that's what is being referred to here in verse 24.
Then cometh the end when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father.
This is the great white throne. At the end, you've got in harvesting terms, the gleanings.
Because remember, if you've read the Old Testament, you know that whenever they harvested, they had the first fruits,
what first sprung up, then they had the major harvest, but then they would go back and do the gleanings,
just the things that were left over. And the rapture, the resurrection is illustrated the same way.
Jesus is the first fruit. Then you've got the major harvest, they that are Christ that is coming.
But then you've got kind of the gleanings, the people that got saved and died during the millennial reign,
they get resurrected, just kind of the last few in their glorified body.
But you still have a problem. There's a few people, and when I say a few, I don't know how many,
but there's some people that are saved and don't fall into any of these categories.
Because in all of these categories, all of them, the major harvest, they that are Christ that is coming,
and the end, the great white throne, where they're resurrected, some to damnation, some to life eternal,
all those people have died. At the end of the millennial reign, there will still be people who are alive and saved.
They're saved, but they're still alive at the end of the millennial reign. What happens with those people?
Does God just kill them all and then resurrect them immediately?
I believe what happens is that they eat of the tree of life for the healing of the nations.
It's a one-time thing where these people that are all still alive at the end of the millennial reign,
they're believers, they're saved, but they've not yet died. They don't fit into any of the categories of the rapture.
God's not just going to whack them and then resurrect them all at the end.
I believe, and this is just my opinion, that they eat of the tree of life, and then they live forever, like Adam and Eve.
It produces life everlasting in them, and they go into the eternal state.
So, the river. What does it represent? The Holy Spirit. The river flows from the temple, picturing the indwelling.
The river grows in depth and intensity, picturing the filling or baptism of the Holy Spirit,
and then the river produces fruit and healing, which represents the fruit of the Spirit that should be produced in our lives.
I hope you'll join us next week as we finish the book of Ezekiel.
Ezekiel 48. We'll all be glad to be done with the book of Ezekiel. It's been a long tread through the book.
Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer.
Heavenly Father, thank you, Lord, for your word. Thank you for the Bible. Thank you for allowing us to learn and to process these things.
Lord, I pray that you would help us, and I pray that you would be with our church.
Lord, I pray that you would help us to realize that we are indwelling with the Spirit.
The river of life is flowing in us, but we want to be swimming in it.
Lord, we want to be filled with it. We want it to overcome us and overpower us.
We want to have the filling of the Holy Spirit, and we want it to produce fruit in our lives, healing in our lives.
We love you. In the matchless name of Christ, we pray. Amen.