It is written:
“And in that day it shall be—That living waters shall flow from Jerusalem, Half of them toward the eastern sea And half of them toward the western sea; In both summer and winter it shall occur.” (Zechariah 14:8)
And again:
“The man led me back to the entrance of the Temple. I saw water coming out from under the east gate of the Temple. (The front of the Temple is on the east side.) The water flowed down from under the south end of the Temple and ran south of the altar. 2 The man led me out through the north gate and then around the outside to the outer gate on the east side. The water was flowing out on the south side of the gate. 3 The man walked east with a tape measure in his hand. He measured 1000 cubits. Then he told me to walk through the water at that place. The water was only ankle deep. 4 He measured another 1000 cubits. Then he told me to walk through the water at that place. There the water came up to my knees. Then he measured another 1000 cubits and told me to walk through the water at that place. There the water was waist deep. 5 He measured another 1000 cubits, but there the water was too deep to cross. It had become a river. The water was deep enough to swim in. It was a river that was too deep to cross. 6 Then the man said to me, “Son of man, did you pay close attention to the things you saw?” Then the man led me back along the side of the river. 7 As I walked back along the side of the river, I saw many trees on both sides of the water. 8 He said to me, “This water flows east, down to the Arabah Valley. 9 This water flows into the Dead Sea so that the water in that sea becomes fresh and clean. There are many fish in this water, and all kinds of animals live where this river goes. 10 You can see fishermen standing by the river all the way from En Gedi to En Eglaim. You can see them throwing their fishing nets and catching many kinds of fish. There are as many kinds of fish in the Dead Sea as there are in the Mediterranean Sea. 11 But the swamps and small marshes will not become fresh. They will be left for salt. 12 All kinds of fruit trees will grow on both sides of the river. Their leaves never will become dry and fall. The fruit will never stop growing on those trees. The trees will produce fruit every month, because the water for the trees comes from the Temple. The fruit from the trees will be for food, and their leaves will be for healing.” (Ezekiel 47:1-12)
These passages of Scripture describe “living” or “moving” water. Let’s notice a few of the things which stand out about this “water.”
First, the living water is tied to “that day.” Is this a reference to a specific twenty-four hour day, or (more likely) to a period of time? If a period of time, are we talking about the Christian Age? Or perhaps to a specific portion of the Christian Age? Or could it be a reference to the Second Coming?
Second, the living water is connected to the Temple of Ezekiel. Is this Temple a literal Jewish temple? Could it be a reference to the church? Is it possibly referring to Heaven? What does the specific location of this temple teach us regarding its identity?
Third, this living water flows both east and west at the same time.
Fourth, the living waters give life to the dead waters. They bring forth trees that bear fruit in abundance. The fruit grows every month. Furthermore, this is because the living water comes from the Temple, and provides food and the leaves provide healing.
Fifth, who are the fishermen that are referenced? And what is the significance of the specific locations (the Dead Sea, the Arabah Valley, En Gedi and En Eglaim)?
These are some of the questions we will investigate and attempt to answer in this series of short articles.
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