It is written:
“Now it shall come to pass in the latter days That the mountain of the LORD’s house Shall be established on the top of the mountains, And shall be exalted above the hills; And all nations shall flow to it. 3 Many people shall come and say, “Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, To the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, And we shall walk in His paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth the law, And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. 4 He shall judge between the nations, And rebuke many people; They shall beat their swords into plowshares, And their spears into pruning hooks; Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, Neither shall they learn war anymore.” (Isaiah 2:2-4)
In our studies of the living water of Zechariah and Ezekiel, we have learned the following.
First, the living water would be manifested during the Christian Age (the time from Christ’s death till the Second Coming).
Second, the living water would be connected with the Temple described by Ezekiel. Yet this temple would not be a physical tempe of this Earth.
Third, the temple connected with this living water would be somehow built by the Prince (the Messiah , i.e., Jesus) Who would also be the Leader thereof.
With these things in mind, it would do us well to consider other passages of Scripture which teach us about the Temple that would be built by the Messiah in the Christian Age.
Isaiah’s prophecy is very similar to that of Micah (4:1-5). Both describe the establish of the “mountain of the Lord’s house.” The temple was built on Mount Moriah, so it was often called “the mountain of the Lord.” The phrase “the house of the Lord” had specific reference to the “house of the Lord” (Isaiah 2:3), which referred to the Temple (see as the Jewish Targums demonstrate). Notice what Isaiah declares about the future Temple:
• It would be established in the last days;
• People from all nations would flow into it, seeking the Word of God;
• The Law of God would go forth Jerusalem to the whole world;
• People would learn true peace with their neighbors.
Now, combining all of these things together, we can easily and readily identity the Temple of Ezekiel and Isaiah: it is the church of Christ.
The church was started by Christ Himself in the last days (cf. Acts 2:16-21; Hebrews 1:1-2). The church started in Jerusalem (Luke 24:49; Acts 2:1-5). The Word of God was delivered to the Apostles there (Acts 2:41-42), and spread to all the nations (Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15-16; Acts 1:8).
Furthermore, the church of Christ is constantly identified as the Temple of Christ in the New Testament:
1 Corinthians 3;16-Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
1 Corinthians 6:19-Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?
Ephesians 2:19-22-Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
So, the Temple of Ezekiel is the church of Christ.
Yet why does Ezekiel refer to the church using Old Testament language and descriptions?
And this still leaves us with the question: what is the living water?
Furthermore, what is the meaning of the rest of the prophecies of Ezekiel and Zechariah regarding the living water?
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