The River of Life
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; the waters were to the ancles. Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through the waters; the waters were to the knees. Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through; the waters were to the loins. Afterward he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass over: for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over. (Ezekiel 47:3-5)
The line in the man’s hand represents the judgment of God, for it is a measuring line. The Day of Atonement is the day of God’s judgment on sin. Therefore the line in his hand is associated in meaning with the Day of Atonement, the Day of Reconciliation.
The "waters" of this passage represent the Holy Spirit of God who will be poured on the Church in connection with the exercising of God’s judgment. We can notice in Matthew, Chapter Three that Jesus baptizes us with the Holy Spirit and with fire; not just with the Holy Spirit, but with the Holy Spirit and fire.
The Holy Spirit is the "waters" of Ezekiel, and the baptism of fire is the "line" in the man’s hand. The reason there will be so much of the Holy Spirit in the earth during the Kingdom Age is that the fires of God’s judgment will burn with unprecedented fury and thoroughness just prior to the Kingdom Age.
The "ankles," the "knees," and the "loins" speak of the three areas of Christian development.
The "ankles" refer to the beginning commitment of receiving Christ as Lord and Saviour.
The "knees" speak of the Pentecostal blessing that brings us to the place where our "walk" increasingly comes under the control of the Spirit of God.
The "loins" represent the "death to self" conversion where our strength begins to be broken and resurrection life, the strength of God, is given us in exchange.
During the Kingdom Age the outpouring of glory will, as we understand it, bring the Israel of God through these three areas of conquest. The "waters to swim in" portray the giving over of the Christian to the will of God after he has experienced the deaths and resurrections of the "ankles," the "knees," and the "loins." The Life of God in him now governs his deeds, words, motives, and imaginations. He has become the Temple of the living God.
The victorious saints will press toward this point of full consecration before the return of Christ. Fullness of dedication to God’s will is available now to whoever chooses to embrace it.
The whole Church of Christ will receive glory during the thousand-year Kingdom Age that will further the ability of every Christian (every Israelite) to walk in the Spirit of God (Malachi 4:2). We all shall grow in the knowledge of God throughout eternity.
The outpouring of the Holy Spirit without measure that will occur during the thousand-year Kingdom Age will bring about the answer to the prayer of Christ recorded in John, Chapter 17. The Church will be made one (reconciled) in God in the abundance of the Glory of God, and the world will come to know that God is the One who has sent Christ and that He loves the Body of Christ with the fullness of Divine love.
Our teaching concerning the work of perfecting the Wife of the Lamb that will take place during the thousand-year Kingdom Age of atonement, a work of purification that will result in the glorious new Jerusalem, must not be interpreted to mean the believer can be careless today in the hope that he will attain in the next age what he was unwilling to grasp in the present hour.
We will not escape punishment if we neglect our present calling and opportunities for spiritual growth. We must keep in mind the terrifying judgment that fell on the lazy slave who buried his talent.
Also, there are specific character transformations and capabilities for union with God through Christ, fruitfulness, ruler ship, and eternal service to God that are available now but never again will be available. Today Christ is inviting us to sit with Him on His throne. Although the training for such ascension is exceedingly rigorous, yet it is possible, through Christ’s grace, for any believer to match Christ’s upward calling with a corresponding grasp of faith.
If we are not faithful in the lesser we would not be faithful in the greater.
If we will give our all to God today we will become God’s son and will inherit all things. Every aspect of our personality and life that we hold back from Christ will cost us unimaginable, incomprehensible, staggering loss in the Kingdom of God.
The wise believer will not take the chance that God will give him during the Kingdom Age what he ignored today. The passage from Ezekiel that we are discussing portrays judgment and blessing, more judgment and more blessing, and so forth. This is the manner in which we grow in Christ now. We bear fruit. Then He prunes us and we bear more fruit. He prunes us again, cutting us down to the ground, and then we bear abundant fruit. Has this been your experience?
Let’s go for a swim in the waters of God. Come on! The water is fine. We cannot drown, although we are not able to swim all the way across, because it is the water of eternal Life.
Ezekiel’s river is the outpouring of God’s Glory, the Pentecost of Pentecost's, the Year of Jubilee. Notice that these waters go into the desert (the dry places of the Church) and then into the sea (the peoples of the earth). This is the pattern of the Kingdom Age outpouring. First, the Church will be revived with the Holy Spirit of God (Ezekiel 37:10). Second, the Life of Christ will flow from the Church, the Temple, to the nations of the earth (Ezekiel 47:9).