Waters to the Loins; Waters To Swim in

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)

There may be no clearer picture in the Scriptures of progressive redemption in Christ than that of the river Ezekiel saw in vision. Ezekiel’s river is a type of the three deaths and three resurrections and of the resulting flowing of the River of Life to the peoples of the earth.

We notice, in verses eight and nine (of Ezekiel, Chapter 47) that as soon as the fullness of life has been developed in the Church the water will "go into the sea" and "there will be a multitude of fish." As soon as the Church has been made one in Christ and in the Father, the world will believe (John 17:21-23).

Judgment and refreshing. The "man that had the line in his hand" represents the judgment of God. The blessing of the Holy Spirit always is associated with judgment. The cloud and the fire go together. Christ baptizes us with the Holy Spirit and with fire. The Holy Spirit sat on the early Church as tongues of fire. Where the Holy Spirit is, there is judgment against sin.

As the man proceeded "eastward," that is, toward the Day of the Lord, the Word of God "measured" the Temple of God and those who worship therein (Revelation 11:1). The judgment resulted in an increase in the depth of the "waters," the depth and fullness of the Holy Spirit.

The power to bear witness follows judgment (Revelation 11:3).

When a Christian church prays earnestly for revival, the Holy Spirit will respond by sending conviction on sin. Men and women, boys and girls, will begin to confess their sins and make their lives right in God’s sight. When the confession and repentance have been completed to the Lord’s satisfaction He will send blessing, enlargement, and the ability to bring life to those around us.

The more of the Holy Spirit we would possess the more sensitive we must be to sin. When the Holy Spirit comes He convicts us of sin in our deeds, words, motives, and imaginations. If we confess our sins and turn away from them, the blessing increases on us and we become more effective witnesses of Christ.

The "man with the line in his hand" is walking among the Christian people today and we are being made aware of the holy demands of the Holy Spirit. The judgment of the Lord is in the land and it always begins with the household of God (I Peter 4:17).

The "waters" represent the Holy Spirit of God. The Spirit of God was active in the creation of the heaven and the earth, brooding on the "face of the waters."

We can notice the Spirit of God working in the lives of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and their descendants. The Spirit, who guided their lives, gave them the ability to bless their children in prophetic utterance (Genesis 48:15, for example). Many prophets, judges, priests, and teachers were moved by the Holy Spirit during Old Testament times.

Joel prophesied that God has determined to pour out His Spirit on all flesh. The fulfillment of Joel began on the original Day of Pentecost. After centuries of spiritual desolation sprinkled with the lives of outstanding saints, the Holy Spirit began through the Protestant Reformers the wonderful restoration described by Joel and the other prophets of Israel. Many revivals have occurred in various geographical areas since the time of the Reformers.

The Spirit was poured on Wales toward the end of the nineteenth century, and in other parts of the world in the early twentieth century. Speaking in tongues and other manifestations of the Holy Spirit have become increasingly widespread.

In the middle of the twentieth century, impetus was given by the Spirit to the manifestation of Divine healing. Also, the Spirit began to testify that the harvest rain was on the way and that now is the time to pray for the increase of the harvest rain.

In the latter days of the twentieth century we notice the Holy Spirit moving in Indonesia, South America, Africa, Europe, and in other areas as well. In addition there has been a greater willingness to respond to the Spirit on the part of many persons who attend the churches of the large denominations of Christendom.

A thoughtful observer may conclude that the entrance of the Spirit of God into the earth is increasing rapidly, exactly as prophesied by Joel and the other prophets of Israel. The Holy Spirit seems to be testifying that the restoration that began with the Protestant Reformers is moving forward in this hour at a rapidly increasing rate and soon will attain a magnitude never before witnessed on the earth since the time the Holy Spirit first hovered over the watery surface of a formless planet.

It is our understanding that the outpouring of power to bear witness will not reach its climax until every man, woman, boy, and girl on the earth has both seen and heard the Gospel of the Kingdom of God in the fullness of Divine power and authority. After that there will be a rise of lawlessness, including the revealing of the "man of sin," with the result that the love of the majority for Christ will grow cold.

The man with the line in his hand always is moving "eastward" toward the rising of the Sun of righteousness. So it is that both judgment and refreshing will increase as we approach the Day of Christ, especially in the "remnant" of saints whom the Lord is drawing to Himself. We must be made ready for the coming of Him whose eyes burn as a flame of fire.

Church history, and the deepening waters. We may think of the "cubits" as years, when studying this passage from Ezekiel, Chapter 47. During the first thousand years of the history of the Church the "waters were to the ankles." The Holy Spirit in the Church affected the conduct of most of the communicants in the "Christian" countries to a limited extent, or so it seems.

The spiritual experience of millions of Europeans consisted mainly of attendance at Divine service and the observance of the sacraments, along with unscriptural practices such as the buying of indulgences. The concept of living one’s daily life in moment-by-moment cooperation with the Holy Spirit appears to have been limited to a few outstanding saints.

During the second millennium of Christian Church history the Holy Spirit will increase until the "water" has reached the "knees." The influence of the Holy Spirit on the members of fervent Christian assemblies has been increasing—especially since the days of the Reformers. The early Methodist and Baptist churches, for example, made strong demands on the spiritual life of their members and the Spirit of God was among them.

The teaching of the "holiness" and Pentecostal churches, in some instances, have added to these demands. The believers have been exhorted to "walk in the Spirit."

It is our understanding that the third "day," the third thousand-year period, will be the thousand-year Kingdom Age. At that time the Holy Spirit will be to the level of the "loins," that is, to the place of fruitfulness and strength.

The nations of the thousand-year Kingdom Age will not have a choice as to whether they wish to serve the Lord. The saints will be in control in both the spiritual and natural realms. The laws of the Kingdom of God will be enforced with the iron discipline of the Holy Spirit. All who resist Christ will be destroyed.

This is "waters to the loins," to the area of fruitfulness and strength. Satan and wicked people will not be allowed to destroy and corrupt throughout the thousand-year Kingdom Age, until the thousand years have been fulfilled. Then Satan will be released for a short period while God is putting the finishing touches on His complete work of judgment and redemption.

The further the whole Church goes into the "waters" of God the easier it is for individual saints to press forward into even greater victory. Now, in these days, the Spirit of God is beckoning to each of us to press forward to the fullness of victory in Christ. There will be a "remnant" of saints who will bear witness of Christ with unprecedented power through to the coming of the Lord.

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 47:5)

The fourth of the thousand-cubit lengths, the "waters to swim in," speaks of the new heaven and earth reign of Christ. Four is the number of Pentecost, in that the feast of Pentecost is the fourth of the seven feasts and the Lampstand is the fourth of the seven furnishings of the Tabernacle of the Congregation.

During the eternal reign of Christ the Presence of the Holy Spirit will be available to us as a "pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the Throne of God and of the Lamb" (Revelation 22:1).

Perhaps the most outstanding feature of the new world will be that the saints are permitted and able to look on the Face of God—an unheard of glory.

And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads. (Revelation 22:4)

How do we proceed from our present animal state to a level of spirituality where the Spirit is available as a crystal river and we are able to see the very Face of God?

We pass from the salvation level, waters to the ankles, to the sanctification level, waters to the knees. Then we proceed to the conquest-consecration-throne level of water to the loins.

The first three levels are the works of redemption. The fourth level is the fullness of God.

After we have been brought through the third death, in which we learn obedience to God, all we have gained spiritually must be returned to God from whom it came. The goal is union with the Father through Christ—total, complete, restful union. The end is love. We abide in perfect love in Christ in God. This is waters to swim in and it passes knowledge, it cannot be crossed over.

Now we become a tree of life. We are brought back to the bank of the River of Life. The love of Christ in us is expressed toward other people.

And he said unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen this? Then he brought me, and caused me to return to the brink [bank] of the river. (Ezekiel 47:6)

We begin to understand that God called us out of the world to become His Church, and then out of the churches to become a holy remnant, the firstfruits of His Church, being prepared to assist those who possess less of God than we do. The firstborn receives the double portion so he may assist his brothers and sisters.

If we are called to the Bosom of the Father, to be a part of her who is "the only one of her mother," we must proceed to the fourth level, and then return to where the "fish" are. All that is ours must be returned to God, and then all that is God’s will belong to us. There must be nothing in us that is not found in the Father.

Our ultimate goal is not some sort of transcendent spiritual perfection but rest in the Bosom of the Father. Those who have been called to the fullness of Christ are in a place of great danger and great opportunity. The danger is that after having been delivered we will retain our self-will and become another satan. The Charismatic churches are dangerously close to this position in the present hour.

The desirable state is that in which we are content to rest in the Father’s will, caring no longer for preeminence, power, fame or any of the other goals to which the spiritual person may be attracted.

Most of the churches and organizations, it appears, are "leaping" in order to excel, to call attention to themselves and their programs. It is a babylonish (manmade, man-centered, man-directed) condition, a circus of activity in which each ambitious individual seeks to outdo and control the others.

God is calling His elect away from the leaping and striving of the Christian churches.

My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away. For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land; (Song of Solomon 2:10-12)

Can you hear the voice of the Bridegroom? If so, go to Him in prayer until He visits you and you know your place in Him. We have this opportunity in the present hour.

Pure love, pure joy, pure peace, can be ours only when we have come into restful union with God and have been brought by Him to the people whom God has appointed to eternal life. Then with the greatest joy we shall bring forth waters of life from the wells of salvation that have been formed in our personality. We shall continue in the love of Christ, having forgotten all our former desire for preeminence and spiritual power.

The saints are to become such a part of God and Christ that they dwell forever in the abundant fullness of the Spirit of God. They will be absorbed eternally into the Divine holiness—"waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over."

Let us move from the ankles, to the knees, to the loins, and finally to the river that cannot be passed over. Such fullness is available to each of us if we will submit to the working of God in us through Christ.

When we are wading around ankle-deep we merely are playing with the things of God. Let us go out to deeper water and find the place where Christ abides. We may have the Holy Spirit, but does the Holy Spirit have us?

The fullness of the Holy Spirit will come to us in the "third hour" (Acts 2:15), in the "third day" (Hosea 6:2), in the third death and resurrection of redemption. We Christians have not "arrived" yet.

It is the sworn intention of the Almighty God to bring people and circumstances to the place where He can pour out His Spirit until the whole earth is covered with the Spirit of God as the waters cover the sea.

But as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD. (Numbers 14:21)

For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea. (Habakkuk 2:14)

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. (Ezekiel 47:8)

The outpouring and prevalence of the Holy Spirit in the days prior to and then throughout the thousand-year Kingdom Age will be intense and widespread. A foretaste of such glory occurred in Wales during the last century.

Can you imagine the anointing and glory that accompanied the evangelist Finney abiding on every member of the Body of Christ? Wherever Christians are—and they will be active everywhere throughout the creation, serving God as kings and priests—there will be the Presence and comfort of the Holy Spirit.

In the new heaven and earth reign of Christ the Presence of the Holy Spirit will be so glorious, so pure, so intense, so consuming, so pervading, as not to be understandable by us in our present state of mortality. We know it will be so because of what God has said in His Word. We are not mature enough to comprehend such Divine Glory.

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