Worldwide evangelism
As soon as the Water of Life flows out to the nations of the earth they will be healed of the death caused by the bondage of sin.
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 "waters" of the sea will be healed, meaning that the souls of people all over the world will be renewed in the Spirit of God. The Glory of Christ given to the Church will reach out to the peoples of the nations and they will receive a portion of eternal life. The sons of God will bring release to the physical creation.
Because the creature [creation] itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. (Romans 8:21)
It always is true that people who reject the rule of Christ will be cast into the Lake of Fire. Every person who receives Christ during the seasons in which he appears in His Church will be saved. Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be delivered.
After the destruction of the wicked during the Battle of Armageddon, all the ends of the earth will be converted and the "earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea" (Habakkuk 2:14).
Our teaching concerning the work of Christ during the thousand-year Kingdom Age, and the pattern of the operation of God described in the Book of Ezekiel, should reflect back on our conduct today, inviting and leading us to cease from the bondages of the flesh and to press forward to victory in Christ.
We should be preparing ourselves spiritually for the Day of Christ that even now is approaching its darkest hour as a prelude to the dawning of the day of release. If the vision of Ezekiel moves us toward faith, holiness, and service today we have received his message correctly.
The greatest evangelistic outreach of all time will follow the worldwide outpouring of the Glory of God.
And it shall come to pass, that everything that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live: and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed; and everything shall live whither the river cometh. (Ezekiel 47:9)
Here we see the release of the natural creation, mentioned in Romans 8:21. The "bondage of corruption" is broken and the peoples of the earth are awakened to God’s Life and are healed by His Spirit. The River of God, the Holy Spirit, will cover the earth. Every person and everything will be touched with Divine Glory.
Notice that the word river is both plural and singular in the above verse. It is the one River of God, the Holy Spirit, but each Christian is a "river," or "tributary" so to speak, of the one Holy Spirit.
In fact, there will be rivers (plural) flowing from each believer in whom the Divine throne has been established. There will be an abundance of Divine Life that never will cease. The Lord Jesus came that we may have life and have it in abundance
He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (John 7:38)
The Christians will go to every nation on earth. Out from the sons of God will issue the River of God. The River of God always flows from the throne of God, and the throne of God is being established in the heart of the saint.
We can see that the flowing of the River of Life from the elect will result in worldwide evangelism: ". . . there shall be a very great multitude of fish, . . . ."
The "fish," of Ezekiel 47:9,10, will be "caught," taught, and otherwise served by the Israel of God during the Kingdom Age. Notice the vision that Ezekiel presents showing the flowing together of the saints, exactly as Jesus prayed in John, Chapter 17, and the resulting release of the peoples of the earth from the harsh bondage of wickedness.
Isaiah had the same vision:
Then thou shalt see, and flow together, and thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles [nations] shall come unto thee. (Isaiah 60:5)
The above verse is an Old Testament portrayal of the answer to the prayer of Jesus in John, Chapter 17. The Glory of God will arise on the Church of Christ while gross darkness covers the peoples of the earth. At that time the Glory of God will be seen on the Body of Christ.
The nations of the saved, that is, the saved people who are not members of Israel, the Church of Christ, the Lord’s anointed, will come to the light shining from the Church. The rulers of the earth will behold and marvel at the manifestation of the Glory of God resting on the Church.
The inhabitants of the farthest reaches of our planet will stream to the Church. We Christians will behold the results of the Glory of Christ abiding on us. When we see the ends of the earth coming to us to be blessed of God we will become radiant with joy. Our heart will throb, trembling at the sight of the prisoners of the earth making their pilgrimage with their families to God who is dwelling in us.
Our personalities will be enlarged with compassion and understanding because of the opportunities for service suddenly set before us, as the nations of the earth come to us seeking God’s blessing. It will require a thousand years for the Church to minister to the needs of people—needs that can be met only by the Lord Jesus Christ ministering through His Body, the eternal Temple of God.
The act of ministering to these "fish" will work toward the perfecting of the saints themselves. By the end of the Kingdom Age the Church will be ready, for the first time, to descend from Heaven as a finished masterpiece.