My dear friend, first of all, I want to compliment you for reading this difficult portion in Ezekiel, and for putting forth the effort to understand the meaning of these inspired words. I believe what we are seeing in chapter 47 refers to the return of the Great King, the Lord Jesus Christ, when He comes back to this earth to judge His enemies and to setup his millennial reign in Jerusalem. This will be soon after the rapture of the church, and just after the great tribulation period of Israel, when God pours out His wrath in righteous judgment upon an unbelieving world. Concerning the conclusion of the tribulation period, we have prophetic words about this particular point in time, especially in Psalm 2:6 where we read, “Yet have I set My king upon My holy hill of Zion”. Additionally, the entire Psalm 24 speaks of the return of the Great King, the Lord Jesus, to Jerusalem, where He will enter triumphantly through the east gate of the city in that latter day, after defeating all His enemies, and shall occupy the throne of David to rule the earth in justice and righteousness. And again, we read in Joel 3:18 about this time: “And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall come forth out of the house of the LORD, and shall water the valley of Shittim”.

So thus, in Ezekiel 47, I believe we see the river of blessing flowing from the Lord Jesus during the millennial reign of Christ, which will heal the land and bring new life to the desert places. The Lord Jesus will be seated on His throne in Zion; and in that day, the Lord will bless His people Israel and will heal the waters of the Dead Sea which is now salt, and this healing of the waters will be through that river of blessing that flows from the house of the Great King, the Lord Jesus. in verses 1 and 2, we read, “Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward: for the forefront of the house stood toward the east, and the waters came down from under from the right side of the house, at the south side of the altar. Then brought he me out of the way of the gate northward, and led me about the way without unto the utter gate by the way that looketh eastward; and, behold, there ran out waters on the right side”. Going on in verses 7-9,  we see the river of fresh water and blessing growing broader and deeper as it heads for the Dead Sea to heal those previously salty waters and make them supportive of new life: “Now when I had returned, behold, at the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side and on the other. 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. And it shall come to pass, that every thing 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 every thing shall live whither the river cometh”.

 To help us understand this portion, I will quote a section from J. N. Darby’s Synopsis of the Bible on this chapter: “The waters that issue from the sanctuary represent the life-giving power that proceeds from the throne of God, flowing through His temple, and healing the Dead Sea, the abiding token of judgment. The waters abound in fish, the trees that grow beside them are filled with fruit, the marshes alone remain under the curse — they are “given to salt.” The blessing of that day is real…. The land is divided between the tribes in a new manner, by straight lines drawn from east to west. The portion for the sanctuary and for the city, or the 25,000 square reeds, are situated next to the seventh tribe, beginning from the north. The name of the city thenceforth shall be “Jehovah is there.” So, we see in the final verses of this chapter, verses 13 to the end,  the borders of Israel mapped out for that time period of the millennial reign of Christ.

My dear friend, we are really looking here at the culmination of God’s perfect plan for His people Israel. In Genesis 12, God had promised Abraham land, seed and blessing forever. Thus, in the latter days, after the period of the church, with the return of the great king, the Messiah, the Lord Jesus does indeed return to bless Israel under His righteous reign, and He will establish His kingdom, and will rule the world in righteousness from Zion, and the desert lands will be healed and the effects of sin removed from the land. But, all of this can only be possible because of the coming of Christ Jesus, the Messiah of God, into the world to redeem lost sinners by the shedding of His blood at Calvary, as a propitiatory sacrifice. We read in 1 John 4:10, “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins”. The Lord Jesus is indeed “a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of Thy people Israel,” (Luke 2:32).  In Isaiah 53:4-5, we read the prophetic words of the faithful remnant of Israel in that latter day when they at length recognize that Jesus was indeed the Christ,  “Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed”.

And now, my dear friend, how about you? Are you a believer on the Lord Jesus Christ? You and I have the opportunity to believe on the saving Grace of our Lord Jesus right here and now. If you are now a believer, then you too will be with the Lord Jesus where He is when your life here is over. Jesus said in John 14:1-3, “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also”.

On the other hand, if you have not yet believed on the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and Lord, now is the right time to consider the words of John 1:12 where we read, “But as many as received Him (that is, the Lord Jesus), to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name…”.  (483.2)  (SF)