Reading the Bible never ceases to amaze me, it is without a doubt the most remarkable of all documents. You can read a passage over and over again, only to discover a more significant meaning next time around. God has not made it easy for us to understand, I suppose if He did, perhaps His Message would be too simple to grasp and we might ignore deeper truths. Yet, He wants us to study, because the Scriptures serve as the schoolmaster for those who will graduate to His Greater Purpose, whatever that purpose may be. Only He knows how many of His Creation will ultimately graduate, all we know is that many are called, but few are chosen. We can only pray that our loved ones and our sisters and brothers will find favour and be called to the Lord Jesus Christ so they may be a part of His Coming Kingdom.

In Isaiah 40 God has given us a most comforting message, all about the wondrous things that await us when He returns. The time of Jacob’s trouble will be over and the Millennial Kingdom shall be upon us. What a wonderful thought! Yet, among all the pearls of wisdom in this chapter, there is one verse that I would like to quote to begin this Bible Study. Isaiah 40:12 reflects a God who has employed measurements throughout His entire Plan: “Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance.” Throughout the entire Scriptures, there are examples of Him prophesying time periods using days, times, cubits, gerahs, shekels, coins and other units of measurements. Yet, no matter what the situation, great Bible scholars have shown how we can understand these prophetic periods.

In all the beauty and promises of Isaiah 40, there is one reassuring verse God must have inserted for those who need comforting: “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God shall stand for ever” (Isaiah 40: 8). The Apostle Peter reinforced this statement of fact in 1 Peter 1: 25. So we can be confident the beautiful picture of Isaiah 40 will come to pass and that this is also true of every other prophecy contained in the Holy Bible. With this principle in mind, let us now examine Ezekiel 47: 3-5

“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, a river that could not be passed over” (Ezekiel 47: 3-5)

One glance at these verses certainly confirms that God has not made it easy for us to understand. Still, there is little doubt that this passage of the Bible is more difficult to comprehend than most. In fact, the whole of Chapters 40 to 48 concerning the “Rebuilt Temple” has been a great puzzle and the subject of different interpretations by some very learned men and women. The chapters themselves represent a yet unfulfilled vision. Taken together, some have suggested that they represent a prediction of the Messianic Age, of a Millennial Temple, complete with literal animal sacrifices. Yet, there would seem no reason for God to re-instate such sacrifices, after all, these were fulfilled and done away with in the crucifixion of our most wonderful Lord Jesus Christ. Some interpret them as a re-established Hebrew nation in Palestine and reading the entire Chapter 47, one will be hard-pressed to disagree. Nonetheless, in reading Ezekiel 7: 2, 21 & 24 and Ezekiel 36: 2 & 5, this doesn’t seem possible, at least not before the return of Jesus Christ.

Of course, the waters of Ezekiel 47: 3-5 have often been referred to as living waters and many relate them to a beautiful picture of Christ, coming out of Jerusalem and flowing forth in an ever-widening, ever deepening stream, blessing the nations with life-giving qualities. As touching as this sounds, we have to be realistic because the world today simply doesn’t fit this intrepretation. So, could this prophecy mean something else?

A British Bible scholar recently posed an interesting theory. He asks, “Is this another of God’s messages, coded not in weights but in cubits?” Using a scale of one cubit per year, and using the total of 4000 cubits, he measured the time from the completion of Solomon’e Temple (it was dedicated exactly 3,000 years from the fall of Adam) to the close of the 1,000 year Millennial Kingdom. He reasoned that taken together, the 3,000 and and 4,000 year periods make up God’s Great Week (7,000 years), described as the great river of God. His is an interesting interpretation.

All Bible research is worthwhile, but I wonder if there is a different, perhaps simpler, interpretation. After all, God wants us to understand and open up the subtle symbols of Scripture. I have my own thoughts on these three verses and I would like to present them to you. I suppose some reader might read my offering and say, “Interesting but I wonder if there is another answer.” If you are that reader, please share your thoughts with us. In the meantime, I hope the following makes as much sense to you as it does me.