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gregoryfl

10-30-2009, 12:33 PM

Eze 47:1,2 Then he brought me back to the door of the temple, and behold, water was issuing from below the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east). The water was flowing down from below the south end of the threshold of the temple, south of the altar. Then he brought me out by way of the north gate and led me around on the outside to the outer gate that faces toward the east; and behold, the water was trickling out on the south side.

This water from the spiritual temple seen by Ezekiel flows east, yet it says that it flows from the south side to the east. What do you think is the significance of it coming from the south side to flow east, instead of just coming from the east side to flow east? And more importantly, how could this possibly involve us? By the way, this should interest all you prophecy buffs. :winking0071:

Ron

Victor

10-31-2009, 06:37 AM

Do you have any insights into this?

:pop2:

gregoryfl

10-31-2009, 02:45 PM

Well, I guess I could give what I have seen. I hope others would chime in and give their thoughts as well. So anyway, here is a synopsis of what I see:

The reason that, out of the 4 possible sides of the threshold the water could come out of, it was the south side, was because those 4 sides are represented by the 4 living creatures written about in Ezekiel 1, as well as Revelation 4. Specifically their 4 faces, which were the eagle to the north, the lion to the east, the MAN to the south, and the ox to the west.

This is also pictured for us in Numbers chapter 2, where you have the formation of the tribes of Israel when they would set up camp in the wilderness. They camped in 4 groups of 3 tribes each, on each of the 4 sides of the tent of meeting. Each of those sets of tribes were represented by one tribe, which consisted of Dan to the north, Judah to the east, Reuben to the south, and Ephraim to the west.

Each of those tribes had what was called a standard, sort of like the flag of today, to represent each of those tribes. According to Jewish tradition, Dan's standard was an eagle, Judah's was a lion (that one is easy to see), Reuben's was a MAN, and Ephraim's was an ox.

Now with all of this we can plainly see the connection and necessity of why it is that the water of life comes out of the SOUTH side, before flowing to the east. The south is represented by the Man, first and foremost, Jesus Christ, but then also, his body, which speaks of us!

The source of this water, the well, is in US! In MAN! We are what is spoken of in Revelation 22, where the water of life comes from the throne of God and of the Lamb, for God is in us! We are where he rules from. We are the physical fulfillment of the 4 living creatures, as well as the camp arrangement of Israel in Numbers.

Ron

Victor

11-01-2009, 06:42 AM

Rose

11-01-2009, 08:46 AM

Hey Ron, have you been reading my mind? :lol: That's exactly what I was thinking!

I tried to find a meaning in the water coming from the south, and correlated it with the connection between the four directions and the four living creatures, drawing the same insights on the "face of man".

This is very rich because these insights based on the four directions, the four querubim, the fourfold temple and the fourfold tent in the wilderness all come from Ezekiel and Numbers. Now have a look at the Bible Wheel and look for these two books.

http://www.biblewheel.com/wheel/spokes/Spoke04_500t.gif

They are aligned on the same Spoke, which is Spoke 4! These concepts based upon the Number 4 are found on Spoke 4 of the Bible Wheel!

In fact, the four directions, north, south, east and west are maximized on Spoke 4:

http://www.biblewheel.com/images/4directions_largegraph.gif

This is an absolute miracle that comes from the Mind of God, the Author of Scripture.

You can read more about this in the following articles:
Numbers: Foursquare Camp in the Wilderness (http://www.biblewheel.com/wheel/spokes/Dalet_cross.asp)
Numbers: The Four Directions (http://www.biblewheel.com/wheel/spokes/Dalet_4dir.asp)
Numbers: Borders (http://www.biblewheel.com/wheel/spokes/Dalet_Borders.asp)
Ezekiel: Foursquare Prophetic Temple (http://www.biblewheel.com/Wheel/Spokes/Dalet_Temple.asp)
Ezekiel: Four Living Creatures (http://www.biblewheel.com/wheel/spokes/Dalet_Four_Creatures.asp)The water of life comes from Christ Himself, when water and blood came from his side (John 19:34) We are united with Him and are the New Jerusalem Temple, so the water comes from us, because it is written:
Joh 7:38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
Now, Christ specifically says that the waters would simbolically come out from the "belly" (koilia), just as Ezekiel says that the waters came from the south. Is there any link between the two?

Well, there is also a correlation between the four living creatures and the four Gospels. The face of Man corresponds to Luke. Thus we can connect Luke to "South," which is itself linked to "belly". Guess what is the Gospel that contains the greatest number of references to "belly" (koilia)? It is the Gospel of Luke, the "Womb Gospel" (http://www.biblewheel.com/Wheel/Spokes/Resh_Luke_Women.asp)!

http://www.biblewheel.com/images/WombNT_graph.gif

Just as the waters came from the south in Ezekiel's temple, Christ, who sends the mighty waters of the Holy Spirit, came from the belly of Mary in Luke!

Our job now is trying to find a link to the direction the water flows. Do you have any insights on the waters going to east?

Wow Victor! You've done it again....excellent links.

As to insights on the waters going east, I have long noted the connection between "east" and "four". It is a First <--> Last Spoke connection on the Bible Wheel.
Gen. 2:14 (Spoke 1) And the name of the third river is Hiddekel (Tigris): that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates.

Rev. 9:14 (Spoke 22) Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.

Rev. 16:12 And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.

Also another cool connection between "4" and "east" is that 4 days before the Feast of Passover the Lamb is inspected for blemishes....remember that was when Jesus rode the donkey before the crowd shouting "Hoshanna", then He descended the Mount of Olives which faces the eastern gate and entered in through the eastern gate.
Luke 19:35-38 And they brought him to Jesus: and they cast their garments upon the colt, and they set Jesus thereon. And as he went, they spread their clothes in the way. And when he was come nigh, even now at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen; Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest.

Rose

Richard Amiel McGough

11-01-2009, 11:07 AM

Great conversation folks!

Here are a few notes as I research Ezekiel 47. The first thing I found was Leslie C. Allen's entry in the Word Biblical Commentary that notes the unique correlation between Ezekiel and Numbers, including a new Spoke 4 KeyLink:
13–23 This passage functions as an introduction to 48:1–29, where the allocation of the land is described. V 14 lays down a theological premise, the revival of the theme of the land promised to the patriarchs, which runs through the pentateuchal sources. Once more a landless people stood on tiptoe, to use the language of Rom 8:19, awaiting God’s promise. Like the Second Exodus, a second possession of the land was typologically theirs. A geographical premise to be clarified is the total extent of the land to be severally allocated, and to this question the present passage addresses itself. The answer is again expressed in a traditional form, inspired by the material of Num 33:50–34:15 (Spoke 4), of which this is a briefer version apart from the description of the northern boundary. Only in Num 33:54; 34:13 and Ezek 47:13 [new Spoke 4 KeyLink] is התנחל “take as one’s inheritance” used with the land as object, while 47:14b is close to Num 34:2bα (Auld, Joshua 74–75). However, the land is no longer to be distributed by lot but by the sovereign decree of Yahweh. Essentially both in Numbers and here the promised land is described as the land of Canaan, as regularly in P. This was a recognized political entity that included Palestine and southern Syria in the fourteenth and thirteenth centuries b.c.. It is these ancient limits that are echoed (Aharoni, Land 68–69; M. Weippert, IDBSup 126). The emphasis on equal shares intentionally seems to run counter to the disparate portions of Num 33:54 (cf. Num 26:52–56), which depended on tribal size. The motif of equality anticipates the tribal strips of chap. 48.
This reminds me of the constant awe I experienced when I first discovered the Wheel. It seemed that no matter where I looked, I found commentators stating things that explicitly cohered with the Wheel, as if they were writing with it in mind. He also described the word play between nachal (river) and nachlah (inheritance) which I discuss in the Spoke 14 article Jesus Christ - High Priest and Heir of All Things (http://biblewheel.com/Wheel/Spokes/Nun_Heir.asp). This strongly coheres with the Gospel interpretation of the river since the Gospel is the promise of our eternal inheritance in Christ:
Hebrews 9:15 And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.
As an aside, Hebrews (Spoke 14) is the only place God speaks of our "eternal inheritance" which is an idea based on the fundamental Nun KeyWord nachlah (see A Priest Forever after the Order of Melchizedek (http://biblewheel.com/Wheel/Spokes/Nun_Melchizedek.asp)).

And here is a snippet from Coopers commentary on Ezekiel in the New American Commentary:
It is not surprising that these same figures appear in the vision of the apostle John in Rev 22. There he described the new Jerusalem in much the same words as Ezekiel used in 47:1–12. There, too, the water of life flows from the throne of God, and the fruitfulness of the trees provides sustenance and healing. In John 4:1–26 Jesus told the woman at the well that the healing waters of God could be an internal “spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:14 - Spoke 4 of the Inner Cycle of John). Likewise, in John 7:37–38 streams of living water are presented as flowing from the body of believers, suggesting the life-giving flow that comes into a person’s life through faith in God and Jesus Christ.

The early church spiritualized the visions of both Ezekiel and John. In these interpretations the river represented the increase in the number of believers; the fourfold measurement of the water represented the four Gospels with the deepest measurement depicting the Gospel of John, which was the “deepest”; and the river was a symbolic foregleam of baptism.152 This symbolic approach to interpretation focused solely on spiritual aspects of the vision of Ezekiel while ignoring any possible literal or physical truths. This illustration serves as a reminder of the consequences of taking an unbalanced approach to this passage. The passage is both symbolic and literal, and any interpretation should necessarily reflect both elements.
This brought to mind something I had not noticed - the increase of the river was described by a "fourfold measurement":
Ezekiel 47:3-5 And when the man that had the line in his hand went forth eastward, he measured a thousand cubits, (1) and he brought me through the waters; the waters were to the ankles. 4 (2) Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through the waters; the waters were to the knees. (3) Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through; the waters were to the loins. 5 (4) 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.
I am not sure about the details of the directions "south" and "east" yet, but I am quite certain about the general interpretation of Ezekiel 47 as a symbolic prophecy of the "water of the Gospel" flowing out from Christ the Temple. The correlations are powerful:
Ezekiel 47:6-12 And he said unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen this? Then he brought me, and caused me to return to the brink of the river. 7 Now when I had returned, behold, at the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side and on the other. 8 [The Gospel goes forth] 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. 9 And it shall come to pass, that every thing that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live [The Gospel of Life]: and there shall be a very great multitude of fish [= believers], because these waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed; and every thing shall live whither the river cometh. 10 And it shall come to pass, that the fishers [of men!] shall stand upon it from Engedi even unto Eneglaim; they shall be a place to spread forth nets; their fish shall be according to their kinds,as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many [John 21:11 Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land full of great fishes, an hundred and fifty and three: and for all there were so many, yet was not the net broken]. 11 But the miry places thereof and the marishes thereof shall not be healed; they shall be given to salt. 12 And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine. [GOSPEL! Rev 22]
So it seems to me that the Gospel symbolism is unmistakably clear and certain.

I am curious if the directions east -> south -> east may link to the initial historical dispersion of the Gospel.

Richard

Rose

11-01-2009, 11:17 AM

Continuing on with the significance of East. It was mentioned that the camp of Judah was to be pitched on the east side toward the rising sun....
Num. 2:3 And on the east side toward the rising of the sun shall they of the standard of the camp of Judah pitch throughout their armies: and Nahshon the son of Amminadab shall be captain of the children of Judah.
....so we now have a connection with Jesus, who is the Lion of the tribe of Judah making His triumphal entry in through the eastern gate, 4 days before the Passover when He was to be the Passover Lamb.

Four <--> East <--> Judah (4th son of Jacob)

Ezekiel which is on Spoke 4 has 49 occurrences of the word "east", and Numbers which is also on Spoke 4 has 7 occurrences, making a total of 56 times the word "east" is used, the most by far of any book in the Bible. The link between "4", "east", and "Judah" is becoming very significant.

Also the east side of the Temple plays significant role in Ezekiels visions.
Ezek. 8:16 And he brought me into the inner court of the LORD'S house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of the LORD, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of the LORD, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east.

Ezek.10:19 And the cherubims lifted up their wings, and mounted up from the earth in my sight: when they went out, the wheels also were beside them, and every one stood at the door of the east gate of the LORD'S house; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above.

Ezek. 11:1 Moreover the spirit lifted me up, and brought me unto the east gate of the LORD'S house, which looketh eastward: and behold at the door of the gate five and twenty men; among whom I saw Jaazaniah the son of Azur, and Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, princes of the people.

Gotta go for now....I will post more later.

Rose

Victor

11-01-2009, 01:10 PM

As to insights on the waters going east, I have long noted the connection between "east" and "four". It is a First <--> Last Spoke connection on the Bible Wheel.
Gen. 2:14 (Spoke 1) And the name of the third river is Hiddekel (Tigris): that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates.

Rev. 9:14 (Spoke 22) Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.

Rev. 16:12 And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.

Also another cool connection between "4" and "east" is that 4 days before the Feast of Passover the Lamb is inspected for blemishes....remember that was when Jesus rode the donkey before the crowd shouting "Hoshanna", then He descended the Mount of Olives which faces the eastern gate and entered in through the eastern gate.
Luke 19:35-38 And they brought him to Jesus: and they cast their garments upon the colt, and they set Jesus thereon. And as he went, they spread their clothes in the way. And when he was come nigh, even now at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen; Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest.

Rose

Hey Rose,

I was looking for a chance to comment this link you posted at First and Last Spoke connections (http://www.biblewheel.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1213). This was the one that most captured my interest, because I had never noticed it. I'll get back to it in the future.

Thank you!

Victor

11-01-2009, 01:51 PM

Great conversation folks!

Here are a few notes as I research Ezekiel 47. The first thing I found was Leslie C. Allen's entry in the Word Biblical Commentary that notes the unique correlation between Ezekiel and Numbers, including a new Spoke 4 KeyLink:
13–23 This passage functions as an introduction to 48:1–29, where the allocation of the land is described. V 14 lays down a theological premise, the revival of the theme of the land promised to the patriarchs, which runs through the pentateuchal sources. Once more a landless people stood on tiptoe, to use the language of Rom 8:19, awaiting God’s promise. Like the Second Exodus, a second possession of the land was typologically theirs. A geographical premise to be clarified is the total extent of the land to be severally allocated, and to this question the present passage addresses itself. The answer is again expressed in a traditional form, inspired by the material of Num 33:50–34:15 (Spoke 4), of which this is a briefer version apart from the description of the northern boundary. Only in Num 33:54; 34:13 and Ezek 47:13 [new Spoke 4 KeyLink] is התנחל 'take as one’s inheritance' used with the land as object, while 47:14b is close to Num 34:2bα (Auld, Joshua 74–75). However, the land is no longer to be distributed by lot but by the sovereign decree of Yahweh. Essentially both in Numbers and here the promised land is described as the land of Canaan, as regularly in P. This was a recognized political entity that included Palestine and southern Syria in the fourteenth and thirteenth centuries b.c.. It is these ancient limits that are echoed (Aharoni, Land 68–69; M. Weippert, IDBSup 126). The emphasis on equal shares intentionally seems to run counter to the disparate portions of Num 33:54 (cf. Num 26:52–56), which depended on tribal size. The motif of equality anticipates the tribal strips of chap. 48.
This reminds me of the constant awe I experienced when I first discovered the Wheel. It seemed that no matter where I looked, I found commentators stating things that explicitly cohered with the Wheel, as if they were writing with it in mind.

What a wonderful sensation! It seems like we are reading a commentary on the Bible Wheel. He notes the points in common and the points of contrast: both are kinds of links.

We find the KeyLink if we search for the phrase "ye shall inherit" together with the word "tribes".

Num 33:54 And ye shall divide the land by lot for an inheritance among your families: and to the more ye shall give the more inheritance, and to the fewer ye shall give the less inheritance: every man's inheritance shall be in the place where his lot falleth; according to the tribes of your fathers ye shall inherit.

Num 34:13 And Moses commanded the children of Israel, saying, This is the land which ye shall inherit by lot, which the LORD commanded to give unto the nine tribes, and to the half tribe.

Eze 47:13 Thus saith the Lord GOD; This shall be the border, whereby ye shall inherit the land according to the twelve tribes of Israel: Joseph shall have two portions.

He also described the word play between nachal (river) and nachlah (inheritance) which I discuss in the Spoke 14 article Jesus Christ - High Priest and Heir of All Things (http://biblewheel.com/Wheel/Spokes/Nun_Heir.asp). This strongly coheres with the Gospel interpretation of the river since the Gospel is the promise of our eternal inheritance in Christ:
Hebrews 9:15 And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.
As an aside, Hebrews (Spoke 14) is the only place God speaks of our "eternal inheritance" which is an idea based on the fundamental Nun KeyWord nachlah (see A Priest Forever after the Order of Melchizedek (http://biblewheel.com/Wheel/Spokes/Nun_Melchizedek.asp)).

You mean the same author in the same text mentioned the wordplay? That's what I understand. The connection between River and Inheritance becomes even more beautiful with this insight from Ezekiel 47.

And here is a snippet from Coopers commentary on Ezekiel in the New American Commentary:
It is not surprising that these same figures appear in the vision of the apostle John in Rev 22. There he described the new Jerusalem in much the same words as Ezekiel used in 47:1–12. There, too, the water of life flows from the throne of God, and the fruitfulness of the trees provides sustenance and healing. In John 4:1–26 Jesus told the woman at the well that the healing waters of God could be an internal 'spring of water welling up to eternal life' (John 4:14 - Spoke 4 of the Inner Cycle of John). Likewise, in John 7:37–38 streams of living water are presented as flowing from the body of believers, suggesting the life-giving flow that comes into a person’s life through faith in God and Jesus Christ.

Note that John 4:14 reinforces the fact that the water of life comes from the believers themselves:

Joh 4:14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

The early church spiritualized the visions of both Ezekiel and John. In these interpretations the river represented the increase in the number of believers; the fourfold measurement of the water represented the four Gospels with the deepest measurement depicting the Gospel of John, which was the 'deepest'; and the river was a symbolic foregleam of baptism.152 This symbolic approach to interpretation focused solely on spiritual aspects of the vision of Ezekiel while ignoring any possible literal or physical truths. This illustration serves as a reminder of the consequences of taking an unbalanced approach to this passage. The passage is both symbolic and literal, and any interpretation should necessarily reflect both elements.
This brought to mind something I had not noticed - the increase of the river was described by a "fourfold measurement":
Ezekiel 47:3-5 And when the man that had the line in his hand went forth eastward, he measured a thousand cubits, (1) and he brought me through the waters; the waters were to the ankles. 4 (2) Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through the waters; the waters were to the knees. (3) Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through; the waters were to the loins. 5 (4) 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.

That's fascinating! The attentive reader will notice several fourfold sets in the surface text of Ezekiel.

The connection to the Gospels is very beautiful. John was always considered the "deepest" or "spiritual" Gospel. The first three measurements could be taken objectively (and thus were "synoptic") but the fourth goes well beyond any markers on the parts of the body (ankles, knees, loins). This links to the 3 + 1 structure of the Gospels.

Could you get the reference on the footnote 152?

I am not sure about the details of the directions "south" and "east" yet, but I am quite certain about the general interpretation of Ezekiel 47 as a symbolic prophecy of the "water of the Gospel" flowing out from Christ the Temple. The correlations are powerful:
Ezekiel 47:6-12 And he said unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen this? Then he brought me, and caused me to return to the brink of the river. 7 Now when I had returned, behold, at the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side and on the other. 8 [The Gospel goes forth] 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. 9 And it shall come to pass, that every thing that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live [The Gospel of Life]: and there shall be a very great multitude of fish [= believers], because these waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed; and every thing shall live whither the river cometh. 10 And it shall come to pass, that the fishers [of men!] shall stand upon it from Engedi even unto Eneglaim; they shall be a place to spread forth nets; their fish shall be according to their kinds,as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many [John 21:11 Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land full of great fishes, an hundred and fifty and three: and for all there were so many, yet was not the net broken]. 11 But the miry places thereof and the marishes thereof shall not be healed; they shall be given to salt. 12 And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine. [GOSPEL! Rev 22]
So it seems to me that the Gospel symbolism is unmistakably clear and certain.

I am curious if the directions east -> south -> east may link to the initial historical dispersion of the Gospel.

Richard

I am not sure as well about the meaning of south and east but it looks promising. The waters come from the south and go to the east. This probably has a symbolic significance, as we began to articulate on this thread. I don't see yet how this could link to the dispersion of the Gospel preaching in the first century.

Rose

11-01-2009, 02:56 PM

Here are some more thoughts on "East"....

A very interesting picture develops around “East” beginning in Genesis. First there are the four rivers that flow from Eden, the only direction that is mentioned is “east” which the third river Hiddekel (Tigris) flows.

Gen.2:14 And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates.

After Adam and Eve are driven from Eden, Cherubim with flaming swords are placed at the east side of the Garden.

Gen.3:24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubim, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

Farther along in the story, after Cain murders Abel he flees from the presence of the Lord to the land of Nod, which is east of Eden.

Gen. 4:16 And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden.

Apparently the lands to the east of Eden is where man first started to multiply, because we see in Gen. 11 that people came from the east to settle in the land of Shinar, which is Babylon. It is from there that God confused the language and scattered man across the face of the earth.

Gen. 11:1-2 And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech. And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there.

Jumping ahead in the Bible to the book of Ezekiel we read where God shows Ezekiel that the house of Judah has committed great abominations in that they turn their backs on the House of God and worship the sun toward the east.

Ezek. 8:15-17 Then said he unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations than these. And he brought me into the inner court of the LORD'S house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of the LORD, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of the LORD, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east. Then he said unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here? for they have filled the land with violence, and have returned to provoke me to anger: and, lo, they put the branch to their nose.

In the last book in the Bible we see the angel who has the seal of the living God coming from the east.

Rev. 7:2 And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea,

Then the great river Euphrates (which flowed out of Eden) is dried up so that the way for the kings of the east might be prepared.

Rev. 16:12 And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.

Lastly I come to the New Jerusalem (restored Garden of Eden) in the midst of which is the Tree of Life. The gates are now opened (which had the Cherubim with swords), the way has been prepared (Jesus entered in through the eastern gate) for the kings of the earth (east) to bring their honor and glory into it.

Rev. 21:24-26 And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honor into it.And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there. And they shall bring the glory and honor of the nations into it.

Any thoughts :pop2:

Rose

Richard Amiel McGough

11-01-2009, 03:43 PM

What a wonderful sensation! It seems like we are reading a commentary on the Bible Wheel. He notes the points in common and the points of contrast: both are kinds of links.
Yes indeed it is wonderful - it always gives me great encouragement and makes reading the often dry commentaries something of a "treasure hunt."

We find the KeyLink if we search for the phrase "ye shall inherit" together with the word "tribes".
Num 33:54 And ye shall divide the land by lot for an inheritance among your families: and to the more ye shall give the more inheritance, and to the fewer ye shall give the less inheritance: every man's inheritance shall be in the place where his lot falleth; according to the tribes of your fathers ye shall inherit.

Num 34:13 And Moses commanded the children of Israel, saying, This is the land which ye shall inherit by lot, which the LORD commanded to give unto the nine tribes, and to the half tribe.

Eze 47:13 Thus saith the Lord GOD; This shall be the border, whereby ye shall inherit the land according to the twelve tribes of Israel: Joseph shall have two portions.
Good work filling in the details! And that is a KeyLink not only in the KJV - it also is a KeyLink in the Hebrew - the same three verses (and only those verses) are selected when we search for the Hebrew word תתנחלו (titnachalu) which is translated as "ye shall inherit." It is a very strong link.

You mean the same author in the same text mentioned the wordplay? That's what I understand. The connection between River and Inheritance becomes even more beautiful with this insight from Ezekiel 47.

Yes - here is what he wrote just a little earlier in the same section:
The final redactional unit of the series of temple-related visionary descriptions and legislative prescriptions in chaps. 40–48 is found in these last two chapters. It falls into two unequal parts, a short visionary account of the stream that flows from the temple in 47:1–12, and a long description of the boundaries and tribal divisions of the land in 47:13–48:35. As in the second unit (chaps. 43–48), a visionary description forms the introduction to other relevant and related material. Structurally these quite different sections are tied together by several factors. The first is a wordplay formed by the terms that dominate each section: נחל 'river' and נחלה 'inheritance' (and the verb נחל 'inherit'). The second is a shared reference to the Dead Sea in the east (47:8, 18) and to the Mediterranean (47:10, 20). The third and most important is the source in the first section and the center in the second: the בית 'house' (47:1) and מקדש 'sanctuary' (47:12), which find echoes, the latter term reappearing in 48:8, 10 and both terms in 48:21. The common theme is the essential bond between temple and land.
This strongly confirmed my intuition that the "river" is the Gospel which promises an eternal "inheritance."

Note that John 4:14 reinforces the fact that the water of life comes from the believers themselves:
Joh 4:14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

That is an extremely important observation. It shows that we are not arbitrarily "spiritualizing" the meaning of Ezekiel 47. The Gospel understanding fits perfectly with the way that the NT speaks of the "waters" flowing from the "Temple" (which Temple ye are 1 Cor 3:17).

That's fascinating! The attentive reader will notice several fourfold sets in the surface text of Ezekiel.

Yes indeed! In his commentary on the second half of Ezekiel (chapters 20-48) Allen mentions fourfold structures six times! For example, here is a snippet of his commentary on Ezekiel 30:13:
The repetitions in vv 22–26 suggest to the redaction critic that the passage has been worked over and amplified (cf. Cooke 335–36; Zimmerli 137–39). The rhetorical critic, on the other hand, although not averse to the possibility of redactional unity, wants to ask whether or not repetition has been used deliberately for emphasis. From this perspective the pronouncement of judgment may be understood in terms of three sections: a fourfold statement of Pharaoh’s overwhelming defeat (vv 22aγ–23), a fourfold statement of victory and defeat (v 24) and a double statement of victory and defeat (v 25a). Each section mentions royal arms, negatively in the first case and both positively and negatively in the other two.
And that's from someone who had no reason to look for or expect any "fourfold" structure in Ezekiel.

The connection to the Gospels is very beautiful. John was always considered the "deepest" or "spiritual" Gospel. The first three measurements could be taken objectively (and thus were "synoptic") but the fourth goes well beyond any markers on the parts of the body (ankles, knees, loins). This links to the 3 + 1 structure of the Gospels.

Yep - three "terrestrial" Gospels and one that flies like an eagle into God's heavens! Just like three Cherubim that are earth-bound (lion, ox, man) and one flying eagle. And/or three dimensions of space and one of time. And three paired branches of the menorah and one that is set apart, like the days of Creation, etc., etc., etc.! :winking0071:

Could you get the reference on the footnote 152?

That note says "See Zimmerli, Ezekiel 2, 515–16."

gregoryfl

11-01-2009, 05:27 PM

I believe that the reason the water comes from the south side is because it finds its source in the body of Christ, in "Man", where God dwells.

As to why it flows to the east, I see 2 correlations, one very clear to me, and the other not so much. The very clear correlation is that directly east of Jerusalem where the temple was is the Dead Sea. Fittingly, in the vision of the spiritual temple, the river of life flows out of the south side of the temple to the East so that it can give life to the Dead Sea, which speaks of the healing of mankind in some way.

The other correlation I see is that there was a river flowing to the east out of Eden to water the garden man was put in. Interestingly, it split into 4 heads, which I think in some way correspond to the 4 living creatures, and 4 divisions of Israel's camp. I have been looking through this for a few months now, and things are slowly coming together, but if anyone has any insights perhaps into the 4 rivers, and Eden, and the garden to the east in it, I would appreciate it.

Ron

Victor

11-01-2009, 06:40 PM

The water goes to the East because it is there that it found the Land of the King!

Eze 43:2 And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east: and his voice was like a noise of many waters: and the earth shined with his glory.
The last book of the OT antecipates what we will find in Matthew concerning the rising of the Sun of God:

Mal 4:2 But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.
The East is the Land of the Rising of the Sun. And that's where we find the Kingdom's Domain, for our Lord comes from there. That's where we want to go.

The east corresponds to the Face of Lion of the cherubim. And the Lion corresponds to Matthew, the Gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven! The phrase "kingdom of heaven" (http://www.biblewheel.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1248) is unique to Matthew. It depicts Jesus as the Sun of Righteousness (compare Mat 4:16-22) because Matthew is on Spoke 18 of the Bible Wheel and righteousness (http://www.biblewheel.com/wheel/spokes/Tsaddi_Matt.asp) is the symbolic meaning of the 18th letter. The river of waters of life goes forth to the east, and "to go forth" (http://www.biblewheel.com/wheel/spokes/Tsaddi.asp) is a distinctive theme associated with the 18th letter.

Matthew is the Gospel that depicts Christ as the son of David, the Righteous King, the Lion from the Tribe of Judah, which was the tribe on the central East side of the wilderness camp. Matthew also places an uncommon emphasis on the east. (e.g. 2:1; 24:27, where Matthew adds content found nowhere else.) And so he is the one that describes in a unique way our final destination: heaven!

Mat 13:43 Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.
No other Gospel states the above.

Our journey was like the Israelites pilgrimage in the wilderness. Egypt is a type of the world that we left. The wilderness is our path in this life, as we journey towards the Promised Land in the East, which is heaven!

But there is much more going on. When God's river of living waters come out from our innermost being, where do we want them to go? To those who want to take the waters and drink from them freely:

Rev 22:17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.
Ezekiel himself explains that the waters go to the east because it was there that the Dead Sea was found.

Eze 47:8 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.
Eze 47:9 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.
The water of life brings life to the Dead Sea. It pictures the state of all those who hear the Gospel message. Some accept and some reject it.

This once again links to the Gospel of Matthew (East). A little after saying that the righteous shall be like the sun in the kingdom of God, Matthew introduces a unique parable of Christ:

Mat 13:47 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind[of fish].
There is only one more place in Scripture where we read about fishing with nets together with gathering "kinds" of fish:

Eze 47:10 And it shall come to pass, that the fishers shall stand upon it from Engedi even unto Eneglaim; they shall be a place to spread forth nets; their fish shall be according to their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many.
Consider what goes on with these passages. Ezekiel prophecies that the living waters go to the east, and "east" is associated with Matthew, and only Matthew explains the prophecy by presenting the parable of the net and the fish! Matthew also is the one who repeatedly presents Peter as the Fisher that would lead the Church in her "fishing" work.

The connections are very intense. It is dumbfounding.

Please note also that in the passage of Ezekiel's prophecy that finds a counterpart in Matthew, there is a repetition of the theme of "life" in the Dead Sea (47:9). This also links to Matthew, because the numerical value of the Hebrew word for life is 18 which is the Spoke where Matthew is located!

Alive, Living (Chi) = 18 (http://www.biblewheel.com/Gr/GR_18.asp) = Tsaddi (Matthew)

The verb (Chiah) and noun (Chi) forms of this Hebrew root meaning life combine multiplicatively to yield the Fountain of Life:

The Fountain of Life = 414 (http://www.biblewheel.com/forum/../GR/GR_414.asp) = 18 (Life) x 23 (http://www.biblewheel.com/forum/../GR/GR_23.asp) (Live)

Note that the number 414 corresponds to the chapter-verse index of the foundational passage on the spiritual meaning of the living waters! (John 4:14)

All the Glory be to the God of Heaven!

From Earth...

Pro 18:4 The words of a man's mouth are as deep waters, and the wellspring of wisdom as a flowing brook.
...to Heaven!
Pro 4:18 But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.

Rose

11-01-2009, 08:38 PM

The water goes to the East because it is there that it found the Land of the King!
Eze 43:2 And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east: and his voice was like a noise of many waters: and the earth shined with his glory.
The last book of the OT antecipates what we will find in Matthew concerning the rising of the Sun of God:
Mal 4:2 But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.
The East is the Land of the Rising of the Sun. And that's where we find the Kingdom's Domain, for our Lord comes from there. That's where we want to go.

The east corresponds to the Face of Lion of the cherubim. And the Lion corresponds to Matthew, the Gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven! The phrase "kingdom of heaven" (http://www.biblewheel.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1248) is unique to Matthew. It depicts Jesus as the Sun of Righteousness (compare Mat 4:16-22) because Matthew is on Spoke 18 of the Bible Wheel and righteousness (http://www.biblewheel.com/wheel/spokes/Tsaddi_Matt.asp) is the symbolic meaning of the 18th letter. The river of waters of life goes forth to the east, and "to go forth" (http://www.biblewheel.com/wheel/spokes/Tsaddi.asp) is a distinctive theme associated with the 18th letter.

Matthew is the Gospel that depicts Christ as the son of David, the Righteous King, the Lion from the Tribe of Judah, which was the tribe on the central East side of the wilderness camp. Matthew also places an uncommon emphasis on the east. (e.g. 2:1; 24:27, where Matthew adds content found nowhere else.) And so he is the one that describes in a unique way our final destination: heaven!
Mat 13:43 Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.
No other Gospel states the above.

Our journey was like the Israelites pilgrimage in the wilderness. Egypt is a type of the world that we left. The wilderness is our path in this life, as we journey towards the Promised Land in the East, which is heaven!

But there is much more going on. When God's river of living waters come out from our innermost being, where do we want them to go? To those who want to take the waters and drink from them freely:
Rev 22:17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.
Ezekiel himself explains that the waters go to the east because it was there that the Dead Sea was found.
Eze 47:8 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.
Eze 47:9 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.
The water of life brings life to the Dead Sea. It pictures the state of all those who hear the Gospel message. Some accept and some reject it.

This once again links to the Gospel of Matthew (East). A little after saying that the righteous shall be like the sun in the kingdom of God, Matthew introduces a unique parable of Christ:
Mat 13:47 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind[of fish].
There is only one more place in Scripture where we read about fishing with nets together with gathering "kinds" of fish:
Eze 47:10 And it shall come to pass, that the fishers shall stand upon it from Engedi even unto Eneglaim; they shall be a place to spread forth nets; their fish shall be according to their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many.
Consider what goes on with these passages. Ezekiel prophecies that the living waters go to the east, and "east" is associated with Matthew, and only Matthew explains the prophecy by presenting the parable of the net and the fish! Matthew also is the one who repeatedly presents Peter as the Fisher that would lead the Church in her "fishing" work.

The connections are very intense. It is dumbfounding.

Please note also that in the passage of Ezekiel's prophecy that finds a counterpart in Matthew, there is a repetition of the theme of "life" in the Dead Sea (47:9). This also links to Matthew, because the numerical value of the Hebrew word for life is 18 which is the Spoke where Matthew is located!

Alive, Living (Chi) = 18 (http://www.biblewheel.com/Gr/GR_18.asp) = Tsaddi (Matthew)

The verb (Chiah) and noun (Chi) forms of this Hebrew root meaning life combine multiplicatively to yield the Fountain of Life:

The Fountain of Life = 414 (http://www.biblewheel.com/forum/../GR/GR_414.asp) = 18 (Life) x 23 (http://www.biblewheel.com/forum/../GR/GR_23.asp) (Live)

Note that the number 414 corresponds to the chapter-verse index of the foundational passage on the spiritual meaning of the living waters! (John 4:14)

All the Glory be to the God of Heaven!

From Earth...
Pro 18:4 The words of a man's mouth are as deep waters, and the wellspring of wisdom as a flowing brook.
...to Heaven!
Pro 4:18 But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.

The beauty of what you have presented brings tears of joy to my eyes....:signthankspin:

Rose

Rose

11-01-2009, 09:24 PM

Each one of the four Cherubim that Ezekiel saw has four faces, which displays the Ox, a man, a lion, and an eagle. These are the same Cherubim that Ezekiel also describes in chapter 1; they are one with the wheels that are beside them.

Ezek. 10:13-22 As for the wheels, it was cried unto them in my hearing, O wheel. And every one had four faces: the first face was the face of a cherub (Ox), and the second face was the face of a man, and the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle. And the cherubim were lifted up. This is the living creature that I saw by the river of Chebar. And when the cherubim went, the wheels went by them: and when the cherubim lifted up their wings to mount up from the earth, the same wheels also turned not from beside them. When they stood, these stood; and when they were lifted up, these lifted up themselves also: for the spirit of the living creature was in them. Then the glory of the LORD departed from off the threshold of the house, and stood over the cherubim. And the cherubim lifted up their wings, and mounted up from the earth in my sight: when they went out, the wheels also were beside them, and every one stood at the door of the east gate of the LORD'S house; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above. This is the living creature that I saw under the God of Israel by the river of Chebar; and I knew that they were the cherubim. Every one had four faces apiece, and every one four wings; and the likeness of the hands of a man was under their wings. And the likeness of their faces was the same faces which I saw by the river of Chebar, their appearances and themselves: they went every one straight forward.

The point I want to note is that when the glory of the Lord departs from the Temple in Ezekiel’s vision, these four Cherubim with the four wheels mount up from the East Gate, and the Glory of the Lord rises above them. This is the same Eastern Gate that Jesus, the Lord of Glory made His triumphal entry into. Once again there are striking connections between “Four”, and “East”, and the Lion of the Tribe of Judah who is the Lord of Glory.

Luke 2:9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

1 Cor. 2:8 Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

James 2:1 My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.

Rose

CWH

11-02-2009, 08:48 AM

gregoryfl

11-02-2009, 09:35 AM

Cheow,

I love that acronym you shared! NEWS! Thanks. :)

The original reason for my thread was to consider why the water, which was to head east, came from the south part of the threshold. I have seen the connection that it has to do with MAN being the source of the living waters, because God and man in Christ are now inseparably joined together. God has his dwelling place, and it is us.

I do believe there is significance to the north and to the west as well. The way the four faces are set up, we have the eagle and man opposite each other, and then we have the lion and ox opposite each other.

The eagle represents divinity. The man represents humanity. The world sees these as forever separate from each other, yet in Christ God has been forever united with man, for he has created divine humanity-humans with the divine nature within.

The lion represents rulership. The ox represent servant hood. Again, the world sees these as separate, yet in Christ rulers and servants are forever united, for he is the ruling servant.

Christ is the King-Servant, the God-Man.

Ron

Victor

11-02-2009, 10:35 AM

The beauty of what you have presented brings tears of joy to my eyes....:signthankspin:

Rose

Oh, the wonders of God's Word! This correlation with the four directions seems very promising. I was in a state of astonishment as I wrote the last post. The more I wrote the greater the number of typological elements seemed to connect. I was looking for a place so that everything could fit.

Here is one more: Ezekiel 47 makes an interplay between the Hebrew words river and inheritance. Therefore the river that goes to East additionally links to Matthew because only the first Evangelist speaks of the inheritance of the kingdom!

Mat 25:34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
And this words have always been understood as referring to an inheritance in heaven!

Victor

11-02-2009, 10:48 AM

Maybe some cannot follow the thought here because we didn't establish the foundation of this study that correlates the four directions and the four faces of the four cherubim.

In Ezekiel 1 we find a clue that connects the faces to the directions:

Ezekiel 1:10 As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a man, and the face of a lion, on the right side: and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four also had the face of an eagle.
If we assume that the first face that is mentioned it the one heading the group, we can say that the face of a man faced the south, because the whirlwind that signaled God's Chariot came from the north:

Eze 1:4 And I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness was about it, and out of the midst thereof as the colour of amber, out of the midst of the fire. The lion and the ox were on the right and left sides respectively. We conclude then that he eagle was facing north.

We don't exactly know what Ezekiel meant by "right" and "left" sides. Did he mean his right side? Or the cherub's right side? If we assume that he meant his own side, we come up with exactly the same correlation of the four directions with the four faces that is held in the Jewish tradition of the arrangement of Israel's fourfold camp in the wilderness (http://www.biblewheel.com/wheel/spokes/Dalet_cross.asp).

http://www.biblewheel.com/wheel/spokes/CrossintheWilderness.gif

Victor

11-02-2009, 10:52 AM

We thus come up with the following table:

Gospel - Face - Direction
Matthew - Lion - East
Mark - Ox - West
Luke - Man - South
John - Eagle - North

Victor

11-02-2009, 11:57 AM

Let's not be carried away too far to the East. I think the discussion seems to skew too much to the East. What about the North, South and the West represented by the ox, the lion and the eagle? Are they not also equally important? BTW North, East, West, South represented by these creatures means the NEWS which is the Good News on which the Lord sits on His heavenly throne.

Many Blessings.

Well, you seem to miss the fact that the purpose of this thread was to discover why the water in Ezekiel's temple came from the south and especially why it went to the east. So we are spending the the lion's share of our time here discussing this last point.

There are probably many insights that can be drawn from the study of the four directions. I love the correlation between NEWS and the four directions because it reminds of the fourfold Gospel and its spreading throughout the earth.

Now, if you would like to see an example that involves all four directions, please check the following correlation:

The leading typologic template in Scripture is found in Exodus, which is a type of our lives as we leave the world (Egypt) in pilgrimage to heaven (Promised Land).

When we compare the geographic positioning of Egypt and Canaan, we notice that Egypt is in southwest and Canaan in the northeast.

Now, if we connect the above to the four faces, what trajectory do we have? From Ox/Man (southwest) to Lion/Eagle (northeast). In other words: from man in servanthood to a high position of kingship! That describes the story of Israel from Egypt to the Promised Land.

If we compare the Exodus to the four Gospels/directions we end up with similar results: from Mark/Luke to Matthew/John. Egypt is connected to Mark and Luke in an interesting way: the numerical value of Egypt is 380, which is 19 x 20, and Mark and Luke are respectively placed on Spokes 19 and 20 of the Bible Wheel. Mark describes Christ as a servant who is working all the time just as the Israelites were slaves in Egypt. Egypt was the land where God made many miracles, and in Mark Christ speaks little but performs many miracles when you measure the size of the book against the other Gospels.

Likewise, Luke is the Gospel of Poverty and the Israelites were poor in Egypt and subsequently in the wilderness. It was there in the wilderness that God provided rivers of living waters from the rock that followed them. (1Co 10:4) And in Luke we find the unique description of Christ coming from the womb of Mary just like the living waters come from the "belly" of the believer, as I explained above (http://www.biblewheel.com/forum/showpost.php?p=15358&postcount=4).

In Matthew we find the New Moses teaching the crowds. In the First Gospel Christ speaks much more than in Mark. Just like Moses gave a whole book of law (Deuteronomy) just before entering the Promised Land, Christ gives His Law in the preaching of Matthew, especially in the Sermon of the Mount. Moses prophesies that Israel will become a kingdom in the later days (Deu 17:15) and in Matthew we find the promised Davidic King.

Just as the Israelites inherited the Promised Land, we enter into heaven, and that is powerfully described in both Matthew and John. Matthew speaks of the "kingdom of heaven" like no other does. Heaven (Shamayim) is a Shin KeyWord, and the 21st Letter Shin governs John. In John the One who came from Heaven repeatedly says that we will be with Him in that place from where He came. We become partakers of the divine nature and are thus made one with the Father in the Son through the Spirit.

The correlation is absolutely impressive! What a great journey we're having!

Victor

11-02-2009, 12:58 PM

I forgot to say that Mark and Luke are names of Gentile origin. Matthew and John are Hebrew names.

This finds a parallel in the study of the four directions and the Exodus. The Israelites left a Gentile land (Mark/Luke) and went to the land that should belong to them, that is, Hebrew soil (Matthew/John).

Victor

11-04-2009, 03:45 PM

In an article called Four Gospels, Not One (http://www.judev3.co.uk/Jude%20v3%20Website/48FourGospelsNotOne.htm), Steve Noble comments on the four measurements taken at the river of Ezekiel 47 and compare them to the four Gospels:

I would also add a word as to the order of the Gospels. It needs no special light to see that the character of the revelation increases in depth, or at least changes its form, as we proceed. For the first thousand cubits the waters were to the ankles, the second thousand cubits the waters were to the knees, the third thousand cubits the waters were to the loins, after which, it was waters to swim in, a river which could not be passed through (Ezek. 47: 3–5). The king is the first view we get of the Lord. The Son of David is head of a kingdom of which we all are, or should be, subjects. In this relation He gives His commands, repealing old laws with His 'I say unto you', (Matt. 5: 22) while also inviting the burdened to come to Him where He will give them rest (11: 28). At the same time, like a righteous judge, He utters the woes which must attend contempt or rejection of His rightful claim (11: 21; 23: 13). All this we get in Matthew’s Gospel, and it is really the view each of us gets of the Lord Jesus when first awakened. Soon I get a further view. I see that in His love this mighty Lord has actually become for us a true servant. He has not only given commands, but He has laboured for me. How He toiled comes out with wonderful beauty in the second Gospel. Soon we see even further: not only that He has served, but that He came into our conditions, sin apart––He became a man for us. There in Luke He is a child, bound with swaddling clothes, under human restraints, obeying parents, and growing (Luke 2: 7, 51–52). Then we come to John and oh what a sight! The heavenly man, the Son of the Father’s love (see John 3: 35), the One who was with God and the One who 'was God' (John 1: 1). Who can deny that the glory deepens as we progress through the Gospels?

kathryn

11-06-2009, 11:40 AM

Facinating topic and comments! I have long been intrigued by the Kol infinity loop: http://www.biblewheel.com/gr/gr_50.asp
and was wondering if it could also express the 4 fold rise of the river. It passes through the 4 letters, aleph, tav at the top, and the kaph, lamed at the bottom, which add up to 46..both the number associated with Herod's temple and the 46 chromosomes of man. It would seem to be associated with the Holy Spirit flowing through our "Temple" (and all of creation).

Richard Amiel McGough

11-06-2009, 12:35 PM

Victor

11-06-2009, 12:41 PM

Victor

04-10-2010, 01:14 PM

Concerning the Paradise in Eden and its four rivers, Augustine said:

Thus Paradise is the Church [symbolically], as it is called in the Canticles (Song of Songs 4:13); the four rivers of Paradise are the four gospels; the fruit-trees, the saints, and the fruit their works; the tree of life is the holy of holies, Christ; the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, the will's free choice. - City of God, 13, 21 (http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/120113.htm)