Friday, February 13, 2015

Changing the name of Jerusalem

Read Ezekiel 48.

Those who want to treat Ezekiel's prophecies as symbolic will find it an impossible task.  For nine chapters, in this vision, an angelic guide has taken Ezekiel on a tour of future Israel.
1. The Messiah will establish His throne in Jerusalem.
2. Exact measurements and details of the new Temple are provided.
3. The reinstituted priesthood, led by the family of Zadok, is named.
4. King David will have an important role as prince in Jerusalem.
5. A river will flow from the Temple mount to nourish the land and change the Dead Sea into fresh water.
6. The boundaries of where the land will be divided among the 12 Tribes is all here.

None of these things has taken place in all of history.  If one believes in the truthfulness of God's promises, as verified by the exactness of every prophecy that has been fulfilled, then there is only one view left.  The LORD will literally oversee each detail.

Jesus said, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.  For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished." (Matthew 5:17-18)

One more unfulfilled prophecy closes the book of Ezekiel in verse 35.
7. The name of the city of Jerusalem will be changed.  No longer will it be called the "city of peace" but, with Jesus on the throne, it shall be renamed "The LORD is There."

For believers in Jesus, today we can say, "The LORD is here."  "Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God?  You are not your own, for you have been bought with a price.  So glorify God in your body." (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

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