“There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God. The holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High. God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved; God shall help her, just at the break of dawn” (Psalm 46:4,5).
“And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations” (Revelation 22:1,2).
In a few days time the global Church will be celebrating Pentecost Sunday, a day when the Church was born through a watershed outpouring of the Holy Spirit of God. In preparation of this great event, we shall focus on an Old Testament text that prefigures and illustrates the work of the Holy Spirit. Several Old Testament passages like the one above prefigures the dawn of the Holy Spirit. Ezekiel 47:1-12 is another of such texts. It is a description of the healing waters that flows from under the threshold in the Temple.
The text starts with a man guiding Ezekiel through the back door of the temple, where he saw water flowing toward the East from under the threshold of the temple.
With a line in his hand, the man believed to be an Angel of God, led Ezekiel through the healing water. The angle led him through four stages in the water measuring the depth of the water at each stage as he went.
At the first stage, the water got to his ankle; at the second stage, it got to his knees, and thirdly, the water got to his waist. At the fourth stage, the water was too deep that it required him to swim. Each of these four stages, represent the four different levels we can walk with and experience the Holy Spirit. There is the ankle depth experience with the Holy Spirit, there is the knee depth, there is also the waist depth experience and above all, there is the level of experience where we overwhelmingly swim in the Holy Spirit.
TREES AND SALTY WATER ARE REFRESHED
The healing waters transforms and vitalizes every dead thing as it flows in its course. Trees are made fruitful and the salty rivers are refreshed. The Holy Spirit’s revival transforms human lives, but also restores and resuscitates all created objects. “Suddenly, to my surprise, many trees were now growing on both sides of the river! Then he said to me. “This river flows east through the desert into the Jordan Valley, where it enters the Dead Sea. The waters of this stream will heal the salty waters of the Dead Sea and makes them fresh and pure” (verse 7,8 NLT).
SEA CREATURES ARE REVIVED
Not only the trees and waters that are vitalized, swarms of creatures are also revived.
“Everything that touches the water of this river will live. Fish will abound in the Dead Sea, for its waters will be healed. Wherever this water flows, everything will live” (verse 9 NLT). The healing water exhibits the quickening power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit quickens and revives the dead. As Jesus said in John 6:63, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.” When the Holy Spirit touched the dry bones in the Valley of Dry bones they all without exception were revived.
BARREN TREES ARE HEALED AND MADE FRUITFUL
The stunted and barren trees at the bank of the river were equally not left out of the vitalizing impact of the healing water. As we read in verse 12, “All kinds of fruit trees will grow along both sides of the river. The leaves of these trees will never turn brown and fall, and there will always be fruit on their branches. There will be a new crop every month, without fail! For they are watered by the river flowing from the Temple.” (NLT).
The healing waters of Ezekiel 47:1-12 may refer to an event in the Millennium age, but let it be known that today and now, the healing water of the Holy Spirit flows through every city and nation, bringing revival, transformation, restoration and healing to all those who are in need.
Without question, the global Church needs revival now more than any other time in its history to be able to complete the task of the Great Commission. Ezekiel 47:1-12, indicates in a small measure how the Holy Spirit can transform any life he comes into. Every barrenness, desolation and solitary places are revived and renewed. On this eve of Pentecost Sunday, let us all pray that God would pour out his Spirit afresh on us to revitalize every area of the Church.
