Ezekiel 48:35 It was round about eighteen thousand measures: and the name of the city from that day shall be, The LORD is there.
The Book of Ezekiel comes to a close, and in its final chapters, the overarching themes of gloom, doom, and despair fade away, leaving us with a vision of God’s perfect Kingdom. This isn’t just the end of Ezekiel—it echoes the conclusion of the Book of Revelation, which is also filled with judgment but ends in bliss. In fact, it mirrors the end of the Bible as a whole. Why? Because this is the end of all things—the conclusion of the entire purpose of our existence. We were created for this very reason: that we might dwell with God, and God with us.
This is the New Jerusalem descending from heaven, and notice how vast it is. One man estimated that these 18,000 measures would equate to 32,000 miles, which is greater than the circumference of the earth (24,000 miles). Like the Ark of God, Heaven—New Jerusalem—will be large enough to accommodate all who will come. The Ark during the first judgment housed only eight people and thousands of animals, but New Jerusalem will be the home of billions. The River of Life will flow from the throne of God. The trees will bear their fruit in their seasons—each month producing new fruit, How fruitful this new world will be! And No wonder, The River of Life feeding this world flows from the source of all life. There will be no need for the sun in this new world, for the Son will shine. The Light of the World will illuminate everything, far greater than the sun ever could. The nations will come into the capital of this new world, bringing their offerings and worshipping at the throne of God.
The greatness of this capital city of the new world is reflected in its new name. No longer will it be called Jerusalem, but Jehovah-Shammah, meaning "The LORD is there." Of all the blessings we could adore about this new world and its capital, the greatest is that the source of all blessing is there—not in the sense of His omnipresence, where He is everywhere at all times, but in a manifest, personal way. And greater still, we will be there with Him! I’m reminded of Revelation, where in the closing chapters it says, “and there was no more sea.” Not referring to the seas we sail upon, but to the firmament that separates the world where God dwells and the world we inhabit. That unseen veil which only a few have peirced, and even when they returned, human language was insufficient to express what they saw and heard. One day, at the end of all this, His world will become our world, and our world will become His. We will dwell with Him! Oh, what joy it will be to be reunited with the Giver of life, to live with Him and of Him!
The literal interpretation of these verses points to the last day when we will literally and physically dwell with God in the new heaven and new earth. Yet, we shouldn’t neglect the sense in which this is true even now for the Church of God. Just as waters will flow from the throne of God in New Jerusalem, so do rivers of living water flow from the hearts of believers today. From this living water, life is given to us and to those around us. We bid all who thirst, "Come, drink of the water of life." His light has illuminated our dark hearts, and though I live in this veil of darkness here on earth, I have the light of God in me as the temple of the Holy Ghost. In every season, He feeds me with food suitable for me. Today, we have the cross as our tree of healing—under its branches, I find the medicine needed for my sick heart and the strength needed for my weary soul. Oh, He will be there, but dear Christian, He is here as well! If the presence of God in this hour is so sweet, so powerful, so transcendent—how much more so will it be on that day? No wonder we will need new bodies. These eyes could not behold the beauty of that world, nor these ears hear its songs, nor could this heart continue beating in His presence.
This morning, my heart echoes the cry of John at the end of his vision, “Even so, come Lord Jesus!” And in my ear rings the promise of our Lord: “Behold, I come quickly.”
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