Purkey's Bible Study Outlines

KEY VERSE: 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( Ezekiel 47:12).

INTRODUCTION: Ezekiel 47:1-12 is a millennial vision (see Revelation 20, 21, and 22).. The Prophet Ezekiel is envisioning a time when the Lord will bring about complete healing in the nation of Israel. He sees a time when the river of God’s grace and blessing will flow from His throne and will refresh the Promised Land. While this prophecy is for the nation of Israel and will be literally fulfilled one day, there is application here for us too. 

Look at our text from the Book of Ezekiel 47:1-12. Ezekiel says that in a vision he saw a man leading him out from the temple. He saw water running out from the temple. As the man and he walked along the man measured off a distance of a 1,000 cubits – and the water was up to the ankles. He measured another 1,000 cubits and the water was up to the knees. He measured another 1,000 cubits and the water was up to the loins. Finally the waters became a river that could not be passed over – waters to swim in. 

INSIGHT: Woven throughout Old Testament prophecy is a constant theme of spectacular physical and geographical changes to occur when Christ returns. Zechariah 14 describes many features of this upheaval, including a new river to flow from Jerusalem into the desert (Zechariah 14:8).

The Prophet Ezekiel concludes his temple vision (chapters 40-46) with the description of this same miraculous, life-giving stream issuing from the temple. The river is also mentioned by Joel (Joel 3:18), some 250 years before Ezekiel, and by Zechariah after the Babylonian exile.

A. The water originated in Jerusalem.

(Ezekiel 47:1-2) 1 Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward: for the forefront of the house stood toward the east, and the waters came down from under from the right side of the house, at the south side of the altar. 2 Then brought he me out of the way of the gate northward, and led me about the way without unto the utter gate by the way that looketh eastward; and, behold, there ran out waters on the right side.

In Zechariah's prophecy, the river is said to originate in Jerusalem and to divide, one branch flowing into the Dead Sea, the other into the Mediterranean. In Ezekiel 47 only the river flowing eastward is described, as an angelic guide takes Ezekiel on a prophetic excursion along the river.

B. The water came from Christ’s dwelling place.

At the eastern front of the temple Ezekiel sees a spring emerging (Ezekiel 47:1-2). The waters begin at the immediate dwelling place of Christ who is the source of all spiritual and physical life. The miraculous waters “trickled forth” at first, and yet, without any tributaries, increased in depth and volume.

 A. An increasing depth of water.

(Ezekiel 47:3-5) 3 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 ankles. 4 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. 5 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.

Notice the increasing depth in Ezekiel 47:3-5. The waves will first be ankle deep (verse 3) but will soon become so deep as to be impassible (verse 5). All this suggests eloquently the infinite blessings which arise like a beneficent stream when God is with His people. Peace, rest, tranquility of soul, prosperity, fruitfulness and joy will cause the desert of life to blossom as a rose. This is the River of Life!

B. An angel led the way.

(Ezekiel 47:6) 6 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.

The angel led Ezekiel along the riverbank, measuring the waters. After 1,750 feet (1,000 cubits) the waters were ankle-deep. In another 1,750 feet the waters had become knee-deep, then waist-deep at another 1,750 feet, until at another 1,750 feet the river was so deep that one could swim in it.

In the distance from Jerusalem to the eastern slopes of the Mount of Olives (about 1½ miles), the trickle became a spring, the spring a brook, the brook a stream, and the stream a raging river. To accent the dramatic size and depth of the river, Ezekiel refers to it in verse 9 as “rivers,” literally “a double river,” because of its raging current.

INSIGHT: “Behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward” -- that is, they came from the altar. That is where all blessings originate -- at the altar. The waters will originate from the south side of the temple altar. Everything that comes to us by way of blessings comes through the death of Jesus Christ for you and me upon the cross.

(An Application)

A certain man traveled aboard a great ocean liner going from London to New York City. Day after day he ate cheese and crackers. At lunch time on the last day out, one of the ship’s officers found him setting in one of the deck chairs eating his lunch of cheese and crackers. The officer asked him, “Why don’t you go into the ship’s dining room and eat with the other passengers?” and the man replied, “I can’t afford it!” “Why man, said the officer, “you paid for those meals when you bought your ticket! It wouldn’t have cost you anything to eat your meals on the ship.”

There are many Christians like that in 2025. They are satisfied with so little when God offers so much. Some of them come to Christ “ankle deep!” Their religion means little to them. They are satisfied to get their names on a church roll book and let it go at that.

Some go a little deeper to “knee depth”. Some go deeper still, up to “loin depth.” But God offers much more than that. God has great happiness and joy and usefulness for those who go deeper with Him.

Then a few of them go all the way with God. They swim in the love, and service, and power of a great God! In this Bible study we urge you to go all the way with the Lord. Don’t be content with second best!

 A. A healthy environment.

(Ezekiel 47:7-8) 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 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.

1. Good water. The river continued to flow eastward, cascading into the Arabah (Ezekiel 47:8), the desolate Jordan Valley rift extending from the Sea of Galilee southward to the Dead Sea and then to the Gulf of Aqabah. The river issued into the Dead Sea, healing its salty waters and rejuvenating the desert. The most inhospitable, arid, barren, desolate land on the face of the earth will become a fruitful land, lush with vegetation.

2. Perfect food. Along the banks of the supernatural yet literal river will grow “very many trees on the one side and on the other” (Ezekiel 47:7). These marvelous trees shall be “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” (Ezekiel 47:12). These trees will have an inexhaustible quantity of fruit all year long.

3. Miraculous medicine. The leaves of the tree will provide healing, apparently for those who were redeemed in the Tribulation and entered the Millennium in their physical bodies, and for their offspring.

B. A dead sea.

(Ezekiel 47:9-10) 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. 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.

1. Naturally dead. The Dead Sea which will be healed is today a symbol of death and destruction. The stench of sulphur hanging in the air reminds one of the judgments of Genesis 19. Presently the Dead Sea can hardly sustain microorganisms, apart from some freshwater springs along its northwestern shores.

2. Miraculously made alive. As proof for the genuine healing, the sea will bring forth “a very great multitude of fish” (Ezekiel 47:9). Fishermen will find the Dead Sea an ideal place for their trade, with an abundance of fish like those found in the Mediterranean Sea. Fishermen will spread their nets from En-Gedi (“fountain of a kid”), located on the middle of the western shore to En-Eglaim (“spring of the two calves”), perhaps located along the northwestern shore near Qumran.

C. A river of life.

(Ezekiel 47:11-12) 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.

1. The swamps and marshes will still be present. The swamps and marshes near the southern end of the Dead Sea “will not be healed; they shall be given to salt” (Ezekiel 47:11). Though Ezekiel does not explain why the salt flats will remain, several explanations can be offered. Salt, essential for the preparation of food, will also be required for some of the memorial sacrifices offered in the temple (Ezekiel 43:24; cf. Lev. 2:13).

Further, the Dead Sea is an important source of minerals for Israel and possibly will be in the future. The Lord may also want to demonstrate to the rest of the world for 1,000 years how stagnant and lifeless the entire Dead Sea had been before the river of living water healed it.

2. The literal flowing river will truly be “water of life.” If the river were not literal, why would other passages of Scripture mention the river as well? Psalm 46:4 mentions a river which will make Jerusalem glad. Joel 3:18's millennial prediction envisions a fountain coming out of the temple and watering the valley of Shittim in which the Dead Sea is located. In fact, the millennial changes, predicted by Zechariah and Ezekiel are simply a small-scale version of the healing of the curse that will take place all over the earth.

By David C. Egner

First, Cornelia Dobner was 90 when she died and went to her home in heaven. Her life had been characterized by hard work, self-sacrifice for her family, and loyalty to God and her husband.

Second, Soon after the funeral, two of her great-granddaughters put their feelings into words by writing notes to her. One of them, in the clear block printing of a 6-year-old, wrote, “I hope you have a happy life up in heaven.”

Third, That child’s hope for her great-grandmother is an unquestioned certainty for every follower of Christ who dies. The Bible describes our eternal home as a place where there is no more suffering, sorrow, crying, pain, impurity, disease, nor evil (Revelation 21:4,27). It also tells us what is there: the Lamb (Jesus), the redeemed, the river of life, the throne of God, the tree of life, the light of God (Revelation 21:22; 22:1-5).

Fourth, Jesus said that He would go and prepare a place for us (John 14:1-3). And the apostle Paul described it as the place where “we shall always be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:17). If that’s not happiness, what is?

Fifth. Yes, like Cornelia Dobner, every believer in Jesus can look forward to “a happy life up in heaven.”

Beyond earth's sorrows, the joys of heaven,
Beyond earth's shadows, a glorious dawn;
Beyond earth's battles, sweet peace unending;
Beyond earth's sunset is heaven's morn. — Gilmore

-- By David C. Egner, Our Daily Bread, March 25

CONCLUSION: In Ezekiel's vision of the temple river, God sent Ezekiel a guide to reveal the spiritual significance and quality of the water he saw.

1. The prophet realized that the water from God nourishes and purifies. 

2. The water symbolizes how the Lord gives us life when we let Him fill us with His glory. 

3. The prophet recorded that where that river flows, everything will live (see Ezekiel 47:9).

INSIGHT: At that time, Jesus Christ will rule as the King of the Jews, and as the King of Kings over all the people of earth. For 1,000 years it will be the Golden Years (the millennial reign of Christ), and then will come HEAVEN. AMEN!

THOUGHT TO REMBER:“To be with Jesus Christ forever is the sum of all joy.”