Ezekiel 48:35

Eighteen thousand. The circumference of the city is 18,000 cu., about 5.8 mi. (9.3 km.). This does not include the “suburbs” mentioned in v. 17.

The city of the future, the New Jerusalem, which John saw coming down from God out of heaven (Rev. 21), shows striking similarities to the city of Ezekiel’s vision. Ezekiel describes the city that might have been; John, the one that will be. The figure of the nation of Israel, constituting God’s people and divided into 12 tribes, is carried through the Bible story. The New Jerusalem, whose inhabitants are redeemed from every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, is shown with the names of the 12 tribes inscribed upon its gates. In Bible figure the redeemed, no matter of what race, are represented as being assigned a place among one of the 12 tribes (Rom. 9-11; Gal. 3:29).

The picture of Israel in the land of Babylon, about to be delivered and restored to its own land, with the associated destruction of Babylon, forms the imagery for a large section of the book of Revelation. The figure is used to describe the Israel of God in their final struggles against the powers of evil, again termed Babylon, followed by the destruction of Babylon and the glorious deliverance of the church. See on Jer. 50:1.

The Lord is there. With these fitting words, by which the new city is designated, the prophet Ezekiel brings his prophetic messages to a close. It had fallen to his lot to announce the withdrawal of the divine presence because of the moral corruption of his people. It became his privilege also to announce the remedy for sin; and to declare, in vivid imagery, the glorious prospect of the future that might have been realized if Israel had accepted the divine remedy so graciously offered to them (see pp. 26-32).

Whether Ezekiel lived to see a few of his countrymen return under the beneficent decree of the Persian king cannot be known. Could he have known that his writings would be preserved in the Sacred Canon, he might have taken comfort in the prospect that some future generation would take hold of the message his fellow captives had despised.

The challenge is for us. The new Israel of God is about to enter a land far more glorious than that immediately offered to Ezekiel’s generation. Entrance, again, is based upon certain prerequisites. Already there has been a delay in complying wholeheartedly with the conditions. This time, however, there cannot be an indefinite postponement, for no longer is the restoration to be on a national basis. When the moment arrives, God will gather from all lands those who have made personal preparation. These will inherit the rich promises, and dwell in the city, prefigured in Ezekiel’s prophetic imagery, and divinely named, “The Lord is there” (Rev. 21; 22).

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