"EZEKIEL AND ISAIAH PREACHED THE DOWNPOUR"

John 7:37-39   In the last day, that great [day] of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet [given]; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)

Today let us look at two Old Testament prophets who foresaw the series of events when Jesus came to Israel and they rejected Him.

• Ezekiel's book, from front to back, relates to us the entire scenario from Jesus' preaching to Israel and their rejection of Him, on towards the outpouring of the Holy Ghost.

Ezekiel 1:26-28  And above the firmament that [was] over their heads [was] the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne [was] the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it. And I saw as the colour of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about. As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so [was] the appearance of the brightness round about. This [was] the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw [it], I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake.

Ezekiel saw one sitting on the throne who was golden or amber-coloured from His loins upward and with the appearance of fire from His loins downward.

• This is none other than Jesus Christ.


Revelation 1:13-15  And in the midst of the seven candlesticks [one] like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and [his] hairs [were] white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes [were] as a flame of fire; And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.

Ezekiel called this picture "the glory of the Lord."

So whenever we read of the "glory of the Lord" in the visions of Ezekiel, as He wrote of it coming into the temple and leaving the temple, we are to think of the first chapter's description of the glory of the Lord.  JESUS.

As we move on into chapter three we read the following:

Ezekiel 3:17  Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me.

Ezekiel 4:1-2  Thou also, son of man, take thee a tile, and lay it before thee, and pourtray upon it the city, [even] Jerusalem: And lay siege against it, and build a fort against it, and cast a mount against it; set the camp also against it, and set [battering] rams against it round about.

• Old Testament prophets often performed a series of actions using props to foretell what would literally happen in times ahead.
• Here, Ezekiel is foretelling that Jerusalem shall be besieged.
• These things of course did occur during Ezekiel's day, but we see a perfect foreshadow, also, of the times of Christ.
• Because Jesus was not accepted by Israel, we read in the Gospels that He pronounced destruction upon the City.


Ezekiel 5:11  Wherefore, [as] I live, saith the Lord GOD; Surely, because thou hast defiled my sanctuary with all thy detestable things, and with all thine abominations, therefore will I also diminish [thee]; neither shall mine eye spare, neither will I have any pity.

• This, too, parallels the time of Christ when the temple was defiled.

Zechariah 9:9  Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he [is] just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.

• And when He did, the people praised Him, and cried Hosanna (Salvation to the king upon the throne).
• But we read the following:


Matthew 21:1-5  And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples, Saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose [them], and bring [them] unto me. And if any [man] say ought unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send them. All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass.

Matthew 21:15-16  And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying, Hosanna to the Son of David; they were sore displeased, And said unto him, Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?

• Israel's religious leaders should have ran and awaited Him in the temple, knowing the Messiah had finally come, whom Zechariah foretold would come.
• But instead of awaiting Him in the temple with praise, Jesus found this in the temple:


Matthew 21:12-13  And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves, And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.

Matthew 23:37-38  O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, [thou] that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under [her] wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.

• They rejected the Messiah.
• Jerusalem would be destroyed and the temple would be torn down not leaving one stone upon another.


Matthew 24:1-2  And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to [him] for to shew him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.

Ezekiel 8:2  Then I beheld, and lo a likeness as the appearance of fire: from the appearance of his loins even downward, fire; and from his loins even upward, as the appearance of brightness, as the colour of amber.

Ezekiel 10:18  Then the glory of the LORD departed from off the threshold of the house, and stood over the cherubims.

• Jesus left the temple after casting out the moneychangers and walked to the east of the Temple to the Mount of Olives.


Matthew 24:1-3  And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to [him] for to shew him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what [shall be] the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?

• he departed from the temple and went to the Mount of Olives.
• The Mount of Olives is at the EAST of the City and Temple.


Ezekiel 11:23  And the glory of the LORD went up from the midst of the city, and stood upon the mountain which [is] on the east side of the city.

• And when He went to the Mount of Olives, He foretold Jerusalem's destruction and the temple's destruction.


Ezekiel 11:18-23  And they shall come thither, and they shall take away all the detestable things thereof and all the abominations thereof from thence. And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh: That they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God. But [as for them] whose heart walketh after the heart of their detestable things and their abominations, I will recompense their way upon their own heads, saith the Lord GOD. Then did the cherubims lift up their wings, and the wheels beside them; and the glory of the God of Israel [was] over them above. And the glory of the LORD went up from the midst of the city, and stood upon the mountain which [is] on the east side of the city.

• He foretold the NEW TESTAMENT era of receiving God's Spirit into our lives.
• The New Testament refers to this experience from God, and claims that the New Testament is the fulfillment of this promise.


Hebrews 8:7-13  For if that first [covenant] had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second. For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord. For this [is] the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. In that he saith, A new [covenant], he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old [is] ready to vanish away.

Ezekiel 12:2  Son of man, thou dwellest in the midst of a rebellious house, which have eyes to see, and see not; they have ears to hear, and hear not: for they [are] a rebellious house.

Matthew 13:13-14  Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:

• And when we make our way all the way over to Ezekiel Chapter 43 the picture changes.
• The glory of God, recall Ezekiel's description of this glory as JESUS, returns to a temple.


Ezekiel 43:2-5  And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east: and his voice [was] like a noise of many waters: and the earth shined with his glory. And [it was] according to the appearance of the vision which I saw, [even] according to the vision that I saw when I came to destroy the city: and the visions [were] like the vision that I saw by the river Chebar; and I fell upon my face. And the glory of the LORD came into the house by the way of the gate whose prospect [is] toward the east. So the spirit took me up, and brought me into the inner court; and, behold, the glory of the LORD filled the house.

His voice was like many waters.

• Recall that Jesus said those thirsty would come to Him and rivers of living water would flow for them.
• The VOICE of the Glory of God sounded like many waters!!!

Luke 24:49  And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.

Acts 1:4-5  And, being assembled together with [them], commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, [saith he], ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.

Ezekiel's follows the same chronological events that occurred when Jesus was rejected by Israel, and cursed destruction upon their city and temple, and was crucified.

He told the disciples in John 7:37-39 that rivers of living water would be with Him for those who would come to Him who were thirsty.

• John commented that these rivers were the Holy Ghost, but the Holy Ghost was not at that precise time given yet, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
• Being glorified referred to HIS RESURRECTION FROM THE DEAD.


John 12:23-24  And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.

John 12:28  Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, [saying], I have both glorified [it], and will glorify [it] again.

John 12:31-33  Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all [men] unto me. This he said, signifying what death he should die.

John 12:37-41  But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him: That the saying of Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed? Therefore they could not believe, because that Esaias said again, He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with [their] eyes, nor understand with [their] heart, and be converted, and I should heal them. These things said Esaias, when he saw his glory, and spake of him.

• Isaiah foretold that Jesus' preaching would be rejected by Israel, whose eyes would be blinded.
• Isaiah wrote of this when Isaiah saw Jesus' glory.

Isaiah 6:1  In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.

• And Jesus was sitting on a THRONE.
• Just like the GLORY OF GOD that Ezekiel saw when He saw Jesus sitting on a throne.
• (By the way, the glory that Ezekiel saw is what the ark of the covenant was patterned after.  Read Ezekiel chapter 1).


Isaiah 6:9-10  And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.

• And interestingly enough, THIS SAME CHAPTER speaks of God's glory ready to be DOWNPOURED upon the earth.


Isaiah 6:2-4  Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, [is] the LORD of hosts: the whole earth [is] full of his glory. And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. {door: Hebrews. thresholds}

• And Isaiah hears references to the last few words Jesus preached to Israel and the Disciples before He went to the Last Supper in John 13, and then died on the cross the next morning.
• Tie this in with the thought that shortly after Jesus was rejected when He rode into Jerusalem, having cast out the moneychangers, and leaving the temple to go to the east mountain, the Mount of Olives, Jesus foretold the end of the world in Matthew 24, and the end of Jerusalem and the temple.
• ALL THESE VISIONS OF EZEKIEL AND ISAIAH LINK TOGETHER.

• And when the serpahims cry, "Holy, holy, holy, [is] the LORD of hosts: the whole earth [is] full of his glory" Isaiah saw the door of the temple, or the THRESHOLD of the temple, SHAKE AND MOVE at their voice.
• Why does the DOOR MOVE at the cry of the whole earth being filled with God's glory?
• IT IS BECAUSE THAT GLORY IS READY TO BE DOWNPOURED INTO THE EARTH, SINCE AFTER JESUS WAS REJECTED BY ISRAEL, AND CRUCIFIED FOR OUR SINS, HE SENT THE PROMISE OF THE FATHER WHICH WAS RIVERS OF LIVING WATER.
• HE SENT THE BAPTISM OF THE HOLY GHOST ON THE DAY OF PENTECOST.

Ezekiel 47:1-5  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. 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. 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. 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. 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.

• The marginal reference to Isaiah 6:4 says that the door is also translated as THRESHOLD.
• No wonder the threshold moved at the voice of a declaration that the earth was filled with His glory.

• And the VOICE of the glory of God sounded like many waters.
• RIVERS OF LIVING WATER.
• The rivers of living water were the HOLY GHOST according to John 7:39.
• So, the HOLY GHOST, MANY WATERS, which was what the VOICE of JESUS sounded like, IS JESUS IN DOWNPOURABLE FORM!

Acts 2:16-17  But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:

• The rivers of living water poured out from the temple of glory into the earth, fulfilling the cry of the seraphims, "The whole earth is filled with the glory of God."

Isaiah SAW HIS GLORY (John 12:41), and the GLORY OF THE LORD was Jesus (Ezekiel 1:26-28 & Revelation 1:13-15).

• And the VOICE (THE WORD) of the Glory of God (JESUS) sounded like MANY WATERS (HOLY GHOST).
• And the whole earth was filled with THAT GLORY (JESUS CHRIST).
• And the Holy GHost is shown to be rivers of living water.
• ALL THE WAY AROUND WE SEE THAT THE HOLY GHOST IS THE DOWNPOURABLE FORM OF JESUS.
• The Holy Ghost is the Spirit form of Jesus Christ.
• NOT ANOTHER PERSON OF THE GODHEAD!!

• And Ezekiel saw the glory like a river flow through the DOORS of the temple and flow into the earth.


Ezekiel 47:6-9  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. Now when I had returned, behold, at the bank of the river [were] very many trees on the one side and on the other. 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. 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.

• We know that the river flowing forth is the baptism of the Holy Ghost.
• And Jesus said we would receive rivers of living water, which were the HOLY GHOST BAPTISM (John 7:37-39).
• And Ezekiel said this river had many trees on its banks.


Ezekiel 47:12  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.

• It yielded fruit according to its months.

Revelation 22:1-2  And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, [was there] the tree of life, which bare twelve [manner of] fruits, [and] yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree [were] for the healing of the nations.

• This is not a future picture of something that is not here yet.
• This is speaking about the Baptism of the Holy Ghost filling the whole earth.
• The Holy Ghost is not poured out any more, because it is already here.
• You do not have to TARRY for the Spirit, for the only time anybody TARRIED for the Holy Ghost was BEFORE IT WAS POURED OUT.


Luke 24:49  And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.

• THIS IS THE HOLY GHOST.


John 7:37-39   In the last day, that great [day] of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet [given]; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)

WHAT ARE THE TREES?

• Ezekiel and Isaiah both saw the trees on either side of the river.
• What were the trees?


Psal 1:1-3  Blessed [is] the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight [is] in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

• Jesus said that those who are thirsty can come to Him and receive rivers of living water.
• And when Ezekiel and John saw trees on either side of the River of Life, they saw the saints of God who would NEVER THIRST AGAIN.
• A tree planted by a river will never thirst again!!!

• Jesus is the vine and we are the branches.
• We, many trees, can be said to be ONE TREE with Jesus Christ.


Revelation 22:17  And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.

• Revelation 22 is not a future picture.
• IT IS A "NOW" PICTURE.

Praise God for the Baptism of the Holy Ghost.

• Ezekiel and Isaiah preached the downpour!