The Fourth Thousand Cubits

A few of you probably have no idea where this blog title comes from, and for good reason. It's pretty random.

It comes from Ezekiel 47, where an angel takes Ezekiel on a fantastic journey lasting 4000 cubits. On this experience which starts as a little trickle of water from the back door of the temple, Ezekiel has a vision of the power the Body of Christ has. By the fourth thousand cubits, the river is so vast that he cannot cross as he has at every previous thousand cubits. At that point the angel asks him, "Son of man, have you seen this?" Then brings him back to the bank of the river where many trees of all kinds flourish on either bank.
The angel tells him, "These waters go out towards the eastern region and go down into Arabah; then they go towards the sea, being made to flow into the sea, and the waters of the sea become fresh. It will come about that every living creature which swarms in every place where the river goes, will live. And there will be very many fish, for these waters go there and the other become fresh; so everything will live where the river goes. And it will come about that fishermen will stand beside it; from Engedi to Engeglaim there will be a place for the spreading of nets. Their fish will be according to their kinds, like the fish of the Great Sea, very many. But its swamps and marshes will not become fresh; they will be left for salt. By the river on its bank, on one side and on the other, will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither and their fruit will not fail. They will bear fruit every month because their water flows from the sanctuary, and their fruit will be for food and their leaves for healing."

And that is a powerful image of what God desires of our sanctuaries -our bodies and our communities!