The Waters Flowing From the Lord's House

by the Rev. David Sonmor

Text: Ezekiel 47

Ezekiel is a fascinating prophet to read. His spiritual experiences are filled with interesting correspondences. His prophetic vision of the waters flowing from the Lord's house is no exception. As water is the main natural element in the vision we must understand first of all what it represents for only then can we get a clear idea of what the whole story teaches. Water, in all of its various forms, such as rivers, oceans, lakes, springs, streams, rain, clean water, muddy water and many others represents truth in all of its forms including: Divine truth, forms of spiritual truth, natural truth, large truths, small truths, truths that come down from the Lord out of heaven and truths that are perverted by man and become various forms of falsity.

Ezekiel says that "The lord brought me unto the door of the house, and behold, waters issued out from under the threshold, eastward. As this is a 'prophetic vision' we can assume that what he was being shown would represent something about the future of the Lord's kingdom on earth. However, before getting on to what the future might hold, the Lord starts at the beginning of the situation and works on towards a conclusion, for the future is always tied to the present and the past. We must also clarify that the house described is God's house, a Temple, as it is described as having an altar, but it is also synonymous with a regular house as both have inhabitants. The first picture is that of the door to the house and water issuing forth from beneath the door. If you are going into a person's house, what is the first part of the house that you are likely to encounter? The door, right! That is where you begin, that is where you meet the inhabitants of the house or where you are introduced to the family or the congregation. The water issuing forth from the door is therefore the introductory truths that first inform us about the Lord and His church. We think of the water of baptism being used to symbolically introduce people to the Christian Church.

The location of the water is also important. It is flowing under the door and on the ground. So this particular water represents the practical truth from the Lord, truths that we can use in our every day life, truths that will help us to get along with others and enable us to obtain the everyday necessities required for a healthy physical and emotional life. Truths like the golden rule of "doing unto others as we would have others do to us" can be very useful in a practical way in our daily living. Here we include even the more basic natural truths of our world such as the laws of Physics and all the orderly scientific truths that are inherent in the structure of our physical world and the physiological and psychological truths about human beings.

The water flowed toward the east and on the right side, the south side of the house. The quarters of the Lord's kingdom do not indicate location but rather mental states for us. The South, in which there is the greatest light, represents the greatest light of intelligence found in Divine Truth. But the Lord led Ezekiel northward. If the greatest degree of light is to the south, then the least degree of light is to the north, and the opposite to Divine truth in the mind of the Lord would be natural truth in the mind of man. The least degree involves seeing things only in the light of the natural senses. But this makes sense because as we start out to learn we are at first limited to our natural senses and it is included in this vision because there is a connection between spiritual truths and the natural truths. At first we only understand what we can see, hear, smell, taste and touch. However, that is where we must begin our process of regeneration or spiritual growth.

The water from the Lord's house flows along the right side. In describing the structure and function of man's brain Swedenborg noted that the activities of the right side of the brain involves things belonging to our affections and feelings, the love side, while the activities of the left side of the brain involves those things of the intellect, the rational thinking side. In recent years this same concept has been proven extensively by psychologists and scientists. The waters flowing from the right side represents that the truth comes from the Lord's love and appeals to man's love of the Lord. Our reception of the truth depends on how much our heart is interested in it. It depends on our will to love.

The guide then took Ezekiel eastward through the waters and four times he measured a distance of 1000 cubits, and there they noted the depth of the water. We measure natural things in order to discover their mass and volume, their length or breadth or height. Mentally we measure things to discover their quality or character, for instance standards have been established to measure intelligence, aptitude, sociability, emotional function levels and other things associated with the mind. If we were to measure something spiritually it would be to discover the extent of its goodness and its truth, or its quality in relation to spiritual principles. The cubit was the common unit for measurement in Ezekiel's time. It represents our mental measure for rational judgment or thinking, and it corresponds to our spiritual capacity for seeing the quality or character of things in relation to good and truth.

Round numbers like 100 or 1000, which complete a certain quantity, represent a complete or full state of mind and life mentally and a complete or full state spiritually. This concept seems to be rather automatic with us. When we are asked about a subject that we are completely familiar with our response is often, "Oh yes, I've read that or done that hundreds of times. Or I've seen that, thousands of times. Meaning we are totally familiar with it.
"The prophet going eastward, and following the stream of water from the door of the house represents the mind looking to the Lord, and following the stream of truth as it flows onward, ever increasing and deepening. The process of measuring at direct complete intervals represents the mental/spiritual journey we go through and the successive stages involved in our growth. "The fact that the waters deepen means the mind enters more and more deeply into the truth." (Mitchell)

The first one thousand cubits is the first complete stage of progress. It starts with the introductory truths, the initial flow of water from the door of the house of the Lord, and reaches a depth to the ankles. The feet being in contact with the earth represent the natural man and the natural mind of man. Waters up to the ankles cover the feet and represent the Lord's truth as experienced by the natural mind of man. In this stage we learn that the scripture is the Word of God and that its rules should be obeyed. We have learned to apply the basic fundamental truths of religion to our daily living and the activities of our natural life by the end of this stage. We have acquired much of truth, applying it to our conduct as a natural person. We obey the "Ten Commandments."

The next stage is complete when the water reaches the knees, the, mid part of the lower limbs. This is the spiritual-natural stage in which the mind is influenced by spiritual light and spiritual conditions which are forming within but which have not yet come into our consciousness. In this state we are immersed much deeper into the Lord's truths. We have moved beyond mere obedience and our will or affections are drawn strongly towards the truth. Our mind is inwardly filled with greater power, which we use in rationally thinking and making judgments about what is occurring in our life. The mind is becoming spiritually rational. We do not act just out of obedience to the Lord's commandments but out of some understanding, appreciation and affection for them. We do not operate simply because it is naturally convenient and comfortable but rather from a growing sense that this is how the Lord wants us to behave. Our will is becoming united with God's will. The thighs represent the love of truth and the loins the love of good. At the stage where we are immersed in the Lord's truth up to the loins we have moved into a spiritual condition which combines the love of truth with the love of good. We do not love truth just for its own sake, but also because of the good that is in it. We love the truth because of the good use it serves in our life and in the lives of those around us. Also, because it serves the Lord, or helps us to serve the Lord. This stage is typified by true marriage love or conjugial love, which is a union of good and truth.

Another 1000 cubits is measured and the stream has become a river. It is too deep to simply walk in so one must swim. One can be completely immersed in this water of Divine truth. The Divine truth increases in volume so we attain greater spiritual insight and understanding. The more we follow the course of Divine truth the more completely it influences our life. We can get involved with the Lord and His truth to whatever depth we are freely willing to exert ourselves. At this stage our mind takes the water of life freely, "In the freedom of love and not at all by compulsion." This river is the same as the river seen by John in his vision in the Apocalypse of which he says, "And he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb."

The prophet returns to the bank of the river. This is to teach us that even when we become totally immersed in the Lord's Divine Truth we still have a life to live in this world. We must not withdraw from the activities of the world but instead must return with the truth we have acquired and use it actively in our life and in our relationships with others. We must not feel we are wise and superior to others but rather that we now have a gift that should be shared for the benefit of others. What great power is involved once we become immersed in the Divine truth. The waters are healing waters and everything that they touch becomes healed and shall have life.

Then he said to me, "These waters go out toward the eastern region and go down into the Arabah; then they go toward the sea, being made to flow into the sea, and the waters of the sea become fresh."

I said at the outset that this was a prophetic vision, which depicted how the Lord's kingdom on earth would develop. His kingdom on earth is represented by his church, and it is also said that each one of us should be a temple or a church. Therefore the vision also depicts how the Lord's kingdom can exist in the hearts and minds or the life of everyone of us.

When we think of the Lord's kingdom on earth in broader terms. The stages in spiritual growth depicted in the scene of the ever-increasing depth of the water, also has a parallel representation in the historical growth of the churches over the centuries. We can see in the church of the Israelites that the water of truth was up to the ankles, the truth was understood and experienced at its natural level. In the first Christian Church the water was up to the knees. It was becoming spiritual natural as there were some glimpses of spiritual things as shown in its doctrine and the beliefs of its members. Compare the commandments of the Jewish church and the new commandment that Christ gave, which is to love, as compared to obey. Yet it still clung to a doctrine which interpreted the scriptures literally. In the New Church the stream of water from the Lord's house is as deep as the loins and its members can see truth as spiritual truth and can experience it and use it on that level. As it is combined with good. As the New Church increases in us it becomes possible for us to immerse ourselves totally in the stream of God's truth. We see our Lord Jesus Christ not simply as a natural man, but as a Divine man in whom there is Divine Life, which is the source of all life. We see Him as Power, as Truth, as Love and as our very Life. The truths that flow from these living principles may cover all things of our life, spiritual, and natural. In our minds "Everything shall live as the river cometh". And it shall be crystal clear as in John's vision in the Book of Revelation.

Amen and keep searching!

To the next sermon: Being in the Stream of Providence

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