EZEKIEL 37-48 WHAT TO EXPECT IN THE NEXT 3600 YEARS2019 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Ezekiel 37-48 What To Expect In The Next 3600 Years

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2019. Well, we are working our way through the book of Ezekiel as we continue to read the Bible in three years and finishing it up in the next couple of days, we'll be heading into the book of Daniel. And I was listening to Pastor Chuck teach on this closing portion of the book of Ezekiel. And he was sharing back...

at that time when he shared the message, that these chapters were some of the most difficult chapters in the Bible to read and to understand. And so I want to congratulate you if you've been reading along with us through the Bible in three years. Good job. You made it through most difficult chapters. Now we get to head on into some cool things as we head into the book of Daniel and the minor prophets, closing out the year in the Old Testament and then heading into 2020 in the New Testament. It's a great journey that God has in store for us through his word.

But here in these closing chapters of the book of Ezekiel, we have a different segment of Ezekiel's ministry.

We have seen Ezekiel in the first 24 chapters declare the judgment and fall of Jerusalem. Because of the Jewish people's rebellion against God, there was a necessary judgment, a necessary discipline. And so God used Babylon to bring that discipline, that judgment. And there has been several waves of people being conquered and going into captivity. But Ezekiel was there in Babylon prophesying about that final judgment.

defeat of Jerusalem and the fall that would take place and the temple being destroyed and the full captivity that would take place. He also, in the chapters 25 through 34, talked about some of the other nations around Israel and the judgment that God had declared and decreed for them.

But he switches gears around chapter 33. And for the rest of the book, from 33 through 48, Ezekiel is giving still messages from God, but they're different kinds of messages. Not so much announcements of judgments or calls to repentance, but he is there specifically giving hope to the nation of Israel.

giving hope and promises of restoration and new works that God wants to do. He is there to encourage the people to carry on and to trust God because God is not done with them.

And so I've titled the message this morning, What to Expect in the Next 3,600 Years. That's really what Ezekiel was doing in these closing chapters. He was giving the people of Israel insight into what they could expect and the things that God would promise to do.

Now, why 3,600 years? Well, because, let me just kind of walk you through the math a little bit. We're going back to 572 BC, where Ezekiel has the vision of this brand new temple that will be built. It's found in Ezekiel chapter 40, and we'll get to it in a few moments this morning. But it's 572 BC. It's about 10 years after the temple has been destroyed that Ezekiel receives this vision.

But then we fast forward to today, 2019. That temple has not been built. That fulfillment has not yet taken place. And many of the things that we'll read about this morning is things that God has promised us

They will take place. They will be fulfilled, but they haven't been fulfilled yet. And so Ezekiel is talking to them about things that, well, are not going to happen in the next 2,600 years for them. It's about 2,600 years from 572 to today. But now as we look ahead, because some of these things are not fulfilled, while looking ahead, we know there are some things like the rapture of the church that we are looking forward to.

There's also the seven-year tribulation period that will take place here upon the earth, which ends with the return of Jesus Christ, where he will set foot upon the earth and establish his kingdom for a thousand years. And the majority of what we're looking at in the end of Ezekiel is things that will take place during that thousand-year reign of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. And so the 2600 years

From Ezekiel's prophecy to today, plus the seven-year tribulation, plus the thousand-year reign of Christ, plus the whatever unknown time period, we don't know exactly when these events will start, but that adds up to about 3,600 years. And so Ezekiel is prophesying to them things that will be taking place for them over the next 3,600 years or so. Now, as we consider these things for us today, there is some important parallels to consider.

Now the prophecies specifically are for the nation of Israel. They are specifically around the geography of Israel. They're around the people of God that have descended through Abraham biologically. And it's definitely, you know, Hebrew in focus and origin.

And at the same time, there's some parallels. As you look at these promises and hope and exhortations that God gives, there's parallels for us as believers today that we can hold fast to as well. And so looking at today, kind of moving the scale a little bit, looking at today, we are here in 2019. And I would encourage you to consider what is in store for you for the next 3,600 years. And

That is a little bit difficult for us to picture, I understand, right? Because, you know, sometimes looking ahead 10 years can be hard to picture. You know, thinking about 80 years or 90 years here on this earth, that can be hard to picture. Eternity gets really weird for us because we're so bound by time. We don't understand what's beyond, you know, 100 years. What's beyond 1,000 years? How do we understand that? You know, time is so skewed in our understanding. Sometimes 10 years is hard to picture.

10 minutes can feel like eternity already, right? You're sitting in the dentist chair for 10 minutes and it feels like eternity, right? Or sometimes time just speeds by and it's just so fast and it's like, whoa, where did that time go, right? And we're so bound by time, we don't understand how to think beyond that. And yet I would encourage you to, well, attempt to do so.

What are the next 3,000 years gonna look like for you? We know some things. We know there's gonna be the rapture of the church. For believers in Jesus Christ, we look forward to being caught up to meet the Lord in the air.

We know that there on the earth is going to be this seven-year tribulation period and then that thousand-year reign of Christ and then the rest of eternity, which is full of great promises, but also great mystery as far as the details and specifics of what that will consist of and look like. We just know it's going to be glorious. What's the next 3,600 years going to look like?

For you. Well, Ezekiel will give us some things that we can expect as he gives these promises to Israel. There's some parallels for us as well that we can hold fast to and be encouraged by. And so we're going to begin here in chapter 37 through 39 for point number one and things to expect over the next 3000 years. The first thing to expect is resurrection and victory here in chapters 37 through 39.

In chapter 37, the verses we just read a few moments ago, give us that picture of a valley that is full of dry bones. And you can kind of just picture that kind of...

apocalyptic scene, right? It's just all kinds of bones upon bones upon bones. It's filled with death. It's filled with hopelessness is really the picture that is being painted there. And God asked Ezekiel, hey, Ezekiel, see this valley that's full of bones? Can these bones live? And Ezekiel is perplexed. He's like, I don't know, but you know,

And God begins to speak to his equal. He says, prophesy to the bones. And he speaks to the bones on behalf of the Lord. And they begin to join together. The bones, you know, and the sunos grew and the flesh is put on and life is breathed into them. And so there is the resurrection of these bones that are filled in this valley. Well, God goes on to give this vision meaning in verse 11 and 12. Here's what it says. Then he said to me, son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel.

Here God gives Ezekiel an interpretation of this vision. The bones being reanimated and brought to life

it's a picture of the regathering of the nation of Israel. And if you understand where the people of Israel are at this time, you understand why, well, they need this encouragement because at this time they are in captivity in Babylon, the remainder of them, the leftovers, there's just a few left. The temple has been destroyed for about 10 years. And so they're feeling lost. They're feeling like they will never be a nation ever again. He says in verse 11,

They indeed say, our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off. The people of Israel are feeling hopeless. They're feeling like there's no future for them. They're feeling like it's over. As a people, as a nation, we're done. We're just going to be kind of assimilated into the nations around us and the nation of Babylon. And we're not going to exist as a nation. We're not going to be the people of God any longer.

Their situation looked hopeless. And God wants them to know. He gives this vision and this interpretation to Ezekiel to give them encouragement and hope. To say it's not hopeless. God wants them to know, I do still have a plan for you. I have not given up on you. And I'm going to do a resurrection of the nation. Now, he's using this picture of resurrection, which of course for individuals would take place. For believers, there will be a resurrection. But he's using this picture of resurrection

But he's not so much talking about that specific individual resurrection. He's talking about the nation being gathered together again. And we've seen that be partially fulfilled throughout history. Babylon was conquered a little bit later and the people were allowed to return to Israel and they become a nation again.

But then later on, Israel was conquered by the Romans and dispersed again throughout the world and was not a nation for almost 2,000 years. And then back in 1948, they regathered into the land and became a nation again. And so we've seen that partially fulfilled, but there's a spiritual component to this prophecy that has not yet been fulfilled. And so we've seen pieces of it, but not the full fulfillment yet.

That the people are gathered in the land, but they're not reunited with the Lord. They're not walking with the Lord in the way that he has called them to. And so these are things that are partially fulfilled and still yet to be fulfilled. Now, along with this regathering, chapters 38 and 39 go on to describe for us a major attack that is going to take place against Israel.

As Israel is brought back into the land, now there's going to be opposition and an attempt to destroy Israel completely.

And Ezekiel's chapter 38 and 39 are really famous chapters that speak of a prophetic battle against Israel. There's a ton of details here that we're not going to even get into. But just to kind of scratch the surface a little bit, jump with me to Ezekiel chapter 38 into verse 1. It says, Now the word of the Lord came to me saying, Son of man, set your face against Gog of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshach and Tubal, and prophesy against him.

Verse 5. Verse 6.

And so here God introduces the players. There is Israel is regathered. And here's a quick look at the map for you. That highlighted green part. That's the nation of Israel. They're back in the land. They're restored to the territory that God had promised to them. And they're back in the land.

But then there's these other nations around them. And God lists them according to the family names. And you can go back to Genesis chapter 10 and, you know, dig into the details. But the family names are the families that moved into the various territories. And so you have this kind of laid out on a map.

It's not meant to be, you know, to precise specific detail, but general estimations to give us an idea and understanding of what is taking place. And so you have Magog to the north, you have Persia, you have Meshach and Tubal, Libya and Ethiopia. This is a collaboration of nations that are going to join forces to try to take Israel out. In verse 10, it says, thus says the Lord God on that day,

It shall come to pass that thoughts will arise in your mind and you will make an evil plan. You will say, I will go up against a land of unwalled villages. I will go to a peaceful people who dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls and having neither bars nor gates, to take plunder and to take booty, to stretch out your hand against the waste places that are again inhabited, against a people gathered from the nations who have acquired livestock and goods who dwell in the midst of the land."

And so here God describes this plot, this conspiracy. All of these nations are going to join together. Now this refers to and speaks of what we know and call Russia today, Turkey, Iran, Libya, and Ethiopia still retain their same names. And there's a few other peoples in there and you can kind of combine different nations and there's a lot of prophecy things that you can get into if you want to research and dive into those things.

But the point for us this morning is that God's going to gather them back, and then there's going to be this massive conspiracy, this massive collaboration and alliance to try to remove Israel and get rid of Israel from existing as a nation. And in response to that, God promises to not let it happen. And that moves us now to chapter 39, looking at verse 1 of Ezekiel. It says,

And you, son of man, prophesy against Gog and say, thus says the Lord God, behold, I am against you, O Gog, the prince of Rosh, Meshach, and Tubal. And I will turn you around and lead you on, bringing you up from the far north and bring you against the mountains of Israel.

Then I will knock the bow out of your left hand and cause the arrows to fall out of your right hand. You shall fall upon the mountains of Israel. You and your troops, all the people who are with you, I will give to you or give you to the birds of prey, every sort to the beast of the field to be devoured.

And so although you are strong nations and although you have all joined together, God says, I'm going to lead you to the mountains of Israel and there I'm going to defeat you definitely sharply. Your corpses will be laid out in the fields there of the mountains of Israel.

And so here God is promising to his people, you're not done yet. Even though it looks hopeless, even though your situation is bleak, you're not even a nation any longer. You will be a nation again and you will be attacked, but I will defend you and I will defeat the enemies that conspire against you.

Some great promises that God gives to the captives there in Babylon here through the prophet Ezekiel. Now again, as we look at these things, we understand these are speaking to Israel, the nation, but there's some parallels for us too that we can consider. This is what's in your future as well. As a believer in Jesus Christ, you have the guarantee, the expectation of resurrection as well as victory. No matter how hopeless things look,

No matter how bad things get for us here, no matter what difficulties we face and what challenges we encounter, we can hold on to the promise and the reality, even if we have to suffer greatly for the rest of this life, it's not that long in comparison to

to the next 3,600 years, right? What's 80 divided by 3,600 to kind of get the percentage, right? The ratio. It's just a small percentage that we spend on this earth. And then 3,600 is only a small amount compared to eternity, right? I mean, what we spend in this life is meaningful and it's difficult. And sometimes it feels like eternity, but it's not eternity. And there's so much hope for us of salvation, of resurrection, and of victory, right?

Paul the Apostle in 1 Corinthians chapter 15 says, I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep in

but we shall all be changed. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet, for the trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised incorruptible and we shall be changed. There is going to be a resurrection for those who have already died. And when Jesus returns, he says, there will be raised incorruptible.

For those who are alive at the rapture of the church, when Jesus returns to meet us in the air, then we will be resurrected, not from the grave, but from this life and caught up to meet the Lord. And their incorruptible will become the new normal. Right now we're corruptible. Our bodies decay and fall apart, but their incorruptible will swallow up the corruptible and we'll have glorified bodies. It's a resurrection that is permanent and eternal for us.

And so we have this resurrection promised to us. We also have victory promised to us. Paul goes on here in 1 Corinthians chapter 15 to say that death is swallowed up in victory. Oh, death, where is your sting? Where's your victory, Hades? No, we thank God who gives us victory through the Lord Jesus Christ. We have victory. This is important to hold on to. This is important to remember because in this life, we feel like we have defeat.

We feel like we experience failure. And we do have failures and challenges and defeats that we face. The problem is we sometimes see that and it's all that we can see. And we feel like, well, like the people of Israel captive in Babylon. That's all that there is. The rest of life, the rest of eternity is just going to be defeat, failure, misery, difficulty. God wants you to know that's not what you should expect.

As you look over the next 3,600 years of your life, there's resurrection in your future. There's victory in your future. Guaranteed, promised. God will give you whatever enemy you might want to consider. You think about the enemy of your soul, Satan. He has lots of plans and plots against you, just like those nations plot against Israel. But God's going to have the final say. You're going to have victory. You think about death, and we see death as a great enemy. And yet...

It's the birthplace of eternity, right? And it's the birthplace of something brand new that it's going to end up being a victory. You see the occasions that are happening, the situations in your family, in your home, in your workplace, whatever you might be considering, and you can be overwhelmed by that. But take a step back and look at the next 3,600 years and remember, you have in your future resurrection and victory.

The enemy wants to use hopelessness to cause you to give up, but don't give up. God is still able to work. He's not done. Don't give up. Don't give in. Hold fast to the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, moving on to chapters 40 through 42. Now we get point number two for this morning, and that is we can look forward to gateways to new things. Here's what's to expect in the next 3,600 years.

new things, things we haven't thought about, things we haven't known before. Now these chapters are the beginning of what God describes here. It's the millennial temple. It's a new temple that is going to be built and established there in the nation of Israel. Let's jump into Ezekiel chapter 40 starting in verse 1. It says, in the 25th year of our captivity, at the beginning of the year, on the 10th day of the month, in the 14th year after the city was captured, the

On the very same day, the hand of the Lord was upon me, and he took me there. In the visions of God, he took me into the land of Israel and set me on a very high mountain. On it toward the south was something like the structure of a city. He took me there, and behold, there was a man whose appearance was like the appearance of bronze. He had a line of flax and a measuring rod in his hand, and he stood in the gateway.

And the man said to me, son of man, look with your eyes and hear with your ears. Fix your mind on everything I show you. For you were brought here so that I might show them to you. Declare to the house of Israel everything you see. Here we find Ezekiel caught up in a vision to the city of Jerusalem. He meets a guy, an angel of the Lord, who's equipped with measuring instruments.

And as you work your way through these chapters, they go to point by point, element by element, through all the details of this temple, measuring, giving all the specifics, all the dimensions, all the, you know, facts and figures that are necessary so that Ezekiel can relate this information. Now, if you've been reading through with us, you're like, man, these are tough chapters to get through, right? This dimension and that dimension, a lot of them are repeated and like all this detail and what does this mean? And

It can be difficult for us to work through, but it's important nonetheless.

And I'm not going to try to go through all those dimensions. Don't worry about that, okay? You don't have to stress about that. But it's important because God wants, he's stressing the reality. This is a real place. These are real buildings. This is really going to take place. And he goes through this detail to illustrate that point that this is the reality that is the future for the nation of Israel. And so here's a diagram of what this might look like.

the millennial temple. And so there's a courtyard, there's an inner courtyard, there's the dark brown building, which is the actual temple with the holy place and the holy of holies that we're familiar with from the tabernacle and temple that Solomon built. And so this structure described as it looks like a city, Ezekiel says, as he's standing there overlooking this and beginning to prepare to measure all of these things.

Again, we're not going to get into the details of it, but here's one measurement that's key.

This is the temple wall, which has a thickness of about nine feet, a height of about nine feet, and a length of about 750 feet on each side, which means you do the math, 750 by 750. It's about 560,000 square feet or about 13 acres of land. Now, this is doing some math based on a cubit to foot, you know,

conversion and that's a difficult thing to do because we don't have the exact measurement of a cubit. It's often looked at as 18 inches but here in this these chapters it the cubit is described as a standard cubit plus a hand breath. So it's whatever a cubit is maybe probably about 18 inches plus maybe four or five six inches so it's maybe 21 inches some people say 24 inches and

It's all estimations is the point, right? But it gives you an idea here. This is a real structure that covers a real place, a real plot of land. And just to kind of illustrate that, here's a look at the corner of Lincoln and Railroad. This is right where you are if you weren't familiar with that. And so we're on the corner. Here's Lincoln. Here's Railroad. And from here on our property...

you can kind of get a good idea of what the Millennial Temple's footprint would be like. So this purple box here kind of illustrates that. So it would be starting at the corner of Lincoln and Railroad down to about the tile company. So Adam's Circle is where you can turn onto the property here. But beyond that, the next read over, that's where the entrance really to the tile place. That's

where one side of it would be, and then it would go all the way back to the railroad tracks and then be square from there. So that would be kind of equivalent to the size of this temple structure that Ezekiel is walking around and measuring and looking at and that God is describing for his people. Now, the way to get onto the temple grounds was to enter in through these gateways. It was walled all around, but there was entrances.

And you could come in through the north or the south. The east gateway was closed. That was only for the Lord. But north and south, that's where people will be coming in and going out. And this was the way into the millennial temple. Now there's a bunch of other features that I'm not going to get into or cover. But these ones are interesting because this is the way to engage in and participate in this new thing that God is going to build.

As we read these things today, we are expecting there to be a temple built in Jerusalem. As part of the work of the Antichrist, as part of the leading into the tribulation period, we are expecting and anticipating a temple to be built. This temple is not that temple that we're expecting. It's not the temple that was built by Solomon. It's not the temple that has existed before. This is something new.

It has features. It has parts and elements that are different than anything that has ever existed. It's something new that God is going to do for his people. And he is going to have, for that thousand-year reign of Christ, a special relationship with his people meeting together here on this temple. And so here we see the gateways to new things. New things that God has in store. New times of worship. New times of fellowship. And new and fresh ways to connect with and communicate with God.

Well, that's for the nation of Israel. And that's part of their 3,600 years into the future from the time that Ezekiel is giving this. But for us to consider as well, as we look forward 3,600 years from right now, well, we can also understand that there's going to be new things that God has in store for us. You know, sometimes you try to picture eternity. You try to picture heaven. And it's really difficult not to get to the place where you go, when does it get, like, how does it not get boring?

How could you, I mean, you try to imagine infinity, right? You try to imagine eternity and it's like, okay, you can only do that for so long before it's not really that exciting anymore. Like when does, how does, how does it not get boring? What is eternity going to look like? And I can't give you all the details and specifics because what we know from the scriptures, what God has in store for us is exceedingly abundantly above all that we could ever ask or think. So there's more than we could ever imagine. Right?

There's more than we could ever know. But I do want to remind us, there's going to be new things. There's going to be some things that get you excited, some things that are fresh and new that God is going to do for you in the next 3,600 years. Now, there's also going to be fresh and new things that God's going to do for you in the next 36 years, right? But that's not the end of it. And this life is not the end of it. In Revelation 21-22,

The apostle John says, I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and first earth had passed away. Also, there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. A couple of verses down beyond that, God says, behold, I make all things new. So in the future, we have to look forward to new things, new heavens and a new earth,

And the new earth is not going to have a sea. It's going to be different. How do you, can you imagine a world without a sea? And you're like, yeah, it doesn't sound great, right? No, no, no. No, it's going to be better.

What God has in store, the new things that he does are better than the things that have been done before. There's new things that God is going to do that will be exciting and exhilarating and better than what we've seen before. Here's what you can expect for the next 3,600 years. Resurrection and victory, gateways to new things that you can't even imagine or picture. And then thirdly, moving on to Ezekiel 43, the presence of God.

Ezekiel chapter 43 is a significant chapter for Ezekiel because, well, it was a few chapters back in Ezekiel chapter 10 that Ezekiel was taken to the temple that was in Jerusalem and in way of vision, but he saw the glory of God departing from the temple. But here in Ezekiel chapter 43, here's God saying, but that wasn't permanent. There's going to be a new temple. I'm going to do a new thing. And then the presence of God is going to return.

Check out Ezekiel chapter 43 and let's jump into verse 4. It says,

Here Ezekiel sees the vision.

Corresponding with Ezekiel chapter 1 and Ezekiel chapter 10 with the vision of the glory of God and the living creatures and the wheels within wheels and the eyes all over the place and some fantastic, hard to picture, but glorious things that he describes there. And the glory of God, the presence of God in that image returns to the temple through the east. And so the presence of God enters in through the east outer gateway, through the east inner gateway, and

Past the inner court and the altar that is there on into the holy place and then to the holy of holies. And God says, there I put the soles of my feet. I'm taking up residence there and I will permanently dwell with my people right here in this place. The presence of God will be restored to the people of Israel here in this time. Where they're at in captivity,

It feels like they'll never get to really experience the presence of God again. It feels like they've lost that. It feels like there's never a hope of that connection, that communion once again. But here God wants them to know, no, it's not over. I'm not done working in your midst in that way. I'm still going to be with you. And here's a glimpse of that glorious future. For you and I, as we consider these things today, that's a promise that we can hold on to as well.

In the next 3,600 years, you can count on, you can look forward to, and you can experience now the presence of God. Because of what Christ has done for us, we have a unique relationship with the Father in that by faith in Jesus Christ, we have fellowship with the Father. We get to stand before God as those who have never sinned. And so we get to experience times in the presence of God. And we get to experience God being with us continually.

At the same time, we look forward to eternity because, well, there we will get to experience the presence of God in a whole new way that is unhindered, that is unlimited. John describes it in Revelation chapter 21.

Verse 3 and 4, he says, Looking into eternity and our time in the presence of God, one of the aspects of that, God says, there will be a wiping away of tears.

And there will be no more death and no more sorrow, no more crying, no more pain, no more difficulty, because we will be fully immersed in the presence of God. It's an important thing to hold on to and understand about heaven. Heaven's going to be glorious because of the awesome clouds. No, no, no. Heaven's going to be glorious because of the streets of gold. No, no, no. Heaven's going to be glorious. No, no. Here's why heaven's going to be so great, because that's where God is.

And the presence of God is what makes heaven heaven. It's what makes heaven special. And there's going to be all these impressive things and great things and glorious things for sure. But it's the presence of God that makes heaven glorious. And we will be in the unhindered, unlimited presence of God for all eternity. That's what's in store for you. You get to experience a taste of the presence of God now. And please do. You need to experience the presence of God now.

Get a glimpse of what God has in store for you for the rest of eternity by believing in Jesus and drawing near to him and trusting in him. Well, moving on to chapter 44, we get the fourth thing to expect. In the next 3,600 years, we can expect opportunities to serve the Lord. Jumping into verse 15 and 16 of Ezekiel 44, it says...

But the priests, the Levites, the sons of Zadok, who kept charge of my sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from me, they shall come near me to minister to me. And they shall stand before me to offer to me the fat and the blood, says the Lord God. They shall enter my sanctuary and they shall come near my table to minister to me and they shall keep my charge. Here again, the nation of Israel in captivity, temple destroyed over 10 years ago,

They can't see how there will ever be an opportunity again to serve the Lord in that way. It just, it's off the table. There's not an option. It's unthinkable. The temple has been destroyed. They're in captivity. Their nation doesn't exist anymore. And God wants them to know during this time, he says, look, there's going to be the resuming of the ministry of the priests and the Levites.

There's going to be a resuming of the service unto the Lord in these specific capacities. And this service unto the Lord will not be burdensome in describing the attire, the things that they will wear as they serve the Lord. In verse 18 of Ezekiel 44, it says, they shall have linen turbans on their heads, linen trousers on their bodies. They shall clothe themselves. They shall not clothe themselves with anything that causes sweat.

Look, when you serve me in that time, God says, it's not going to cause you to sweat.

It's not going to be laborsome, burdensome. In a sense, you can kind of think about it like a hobby, right? It's like something you look forward to do. And yes, maybe you exert energy and maybe, you know, it's work in a sense. It takes effort, but it's something you rejoice in and are glad to do. It's something that you do because it's so awesome to do, right? That's the kind of service unto the Lord that they will experience during this time.

Now, one thing that's interesting about this opportunity to serve, it's, you can walk through it in chapter 44. I would encourage you to maybe spend some time and consider it. The opportunity to serve is based upon previous faithfulness. God makes a distinction between these servants and

who in previous times were faithful to the Lord and they have a unique and special opportunity to serve God in a different way than those who were not faithful. And although they were not faithful, they're still the people of God and they still get an opportunity to serve, but not to the same degree that those who are faithful are able to serve. And so there's opportunities to serve and those opportunities are based upon the faithfulness in the past.

Again, considering these things for ourselves today, we have this to expect in the next 3,600 years as well. As we live the rest of this life, however long that is here on this earth, there's going to be opportunities to serve the Lord. It's why we're here. As we enter into eternity, we're not just, you know, just hanging out in hammocks, you know, between two clouds and just chilling. There'll be lots of chilling. But at the same time, there's going to be opportunity to serve the Lord.

to participate in the work of God in serving the Lord. And it kind of perplexes us. Like, what does that mean? What are we going to be doing? And I don't know. God doesn't tell us. We'll know when we get there. But here's what we do know. There will be those opportunities to serve. And those opportunities to serve God in eternity will be related to based upon our faithfulness to serve God here in this life.

Jesus talked about this in Luke chapter 19. He gave the parable of the minas that were given to the different servants. In verse 16 of Luke chapter 19, it talks about the first servant. He came saying, "'Master, your mina has earned 10 minas.' And he said to him, "'Well done, good and faithful servant. "'Because you are faithful in very little, "'you have authority over 10 cities.' And the second came saying, "'Master, your mina has earned five minas.' Likewise, he said to him, "'You also be over five cities.'"

And so there's this picture here in this parable that Jesus tells of, there's this reward that is the opportunity to serve, authority, opportunity to be involved in the work and whatever that looks like, we don't know, but it's proportional to the faithfulness from the past. And so it's an exhortation for us to know that, hey, no matter how dark and bleak things look and it might seem like you have no chance ever to serve God again, no, no, there's still opportunities to serve God in your future.

And it's also an exhortation, hey, be faithful now with the opportunities that God gives you because it has an impact on eternity and on what you will be able to experience and enjoy and the way that you will be able to contribute. Again, it's not a burdensome thing. It's a joyful thing. It's a blessed thing. It will be something that you will be glad you did. In eternity, as you partake of the opportunities to serve, you'll be glad that you are faithful in the things that you are faithful into the Lord here in this life.

Well, moving on to chapters 45 and 46, we get the fifth thing that we can expect over the next 3,600 years, and that is times of worship and celebration. We're jumping into Ezekiel chapter 45, verse 21. It says, And then verse 25.

In the seventh month, on the 15th day of the month, at the feast, he shall do likewise for seven days, according to the sin offering, the burnt offering, the grain offering, and the oil. Here, God is describing a resuming of the feast for the nation of Israel.

And there were several feasts that God prescribed throughout the year, three that were required every year for whoever can make it back to Jerusalem to participate in the feast. The Passover was one, the Feast of Tabernacles, the Feast of Pentecost. These were feasts that God required, and those are the feasts that are being described here in chapter 45. Now, I would remind you that these are called feasts for a reason. They're not called fastings. They're called feasts.

And not just because it's a holiday. They're called feasts. You know why? Because they would feast. You know, we think of the sacrifices and sometimes we have the wrong picture. We think of the whole animal being put upon the altar. And there were some sacrifices that were that way. But the majority of the sacrifices were not that way. For the majority of the sacrifices, there was a portion of the animal that was placed upon the altar. And the rest was cooked. Barbecued, you might think.

In order to be consumed by those who brought the sacrifice as an act of worship unto the Lord. In a similar way, here in this millennial temple, God says in Ezekiel chapter 46 verse 22, in the four corners of the court were enclosed courts. 40 cubits long, 30 cubits wide, all four corners were the same size.

There was a row of building stones all around them, all around the four of them, and cooking hearths were made under the rows of stones all around. And he said to me, these are the kitchens where the ministers of the temple shall boil the sacrifices of the people. There was... I lost control of the slides, guys, so maybe you can find the one that has the temple in the corners. Next. There you go. So there was, in this temple, in the measurements that they laid out, there was this...

These corners, those were all the kitchens. And then you see all the rows that are highlighted in green, those were the chambers. You could think of those kind of like restaurants, right? Like you'd go to the kitchen, have your food cooked, and then you'd go take it to your chamber and you would just have a feast. And so you'd, you know, offer a sacrifice and then it would,

be consumed by you and your family and you'd celebrate together and rejoice together. It was truly a feast. It was an all-you-can-eat feast that people would enjoy together in the worship of the Lord and in service of the Lord. Well, that's going to be resumed in the millennial kingdom. And for us, as we consider these things, it's going to be also taking place for us. Now, not exactly in the same way, but we have in Revelation chapter 19,

we have this description in Revelation chapter 19, verse seven through nine. It says, "'Let us be glad and rejoice and give him glory "'for the marriage of the lamb has come "'and his wife has made herself ready. "'And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, "'clean and bright, for the fine linen "'is the righteous acts of the saints.' "'Then he said to me, "'Write, blessed are those who are called "'to the marriage supper of the lamb.'" Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the lamb. In eternity, we're going to experience the marriage supper of the lamb.

What exactly is that? What kind of foods are going to be served? Is it a fast food progressive dinner? Maybe. It's going to be glorious. Although we can't articulate and describe and nail down every detail of these things, blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb. There's going to be feasts. There's going to be occasions to gather, to celebrate, and to rejoice over the goodness of God and the work of God in our lives. Well, moving on into chapter 47, we get

The sixth thing to expect in the next 3,600 years, and that is healing and life. In verse 1 of Ezekiel 47, it says, Here the angel shows Ezekiel this river that came from the midst of the temple, probably from the very presence of God.

It's the river of life that flows forth out from the temple, past the altar, out the east gateways, and then on into the rest of the valley. Here's another look at what this might look like. So here's, there's the city of Jerusalem and the river of life would flow out from the temple, out of Jerusalem, onto the Jordan River, down to the Dead Sea. And then God goes on to describe the healing and the life that results everywhere this water goes.

The Dead Sea is called the Dead Sea not because it's like, you know, green and moldy and everything, you know, like your pool in the wintertime or whatever. It's the Dead Sea because it's the lowest point on earth. And the water flows there, but it has nowhere else to go. And then it just evaporates. All the minerals, the salt, everything is left behind. And so it's so concentrated, nothing can survive in it. When these waters touch it, those waters will be healed.

And they'll be fishing there at En Gedi on the shore of the Dead Sea. There'll be life again. And the earth is going to be renewed during that thousand year reign of Christ. And so although Israel is in a state that everything seems hopeless, it all seems to be just filled with death. God wants them to know there's healing there.

and life. It's interesting in Revelation chapter 22, there's a similar picture in verse one and two of this river of water that's clear as crystal that gives life, that produces the tree of life and the different fruits in the different months. What's in store for you and what you can expect over the next 3000 years is healing. No matter what hurts, no matter what grievances, no matter what issues you experience, you

And it may look like no healing is ever possible, but God's going to heal. It may look like just death, again, a valley of dry bones, but God has the river of life in his presence. And you can expect healing and restoration and life, vibrant life, to be in your future for the next 3,000 years. Well, finally, in Ezekiel chapter 48, we get the seventh thing to expect, and that is an inheritance from God.

We're not going to go through the details of this chapter. It outlines for each of the tribes of Israel, their portion in the land. And that's kind of what it looks like. So here's this, you know, their strip of land. Here's their strip of land. And God leaves it out. Each tribe gets their land. And then the family within each tribe, they got their land. And it was an inheritance. This was theirs, a gift from God to them.

They had lost all of this. This land was given to them previously by the Lord, but they failed the Lord. They rebelled against the Lord. They lost all of that. Now they are in captivity. That's given over to the enemy. They don't have it any longer, but God says, it's not over. I'm going to give it back to you. It's going to be yours again. I have a place for you, an inheritance for you and for your family, giving the nation of Israel great hope for us as well. We can look forward to and expect an inheritance from

from God. Remember Jesus in John chapter 14 talks about the mansions. He says, in my father's house are many mansions. If it wasn't so, I would have told you I go to prepare a place for you and I'm going to prepare a place so that I can come again and receive you to myself that where I am there you may be also. Just like every tribe would receive their place, their inheritance, and then the families within the tribes would receive their inheritance, you have an inheritance. You have a real space, a real place to

In God's plan and in God's picture, you have a place, you belong, you have a portion. It's given to you. It's an inheritance that's incorruptible and undefiled. It's reserved in heaven for you. God has an inheritance for you, a place for you, purpose for you. You can expect that. It's God's promise and his guarantee. And so we went through these things quickly and we just scratched the surface, but here we have some glorious hope.

No matter what we face in this life, we face darkness. We have difficulties. We go through hardships. And sometimes we feel like it's all lost. Sometimes all we can see in the future, it's like it's just going to be miserable for the rest of this life and on into eternity. But let the Lord remind you and encourage you this morning. Here's what you can expect in the next 3,600 years. Resurrection and victory. Gateways to new things that you couldn't even imagine or dream of.

The very presence of God which heals and restores and removes all hurts and pains. Opportunities to serve him that are meaningful and joyful and glorious to behold. Times of worship and celebration and gathering together and rejoicing in the work that God has done. Healing and life and an inheritance from God. This is what God has in store for you as a believer in Jesus. Let's pray.

Lord, we thank you for your goodness to us and we're reminded this morning we are unworthy and undeserving and yet your glorious grace and mercy bestow upon us things that, Lord, we are not even prepared to receive yet.

We can't even understand them, Lord, or be told about them because they're so glorious. We're not even ready to hear about all that you have in store for us. It truly is exceedingly and abundantly above all that we could ever ask or think. And so God, I pray that you would help us to not lose hope, to not lose heart, but to hold fast to you.

to your word, to your promises. And I pray, God, that you would help us to be faithful with the opportunities that you give us now, Lord, that we might experience the fullness of eternity that you have in store for us. We thank you, God. We ask that you would help us to be victorious as we look to you. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.

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