Ezekiel 47; Ezekiel 48; 1 John 3

1 The man led me back to the entrance of the Temple. Water was coming out from under the entrance and flowing east, the direction the Temple faced. It was flowing down from under the south part of the Temple past the south side of the altar.

2 The man then took me out of the Temple area by way of the north gate and led me around to the gate that faces east. A small stream of water was flowing out at the south side of the gate.

3 With his measuring rod the man measured 560 yards downstream to the east and told me to wade through the stream there. The water came only to my ankles.

4 Then he measured another 560 yards, and the water came up to my knees. Another 560 yards farther down, the water was up to my waist.

5 He measured 560 yards more, and there the stream was so deep I could not wade through it. It was too deep to cross except by swimming.

6 He said to me, "Mortal man, note all this carefully." Then the man took me back to the riverbank,

7 and when I got there, I saw that there were very many trees on each bank.

8 He said to me, "This water flows through the land to the east and down into the Jordan Valley and to the Dead Sea. When it flows into the Dead Sea, it replaces the salt water of that sea with fresh water.

9 Wherever the stream flows, there will be all kinds of animals and fish. The stream will make the water of the Dead Sea fresh, and wherever it flows, it will bring life.

10 From the Springs of Engedi all the way to the Springs of Eneglaim, there will be fishermen on the shore of the sea, and they will spread out their nets there to dry. There will be as many different kinds of fish there as there are in the Mediterranean Sea.

11 But the water in the marshes and ponds along the shore will not be made fresh. They will remain there as a source of salt.

12 On each bank of the stream all kinds of trees will grow to provide food. Their leaves will never wither, and they will never stop bearing fruit. They will have fresh fruit every month, because they are watered by the stream that flows from the Temple. The trees will provide food, and their leaves will be used for healing people."

13 The Sovereign Lord said, "These are the boundaries of the land that is to be divided among the twelve tribes, with the tribe of Joseph receiving two sections.

14 I solemnly promised your ancestors that I would give them possession of this land; now divide it equally among you.

15 "The northern boundary runs eastward from the Mediterranean Sea to the city of Hethlon, to Hamath Pass, to the city of Zedad,

16 to the cities of Berothah and Sibraim (they are located between the territory of the kingdom of Damascus and that of the kingdom of Hamath), and to the city of Ticon (located by the border of the district of Hauran).

17 So the northern boundary runs from the Mediterranean eastward to Enon City, with the border regions of Damascus and Hamath to the north of it.

18 "The eastern boundary runs south from a point between the territory of Damascus and that of Hauran, with the Jordan River forming the boundary between the land of Israel on the west and Gilead on the east, as far as Tamar on the Dead Sea.

19 "The southern boundary runs southwest from Tamar to the oasis of Kadesh Meribah and then northwest along the Egyptian border to the Mediterranean Sea.

20 "The western boundary is formed by the Mediterranean and runs north to a point west of Hamath Pass.

21 "Divide this land among your tribes;

22 it is to be your permanent possession. The foreigners who are living among you and who have had children born here are also to receive their share of the land when you divide it. They are to be treated like full Israelite citizens and are to draw lots for shares of the land along with the tribes of Israel.

23 All foreign residents will receive their share with the people of the tribe among whom they are living. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken."

1 The northern boundary of the land runs eastward from the Mediterranean Sea to the city of Hethlon, to Hamath Pass, to Enon City, to the boundary between the kingdoms of Damascus and Hamath. Each tribe is to receive one section of land extending from the eastern boundary west to the Mediterranean Sea, in the following order from north to south: Dan Asher Naphtali Manasseh Ephraim Reuben Judah

8 The next section of the land is to be set apart for special use. It is to be 10 miles wide from north to south, and the same length from east to west as the sections given to the tribes. The Temple will be located within this section.

9 In the center of this section, a special area 10 miles by 8 miles is to be dedicated to the Lord.

10 The priests are to have a portion of this holy area. From east to west their portion is to measure 10 miles, and from north to south, 4 miles. The Temple of the Lord is to be located in the middle of this area.

11 This holy area is to be for the priests who are descendants of Zadok. They served me faithfully and did not join the rest of the Israelites in doing wrong, as the other members of the tribe of Levi did.

12 So they are to have a special area next to the area belonging to the Levites, and it will be the holiest of all.

13 The Levites also are to have a special area, south of that of the priests. It too is to be 10 miles from east to west, by 4 miles from north to south.

14 The area dedicated to the Lord is the best part of all the land, and none of it may be sold or exchanged or transferred to anyone else. It is holy and belongs to the Lord.

15 The part of the special area that is left, 10 miles by 2 miles, is not holy, but is for the general use of the people. They may live there and use the land. The city is to be in the center of it,

16 and it will be a square, 2,520 yards on each side.

17 All around the city on each side there will be an open space 140 yards across.

18 The land that is left after the city has been built in the area immediately to the south of the holy area - 4 miles by 2 miles on the east and 4 miles by 2 miles on the west - is to be used as farmland by the people who live in the city.

19 Anyone who lives in the city, no matter which tribe he comes from, may farm that land.

20 And so the total area in the center of the section which was set apart will be a square measuring 10 miles on each side, and it will include the area occupied by the city.

21 To the east and to the west of this area which contains the Temple, the priests' land, the Levites' land, and the city, the remaining land belongs to the ruling prince. It reaches east to the eastern boundary and west to the Mediterranean Sea, and is bounded on the north by the section belonging to Judah and on the south by the one belonging to Benjamin.

23 South of this special section, each of the remaining tribes is to receive one section of land running from the eastern boundary west to the Mediterranean Sea, in the following order from north to south: Benjamin Simeon Issachar Zebulun Gad

28 On the south side of the portion given to the tribe of Gad, the boundary runs southwest from Tamar to the oasis of Kadesh, and then northwest along the Egyptian border to the Mediterranean Sea.

29 The Sovereign Lord said, "That is the way the land is to be divided into sections for the tribes of Israel to possess."

30 There are twelve entrances to the city of Jerusalem. Each of the four walls measures 2,520 yards and has three gates in it, each named for one of the tribes. The gates in the north wall are named for Reuben, Judah, and Levi; those in the east wall, for Joseph, Benjamin, and Dan; those in the south wall, for Simeon, Issachar, and Zebulun; and those in the west wall are named for Gad, Asher, and Naphtali.

35 The total length of the wall on all four sides of the city is 10,080 yards. The name of the city from now on will be "The-Lord-Is-Here!"

1 See how much the Father has loved us! His love is so great that we are called God's children - and so, in fact, we are. This is why the world does not know us: it has not known God.

2 My dear friends, we are now God's children, but it is not yet clear what we shall become. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he really is.

3 Everyone who has this hope in Christ keeps himself pure, just as Christ is pure.

4 Whoever sins is guilty of breaking God's law, because sin is a breaking of the law.

5 You know that Christ appeared in order to take away sins, and that there is no sin in him.

6 So everyone who lives in union with Christ does not continue to sin; but whoever continues to sin has never seen him or known him.

7 Let no one deceive you, my children! Whoever does what is right is righteous, just as Christ is righteous.

8 Whoever continues to sin belongs to the Devil, because the Devil has sinned from the very beginning. The Son of God appeared for this very reason, to destroy what the Devil had done.

9 Those who are children of God do not continue to sin, for God's very nature is in them; and because God is their Father, they cannot continue to sin.

10 Here is the clear difference between God's children and the Devil's children: those who do not do what is right or do not love others are not God's children.

11 The message you heard from the very beginning is this: we must love one another.

12 We must not be like Cain; he belonged to the Evil One and murdered his own brother Abel. Why did Cain murder him? Because the things he himself did were wrong, and the things his brother did were right.

13 So do not be surprised, my friends, if the people of the world hate you.

14 We know that we have left death and come over into life; we know it because we love others. Those who do not love are still under the power of death.

15 Those who hate others are murderers, and you know that murderers do not have eternal life in them.

16 This is how we know what love is: Christ gave his life for us. We too, then, ought to give our lives for others!

17 If we are rich and see others in need, yet close our hearts against them, how can we claim that we love God?

18 My children, our love should not be just words and talk; it must be true love, which shows itself in action.

19 This, then, is how we will know that we belong to the truth; this is how we will be confident in God's presence.

20 If our conscience condemns us, we know that God is greater than our conscience and that he knows everything.

21 And so, my dear friends, if our conscience does not condemn us, we have courage in God's presence.

22 We receive from him whatever we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him.

23 What he commands is that we believe in his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as Christ commanded us.

24 Those who obey God's commands live in union with God and God lives in union with them. And because of the Spirit that God has given us we know that God lives in union with us.