Ezekiel 47:13-23.
Tens of thousands have flooded the streets of many cities worldwide, including London, clamouring, often riotously, for the world to side with Gaza in its pursuit of victory over Israel.
In the Bible we have revealed to us the Lord’s plans for that part of the world and it is very different from that which the pro-Gaza protesters demand!
What will happen in the Middle East, indeed all the Earth, when Christ returns again and takes up the direct governance of the world, is detailed extensively throughout Holy Scripture.
In the portion above, the prophet Ezekiel records the details of the vision given him of the Lord, which details future events that will take place in that territory which today is just never out of the news!
I. IT SHOULD BE NOTICED THAT GOD’S FUTURE MERCIFUL DEALINGS WITH THE PEOPLES OF THAT AREA ARE TOTALLY UNDESERVED!
“Thus saith the Lord GOD; This shall be the border, whereby ye shall inherit the land according to the twelve tribes of Israel: Joseph shall have two portions. And ye shall inherit it, one as well as another: concerning the which I lifted up mine hand to give it unto your fathers: and this land shall fall unto you for inheritance,” Ezekiel 47:13-14.
BORDERS
The borders of ‘the land’ which the Lord denotes here (verse 15-21) as the future inheritance of ‘the twelve tribes of Israel’ is that which includes the territory presently occupied by the Palestinians. Indeed, the whole of the land that they claim Israel ‘stole’ from them and have occupied unlawfully, is here labelled as Israel’s.
It will also be seen that the Gazans have a place in God’s great plan.
“And it shall come to pass, that ye shall divide it by lot for an inheritance unto you, and to the strangers that sojourn among you, which shall beget children among you: and they shall be unto you as born in the country among the children of Israel; they shall have inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel. And it shall come to pass, that in what tribe the stranger sojourneth, there shall ye give him his inheritance, saith the Lord GOD,” Ezekiel 47:22-23.
Please note the words: “ . . . they shall have inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel. And it shall come to pass, that in what tribe the stranger sojourneth, there shall ye give him his inheritance, saith the Lord GOD.”
Thus the Lord will solve the ‘Gaza problem’ in a fashion that neither party at present would ever agree to, but all shall change when Jesus returns!
II. NEITHER PARTY IN THE PRESENT BLOOD-SOAKED DISPUTE WOULD BE PREPARED TO AGREE TO SUCH A SETTLEMENT BUT IN THE DAY WHEN THIS SETTLEMENT WILL BE ‘IMPOSED’ GRACE WILL HAVE CHANGED BOTH PARTIES!
When the Saviour returns it is to reclaim from “the god of this world” — the devil, rulership of the Earth.
“And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever,” Revelation 11:15.
Christ’s return will see the devil cast into inescapable bondage for 1000 years.
“And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season,” Revelation 20:1-3.
LITTLE SEASON
In that “little season”, during which the devil will be loosed, he accomplishes nothing and is almost immediately cast into the Lake of Fire and his followers are damned.
“And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever,” Revelation 20:7-10.
PEACE
During the 1000 years of the Saviour’s earthly reign, the nations will enjoy a peace never experienced before. Gaza and Israel will live in peace!
We are told in Isaiah 2:4, that Christ
“ . . . shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.”
As the Lord was able to curtail the activities of the devil and stop him from killing Job (Job 2:6), so the Lord will govern and suppress the sinfulness of those who remain unconverted during His reign.
While the great maturity of the Earth’s population during the Millennial Reign will be saved, many will not be converted but they will be curtailed in their desires to oppose the Saviour.
The Lord Jesus presently exercises a very limited intervention in the lives of wicked men and women. Daily we read and hear of the most unholy words and actions on the part of those who are most brazen in their defiance of God and His truth. There is no blasphemy deemed too vile or any action considered too evil, but publicly such are engaged in without the slightest compunction and with the complete endorsement by a majority of the members of society!
HITLER
The Pharaohs and the Hitlers were permitted freedom to act out their wickedness but the full measure of punishment for this defiance will be meted out at a future time!
“And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire,” Revelation 20:11-15.
Sadly, all too many think that this state of affairs is an indication that there will never be any judgment! They are very wrong.
“Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil,” Ecclesiastes 8:11.
There is no such thing as ‘sinning with impunity’!
“And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead,” Acts 17:30-31.
No, what it pleased God in mercy to ‘wink’ at since the days of Adam, that is, to take no immediate action against, will not be tolerated in Christ’s earthly Kingdom.
The Earth is subdued and “nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.” It will be an Earth immersed in a very different spirit from that which presently dominates mankind.
“But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it. And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the LORD of hosts hath spoken it,” Micah 4:1-4.
It is little wonder that John ended his epistle and, in turn, ended the Bible with those memorable words.
“AMEN. EVEN SO, COME, LORD JESUS.”
Rev Ivan Foster (Rtd)
15th October 2026