All the way around shall be eighteen thousand cubits; and the name of the city from that day shall be: THE LORD IS THERE. (Ezekiel 48:35)
The Name Of The City
When the first captives were taken to Babylon, a glimmer of hope rested in the people’s hearts that Jerusalem would be restored. Among the exiles, the prophet Ezekiel warned the people about the impending destruction of the city of God. In 586, the reality of God’s judgment became clear when the Temple was destroyed along with Jerusalem. Ezekiel spent the last part of his ministry focused on Israel’s future hope. It would be seventy years before the people would return to the promised land, but Israel the nation would never be restored. As a nation, Israel’s final judgment came in 70 AD when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem for the final time.
The hope of restoration pointed to a time when the Messiah would come and bring all nations to the Father. Jesus came to fulfill that promise but not to rebuild Jerusalem or restore the nation of Israel. God’s divine plan was to establish the eternal kingdom of the church, bringing together Jews and Gentiles alike. Ultimately, the kingdom of God pointed to the Lord’s final judgment against humanity, when the world would be destroyed, and the city of God would be established in His presence. In the final words of his prophecy, Ezekiel describes the new land and new city God promised. His language closely matches John’s in the final pictures of Revelation. The one message that unites the visions of Ezekiel and John is the city of God, and the name of the city will be THE LORD IS THERE.
As the vision of the heavenly realm appears to John, he sees the city of God, and a loud voice from heaven declares that God’s tabernacle is with men. God himself will be with them, and He will be their God. What is striking about the language of Ezekiel and John is that God will be with the saved. The joy of eternal life is knowing that God is there. There are many reasons to give for wanting to be in heaven, but the greatest of all is the knowledge that eternal life grants one the privilege, honor, blessing, and knowledge to be in the presence of God. For those who lose their souls, the greatest horror they face is to be separated from the face of God. The Lord will not be before them. All the darkness of eternal damnation will fill the soul with torment and hopelessness.
Naming the city THE LORD IS THERE demonstrates the joy of God’s grace granting man the joy of being before God in eternity. Moses came as close as any man could be to behold the glory of God, but he could not be in the presence of the Lord God without being struck dead. In the city of God, all the saved will be where God is to see Him face to face. Wherever God is, that is where the saints of God will be. To stand in the presence of God because HE IS THERE is unimaginable joy. That is the joy of eternal life – to be where GOD IS.
Jesus was in the presence of God, and He was where God was. The love of Jesus was demonstrated when He left the presence of His Father to take on flesh and die so that His creation could stand in the presence of the Father. The work Jesus accomplished was to open the way for man to live in such a way on earth as to spend eternity with God. Adam and Eve walked with God in the garden, but they lost that relationship. In Christ, the faithful return to the eternal garden of God to dwell with Him and to be WITH HIM. God will wipe away all tears and remove sorrow from the hearts of His children because they are DWELLING WITH HIM. How fitting to call the dwelling place of God, HE IS THERE. The challenge is for the hearts of men to live in such a way as to stand before the Lord and be ushered into the presence of the I AM. To be WHERE HE IS is to know eternal life.
