The Dead Sea, situated between Israel and Jordan, is the lowest place on earth and reaches the hottest temperatures in Israel.

THE DEAD SEA One Day It Will Live Again

EZEKIEL 47

 THE DEAD SEA has had many names throughout history. The Israelites referred to the Dead Sea as "the Salt Sea", "the Eastern Sea", and simply "the Sea". Other designations in history include the "Sea of Asphalt", the "Stinking Sea", and the "Devil's Sea". It is the lowest place on earth and reaches the hottest temperatures in Israel.

The Jordan River snakes south from the base of Mount Hermon and empties its flow just south of Jericho into the Dead Sea. The river delivers the Dead Sea's only continuous intake to offset the water that evaporates each day. As the water evaporates, it leaves behind concentrated calcium, magnesium, potassium, and sodium chloride, giving the Dead Sea one of the highest salinities of any body of water on earth. Throughout history, the minerals created by the evaporation process have provided humanity with many products harvested for commercial health purposes. The Dead Sea's salinity also makes it the most buoyant body of water on earth, giving it a reputation for centuries as a place where a person cannot sink. The historian Josephus recorded that when Emperor Vespasian came to the Dead Sea during the Jewish Revolt in AD 68, he tested its unsinkable reputation by tying up some people who couldn't swim and tossing them into the water!

It's hard to believe, but this region used to be a well-watered area, lush and attractive like the Garden of Eden. But God's judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah changed the area from a fertile land to a desolate expanse (Gen. 13:10; Deut. 29:23). However, Scripture promises that the Dead Sea will live again. When Jesus Christ rules in the Kingdom of God, living water will flow from Jerusalem's Temple Mount into the Dead Sea, and fishermen will line its banks (Ezek. 47:8-11; Zech. 14:8; Rev. 22:1-2). What a picture of God's power to bring life from death! Only God knows what we'll call the Dead Sea in that day.