Misinterpretations often treat this as a literal architectural plan for a present-day Jerusalem with physical gates named after tribes, overlooking its prophetic, symbolic nature tied to eschatological restoration; some wrongly spiritualize it exclusively for the church, ignoring the Israelite tribal focus, or conflate it with Revelation 21's New Jerusalem gates that also name apostles, thus distorting the distinct promises to Israel versus the eternal heavenly city.
Ezekiel 48:31
King James Version (1769)
31 And the gates of the city shall be after the names of the tribes of Israel: three gates northward; one gate of Reuben, one gate of Judah, one gate of Levi.
Ezekiel 48:31 describes part of the prophet's visionary blueprint for the holy city in the restored land during the millennial kingdom, where the twelve gates bear the names of Israel's tribes, specifically naming three on the north side as Reuben, Judah, and Levi, emphasizing God's perfect organization, the full tribal inclusion, unity, and inheritance of His covenant people in an era of ultimate peace and divine presence after exile and judgment.