March 21: PURE WATER
And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. Revelation 22:1
Allow this verse to carry your mind back to the Garden of Eden, fresh from the hand of God: Now a river went out of Eden to water the garden (Genesis 2:10), that the trees would be fruitful. Later in Scripture, people are compared to trees. A man who discerns ungodly counsel and chooses instead to follow the LORD is like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season (Psalm 1:3). The fruit of that man is wise counsel for the spiritual benefit of those around him.
The prophet Ezekiel was given a vivid vision of flowing, healing water. And it shall be that every living thing that moves . . . will live wherever the river goes (Ezekiel 47:9).
A fountain shall flow from the house of the LORD (Joel 3:18).
And in that day it shall be that living waters shall flow from Jerusalem (Zechariah 14:8).
The Lord Jesus referred to Himself as living water (John 4:10), a beautiful picture of cleansing, restoration, and growth. He is the ultimate Source of that pure river of water of life!
God’s word compares the unfaithful mother church as resting upon many waters (Revelation 17:1,15), due to her dependence upon multitudes of deceived people to keep her afloat. We are also told that a day is coming when this support will be dried up (Revelation 16:12 – see also Psalm 33:10-11). The unfaithful church exalts man above God. History has shown that it grew and developed out of the original Babylonian precept of regarding man’s ideas over divine precepts (see Daniel 7:4). The literal city of ancient Babylon rested upon the mighty River Euphrates, which was her life source, so to speak. Today’s end time scenario describes modern-day spiritual Babylon as having all the world’s support (Revelation 13:3), but this support is prophesied to dry up (17:15-16).
This is a very interesting comparison between waters! Time and again, we have seen that man’s efforts to supposedly improve on God’s instructions result in great loss. Ideas that conflict with Scripture from false representatives of God ‘poison’ the waters. A great star fell from heaven, burning like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water . . . and many men died from the water (Revelation 8:10-11). Jesus warned of false prophets in the last days who, perhaps unwittingly, spread a false gospel message that cannot save. This sad reality emphasizes the urgency to preach the everlasting gospel (14:6) before the return of the Lord. Heaven’s invitation must continue to go forth. Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters (Isaiah 55:1).
And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely. Revelation 22:17
For further study: Exodus 15:22-27; Psalm 36:8; Proverbs 18:4; Jeremiah 2:13; 17:13; John 7:37-39