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Last Great Day: Rivers of Living Water
October 20, 2011

Towards the back of the Book of Revelation is a prophecy of the New Jerusalem that is so fantastic that if this were turned into a Hollywood movie it might seem inane and far-fetched to the casual observer. New Jerusalem is described as a city shaped like a square of 12,000 furlongs, or 1,400 miles on each side. The walls measure 144 cubits, or approximately 226 feet. Made of the most precious gems and clear to see through, these walls give rise to the twelve foundations, each a precious gem and one for each of the apostles, and on each wall are three gates, one for each of the twelve tribes of Israel. When we think of the pearly gates, these are the pearly gates. Instead of heaven, these gates are on part of the New Jerusalem that will be on earth. The city and streets are made of pure gold, and the streets do not lead to a central temple, but rather to the throne of the Lamb and God. Father and Son are coming to earth, and in the middle of their throne flows the river of life. The fruit that grows beside the river of life is for the healing of the nations, and all who enter the New Jerusalem will have no need of light, for the glory of the Lamb and God will illuminate all.

Revelation 21:1-22:5
And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife. And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal; And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates. And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof. And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal. And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel. And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass. And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald; The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst. And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass. And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it. And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there. And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it. And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life. And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads. And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.

This New Jerusalem takes us full circle from the creation of man in the Garden of Eden. In this garden was a flowing river that watered both the tree of life as well as the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and all other vegetation. Man was given a command to not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. All other trees were good for food. But man couldn't listen to God and self-determined a course of action that has led us to where we are today. Man could have also self-determined to not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and our history would have been much different. Who knows if the river of Eden could have been for the healing of the nations if man had simply chosen life at that time. Perhaps, even the tree of the knowledge of good and evil could have been healed so that there would have been no ill effects on mankind.

Genesis 2:8-10
And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads.

Man chose the path that has given us the history we know and the reality in which we exist. We hope for a better time in the evil we see, and the evil we see is not much different than in other times. All one has to do is read a play by Shakespeare to see the evil that existed in his time, or the read the Canterbury Tales to see the evil of Chaucer's time. The mystical evil of Beowulf preludes them all. The example from the Bible and secular history all point to the evil that has existed through the ages. When Jesus walked as a man, he too saw evil, and evil tried to destroy him as much as it tries to destroy all who follow God's Law. But it was on an occasion during the Feat of Tabernacles, on that last great day of the feast that Jesus talked about rivers of living water. He knew these waters would be for the healing of the nations. What was different about the message of Jesus was the source of the rivers of living water. In the New Jerusalem, the rivers of living water flowed from the middle of the thrones of Jesus and God. In the lesson given by Jesus, during the modern era, this living water flow from Christians.

John 7:37-38
In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

How does this living water flow from us? That is the question we must understand. Living waters flow from us in the spiritual sense because we have the Holy Spirit, and it is the Holy Spirit that is the living waters that is for the healing of the nations. We are to be like a river, not in control of the source of the water, but only channeling the water to its source; those in need of the living water. The Last Great Day is more than a prophecy of the future, it is a call to action in the present. We must live a life that allows the living water to flow freely without spiritual pollution. We must understand that as we grow and share our understanding of God's way of life with others, that it is then that the Holy Spirit that is within us can nuture and feed those around us. As we conclude another Holy Day season, we are thankful for what God has given us. We can also be thankful for how God is working through us, and we must work now so that our lives allow the Holy Spirit to flow from our belly much like the living water from the New Jersualem and the teaching of Jesus.

Today is the Day of Pentecost, a Holy Day of God, the day that God chose first to widely give the Holy Spirit. Through the Holy Spirit, we have incredible freedom knowing that every evil thing that brings us pain in this life, will one day be no more. Through the Holy Spirit, we have incredible freedom to understand spiritual matters and the deep things of God, seeking first the Kingdom of God and God’s righteousness knowing that the Holy Spirit is the earnest deposit by God of our future place in the Kingdom of God and eternal life. Finally, the freedom that we have that comes through the Holy Spirit allows us to understand Jesus Christ and to become like Jesus Christ so we can have the mind of Christ.

All verses are from the King James Version.
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