"Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb."
(Revelation 22:1)
He tells us something of the purity of this water—“clear as crystal.” Not tainted by pollution or chemical run-offs or debris, the river has the appearance of something so pure and brilliant that it is always inviting. And rightly so, for his intention is for us to understand it as “the water of life,” that has come from God. The Psalmist pictures this: “There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy dwelling places of the Most High. God is in the midst of her, she will not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns” (46:4-5). Jesus told the Samaritan woman that He alone could give her living water that would become in her “a well of water springing up to eternal life” (John 4:14). He told those hearing Him at the climax of the Feast of Booths, that believing in Him would cause rivers of living water to flow from their innermost being (John 7:36-38). This abundant water of life was anticipated by Zechariah: “And in that day living waters will flow out of Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea and the other half toward the western sea” (Zech. 14:8). But the primary picture that John summarizes is that of Ezekiel’s temple vision. In his vision, he saw water begin to flow from the temple, first as a trickle but the farther it flowed, the deeper it grew until it teamed with life and even brought life to the Dead Sea (Eze. 47:1-12).
Wherever the water flows it provides life because it comes “from the throne of God and of the Lamb.” That’s the primary thrust of his picture: “…death with all its baleful accompaniments has been abolished and life reigns supreme”. Because of God on the throne, the New Jerusalem will never fail in maintaining superlative abundance of life for all its residents.
(Phil A. Newton)
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