THE GLORIFIED STATE -- Tomorrow:
"And he showed 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. And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to show unto his servants the things which must shortly be done. Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book. And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which showed me these things. Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God." (Rev 22:1-9)
Devotion 3 of 33
"A pure river of water of life."
From the earthly perspective, the very expression "pure river" is a contradiction of terms. In this world, a river is a watercourse – a flow of water that passes through varied terrains. Because of their movement, rivers pick up all manner of contamination. Ordinarily, because of this condition, one does not drink directly from a river, and their waters are not viewed as "pure." There are no doubt exceptions to this rule, but this is the general nature of rivers.
The primary river in the land of Canaan was the Jordan River – one of its borders – and it certainly was not noted for its purity. You may remember that Naaman the leper, when directed by the prophet Elisha to dip in the Jordan river seven times remonstrated saying, "Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than ALL the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage" (2 Kgs 5:12). In fact, Israel was not noted for its rivers. We read of "the rivers of Egypt" (Isa 7:18), and "the rivers of Ethiopia" (Isa 18:1; Zeph 3:10). Joel spoke of a time when "all the rivers of Judah" would "flow with waters," indicating that to be an unusual circumstance (Joel 3:18). In Israel, the sources of water were largely wells and springs (Josh 15:19; Judges 1:15; 2 Chron 26:10).
The point is that purity was not ordinarily associated with rivers, and yet this is what John is given to see in relation to the glorified church – "a PURE river of water of life!" What a sight it must have been.
CONTENDING WITH CONTAMINATION
Often, in this world, the water of life is theoretically offered in the contaminated cups of men's creation. Such water bears much resemblance to the polluted waters of a coursing river that flows over defiled terrain, picking up the dirt and filth associated with a hot and arid land.
Denominational containers attempt to present the truth of God in the setting of sectarian dogma, thereby neutralizing the influence of the truth upon the soul. It is ironical than men would even attempt to take something from a pure and holy God, and make an effort to serve it up in a container created by defiled and imperfect men. Nevertheless, this is a common practice.
Several examples will suffice to confirm this unfortunate circumstance. The following are terms concocted by men, yet thought to be suitable containers for the truth of God. "NEW TESTAMENT church," "BELIEVER'S baptism," "UNCONDITIONAL love," "UNCONDITIONAL election," "LIMITED atonement," "IRRESISTIBLE grace," "TOTAL depravity," "PLAN of salvation," "AUTHORITY of the elders," "THE FREE WILL of man" . . . etc. I have highlighted the human additions to Scriptural terms. Those additions, however innocent or proper they may appear, represent bodies of theological dogma that have been developed by men. They present inspired terms from a human point of view instead of a heavenly one. They are the expression of the human mind, not the Divine mind. They seek to clarify the Scriptures so that they will better fit into some theological mold that is necessary for the maintenance of organizations that had their genesis with men.
In this world, we must contend with this form of contamination, testing everything we hear. As it is written, "Prove (test) ALL things" (1 Thess 5:21). This circumstance proves to be a thorn in our side. Those who live by faith look forward to the time when we will drink freely from a "pure river" – that is, when we will take in the truth without having to "try the spirits" and "prove all things." Then, praise God, there will be nothing to discard, ignore, or repudiate.
ABUNDANCE! ABUNDANCE!
This expression "a pure RIVER of water of life"--denotes ABUNDANCE – the abundance of life. Jesus, you will remember, affirmed, "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more ABUNDANTLY (John 10:10). While that abundance begins now, in this world, it will not reach its apex until we are liberated from the bondage of corruption. Here, there are times when truth seems to rise to flood-stage in our hearts. However, that condition does not last. Soon, the desert times are upon us again and we cry out, "my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is" (Psa 63:1). But it will not be so in the world to come, praise the Lord!
PRAYER POINT: Father, in the name of Jesus, I thank You for the prospect of total purity and the complete absence of everything that defiles.