Revelation’s Closing Invitation – COME!

Revelation’s Closing Invitation – COME!

“The revelation of Jesus Christ…” (Rev. 1:1). John the Divine left no doubt about the purpose of his Book of Revelation. His very first words in his prologue were that his vision was an unveiling of Jesus. His baffling and otherworldly writings in this book were not primarily about future events, or the destiny of human life on planet earth, or all those mysterious activities in the heavenly sphere. John was writing first and foremost about the Person of Christ, and he intended everything in the book to point back to Him. Revelation was a lifting of the veil on the full identity and activity of Christ. It is a revelation of Jesus, from God, concerning Christ Himself. The Godhead is both the primary source of John’s vision and its main subject. Everything in this extended vision that came to John straight from heaven is to be understood through the prism of Christ. Regardless of how dramatic, puzzling or profound its contents, everything in John’s vision is intended to help us discover more of Christ and deepen our knowledge of and love for Him. All these events in Revelation that seem to pique the reader’s curiosity are nonetheless streams that are meant to lead us back to the River of Life. Perhaps it would do us all well if we continue to remind ourselves of Paul’s declaration as we read John’s vision… “I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.” (1 Corinthians 2:2). So then, we can’t let ourselves get too sidetracked, too stuck in the weeds, with these fancy special effects in John’s vision… the beasts and the dragons and the angels, the numbers and colors and gemstones, the symbols and metaphors and poetic imagery… After all is said and done in Revelation, St. John has composed an essentially Christ-centered book.

Gold Mine: Another way of looking at the book of Revelation is to strap on your miner’s helmet and search for Biblical gold. In John’s vision are many gold mines that have Jesus Christ as the source… Mines like His appearance in His glorified presence, the Logos of God, the seven titles of Christ, the words to the seven churches, the seven Beatitudes, and the many songs of worship that come straight to us from heaven! And there is more! Mining all the gold in Revelation will make us wealthy with His treasure for all of eternal life. But all those fancy special effects in John’s vision are only fool’s gold if they distract us from Jesus.

“Come!” say the Spirit and the Bride; and whoever is listening, echo, “Come!” Is anyone thirsty? Come! Whosoever earnestly desires, come and drink, slake your thirst with this free gift of the Water of Life! (Revelation 22:17).

Joshua Aaron 🎶 SPIRIT AND THE BRIDE (Say, COME!) 🔴 LIVE at the GARDEN TOMB, Jerusalem

In Other Words: “The Holy Spirit and the Christian Church make its final appeal in Scripture, a divine duet that sings out… “Come to Jesus!” And all those Christ-followers who are listening can make this an inspired trio and sing those same words… “Come to the Lord!” Consider this our universal appeal to anyone and everyone who is gripped with spiritual thirst! Whoever wants to satisfy their deep desire for salvation and renewal may come and drink from the Water of Life. This overflowing water is free of charge, unearned, a gracious gift from the Fountain of God. Come and get it, and lap it up!

“The Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of Life,” proclaims the Nicene Creed, and all God’s people say Amen! Throughout Scripture, the Spirit is symbolized by fresh water, by the waters of life. Living water from running streams is a picture of the lifesaving, soul-satisfying refreshment that can only be given by God through His Holy Spirit. In the Hebrew Bible, the connection between water and the Spirit is in Isaiah 44:3, “I will pour water on him who is thirsty, and streams on the dry ground. I will pour My Spirit on your descendants, and my blessings on your offspring.” And in Isaiah 32:15, 20, “Until the Spirit is poured out upon us from on high, and the wilderness becomes a fertile field… How blessed will you be, you who sow beside all waters.” So when the Holy Spirit said ‘Come’ in Revelation 22:17, He is inviting those who are thirsty to come to Him and drink freely from His fountain of life. Only those who are thirsty, those who are “painfully conscious of his need of those things by which the soul is refreshed, supported and strengthened” (AMP), can receive the Spirit’s water of life. Only the thirsty can have their thirst quenched by the Spirit. The Bride of Christ, the Church, joins in the invitation, appealing to all who are spiritually thirsty to come and drink of the Spirit. Whoever drinks of the Spirit will have an ongoing stream of life flowing out of his heart. And this water is free of charge. “Ho! Everyone who thirsts come to the waters; you who have no money, come!” (Isaiah 55:1). John’s final appeal in Scripture is the divine invitation of the Holy Spirit to come to Him for life-giving water. As the Father made clear in Isaiah 41:17, “The afflicted and needy shall rejoice exceedingly, for when they shall seek water, but there is none, and their tongues are parched with thirst, I the Lord God, will hear them; As the God of Israel, I will not forsake them.” The Spirit’s invitation to come and drink is simply a profound gesture of God’s mercy, for only the waters of Jesus as found in the Holy Spirit could possibly satisfy us at the deep spiritual level. Certainly Jesus wanted to remind us of the powerful “thirst” passages in Psalms, such as Ps. 63:1, “O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.” Or “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.” (Psalm 42:1-2).  Maybe Jesus was hinting that it is easy for us to suffer spiritual dehydration in a world that has nothing to offer but broken wells instead of the fountain of life in God.

THE FOUNTAIN OF LIFE IN THE TRINITY OF GOD:

God the Father. Throughout the Hebrew Bible, Yahweh God declared Himself to be the fountain of living water. He stated in certain terms that He was the source of spiritual water that would slake the thirst of every person who comes to Him. He alone would provide the waters of salvation to all who would come to Him and drink of His life-giving stream.

1. “For my people have committed two crimes: they have abandoned me, the fountain of living water, and dug water-tanks for themselves, cracked water-tanks that hold no water.” (Jeremiah 2:13);
2. “Those who turn from you will be registered in the underworld, since they have abandoned Yahweh, the fountain of living water.” (Jeremiah 17:13);
3. “You give them drink from your river of delights. For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light.” (Psalm 36:9);
4. “They will never hunger or thirst, scorching wind and sun will never plague them, for He who pities them will lead them, will guide them to springs of water.” (Isaiah 49:10);
5. “Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters.” (Isaiah 55:1);
6. “Therefore you shall draw water with rejoicing from the spring of salvation.” (Isaiah 12:3).

Isaiah 55 – Is Anyone Thirsty || Bible in Song || Project of Love (youtube.com)

God the Son. As the Son of the Father, Jesus wasted no time in declaring that He will walk in the footsteps of Yahweh. He will continue the Father’s ministry of providing living water to those who are spiritually thirsty. He too is the Fountain. Jesus claimed to be on equal footing with Yahweh God by inviting others to drink of Him. He only does what He sees the Father doing, which is spring forth with fresh waters from the Fountain of the Lord.

1. “On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, ‘If a man is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.’” (John 7:37-38; at the climax of the Feast of Tabernacles, which centered on the biblical importance of a source of living water for the life of His people);
2. “Jesus answered her, ‘If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water… Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4:10-14; the profound conversation with the woman at the well);
3. “For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water.” (Revelation 7:17);
4. “Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb, down the middle of the great street of the city.” (Revelation 22:1).

God the Holy Spirit. If the Father and the Son are the Fountain, the Source, what exactly is the living water they are providing? The living water is the Holy Spirit, flowing freely from the Father and the Son. The Holy Spirit is who gives us life, who is to be taken into our hearts. The Spirit of God gushes forth from the eternal Fountain for our salvation and our transformation.

1. “For I shall pour water on the thirsty soil and streams on the dry ground. I shall pour out my Spirit on your descendants, my blessing on your offspring, and they will spring up among the grass, like willows on the banks of a stream.”  (Isaiah 44:3-4);
2. “If a man is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him. By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were later to receive.” (John 7:37-39);
3. “You gave them your good Spirit to instruct them, you did not withhold your manna from their mouths, you gave them water for their thirst.” (Nehemiah 9:20);

Jesus the Messiah. By declaring Himself to be the Source of Living Water, the Fountain of Life, Jesus claimed to fulfill the messianic prophecies of the Scriptures. Christ is the long-awaited Messiah, bringing fresh streams of His Holy Spirit to the thirsty souls of the people.

1. “When the Day comes, the mountains will run with new wine and the hills will flow with milk, and all the streambeds of Judah will run with water. A fountain will spring from Yahweh’s Temple.” (Joel 4:18);
2. “On that Day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity.” (Zechariah 13:1);
3. “On that Day living water will flow out from Jerusalem…”  (Zechariah 14:8).

I’ve Got a River of Life Jeremy Riddle & Bethel Church January 15, 2012

An Early Hint of the Water of Life: “Spring Up, O Well!” The wandering Israelites were once again facing a shortage of water in the sweltering heat of the Sinai desert. Naturally, and rather reasonably, Moses and Aaron soon heard their grumbles and complaints. (Numbers 21:16-18). They arrived at a place called “The Well,” which is “Beer” in Hebrew. Evidently, they had been there at some point earlier, because Yahweh directed them to a well that had already been dug by the leaders of Israel. The people were so grateful and relieved to have the prospect of a flourishing well right there with them that they exuberantly greeted it with a song. They encouraged each other to break out into an historic song of praise and thanksgiving and gratitude. For, they were weary and dehydrated and discouraged, and Yahweh couldn’t have given them a better or a more timely gift. It’s not clear if the people rejoiced in anticipation of the water bursting forth from the well, or while it was actually gushing water to the surface, or perhaps even after the water had already poured forth. This “Song of the Well” could have been sung in celebration before, during, or after the water burst forth. Maybe the Song was sung that whole time during all three phases of the celebration.

I’VE GOT A RIVER OF LIFE (SPRING UP O WELL)

The Song of the Well. This song has gone down in Jewish history as one of the most famous songs in their entire history. It was evidently already well known before this scene with Moses in the wilderness. It has been dated by historians as present from the earliest of times. It was routinely sung for a long time by the “maidens of Israel” as a routine water-drawing song. And, it was sung for centuries in the Jerusalem Temple as a regular part of the Sabbath worship. The Hebrew word used for the more common translation of “spring up” was  “ali,” which means ascend or go up. So other ways to voice this song would be… Erupt, O well! Sing praises about this well! Flow upwards, O well, and we’ll sing in celebration! Come up, O water-spring! Let the well gush forth! Pour out your water, O well, and we will sing all about it! Could there be a better picture of the Holy Spirit, the Lord’s Well of Life?

Phil Wickham – Spring Up O Well (Official Pseudo Video)

Another Early Hint of the Water of Life: Job’s Scent of Water. “For a tree, there is hope that if cut down, it will sprout again, that its shoots will continue to grow. Even if its roots grow old in the earth and its stump dies in the ground, yet at the scent of water it will bud and put forth branches like a young plant.”  (Job 14:7-9). In this Prophecy of the Water, Job was waxing poetic with his phrase “the scent of water.” (v. 9). He was noting that somehow a root from a dead stump is able to sense the presence of water and grow towards it. That water will then enable that dead stump to spring back to life, the source of new life. Job here provides a beautiful picture of how we, even though we ought to be dead stumps, can still receive a source of new life. Roots that appear to be too old and deformed for renewal can nonetheless receive living water, the water of life everlasting. As Jesus dramatically said to the crowd in the Temple, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink’… By this He meant the Spirit, whom those who believed on Him were later to receive.” (John 7:37-39). The water giving new life to the dead stump is the Holy Spirit, mentioned time and again in the Hebrew Bible. (Ps. 36:9; Is. 12:3, 49:10 and 55:1; Jer. 2:13 and 17:13; Zech 13:1 and 14:8). “For I shall pour water on the thirsty soil and streams on the dry ground. I shall pour out my Spirit on your descendants, my blessing on your offspring, and they will spring up among the grass, like willows on the banks of a stream.”  (Isaiah 44:3-4). This living water comes from Jesus, the Fountain of Life, and renews our lives now and for life eternal. In mentioning the scent of water, Job was being poetic. He was also being prophetic. Little did Job realize that his picture of the scent of water revealed the truth that our salvation and sanctification involves the sensing of the Holy Spirit. Job, without knowing it, also anticipated the ultimate river of life in the New Jerusalem, flowing through the Tree of Paradise. (Rev. 22:1).

Revelation 22 – Come, Lord Jesus || Bible in Song || Project of Love