Saved by the Wellspring – Restored with Fresh Water in Paradise
Saved by the Wellspring – Restored with Fresh Water in Paradise.
“Heaven must receive Jesus until the time for God to restore all of creation, the Universal Restoration when all things will be made new, as He promised through His holy prophets from ancient times.” (Acts 3:21, in a sermon preached by Peter in the Temple).
SAVED: The Hebrew word for save is “Yasha,” which means to be set free into the wide open; to be delivered in a time of desperate need; to be saved from destruction and certain death. “Salvation” literally means to become spacious, and refers to “the sense of deliverance from an existence that had become confined, compressed, or cramped.” (Eugene Peterson). When Jesus delivers us from our inner spiritual confinement, we are liberated into a wide open, broad, expansive place. The word for “wide open space” is the opposite of a straitjacket. Without Jesus, our soul will never be freed from our spiritual straitjacket. There are three passages in Psalms that describe this freedom deliverance beautifully:
- “From my distress, I called upon the Lord. He answered me and set me on a large place. After being in a tight spot, the Lord placed me into a broad space. Because I was hemmed in, I called on Lord Yahweh. He answered me and gave me room.” (Ps. 118:5);
- “Lord, you have not given me over into the hands of the Enemy; You have liberated me and set my feet in a wide expanse, a good and spacious land. You have given me the freedom to roam at large, where I can freely move. You have given me room to breathe.” (Ps. 31:8);
- “The Lord rescued me because He delighted in me. He brought me out to freedom into a wide-open space. My soul has been delivered because of God’s love for me, and my soul finally has some elbow room!” (Ps. 18:19).
THE WELL: There are four Hebrew words used in the Jewish Bible to describe the different kinds of ancient wells. There was the traditional well that was a deep hole dug in the ground to tap into an underground source of water. Another type of well was a fountain spring that had naturally broken through the earth’s surface on its own without man’s help. The wellspring is another version of well in Scripture in which fresh water flowed out of the ground in any number of ways to become available for cleansing, nourishment, refreshment, for survival itself. Life-giving wells of water have always been a powerful picture of our dependence upon God for spiritual survival. Just as Creator God has designed the human body to completely depend on water to live, our spiritual life totally relies on His presence in us to not just survive but to flourish. God is our spiritual well of fresh water, the only stable source of nourishment and purity. He is our fountain of life that gushes forth to replenish and cleanse us. God is our eternal wellspring of living water that will never run dry. Each of us is born spiritually dehydrated, and God alone is the constant, reliable water source to bring us back to life. As the silly joke goes, wells are a deep subject, and the biblical wells involve such stalwarts as Hagar and Abraham; Isaac and Moses; Samson and Solomon; the psalmists and the prophets. And of course, the glorious Gospel fulfillment of all these ancient stories of wells… Messiah Jesus and the woman at the well. Finally, let’s not forget that one of the vital signs of Paradise just around the corner, the coming Messianic era, is our wellspring of life itself… God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. What could be a better symbol for heaven and eternal life with God than the perpetual wellspring and fountain of life-giving water?
Prophets of the Wellspring:
Isaiah – “They will never be hungry or thirsty, neither scorching sun nor desert wind will hurt them, for He, the Loving One, will guide them and lead them to restful, refreshing, renewing wellsprings of water.” (Isaiah 49:10).
Ezekiel – “My heavenly guide brought me back to the entrance to the Temple, and I saw a stream of water coming out from under the threshold of the Temple. The water was coming out in a trickle. He measured off the same amount once again, but the flow of water had become a gushing river that I could not cross. The water had risen and was deep enough to swim in… My guide then led me back to the bank of the river. When I arrived there, I saw a great number of trees on each side of the river. The man then said to me, ‘Where the river flows, everything will live… Fruit trees of all kinds will grow on both banks of the river. Their leaves will not wither, nor will their fruit fail, because the water from the Sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing.” (Ezekiel 47:1-12).
Joel – “And in that day the mountains shall drip sweet wine, and the hills shall flow with milk; all the streambeds of Judah will gush with waters, and a wellspring will come forth from God’s Sanctuary, the House of the Lord.” (Joel 3:18).
Zechariah – “The day is coming, known only by the Lord, when there will be one continuous day, neither day nor night, and every evening will be a fresh morning. On that day fresh living waters shall flow out of Jerusalem, half of it toward the Dead Sea in the east, and the other half toward the Mediterranean Sea in the west. And this wellspring will be flowing all year long through the dry seasons and the wet. On that day Lord Yahweh will be King over all the earth – One Lord, and His Name the only Name to be worshipped.” (Zechariah 14:7-9).
Apostle John – “For the Lamb who is at the center of the throne will be their Shepherd, and He will guide them to wellsprings of living water. God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” (Revelation 7:17).
“And Jesus said to me, ‘It is done! I AM the Apha and the Omega, the beginning and the end! To all who are thirsty I Myself will give life-giving water free of charge from the My wellsprings, the Fountain of Life.” (Revelation 21:6).
“Then the angel showed to me a pure river of living water, sparkling like crystal, the water of life flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb, right down the middle of main street! The Tree of Life was planted on each side of the River, producing twelve kinds of fruit, a ripe fruit for each month. The leaves of the Tree were used for medicine to heal the nations.” (Revelation 22:1-2).
“Come!” say the Spirit and the Bride; and whoever is listening, echo, “Come!” Is anyone thirsty? Come! Whosoever earnestly desires, come and drink freely from the living water, 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 wellspring of fresh water is free of charge, unearned, a gracious gift from the Living Well of Jesus, the Fountain of God. Come and get it, and lap it up!