The Water of Life

What this episode covers

One of the greatest sounds a new parent hears is the sound of their baby crying for the first time. That cry lets us know that our child is alive and breathing. It also lets us know that they are uncomfortable. They want to be close to their mother. They are immediately placed upon the mother’s chest and, if possible, they should begin nursing right away. There is another kind of thirst that all humans possess from birth. However, this thirst is not something that can be quenched right away. In fact, it is a thirst that cannot be quenched by anything this world has to offer. That doesn’t stop us from trying. We are born with a thirst that nothing in this world can quench. Unfortunately, due to the fall, we fill up our medicine cabinet with all kinds of worldly solutions. Every label promises to provide lasting satisfaction with minimal side-effects. But it is like dousing hot sauce on our tongue; every dose only serves to increase our thirst. This text concludes with the only answer that truly satisfies. It is the offer to: Come to Jesus who freely offers living water so that you might never thirst again. Read Revelation 22:14-17. I. The Purification of the City (14-15) At the final judgment a separation takes place. The sheep will enter the city through the gates while the goats are banished. Those who recognize their filthy robes and wash them in the blood of the Lamb (Rev 7:14) have the right to enter into the city and partake of the tree of life (Rev 22:14). However, the word for “wash” is in the present tense. It indicates an ongoing washing. There is a sense in which salvation is past, present, and future. The emphasis here is the present, ongoing, washing that takes place in a believers sanctification. It is represented by our life of continual repentance. We have seen this group of saints before as they gathered in “white robes” to worship around the throne of God (Rev 7:14). These saints—which represents all of the elect—will have access to the tree of life that yields fruit all year round (Rev 22:2; Eze 47:12). The vision depicts the full number of the invisible Church gaining access to their eternal inheritance. We witness an outward symbol of this in church membership, but the blessings we experience now in the context of the visible church are a mere taste of the perfection that await us for all eternity. This reference to the tree of life makes plain the implication that the covenant of grace, which began in the garden of Eden (Gen 3:15) is now finally reaching its consummation at the end of this present age. The blessing of eternal life, that humans were barred from receiving after the fall, is now restored. All of redemptive history concludes with the separation of those who identify with God through his Son, and those who identify with Satan. Children do not always understand this, but it’s really difficult to smell your own stench. You might come home from the gym or working outside and have no idea how pungent you really are. You might even take a sniff of your armpit and still not detect an odor. The consequences of ignoring your filthy stench is that everyone else has to suffer breathing in the air that has been polluted by your presence. God has assured us that won’t happen in the New Heaven and New Earth. Those who remain in their filth will be banished from the city (Rev 22:15). They are never allowed to enter it (Rev 21:27). The list of wicked characters is not exhaustive, but they refer back to an almost identical list given in the previous chapter (Rev 21:8). There, this same group, is said to receive their portion in the lake of fire. They will receive their just judgment under the wrath of God. Jews referred to Gentiles as “dogs”, but considering these churches are made up of Gentiles, it probably refers to all who remain “unclean”. Alternatively, the reference may point to the Judaizers who continued to teach that circumcision was necessary for Gen

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