No Longer Any Sea!
"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea." (Revelation 21:1)
This passage so encourages me and I pray it does you as well. Much like the passing away of the old sinful man and the birth of the new creation spoken of in 2 Corinthians 5:17, one day the old earth will pass away and be replaced with a new heaven and earth. In this new earth, there will be no sea! Many commentaries use the word "sea" here to refer to the tumultuous conflicting passions of our sinful flesh which will not exist once our bodies are glorified. Hallelujah! While this is a beautiful picture of the amazing reward of glorified, sinless bodies which the redeemed will receive by grace, it also depicts the complete sufficiency of Christ as the source of living water. In this new earth, there will be no need for physical water. We will drink from the spiritual rock of Christ!
"Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations." (Revelation 22:1-2)
Notice how the water that comes from the throne of God is crystal clear, not the salty, murky, polluted, sandy sea water with which we are familiar. This water is as pure as its source, which is Christ! He is the source of the Living Water!
"...I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost." (Revelation 21:6b)
"But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life." (John 4:14)
You've likely heard the colloquial saying, 'so parched I could perish'. As the redeemed, if any time goes by during which we are not immersed in the Word of God, which is Christ, we become dehydrated, parched Christians. Personally, it doesn't take me long to feel that way. I have a strong need to be in the Word throughout the day or I quickly become a worldly-minded, negative, sour, dry desert. I heard a wise man once say, "If you don't read your Bible, you'll go to hell!" That was highly offensive to many ears, but think about it...he's quite right! The Word is the means by which God saves us and then keeps us believing, encouraged, and strong to fight against the schemes of the evil one. The Word is how God communicates to us His will, His heart, and His saving gospel! The Word is how we learn of both the holy, righteous wrath and the unendingly merciful love of God's nature. The Word is the means by which God cuts our hearts and convicts us of sin, thereby purifying and sanctifying us, refreshing us with the freedom found in repentance.
"For the Word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart." (Hebrews 4:12)
May the Lord keep us hydrated with the Living Water of His Son through His Word while we are here on this earth. May He give us spiritual eyes to see and ears to hear the truths about Himself revealed in His Word that we may love Him more deeply and minister to one another more fully.
Thirsty?
This passage so encourages me and I pray it does you as well. Much like the passing away of the old sinful man and the birth of the new creation spoken of in 2 Corinthians 5:17, one day the old earth will pass away and be replaced with a new heaven and earth. In this new earth, there will be no sea! Many commentaries use the word "sea" here to refer to the tumultuous conflicting passions of our sinful flesh which will not exist once our bodies are glorified. Hallelujah! While this is a beautiful picture of the amazing reward of glorified, sinless bodies which the redeemed will receive by grace, it also depicts the complete sufficiency of Christ as the source of living water. In this new earth, there will be no need for physical water. We will drink from the spiritual rock of Christ!
"Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations." (Revelation 22:1-2)
Notice how the water that comes from the throne of God is crystal clear, not the salty, murky, polluted, sandy sea water with which we are familiar. This water is as pure as its source, which is Christ! He is the source of the Living Water!
"...I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost." (Revelation 21:6b)
"But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life." (John 4:14)
You've likely heard the colloquial saying, 'so parched I could perish'. As the redeemed, if any time goes by during which we are not immersed in the Word of God, which is Christ, we become dehydrated, parched Christians. Personally, it doesn't take me long to feel that way. I have a strong need to be in the Word throughout the day or I quickly become a worldly-minded, negative, sour, dry desert. I heard a wise man once say, "If you don't read your Bible, you'll go to hell!" That was highly offensive to many ears, but think about it...he's quite right! The Word is the means by which God saves us and then keeps us believing, encouraged, and strong to fight against the schemes of the evil one. The Word is how God communicates to us His will, His heart, and His saving gospel! The Word is how we learn of both the holy, righteous wrath and the unendingly merciful love of God's nature. The Word is the means by which God cuts our hearts and convicts us of sin, thereby purifying and sanctifying us, refreshing us with the freedom found in repentance.
"For the Word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart." (Hebrews 4:12)
May the Lord keep us hydrated with the Living Water of His Son through His Word while we are here on this earth. May He give us spiritual eyes to see and ears to hear the truths about Himself revealed in His Word that we may love Him more deeply and minister to one another more fully.
Thirsty?
Yes, The Holy Spirit is our Living Water!
"He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.'" But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
(John 7:38-39)
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