FromNowUntilForeverBook8.5x5.5 REV.indd

mans 8:21-22).

Another key element of the new earth with its Holy City is the presence of a river –“ the river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, in the mid- dle of its street” (Revelation 22:1,2). Some view this merely as a symbol of God’s presence, to which I must disagree. Just like the Pishon, Gihon, Tigris, and Euphrates rivers held promi- nence in Paradise before the fall, I view this as an actual river with great visibility on the new earth. With that in mind, observe the source of the flow. I grew up on the banks of the mighty Ohio River in western Kentucky.This 981-mile waterway originates at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers in downtown Pitts- burgh. Tiny Lake Itasca (less than two square miles) in North- ern Minnesota, serves as the source of the mighty Mississippi River, which extends 2,350 miles.The world’s longest river, Africa’s 4,l60-mile Nile, has LakeVictoria as its source. No river on our present planet, however, can compare to the body of water on the earth to come.The fact that it orig- inates at the throne and Lamb of God symbolizes God as the source of all life. As the Father said, “He who finds me finds life” (Proverbs 8:35). Jesus, the water of life, promises that rivers of living water shall flow forth from the innermost of everyone who repents and trusts Him as Savior ((John 7:8). The Holy Spirit being represented by this living water clearly reveals God as the point of origination. Next, follow the river’s route, “in the middle of the street,” as noted above. Such geographic placement suggests prominence and enables access. London has the Thames, Paristhe Seine, and NewYork the Hudson flowing prominently through them, yet these and all those like them are but insig- nificant, trickling streams compared to the river of life spilling

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