Return of GOD's River

[DavP]

One of the Bible topics I rarely if ever have heard preached in a Church from Bible Scripture is that of God's River upon this earth. I have heard songs about the waters of Life, like we shall gather at the river, and several kinds of symbolic metaphors about the waters of Life, which are mostly expressions of Christ's Salvation, pointing to that River or the Waters of Life as symbolic only; like it's just a spiritual idea, and not actual.

If that is all you have understood about that River, then hang around here to learn what God's Word actually teaches us about it.

Gen 2:10-14
10 And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads.

That "Eden"is God's dwelling place, the Garden of Eden. In that time when He formed Adam and placed him in His Garden, we were shown about His River there that flowed from His Garden of Eden into 4 heads, to feed 4 other rivers upon the earth. This places that River in that time upon... this very earth. It means GOD was here, literally living on this earth. That was before Adam and Eve fell in sin by disobeying His commandment to not eat from the tree in the midst of the Garden.

11 The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold;
12 And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone.
13 And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia.

We do not know where those above 2 earthly rivers of Pison and Gihon were located back then. One can only speculate.

14 And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates.
KJV

But we do... know where those 2 above rivers of the Hiddekel and the Euphrates are, because they both are still here on earth in the area of modern Iraq. The "Hiddekel" is another name for the Tigris river.

Thus back when GOD had established this present world, and formed the man Adam, and placed Adam in His Garden to till it, GOD's River flowed out of Eden and fed four other literal rivers upon this earth. That points to God's Garden of Eden actually being literally... located upon this earth at that time.

Understanding the above about GOD's River having at one time been upon this earth causes us to better understand the future coming event of the return of BOTH The Father and The Son back to this earth to live among us, literally...

Rev 21:3-4
3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God.

4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
KJV


When Adam and Eve in GOD's Garden broke His commandment and ate the fruit from the tree in the midst of the Garden, then GOD left this earth, and took The Tree of Life AND... His River of The Waters of Life with Him...

Gen 3:22-24
22 And the LORD God said, "Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:"

23 Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.

24 So He drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.
KJV

That is when GOD moved His Abode of the Garden of Eden off away from this earth, in the Heavenly dimension, behind a vail that we cannot see. To this day, that is where our Heavenly Father dwells, with His Son Jesus Christ sitting on the right hand of The Father's throne, and all the holy angels with Him. However, He promised to return to this earth.

In the very last verse of Ezekiel 48, the following will then be said at His future return about the holy city on earth...

Ezek 48:35
35 It was round about eighteen thousand measures: and the name of the city from that day shall be, The LORD is there.
KJV

(Continued...)

 

[DavP]

(Continued)

The Revelation 22 mention of the future return of GOD's River of the Waters of Life...

Rev 22:1-2
22 And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.

2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
KJV

Now nowhere in the Revelation 22 chapter is the literal earth mentioned, which has led some men to create pop doctrines about those things being off in the clouds somewhere, without an earth.

But on this earth... is exactly where God's Word in Ezekiel 47 declares His River and Tree of Life will be located in that future time of Christ's future Millennial reign.

Ezek 47:1-12
47 Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward: for the forefront of the house stood toward the east, and the waters came down from under from the right side of the house, at the south side of the altar.

Starting in Ezekiel 40, God by His angel begins giving His prophet Ezekiel a vision detail description of His future "house" on earth after Christ's future return. Ezekiel sees the holy city Jerusalem at Ezekiel 40:1-2, and then these details are given...

2 Then brought he me out of the way of the gate northward, and led me about the way without unto the utter gate by the way that looketh eastward; and, behold, there ran out waters on the right side.
3 And when the man that had the line in his hand went forth eastward, he measured a thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the waters were to the ankles.

The origin of those 'waters' began out of the eastward threshold of that sanctuary, which is Christ's future Millennial sanctuary here on earth. The angel measured a thousand cubits, and the level of the waters were up to Ezekiel's ankles.

4 Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through the waters; the waters were to the knees. Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through; the waters were to the loins.

The angel measured out another thousand cubits, and the level of the waters were up to Ezekiel's loins.

5 Afterward he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass over: for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over.

And finally, the angel measured out yet another thousand cubits, and those waters were waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over, likely because of flowing so fast.

6 And he said unto me, "Son of man, hast thou seen this?" Then he brought me, and caused me to return to the brink of the river.

Then the angel brought Ezekiel back to the river edge ("brink").

7 Now when I had returned, behold, at the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side and on the other.
8 Then said he unto me, "These waters issue out toward the east country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea: which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed."

The "east country" is eastward from the land of Israel. And those waters going into the desert and into the sea is pointing to the Salt Seal, or Dead Sea, for that is the immediate sea east of Israel. Ezekiel is shown those waters will be healed!

9 And it shall come to pass, that every thing that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live: and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed; and every thing shall live whither the river cometh.

Everywhere God's River flows upon the earth in that time will heal today's polluted waters. Brethren, this is not going to happen up in the clouds somewhere, it will happen upon this future earth once Christ's coming cleanses man's works off the surface of this earth.

10 And it shall come to pass, that the fishers shall stand upon it from En-gedi even unto En-eglaim; they shall be a place to spread forth nets; their fish shall be according to their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many.

The location of En-gedi is a fresh water spring oasis east of Israel on the western edge of the Dead Sea. It will contain fish comparable to those of the "great sea" (Mediterranean sea). "En-eglaim" has not been positively identified today. The point of this verse is that we well know where En-gedi was in Ezekiel's day and in our day, on earth. That means these waters flowing out of the sanctuary is on... this... earth in the future, meaning God's House, the Millennial sanctuary, will be on this earth at Christ's return.

11 But the miry places thereof and the marishes thereof shall not be healed; they shall be given to salt.

Those areas mean swamps. They will still be salt marshes and swamps.

12 And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine.
KJV

That is the Tree of Life. And it is about those many trees on either side of GOD's River flowing out of His sanctuary on earth. Their leaves won't fade, nor will their fruit be consumed (i.e., eaten up completely, kind of like a cup that is always full). And the leaf will be for medicine, for the healing of the nations of Revelation 22, remember?

So what we are shown by this, is that with Christ's future coming, God's House is coming to earth, and that House will be Christ's future "thousand years" sanctuary where He with His elect Church will reign from. And also at that time God's River will flow out from the eastward threshold of that sanctuary, healing all waters upon this earth that it comes into contact with, and on either side of that River will the Tree of Life will have also returned to this earth.

Now concerning God's "house" described there in Ezekiel 40 forward, that is the "Father's house" which Lord Jesus referred to in John 14, the place on earth where Jesus promised to prepare a place for His elect, the "many mansions", which are actually chambers of the priests described in the Ezekiel temple layout.

Some brethren seem to think the above event will only happen with God's future new heavens and a new earth, for after Christ's future "thousand years" reign. But there is an easy way to know that it will happen with Christ's future coming on the last day of this world...

The following events happen during... Christ's future "thousand years" reign...

Rev 22:14-15
14 Blessed are they that do His commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.
15 For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.
KJV

The only time when the future Millennial sanctuary (i.e., Ezekiel's temple) will exist is during the "thousand years" by Christ and His elect. When GOD's new heavens and a new earth time comes after that 1,000 years, that temple will be no more...

Rev 21:22
22 And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.
KJV

Furthermore, the wicked of Rev.22:15 above will no longer exist when Christ's "thousand years" reign is over, and God brings the new heavens and a new earth. The wicked will not see that new heavens and a new earth time. So just the fact that Rev.22:14-15 shows the wicked will still exist in that time when Christ's elect only will have the right to enter through the gates of the new Jerusalem, and have right to the Tree of Life established on earth in that time, shows that is still the "thousand years" Millennial reign timing. And Rev.22:1-2 and Ezekiel 47 both reveal GOD's River and the Tree of Life manifested ON EARTH with a Millennial sanctuary (temple), which shows those events happen with Christ's coming! Once the 1,000 year reign is over, along with the "lake of fire" event, The Father will bring the new heavens and a new earth event, which is what the Rev.20:11 verse is about.

So no more guessing, Our Heavenly Father and His Son, in HIS Word, has actually showed us about earth changes that are to happen upon this earth at Christ's future return, and also earth changes at The Father's future return to this earth after the "thousand years" reign by Christ. The earth changes that happen when The Father returns and brings the new heavens and a new earth are even more exciting!