When we read of this “river of water of life,” we notice that truth will flow as a mighty river, refreshing and blessing the whole earth (Rev. 22:1).  This river comes by means of the prospective members of the bride class that now have God’s spirit in them. The Bride is to become a “partaker of the divine nature.” She is to have within her a “well of water springing up into everlasting life” (John 4:14). Eventually, these wellsprings, brought together in glory with the Lord, shall provide “living fountains of waters” to which the rest of mankind will come,  to drink (Rev. 7:17). Christ and the church constitute the source of the great “river of water of life.” A corresponding testimony of the “living waters” is found in Zechariah 14:8.

Water is used in the scriptures as a symbol of life. We continue to pray “Thy Kingdom come” and not until that prayer is answered, can the river of water of life flow. This river of life can only come when the institutions of this world have been replaced by God’s kingdom.

Revelation 22:2 tells us there is in this kingdom, a tree to sustain life, reminding us of the “paradise” where Adam was driven from on account of sin. He could no longer eat of that tree, which would have kept him living. On each side of the river, the tree of life will bear twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month to the changing conditions of men as they are brought upward toward perfection. We can see how the Lord will rid mankind of its sin, sickness and imperfection.

This “river of the water of life” represents the blessed influence that will proceed to humanity from the glorified Christ, head and body, through the kingdom of God’s dear Son. The calling of the world’s attention to the “river of the water of life,” to the leaves of healing, and to developing the fruits of the spirit will be the message that will be promulgated in that kingdom. The result will be that the world shall hear, and all who love righteousness and hate iniquity will return again to life eternal.  Amen  