Who are These? - Rumor notes 36

 

(Revelation 7)

11 All the angels were standing around the throne, the elders, and the four living creatures; and they fell on their faces before his throne, and worshiped God, 12 saying, "Amen! Blessing, glory, wisdom, thanksgiving, honor, power, and might, be to our God forever and ever! Amen." 13 One of the elders answered, saying to me, "These who are arrayed in white robes, who are they, and from where did they come?" 14 I told him, "My lord, you know." He said to me, "These are those who came out of the great tribulation. They washed their robes, and made them white in the Lamb's blood. 15 Therefore they are before the throne of God, they serve him day and night in his temple. He who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them. 16 They will never be hungry, neither thirsty any more; neither will the sun beat on them, nor any heat; 17 for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne shepherds them, and leads them to springs of waters of life. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."

Standing around and/or before the throne. Keep in mind that this entire chapter is a direct answer to the question asked at the end of the previous chapter, Who is able to stand? Immediately the answer is given in the description here of a people symbolically described as 144,000. When John looks to see this group of special people, as is often the case in Revelation he sees something a bit different than what he hears described. What he sees standing before the throne is a great multitude.

After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude, which no man could number, out of every nation and of all tribes, peoples, and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, dressed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands. (Revelation 7:9)

Now we come to see the reaction of the rest of the watching universe who likewise are located in close proximity to these individuals. Let's review again what or who are found in this position.

1:4 and 4:5 the seven Spirits, seven lamps of fire, who are before his throne

4:6 something like a sea of glass

4:6 four living creatures full of eyes

4:4,10 twenty-four elders

8:2 the seven angels who stand before God

8:3 the golden altar

14:1-3 144,000 sing a new song before the throne

20:12 the dead, the great and the small

11:4 the two olive trees and the two lampstands, standing before the Lord of the earth

These are in contrast to what is found in the midst of the throne which is primarily the Lamb.

they fell on their faces before his throne, and worshiped God

Again we find reference to the throne as the central anchor point for all key activities. After saying these entities are standing around the throne, it emphasizes that their worship is before the throne as God is worshiped. We must not miss this, for it is central to appreciating the essence of the message throughout this entire book. All who are participating in the activities of the war on God's side of the conflict make their center in who is on and in the midst of the throne. This is their orientation, their center of attention, their frame of reference.

This phrase around the throne alerts us to a direct link with the previous statement that salvation belongs to God. When we imagine that salvation is all about us, about rescuing us from suffering and sin and darkness, we often are unwilling to look past ourselves to God's situation and seek to get God to do everything for us, as if the universe is supposed to revolve around saving us and we are the center of attention.

What is designed right into the creation model is the truth that God must be at the center for everything to function and flourish as designed. We are not at the center of salvation, for it is God's reputation that must be salvaged before order, harmony, joy and peace can reign forever and ever. Salvation means putting God at the center. Only then can life be restored to the original normal. This involves making God's salvation higher priority than our own as witnessed in the example of Moses when he argued against replacing rebellious Israel with his own offspring. Moses reminded God that His own reputation was at stake and was more important than punishing evil. Of course God knew this already, but He wanted to draw this out of Moses to demonstrate the effect that truth has on us when we come to value God's reputation more than our own salvation.

Just as electrons circulate around the nucleus of the atom and planets circulate around a star, we must make God the center of our attention for honor and worship and reorient our thinking to make Him the center and source for everything in our lives. This is what will accomplish the restoration, the salvation of God's reputation, by putting Him back at the center of salvation instead of ourselves.

What does it mean to fall on their faces?

To fall on one's face is the extreme version of bowing. The face is the focal point of identity, character and honor. Hiding the face is a way of removing attention from the worshiper to direct more honor and focus more attention on the face, the identity and the worth of the one being worshiped. Bowing also involves relative position, choosing to submit, to serve, to defer to.

I believe we might find some important insights by comparing the relative content of the praise songs found throughout the book of Revelation. Here I put them side by side, highlighting the key words the focus on the real truth about God's character.

4:9 the living creatures give glory, honor, and thanks to him who sits on the throne

5:12 Worthy is the Lamb who has been killed to receive the power, wealth, wisdom, strength, honor, glory, and blessing

5:13 To him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb be the blessing, the honor, the glory, and the dominion

7:12 Blessing, glory, wisdom, thanksgiving, honor, power, and might, be to our God

11:16-17 The twenty-four elders, who sit on their thrones before God's throne, fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying: "We give you thanks..."

12:10 Now is come the salvation, the power, and the Kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ

15:3-4 Great and marvelous are your works, Lord God, the Almighty! Righteous and true are your ways, you King of the nations. Who wouldn't fear you, Lord, and glorify your name? For you only are holy.

16:5 You are righteous, who are and who were, you Holy One, because you have judged these things

19:1 Hallelujah! Salvation, power, and glory belong to our God: for true and righteous are his judgments

19:6-7 Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns! Let us rejoice and be exceedingly glad, and let us give the glory to him

"These who are arrayed in white robes, who are they, and from where did they come?"

Arrayed in white robes

He showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of Yahweh, and Satan standing at his right hand to be his adversary. Yahweh said to Satan, "Yahweh rebuke you, Satan! Yes, Yahweh who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Isn't this a burning stick plucked out of the fire?"

Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and was standing before the angel. He answered and spoke to those who stood before him, saying, "Take the filthy garments off of him." To him he said, "Behold, I have caused your iniquity to pass from you, and I will clothe you with rich clothing."

I said, "Let them set a clean turban on his head." So they set a clean turban on his head, and clothed him; and the angel of Yahweh was standing by.

The angel of Yahweh protested to Joshua, saying, "Thus says Yahweh of Armies: 'If you will walk in my ways, and if you will keep my charge, then you also shall judge my house, and shall also keep my courts, and I will give you a place of access among these who stand by.

Hear now, Joshua the high priest, you and your fellows who sit before you; for they are men who are a sign: for, behold, I will bring forth my servant, the Branch. For, behold, the stone that I have set before Joshua; on one stone are seven eyes: behold, I will engrave the engraving of it,' says Yahweh of Armies, 'and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day. In that day,' says Yahweh of Armies, 'you will invite every man his neighbor under the vine and under the fig tree.'" (Zechariah 3:1-10)

"Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me; and the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, behold, he comes!" says Yahweh of Armies.

"But who can endure the day of his coming? And who will stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner's fire, and like launderer's soap; and he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi, and refine them as gold and silver; and they shall offer to Yahweh offerings in righteousness. Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasant to Yahweh, as in the days of old, and as in ancient years.

I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against the perjurers, and against those who oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and who deprive the foreigner of justice, and don't fear me," says Yahweh of Armies. "For I, Yahweh, don't change; therefore you, sons of Jacob, are not consumed.

(Malachi 3:1-6)

Robes denote identity, character and reflect what is on the inside. Joshua is represented as having filthy garments on, but this was to portray the internal condition, not merely external actions and disposition. The problem of sin is a heart contaminated with distrust of God that results in all the effects that sin causes in our lives. This is what must be refined out so our characters and motives can be pure.

When God comes near for judgment, it is not for the purpose of condemning our punishment but only for the purpose of exposing what is harming us and distorting His image within us. Jesus describes judgment as light coming that exposes what is hiding in darkness. God is light, so anytime God comes near judgment is going to happen. Yet for our characters to be restored to wholeness in preparation to live in the fire of God's passionate love, we must cooperate by using our will to give God permission to do the refining work inside of us. Otherwise His remediatorial work can never accomplish its intended purpose and we will not be sealed with the image of the Lamb in our heart and will succumb to accepting the mark of the beast which is its counterpart.

Judgment then becomes the means by which our characters can be refined and purified with the cleansing by the water of the word, the launderer's soap of heaven that dislodges all impurities in our mind and heart and sweeping away all the dross that floats to the surface of our gold and silver in the heat of trials. We have the option to choose to enter into judgment voluntarily before it comes upon the whole world. Choosing this option is highly preferable to trying to forestall it as putting it off can leave us lacking and susceptible to incriminating exposure after it is too late to affect necessary change in our lives.

Everyone is moving inexorably toward a condition of permanency of character, either reflective of the image of God as perfected by the Lamb of God, or reflective of the selfishness of Satan which is our fallen nature from birth. This is the polarization taking place today that will soon culminate in dividing the entire world into only two classes of individuals – those who reflect and emulate the Lamb and everyone else. It is up to each one of us to choose who we will follow and present ourselves to serve. And who we serve will in turn determine what kind of character will be formed within us which is represented by the metaphor of robes, either of light or of darkness.

Who are these?

The rest of this chapter gives the immediate answer to this question.

These are those who came out of the great tribulation...

James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greetings. My brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance; and let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing. (James 1:1-4 NRSV)

We also find answers to this question all throughout Scripture. Here are a few examples.

These are those who are found able to stand in the intense presence of pure, passionate love.

...the great day of his wrath has come; and who is able to stand? (Revelation 6:17)

The sinners in Zion are afraid. Trembling has seized the godless ones. Who among us can live with the devouring fire? Who among us can live with everlasting burning? He who walks righteously, and speaks blamelessly; He who despises the gain of oppressions, who gestures with his hands, refusing to take a bribe, who stops his ears from hearing of blood, and shuts his eyes from looking at evil-- he will dwell on high. His place of defense will be the fortress of rocks. His bread will be supplied. His waters will be sure. Your eyes will see the king in his beauty. They will see a distant land.

(Isaiah 33:14-17)

These are accomplices of the Lamb who obsessively follow and emulate Him all the time everywhere.

I saw, and behold, the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with him a number, one hundred forty-four thousand, having his name, and the name of his Father, written on their foreheads. I heard a sound from heaven, like the sound of many waters, and like the sound of a great thunder. The sound which I heard was like that of harpists playing on their harps. They sing a new song before the throne, and before the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn the song except the one hundred forty-four thousand, those who had been redeemed out of the earth. These are those who were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are those who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These were redeemed by Jesus from among men, the first fruits to God and to the Lamb. In their mouth was found no lie, for they are blameless. (Revelation 14:1-5)

These are those who have wrestled with God against their old false perceptions of identity and worth until they received from Him and taken hold of their true identity and name.

Jacob was left alone, and wrestled with a man there until the breaking of the day. When he saw that he didn't prevail against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh, and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was strained, as he wrestled. The man said, "Let me go, for the day breaks." Jacob said, "I won't let you go, unless you bless me." He said to him, "What is your name?" He said, "Jacob." He said, "Your name will no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have fought with God and with men, and have prevailed." Jacob asked him, "Please tell me your name." He said, "Why is it that you ask what my name is?" He blessed him there. Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for, he said, "I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved." (Genesis 32:24-30)

For thus says Yahweh: We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace. Ask now, and see whether a man does travail with child: why do I see every man with his hands on his waist, as a woman in travail, and all faces are turned into paleness?

Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's trouble; but he shall be saved out of it. It shall come to pass in that day, says Yahweh of Armies, that I will break his yoke from off your neck, and will burst your bonds; and strangers shall no more make him their bondservant; but they shall serve Yahweh their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up to them. Therefore don't you be afraid, O Jacob my servant, says Yahweh; neither be dismayed, Israel: for, behold, I will save you from afar, and your seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and shall be quiet and at ease, and none shall make him afraid. (Jeremiah 30:5-10)

Where did they come from?

out of every nation and of all tribes, peoples, and languages (v. 9)

came out of the great tribulation (v. 14)

They come from the wilderness where they fled from the threat of the dragon.

The woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that there they may nourish her one thousand two hundred sixty days.

Two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, so that she might be nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent. (Revelation 12:6, 14)

I heard another voice from heaven, saying, "Come out of her, my people, that you have no participation in her sins, and that you don't receive of her plagues, for her sins have reached to the sky, and God has remembered her iniquities. (Revelation 18:4-5)

Don't be afraid; for I am with you. I will bring your seed from the east, and gather you from the west. I will tell the north, 'Give them up!' and tell the south, 'Don't hold them back! Bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth-- everyone who is called by my name, and whom I have created for my glory, whom I have formed, yes, whom I have made.' (Isaiah 43:5-7)

Depart you, depart you, go you out from there, touch no unclean thing; go you out of the midst of her; cleanse yourselves, you who bear the vessels of Yahweh. For you shall not go out in haste, neither shall you go by flight: for Yahweh will go before you; and the God of Israel will be your rearward. (Isaiah 52:11-12)

In those days, and in that time, says Yahweh, the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Judah together; they shall go on their way weeping, and shall seek Yahweh their God. They shall inquire concerning Zion with their faces turned toward it, saying, Come you, and join yourselves to Yahweh in an everlasting covenant that shall not be forgotten. My people have been lost sheep: their shepherds have caused them to go astray; they have turned them away on the mountains; they have gone from mountain to hill; they have forgotten their resting place. All who found them have devoured them; and their adversaries said, We are not guilty, because they have sinned against Yahweh, the habitation of righteousness, even Yahweh, the hope of their fathers. Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and go forth out of the land of the Chaldeans, and be as the male goats before the flocks.

(Jeremiah 50:4-8)

Not just where do they come from, but why? They come because they are magnetically attracted by the allurements of the beauty of their divine lover.

"Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her. I will give her vineyards from there, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope; and she will respond there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt. It will be in that day," says Yahweh, "that you will call me 'my husband,' and no longer call me 'my master.'" (Hosea 2:14-16)

Who is this who comes up from the wilderness, leaning on her beloved? Under the apple tree I aroused you. There your mother conceived you. There she was in labor and bore you. (Song of Solomon 8:5)

What agreement has a temple of God with idols? For you are a temple of the living God. Even as God said, "I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they will be my people." Therefore, "'Come out from among them, and be separate,' says the Lord. 'Touch no unclean thing. I will receive you. I will be to you a Father. You will be to me sons and daughters,' says the Lord Almighty." (2 Corinthians 6:16-18)

Therefore they are before the throne of God, they serve him day and night in his temple. He who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them.

Why are they before the throne of God? Because He is forever their passionate focal point of attention, because they are hopelessly enamored with the charms of their great Lover, became no one else comes close to satisfying the deep hunger for intimacy, passion, fulfillment and pleasure that is found in the presence of the Lamb, the holy angels and the heavenly trio who is now embracing them as part of their own family, the divine inner circle of pure, passionate love and affection.

When this level of love is allowed access to the heart, there is no other possible response but to throw one's self into eternal bondage – the same bondage of love that compelled Mary to spend her fortune on lavishly pouring extravagantly expensive perfume on the body of Jesus in front of glowering, jealous men. It is the same kind of love bonds that compelled the apostles to insist in calling themselves the slaves of Christ and view it as a badge of highest honor. This is the only service of love that God is interested in receiving, for anything less is a terrible distortion and misrepresentation of the real truth about the level of love He has for all of His children, whether or not they ever accept or believe it.

God's temple is composed of His loyal children. This is the true dwelling place of God as is made clear in the plain words of Jesus to His disciples in John 15-17. To serve in His temple then, is to serve His agenda, His desires, reflect His passion to save as many as possible by synchronizing with His Spirit's work and movement within the context of the body of Christ.

Don't you know that you are a temple of God, and that God's Spirit lives in you? (1 Corinthians 3:16)

What agreement has a temple of God with idols? For you are a temple of the living God. Even as God said, "I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they will be my people."

(2 Corinthians 6:16)

What is meant when it says here that the one on the throne will spread his tent over them?

When Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain: and she came softly, and uncovered his feet, and laid her down. It happened at midnight, that the man was afraid, and turned himself; and behold, a woman lay at his feet. He said, Who are you? She answered, I am Ruth your handmaid: spread therefore your skirt over your handmaid; for you are a near kinsman. (Ruth 3:7-9)

What did this mean? It was a marriage proposal. This was understood and implicit in the actions of Ruth, and Boaz immediately understood and accepted the invitation by complying with her request. So when it says the one on the throne spreads His tent over them, it is about marriage intimacy.

"Let us rejoice and be exceedingly glad, and let us give the glory to him. For the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his wife has made herself ready." It was given to her that she would array herself in bright, pure, fine linen: for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. He said to me, "Write, 'Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.'" He said to me, "These are true words of God." (Revelation 19:7-9)

I heard a loud voice out of heaven saying, "Behold, God's dwelling is with people, and he will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with [in] them as their God.

(Revelation 21:3)

I will have respect for you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, and will establish my covenant with you. You shall eat old store long kept, and you shall move out the old because of the new. I will set my tent among you: and my soul won't abhor you. I will walk among you, and will be your God, and you will be my people. I am Yahweh your God, who brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, that you should not be their slaves; and I have broken the bars of your yoke, and made you go upright. (Leviticus 26:9-13)

My tent also shall be with them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. The nations shall know that I am Yahweh who sanctifies Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them forevermore. (Ezekiel 37:27-28)

Yahweh will create over the whole habitation of Mount Zion, and over her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory will be a canopy. There will be a pavilion for a shade in the daytime from the heat, and for a refuge and for a shelter from storm and from rain. (Isaiah 4:5-6)

This is the ultimate climate control, protecting people from all the dangers of the elements. This is accomplished on the macro scale like we use clothing, bedding and housing to do on a smaller scale.

The Word became flesh, and lived among us. We saw his glory, such glory as of the one and only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)

They will never be hungry, neither thirsty any more; neither will the sun beat on them, nor any heat; for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne shepherds them, and leads them to springs of waters of life. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.

They shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun strike them: for he who has mercy on them will lead them, even by springs of water he will guide them. (Isaiah 49:10)

Hunger and thirst results from internal lack of basic needs for food and water. Excessive sun and heat are brought on by external forces. The first set comes about from a lack of receiving what is needed internally; the second set is due to lack of protection from external dangers. This describes the ultimate resolution for relief from all lack of basic needs for those who have cooperated with God's methods to resynchronize them with the principles of life. They are being fully restored to harmony with the principles of life where they may enjoy the benefits of those principles, free of the negative effects caused by disharmony and evil.

neither will the sun beat on them, nor any heat

Why are these itemized separately?

The fourth poured out his bowl on the sun, and it was given to him to scorch men with fire. (Revelation 16:8)

He will wipe away from them every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; neither will there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain, any more. The first things have passed away. (Revelation 21:4)

Here is a possible clue.

The city has no need for the sun, neither of the moon, to shine, for the very glory of God illuminated it, and its lamp is the Lamb. (Revelation 21:23)

Here is seen a parallelism, a common literary technique in Scripture. The sun is viewed as the glory of God, the one the Lamb humbled Himself to reflect as a human mirror (2 Cor 3:18), even though He was originally equal in every respect with God (Philippians 2:5-7). Thus in humbling Himself to live as a reflector rather than the Originator, He models to us what it means to reflect God's glory similar to how the moon reflects the sun.

Why is this so key to understand and appreciate? Because sin is caused by our imagining that God is oppressive like the summer sun when it scorches with heat. In other words, because we came to believe that our pain and suffering is initiated and intentionally inflicted by God, we perceived Him as the source of damaging heat like Satan makes Him out to be.

As we embrace the truth about God's glory as the Lamb represents Him, we come to see that God is not abusive, not violent, is never the source of any evil rather than how Satan has led us to imagine Him to be. As we embrace and reflect the true glory of God like the Lamb shepherds us to do, we enter into His rest and escape the fears associated with our false ideas about God's heart. Only the Lamb can bring us into complete peace and prepare us to live in the blazing fire of God's passionate love without feeling scorched. All those who reject the Lamb's version of God experience torment in His presence as they perceive God's glory as scorching heat. It is all about our perceptions of God; this is what shapes the reality that defines our reactions.

What we imagine to be true becomes the determining factor in how we interpret events, surroundings, facts and relationships. This is always the case, which is why our beliefs determine our destiny.

the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne shepherds them

This is the seventh time the throne of God is mentioned in these last 8 verses. This is no coincidence, for the throne is the focal point of the entire book of Revelation, especially for all who are becoming bonded with the one sitting on the throne and the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne.

From his fullness we all received grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses. Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God at any time. The one and only Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has declared him. (John 1:16-18)

The thief only comes to steal, kill, and destroy. I came that they may have life, and may have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

(John 10:10-11)

I am the good shepherd. I know my own, and I'm known by my own; even as the Father knows me, and I know the Father. I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep, which are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will hear my voice. They will become one flock with one shepherd. (John 10:14-16)

Note the seeming confusion of the Lamb also being the Shepherd. Yet who would know better the needs of sheep than the most vulnerable among the sheep. God became one of us, fully identifying with our needs to earn our trust to let Him lead us back to life.

The throne represents the center of control which in the sanctuary was the ark of the covenant in the very heart of the temple. This implies the Lamb needs to be invited to shepherd and guide each follower from the strategic position of the throne within them, their own heart. All who allow the Lamb to continuously direct them from within their own heart, constitute the collective temple which is the body of Christ. In this way they become synchronized to function wonderfully as one body to collectively reflect God's glory by the indwelling Spirit of Christ.

leads them to springs of waters of life

These are those who were not defiled with women, for they are virgins. These are those who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These were redeemed by Jesus from among men, the first fruits to God and to the Lamb. (Revelation 14:4)

He said with a loud voice, "Fear the Lord, and give him glory; for the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and the springs of waters!" (Revelation 14:7)

He said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give freely to him who is thirsty from the spring of the water of life. (Revelation 21:6)

For Yahweh your God brings you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of springs, and underground water flowing into valleys and hills; (Deuteronomy 8:7)

The men of the city said to Elisha, Behold, we pray you, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord sees: but the water is bad, and the land miscarries.

He said, Bring me a new jar, and put salt therein. They brought it to him. He went forth to the spring of the waters, and cast salt therein, and said, Thus says Yahweh, I have healed these waters; there shall not be from there any more death or miscarrying. So the waters were healed to this day, according to the word of Elisha which he spoke. (2 Kings 2:19-22)

For with you is the spring of life. In your light shall we see light. (Psalms 36:9)

He turns a desert into a pool of water, and a dry land into water springs. (Psalms 107:35)

"Behold, God is my salvation. I will trust, and will not be afraid; for Yah, Yahweh, is my strength and song; and he has become my salvation." Therefore with joy you will draw water out of the wells of salvation. (Isaiah 12:2-3)

Then the lame man will leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute will sing; for waters will break out in the wilderness, and streams in the desert. The burning sand will become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water. Grass with reeds and rushes will be in the habitation of jackals, where they lay. (Isaiah 35:6-7)

For my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the spring of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water. (Jeremiah 2:13)

Yahweh, the hope of Israel, all who forsake you shall be disappointed. Those who depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken Yahweh, the spring of living waters.

(Jeremiah 17:13)

It will happen in that day, that the mountains will drop down sweet wine, the hills will flow with milk, all the brooks of Judah will flow with waters, and a fountain will come forth from the house of Yahweh, and will water the valley of Shittim. (Joel 3:18)

Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water." The woman said to him, "Sir, you have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. From where then have you that living water? Are you greater than our father, Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank of it himself, as did his children, and his livestock?" Jesus answered her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never thirst again; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life." (John 4:10-14)

Now on the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink! He who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, from within him will flow rivers of living water." But he said this about the Spirit, which those believing in him were to receive. For the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus wasn't yet glorified. (John 7:37-39)

He showed me a river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb, (Revelation 22:1)

This is in sharp contrast to contaminated springs caused by confused and contradictory beliefs about God in our heart. The heart is the source from which emerges what we believe about our identity. When the heart is filled with lies about the One we are created to reflect, the result is mixed signals that disable us from receiving from God according to James 1. In Hebrews and James we find warnings about what we allow to circulate in our thinking and feelings and our need to have our mind and heart purified from all contradictory opinions and beliefs about God.

The third angel sounded, and a great star fell from the sky, burning like a torch, and it fell on one third of the rivers, and on the springs of the waters. (Revelation 8:10)

But the things which proceed out of the mouth come out of the heart, and they defile the man. For out of the heart come forth evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual sins, thefts, false testimony, and blasphemies. (Matthew 15:18-19)

Follow after peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no man will see the Lord, looking carefully lest there be any man who falls short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and many be defiled by it; (Hebrews 12:14-15)

But let him ask in faith, without any doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven by the wind and tossed. For let that man not think that he will receive anything from the Lord. He is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. (James 1:6-8)

But nobody can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who are made in the image of God. Out of the same mouth comes forth blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring send out from the same opening fresh and bitter water? (James 3:8-11)

God will wipe away every tear from their eyes

I heard a loud voice out of heaven saying, "Behold, God's dwelling is with people, and he will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away from them every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; neither will there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain, any more. The first things have passed away." (Revelation 21:3-4)

Soak in this fresh view of God the Father as the one eager to comfort us in our deepest pain, sorrow, mourning and grief. Not just Jesus but the Father loves us just the same.

He will destroy in this mountain the surface of the covering that covers all peoples, and the veil that is spread over all nations. He has swallowed up death forever! The Lord Yahweh will wipe away tears from off all faces. He will take the reproach of his people away from off all the earth, for Yahweh has spoken it. (Isaiah 25:7-8)

For the people will dwell in Zion at Jerusalem. You will weep no more. He will surely be gracious to you at the voice of your cry. When he hears you, he will answer you. (Isaiah 30:19)

The Yahweh's ransomed ones will return, and come with singing to Zion; and everlasting joy will be on their heads. They will obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing will flee away. (Isaiah 35:10)

Your sun shall no more go down, neither shall your moon withdraw itself; for Yahweh will be your everlasting light, and the days of your mourning shall be ended. (Isaiah 60:20)

Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. (Matthew 5:4)

Note the contrast between gushing living water and the many tears caused by suffering. This is the contrast between joy and loss. What brings the greatest pain of loss are broken relationships. All losses that produce tears will in the end be resolved through an abundant restoration of relationships exponentially greater than the lack caused by what was lost.

Yahweh turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends. Yahweh gave Job twice as much as he had before. (Job 42:10)

Everyone who has left houses, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, will receive one hundred times, and will inherit eternal life.

(Matthew 19:29)

Peter said, "Look, we have left everything, and followed you." He said to them, "Most certainly I tell you, there is no one who has left house, or wife, or brothers, or parents, or children, for the Kingdom of God's sake, who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the world to come, eternal life." (Luke 18:28-30)

The Lamb shepherds the great multitude while God is seen wiping the tears away. Does this mean the tears come from the Lamb as well as the others? The Lamb is the synchronizing agent sent by God to restore our trust in His heart by joining us and identifying with us in our sorrows – Immanuel. In the end, God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – is the only One(s) who can bring final resolution to all the suffering and loss that evil has caused.

For, "He put all things in subjection under his feet." But when he says, "All things are put in subjection," it is evident that he is excepted who subjected all things to him. When all things have been subjected to him, then the Son will also himself be subjected to him who subjected all things to him, that God may be all in all. (1 Corinthians 15:27-28)

This is not at all about the final establishment of hierarchy, but its total annihilation through the unity of love alone as the only thing left standing. It is the final unification of humanity with the Godhead that Jesus prayed for earnestly in John 17. This has been the passion of God throughout history, and is constantly repeated in prophecy. This is the true purpose of judgment, which is nothing more than the revelation of the real truth about God's righteousness (Romans 2:5) that triumphs over all the lies, slander and damage that the enemy has caused throughout creation. This is the elimination of death itself as it is swallowed up in victory (1 Cor. 15:54) as love flowing from the springs of the heart of each person willingly responds to the yearning affection of the Spirit of God (James 4:5-6).