Zechariah 14 foretold that the River of Life would flow from the throne of the Lord, and bring life where ever it flowed. The question of course is, has that River of Life been established? If it has, the kingdom of Messiah has been established, the resurrection has occurred!
Be sure to read the previous two articles on the River of Life as foretold by Zechariah 14.#1” href=”http://donkpreston.com/the-eschatology-of-zechariah-14-the-river-of-life-1/” target=”_blank”> #1 and #2” href=”http://donkpreston.com/the-eschatology-of-zechariah-14-the-river-of-life-2/” target=”_blank”>#2
Jesus and the River of Life
A pressing question is: Does the believer in Christ today have the Water of Life- the River of Life– that Jesus promised in John 4? If not the Old Covenant promises stand unfulfilled; and this means the Old Covenant stands as valid today (Matthew 5:17-18).
If we do not have the Living Waters today Israel remains God’s chosen people and the object of his promises of life. God’s promise of the Living Waters was to Israel, and “the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable” (Romans 11:29). God could not cut off Israel without fulfilling his promises to her. And when that “River of Life” would be “established,” it would flow to the nations, from Jerusalem.
If we do not have the Water of Life there is no resurrection from sin death today. Jesus, in John 5:24-25, said those believing in him have “everlasting life” and have “passed from death into life.” Notice the correlation between Jesus’ “water” that gives eternal life and this resurrection to everlasting life.
The River of Life and the Work of the Spirit
It was to be the work of the Spirit in the Last Days to bring about the River of Life through Messiah. Thus, we do not have the Living Water today the Spirit’s miraculous ministry is unfulfilled. But, if eternal life is the possession of the believer the Spirit has fulfilled his miraculous mission and those gifts have ceased.
Most believers would assert in the strongest terms that we do indeed enjoy the Water of Life in Christ today. But to affirm this has tremendous eschatological implications.
You cannot logically and Biblically affirm that the believer today has eternal life without thereby affirming that the River of Life, foretold in Zechariah 14 flows from the throne of the King Messiah!
It means Israel has been restored.
It means the Lord has come.
It means the kingdom has been established!
It means the resurrection has occurred!
We will explore some of these implications as we proceed. Be sure to read my book, Who Is This Babylon? for a more in-depth study of the River of Life as foretold in Zechariah. This is a wonderful and rich study!
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