Preface

The catalyst for this teaching was provocation coming from my friend Wendy Yapp, the instigator of the Commonwealth Prayer Initiative [a temporary initiative that has since ended].  Wendy suggested some months ago that I write a piece about “the nations”. I believed this was right, but having sought God over this, the approach I have taken to this subject involves a rather unexpected direction. The main theme of this article is the River of God with the subsidiary theme being the healing of the nations which is provided by God’s River[1].

For many years I have seen Amos 3:7 as a pillar truth for understanding prophecy, ““For the Lord God does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets.”  Since I am convinced that in God’s order that every spiritual movement needs to be accompanied by an explanatory word, this article combines extensive biblical teaching with a broad consciousness of God working today in the midst of some specific happenings in the context of where, Perth Western Australia. Whilst the local issues are peculiar to my city, the foundational biblical principles underlying what I “see” God doing are transferable to the particular situation of anyone who reads this paper.

For this article I have also taken the unusual step of adding a number of Appendices. These are mainly prophetic writings and visions related to the central theme of the article and are added primarily as confirmation to its central message.

Introduction

There are times in the history of God’s dealings when nations and cultures are permeated with the divine presence. Secular historians cannot ignore the conversion of the Roman Empire, the impact of the Protestant Reformation on the history of Europe, the Evangelical Revival of the eighteenth century, the Second Great Awakening in nineteenth century America, the rise of the Salvation Army in Victorian England, and the contemporary explosion of Pentecostalism in Latin America and the mass turning to Christianity in China. These are times when the Spirit of God refuses to be contained and controlled by the insecurity of his people and floods through the Church into the land to bring healing to all the spheres of social and cultural life.

Jesus’ last recorded words in Matthew are justly famous, ““All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in  the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”” (Matt 28:18-20) This “Great Commission” is a command that has rarely been embraced by the whole Church. Today however we are for the first time in human history in an age of instantaneous global communication[2]. As the civil peace of the Roman Empire prepared the ground for the rapid spread of the gospel and the newly invented printing press accelerated the Protestant Reformation, so we are on the verge of a global movement of God.

Perth is one of the most isolated cities in the world[3], a venue often overlooked by the “big names” that tour the larger capitals on Australia’s east coast. However in October this year [2011] the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) will be hosted here, the largest gathering of world leaders ever to occur in Australia’s history. Representatives from the 54 Commonwealth nations located on all continents and totalling 2.1 billion people, as well as the Head of the Commonwealth Queen Elizabeth II, will be our guests. I believe this time represents a “coming of age” both for the state of Western Australia and also for the church in Perth. The signs of the times indicate that Jesus is preparing a mature church for his Return; this maturation is intimately tied to fulfilling the Great Commission, but in ways that will surprise ways. The dynamic that will see the ingathering of the nations to Christ has to do with the River of Life.

What is the River of God?

In recent weeks as I have thought and prayed, I have become increasingly conscious that our awareness of God is a share in his own self-awareness as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. At times I am able to sense the Father enfolding Jesus in his love and how the Son in turn enfolds the Father. The dynamic of this mutual enfolding of love is the movement of the Holy Spirit. In the context of God’s revelation of himself in scripture the River of Life is a dramatic way of imaging the life-giving activity of the Holy Spirit. The River of Life is the River of the Living God (2 Cor 3:3). Since the mutual interpenetrative love between the Father and the Son has no beginning, end or diminishment, the flow of the River of God is forever constant.

From our perspective situated in space and time within God’s creation, the River is God’s own dynamic nature flowing into human experience and the created world. The River of God cannot be encapsulated or confined to any limits, since the River is the Spirit, the River is always running through the whole of creation as Father, Son and Spirit glorify one another in all their creative, preserving and perfecting acts in time and eternity.[4]

A River for Mankind

A short time ago as I was I driving into the heart of Perth along Riverside Drive I had a sense that the Spirit wanted to speak with me about a spiritual river which was coming soon. The theme of “The River of God” has various popular contemporary expressions[5]; but the place to begin understanding the truth of this image is scripture.

Shortly after the account of the creation of man in Genesis 2:7 we have a description of the planting of the Garden of Eden, with a special note, “The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” (2:9). The life of these trees was sustained by the divine provision of a river. “A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it divided and became four rivers.” (Gen 2:10) God’s purposes for humanity symbolised by the tree of life and the tree of knowledge was dependent on the nourishing flow of Eden’s river. This first physical river was a type of the River of God flowing to convey to humanity the life God appointed us to enjoy forever. This was a life that was not meant to be restricted to the confines of Eden.

The LORD “blessed” Adam and Eve and commanded them, ““Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion” (Gen 1:28), this was a command whose breadth could only be fulfilled through their descendants. Within the Word of blessing was a creative power for multiplication that contained within it the genesis of the nations. Paul declares that the diversity of the people groups on earth is a part of the God’s original design, “And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth” (Acts 17:26). Unified with God and each other in covenantal love Adam and Eve were called to be the fruitful source of the nations of the world. Along with the ecological and climatic diversity of the earth, cultural and racial diversity within humanity were part of God’s original design. As they spread across the globe filling it “with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea” (Hab 2:14) the various emerging ethnic groups would have imaged different aspects of the divine majesty in a manner unachievable by any single culture. In perfect oneness they would have reflected the fullness of the “the manifold wisdom of God …to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places” (Eph 3:10)[6].

The unity that was required for God’s great artistry to be achieved through humanity depended on cooperation with the LORD at the deepest level of existence. The physical river that watered the beauty of Eden was visible, but the River of God always runs from within the hidden depths of his own being. The evocative speech of the psalmist, “Deep calls to deep at the roar of your waterfalls; all your breakers and your waves have gone over me.” (Ps 41:7) is the language of the heart. The temptation of Adam and Eve had as its goal the deepening of their living connection with the River of God.

The prohibition, ““of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”” (Gen 2:17) was a serious threat if death meant to stimulate the first humans to holy fear. Only in this way could the fullness of divine wisdom be imparted, as it is written, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.” (Prov 9:10)[7].The command not to eat of the tree of knowledge was God’s way of warning Adam and Eve, “Above all else, guard your heart, for from it flow the springs of life.” (Prov 4:23) If Adam and Eve had obeyed God’s command they would have discovered in his Word ““a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”” (John 4:14). The life-giving power of the Creator Spirit, the River of God, would have poured forth from their union with one another and their Creator down the generations so that each successive generation amidst the diversity of nations would have been discipled in the ways of eternal life. Catastrophically however God’s River was abandoned for another source.

The River Abandoned

The Satanic promise to Eve, “you shall not die” pledged that man could re-source the origin of life from God to self. The very reverse proved to be true. When Adam and Eve cut themselves off from the eternal wellspring of the life of God they experienced in themselves that deep spiritual dryness we now call shame. Shame is a sense of the loss of glory (Rom 3:23), it is humanity’s inner knowing that the eternal River of God no longer flows through our hearts. “O Lord, the hope of Israel, all who forsake you shall be put to shame; those who turn away from you shall be written in the earth, for they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living water.” (Jer 17:13)

The terrible state of our lost condition can only be measured by the pain it draws out of God, “Be appalled, O heavens, at this; be shocked, be utterly desolate, declares the Lord, 13 for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.” (Jer 2:12-13) The River of God has been exchanged for the filthy and polluted life stream of the river of fallen Man. The deceitful human heart now spews forth a torrent of evil, “For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22 coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”” (Mark 7:21-23).

In terms of the symbolic history of the Bible, the principal power opposing the flow of the River of God is called “Babylon”. The building of the tower of Babel[8] is a monumental attempt to set up human dominion apart from God. Instead of peaceably flowing over the face of the earth in obedience to the divine command (Gen 1:26-28), Babel is a symbol of unified rebellion and unbridled pride. God’s Fatherly concern, ““Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them.” (Gen 11:6) is recognition that unity in evil will reach torrential proportions unless impeded by divine action. Since the geographical dispersal of the nations will not come through submission, God scatters the people through an act of judgement. He “confuses the language of all the earth” (Gen 11:1-9). This tragic episode is the fountainhead of the disorder and division between cultures that we have experienced through all post-Edenic history.

The arrogance manifest at Babel reappears in all the great pagan cities of the Bible, each with their own river, Nineveh on the Tigris (Isa 8:7), Babylon on the Euphrates[9] and Rome, “the great prostitute who is seated on many waters” (Rev 17:1). These mighty metropolises are concentration points of the river of Man which as it flows against the River of Life. At the height of their powers such vast ungodly empires seem to sweep the River of God underground into a place of invisibility and impotence. The river of Man with all his brilliant achievements presents itself as the only true and proper river. Idols of family, nation, race, philosophy, science, art and religion abound, and every element of culture is permeated with the human lust for personal glory (John 12:43; Rom 1:23). We award ourselves honours, prizes and dignities, all without a mention of the One who poured on us his wonderful creative gifts. The river of lost humanity flows proudly and constantly against the River of God.

The River of God may seem invisible or reduced to the tiny channel of a faithful remnant, but inspired authors of the Bible understand that God’s own action in history cannot be dammed. It is the LORD who raises up the empires of Assyria and Babylon (Isa 7:18; 8:7; Jer 20:4; 21:10 etc.), and the Lamb upon the throne is sovereign over the forces of evil in their last outpouring against his people (Rev 13:5-10). For those with eyes to see below the surface of worldly phenomena, the River of God is moving with unstoppable power to cleanse and sanctify the people of God from their idols, especially in times of deep oppression[10]. The Church to which we belong is in the midst of such a time. Yet the River always runs on, this is the prophetic perspective of the Bible.

Rejoicing in the River of Redemption

The dominant note of scripture is rejoicing in the vitality of the River of God; the psalms are especially exultant: “They feast on the abundance of your house, and you give them drink from the river of your delights.” (Ps 36:8), “You visit the earth and make it overflow; you greatly enrich it; the river of God is full of water; you provide their grain, for so you have prepared it. 10 You water its furrows abundantly, settling its ridges, softening it with showers, and blessing its growth.” (Ps 65:9-10). Symbolically this is a picture of Canaan as the new Eden where the River waters the Promised Land. Wherever the River runs the bounty that God intended humanity to enjoy from the beginning blossoms into life once again.

Looking beyond the time of captivity in Babylon the prophets speak of an era when Zion shall know an end to all dryness. The LORD who poured forth water from the rock in the desert (Isa 48:21) will open rivers and fountains in the wilderness as the people of God march home from their exile (Isa 41:18 cf. 43:19-20; 58:11). God himself will visit his people with power, “From the west, people will fear the name of the LORD, and from the rising of the sun, they will revere his glory. For he will come like a rushing stream that the breath of the LORD drives along.” (Isa 59:19) Ezekiel sees a homecoming from banishment climaxed by a restored temple whose waters bring healing[11] wherever they flow. Flowing from out of the temple towards the east is a trickle of water that sells until it becomes a river that brings life “wherever it goes”.  “And on the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither, nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing.”” (Ezek 47:12). This is a picture of the restoration of creation, the River flowing from the house of God reverses the curse placed upon the earth after the Fall in Eden (Gen 3:17-19). Yet these majestic prophecies are limited by a focus on national Israel[12]. We need to press further into the testimony of scripture to find a more mature and cosmic picture which offers unlimited hope to the Gentile nations of the world.

Nations Will Delight in the River to Come

A time is coming when the River of God shall win over all peoples, the “river whose streams make glad the city of God….makes wars cease to the end of the earth”. The result is the universal acclamation of the LORD’s presence, “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”” (Ps 46:4, 9, 10) The onrushing power of the River through Zion into the all the nations totally transforms the consciousness of all the ancient enemies of Israel, “Among those who know me I mention Egypt and Babylon; behold, Philistia and Tyre, with Cush—“This one was born there,” they say.5 And of Zion it shall be said, “This one and that one were born in her”; for the Most High himself will establish her.6 The Lord records as he registers the peoples, “This one was born there.” Selah7 Singers and dancers alike say, “All my springs are in you.”” (Ps 87:4-7) In the vision of this prophetic psalm the spiritual identity of all nations is now grounded in the city where Yahweh dwells. The eye of the Old Testament seers however extended with even more insight into the manner of this global transformation.

“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he,
humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
10 I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem;
and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall speak peace to the nations; his rule shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.” (Zech 9:9-10)[13] At an unspecified future time, the lowly messianic King will bring the wholeness of Eden[14] to the entire world. That the River spoken of is much more than an earthly water course is established by a later vision in Zechariah.

“On that day there shall be no light, cold, or frost. 7 And there shall be a unique day, which is known to the Lord, neither day nor night, but at evening time there shall be light.8 On that day living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea and half of them to the western sea. It shall continue in summer as in winter.9 And the Lord will be king over all the earth. On that day the Lord will be one and his name one.” (Zech 14:6-9) This is a remarkable text in many ways. The reference to the oneness of God harks back to the primary confession of the Jewish people, ““Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.”” (Deut 6:4), and this is the only place in the Old Testament where the oneness and uniqueness of Yahweh is acknowledged by all nations on earth in a covenantal manner. “On that day” of the LORD’s universal kingship there will be perpetual light, a time without clouds or rain. The living waters flowing out of Jerusalem will find their source in God; they are the River of God flowing directly from his throne. Eden has been fully restored. This is the same “that day” when “there shall be a fountain opened” to cleanse from all sin and uncleanness (Zech 13:1). Every element of human need is satisfied by the River of Life.

A powerful visionary consensus emerges from the pages of the Old Testament. At the climax of history the prophetic insight embraces Zion as the headwaters of an eternal stream that will heal all peoples. This time of universal restoration will draw its source from the reign of a peaceful King. How all this will be brought about in human history could not expounded until the coming of Jesus, the one through whom the River of God flows without limit (John 3:34).

The River Flows Anew

Remarkably, the first occasion when Jesus refers to himself as the source of God’s great healing stream is in his conversation with a Samaritan woman, a member of a despised nation outside of the covenant people of God. “Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this (natural) water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”” (John 4:13-14) The long expected end-time River of Life flows through Christ himself; he is the imparter of the River. On a later occasion Jesus prophesies a fulfilment greater than any Old Testament anticipation.

“On the last day of the festival, the great day, while Jesus was standing there, he cried out, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, 38 and let the one who believes in me drink. As the scripture has said, ‘Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.’ ” 39 Now he said this about the Spirit, which believers in him were to receive; for as yet there was no Spirit, because Jesus was not yet glorified.” (John 7:37-39)[15]

On the occasion of these words Jesus is present teaching at the Jerusalem temple. It is the time of the Feast of Tabernacles on whose last day water was poured out at the temple altar to symbolise the refreshing water flowing out of the rock in the wilderness (Ex 17:6; Num 20:11) and the anticipated outpouring of the Spirit in the Messianic age (Ezek 47). Jesus’ prophetic words however go far beyond these expectations; the life giving River of God will flow out of those who believe in him. The nature of this fulfilment is not yet clear since it awaits an event yet to come, for “as yet there was no Spirit, because Jesus was not yet glorified.” This literal rendering of the Greek text is at first sight highly puzzling; to suggest that “there was no Spirit” seems to contradict not only John’s own theology but the whole Bible. This is why most translations insert the word “given” into the text to simply the meaning, i.e. “the Spirit was not yet given”.  This gives a reasonable sense to the passage, but it is not what text actually says! The paradox concerning the Spirit’s “non-being” can only be resolved in terms of what it means for Jesus to be “glorified”. In John’s Gospel the answer is plain; the glorification of Jesus is concentrated in the cross.

In the midst of deep distress Jesus receives a divine revelation from heaven about the reason of his death, “Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” 30 Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not mine. 31 Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. 32 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” (John 12:27, 29-30) The “lifting up” from the cross will be the hour when Jesus is glorified by the Father. As Jesus draws closer to the cross this theme finds further fulfilment. When Judas goes out to betray him to death Jesus states, ““Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. 32 If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and glorify him at once.””(John 13:31-32; Cf. 12:16; 17:1). To more closely establish the link between the flowing of the River of God through believers in Christ and his glorification through suffering we need to examine the wider context of scripture.

The connection between the coming of the River and Jesus’ glorification through death and resurrection involves the scene of greatest Flood epic of the Bible. Long before the coming of Jesus the LORD’s “heart was filled with pain” at the sight of human wickedness that he was moved to cleanse evil from the earth through the deluge of Noah (Gen 6:5-7). Sadly, in a short time evil multiplied all the more, a more final and penetrating purification of humanity was needed than a mere physical flood could achieve. The cross is the site where the River of God overwhelms the river of Man through a tsunami of judgement falling on God’s own Son. The psalmist prophetically speaks of Jesus’ agony on the cross as an experience of being inundated by a cascade of evil, “Save me, O God! For the waters have come up to my neck. I sink in deep mire, where there is no foothold; I have come into deep waters, and the flood sweeps over me” (Ps 69:1-2)[16] In taking upon himself the sin of the world (John 1:29) Jesus finds himself inundated by the “deep waters” of iniquity.[17]  This is why he cries out, ““My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”” (Mark 15:34). Into Jesus’ own heart is poured all the formless and empty realms of evil outside the light, beauty and wisdom of God. The lingering appeal from the cross, ““I thirst”” (John 19:28), speaks of a drought of the presence of the divine love more severe than that ever endured by any other human person. The cross is the place where the River of God in its holy and infinite opposition to every conceivable form of evil meets the filthy and polluted river of Man. The agonising confluence of the two rivers in Jesus’ innermost being leaves only one surviving stream, everything human is now cleansed and purified.

How Christ’s suffering and glorification results in a the flow of life from God is made explicit in Isaiah’s prophecy of the cross, “Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see light and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.” (Isa 53:12) The outpouring of Jesus’ soul for lost humanity is the direct cause for his personal resurrection and enthronement as King, that is, as the humble King who will bring healing to all nations (Zech 9:9; Matt 21:5).

We now understand that the healing River flowing from the renewed Temple in the images of the Old Testament finds its true fulfilment in the destruction and resurrection of the temple of Jesus’ own body (John 2:19-21). Christ is the shattered cornerstone from which God builds the end-time temple (Matt 21:42; Acts 4:11; Eph 2:20; 1 Pet 2:6-7) through which flow the endless rivers of the water of life. There is yet one more passage to consider about the cross before we can explain fully how “there was no Spirit” until Jesus was glorified. It is a passage full of deep symbolic truth.

“After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.” 29 A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. 30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. 31 Since it was the day of Preparation, and so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken and that they might be taken away. 32 So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who had been crucified with him. 33 But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. 34 But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water. 35 He who saw it has borne witness—his testimony is true, and he knows that he is telling the truth—that you also may believe. ” (John 19:28-35)

The apostle John’s stated reason for describing the flow of water and blood from Jesus’ side in John 19, “that you also may believe”, cannot be separated from “rivers of living water” that “those who believed in him were to receive” in John 7. The two passages are intimately connected on another level. The word for “side” in John 19 is the same as that used for “heart”/“innermost being” of the believer in John 19. The water that flows from the pierced side of Jesus symbolises the outpouring of the Spirit from Christ which will soon rush through the Church into the world. As we look at the water flowing from the side of the crucified Lord and “believe” that he is the Redeemer whose blood has cleansed away our sin , we know ourselves to be among those “believers” the living waters begin to stream though us. The River flows from the inner life of the Christian because we are in union with Jesus from whom the Spirit is continually poured forth. We can finally conclude our discussion of the meaning of “the Spirit was not yet”.

At the time of Jesus’ declaration on the temple steps in Jerusalem, “the Spirit was not yet” (John 7:39) in the sense that the Spirit of God was not yet “the Spirit of Jesus”[18]. The Spirit of God could only become the Spirit of the human being Jesus (1 Tim 2:5) through his death, resurrection and ascension into heaven, i.e. his glorification. From that point on the divine love of the Spirit is “incarnated” in the human love of Christ. Through his exaltation the River of God and the river of the humanity renewed in Christ are fully one. Once Jesus is glorified the Spirit is poured forth from Christ’s perfectly God-centred humanity into the hearts of believers (Rom 5:8). This must not be thought of as limited to intense emotional experiences, the River of the Spirit comes to penetrate all possible expressions of culture and race in the service of the kingdom of God. “The fruits of the Cross ripen on the ubiquitous (all-present) Tree of life for it is ever there on the banks of the River, and its leaves ever heal even the nations of the world.” (Bingham) This vision of the humanising of the Spirit’s work in creation is cosmic in scope.

The Giver of the River

From the time of John the Baptist God announced that the Messiah and Lamb of God would be the one who “baptises with the Holy Spirit” (John 1:29-33; Matt 3:11; Luke 24:49). This is a remarkable claim, for in the period of the old covenant only the LORD himself could send his Spirit. Now however, since the Holy Spirit “has become ‘the Spirit of the man’ (i.e. the man Jesus, the man now exalted and glorified).”(G.C. Bingham), it is Jesus who pours out the Spirit (John 7:39; 20:22; Acts 2:33). The Holy Spirit can come to us only through the perfected humanity of the Son of God. The glorified Jesus immerses us in the River of everlasting life in which he now lives and moves and has his (human) being. From the overflow of his heart filled to overflowing with the love of the Father’s Spirit that he is able to give of the flow of God’s own life to those who confess his Lordship. This is what happened on the day of Pentecost.

Suddenly, all those who received of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost found themselves overflowing from the inside with “rivers of living water” in a stream of love for God and humanity. Filled with the Holy Spirit they all testified to the mighty works of God and people preached powerfully of the risen Christ, thousands plunged into the River and were cleansed from their sins (Acts 2). This is a phenomena repeated throughout the book of Acts, not only Jews but Samaritans (Acts 8:17) and Gentiles (Acts 10:34-48; 19:1-6) come under the cascade of the outpoured River of Life where all is cleansed and forgiven. This River of Love permeated all relationships so that a remarkable and characteristic form of life emerged.

“And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved…. Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. 33 And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. 34 There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold 35 and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.” (Acts 2:42-47; 4:32-35).

The love, generosity and unity of the early church were the fruit born and nurtured by the River of Life flowing from above. As a community they were a colony of heaven, for they looked like Jesus. We soon see the River flowing beyond the confines of Israel, to Judea, Samaria and the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8), the testimony of apostles culminates in Rome (Acts 28), the River of God has reached Babylon herself, and it runs on still. As in the days of the apostles we are absolutely dependent on Jesus to give us streams from heaven for the empowerment of life and ministry.

One of the great truths that God is restoring today is that the kingdom of God builds the Church, and not the other way around (Matt 16:16-19). It is a fatal mistake to identify the Church with the kingdom of God because this inevitably leads to a form of church-centredness that grieves the Spirit of God and cuts God’s people off from the dynamic of heavenly supply. This is why the history of the Church has been a repeated cycle of ebb and flow. As the Church expands it becomes self-reliant, God withdraws his power and the institutions of Christianity lose their spiritual impact on the nations. In the time of dryness that follows thirsty prayerful believers seek God once again, revival power falls from heaven and the Church expands once more. Soon however the cycle repeats itself again.  It is vital therefore that all our understanding of Christian ministry be set in terms of the River of God[19].

The River finds its closest connection with the Church through the confession of the Lordship of Christ (1 Cor 12:3). This certainly is the testimony of all Christians (Rom 10:9-10) but finds special concentration in terms of the so-called Five-Fold Ministry, an expression drawn from one central text which appears to list five major ministry gifts. “Therefore it says, “When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.”… 10 He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) 11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for works of service, for building up the body of Christ” (Eph 4:8, 10-12). This passage teaches that the gift of the Five-Fold Ministry is a consequence of Jesus’ ascension (v.9)[20]. We need to examine the New Testament teaching about what happened when Jesus went up to heaven.

Christ ascended into heaven as a glorified human being to become the heavenly dwelling place of God (Heb 8:1-2; 9:11-12). Jesus himself is both the ultimate temple and place of sacrifice. The powerful presence of his cleansing blood in the most holy place in the heavenly tabernacle (Heb 9:12; 25) provides the basis for the fulfilment of all the Old Testament prophecies linking the temple with the flow of the River of God. The Spirit outpoured by Jesus unites the temple in heaven with the temple on earth, the Church (1 Cor 3:16; 6:19; Eph 2:19-22). The inner reality of this union is the sanctifying power of the blood of Christ in both heaven and earth[21]. The River of God flows as a life-giving presence which communicates Jesus heavenly glory to those cleansed by his death on earth. Regeneration means the old fallen heart of man is replaced by a new heart sprinkled clean from guilt and shame by the blood of Christ (Jer 31:31-34; Heb 10:22). The old heart produced the well spring of the river of Man, filthy, evil and polluted. The outflow of the blood cleansed heart is pure and holy. As has been well said, “What the cross cleanses the River fills.”[22]

The author of Hebrews speaks of this action of the cross in a way that enables us to connect the divine stream to the Five-Fold Ministry more directly.“For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, 14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God” (Heb 9:13-14; cf. 12:24). There are two vital points in this passage. The first links the Spirit, the bringer of the river, with the state of the believers blood cleansed conscience. Those who have been purified from guilt and shame by the death of Jesus are motivated to serve God not from duty, obligation or to merit salvation, but solely out of grateful love. The running of the holy River is through a holy heart which grasps by faith that through the death of Christ no fundamental impediment exists that would block the indwelling dynamic of the life of God.

The second point that this passage illuminates has to do with acts of ministry themselves. Hebrews says that Christ’s blood frees us “from dead works to serve the living God”. These purified “works” that “serve” God must be the same “works of service” which flow from the Five-Fold Ministry to the Church (Eph 4:12). They are heaven sent works purified by the blood of Christ and empowered by the Spirit. As such they do not partake of striving, self effort or personal profiling that sometimes characterises prominent ministries. They are the fruit of the River of God flowing down to us from heaven in fulfilment of the prophetic promises of scripture.

Paul words at the commencement of Ephesians 4, “when he ascended on high”, are in fact a quote from Psalm 68, “You ascended on high, leading a host of captives”. This prophetic song describes the enthronement of the LORD Mt Zion he rules over the rebellious nations. Most importantly for the purposes of our theme the psalm goes on to say, ““Bless God in the great congregation, the Lord, O you who are of Israel’s fountain!”” (Ps 68:18, 26). The River of God is equated here with the outpouring of God’s blessings upon his “great congregation”. At the time of the writing of the psalm the congregation that was blessed by the divine fountain was Israel, now this blessed community is the Church. In the context of the connection between Psalm 68 and Ephesians 4 The Five-Fold Ministry that derives from the gifts of the ascended Christ should be understood as a channel of the River of Life. As such these ministries should never draw attention to themselves for they must acknowledge that Jesus alone holds “the seven stars…the angels of the seven churches”[23] and has “the seven spirits of God” (the Spirit in His fullness) (Rev 1:20; 3:1). Christ is the sole possessor with sovereign dominion over the River of God for good of the Church. This ruling aspect of Jesus’ life is fully directed to the great goal of God from the beginning of creation- his glory in the nations.

The River, the Church and the Nations Today

The final vision of the Bible contains a powerful picture of the River of God that needs to be understood as central to all of God’s purposes in saving history.

“Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3 No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. (Rev 22:1-3)

These prophetic words about the final future of all things are not to be understood as some sort of Christian clairvoyance. Through the coming of Jesus the reality of the kingdom of God as the power which will shape the End broke into human history (Mark 1:15; Luke 17:21). The writers of the New Testament grasped in their own experience that the coming of the kingdom of God means the in-breaking of heaven’s presence and power NOW. They were imbibing a spiritual atmosphere and a drinking from the River that provided an essential continuity between the present and eternity.

Through the union between the Church on earth and Christ in heaven as Lord of the River, much of what the scripture teaches about the future River of God applies in our time. Since in the final and perfected state of creation the city of God, the temple of God and the Church of God exist in a perfect oneness[24], the “rivers of living water” which flow through the heart of the believer today (John 7:38) must be seen outflowing of the final River which will heal the whole creation. The outpoured Life of God in me and the outpoured Life of God in heaven are one Life. Despite many contrary appearances, the Church is God’s chosen medium through which the entire creation is in the process of being restored. This is not fanciful speculation but is clearly taught in scripture.

In his conversation with Nicodemus Jesus expounded a deep connection between “born again” and the kingdom of God. “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”…. “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (John 3:3, 5). The term Christ uses for “born again” can also mean “born from above” i.e. heaven, and is commonly expressed as “regenerated”. A person who is “born again from heaven” enters into the reality of the kingdom of God. This is the same power of God’s Holy Spirit which constitutes the coming new creation (Matt 12:28; Heb 6:5). Jesus’ speaking of being “born of water and the Spirit” does not refer simply to any connection between the physical water of baptism and the Holy Spirit. Prophetically it symbolises that it is the active healing dynamic of the River of God coming upon a person at conversion that translates them from death to life. They are immersed in the reality of the new creation in Christ (2 Cor 5:17; Gal 6:15) where River of Life makes all things eternal (Rev 22:1-3).

This truth that the River of eternity is already running through the believer in Jesus is revealed in another of his sayings. ““Truly, I say to you, in the regeneration[25], when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones”” (Matt 19:28). “In the regeneration” refers to the final transformation of all things at the End i.e. the content of the final vision in the book of Revelation which speaks so powerfully of the River of Life. The final regeneration spoken of in Matthew 19 is not only linguistically connected to our personal regeneration (being “born again”) in John 3, but the two are one in substance. All the power and presence of the rushing River of God which will renew the whole cosmos in the future has already renewed us in Christ! The coming heavenly world is not something alien to the believer for we already live by its reality. This is a truth confirmed by the preaching of the apostles.

In Acts 3 we have the powerful story of the healing of the crippled man at the Beautiful Gate of the Jerusalem temple. This gate was most likely located on the east side of the temple, a factor that will add significance to the story. When a crowd came together in response to the miracle Peter began to preach a message which included this proclamation. “Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, 20 that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, 21 whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago.” (Acts 3:19-21)

The “times of refreshing” of which Peter speaks are the times of the flowing of the River which the prophets proclaimed long ago. Isaiah for example spoke of a time of supernatural abundance, “until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field, and the fruitful field is deemed a forest.” (Isa 32:15) This language speaks of the return of the vigour of physical life in Eden when the Garden was nurtured by an encircling river. Peter sees such predictions being fulfilled at a deeper spiritual level. The “times (plural) of refreshing” that the apostle proclaims had in fact began at the Day of Pentecost, when the Spirit was poured out on “all flesh” and men and women repented at the preaching of the gospel of Christ for the first time (Acts 2:28-39). Those who joined the emerging church entered into a realm of supernatural power, great joy and wonderful fellowship (Acts 2:42-47). The River was running through the midst of humanity with speed and power as never before.

In the context of our key passage (Acts 3), after Peter said to the crippled man, ““In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!””, we read, “And leaping up he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God” (Acts 3:6, 8). The energy displayed by the restored man is infallible evidence of the “times of refreshing”. This miracle is more than the record of God’s bounty to a single individual; it is an immersion in the flowing of the River that will heal the whole cosmos. That such powerful restoration is done “in the name of Jesus” reveals that the renewal of creation has come in Jesus as the resurrected Lord of all things. Rivers of living water were poured out by the heavenly Lord through Peter bringing to the crippled a vital share in the glorification of the Son of God. If the Beautiful Gate where this sign occurred was located on the east side of the temple, Ezekiel’s vision of healing rivers flowing from the eastern part of the end-time temple is already being fulfilled in the ministry Jesus is releasing through his Church. Today throughout the world wherever rivers of living water flow out of believers to save, restore and deliver, they proclaim the message, “Jesus has been glorified!” Within this witness to the glorification of Christ is contained the revelation that entire universe shall be healed. All believers are to be engaged in the restoration and transformation of the creation.

The Holy Spirit was not given merely once in history, since the time of Jesus’ glorification the Spirit has “poured out” on the Church again and again (Acts 2:33; 10:45; Tit 3:5-6). It can be truly said of every Christian, “God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” (Rom 5:5), “13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body…and all were made to drink of one Spirit.” (1 Cor 12:13). The command “keep on being filled with the Spirit” (Eph 5:18) is a constant exhortation to drink of the waters of God. Paul could say to the believers in Colossae, whom he had never met, “the gospel, 6 which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world…is bearing fruit and growing” (Col 1:6). He knew that you also knew that the River released by the gospel brings fruitfulness wherever it flows.

We are familiar with the revolutionary tales of the New Testament Church, the conversion of the Roman Empire, the Protestant Reformation, the Evangelical Revivals that touched Europe and America, and the great missionary movements of the subsequent centuries that took the gospel into the entire world. The River of Life has never ceased to run. If we as Western Christians were to lift up our eyes we would see that nations which were once dry places are flowing with water; barren desert lands are producing a harvest for the kingdom of God. A generation ago who would have thought that South America is on the threshold of becoming an Evangelical continent, that thousands of churches are being planted in India, that there would be millions of secret Arab believers in the Middle East and that sociologists would be predicting a Christian China.

We are seeing fresh movements of prayer in every nation of the world; the Global Day of Prayer has involved tens of millions of believers for a decade, the 24/7 prayer movement is bearing fruit 100 fold. In nation after nation there are movements of unity for the healing of the nations. The grass roots explosion of “marketplace Christianity” is another sign of the ever-present River.  “Sometimes we find the River has reached where we never dreamed it would. It is in the arts, in the music, in the singing, in the trades and professions, in the tragedies of a sin-stricken society. That River flows anywhere and everywhere. Nothing can prevent its flow.” (Bingham).

Yet looking out over the landscape of the spiritual wilderness land of secular Australia there is little sign of the flow of the mighty torrent of God[26]. Again and again newcomers to this land have expressed to me their spiritual culture shock when they realise that whatever our previous heritage there are fewer and fewer signs that this is a “Christian country.” To explain why this is so, and to envision where God is moving in it all, we must consider another river, the river of Satan.

The Last Great Vomit of Satan

The above title comes from two main sources; one is a scripture that will be discussed below, the other is from G. Campbell Morgan, a renowned Bible teacher and revivalist of the last century. Morgan described the outbreak of spiritual activity in Azusa Street Los Angeles (1906), the birthing of Pentecostalism, as “the last vomit of Satan.” The importance of the attitudes of Christians to each other for the free flow of the River of God will become clearer as we proceed. Our key passage however is the dramatic portrayal of the spiritual conflict enveloping heaven and earth portrayed in Revelation 12.

“And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. 2 She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth. 3 And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems. 4 His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour it. 5 She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne, 6 and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, in which she is to be nourished for 1,260 days.

7 Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, 8 but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. 9 And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. 10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. 11 And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. 12 Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!”

13 And when the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. 14 But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle so that she might fly from the serpent into the wilderness, to the place where she is to be nourished for a time, and times, and half a time. 15 The serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, to sweep her away with a flood. 16 But the earth came to the help of the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed the river that the dragon had poured from his mouth. 17 Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. And he stood on the sand of the sea.”

This passage is full of highly symbolic material. The “woman” represents faithful Israel, who gives birth to the Messiah. Satan, represented by a vicious dragon, seeks to devour the male child born to the woman, one “who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron”. Throughout Revelation “the nations” are consistently portrayed as bodies under the devil’s deceiving power (12:9; 13:14; 18:23; 19:20; 20:3, 8, 10). Since the rule of the woman’s son and the rule of Satan are essentially incompatible, the struggle between the two rulers and their respective followers is to the death. This is a major theme throughout Revelation. In the part of the story before us the woman safely gives birth and her child is snatched up by God to his heavenly throne escaping the power of the dragon. This is a description of the ascension of Jesus to heaven and signifies his complete triumph over all evil powers. Within the emphasis of this article ascending to the Father marks the final stage of Christ’s glorification prior to his pouring out the River of God upon the earth (John 20:17). The exultation of the humanity of Jesus triggers off angelic warfare in heaven. Satan is overcome and cast down from heaven to earth, “in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!”

Since the Book of Revelation is framed in its thinking by the image of the Lamb, “Lamb standing as slain” (Rev 5:6), i.e. dead and resurrected, the scenario that follows is to be anticipated. In John’s apocalyptic vision the murderous attempt of the satanic power to destroy the Church is part of the plan of God whereby the saints will gain victory over the devil in the same way as did their Lord.  “And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.” The clear message is that the powers of evil are powerless against faithful sacrifice. On the observable plane however the situation appears to escalate when we are told, “The serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, to sweep her away with a flood.” Though he cannot succeed in destroying the faithful Church, he relentlessly “makes war …on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus.” The onslaught of the river of Satan is the situation in which we constantly live, sometimes despite all visible appearances.

The river of Satan is any stream offered to bring life to humanity other than the true River of God which pours forth from the humanity of Christ. The values of family, nation, race, philosophy, arts, religion, business, media, sport etc. that promise a re – sourcing of the origin of life away from God to self are vast tributaries of this one river of evil. These are streams that will in the end run dry and leave their followers in the misery of barrenness and infertility because they cannot communicate eternal life.

Today in the nations of the world we are witnessing a flood of vile and filthy words and images that threaten to overwhelm the manifestation of the presence of God.  Some of this is very blatant, such as internet pornography and the presence of sex in advertising, media and film. The commodity driven sexualisation of children, the spread of gay marriage, the trafficking of women are features of the modern age. Social media (Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, Second Life…) have opened up vistas for narcissism and self obsession unimaginable to previous generations. The idolisation of wealth and the prevalence of conspicuous consumption have taken the cult of human celebrity to new levels. More insidious (because less blatant) is the latest trend to treat food as entertainment rather than as a precious gift needed for life itself. In Australia with a population of just 22 million people 4.11 million viewers watched the last series finale of Master Chef. In my part of the world the local coffee shop has replaced the suburban church as the hub of many communities. All of these self-centred movements constitute a stream of consciousness which flows from below and not from above.

The Satanic river runs most broadly through what the Bible calls Babylon. This is “the great prostitute who is seated on many waters…. drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of the martyrs of Jesus.” (Rev 17:1, 6). The grotesque metaphor of the great harlot is the antithesis of what it means to partake of the pure streams of God. Spiritual Babylon’s cruelty to the Church can be traced through the ages – the persecutions under the Roman Empire, the violence of the Catholic Church to dissenting groups in the Middle Ages, the slaughters under Communism and Nazism, and in our own day the violence of militant Hinduism and Islam directed against the people of God. All this is of vital importance, but how does it connect to what where the River of Life is running in Western lands where hostility against Christianity is mostly ideological and rarely violent? Satan’s strategy in the post-Christian nations is more subtle and insidious than full frontal warfare, but insights concerning it can be found in an earlier chapter of Revelation.

“The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, to prepare the way for the kings from the east. 13 And I saw, coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs. 14 For they are demonic spirits, performing signs, who go abroad to the kings of the whole world, to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty. 15 (“Behold, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake, keeping his garments on, that he may not go about naked and be seen exposed!”) 16 And they assembled them at the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon.” (16:12-16)

The Old Testament background to this passage is indispensible to its interpretation. The Euphrates River is the largest river in Mesopotamia; sometimes called simply “the great river” (Gen 15:18; Deut 1:7; Josh 1:4). According to the ancient Greek writer Xenophon, the Euphrates caused the desert to “become a garden of fertility.” This is the language of the restoration of Eden. The Euphrates however has a dark side. Throughout the Old Testament “to drink the waters of the Euphrates” (Jer 2:18) is to enter into alliance with foreign and ungodly powers. Babylon was built on the Euphrates and was the greatest empire in the world at an important time in Israel’s history. When the people of God entered into alliance with this evil power this displeased the LORD (2 Ki 20:12-19; 2 Chr 32:31). Such an arrangement sets the background to the warning given to the Church against the deceiving work of evil spirits in Revelation 16.

In a text that parallels our Revelation passage at a number of points, the good reforming king Josiah goes to battle against the Pharaoh Necho at Megiddo (Armageddon)[27] who is on his way to fight the Babylonians. For political and military reasons it appears that Josiah withstood Necho because of his treaty with Babylon. In what at first sight seems a surprising turn of events Josiah is killed (2 Chron 35:20-22). What follows is the irreversible decline of Judah into increasing ungodliness, the destruction of the nation and the deportation of the people (2 Chron 36). A closer examination of the text however unveils the reasons why god handed Josiah over to defeat. Though he was one of Judah’s most godly kings there is no record that he consulted the, prophets of the LORD as to whether he should go out to war against the Egyptian Pharaoh. Like other kings before him[28], he was deceived by his previous successes and the enticement of foreign alliances, in this case with Babylon[29].

The lesson to be drawn from the Old Testament background to Revelation 16 is that even the righteous need to continually discern spirits. The righteous Josiah failed to discern spirits in his day and perished at Megiddo (Armageddon). This is a type of the final battle of Armageddon which will be preceded by a great failure in the Church to “test the spirits” (1 John 4:1). This failure has to do with the illusion of worldly (i.e. Babylonian) influence. For centuries the mainstream Church in Western nations has existed in alliances with state powers. The state churches may have been Roman, Byzantine, Greek, English, Italian, Spanish, Swedish, Argentine etc., but in every case the waters of Babylon (Ps 137:1) were allowed to mix with the River of God. Whilst from time to time the Spirit of God broke through the levee banks of organised and corrupted religious forms in periodic revivals these outbreaks rarely transformed the spirit of a nation.

In our day however the major corrupting force in the Western world is not a desire to emulate the influence of the state, but to imitate the success of business. Babylon is a great trading power (Rev 18). We live in a world where finance has replaced government as the key headline in today’s news. Management, marketing and the money it can manufacture have been an enormous influence on the style and message of the Western Church and through it the affluent churches across the world. This must cease!

Babylon is found wherever the senior pastor runs the church as if he/she is a CEO deserving of special honour and glory. The city of evil has penetrated the Church where the diverse giftings of the Spirit to serve has been re-scripted into a catalogue of demographic departments (children, youth, young adults, men, women, families, seniors) so that genuine Christian community is impossible. Another river is running where marketing and motivational messages are used to attract, grow and sustain the Church. Wherever the power of the Spirit is channelled into narrow streams to ensure our services are kept in order and on time we are dealing with an outpouring that comes not from God.

There are other features in Revelation 16 which pertain to the theme of satanic opposition to the River of God. John sees “coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs. 14 For they are demonic spirits, performing signs, who go abroad to the kings of the whole world, to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty.” (16:13-14) This image of loathsome spirits evokes memories of the Egyptian magicians who by their evil arts were able to mimic the plague of frogs sent by the LORD (Ex 8:7). Most importantly, wherever the expression “false prophet” is found elsewhere in the New Testament it is used of deception within the covenant community of Israel or in the Church[30]. We must accept that the vomit of Satan can flow through the Church itself. This shocking conclusion is confirmed in other ways in scripture.

Just as the River of God flows through the temple of God (Ezek 47), Satan as “the god of this world” (2 Cor 4:4) will attempt to cause his river of evil to run in the same space. Paul warns the church in Thessalonica, “Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness  is revealed, the son of destruction, 4 who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.” (2 Thess 2:3-4). Since everywhere else in Paul’s writings God’s temple is now the Church[31], his warning means that the power of antichrist can operate amongst the people of God. This is a reality for which God’s people must be fully prepared. As the apostle goes on to explain, “The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders” (2:9). If the people of God are unfamiliar with the River of God, they will surely be led astray but a false stream that seems to work wondrous healing power. Revelation 16 and 2 Thessalonians 2 picture the same reality of satanic intrusion into the Church. Yet there is even more compelling evidence for this difficult conclusion.

Immediately after we are told that the foul frog spirits assemble the nations in concert against God (Rev 16:14), Jesus speaks to his Church, ““Behold, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake, keeping his garments on, that he may not go about naked and be seen exposed!”” (Rev 16:15) Such a solemn exhortation that needs to be taken with full seriousness by an affluent and apathetic Church which is rarely on guard. This is because Christ’s warning echoes the judgement that will fall on Babylon herself, she will be judged for her idolatry and left “desolate and naked” (Rev 17:6) Wherever the river of Man emerges under the demonic inspiration judgement is inevitable, the Christian Church should not consider itself immune to a divine visitation of punishment (1 Pet 4:17).

This is a warning to our Church today, a body that has “often failed to live fully in the waters of life, choosing other streams, other flowings which dry up and leave.” (Bingham) The Church of the “last times” as we know it in the Western is far more deeply influenced by deceiving spirits[32] than any of us would like to imagine. In many places men and women have been worshipping an image of God that falls far beneath the testimony of Jesus. Idolatry is rampant amongst us. One only has to consider the history of most revival movements through the centuries, which have begun well and ended in division, scandal and false teaching, to know that it is time to “be self-controlled and sober-minded” (1 Pet 4:7).

Satan’s strategies however are always reactive, he is working from a position of known defeat (Rev 12:12) forever trying to delay his certain end. If Satan is working through a river of evil to assemble all nations to battle against God, it is because he knows that the true River, the River of God is flowing in holy power to bring about the Healing of the Nations. Several years ago I wrote an article called “The Grieving of the Missionary Spirit” which I believe contains a prophetic message prophecy for today. The next section of this message builds on that earlier teaching.

Refusing to Accuse

I want to begin this section with a few historical events whose influence is still contemporary and which illustrate a crucial issue in spiritual warfare. In 1909 fifty six influential conservative and evangelical “brothers” met in Germany and signed the now famous Berlin Declaration. Irritated by the strange, supernatural events surrounding the Pentecostal movement they declared them to be inspired by “a spirit from below” i.e. a demonic power. I can remember the opposition that the Charismatic movement stirred up in the mainstream churches in the 1970’s, it was quite common to meet believers who had been given “the left foot of fellowship” (excommunicated) from their churches, and it wasn’t too difficult to find Christian people that would try to cast out from other believers “the demon of tongues”. Such attitudes deeply grieve the Holy Spirit (Eph 4:30) and are incompatible with the sort of spiritual awakening that God is seeking to bring across the globe today.

It is often said that “the children of the last move of God always opposes the next move of God”, historically there is much evidence that supports this theorem[33]. If this is a necessary truth we should expect any fresh wave of the Spirit to be opposed by Pentecostalism. I cannot however think of anywhere in scripture where we are told that the Church must keep on tearing itself apart in this way[34]. It is important that we do not turn the past history of Christianity into a self-fulfilling prophecy about what must happen in the near future. On the contrary, I believe the Lord has shown us exactly how the past bitter lessons of history can be avoided.

During a week of prayer for a local church some years ago the Spirit directed my attention to a particular passage. “Do not let any foul talk keep on coming out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, that it may give grace to the hearers.  And do not keep grieving the Holy Spirit, with whom you were sealed for the day of liberation.  Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.” (Ephesians 4:29 -32).

As I was researching the meaning of “foul talk” I believe that the Holy Spirit gave me a picture of something that is genuinely repugnant to him.  I saw Christians speaking against others, their words were negative, critical, pulling-down or judgemental, and as they spoke it was like filth and vomit poured from their mouths and covered those of whom they were speaking.  People were being covered by guilt and shame (Zechariah 3:1- 3). This was a picture of the activity of unclean demonic accusation (Revelation 12:10; 16:13 -14) and the outpouring of the evil of the human heart (Matthew 12:34; Mark 7:21- 23).  I could sense this disgusting action of filthy speaking was what “grieves the Holy Spirit.”  In such a state the Holy Spirit cannot pour out his sweet presence and power.  He is “quenched” (1Thess 5:19).

In line with this God gave me another picture.  It is an image based on several biblical passages and is linked to the above text from Ephesians 4 by a key Greek word ekporeuomai, which means “to flow out”.  In Ezekiel’s vision of the end – time temple of God, the water of the River of Life “flows out” from under the altar (47:1) and brings life and healing wherever it goes.  The same is true for “the river of the water of life flowing from the throne of God and the Lamb” in the heavenly Jerusalem which brings fruitfulness for “the healing of the nations” (Revelation 22:1-2).  At the very climax of history, the age – old desire of the Spirit to fill all of humanity with inextinguishable liberation will be accomplished by such a flow.

In the meantime, between the prophecy of Ezekiel and its final fulfilment the church on earth is “the temple of the Holy Spirit” (1 Corinthians 3:16).  Only in a holy temple can God abide with presence and power (2 Corinthians 6:16- 7:1; Ephesians 2:21- 22).  In the temple of the body of Christ it is of the utmost importance that we image to one another and to the world that God never accuses, blames, shames or possesses a bitter spirit of judgement.  It is only as we are “kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven us” (Eph 4:32) can the world believe the time is coming when there will be an eternal community of grace in which guilt and shame are no more (Revelation 21:1- 4).

Whenever “bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander” “keep coming out (ekporeuomai) of our mouths” (Eph 4:29-31) a river of evil is running through the Church. Demonic and lying powers speaking through our words are denying the reality of God’s perfectly forgiving grace.  The River of Life could not flow out of Ezekiel’s temple until its altar had been cleansed (Ezekiel 43), so the Church must be cleansed of its spiteful attitudes.  Only when we repent of all evil mind-sets can the final image that the Spirit has given me come to pass.

This is a beautiful image of a holy Church that brings joy and delight to the heart of God (Eph 5:25-27).  As blessing is spoken in the place of cursing the fresh water of the life-giving Spirit replaces the brackish water of our bitter spirits (James 3:10 -11) and those previously covered by abominable filth are washed completely clean.  This pure cleansing is the delight of the ministry of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:9- 11; Titus 3:5 – 6). Until the Western Church as we know it is cleansed from its competitive and critical spirit we should not expect to see the healing of nations in our midst. This requires a definitely and sustained commitment to “Stand!” against all evil powers (Eph 6:11, 13, 14). If Satan as “the accuser of our brothers” (Rev 12:10) is to be expelled from our midst we must refuse to accuse, blame or pull down others in the household of faith, whatever they may have done or might do to us. By refusing to blame his persecutors from the cross (Luke 23:34) Jesus entered into his victory over the powers of evil (Col 2:15) and released the fullness of the power of the River of God’s Spirit. So also a blame-less Church will surely experience the rivers of living water pouring from its heart into a hurting world.

Turning the Tide

The lessons of recent awakenings in the Western world teach us that the River of God is a holy current that will not allow itself to be polluted by the pride of man [35]. Where this River runs but men and women seek their own glory, judgement will swiftly come. Periodic revival movements that compromise with the world will end in the same barrenness as the rivers that flow into the desert centre of Australia in times of sporadic flood. Therefore the Word of the Lord says to the Western Church of today, “Come out of Babylon!”

Jesus is speaking from heaven to his Bride, ““Come out of her (Babylon), my people, lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues” (Rev 18:4 cf. Isa 48:20; Jer 51:45), “go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, 18 and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.”” (2 Cor 6:17-18).  If a holy remnant in the Church comes out of Babylon the spiritual tide of ungodliness running against the kingdom of God in Europe, North America and Australasia can turn. To “Come out.” of Babylon we must first be able to perceive her presence in our midst. The Babylonian spirit in the Church is most recognisable in its opposition to the cross of Christ.

The title of the previous section, “The Last Great Vomit of Satan”, was drawn from the end-time vision of Revelation 12 and must be taken with full earnestness. Anyone who prophesies a worldwide revival apart from soberly reckoning with a global outpouring of hell’s fury against the Church is deceived. Jesus said, ““Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. 10 And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. 11 And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. 12 And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” (Matt 24:9-14).  The whole world must follow the beast (Rev 13:3) and the nations of the earth become inflamed by the fury of the devil’s “rage” against the Lamb and his people (Rev 11:18). It is no placid and agreeable peoples but angry and aggressive nations which must be healed through the living waters of God that pour through the Church (John 7:37-39).

Only suffering for Christ can purify the Church[36] so that the springs that flow from our spirits become increasingly one with the River of God. This is a reality that takes place when the people of God cry to him in a dry thirsty land where the River of Life has ceased to run and all is barren and infertile. God’s pledge is true, “For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants.” (Isa 44:3) Those who faithfully undergo “great tribulation” in the present hour[37] (Rev 7:15) experience in real measure the blessings that will come in full in heaven, “For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”” (Rev 7:17). But scripture never promises God will flood us with his presence when we are prosperously self-satisfied. The reason why this can never happen is found in the cross.

The Bible teaches concerning the human, “Keep your heart with all vigilance,
for from it flow the springs of life.” (Prov 4:23), and “out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matt 12:34). The springs of life flowed from Jesus’ heart and mouth with utmost intensity in his sufferings, “In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission^” (Hebrews 5:7) and, ^“ At three o’clock Jesus cried out with a loud voice…“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”” (Mark 15:34)The loud cry of Jesus from the cross reveals that his heart is totally aching for the outpouring of God’s River. The death of Jesus is however the ultimate paradox.  Hidden under the broken and thirsting flesh of Christ the River of Life is rising to a height from which it shall never fall, a tsunami of grace breaks out in the words, ““Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”” (Luke 23:34). The complete union of the spirit of man with the Spirit of God has been achieved under the conditions of the sufferings of hell itself. This was the day when from the pierced one on the cross “a fountain” was “opened … to cleanse… from all sin and uncleanness” (Zech 12:10; 13:1; John 19:37). Against such a flood of universal unconditional pardon the Last Great Vomit of Satan has no power.  Jesus, “the one who is in us” has overcome “the one who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).

This cleansing fountain opens up again and again for unclean humanity when the saints of God thirst for righteousness as Jesus did (John 19:28; Matt 5:6) in “a dry and thirsty land where there is no water” (Ps 63:1- 2).  If in those times when it seems that all our spiritual wells have run dry we but “cry to the LORD” in the strength of the Spirit who raised Christ from the dead (Rom 8:11) we too will experience resurrection power.  This is a repeated pattern in scripture where the Lord infallibly answers human pleas[38] by the outpouring of his Spirit.

When Paul writes about the Christian life, “God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”” (Gal 4:6) he uses the same word for “cry” that is used of Jesus desperate cry from the cross (Mark 15:34).  This is a “deep calls to deep” appeal[39] for life transformation at all costs.  This cry of the kingdom is the prayer to which God will respond through an outpouring of his River. It has always been the pattern of God’s working that the River flows strongest when men and women cry out in most bitter distress. It was said of John Knox, the bringer of the Protestant Reformation to sixteenth century Scotland that he cried out in prayer, “Give me Scotland or I die!”  Two hundred years later, Jonathon Edwards cried out in nights and days of prayer to God, “Give me New England or I die!”  The result was the First Great Awakening on the North American continent. When we cry out to the Lord for his Spirit we too will see such a miraculous outpouring of grace.

If we are interceding earnestly for global revival we must anticipate global persecution. God is stirring up the Church to release universal forgiveness in the midst of tribulation through the name of Jesus. The unity for which Jesus prayed in the seventeenth chapter of John is not be restricted to suburbs, cities or states, it involves disciples from the nations praying for the discipleship of other nations and doing so in the context of Last Great Vomit of Satan.  This is much more difficult than it first appears[40]. What will it mean for the global progress of the kingdom of God when the world witnesses Pakistanis praying for India, Scots praying for England, the Dutch interceding for Germany, Cubans for the USA, Chinese for Japan and on and on? As I was flying back to Australia across the Pacific about 15 years ago the Lord gave me a vision for a net of prayer spanning the globe. No nation, state, city, suburb, school or street would be outside this grid of continuous intercession. With the development of the internet and the connections that Christ is accelerating across the planet today we are on the practical edge of this vision. We will however need all the supernatural help we can receive to maintain our faithfulness in the midst of the onslaughts of the devil.

Angels of the River

As I was out praying a few days ago the Lord began to speak to me about his prophetic presence in “all things”. These are the all the spheres of society and culture: politics, art, education, law, media, business, health etc. which Jesus longs to fill with his presence through the Church, “he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.” (Eph 1:22-23). The Spirit is moving to release the testimony of Jesus’ wisdom, knowledge, compassion, grace…. into every single domain of culture. His plan is to position the people of God to prophesy by action and word of Christ’s victory and his coming kingdom in every square centimetre of creation[41]. What came to me as I prayed about how these things could come to pass was a new revelation of the role of angels in relation to the River of God.

Walking near my house I came across a large conduit linking two sections of a rapidly flowing creek, I recalled a clear sense I had as I prayed with a gentle apostolic father from Kansas City visiting Perth some years ago. It was if there was an “angelic pipeline” connecting our two cities. At the time I could not put a lot of depth into this awareness, but as I have prayed in recent days this strange experience has taken on new depth in relation to the River of God and the testimony of Jesus. The key to understanding this relates to the end-time message of Revelation.

In the context of Revelation Jesus makes his message known to the apostle John “by sending his angel” (1:1 cf. 22:16). The angel becomes a commentator on the actions of God and the Lamb in a way that helps the prophet John to understand what God is doing in history (1:1; 10:8-9; 17:7, 15). These angelic expositions climax in the marriage of Jesus and the Church, the context for one of the most formative passages in scripture relating to my own Christian experience. “And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.” 10 Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God.” For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” (Rev 19:9-10) Simply put, the angel teaches John that whatever and wherever there is a witness to Jesus this is prophetic. For us to see the River of God run into every nook and cranny of culture, we too will need the help of angels. This connection is made explicit in the final dramatic vision of Revelation. “Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.”

These two great passages outlining the consummation of God’s plan teach us that the River of God involves a confluence of angelic-human testimony to Jesus in all the spheres of existence. In this united witness of the heavenly and earthly servants of God the angelic world has a certain priority in terms of time and understanding. The holy angels insight into Christ’s role as Creator and Sustainer of all precedes the creation of the human race (Job 38:7), and their spiritual insight is unclouded by sin. Unlike us they are in the privileged position of being able to worship the glorified humanity of Jesus through direct sight[42]. As such the angels are familiar with God’s “plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him (Christ), things in heaven and things on earth.” (Eph 1:10). The heavenly host is energised by the greatness of the divine vision to bring the angelic and human spheres into complete unity when Christ returns. This involves an angelic ministry to the nations.

In a key text for the purposes of this article we read, ““When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, when he divided mankind, he fixed the borders/territories of the peoples according to the number of the angels[43].”” (Deut 32:8). As nations did not exist in Eden, this would appear to be a reference to how the people groups were assigned an angelic guardian after the Fall[44]. No more detail is given about this role until we reach the apocalyptic books of the Old Testament. The missionary role of angels is prophesied in the book of Zechariah which brings together a number of our key themes; on the day that the LORD “gathers all the nations” he will come with his “holy ones” (angels) and “living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem” (Zech 14:1, 6, 8). The fulfilment of this apocalyptic image linking angels and the ingathering of nations with the River of God is revealed in the New Testament.

Jesus spoke of the time when he will “send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven” (Mark 13:27). This ingathering is occurring in our time. In the new covenant dispensation of today is the angels are totally committed to seeing that the people groups of the world become disciples of Christ (Matt 28:18-20 cf. Heb 1:14). The book of Acts is the great missionary history of the early Church and it is punctuated by angelic visitations. The apostles are released from prison by angels (5:9; 12:7-11); angelic direction leads to the first Gentile conversions (8:26; 10:3, 22; 11:13); safe journey for the gospel to Rome is proclaimed by and angelic messenger (27:23). Wherever the River of Life is running with power through the Church the accompanying presence of angels is to be expected. I believe that this truth relates to an image God has given me concerning the city of Perth.

Whilst the capital of Western Australia is famous for its extreme isolation it is strategically positioned in a way that the rest of Australia is not. Perth faces west towards Africa and South Asia, and is on the same time line as China, Japan and South East Asia; it is in fact cheaper and easier to reach Indonesia by air than to travel to across the continent to Sydney. I “see” a River running from Perth and branching into tributaries that find destination points in all parts of the world. The angels are present in their vocation to assist the Church to flow out in the power of the Spirit in mission to all corners of the globe. This means that the obedient Church of God in Western Australia should anticipate an onrush of angelic assistance as it takes on with full seriousness the task of evangelising all nations.

The Endless River of God Runs Today

A personal revelation of the final vision of scripture has always empowered believers to plunge headlong into the River of God whatever the risk to their lives. “Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3 No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.” (Rev 22:1-5). It is of vital importance that we all “see” the River of Life running in the very specific context of the streets in which we live.

In the introduction to this teaching I referred to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) meeting that will be hosted in Perth this October 2011. Covering these meetings will be an international Commonwealth Prayer Initiative[45] uniting hundreds of churches and tens of thousands of Christians in prayer from across the 54 Commonwealth countries and beyond. Various streams will seek the Lord for his blessing on the spheres of government, health, children, youth, women, business etc. Part of this Initiative will be a solid week of 24/7 prayer held at a church located in the centre of Perth. A specially constructed metal orb representing the globe and featuring the nations of the world will be placed on one side of the church facing the busiest street in the city. I have “seen” this orb radiating the shekinah glory of God and the River of God rushing along the street adjoining. I believe this image needs to be interpreted in the following manner.

Whilst God’s glory is derived only from himself it is a glory that he longs to share with humanity (1 Cor 11:7; Heb 2:10). Jesus is the image bearer of the glory of God (John 1:14) and the Church was redeemed to share in his glory (Eph 3:21). The Church however is not to be thought of exclusively as the congregations that gather together Sunday by Sunday in special buildings, we are the community of God[46] located in every strand and strata of society. Jesus is currently working through the power of the Spirit to distribute his glory all over the world though his Body, a Body which he has placed in “all things” as a vehicle of restoring godly order in creation (Acts 3:21). There is an order by which such universal renewal takes place. In the sequence of the manifestation of glory in the world wisdom has a certain pre-eminence amongst the divine attributes[47]. A pivotal text for this understanding is found in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, “grace was given to me, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9 and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things, 10 so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.” (Eph 3:10).

“The manifold wisdom of God” is multifaceted, but it relates to the wisdom of God in Christ where by the power of the cross he has reconciled “all things” to himself (Col 1:19-20). This wisdom is to be revealed as a dimension of God’s saving glory in every conceivable aspect of human existence. The Christian architect carries divine wisdom into the form of things, the believing scientist beholds it in the intricate form of the workings of nature, the legal professional who is a disciple of Christ carries it as a revelation of the justice of God into the court of law, the Christian teacher instructs about the ways of life within the flow of this wisdom, believing parents image the counsel of the Lord to their children, the manual labourer reflects the virtue of the wise patience of God with the stubbornness of the material with which he works, the Christian politician governs with the discernment of the divine mind, and so on. The whole Church as the community of God in every place lives out the apostolic exclamation, “For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.” (Rom 11:36)

As I was praying yesterday the Lord Jesus started to speak with me about his insight into the Father’s world. As a perfected and exalted human being sharing the glory of God in heaven Christ sees, hears and knows all that there is to understand of the Father’s wisdom in creation. Jesus is fully in touch with the tender and intricate heart of God which indwells all things through his own abiding presence, “in him (Christ) all things hold together” (cf. Heb 1:3). The mind, sight and sense of Jesus in his glorified humanity are present to all creation in appreciation and praise of the Father. This awareness of Christ is made available to the Church through the Spirit. The Spirit of Christ envelops our hearts with his heart, fills our soul with his soul, imparts his strength to our strength and endues our minds with his mind. Through Christ in us the wisdom and glory of the restoration of all things in the Son of God is made available in the world wherever the Church is found. In homes, offices, factories, schools, parks, shops….Christ is to be revealed. To be surrounded and flooded in this awareness of the fullness of Christ[48] is to be caught up in the freshness of the flow of the River of God. The River of Life wills to inundate every dimension of human existence with the presence of the glorified Son of Man. This is a deep secret which the Spirit is striving to restore to all the people of God in our day; such an insight requires personal revelation.

Paul speaks of this mystery in various places. To the Colossians he says, “the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. 27 To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you (plural), the hope of glory.” (Col 1:26-27) The word translated “Gentiles” here is ethnoi, i.e. people groups, nations. The nations are called to receive the revelation of the mystery of God’s glory in their midst, which is Christ. Whenever the people of God receive “the revelation of the mystery” (Rom 16:25; Eph 3:3) they “see” that the eternal stream of the life of God is now filled with the human life of Jesus, our brother, friend and Groom with whom we are called to share all things. In the light of such things we begin to sense the reason why God ordained that there should be nations at all. No single people group can incarnate the “the fullness of him who fills all things in every way” (Eph 1:22). No one language or culture contains within it the diversity and creativity adequate to image the splendour of God in Christ.

From the beginning of creation God’s plan for the nations was that they function as facets on a diamond or colours in a rainbow in order to manifest the richness of God’s glory. This is why we read of the heavenly city at the end of Revelation, “By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, 25 and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. 26 They will bring into it the glory and the honour of the nations.” (Rev 21:24-26). Some of the eternal glory of God can be seen even now in the distinct splendour of those from the nations who have been made disciples of Jesus. I see it in the jubilance of the African Church, the hospitality of Arab believers, the discipline of Oriental Christians, the Australian grasp of equality, the European rigour of mind, the American sense of opportunity to multiply, the Indigenous sensitivity to the things of S/spirit etc. All of these attributes, perfected and sanctified, will be brought in their fullness into the city of God through the nations healed by the leaves of the tree of life nourished by the River of God. The River of God’s delights (Ps 36:8) will run through us forever and there will be no end of wonder, love and praise for the Father of us all and the great redeeming Lamb. This is why the Bible ends so enticingly, “The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.” (Rev 22:17)All of this is but an idealistic “wish dream” unless we are immersed in the power of the River NOW.

The orb representing the earth and the river I saw running down the main street of my city image the truth that the purpose of the River of Life is to fill the earth “with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.” (Hab 2:14). God is gathering men and women from across the nations to pray for the Commonwealth in Perth in October 2011. He is assembling these believers to ““make known” to them “how great among the nations are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you (Gentiles), the hope of glory.” (Col 1:27). To flow through the discipled from the nations to the lost of the nations is the power and pulse of the River of grace. The River of God refuses to be trapped within our obsession, particularly as Westerners, with personal peace and prosperity. The current with which the River flows is God’s infinite and eternal desire to communicate himself absolutely to his creation. This is the River of the love of God. When we are truly gripped by the sight of God’s own end-time vision and purpose we will be swept away by the River wherever it would flow. This is the total submission of discipleship and it possesses within it dimensions of liveliness most of us have sadly ignored.

It will be a wonderful thing when during the Commonwealth Prayer Assembly in Perth this October we see and hear nations praying for nations; Scots praying for English, Indians for Pakistanis, New Zealanders for Australians, Singaporeans for Malaysians and so on. The road to a global outbreak of blessing amongst all the nations may however take a route which will distress us all.

I was very graced by God’s providing me with the means to visit Argentina in the 1990’s to witness the revival in that country. The historical key to the outpouring of the River of God in that nation came however through a terrible defeat in the Falkland’s War against the British (1982). When the governing generals spoke to a vast crowd gathered in the main plaza in Buenos Aries, bordered by the Catholic cathedral, government headquarters and the financial district of the city, and confessed that they had lied to the populace about the true state of the war and admitted defeat, something shifted in the spiritual world. A nation humiliated before the world suddenly became open to the pervasive presence of God. My experience was that everything spiritual was concentrated and the witness of the Spirit of God was very tangible.

My point is not about Argentina, but that historically outpourings of the River generally occur at times of national weakness, such as war, famine, financial stress or natural disaster. In the order of God Jesus’ body is first broken on the cross before the water flows from his wounded side. The nations’ self-sufficiency must be undone before we can anticipate a deep and lasting global outpouring of the River of Life. I am unsure what that might mean in terms of political or economic realities, but I do sense that we must be prepared for whatever is coming. Biblical prophecy is compromised of both promise and warning. The following section of this article is a warning.

Are We Ready?

Not so long ago the worship leader of one of the largest churches in Perth jumped up and down on stage yelling, “Who wants revival?” “Who wants revival?” One of the more mature members of the congregation, familiar first hand with the persecuted Church throughout the world, was appalled. He understood that revival is no party. Below is a word that has always struck me as a timely message from heaven to the Western Church. It came from an older and respected prophet in a mainstream Christian church.

“Where there is life does it not quickly depart?

So too my word, which comes down to bring life to the dry earth; that life quickly dies under the heat of summer – the drought of the year. The earth mourns.

But do you mourn as you see projects flourish and die; as you see ‘Life in the Spirit’ flourish and die when the cold, dry wind blows upon it? Do you mourn with the earth, and cry out to me from the drought stricken land?

Do you lift up your heads and look to the heavens in expectation for the promised rain? Are you ready to receive it, or, like the earth, wait in sorrow and lost hope?

It is I who has brought this upon you. Have I not told you of it before it came into being? I would not allow my Spirit to be ignored nor taken for granted.

I will pour out my Spirit in great abundance as I told you when I called you to prepare. But you are not prepared. There is still garbage in your deeper parts, and many walls are cracked .

A flood can be as devastating as a drought. Prepare therefore, the time for jollity is past; become altogether holy as I am holy; be cleansed and no longer let your works hide any corruption. My Spirit abides with you to bring this about. Only be willing and ask. Let desire take hold, and it shall be done for you.

A great day dawns; be ready.  A holy people begets holy disciples.” John Pelham 1994

Pelham’s prophecy resonates deeply with scripture and my own inner sense of urgency. The “deeper parts” of which he speaks point to the “innermost being” of the believer from which the “streams of living water” are meant to flow. There are a lot of rubbish thoughts in the hearts of many Christians which has been blocking the flow of the Spirit of grace. The “cracked walls” remind us of fractured walls that have been plastered over with the whitewash of false prophecy; they cannot stand when the day of God’s visitation comes (Ezek 34:10-16). There are far too many prophets of prosperity in our midst who do not fear the Lord.

Years ago, around the time of the outbreak of the “Toronto Blessing”[49], another elderly prophet shared that the Spirit had told him this revival movement was a “green drought”. In Australia, a “green drought” is the period just after rain when young shoots appear and pastures look green and lush. The “drought” refers to the restricted nutrient intake available from the grasses because they are high in moisture and low in substance. It is dangerous to feed stock on these paddocks because they will lose condition and deteriorate in health. Likewise, most renewal movements start with excitement and spontaneous enthusiasm, but after a few years leave many of their participants disappointed, exhausted or confused because they lack the substance of the Word. Since we are in a time of “a famine of hearing…the words of the LORD” (Amos 8:11) when people are being fed “milk, not solid food” (Heb 5:12), a spiritual “green drought” is a very real danger throughout the Western world. This calls for much sober thinking and prayer.

A Prophetic Plea

Included in my airfare to Argentina was a free side trip to Iguassu Falls. This is one of the most spectacular scenes of rushing water in the world, and when we were there the total amount flowing over the nearly 2 kilometre long chasm was 3 million litres per second[50]. As I was observing the unvarying stream of torrential water flowing magnificently over the falls I could sense this was an image of the eternal outpouring of the love of God.  In terms of this article, the River of God was in the magnificence of full flow. Walking up a track to higher ground I passed a tiny rivulet trickling out of the hillside and sensed that this was an image of the efforts of man. The love of God and the works of man are incomparable. This was an image that came back to me very recently at a pastor’s breakfast in Perth for the forthcoming Commonwealth Prayer Initiative. The breakfast was held at a venue on the banks of the Swan River with a clear view of the city centre just a few kilometres away. This is what I sensed the Lord wanted to speak to his people.

“Do not say there is only a trickle in my heart. Do not think that you are like a dried up stream. In you is a mighty stream. The scripture says of these days, “From the west, people will fear the name of the LORD, and from the rising of the sun, they will revere his glory. For he will come like a rushing stream that the breath of the LORD drives along. “And a Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who turn from transgression,” declares the Lord.21 “And as for me, this is my covenant with them…” says the Lord” (Isa 59:19-21) The day of fulfilment has arrived of which Paul spoke, “I want you to understand this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. 26 And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, “The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob”;27 “and this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins.”” (Rom 11:26-27)”

Many things are coming together in the plan of God for the restoration of all things. The softening of the hearts of more and more Jewish people to Jesus as their Messiah is a sure sign that “the end of all things is at hand” (1 Pet 4:7) and that the Redeemer is “standing at the door” (James 5:9; Rev 3:20). This is a time to anticipate a universal outpouring of the Spirit “on all flesh” (Acts 2:17) as the message of forgiveness is proclaimed to all nations so that the End may come (Matt 24:14; Luke 24:47). As “every nation under heaven” (Acts 2:5) was gathered for the first Pentecost, so the Lord is gathering the nations once again so that “the full number of the Gentiles” may come in (Rom 11:25), not by might nor by power but by the River of the Spirit running into every place. The Lord is summing up his age old plan for the consummation of the ages (1 Cor 10:11). In this hour the wisdom imparted to previous phases of the Church in its surges of ethnic growth[51] and its various denominational expressions[52] are being caused to run together and unite as many streams into one River of God flowing across the globe[53].

I have “seen” multicoloured streams rushing out of the city around the world. These are multicultural and multiracial teams of people working together to disciple the nations. Africans, who know the culture and language of their homelands, will be spearheading teams into Africa, Chinese into China, Indians to India and so on. The spectrum of God’s indwelling wisdom for the nations will be embedded in these teams so that they will carry great spiritual authority.

“Out of the innermost being of the whole Church of God mighty rushing waters are to flow, for I am forming a Church of one heart – Africans, Indians, Chinese, Europeans, Australian, Indigenous …a Church gathered together from all the spheres of society and culture, a marketplace church, a church that will carry my presence into the workplace, into every place, a Church of one heart that experiences the mighty, mighty, mighty rushing stream of my River because it like me is holy, holy, holy.

But there is a warning! My people have preferred the quiet still side waters and backwaters, they have chosen the places of safety and security rather than the white water rapids of the surge of the Spirit of God where one must risk his own soul. The time has come to choose which way you will go, for me or against me the Lord.”

At this point I believe the Lord brought to my remembrance the opening scene from the 1986 film The Mission, in which a missionary priest tied to a cross by local natives is sent over the Iguassu Falls to his death[54]. This is the call and challenge of Jesus to his Church today. At the concentration point of the Iguassu Falls is found a thundering and fearful cataract called the Devil’s Throat[55], this has been the site of suicides whose bodies are never found, presumably torn apart by the torrent. In the power of the Spirit carried by the cross of Christ we must be willing to be swept into the throat of the devil, to engage the Last Great Vomit of Satan at its very source – followers of the Lamb of God must follow him into the foul mouthed arena of the factory, into the bull-pit of the floor of parliament, into the savagery of the stock market, into the wiles of philosophy and the seduction of the arts, and the spell binding power of big business… every diabolical realm must be penetrated by the love, holiness and unconditional forgiveness of the presence of Christ. It is time to be swept up by the uncontrollability of the River out of the safety, predictability and enclosure of the “contemporary” church.

What are the Leaves?

I thought I was finished this article when someone challenged me to explain what is meant by “the leaves of the tree” in the final vision of the Bible.  “Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.” (Rev 22:1-2).  I was completely unsure how to answer the question and the commentaries were of literal help beyond pointing to the fact that natural leaves can have many medicinal properties. A more through biblically based reply must consider the identity of “the tree of life”.

Our first thoughts naturally go to Genesis, “And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” ( 2:9). After the Fall we hear God himself in dialogue, “Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—” 23 therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. 24 He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.” (Gen 3:2-24)    Adam and Eve were expelled from Eden lest through access to the tree of life they exist forever in sin and be ineradicably consolidated in evil. An angelic guardian assured they could never return to Paradise.

The next significant appearance of the tree of life is drawn from Ezekiel. “And on the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither, nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing.” (Ezek 47:12). In this vision the River of God nurtures trees which fruit constantly and bring healing to a renewed Israel. This image is the primary model underlying John’s vision in Revelation 22. In John’s vision however the “living waters” do not proceed from a physical temple but “from the throne of God and of the Lamb”. The intimate presence of God and Christ is the eternal source of the life bearing trees. This image points to the re-establishment of Eden on a permanent scale as a habitation for those drawn from the nations.

These nations have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb and established as priests and kings before his throne (Rev 5:9-10; 7:9). The River that runs from the throne of God and of the Lamb in Revelation 22 issues therefore from the healing power of Christ’s sacrifice[56]. The death of Jesus is the source of life for the nations. Since the death of Jesus was a once for all action (Heb 7:27; 9:12, 28; 10:10), the phrase “The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.” cannot refer to people eating of the tree throughout eternity as if Christ’s death was incomplete. Sin and pain have already been banished from God’s presence before we reach this final vision of the city, the River and the healing leaves (Rev 7:16- 17; 21:4, 27). We are dealing with a description of a climactic once for all healing brought about by the leaves of the tree of life. There is another way of reaching the same conclusion from within the teaching of Revelation.

What the “healing of the nations” means in practice is intimately linked with the earlier part of John’s vision of the heavenly city. “And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. 24 By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, 25 and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. 26 They will bring into it the glory and the honour of the nations. 27 But nothing unclean will ever enter” (Rev 21:24-26).

The “glory and honour of the nations” which streams into the heavenly Jerusalem is inseparable from the glory and honour continually offered up to God and the Lamb by the redeemed from “every tribe and language and people and nation” (Rev 5:9-13; 7:9-14). These peoples offer up perpetual adoration in response to the impact of Christ’s sacrifice. The death of Jesus therefore provides the framework for understanding the healing power of the tree of life spoken about at the End. The key to a deeper understanding of these things is found in a message to the nations in Revelation 11.

John has just been told, ““You must again prophesy about many peoples and nations and languages and kings.”” (10:11). He then sees two witnesses who prophesy to the people of the earth, this is followed by a sequence of events that is crucial for our central theme linking the River and the healed nations, “And when they have finished their testimony, the beast that rises from the bottomless pit will make war on them and conquer them and kill them, 8 and their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city that spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was crucified. 9 For three and a half days some from the peoples and tribes and languages and nations will gaze at their dead bodies and refuse to let them be placed in a tomb, 10 and those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and make merry and exchange presents, because these two prophets had been a torment to those who dwell on the earth. 11 But after the three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood up on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them. 12 Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here!” And they went up to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies watched them. 13 And at that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.” (11:7-13).

The two witnesses represent the Church in its vocation as a testimony to Jesus[57]. A close examination of key passages in Revelation discloses the vast scope and impact of testimony to the sole Lordship of Jesus. Witness to Christ is far broader and more transformational than the great majority of Western Christians, so locked into individualism and personal comfort, realise. As a first step it is important to notice that these two prophetic evangelists do not testify to Christ in church buildings, but in the midst of “those who dwell on the earth” (11:10). This expression is used throughout Revelation of those who are outside the kingdom of God. The “earth dwellers” know nothing of the kingdom of heaven and as such are under the wrath of God because they follow the beast [58]. When the testimony of the two witnesses is completed they are slain by the forces of evil who leave their bodies to lie exposed in the streets where they have engaged their ministry. This means that their humiliation takes place in the public square, in the marketplace and city centre. Without a doubt, the current resurgence of interest in “marketplace ministries” in the church is the restoration of the corporate ministry of the two witnesses on a global scale after centuries where their proclamation has been corralled into the boundaries of the gathered Church (especially in “Christian” nations).

At the very centre of this pivotal chapter we read, “their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city that spiritually[59] is called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was crucified” (11:8). Since the phrase “great city” is used elsewhere in Revelation of Babylon (16:19; 17:18; 18:10, 16, 18, 19, 21), the site of the witness and martyrdom of the faithful Church is the ungodly global metropolis of commerce and trade. As Jesus was crucified because of his unvarying public testimony to a “kingdom not of this world” (John 18:36), so it will be for those who are truly his disciples (Mark 8:34-36). That the bodies of the slain followers of Christ lie for three days in the street until their resurrection and ascension in the glory of God (11:9-12) is of the utmost significance from an eternal perspective.

Throughout the New Testament the crucifixion of Jesus is commonly spoken of in terms of his “blood”[60]. Moreover, since in Revelation the blood of the slain prophets and saints is found in Babylon (18:24; cf. 17:6; 19:2; 6:10) we should understand that the blood of Christians is shed on the streets of the evil city and that this has deep spiritual significance[61]. In my beseeching God for greater understanding of the River of Life and the healing power of the leaves of the tree of life as presented at the very end of Revelation I believe that he has shown me the following.

Not only is “the river of the water of life, as clear crystal flowing” (22:1) through the heavenly city, but it flows “through the middle of the street of the city” (22:2) which is itself perfectly clear. “And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each of the gates made of a single pearl, and the street of the city was pure gold, transparent as glass.” (21:21). The whole city is in fact “pure gold, clear as glass” (21:18). This means the city is like a giant lens of prism radiating the glory of God. Since the River and the street through which it runs are perfectly transparent, they can be looked through without any distortion or diminution of vision. I believe that the street of the city is transparent because it has been cleansed by the rivers of living water pouring from the crucified Lamb in his union with the Father (22:1). Far from being “pie in the sky when you die bye and bye”, this great apocalyptic image is full of significance for our earthly lives now.

We are told that the “glory and honour of the nations” streams into the heavenly Jerusalem through the procession of the “kings of the earth” via the gates of the city which are perpetually open to them (22:22-25). This means the kings lives and the tribute they bring must be spiritually one with the sacrificial blood of Christ, by which all things has been sanctified to God[62]. “The kings of the earth” are faithful Christians, persecuted like Jesus but triumphant over evil because they have never compromised their testimony[63]. These are the true disciples of the nations who by the flowing of their blood, whether metaphorically or literally, have suffered in the midst of the city of this world to see God’s kingdom come. Their suffering, sanctified in Christ, has hallowed to God (Matt 6:9-10) every sphere of human existence: business, politics, arts, education, health, justice, media, sport, government…. they have set apart to God the streets of the city of this world. The River of life flowing through their innermost being as the power of the Spirit (John 7:37-39) has cleansed every sphere of social and cultural existence, this is the glory and treasure they will present before God in heaven.

The flowing of the River in the public space of life today, down the street of the metropolis, through the marketplace, is not discontinuous with the glorious River of Life flowing down the middle of the street of the eternal city. In some way as yet unimaginable, all the highest virtues of human existence, practised in the domains of human employment, recreation, family and Church, perfected and sanctified, will be an integral part of the final dwelling place of God. Even today, through the Church, the beauty of music, the allure of art, the penetration of science into the nature of reality, the graciousness of humble labour, are preparing an eternal habitation. This remarkable vision is the compelling truth behind the impact of the River, the street, the tree of life, its fruit and the leaves which heal the nations. More however can be said.

As I was praying about these things I could “see” something that looked like a sphere, upon it were the continents but it was completely transparent. This must be how Jesus sees all of reality. If indeed he is “Lord of all” (Acts 10:36) and the Word before whom “no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes” (Heb 4:13), then Christ’s wisdom and knowledge penetrate into the core of all reality. Since we are promised “the mind of Christ”, it must be possible for us to share in the transparency of the creation to the Word who “upholds all things by his power” (Heb 1:3). Growing in such spiritual wisdom and knowledge is not limited to the sphere of self-understanding or interpersonal relationships; it must mean the progressive unfolding of all of God’s creation to humanity in general and to believers in particular. The River of God is seeking to run through our humanity so that we might see “in part” into the very nature of reality what we see “in full” when heaven comes (1 Cor 13:9-12). Despite so many contrary appearances the Church in every sphere of human endeavour is being called to restore the streets of the city and rebuild the public square as a place open to the name of the LORD.

What then can we finally say about the “The leaves of the tree” which “were for the healing of the nations.” (Rev 22:2)? At the very least the leaves must symbolise a matrix made out of the justice, authority, health, beauty, form, inspiration, compassion, mercy, patience, love, style, design and so on that constitute the true form of human endeavour that God sought to impart to all people groups from the beginning. These are realities which the Church is called to impart in the present time as it seeks to disciple the nations. I have seen something more and I would like to use the call of Isaiah to illustrate it.

Who Will Go?

Isaiah is in the Jerusalem temple when he has a vision of the throne of God surrounded by an angelic host who call out in unison, ““Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!”” (Isa 6:3). These holy beings see into the very structure of the world and behold there the majesty of God in all the beauty and splendour of creation. This moves them to ceaselessly declare the divine praise – they testify! They do not testify as merely some sort of reflex action, testimony is an essential part of their being. The scene moves to Isaiah’s terror at the holy presence of God which induces in him an intense expectation of imminent destruction, unexpectedly the LORD provides an experience of cleansing and atonement for his stricken and frail humanity.  The relief of being spared certain death must have been immensely liberating to his conscience. Then we reach the climax of the prophetic vision, he hears the call of the heavenly council, ““Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?””, to which the response is immediate, ““Here am I! Send me.”” (Isa 6:8). This is a total transformation from fear of an ultimate end to a supreme willingness to go wherever God leads. So begins the prophetic career of Isaiah, a servant of God totally gripped and propelled by what he has seen and heard that his entire life vocation is to see the glory of God fill all things. This is a commissioning that must, in its own way, come to us too, but we will never see and hear what Isaiah did without a broader biblical context which includes us all.

The sending of the prophet has as its background the original commandment to Adam and Eve in Eden to ““Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”” (Gen 1:28). This so called “cultural mandate” whereby humanity made in the divine image is commissioned to serve God in every area of human existence. Isaiah was a servant of this commission in the form of a prophet. We too have our commission; the Great Commission to “make disciples of all nations” (Matt 28:19) is one with God’s command to Adam and Eve and to Isaiah, God’s heart to fill every sphere of human endeavour with the knowledge of his glory has never changed. Today the call of God is a mandate to bring his witness in Christ into every public sphere, whether by economic engagement, scientific inquiry, literary exploration, environmental care or a host of other activities. Since “the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy” (Rev 19:10) this is a prophetic vocation that the whole Church must obey. And it is a call that cannot be fulfilled apart from the presence of the River of God running through our hearts “as streams of living water” into all things.

It is the power of the River of God, the passion of the Holy Spirit, to distribute the glory of God in Christ in all things. If we would be included in this great flow of the River of Life we must not miss the fact that the New Testament teaches that the LORD whom Isaiah saw was actually Jesus (John 12:41)[64]. To believe in Jesus is to confess that he is actually the LORD who first commanded humanity to fill the earth with his image and later revealed the presence of his glory in all things to Isaiah. To “see” the Lord of glory (1 Cor 2:8) always confronts us with a crucial decision. Whilst it is said that “many even of the authorities believed in him (Jesus)” it goes on to comment “but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue; 43 for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.” (John 12:42-43). This creates a vital connection to our theme of the River of God. Fear of being put out of the comfort and security of an established religious order is what has always stifled the flow of the River of Life through the people of God.

Remember the key promise made by in John, “‘“If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” 39 Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.” (John 7:38-39). It is evident not only from the story of scripture but also from Christian history that the River runs only when the glory of Christ is seen and obeyed. “Only he who believes obeys, and only he who obeys believes.” (Bonhoeffer). If we do not see the River of God running through our streets, towns, cities and suburbs, schools, offices, factories, homes …we must conclude that we have become enclosed in the comfort of established religious and social orders and are seeking the glory of man rather than the glory of God. This is a hard word, but who can deny it.

Conclusion

The River of God is the flow of his own Life through all eternity. As such it is nothing less than the infinite love of the Father and the Son for each other in the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. The mystery of God, his ancient secret now made known to apostles and prophets (Eph 3:5) concerns the relationship between God himself as the endless River of Life and Jesus Christ.

At the very end of the Bible the Lord declares of himself, ““Behold, I am making all things new.” … “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. 7 The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.” (Rev 21:5-7) Yet we also hear the voice of Jesus proclaiming, ““Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay everyone for what he has done. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”…. The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.” (Rev 22:12, 17). The conclusion is inescapable the Life of God now dwells fully and entirely in Jesus Christ. Moreover, to drink of the River of Life means nothing less than to imbibe the life of Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit and so to live forever. To believe and obey this reality in every sphere of existence is the vocation of the Church.

Through the Son of God becoming one with us we can now grasp that the River of God is the flow of God’s own life through the whole creation and all the affairs of humanity. This River is infinitely creative and can never be exhausted. To live is to drink from the River. Despite all obstructions, despite all treacherous appearances and every powerful satanic deception amongst the nations it is the essential and irresistible nature of God’s River of life to flow onward and onward with an ultimately overwhelming intensity. Such things however can only be grasped by humanity through insight into the glorification of Jesus (John 7:37-39).

In the suffering and death and resurrection of Jesus is found the full force of the River of Life within human experience. Where the River is most concealed, in the cross, it is yet flowing in the full power of the Love of God[65]. This explains the mysterious hidden nature of the River and why its presence and power are lost in the experience of the Church time and again. Whenever the Body of Christ becomes powerful and self-confident, as in much of the history of Western civilisation, the River will cease to be known as an ever-creative power. Such a state continues until the people of God in their desperation and spiritual thirst cry out once again for an outpouring of the vivifying Holy Spirit.

We are surely at the edge of such a time, and I have attempted in this article to testify to that part of the world where I live that CHOGM October 2011 represents a pivotal opportunity for the Church in Australia to “come of age”. Here is a kairos moment in God to take our eyes off ourselves and develop a generous prayerful, giving and sending heart for the nations. It is time in the light of the Gospel to open our eyes to what God is doing in some many parts of the world. Though the River may seem hidden it is ever-running, in the suffering of countless anonymous Christians and in the humble service of the saints just as much as in mass revival meetings and wondrous miracles. The majesty of the River of God can by no means be limited or restricted to the narrow confines of “church life”. The River flows to restore the streets of the city, rebuild the public square and redefine the character of nations. God will bring this to pass through a great spiritual wave endlessly circling the earth carried by the power of the Spirit. This is an enormous vision.

Yet the focus of this vision is neither its scope nor immediate impact, it is Jesus. We cannot cause the River to flow; it already is running at full force through the heart of Jesus himself. What we must seek from the Father is to drink from the Son, and to open our hearts in all things, that the healing power of the River of Life may flow through us to the eternal glory of God. Wherever we see Jesus we see the fruit of the River of Life.

The River brings life “wherever it goes” (Ezek 47:9) and the power of God’s Spirit cannot be directed or controlled by men. It is highly predictable that when the River breaks out once more in Western lands many attempts will be made to control the work of God.  When this occurs the River will find other channels through which to flow. To avoid this in our lives, lest we be left “high and dry”, requires from us a highly intentional response. I sense the Spirit moving us to pray in unison from our innermost being, “We cannot live without the River. We do not want to live without the River. Give us the River or we die.” When we hear this cry, as I believe we will this year, then those “rivers of living water” (John 7:37) shall once again flow mightily in our midst to heal the nations unto eternal life.

Appendix 1: The River of God by Heidi Baker

http://www.stormharvest.com.au/library/prophecies-for-australia/2056-the-river-of-god-h-baker    Delivered at Jubilee International Church March 16th 2010
I came across this prophecy after I set about to work on the topic of the River of God. Heidi Baker is a world renowned Christian leader who heads up a revival ministry based in Mozambique. I have inserted a copy here not because it has influenced my thinking in any way, but as a confirmation to what I believe the Spirit is saying in this time.

“I have a word over Australia. I just feel like the river of God’s glory is increasing in this nation. I see Revelation 22; the river coming from the throne and of the lamb. I feel like God is going to increase His glory and his love and I feel like the way Australians are going to come to the Lord by the 1000’s and the 10’s of thousands they are going to come as the church lives like a family. And I see churches becoming homes of the loving believer. I see people being set free to be who they are.

I feel like fathers and mothers are going to be raised up and the lost children of Australia are going to come home to the Father and I feel like it’s as brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers, grandmothers and grandfathers and even little children go, go out to the streets, to the highways and the byways out, out, out, the Lord is sending you out, out, out and as you stop for the one, as you stop for the one in front of you, and you spend time with them, He says love looks like something, it looks like you spending time, like you drinking coffee with them, like you sitting in the park with them, like you embracing them in their loneliness and God is going to send the church out as lovers.

He says the river of His glory love is increasing and he says the nets will increase as the body of Christ networks together for the harvest. He says He is looking for a body that will be woven together by the love of God past denominations and movements, He said it will be past denominations and one brother will serve one another and sister a brother. The Lord is sending literally the angelic host with a silver chord, a chord of love and He is binding together the body of Christ with a chord of love. He says as you move in the presence of my love and as each one steps into their destiny and become the weights upon the net and the Lord Himself says there will be a great harvest, a great harvest in Australia, a great harvest, a great harvest, a great awakening in Australia and I see it breaking out of Australia into the island nations, I see it going into the island nations. I see the Lord sending Australians out as harvesters into the earth. And I see you carrying love like you have never known, more radical, deeper, stronger love and the Lord says to the fathers and the mothers, to the pastors and the brothers I am sending you strange fish. I am sending you strange fish. Fish of many kinds, fish of many kinds and I am calling you to love them.

For much of the time when I have sent my sons and daughters they were orphans, they were widows, they were broken, they were abandoned, they did not feel welcome in the family, but there is a shift, a shift, a shift taking place in my body, a shift where the family of God, the family of God will love all the sons and all the daughters that I bring in and my Spirit will touch them and they will know they are no longer outcasts, they are no longer orphans, they are no longer widows, they will know the love of the Father, they will know it through you, they will know it through you. Get ready for the harvest my beautiful bride.”

Appendix 2: The Vision of the Power of Eden by Geoffrey Bingham

Geoff Bingham was a teacher, evangelist and revivalist who had a profound impact on many of the directions of my thinking as a younger Christian. I found this article when researching the current topic. The main influence this vision has had on my thinking is the recognition that the flow of the River of God is a constant, even if experience of it rises and falls.

http://www.newcreation.org.au/studies/singlestudies/VisionEden.html

This which I now share with you was what God gave to me in a dream, in a vision, in a time of plenty within my soul when I had long gone mourning for the church-and no less for my own soul-which though blessed has gone into dryness in many places, and is restless for the true peace of God and the full motions of his glory for such are to His people where the Spirit dwells in power for the fulfilling of the eternal will of God. I saw much in my vision and it was the renewing of what I had seen hitherto, long ago, and it was coming again.

And I saw as I have before, but then not in this measure, that when God created Man He created him in great glory even unto the very image of Himself, in all holiness, righteousness, goodness truth and life. Man was the living of His fullness and as such reflected the these elements of His being in wonderful acts as he fellowshipped with God in the Garden and looked across the vistas of time where he was to transform the world, as even now the River of God was beginning to water the whole earth and bring forth its vegetation to nourish the animals of the home and the field. I saw that out Eden this River was flowing.

What caught my eye and deeply moved my heart was the rising of the water of Eden to go out to cover the earth. Eden was, so to speak, the rising of the universal River, the mountainous headwaters, destined to cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. These waters are the glory of God, for that was what I saw in Eden-as many have seen since that time, the mighty gathering of the headwaters to burst across the world. I saw that glory not only in the vegetation, in the animals, in the birds, the fishes and all sea creatures, but mostly in Man who was noble above all things.

It was as though he dwelt on a fertile mountain, the place of a great Garden, the place of holy communion with His Maker the great God of covenant, and he rejoiced with his wife in that place and envisaged the strange and wonderful life that spread out before him.

Beyond the garden was land, hills and plains, savanna where the feasting animals roved and dwelt, the sky being filled with fowl and the rivers and oceans with swarms of sea-creatures.

I had read this story many times before, and always the sickening heart as the Serpent triumphed over the guileless woman and the man who saw ever greater vistas for his spirit than those provided by his maker. In the sickness of my heart I felt the horror of human disobedience, and I had the witness of my own heart to the infection of Adam sent down through the ages of human living.

In times past I had not seen the power of the River of Eden. I had not seen that those waters gathered to flow out across the world whether Adam would let or whether he would stay, and I saw, now, in this vision, that these waters towered high and that when the Man was cast out of the garden lest he eat of the tree of life and live-live that foolish life he had chosen-live in it for ever. But I saw the waters were not lowered and the power and the force of them did not die or abate, not even in the presence of deep sin.

Sin, I saw, can have no effect on God. Indeed the waters banked, and as the gates of the Garden closed the waters began their way across the whole world. The life of the son of Adam-the cursed Cain-I thought might have stayed that River and through the horror of his evil, cause it to wane and diminish but the very life of the other son, Abel, was of the very water beginning to flow, for the River would ever rise in the hearts of the faithful and the land around them would be Eden showing itself afresh, bringing with it all the splendour of God in His rich attributes.

I saw in that dream that the headwaters indeed held high their heads and flowed on, and I saw one such as Enoch walk with God and then be not, so far as this world is concerned, for he was taken into the glory, Likewise the faithful kept sight of the glory though about them much seemed the cause of sadness and even fear. They were given special sight to see that the River was ever flowing, though sometimes so silently that its sounds were muffled, and sometimes-when the eyes of human sight beheld the lands as though there were no River flowing. Yet it did flow-on and on. I saw the River of faith-for I shall call it that-the faith of men and women who desired no personal fame, no recognition by human spirits but only by God that they might do only His will. How many suffered for their faith! How deep their suffering! How often their cries when all around them seemed barren, as in a doomed and infertile land. Indeed the high headwaters of all that is God’s Edenic glory for man never ceased their flowing. I saw across history the men and women of faith such as Melchizedek and Jethro, appointed priests to people of faith. I saw the patriarchs of the former times-Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Moses the meekest man on all the earth, the prophets and the proclaimers, the River rising high in their days as though about to break over the whole world, for in one sense they had-in Abraham the father of all the faithful and Sarah the new Eve as the mother of all who live in faith.

In my vision swift memory came to me of what had been said through His prophets, of the times of refreshing which were to come to the whole world. The River of God is full of water but it flows in blessing where humanity has come back to that faith which was even before the fall of Adam, or they come back to the faith of Abel and Seth, Enosh and Noah, Abraham and his descendants. During all this time the saints were crying ‘Glory!’ for in His world-wide temple of creation all cry ‘Glory!’ The others, those whose birth was of the rebellious Adam only, cried ‘Darkness’ for they feared the light of glory, and they cried ‘Glory!’ for they worshipped the darkness and called it light. In their bitterness they made bitterness to be sweetness, and true sweetness to be bitterness. When the prophets scorned them and said, ‘You say “Peace! Peace!” where there is no peace” then they killed them in their anger, but the River rolled on apace, not as a trickle, nor even as a low flow, but high as though to show the proud majesty of the Creator of the River. Yet it flowed on unseen as though it were not flowing at all, as though Eden had not spilled out its powers on to the world, as the River of Man were the true and proper river..

Then he came-the prince of all men-the erstwhile creator of all things, the One working with the Father and with the mighty Spirit-he came, and in him the headwaters rejoiced and lifted their heads even higher, and the river awaited only the faithful death of the Proper Man and the great rising from the dead, and it knew that its hour had come. As he ascended it prepared itself for the flowing such as the world had never seen and such as the prophets had ever proclaimed and the saints had ever prayed for.

After his ascension it was the time for the Spirit to be poured out. This, his river, had ever flowed, but now the tide of love, holiness, righteousness, goodness and truth, burst across the world in Edenic beauty and love and power, and men and women gasped at the glory of the beatific vision. This was the appointed hour called Pentecost. They cried aloud their wonderment at the mighty works of God. Behind the darkness which man in his desperation had called light there had been brilliant glory, and now it shone forth. It shone forth on the Day of Pentecost when Eden, in all its powers, came to the city of Jerusalem. On that day there was a River, the streams whereof made glad the city of God-the Bride, though unseen-and also the Tree of Life-once seen as the gallows of Christ, and named as the Tree of Death by those in death. This now seen to abound in rich fruitfulness and the fragrance of its flowers was greater than any aroma the world had known. The leaves of its trees were to be the healing of the many nations.

Now the dry places were filled with water. Barren savanna, parched deserts, fruitless orchards and infertile land now knew abundant fruitfulness. Into this world in which the nations lived-some in rich fruitfulness, some in partial fruitfulness, and some in barrenness-came the River.

I saw in my dream that all my mourning, and the deep mourning of others was not rejected by the Father of the faithful. He-their Creator and Redeemer-understood that those who mourn now, not only for their own sinfulness but also the for the sad sinfulness of the world-yes, those who weep in the dark days and the black nights-will soon rejoice and shout for joy. Their mourning will be turned into dancing and they shall glow and shine with the refreshing oil of joy as they cast aside the their sack cloth for the garments of delight for the River is ever flowing. The River of Eden is ever flowing.

It is flowing across the whole world-who has ever stayed its flowing? Two millennia have not caused its flow to cease. Who can withstand the River of God? Who can defeat the fecundity that comes with its flow. Dark powers think they have succeeded and rejoice in what they see, but they see now-they who would shrink the River to a puddle-that the River is undefeatable. True, to the eyes of human reason much seems to have gone the way of evil, but to the eyes of faith even the dark failures of Man have a meaning beyond reason’s reasoning for evil cannot stay the powers of the River. The dry places are blossoming-many, many of them-and the Tree of life who is Christ himself, is bringing redemption. Many are drinking of the waters of salvation. Nation after nation is hearing the word from the faithful, and those nigh unto death are nigh unto life and the prospect of the eternal Eden is here before them-even now in this hour whilst the rage of hell is against those who hear and believe. Because of this rage many are dying, and many will yet die, but they will be accounted among the holy faithful. Yet I see in my vision and know in my heart, that the River rolls on, flows on, sometimes rushes on and the fruits of the Cross ripen on the ubiquitous Tree of life for it is ever there on the banks of the River, and its leaves ever heal even the nations of the world.

I saw, too, that the community of Christ, the people of God, the ecclesia, have often failed to live fully in the waters of life, choosing other streams, other flowings which dry up and leave their followers in the misery of barrenness and infertility. Like me they need this vision of never failing waters. They need to see the saints and the prophets, the apostles, the teachers, the martyrs and the labourers, all sustained in life and energised in love by this River. They need to see that in the darkest hours of the church the River has ever flowed. they need to see the faithful who for witnessing have scorned the temptations of delight and pleasure and ease. The vision of God makes them restless in the presence of these, for they have desire a better City-one built by God, eternal in the heavens.

Ah! It was then I saw the faithful men and women across the ages, those who died in beginnings of persecution, those who pressed on to strange lands with their message of life. I saw the light of the Reformation flickering at first, then broadening into fuller light until it was glory which broke through the darkness. I saw the servants of God take the land that had been lost. I saw the age of the Evangelical Revival, the quickening of missionary obedience and missionary compassion, the clash of the Kingdoms as the armies of God under the Warrior Christ fought the battles which are taking captivity captive, and liberating the peoples of the world.

Most of all I saw that Eden is no place of an idyll, no resting place for personal pleasure, no harbour for dalliance, and no solitude to escape the harsh reality of the world and its present life. Eden is with us! It is with us as the waters tower high above all things, and surge onwards, never being thwarted, bringing its life-giving powers and its healing for the Adamic peoples. I see that the church is all the time being brought to fruitfulness. The power of the Spirit flows where he wills and the gifts he bestows bring us to richness of life, and to the maturity of love. Without the gifts and bestowals his people are helpless. All honour one another before the God of glory who gave them old honour at Creation and new honour through His Son.

Say not, ‘These days are coming. Let us be glad and rejoice!’ Say, rather, ‘The River is flowing, for the headwaters are breaking across the world, and they shall do their great works, and they shall surge on and on until the commission is fulfilled, and man shall see, with his eyes of faith that the glory of the Lord has indeed covered the earth as the waters cover the sea. Meanwhile His people will abandon their unworthy ideas of somehow sustaining His church and enlarging it, and getting for it the kinds of honour and glory that appeal to fleshly men and women, and they shall watch the River rising in their assemblies until the people walk ankle deep, then thigh deep, then shoulder deep, until they swim in the never ceasing glory, and in their persons that shall marvel that the very River of God flows from their bellies also, so that they share in glory of it all with the hungry and the thirsty in spirit.’

Then shall come to pass that which is written in the prophets and longed for by men and women in all ages, that is, that the Eden of God has been flowing through all centuries, and most powerfully in the Christ himself, and most gloriously in his Cross-not only to one crucified thief there, but to all who will come to faith in him. This River is the Spirit of the Messiah and the Spirit of the Father, and the Spirit of the true People. Those of the People translated to the City of true delight will then gaze with wonder at this vast River of delights flowing through all eternity, and they shall never cease praising Him Who is Father of all, and Who wrought such wonder and delight in and through His Messiah. So they will see that He has ever delighted in them and welcomes them into the home of His own Godhead, for this is the true Eden.

These are the things I saw in my dream, in my vision, and so after many days peace came to my heart, as I pray it will come to yours and to all His elect Family.

G. Bingham, 4th September 2000, Kingswood.

The above vision is the last chapter of Bingham’s book, available at http://www.newcreation.org.au/books/covers/371.html

Appendix 3: “Down Under” No More: The Church In Perth and the Future of Australia by John Yates

Some years ago I was driving along the banks of the Swan River between the port city of Fremantle and the centre of Perth. It was a typical spring day, the sky was perfectly clear and bright blue, the sun was shining brightly and dolphins were playing in the river. I had a tremendous sense of the pleasure of God over the city and all its surrounds. Below is a portion of a prophetic teaching I wrote at the time.

We are transiting from a city of inflow to a city of outflow.  This will occur through an emerging missionary identity in the church.  In God’s eyes his pleasant dwelling place is not only historic Israel (Psalm 106:24) but the people of God as they live together in unity (Psalm 133:1).  This unity will come about as the Christians of this city embrace a message of the fullness of their identity in Christ.

For us today, the restoration of the power of the kingdom of Christ will mean the end of the “bottom of the world/most isolated city on the globe” mentality and the emergence of Perth, spiritually, as a genuine world- city.

The time is coming when the reality spoken of in Psalm 87 will become true for the church in this city.  “Among those who know me I mention Egypt and Babylon; behold, Philistia and Tyre, with Cush— “This one was born there,” they say. 5 And of Zion it shall be said, “This one and that one were born in her”; for the Most High himself will establish her. 6 The Lord records as he registers the peoples, “This one was born there.”” (Psalm 87:4, 5, 6). Just as the psalmist prophesies that the Gentile nations will claim birth in Jerusalem, so the identified spiritual home of a multitude of resident people – groups will be the city of Perth.  Immigrants will no longer think of their spiritual homeland as New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Italy, Greece, Africa or…Neither will the indigenous people of the land be marginalised on the fringes of the church.  The time is coming when believers will no longer look to America or England or any other overseas nation for leadership, prophetic direction and keys to church growth.  It will be said of the work of God in Perth: “All my fountains are in you.” (Psalm 87:7).  Nothing will be felt lacking for the work of God from within the church in this city.

The church in Perth will take its place amongst cities networked across the globe, joined not principally by electronics, but “one heart and purpose” (Jeremiah 32:39) to see the world reached for Christ.  This is a world – church that is being built from heaven (Galatians 4:26). In this way, through sharing in the missional unity of the Father and the Son (John 17:20 -23), Perth will become a hub city with spokes of outreach in all directions.

What will emerge is a post – multicultural church, NOT in the sense that different cultures will be assimilated into a homogeneous whole, but by an intensely deeper experience and expression of our union in Christ.  This will transcend cultural barriers of race, age, and personal spiritual preference.   Somehow, the many – coloured unity of the Gentiles will reach back to the point of origin “provoke Israel to jealousy” and lead to many Jewish conversions (Romans 11:13 – 14,25 -27).

Persons of outstanding character, gifting, clarity and insight will emerge from within the church here. Jesus has the keys for kingdom expansion in his hands, and these keys are people who love this city and reside in it. They are different from the multitude of teachers who pass through, they are “spiritual fathers” whose heart resides in Perth (1 Corinthians 4:15).

As the church begins to live as one, with visible differences but no divisions of culture, God’s people will discover their unique identity.   As God moves his people forward they will together discover together the fullness of their corporate oneness in Christ. This will image to the wider nation something that it has never been sure of: what it means to be “truly Australian.”  Those being impacted by the power of the kingdom of God will not primarily gain their identity from past history or other nations, but will experience what it means to be truly Australian through participating in a church made up of the dynamic interplay of the redeemed gifts of all nations (Revelation 5:9 – 10).  Aboriginal spiritual sensitivity, African jubilation, Chinese business prowess, Mediterranean passion, white Aussie down – to – earthiness, and many other gifts, will all be there.

As the church grows in this identity it is enabled to lead the nation into discovering its destiny and eternal glory in God (Revelation 21:26).  Only in this way can the nation be discipled.

It is this exciting prospect of a mission focused, Christ – centred and many – coloured destiny that we may anticipate and pray for in the coming year.

Appendix 4: “The Mission”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:The_mission.jpg

Appendix 5: Devil’s Throat Iguassu Falls Argentina

Photo credit: Luca Galuzzi – www.galuzzi.it. Retrieved from wikipedia.