The Living Lifestream
Exploring Revelation 22:1
A resource for understanding the Biblical concept of 'The River of Life' from Revelation 22:1
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|||STRANDS IN THE stream|||
"Then the angel showed me a river with the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb."
Revelation 22:1
- New Living Translation
"RIVER OF LIFE" & Revelation 22:1
In order to understand what the word 'Lifestream' may mean in a Christian context, we benefit from examining accounts from people who have had their own experiences with the River of Life.
Mary K. Baxter revealed how she was shown the River of Life in Heaven. She defined it as: "water that anyone could walk on, swim in, go under - you would not drownd." She continued to describe how on either side of the river was trees for the healing of nations.
Annick Michel was in hospital in extreme pain when a tall being approached her in the room. Annick felt that the presence before her was Jesus Christ and she felt him touch her left foot. Upon that happening she experienced a river of fresh water coming through her whole body, washing over her. She could hear the sound of the river and fountain of waters cleansing her entire body.
Bernada Fernandez recounts how she saw the river of the water of life flowing from the throne. Like Mary K. Baxter, Bernada also witnessed the Tree of Life, and something she calls the 'River of Crystal.'
Jason Eli also claims to have seen the River of Life and confirms Baxters account of a river that is impossible to drowned in. He explains how everything about this River looks absolutely clean and pure.
Tricia Barker in her book Angels in the OR, recounts a near death experience she had as a college student: "At some point i was stopped," she explains, "...and God said with this booming voice, 'Look Down' and when i looked down i saw this river which i thought was the River of Life."
Randy Kay in his book Dying to meet Jesus talks about his near death experience. "Everything was alive. Everything spoke Life. There was a river pouring forth and from my perspective it seemed like it was coming from Jesus."
These accounts weave so perfectly into Revelation 22:1 that it is impossible to dispute. The River of Life reflects the very Essence of God, and the eternity of his Kingdom. The following two stories recount tales that are beyond descriptive in their insights.
In a book by Judy Franklin entitled "Experiencing the Heavenly Realm" Judy explains various object lessons she gained from her multiple visitations to heaven in vision. She explains that her vision began in a garden in heaven and gave a detailed description of the River of Life which flows out from the holy city, through the garden as a stream.
"One day while in the garden, I went over to the stream and dipped my hand in the water. I knew it was liquid because I could feel the silky wetness on my fingers, but it looked solid and unyielding as thought it was made of glass. I was immediately reminded of Revelation 22:1."
Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb. (Rev 22:1)
Judy described the stream more like liquid glass rather than being clear as crystal.
"I went over to the stream, jumped in, and submerged myself. As the water surrounded me I could feel its weight and vitality. After I jumped in the water it felt much larger than a stream. The water started flowing faster and faster and I felt like I was going to be swept away in the current. There was nothing for me to grab ahold of that would keep me from being carried away. The water rushed over me like the white water of a fast river. When I finally got out of the river, my clothing was white, white --bright white! It reminded me of another verse in Revelation 3:5."
He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before my father and before his angels. (Rev 3:5)
Judy states that she wanted to get in that stream as much and as often as possible. Later she recounts that she drank from the stream and started to wash herself. Suddenly she was overtaken with the spirit of laughter.
"I rolled around onto the side of the bank laughing, drinking, and splashing the water on me. God the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit were laughing also. His glory was in the stream. His glory was wonderful."
Ana Werner, author of The Warrior's Victory, was shown what she refers to as "God's room of Ravishing Love." She saw Jesus in the room, knee deep in liquid. "Come on in Ana" he told her. Ana describes this water as a substance that didn't quite appear like the water that we all recognize. This water was more like honey with a sticky quality to it. Many colours emanated from the water. She saw the water not just flowing on the ground but flowing up the walls and down from the ceiling as if to encase the whole room.
Ana walked into the room and became knee deep in the water herself. Observing that the water was pouring out of a faucet that had been left running she instinctively sought to turn it off. Ana then heard the voice of Jesus tell her: "Ana, that's my Love, you can't turn it off." At this point Ana realized that she was in the tangible presence of the Love of GOD. Ana had the revelation that what she was floating on was actually the pure Love of GOD. This is why the substance of the water seemed different than how we know it to be on Earth. Ana realized that if this was God's Love, then she wanted to swim in it!
In this account we discover how God's Love manifests in the form of water. It has a tangible, deliberate flow, and it is infused with a cascade of colour. Ana's instinctive desire to swim in this water demonstrates how GOD really does want us in this flow. He wants us to seek out this Love for our own. Judy Franklin in her experience described the water she saw as "solid and unyielding." Ana Werner described the water as if like "honey with a sticky quality." Both accounts talk about a form of water that carries with it a substance and depth we can't imagine. Judy Franklin states that she wanted to get into that stream while Ana Werner wanted to swim in it. The amazing quality of this water made these two individuals want to exist within it, and never leave.
The book 'Streams in the Desert' is a compilation of daily devotionals written by 360 different authors. One of the daily devotionals was written by John Gresham Machen who was an American Presbyterian theologian in the early 20th century. He talks about the deep waters of the Holy Spirit which are: "always accessible, because they are always flowing. Will you claim afresh and anew today to be immersed and drenched in these waters of life? The waters in Ezekiel’s vision were at first coming out from under the threshold of the temple. (Ezek. 47:5) Then a man went to measure it , he found it to be ankle-deep. Soon he measure and found the water was knee deep. Again he measured and the water was to the waist. Next it was a river that no one could cross." (Ezek 47:5)
John Gresham Machen continues. "How far have we advanced into this river of life? The Holy Spirit desires that our self be completely submerged – not merely ankle-deep, knee-deep, waist-deep, but self-deep. He wants us hidden and bathed under this life-giving stream. Let loose the lines holding you to the shore and sail into the deep. And never forget, the Man who does the measuring is with us today."
Senior Pastors Dennis and Dr. Jennifer Clark minister full-time as a husband and wife team. They talk about rivers of living water flowing from the belly - in relation to forgiveness, healing and self-deliverance. Clearly a 'River of Life' or 'Stream of Life' work on the same principle.
The owner of 'Jesus Is calling you' YouTube channel recounts a dream she had. "This river of water started flowing and it was crystal clear. I remember that it came in so quickly it was like a little whirlpool and it was swirling around our feet."
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"Deciphering Lifestream"
When one thinks of fiber optics we picture a cable built of glass or plastic threads that are used to transmit light or information. Quite literally it is a cable capable of transmitting messages modulated as light waves in a high-speed fashion. If our individual soul is a body of light, our LIFESTREAM is the bundle of individual threads that make up who we are, our relationship with God, and dictates how we navigate through this relationship and life on Earth.
Could there be strands that make up the fibers of your Lifestream? What is the unique bundle of ingredients that makes up your stream?
If you were to write out each one, would they look something like this?
The Strand of Acceptance (S3/E1)
The Strand of Awakening
The Strand of Compassion (S1/E4)
The Strand of Confidence (S1/E6)
The Strand of Communication (S3/E2)
The Strand of Connection (S3/E3)
The Strand of Conviction (S2/E4)
The Strand of Courage
The Strand of Devotion (S1/E1)
The Strand of Divinity
The Strand of Endurance (S3/E5)
The Strand of Eternity
The Strand of Expansion
The Strand of Expression
The Strand of Faith
The Strand of Forgiveness
The Strand of Freedom
The Strand of Fulfillment
The Strand of Glory
The Strand of Gratitude
The Strand of Growth
The Strand of Harmony
The Strand of Inspiration
The Strand of Integrity
The Strand of Intuition
The Strand of Love
The Strand of Passion
The Strand of Patience
The Strand of Power
The Strand of Purpose
The Strand of Reflection
The Strand of Rhythm
The Strand of Strength
The Strand of Surrender
The Strand of Tenderness (S1/E2)
The Strand of Transformation
The Strand of Trust
The Strand of Truth
All of these strands and more make up the bundle of connections inside your Lifestream. The essence of the bundle as a whole, can be used to live a life with God.
To further support the concept of strands Elizabeth Goudge wrote the following from 'The Castle on the Hill' (1941) "In spite of all that has befallen the world I still believe that the threads of it, ourselves, are held surely in the scheme of things by some great unconquerable spiritual power. Call it what you will - destiny, fate, the first cause, the lifestream, God - it does not lose hold of a single thread."
Your Lifestream is the chord which connects you to God and is the bundle of threads that makes you who you are. This simple principle brings one a more personal connection with a living God. But, as with the nature of water, it creates in us a sense of fluidity that is essential in feeling the flow of God.
This is an exciting proposition because it means that we are able to stay flexible in an ever changing world, yet remain ridgid in the ideals that bring us salvation with our Lord. Once the conviction is set within our Lifestream, we have a solid blueprint to work from and can start reshaping the direction of our lives.
Love
Infinite
Forever
Eternal
Spirit
Tranquility
Realm
Ethereal
Almighty
Merging
On the next page we will look more closely at the breakdown of a strand and how these strands bundle into your own Lifestream.
A resource for understanding the Biblical concept of 'The River of Life' from Revelation 22:1
Canada
admin