I have posted this upon the recommendation of the autho to share this with everyone.
Special Treat – Chris Hansen
February 7, 2007
River of Life! River of Fire!
By Chris Hansen, author of “Revelation Revisited,” and “Secret of the Psalms,” and “Grandfather’s Journal.”
Yes, there really are two majestic rivers that flow from God’s throne. One is the river of life. The other is the river of fire! Saint John saw the river of the water of life, and gave us a very vivid description of what he saw in Revelation chapter 22. On the other hand, the prophet Daniel, saw with his own eyes the river of fire and gave us a very vivid description of what he saw in Daniel chapter 7.
Saint John describes what he saw in Revelation 22:1-2. “Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city.” I wrote about this scene in my book “Revelation Revisited,” which is available at any local or online bookstore, including my publisher’s website, www.xlibris.com. The word “life” is significant, because, John uses the word more than once. (Revelation 21:6.) “To him who is thirsty, I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life.” I used a bit of imagination to try and get some idea of what this would be like. I imagined myself walking toward this crystal clear river, knowing full well that a single drink of that water would grant me life forever and ever! That alone would thrill me with anticipation! However, I know that, as wonderful as this is, I don’t have to stop at a single sip! No! I can drink as much as I might desire, for the rest of time! And, since I already possess eternal life with a single sip, then I conclude that the more I drink, the more alive and vital I feel, and that this wonderful vitality continues to increase throughout time as I continue to drink this wonderful water! Now, is this only in my imagination? Or, is there an indication from Scripture that this is in fact the case? John 4:13-14 gives us a tantalizing clue! Jesus is having a conversation with a woman of Samaria. Jesus is hot and tired and needs water from the well. He asks for her help, and then he tells her something truly astonishing! “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” It really doesn’t matter how much earthly water I drink. If I stop drinking it, I will eventually grow very thirsty, and die a truly horrible death! However, one drink of the water Jesus will give me, and I will never thirst again! In fact, one drink of this water guarantees me a gushing spring within me of an everlasting water supply! This gushing spring will allow me to live forever! And, I can have as much of this vital gushing flow of eternal life as I might desire! Perhaps one of my earthly experiences will illustrate what it may be like to experience this heavenly river. It was summer. We went camping in the Malibu Mountains. The day was about 100 degrees. Our hike was about two hours, I think. Where were we going? To a wonderful, cool, refreshing waterfall with a splendid pool at its base. We had been there before, and we anticipated going there again. On the way there, I grew more and more tired, hot, and thirsty. Then, in the distance I heard it! I heard the sound of refreshing water splashing over the falls! The closer we came, the more I anticipated that wonderful water! Finally, when we arrived, everyone plunged unhesitatingly into that wonderful cool water. It was as wonderful as I expected it to be! I drank deeply from the fresh pool. I bathed myself in the cool wetness. I came out of the water refreshed, and cool, without a hint of any unpleasant shivering cold, or thirst. That is something like what it was like for me to plunge into Jesus. And, one day in Heaven, my longing for refreshing water will be completely satisfied.
So, how do I get this wonderful water! It is given without cost-but only to those who know just what it really cost! It cost Jesus, the Lamb of God his very life! It cost Jesus, the Son of God an agonizing death on the cross! He cried out in His torment that He was thirsty! Yet, in Him, I never have to thirst again!
The next thing we learn about this splendid river flowing from God’s throne is that it is as clear as crystal. In our world, water is often tainted with dirt, or mud, or pollution. Only rarely do we see water that is crystal clear. My wife and I took a trip to the Bahamas as part of our honeymoon trip. We waded out into waist deep water out on to a reef. I was blinded at birth, so I missed this awesome sight, but my wife described it so vividly for me! She said, “The water is so clear that I can look down and see my feet!” Now, this is merely earthly water. Imagine a fast flowing river in Heaven, where, no matter how deep the water is, you can see all the way down to the very bottom, with no trouble whatsoever! That is something like how pure this heavenly water must be.
This river flows from the very throne of God. What would that flow sound like? I have heard about the majestic roar of the Niagara waterfall! The sound shakes the ground beneath your feet, I am told. And, the sound is so loud one can barely be heard speaking above the roar! I have heard the whisper of a soothing flowing brook. I have been high in the mountains, and fallen asleep to the sound of a persistent, whispering hiss of a brook flowing past my cabin. Each of these is possible, I am sure. So, what is the throne of God like? “From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder.” (Revelation 4:5.) I have heard thunderstorms so loud that the vibration from that thunder shakes you down to the bone. I have seen lightning flash brightly from behind black clouds, when I was very young, and my vision was somewhat better than it is today. Lightning bursts forth at 50,000 degrees in brilliant flashes of dazzling silver, or white, or blue. These lightning flashes on earth can even be brighter than the sun. How much grander must heaven itself appear! That is something like what God’s throne looks like, I am sure. The throne of God appears to be a rather noisy place! So, if a river flowed from that majestic throne, it would not surprise me at all, if that river should sound like a grand waterfall!
And, what amazing colors can be seen from this throne! “And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian. A rainbow resembling an emerald, encircled the throne.” (Revelation 4:3.) There is color-color-everywhere! I describe this color in vivid detail-as best I can-in “Revelation Revisited.” Imagine red, like a beautiful sunset, or an elegant wine, or even like the blood of Christ! Imagine orange, like the juiciest orange you could imagine! Imagine a bright yellow, like a wonderful sunny day! Imagine the greenest forest you can ever imagine! Imagine the deepest blue of the ocean or of the sky! Imagine the whitest snow you have ever seen! Imagine pink like a rose-like a dress a princess would wear! That is something like what God’s throne and God Himself looks like-as John saw it! Though I have not seen these colors, I have described these colors with the help of my research assistant and with the help of my friends and family who have guided me with their eyes and their descriptions. I am truly awestruck at the prominence of color and beauty on display in the book of “Revelation.” If Heaven is anything like these descriptions, I certainly wish to go there myself, and make sure others get the same chance as well.
This wonderful river is “flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb.” (Revelation 22:2.) I notice, as I am sure you do, that God and the Lamb are treated in the same sense-that is, they are both treated as God ought to be treated. John makes it plain that God’s throne is the Lamb’s throne, and that the Lamb’s throne is God’s throne too. There are some today who believe that the early church didn’t actually believe that Jesus was God Himself. What patent nonsense! Revelation 5:13 among other passages treats the Lamb and God precisely the same way: “To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!” Then the chapter concludes with the twenty-four elders falling down in worship. Obviously, God and God’s Lamb are both treated as worthy of worship! The whole book of Revelation is deliberately written to give us the impression that Jesus is both God Himself, and God’s sacrificial Lamb as well!
We are also told that this magnificent river flows right down the middle of the great street of the heavenly city. (Revelation 22:2.) What a wonderful scene that must be! When my children were young, we would go to the park, and they would play happily in the city pool. I smiled when I heard laughing and splashing and conversations going on from the waters of that pool. The children were completely carefree as they splashed and played together. I imagine that this heavenly river will be just like that, and so much more! I have walked through my downtown section of the city I live in, and I have heard the soothing splash and hiss of the city fountain right near the courthouse. The river of God will be even more soothing than that, I am sure. In today’s cities, we parents worry about kids playing in the middle of the street. Yet, in that wonderful new city, not only will God’s children play in the streets, they’ll actually go swimming in them! Even today, in the city of Baghdad, the Tigris river flows right down the middle of that great city. This river reminds the people that they will always have a supply of water available to them. Heaven’s grand river will be ever so much more reassuring. Every summer, here in the central valley of California, there are always news reports of people who drown tragically in fast flowing rivers. In heaven’s grand river, this will not even come into mind! Imagine splashing in this cool river, with absolutely no fear of drowning, whatsoever! Imagine leaving that water feeling as clean as if you had just stepped out of a refreshing shower! Imagine leaving that water without the slightest hint of shivering! Imagine every sip feeling like the first thirst quenching sip of an ice cold stream! That is, I think, a vague description of what is in store for God’s children, one day!
Revelation 21:21 reminds us that the main street of this wonderful city is made of the purest gold that is actually transparent. My book describes it something like this: The street was so clear, that it was as if citizens were walking on nothing but the air; and the street was of the purest gold, so that it seemed as if these citizens were walking on pure sunshine. I think that’s about the best we can do, when using earthly human language, in describing this wonderful scene. Now, we leave this idyllic scene, of happy splashing in God’s river surrounded by pure transparent streets, and the enormous palace that reaches 1500 miles into the sky. We move now, to the other river I mentioned-the river of fire!
To understand just what Daniel saw, we must take a journey back through time. Daniel, a prophet speaking from the distant past, is seeing into the distant future. The time is about 530 B.C. Daniel is writing down the visions he has seen. He describes the river of fire this way: (Daniel 7:9-10.) “As I looked, Thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took his seat. His clothing was as white as snow; the hair of his head was white like wool. His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze. A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before him. Thousands upon thousands attended him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The court was seated and the books were opened.”
John in Revelation recounts very similar visions in a number of passages: “Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders.” (Revelation 5:11.)
“Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. Then, death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, He was thrown into the lake of fire.” (Revelation 20:11-15.)
Now, this river before God’s throne, which Daniel so vividly describes, sounds truly terrifying indeed! Is there anything in our earthly experience that comes close to this river? Yes, I think there is. I recall a national geographic program which described the destruction of Pompeii by Mount Vesuvius, very graphically. Pliny, the younger, (I think,) a Roman historian wrote about a river of fire flowing down the mountainside. One of the scientists interviewed for national geographic recounted some truly terrifying details. Sometimes, when a volcano erupts, a pyroplastic flow comes roaring down the mountain at about 200 miles per hour! This flow is composed of superheated gas, volcanic ash, and lava. This searing mixture destroys everything in its path. People unlucky enough to be caught by the stream die horribly! Water in their body becomes superheated steam! This superheated steam actually cooks the human brain from the inside out, and human skulls burst from the sudden pressure! People who are killed in this way die in agony-but mercifully, this agony doesn’t last very long! However, people caught in the river of fire from the throne of God aren’t so fortunate! On earth, the pyroplastic flow of about 2000 degrees turns the human body into superheated steam. What if this sort of thing also happens in the heavenly realm? Only this time, the one caught in this flow can never die, never lose consciousness, and never never escape the agony! Revelation chapter 14 makes it quite clear that this eternal torment really does last forever and ever, without rest, day or night. (Revelation 14:11.) It appears that we have two stark choices before us-two very different rivers.-splashing in a cool refreshing crystal clear river, or screaming in an agonizing pyroplastic flow!
John tells us that we are all judged by what is written in the books. Our eternal destiny rides on those meticulous records. Now someone will object: “Hold on a minute! We are saved by grace-not works! I can’t do anything to add to my salvation-so it’s not fair for me to be judged by what’s in the books!” Oh isn’t it? Now, it is very true, that a million good deeds don’t even compare to one precious drop of Christ’s holy blood shed for you. One death on a cross does make up for a lifetime of bad deeds. And, a life full of good deeds just isn’t good enough to get us past Heaven’s gates. So, why are we judged according to the books? The answer is really quite simple. If I have trusted Christ, how do you really know? You can’t read my mind. You can’t see into my heart and soul. So, how do you really know? You know because of what I have done!!! That’s why this judgment is so fair. What you do demonstrates what you believe. I have trusted in Christ alone, and I have trusted in none of my good works. However, my works prove that this trust I claim to possess is indeed true. Reading this article is evidence that this is true. If this article had been in my mind alone, what good would it do? The article does you no good unless I sit down and do something about it. Worshiping at my church, and helping others, and the like, doesn’t save me. However, these things are obvious evidence that I have trusted Jesus for my salvation. Suppose you’ve got some poor fellow who stands before the judge. Suppose that in seventy years of his records, not once did he talk about Jesus, and, not once did he ever attend church, and not once did he have anything nice to say about Christians. Wouldn’t it be fair to conclude that he didn’t believe in Christ? So, as you can see, it is perfectly fair to be judged by what we have done.
Daniel gives us this solemn warning. (Daniel 12:1-2.) “There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people-everyone whose name is found written in the book-will be delivered. Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt.” Then Daniel encourages us: “Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever.” Yes, John Newton’s hymn of praise, “Amazing Grace,” is really true.
“When we’ve been there ten thousand years,
bright, shining as the sun,
we’ve no less days,
to sing God’s praise,
than when we’ve first begun!”
Revelation 22:15 gives us this warning: “Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.” If entrance into Heaven depends on our goodness, then Heaven will be a truly beautiful but lonely place indeed! I for one would never qualify. I dabbled in the occult. By my own human nature I am sexually lustful. I have murdered people-in my mind at least-by wishing they were dead. I have worshiped idols-by merely putting anything before God. And, yes, I have engaged in falsehoods to advance my own agenda. Yes, I have sought the occult, instead of prayer. I have confessed to the Holy One that I have been sexually immoral-in fantasies of the mind. I have had to confess to the Author of Life, Jesus, who died for others, that I had no regard for some human lives. I have had to confess to the God who said, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me,” that I have done just that! I have had to confess to the author of truth, that by nature, I would rather lie. So, why am I going to Heaven instead of that horrible pyroplastic place?
Because the river of fire is so terrible, Jesus was willing to die a truly horrible death to rescue me from this place. I can’t even imagine the pain he must have endured for my sake. However, I can try. Once, I had a car door slam hard on my thumb nail. Bolts of pain shot through me! That’s not even close to what he endured when they drove iron spikes through his hands and feet! I remember hearing about a man who had to cut off his own arm to free himself from a rock slide and save his own life. He recounted that when the edge of his knife touched what looked like a piece of spaghetti, he found out it was the very sensitive nerve that ran through his arm. He knew this because, the slightest touch sent bolts of fiery pain through his arm! Now, that’s getting closer to what Jesus endured for hours and hours to pay for my admittance into this wonderful heavenly city. I wrote about this in my latest book “Secret of the Psalms,” when describing the brutal crucifixion Jesus had to endure-a crucifixion which was predicted in amazing detail in Psalm 22, a thousand years in advance. I had to do just what the thief on the cross next to Jesus had to do. Like him, I had to admit that my life had not been pleasing to God. I had to admit that Jesus was my only hope. Then I had to humbly ask for his rescue. It’s really like the A B C of getting to Heaven.
Admit.
Believe.
Confess.
Admit that without Jesus, you have no hope!
Believe that Jesus is your only hope of rescue!
Confess to Jesus and to others that you have put your trust in Jesus alone!
A
B
C
Any child can say A B C and you and I, like humble children can do the very same!
Oh Jesus, I am the guilty one!
Please, please forgive me for what I’ve done!
I don’t want to end up in that hellish pyroplastic flow!
Please, please, to your river in Heaven, may I go?
Amen.
You might consider passing this article around and giving others a chance to go to Heaven with you.
Chris Hansen
chrishansen54@sbcglobal.net
