Fountains of Life

UV 973/10,000 Fountains of Life Rev 7:17 For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. Jesus is portrayed as both the Lamb of God who was slain and as the good Shepherd who feeds the sheep of God. Like the blemishless lamb that Abel sacrificed to God out of the best of his sheep, Jesus presented Himself as a blemishless lamb. His was considered a better sacrifice for while Abel’s lamb was physically blemishless, Jesus is spiritually blemishless and blameless. While Abel’s lamb was not a sacrifice that would be enough for all time, the sacrifice of Jesus is enough for all people and for all time for their absolution. The Lamb in the midst of the throne is a sign that Jesus no longer moves in our midst as a meek lamb but He is as a mighty lion, mighty God, Ruler and Redeemer. He is sovereign and all powerful. What He speaks or ordains from His throne will be executed in heaven as on earth. The enemy attacks us a roaring lion- a deadly attack on our life and well being or as an anaconda-an assault of deception and temptation and as foxes- nibbling and vexing troubles of daily life. The Lamb on the throne having faced all these types of assaults will fend for us and defend us from the lion, the anaconda and the foxes of cunning. While Abel’s lamb did not come back to life, Jesus came back to life and continues to serve mankind for all time. He now presents Himself as the good Shepherd. The shepherd’s responsibility is to find watering holes and lead his sheep to pastures to graze and water to drink. Jesus as the good Shepherd leads us daily to spiritual pastures to feed. He feeds us from the holy scriptures. He leads us to living fountains. Each promise of God is a living fountain of water. A fountain is a beautiful and awesome arrangement of water that wins the appreciation of all who see it. Similarly, God’s grace will flow in our lives beautifully and in an awesome way. Each verse in scripture holds the water of life that continually renews our lives even as we face different types of need in our lives. The plural “ waters” implies that we have different types of thirst or deep need as human beings – spiritual, emotional, intellectual and the Lord will cause living fountains of waters to rise to satisfy our thirst. As the psalm says, “ as the deer pants for the water, my soul longs for the Lord.” The Lord promises to wipe all tears from our eyes. Each of us has different types of sorrows, regrets, fears, anxieties nagging us. The Lord sees the cause and source of all the sadness in our lives and He will comfort us. He will cause these sources to dry up and remove the cause of our sighing, fears and tears. Indeed, sorrow and sighing shall flee away. This uni-verse shows that the Lord provides for us, protects us, comforts and encourages us. Prateep V Philip