Do You Remember the Source of the Water of Life?

饮水思源 (yǐn shuǐ sī yuán) is a Chinese idiom that embodies the meaning of gratitude. Its literal definition is ‘remembering the source when drinking water’, and its meaning is to be grateful and remember the one who helped you. The meaning of this idiom is relatable to the teachings in the Bible. Water is essential for the human body to live. The Bible teaches us that there is also water for the spirit, and the source of the spiritual water is God.

Source of the Water of Life

God the Father, Jehovah gave the living water in the Old Testament (Jeremiah 2:13). He came as the Christ—Jesus—and gave the living water in the New Testament (John 4:14). In this age, the Bible says that the Spirit and the bride will give mankind the water of life.

Revelation 22:17 The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.

The Spirit refers to the Holy Spirit, who is God the Father. Then, who is the bride, giving the water of life, along with the Holy Spirit?

Revelation 21:9-10 One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.

The bride is the heavenly Jerusalem coming down from heaven. Who is the heavenly Jerusalem to us?

Galatians 4:26 But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother.

The Jerusalem above, which is the heavenly Jerusalem is described as “our mother”. “Our” refers to the people of God. So the heavenly Jerusalem is the mother of God’s people, God the Mother.

Thus, in Revelation 22,  the Spirit and the bride who give the water of life in this age are God the Father and God the Mother.

Water of Life Comes From Jerusalem

While the New Testament records that God the Mother gives the water of life, it was also prophesied in the Old Testament that She will give mankind the living water.

Zechariah 14:8 On that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem, half of it east to the Dead Sea and half of it west to the Mediterranean Sea, in summer and in winter.

The physical Jerusalem is a city in Israel. This prophecy does not refer to the physical Jerusalem, and the living water does not refer to physical water. Instead, it is a prophecy that the spiritual Jerusalem will be the source of the spiritual water. The spiritual Jerusalem is revealed to be the mother of God’s people in the New Testament (Galatians 4:26).

The prophet Zechariah saw the vision that the living water would be given by the heavenly Jerusalem in the future. Apostle John, who wrote the Revelation about the bride, the heavenly Jerusalem, similarly testifies that She will give the water of life in the time to come (Revelation 22:17).

Ezekiel, another prophet in the Old Testament, also prophesied that the water of life would be given by the heavenly Mother.

Ezekiel 47:1-2 The man brought me back to the entrance to the temple, and I saw water coming out from under the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east). The water was coming down from under the south side of the temple, south of the altar. He then brought me out through the north gate and led me around the outside to the outer gate facing east, and the water was trickling from the south side.

This is the same prophecy in Zechariah 14 as the water mentioned here also flowed toward the east and to the Dead Sea (Ezekiel 47:8). The water flowing out from the temple refers to the water of life. The prophet Ezekiel also saw the water of life flowing out from its source, the temple.

Ezekiel 47:3-5 As the man went eastward with a measuring line in his hand, he measured off a thousand cubits and then led me through water that was ankle-deep. He measured off another thousand cubits and led me through water that was knee-deep. He measured off another thousand and led me through water that was up to the waist. He measured off another thousand, but now it was a river that I could not cross, because the water had risen and was deep enough to swim in—a river that no one could cross.

As the water of life flows, it progressively became a river that no one could cross. This shows that the water of life becomes more and more powerful as it flows. With modern boats and ships, mankind can cross all kinds of rivers on earth. However, Ezekiel saw the river of the water of life, the spiritual water.

Ezekiel 47:8-9 He said to me, “This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah, where it enters the Dead Sea. When it empties into the sea, the salty water there becomes fresh. Swarms of living creatures will live wherever the river flows. There will be large numbers of fish, because this water flows there and makes the salt water fresh; so where the river flows everything will live.

The Dead Sea is known for its high concentration of salt where no living creatures can live in it. However, wherever the river flows, living creatures will live. So this is a prophecy about the river of the water of life. Ezekiel saw this river coming from the temple. However, the Apostle John gave more details about the source of this river of living water.

Revelation 22:1 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…

John said that the water of life was flowing from the throne of God. The prophet Jeremiah proclaimed that the throne of God has another name.

Jeremiah 3:17 At that time they will call Jerusalem The Throne of the LORD…

The throne of God will be called Jerusalem at the appointed time. The Apostle John confirmed this prophecy in the book of Revelation as he establishes the relationship that the water of life is given by the Spirit and the bride.

Revelation 22:17 The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.

According to all the relevant testimonies of the Bible, the water of life certainly flows out from the heavenly Mother.

Galatians 4:26 But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother.

Water of Life Needed in a Time of Spiritual Famine

From a spiritual point of view, mankind is facing a famine of hearing the words of God in these last days, as prophesied in the Bible.

Amos 8:11 “The days are coming,” declares the Sovereign Lord, “when I will send a famine through the land— not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the Lord.

Nevertheless, those who receive the water of life will be given spiritual life, that is, eternal life. The book of Revelation given by Jesus to Apostle John already proclaimed the solution to this problem. It is written in the Bible that those who are spiritually thirsty would find the Spirit and the bride to receive the water of life (Revelation 22:17). More specifically, the Bible points to the heavenly Mother, who is called the heavenly Jerusalem and the bride, as the source from which flows the river of the water of life.

The Chinese idiom 饮水思源 (yǐn shuǐ sī yuán) that says to remember the source while drinking water is indeed relatable to the teachings of the Bible. Many prophets in the Bible continuously tell people where the source of the water of life is. Let’s listen to the words of the prophets and seek its source—the heavenly Mother!