“For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.”
Jeremiah 2:13
Guess how much Americans spend annually on bottled water.
More than $13 billion – and the total is growing rapidly every year.
That’s pretty extraordinary considering bottled water is 2,000 times more expensive than tap water.
But Americans buy more than 43 billion individual one-liter bottles per year. Globally, people by more than 200 billion – making it a $117 billion market.
The most expensive is a bottle of Acqua di Cristallo from France and Fiji. It comes in a 24-karat gold bottle with a sprinkling of gold dust. It costs $60,000.
That begs the question: How much would people be willing to pay for “living water”? And what is it – really?
The biblical story of the Samarian woman at the well is a familiar one.
In John 4, we read that Jesus journeyed to Samaria and stopped at Jacob’s well to rest in the early afternoon. A woman came to the well to draw water, and Jesus, alone, without His disciples, asked for a drink.
The woman questioned Jesus: “How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.”
Jesus said to her, if you knew the gift of God and you were talking to, you would have asked for “living water” and He would have given it to you. He explained whoever drank of this “living water” would never thirst again.
“But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life,” Jesus said.
Most Christians read these verses and consider them strictly metaphorical – a kind of spiritual analogy. And, indeed, on one level, they are. But there is more to them. To understand the mystery of “living water,” you’ve got to go back to the beginning of the Book, which far too few Christians do in a serious and systematic way.
One day, the Bible promises in countless prophecies – many explicit and others presented in mere fragmentary, mysterious and shadowy glimpses – a time when Jesus the Messiah, the Christ, the Son of God, the bread of life, the fountain of living waters, the light of the world, the Lamb “slain from the foundation of the Earth,” will return to the world as the Lion of Judah, a conquering King, to save Israel from annihilation and to redeem the world.
Most prophecy books and sermons of the last 50 years have focused on a series of events Christians refer to as the Great Tribulation – a period of seven years marked by catastrophic events that befall the world.
My new book, “The Restitution of All Things,” is different. It zeroes in on what follows – a Millennial Kingdom of peace, justice, prosperity and rest. Indeed, the Bible promises, it will be like the Garden of Eden.
Sound good? So what are we waiting for? When will it come?
Get Joseph Farah’s new book, “The Restitution of All Things: Israel, Christians and the End of the Age,” available now – autographed – only at the WND Superstore.
Jesus told us in Luke 13:35 before His death on the cross that we would not see Him again “until the time come when ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.”
One day, His people, the Jews, will recognize their true and long-awaited Messiah and proclaim as one: “Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord” – or, in Hebrew, “Baruch haba beshem Adonai.”
Jesus, or Yeshua, as He was called by His friends and enemies alike when He walked upon the Earth, healed thousands, preached repentance and about life in this Kingdom to come, all the while challenging the first century religious authorities, will return with the clouds, yet every eye will see him, including the descendants of those who crucified Him and all mankind will weep and wail because of Him (Revelation 1:7).
His feet shall stand upon the Mount of Olives as a great earthquake causes half of the mountain to move toward the north and the other half to move toward the south creating a great valley (Zechariah 14:4). The sun and the moon will be darkened and there will signs in the heavens (Joel 2:31).
“And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call” (Joel 2:32).
Someone will ask Him, “What are these wounds in your hands?” He will answer, “Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends” (Zechariah 13:6). Then they will look upon Him whom they have pierced and mourn as one mourns only for his firstborn son (Zechariah 12:10).
Thus, Jesus, raised from the dead to sit at the right hand of the Father, will come to sit on the throne of David, as was prophesied throughout the Bible – in 2 Samuel 3, 1 Kings 2, 1 Kings 9, 2 Chronicles 6, Psalm 122, Psalm 132, Isaiah 9:7, Isaiah 16:5, Jeremiah 17:25, Jeremiah 33:15-17 and by the angel Gabriel in Luke 1:32. What is all this about? It’s about the beginning of “the restitution of all things,” as Peter called it in Acts 3:21, the phrase that inspired the title of my new book.
As most Christians in the world prepare to celebrate Christmas, we should all be familiar with this Coming Kingdom in which Jesus will rule and reign. One of the most familiar verses in the Bible depicts it. You can find these words from Isaiah 9:6-7 on many Christmas cards: “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.”
Jesus is that King of Kings, that Prince of Peace, that mighty God. He will literally sit on that throne of David as the Messiah, establishing judgment and justice forever. This is the kind of prophecy that too many priests, pastors, authors and teachers don’t spend nearly enough time exploring.
And, if you want to fully understand the literal meaning of “living waters,” this is where you will find it.
In that day, the parched and arid Middle East, the center of so much conflict throughout history, will be healed by the presence of the King of Kings from whom living healing waters flow.
“And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be” (Zechariah 14:8).
“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” (Revelation 7:17).
What will that living water be like?
We get a picture in Ezekiel 47 as waters rush out from under the threshold of the Temple in Jerusalem toward the east. This will not be trickle of water like we see today in the Jordan. It will be river that cannot be passed over. It run eastward and go down into the Judean desert and into the Dead Sea. “And it shall come to pass, that every thing that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live: and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed; and every thing shall live whither the river cometh” (Ezekiel 47:9).
Are you hungry for a fresh, inspiring look at the Bible? “The Restitution of All Things: Israel, Christians and the End of the Age” is available now for Christmas and Hanukkah.
Everyone has heard of the Dead Sea, the lowest point in the world. It’s truly lifeless, with a mind-blowing salinity level of more than 34 percent – 10 times saltier than ocean water and about twice as salty as Utah’s Great Salt Lake. Tourists from all over the world come to the Dead Sea today to experience its healing properties of the minerals, the very low content of pollens and other allergens in the atmosphere, the reduced ultraviolet component of solar radiation and the higher atmospheric pressure. They also come to float haplessly in the water that won’t allow you to sink.
There’s a historic town near the Dead Sea. It served as a refuge for David when he was running from King Saul, who was trying to kill him. It’s called En Gedi, as it was then. It’s a rocky, mountainous oasis in the midst of a wilderness today. But it, too, will take on new life when Jesus returns – becoming an abundant fishing village where today no fish are found.
It seems En Gedi will become lakefront beach property.
Ezekiel 47:10-12 tells us: “And it shall come to pass, that the fishers shall stand upon it from Engedi even unto Eneglaim; they shall be a place to spread forth nets; their fish shall be according to their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many. But the miry places thereof and the marishes thereof shall not be healed; they shall be given to salt. And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine.”
Thus, the Dead Sea will be resurrected like the land of Israel and the nations during Jesus’ earthly reign as King.
But that’s not all these living waters will bring. Ezekiel 47:8-9 tells us the mountains of Israel will be tilled and sown and shoot forth branches and yield abundant fruit. But it will also cleanse people of their sins, an illustration of why believers partake in the ritual of baptism – today, just as they did in the time of Jesus and John the Baptist.
“Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you,” we’re told in Ezekiel 47:25.
God promises to give Israel a new heart and a new spirit that will cause the nation to walk in His statutes and keep His commandments (Ezekiel 47:26-27). And that is the literal fulfillment of what Christians call the New Covenant – which was prophesied in Jeremiah 31 long before it was mentioned in the Greek Scriptures.
Israel will become what it was always designed by God to be – a light to the nations. These “living waters” will manifest not just spiritually but literally and physically.
All this blessing will cause people to say: “This land that was desolate is become like the garden of Eden; and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are become fenced, and are inhabited” (Ezekiel 47:35).
Does this make you a little more interested in “The Restitution of All Things”?
As Christians prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus, I pray that you will consider getting deeper into the God’s living Word to discover, with the help of the Holy Spirit, new wonderment, astonishment, excitement, enthusiasm and context in the scriptures in the new year.
Get Joseph Farah’s new book, “The Restitution of All Things: Israel, Christians and the End of the Age,” available now – autographed – only at the WND Superstore.
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