What is the fountain of the water of life in Revelation 21:6?

That which is written in Revelation 21 shall come to pass for "the words are true and faithful" (v. 5). The same voice that cried, "It is finished" on the cross at Golgotha shall be heard saying, "It is done" and God shall rest with the multitude of His redeemed sons, in His own love that has been declared by the Son, and shall be all and in all. Meanwhile He declares, "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life." God Himself is the Fountain, and the thirst of the human soul can only be assuaged and satisfied with God, and God is fully revealed to us in JESUS. For "God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit seen of angels, preached to the Gentiles, believed on in the world received up into glory."

A short section (verses 6 to 8) is inserted by the Spirit of God to show how the heart of the Lord Jesus desires that all mankind should enter into this eternal blessing, yet solemnly affirming the contrary for every unbeliever. His words, "It is done" are final and positive: nothing can hinder the accomplishment of God's counsels. He again declares Himself as Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, He who is from eternity to eternity the living God. He promises "the fountain of the water of life freely" to one who thirsts. This is the thirst of realizing one's own emptiness as a sinner in need and thus turning to the one source of this living water, Jesus Christ who gives freely from a heart of perfect grace.

— We greatly love the sentence which follows: “I will give to him that thirsts of the fountain of the water of life freely.” This is present; not future. Neither hunger nor thirst shall be felt in the “new Heaven” and “new earth.” The “splendid array of negatives” (v. 4) forbids the thought of thirsty ones in the eternal state, save in the lake of fire. The heart of God overflows in pity and tenderness towards the needy and unsatisfied sons and daughters of men. The “fountain,” the source of life itself, is promised to the thirsty. It is God’s gift, and freely given, as are all His gifts (Isa. 55:1).

Oh! that the unbelieving, unpardoned, uncleansed sinner would think of this now. Then, it will be too late. Now the fountain is open for sin and for uncleanness, and whosoever will may come and wash and be clean. "I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely." Hear, hear, O sinner, hear these gracious words! They are placed by the very side of that awful verse about the lake of fire. God has thus placed, as it were, side by side, the fountain of living waters, and the lake of fire. And mark, He says, "I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely." It is all of grace, rich, free grace. But those who despise the open fountain of living waters must be cast, with all their evil, into the lake of fire. Awful, solemn warning! Oh! what shall I say unto thee, my fellow sinner? Do stoop, I beseech thee, and drink, and live for ever. The waters are free — free to the poorest — free to the vilest — free to all — free to thee. Think of the difference between the lake of fire and the fountain of living waters. Carefully read Revelation 21:6, 8.

He who sits upon the throne asserts the fulness of His Deity, for no one but God can be the A and the Z — as we should speak — the beginning and end of all things. In this light He presented Himself to John, speaking as One who dwells in the eternal present, above and beyond all questions of time. But at the end of the verse He again speaks in view of time conditions, for thirst is not something that characterizes the eternal state. Thirst is a symbol of unsatisfied desire, and that eminently marks the present time. For the thirsty there is still the water of life, which springs up like a fountain and is freely given. Such is the grace of our God, persisting to the end.

A short section (verses 6 to 8) is inserted by the Spirit of God to show how the heart of the Lord Jesus desires that all mankind should enter into this eternal blessing, yet solemnly affirming the contrary for every unbeliever. His words, “It is done” are final and positive: nothing can hinder the accomplishment of God's counsels. He again declares Himself as Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, He who is from eternity to eternity the living God. He promises “the fountain of the water of life freely” to one who thirsts. This is the thirst of realizing one's own emptiness as a sinner in need and thus turning to the one source of this living water, Jesus Christ who gives freely from a heart of perfect grace.

How, then, are these blessings to be secured? "And He said unto me, It is done [or, "they are done"]. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcomes shall inherit all [or, "these"] things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son." (vv. 6, 7.) How cheering, after these unspeakable glories have flashed before our eyes, to be told that the Eternal One, the first and the last, is pledged to accomplish them on our behalf, and that they are ours freely. The second death is the portion of man by nature; for "it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment." But to the thirsting one, whose parched soul feels its need of the gift of God, is given "of the fountain of the water of life freely." "Whosoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst," says our Lord; "but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life." (John 4:14.)

Our attention has been called lately to what communion with the Father and Son means. May we be truly in the enjoyment of it! But this does not in any way lessen the force of the word fountain (source) in Revelation 21:6. If we have tasted already of the water of life, if the truth of John 4 is not merely a doctrine but a living reality, if the new desires are felt, new affections produced in the heart by the Holy Ghost, and flowing forth towards the Son who has revealed to us the Father - if, I say, these things be realised, the promise to drink eternally of the fountain of the water of life becomes increasingly precious, for we shall drink of that eternal source beyond all time and dispensation, and never shall there be any distance between us and the Father's heart, fully known in the Son. Eternal bliss!

How blessed is this invitation of grace. In chapter 21:6 the Lord had said, "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to him that is athirst of THE FOUNTAIN OF THE WATER OF LIFE freely." Not of the river, or the stream, be it noted. The river of life will flow forth in a mighty volume in the coming millennial age, but now men are invited to the Fountain. The river has been polluted; the opinions of men and "doctrines of devils" have been turned into it, and as the stream has flowed on the error has predominated: — "Some truth there is, but dashed and brew'd with lies; To please the fools, and puzzle all the wise."

You will observe that it is God who is prominent through this portion, exactly answering to what we saw in 1 Cor. 15:28. "And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he saith [to me], Write; for these words are true and faithful" (verse 5). He speaks that sits on the throne. We do not get the Lamb mentioned. It is the glory of God in the fullest possible sense that we have here. "And he said to me, They are done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end." No doubt Christ is the Alpha and the Omega too, as we find in Revelation 22:13; but it is not the Lord as such that acts and speaks here, but God. "I will give him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcometh shall inherit these things; and I will be a God to him, and he shall be a son to me" (verses 6, 7). Nothing can be plainer than that it is God as such who is speaking all through. "But for the cowardly, and unbelievers, and abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers and idolaters, and all the false, their part [shall be] in the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death" (verse 8). A most awful word of warning, and especially as used here! For mark the force of it. It is then God shall be all in all — God who is love. But He is not merely love, which is a false and infidel thought; He is light as well as love. It as much appertains to God to be holy as to be gracious; and the very same portion of His word teaches us both these truths. And here is the final proof of it. In love He comes down to be with His people. They may be men, but they are no longer in weakness and sorrow; for God Himself has wiped away every tear from their eyes. But He is light, and therefore in presence of all things new, where righteousness dwells in peace, when there is no evil or sin, but separation from it for ever by the power of God; even then the portion of the wicked is in the lake burning with fire and brimstone. Note well that this is the eternal state. Remember that in the eternal state there is the doom, the never-ending doom, of those who have rejected Christ and taken their stand on their own miserable self. Here is the award from God Himself. Their part is the second death, where their worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched, as the Lord Jesus so touchingly expresses it. No declaration can be more solemn than that of Rev. 21:8, not only because of its character, but because of its place. When God will have rest in the new heavens and earth — when He will come down to abide among men, because there will no longer be any evil to check — His dwelling with them — then it is that the awful scene presents itself of evil and its hopeless unending torment. This is what God teaches us in His picture of the eternal world. There is not only the bright side, but none the less the lake of fire, which has its course; nor does a word intimate that its horrors will ever come to an end.