July 30, 2023 – John’s Writings – Rivers of Life

Rivers of Life

Jeremiah 17:12-15 - New International Version (NIV)

¹² A glorious throne, exalted from the beginning,
    is the place of our sanctuary.
¹³ Lord, you are the hope of Israel;
    all who forsake you will be put to shame.
Those who turn away from you will be written in the dust
    because they have forsaken the Lord,
    the spring of living water.

¹⁴ Heal me, Lord, and I will be healed;
    save me and I will be saved,
    for you are the one I praise.
¹⁵ They keep saying to me,
    “Where is the word of the Lord?
    Let it now be fulfilled!”

What is “a glorious throne, exalted from the beginning” (verse 12)?

Who is “the hope of Israel” (verse 13)?

Who will be “put to shame” (verse 13)?

Who is “the spring of living water” (verse 13)?

When will Jeremiah be healed (verse 14)?

When will Jeremiah be saved (verse 14)?

What do “they keep saying to me” (verse 15)?

What does Jeremiah want to happen (verse 15)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about moving from thinking of God only as a power who can provide safety to also thinking of God as the source of life?

John 7:37-43 - New International Version (NIV)

³⁷ On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. ³⁸ Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” ³⁹ By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.

⁴⁰ On hearing his words, some of the people said, “Surely this man is the Prophet.”

⁴¹ Others said, “He is the Messiah.”

Still others asked, “How can the Messiah come from Galilee? ⁴² Does not Scripture say that the Messiah will come from David’s descendants and from Bethlehem, the town where David lived?” ⁴³ Thus the people were divided because of Jesus.

When did Jesus stand up and speak (verse 37)?

Who did He call to “come to me and drink” (verse 37)?

Where will “rivers of living water flow from” (verse 38)?

What did Jesus mean by “rivers of living water” (verse 39)?

Why had the Spirit not yet been given (verse 39)?

Who said “surely this man is the Prophet” (verse 40)?

Who said “he is the Messiah” (verse 41)?

Who said “how can the Messiah come from Galilee” (verse 41)?

Where is the Messiah to come from (verse 42)?

Why were the people divided (verse 43)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about moving from thinking of God only as a power who can provide safety to also thinking of God as the source of life?

In your opinion, how does Jesus in John 7:37-43 transform the statement in Jeremiah 17:12-15 that identifies “the Lord” as “the spring of living water”?

1 John 5:1-8 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. ² This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. ³ In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, ⁴ for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. ⁵ Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.

⁶ This is the one who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ. He did not come by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. ⁷ For there are three that testify: ⁸ the Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement. 

Who is “born of God” (verse 1)?

Who loves the child (verse 1)?

How do “we know that we love the children of God” (verse 2)?

What is “love for God” (verse 3)?

What are not burdensome (verse 3)?

Who “overcomes the world” (verse 4)?

What is “the victory that has overcome the world” (verse 4)?

“Who is it that overcomes the world” (verse 5)?

How did Jesus Christ come (verse 6)?

Who testifies (verse 6)?

What “three are in agreement” (verse 8)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about moving from thinking of God only as a power who can provide safety to also thinking of God as the source of life?

In your opinion, what does 1 John 5:1-8 reveal to us about the one that Jeremiah 17:12-15 says is “the hope of Israel”?

In your opinion, how is the promise of being born of God to everyone who “believes that Jesus is the Christ” in 1 John 5:1-8 related to the promise by Jesus in John 7:37-43 that “Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them”?

Revelation 22:1-7 – New International Version (NIV)

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 ² down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. ³ No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. ⁴ They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. ⁵ There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.

⁶ The angel said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true. The Lord, the God who inspires the prophets, sent his angel to show his servants the things that must soon take place.”

⁷ “Look, I am coming soon! Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy written in this scroll.”

Who showed John “the river of the water of life” (verse 1)?

Where does it flow from (verse 1)?

What stands on either side of the river (verse 2)?

What “are for the healing of the nations” (verse 2)?

Who will serve the Lamb (verse 3)?

Who will have the Lamb’s name on their foreheads (verses 3 and 4)?

Why will there be no need for “the light of a lamp or the light of the sun” (verse 5)?

Who will “reign for ever and ever” (verse 5)?

What is “trustworthy and true” (verse 6)?

Who will be blessed (verse 7)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about moving from thinking of God only as a power who can provide safety to also thinking of God as the source of life?

In your opinion, what relationship does the throne that Jeremiah 17:12-15 says “is the place of our sanctuary” to the throne of God that John sees as the source of the river of life in Revelation 22:1-7?

In your opinion, how are the “rivers of living water” that John 7:37-43 says flow from within all who believe in Jesus and the “river of life” that Revelation 22:1-7 says flow “from the throne of God and of the Lamb” related?

In your opinion, how is being a servant of God who reigns in Revelation 22:1-7 related to the overcoming the world by faith that 1 John 5:1-8 promises to the “one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God”? 

In your opinion, what do these passages from Jeremiah, John, 1 John and Revelation teach us about the abundance of life that God shares with us?

In your opinion, how can we share that abundant life with others?

 

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

January 15, 2023 – John’s Writings – Putting the “Umph” in Triumph

Putting the “Umph” in Triumph

Ezekiel 37:1-14 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. ² He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. ³ He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”

I said, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know.”

⁴ Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! ⁵ This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. ⁶ I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”

⁷ So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. ⁸ I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.

⁹ Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’” ¹⁰ So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.

¹¹ Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ ¹² Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. ¹³ Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. ¹⁴ I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord.’”

What filled the valley that the “hand of the Lord” set Ezekiel in the middle of (verse 1)?

How did Ezekiel describe the bones in the valley (verse 2)?

How did Ezekiel answer the Lord’s question “son of man, can these bones live” (verse 3)?

What was Ezekiel to say to the bones (verse 4)?

How was the Lord going to give the bones life (verse 5)?

When will the bones know that God is the Lord (verse 6)?

What happened when Ezekiel prophesied (verse 7)?

In your opinion, what does it mean that there were tendons, flesh and skin, but no breath (verse 8)?

What did Ezekiel prophesy to next (verse 9)?

What happened when Ezekiel “prophesied as he commanded me” (verse 10)?

Who did the bones represent (verse 11)?

What does the “Sovereign Lord” say (verse 12)?

When will the people of Israel know that God is Lord (verse 13)?

What will the Lord do that will cause them to live (verse 14)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what triumph of God is displayed in this passage?

John 7:37-43 - New International Version (NIV)

³⁷ On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. ³⁸ Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” ³⁹ By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.

⁴⁰ On hearing his words, some of the people said, “Surely this man is the Prophet.”

⁴¹ Others said, “He is the Messiah.”

Still others asked, “How can the Messiah come from Galilee? ⁴² Does not Scripture say that the Messiah will come from David’s descendants and from Bethlehem, the town where David lived?” ⁴³ Thus the people were divided because of Jesus. 

Which day was the greatest of the festival (verse 37)?

What did Jesus say “in a loud voice” (verse 37)?

Who will have “rivers of living water” flowing from within (verse 38)?

What did the “rivers of living water” mean (verse 39)?

Why had the Spirit not been given yet (verse 39)?

What did some people say after “hearing his words” (verse 40)?

What did others say (verse 41)?

Why did “still others” doubt Jesus was the Messiah (verse 41)?

Where did the Scripture say the Messiah would come from (verse 42)?

Why were the people divided (verse 42)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what triumph of God is displayed in this passage?

In your opinion, how are the dry bones in Ezekiel 37:1-14 and the people who believe in Jesus in John 7:37-43 similar?

1 John 4:7-17 – New International Version (NIV)

⁷ Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. ⁸ Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. ⁹ This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. ¹⁰ This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. ¹¹ Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. ¹² No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

¹³ This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. ¹⁴ And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. ¹⁵ If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. ¹⁶ And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.

God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. ¹⁷ This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus.

Where does love come from (verse 7)?

Who “has been born of God and knows God” (verse 7)?

What is God (verse 8)?

How did God express love for us (verse 9)?

How might we live (verse 9)?

What is love (verse 10)?

Why should we “love one another” (verse 11)?

When does God live in us (verse 12)?

How do we “we know that we live in him and he in us” (verse 13)?

Who does God live in (verse 15)?

What do we “rely on” (verse 16)?

Who are Christians like (verse 17)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what triumph of God is displayed in this passage?

In your opinion, how are God’s promise in Ezekiel 37:1-14 that “I will put my Spirit in you and you will live” and John’s statement in 1 John 4:7-17 that “This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit” related?

In your opinion, does the statement in 1 John 4:7-17 that “If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God” help us understand how to respond to Jesus’s invitation in John 7:37-17 “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink”?

Revelation 11:11-19 – New International Version (NIV)

¹¹ But after the three and a half days the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and terror struck those who saw them. ¹² Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.” And they went up to heaven in a cloud, while their enemies looked on.

¹³ At that very hour there was a severe earthquake and a tenth of the city collapsed. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the survivors were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.

¹⁴ The second woe has passed; the third woe is coming soon.

¹⁵ The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said:

“The kingdom of the world has become
    the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah,
    and he will reign for ever and ever.”

¹⁶ And the twenty-four elders, who were seated on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God, ¹⁷ saying:

“We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty,
    the One who is and who was,
because you have taken your great power
    and have begun to reign.
¹⁸ The nations were angry,
    and your wrath has come.
The time has come for judging the dead,
    and for rewarding your servants the prophets
and your people who revere your name,
    both great and small—
and for destroying those who destroy the earth.”

¹⁹ Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and within his temple was seen the ark of his covenant. And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake and a severe hailstorm.

When did the breath of life enter them (verse 11)?

How did “those who saw them” respond when they “stood on their feet” (verse 11)?

What did their enemies do when they “went up to heaven in a cloud” (verse 12)?

How did the survivors respond to the severe earthquake (verse 13)?

What is coming soon (verse 14)?

What do the “loud voices in heaven” say after the second woe (verse 15)?

What do the “the twenty-four elders, who were seated on their thrones before God” say that the Lord God Almighty has begun to do (verses 16 and 17)?

How did the nations respond (verse 18)?

Who will be judged (verse 18)?

Who will be rewarded (verse 18)?

What is opened (verse 19)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what triumph of God is displayed in this passage?

In your opinion, how is the breath from the four winds entering the dry bones and making them into a mighty army in Ezekiel 37:1-14 similar to “breath of life from God” entering the two witnesses in Revelation 11:11-19?

In your opinion, are the people who respond to Jesus’s invitation to “come to me and drink” in John 7:37-43 a part of the “the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah” proclaimed in Revelation 11:11-19?

In your opinion, how can the love that 1 John 4:7-17 proclaims help us understand what the “kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah” that Revelation 11:11-19 proclaims has come after the seventh trumpet sounds will be like? 

In your opinion, what do these passages from Ezekiel, John, 1 John and Revelation teach us about God’s ability to bring the victory of life and love into every circumstance of our lives?

In your opinion, how can our lives today be the “umph” in God’s triumph?

 

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

April 28, 2019 – Looking Backward and Forward from Zechariah – The Water of Life

The Water of Life


Exodus 14:15-31 - New International Version (NIV)

¹⁵ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. ¹⁶ Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground. ¹⁷ I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them. And I will gain glory through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen. ¹⁸ The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I gain glory through Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen.”

¹⁹ Then the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel’s army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them, ²⁰ coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel. Throughout the night the cloud brought darkness to the one side and light to the other side; so neither went near the other all night long.

²¹ Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, ²² and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.

²³ The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and horsemen followed them into the sea. ²⁴ During the last watch of the night the Lord looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion. ²⁵ He jammed the wheels of their chariots so that they had difficulty driving. And the Egyptians said, “Let’s get away from the Israelites! The Lord is fighting for them against Egypt.”

²⁶ Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen.” ²⁷ Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea went back to its place. The Egyptians were fleeing toward it, and the Lord swept them into the sea. ²⁸ The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen—the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived.

²⁹ But the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. ³⁰ That day the Lord saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore. ³¹ And when the Israelites saw the mighty hand of the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant.

What was Moses to tell the Israelites (verse 15)?

Why was Moses to raise his staff and stretch out his hand over the sea (verse 16)?


In your opinion, what does God means when He says He will “harden the hearts of the Egyptians” (verse 17)?


How will the Egyptians know that God is Lord (verse 18)?


What did the “angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel’s army” do (verse 19)?


When did the Lord drive “the sea back with a strong east wind” (verse 21)?


How did the Israelites go through the sea (verse 22)?


What did the Egyptians do (verse 23)?


When did the Lord look down and throw the Egyptian army into confusion (verse 24)?


In your opinion, what made the Egyptians think that the Lord was fighting for the Israelites against them (verse 25)?


Why was Moses to stretch out his hand (verse 26)?


What did the sea do (verse 27)?


How many Egyptians survived (verse 28)?


How did the Israelites go through the sea (verse 29)?


Who saved Israel (verse 30)?


Why did the Israelites fear the Lord and put their trust in the Lord and in Moses (verse 31)?


In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

Zechariah 14:1-21 - New International Version (NIV)         

¹ A day of the Lord is coming, Jerusalem, when your possessions will be plundered and divided up within your very walls.

² I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem to fight against it; the city will be captured, the houses ransacked, and the women raped. Half of the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be taken from the city. ³ Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations, as he fights on a day of battle. ⁴ On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south. ⁵ You will flee by my mountain valley, for it will extend to Azel. You will flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.

⁶ On that day there will be neither sunlight nor cold, frosty darkness. ⁷ It will be a unique day—a day known only to the Lord—with no distinction between day and night. When evening comes, there will be light.

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.

⁹ The Lord will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one Lord, and his name the only name.

¹⁰ The whole land, from Geba to Rimmon, south of Jerusalem, will become like the Arabah. But Jerusalem will be raised up high from the Benjamin Gate to the site of the First Gate, to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the royal winepresses, and will remain in its place. ¹¹ It will be inhabited; never again will it be destroyed. Jerusalem will be secure.

¹² This is the plague with which the Lord will strike all the nations that fought against Jerusalem: Their flesh will rot while they are still standing on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths. ¹³ On that day people will be stricken by the Lord with great panic. They will seize each other by the hand and attack one another. ¹⁴ Judah too will fight at Jerusalem. The wealth of all the surrounding nations will be collected—great quantities of gold and silver and clothing. ¹⁵ A similar plague will strike the horses and mules, the camels and donkeys, and all the animals in those camps.

¹⁶ Then the survivors from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the Lord Almighty, and to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles. ¹⁷ If any of the peoples of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord Almighty, they will have no rain. ¹⁸ If the Egyptian people do not go up and take part, they will have no rain. The Lord will bring on them the plague he inflicts on the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles. ¹⁹ This will be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles.

²⁰ On that day holy to the Lord will be inscribed on the bells of the horses, and the cooking pots in the Lord’s house will be like the sacred bowls in front of the altar. ²¹ Every pot in Jerusalem and Judah will be holy to the Lord Almighty, and all who come to sacrifice will take some of the pots and cook in them. And on that day there will no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the Lord Almighty.

When will Jerusalem’s possessions be plundered and divided (verse 1)?

Who will “gather all the nations to Jerusalem to fight against it” (verse 2)?


Who will “go out and fight against those nations” (verse 3)?


What will happen to the Mount of Olives (verse 4)?


In your opinion, what does it mean that “you will flee by my mountain valley” (verse 5)?


When will there be light (verse 7)?


What will flow out of Jerusalem (verse 8)?


Who will be “king over the whole earth” (verse 9)?


In your opinion, what does it mean that “the whole land . . . will become like Arabah” (verse 10)?


Who will the plague strike (verse 12)?


How will the Lord stricken the people (verse 13)?


What will be collected (verse 14)?


What will the “survivors from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem” do (verse 16)?


Who will “have no rain” (verse 17)?


In your opinion, what does it mean that the “cooking pots in the Lord’s house will be like the sacred bowls in front of the altar” (verse 20?


What will “every pot in Jerusalem and Judah” be (verse 21)?


In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?


In your opinion, how are the Israelites going through the sea in Exodus 14:15-31 and the people of Jerusalem fleeing through the mountain valley in Zechariah 14:1-21 similar?


John 7:37-43 – New International Version (NIV)

³⁷ On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. ³⁸ Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” ³⁹ By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.

⁴⁰ On hearing his words, some of the people said, “Surely this man is the Prophet.”

⁴¹ Others said, “He is the Messiah.”

Still others asked, “How can the Messiah come from Galilee? ⁴² Does not Scripture say that the Messiah will come from David’s descendants and from Bethlehem, the town where David lived?” ⁴³ Thus the people were divided because of Jesus.

When did Jesus stand and say in a loud voice “let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink” (verse 37)?

Who will have “rivers of living water . . . flow from within them” (verse 38)?

What did Jesus mean by this (verse 39)?

Why had the Spirit not yet been given (verse 39)?

In your opinion, why did some people say “surely this man is the Prophet” (verse 40)?

In your opinion, why did some people say “He is the Messiah” (verse 41)?

In your opinion, why did some people say “how can the Messiah come from Galilee” (verse 41)?

Where was the Messiah to come from (verse 42)?

Why were the people divided (verse 43)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, how is the division of people because of Jesus in John 7:37-43 a reflection of the events in Exodus 14:15-31?

In your opinion, how does water illustrate the hope in the midst of the crisis of Zechariah 14:1-21 and also in the midst of the divided opinion of the people in John 7:37-43?


Revelation 22:12-21 – New International Version (NIV)

¹² “Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. ¹³ I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.

¹⁴ “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. ¹⁵ Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

¹⁶ “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.”

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.

¹⁸ I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll. ¹⁹ And if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life and in the Holy City, which are described in this scroll.

²⁰ He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.”

Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

²¹ The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen.

When is Jesus coming (verse 12)?

In your opinion, what does Jesus mean when He says He is “the Alpha and the Omega” (verse 13)?


Who is blessed (verse 14)?


Who is outside (verse 15)?


Who did Jesus send this testimony for (verse 16)?


Who may partake of the “water of life” (verse 17)?


What will happen to those who add anything to the “words of the prophecy of this scroll” (verse 18)?


Who will have their “share in the tree of life and in the Holy City” taken away (verse 19)?


In your opinion, who is the one who says “yes, I am coming soon” (verse 20)?


What does John pray will be with the Lord’s people (verse 21)?


In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?


In your opinion, how are the people of Israel fleeing through the sea in Exodus 14:15-31 similar to those who have washed their robes in Revelation 22:12-21?


In your opinion, is the coming of the Lord in Zechariah 14:1-21 the same as the coming of Jesus in Revelation 22:12-21?  In your opinion, if it is the same then why is the tenor of the descriptions so different?


In your opinion, what does it mean to be “thirsty” in John 7:37-43 where Jesus invites the “thirsty” to come to Him and drink, and in Revelation 22:12-21 where the one who is “thirsty” is invited to come and drink?


In your opinion, what do these passages from Exodus, Zechariah, John and Revelation help us understand about the difference between those who have hardened hearts and those who are thirsty?


In your opinion, how do we “take the free gift of the water of life”?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)