16新约里也提到这条河。林前十章四节论到以色列人和他们在旷野飘流的事,说,“也都喝了一样的灵水;所喝的是出于随行的灵磐石,那磐石就是基督。”以色列人因着口渴发怨言的时候,神吩咐摩西击打磐石,就有水从磐石流出来给百姓喝(出十七1~6)。摩西如此作,耶和华就“使水从磐石涌出,叫水如江河流下”(诗七八16)。从被击打的磐石流出来的水预表赐生命的灵。在约翰福音里,主耶稣说到这灵。在四章十节,主对撒玛利亚的妇人指明,祂是赐活水者;并且在十四节祂说,“我所赐的水,要在他里面成为泉源,直涌入永远的生命。”不仅如此,在七章三十七、三十八节……我们看见,一条河成了许多道江河。活水的江河乃指生命多方面的流出(参罗十五30,帖前一6,帖后二13,加五22~23,……罗八2)(启示录生命读经,八六一至八六三页)。 16This river is also mentioned in the New Testament. Speaking of the children of Israel and their wandering in the wilderness, 1 Corinthians 10:4 says, “All drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank of a spiritual rock which followed them, and the rock was Christ.” When the children of Israel murmured because of their thirst, God told Moses to strike the rock, and water would come out of it for the people to drink (Exo. 17:1-6). Moses did so, and the Lord “brought forth streams from the rock and made water run down like rivers” (Psa. 78:16). The water that came out of the smitten rock was a type of the life-giving Spirit. The Lord Jesus spoke of this Spirit in the Gospel of John. In John 4:10 the Lord indicated to the Samaritan woman that He was the Giver of living water, and in verse 14 He said, “…The water that I will give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into eternal life.” Moreover, in John 7:37 and 38…we see that the one river becomes many rivers. The rivers of living water are the many flows of the different aspects of life (cf. Rom. 15:30; 1 Thes. 1:6; 2 Thes. 2:13; Gal. 5:22-23), originating from the one unique river of water of life (Rev. 22:1), which is God’s Spirit of life (Rom. 8:2). (Life-study of Revelation, 2nd edition, pp. 722-723)