Topical Bible: Water: Symbolical

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In the Bible, water is a powerful symbol that carries a variety of meanings, often representing life, purification, and divine blessing. Its symbolic use is woven throughout both the Old and New Testaments, serving as a metaphor for spiritual truths and divine actions.

Life and Sustenance

Water is essential for physical life, and in the Scriptures, it often symbolizes spiritual life and sustenance. In the creation narrative, water is one of the first elements mentioned, highlighting its foundational role in the world (Genesis 1:2). The prophet Isaiah uses water as a metaphor for God's provision and the satisfaction found in Him: "Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters" (Isaiah 55:1). This invitation underscores the idea that just as water is necessary for physical survival, so is God's presence and word for spiritual vitality.

Purification and Cleansing

Water is frequently associated with purification and cleansing, both physically and spiritually. The ritual washings in the Old Testament, such as those prescribed in Leviticus, symbolize the need for purity before approaching God. In the New Testament, this symbolism is carried forward in the sacrament of baptism, which represents the washing away of sin and the believer's identification with the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. As Paul writes, "He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit" (Titus 3:5).

Judgment and Deliverance

Water also serves as a symbol of judgment and deliverance. The Great Flood in Genesis 6-9 is a prime example, where water is both the instrument of God's judgment on a sinful world and the means of deliverance for Noah and his family. Similarly, the crossing of the Red Sea (Exodus 14) represents God's deliverance of Israel from Egyptian bondage, with the waters parting to provide a path to freedom and then returning to judge the pursuing Egyptians.

Spiritual Thirst and Satisfaction

In the New Testament, Jesus uses water to illustrate spiritual truths. In His conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well, He speaks of "living water" that leads to eternal life: "Whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a fount of water springing up to eternal life" (John 4:14). This living water symbolizes the Holy Spirit, who satisfies the deepest spiritual thirst and brings eternal life to believers.

The Holy Spirit

Water is also a symbol of the Holy Spirit's work in the life of a believer. Jesus speaks of the Spirit in terms of water flowing from within: "Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him" (John 7:38). This imagery conveys the idea of the Spirit's indwelling presence and His role in empowering and refreshing the believer.

Eschatological Fulfillment

In the book of Revelation, water symbolizes the ultimate fulfillment of God's promises. The vision of the river of the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb (Revelation 22:1), represents the eternal life and unending blessing that will be enjoyed by God's people in the new creation. This imagery ties back to the Edenic rivers and points forward to the restoration of all things.

Throughout Scripture, water serves as a multifaceted symbol, rich with theological significance. It points to God's provision, purification, judgment, and the promise of eternal life through the Holy Spirit.

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Isaiah 8:7
Now therefore, behold, the Lord brings up on them the waters of the river, strong and many, even the king of Assyria, and all his glory: and he shall come up over all his channels, and go over all his banks:
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Revelation 8:11
And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.
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Revelation 12:15
And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood.
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Revelation 16:4
And the third angel poured out his vial on the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood.
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Revelation 17:1,15
And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying to me, Come here; I will show to you the judgment of the great whore that sits on many waters:
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Library

Pretended Symbolical Explanations.
... Chapter XXII."Pretended Symbolical Explanations. ... If, then, Zeus is fire, and Hera
the earth, and A??doneus the air, and N?� stis water, and these are elements ...
/.../a plea for the christians/chapter xxii pretended symbolical explanations.htm

The Change of Water into Wine. --Character and Import of The
... revealed life. But it has a further and a great symbolical import: Christ
employed water, one of the commonest sup. ports of life ...
/.../section 116 the change of.htm

Of the Testimony of John to Jesus in Matthew's Gospel,
... works done by the Saviour in the cures He wrought, which are symbolical of those ...
benefited by them to an exercise of faith, so the washing with water which is ...
/.../origen/origens commentary on the gospel of john/17 of the testimony of.htm

Nicodemus.
... His baptism with water was of course symbolical; that is to say, the water itself
exercised no spiritual influence, but merely represented to the eye what was ...
/.../dods/the expositors bible the gospel of st john vol i/vii nicodemus.htm

The Destroyers and the Restorer
... a 'river of water of life.' And as the ancient name of that Temple was the 'Tent
of Meeting,' the place where Israel and God, in symbolical and ceremonial form ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture i/the destroyers and the restorer.htm

The Use of the Symbolic Style by Poets and Philosophers.
... "For the use of symbolical speech is ... of children embraces the interpretation of the
four elements; for it is said that the Phrygians call water Bedu, as also ...
/.../clement/the stromata or miscellanies/chapter viii the use of the.htm

Meditation viii. Institution of the Holy Eucharist.
... aside during the Paschal meal, also a jar containing wine and water, and three ... this
custom (which had hitherto been no more than a symbolical and figurative ...
/.../meditation viii institution of the.htm

Entire Sanctification in Prophecy.
... and committed sins, symbolical of the New Testament washing of regeneration, symbolical
also of ... of their past sins: "Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you ...
/.../clark/the theology of holiness/chapter v entire sanctification in.htm

In the Last, the Great Day of the Feast'
... His words must refer to the Holy Spirit, since the rite was universally regarded
as symbolical of His outpouring. The forthpouring of the water was immediately ...
/.../edersheim/the life and times of jesus the messiah/chapter vii in the last.htm

(On the Mysteries. Ii. )
... things, which were done by you in the inner chamber [2394] , were symbolical. ... that
saving confession, and descended three times into the water, and ascended ...
/.../cyril/lectures of s cyril of jerusalem/lecture xx on the mysteries.htm