John Wesley, in the largeness of his heart and through failure to see that the Millennium is the age in God’s plan when the full and free grace of God will be extended to the people, taught that “the Spirit and the bride” are now saying, “Come, … take the water of life freely.” It is understandable that he should have made such a mistake, but examination of the text with its context shows that it is another one of those kingdom texts which cannot and will not be fulfilled until the full end of the present age and until the church of Christ is complete and united with her Lord as his “bride.”

The river of water of life proceeds “out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.” “On either side of the river, was there the tree of life, … and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.” (Rev. 22:1,2) Are the nations now being healed? Surely not! This is a promise which could not possibly apply until after the Armageddon struggle is fully over, after the nations and peoples of the earth have been left prostrate and bleeding. It will be then that they will need and receive healing.

The next verse says, “And there shall be no more curse.” (Rev. 22:3) Is it true that the curse of sin and death has been lifted from the earth? Surely not! Humanity continues to suffer and die, while darkness still covers the earth and gross darkness the people, although the Revelator says of the time when the water of life is available that there “shall be no night there.”—vs. 5

Here, then, are three outstanding developments in the plan of God for which the world must wait before the invitation can properly be extended to all, “Come, … take the water of life freely.” (1) The nations must begin to be healed by the “leaves” of the life-giving trees, (2) there must be evidence of the lifting of the curse of death, and (3) the pure language which God has promised to turn to the people must have effectively scattered all the mists of superstition and darkness which are still blinding their minds and preventing them from knowing and understanding the great and loving Jehovah of the Bible.

In the larger context of this wonderful promise, it is even more apparent that it could not possibly be in process of fulfillment now. No bride or “wife” appears in the Book of Revelation until chapter 19, verse 7, where we read that “the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.” This means the full end of the church’s career in the flesh. The next time we find mention of the bride is in chapter 21, where, in verse 2, we are told of the “holy city, new Jerusalem,” which comes “down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” In verses 9 and 10 we read: “Come hither, I will show thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife. And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God.” The bride, then, is the “holy city.” Its coming down from God out of heaven is associated with the creation of the “new heavens” and the “new earth” when the present symbolic earth is passed away and there is “no more sea.” Can we say today that there is no more sea—no more restless, discontented, and suffering mass of mankind?

Combined with this general picture is the assertion that “the tabernacle of God is with men” and the explanation that then “God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” (Rev. 21:3-5) Is it now true that there is “no more death,” no more “pain,” and that all things have been made new?

These are the conditions which will be brought to pass on earth when the time comes for the bride of Christ to say, “Come. … take the water of life freely.” (Rev. 22:17) John Wesley preached his conception of God’s free grace, inviting all to partake of the water of life freely. He did not realize that the “throne of God and of the Lamb” from which the river of life will flow was not established in his day. So, actually, the water of life was not then available. Nor is that river now flowing. Nor will it be flowing until after the Armageddon struggle is fully over. No one can partake of this river now and thereby be assured of not dying in Armageddon.