I told them it represented the tree of life.
Then they asked what the iron rod meant. I said it represented God's word, and that those who held onto it never perished, nor could the devil's temptations overpower and blind them, leading them away from the straight path to the destruction of their souls.
I pled with them to listen to this warning from God. I encouraged them with all the energy of my soul, and with all the words of my mind, to obey God's word in all things.
Then they asked what the river meant. I explained that it came from a fountain of filthy water, which represents the devil's temptations.
The depths of the fountain represent the depths of hell.
The river was an awful gulf that separated the wicked from the tree of life, and from God's saints who were eating its fruit.
I told them the gulf represents the awful hell prepared by the devil for the wicked.
