The Bible opens with water and Spirit, the primal symbols of mind in motion. Spirit hovers over the waters, the conscious breath stirring the vast, receptive subconscious. From this one source of potential, life flows, and imagination begins its work. In Eden, the single river of imagination divides into four streams — not to separate, but to illustrate the branching of thought, the movement of consciousness outward into all human experience. Each stream carries its own character, yet all are one in origin:
- Pishon: Overflowing — the thought of abundance, expansion, and growth.
- Gihon: Gushing — vitality, emotional movement, and dynamic energy.
- Hiddekel (Tigris): Rapid — swift clarity, discernment, and focused insight.
- Euphrates: Fruitful — completion, fulfilment, and settled manifestation.
These four streams are the pictorial symbols of consciousness in flow: the breath moving upon the waters, the one mind branching into distinct currents of thought, yet remaining one in origin.
The Pattern of Division: Fourfold Expression Throughout Scripture
This pattern of division and multiplicity recurs throughout Scripture. The four living creatures in Ezekiel and Revelation, each with its own face — lion, ox, man, eagle — are pictorial symbols of the same principle: consciousness expressed in multiple directions, the divine imagination manifest in fourfold form. When Jesus’ outer garment is divided into four at the crucifixion, it echoes Eden’s river — the one inner life remains whole, while its outward expression branches into distinct forms.
This fourfold division is conceptually reflected in man, formed to express the principles behind the four Gospels — Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The description of Jesus’ garment, woven in four parts, mirrors this: the mind clothed in the teachings of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, preparing the inner awareness to reveal the Christ — the anointed states of consciousness.
Throughout Scripture, the river imagery shows how the symbols of breath and water interact: the conscious assumption stirs the hidden depths, producing currents that shape experience. The currents may appear divided — four rivers, four Gospels, four living creatures — yet they all originate from the same source. Every symbolic river, every fourfold expression, teaches how imagination moves from source to form and back again.
The River of Life: Unity Restored in Revelation
“And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.”
— Revelation 22:1
At the end of the Bible, the fourfold division collapses into the single River of Life. Flowing from the throne of God and the Lamb, its waters are clear as crystal, representing the return of unity, the realization of imagination fully expressed. The four streams that once carried the separate channels of thought now merge, showing that the journey of consciousness is a return to wholeness.
The arc is complete: from Spirit and waters, to the branching of thought, to the full return of unity. The imagery that began in Genesis is echoed in every part of the Bible, showing a consistent, flowing principle. Scripture is not merely a story of events; it is a pictorial map of mind in motion — conscious and subconscious, assumption and imagination, division and return — the river of life flowing from source to form and back again.
Conclusion: The Living River Within
You are the garden. The river of imagination flows through you. Every thought, every assumption, is a current within the waters of your mind, stirred by the breath of Spirit. The one river has always been flowing, dividing and returning, teaching you through every image, every story, every symbol of Scripture. In the end, the river is whole, the mind is unified, and imagination has returned to its source.
Who went up to heaven, and cometh down?
Who hath gathered the wind in his fists?
Who hath bound waters in a garment?
Who established all ends of the earth?
What is His name, and what is His son's name?
Surely thou knowest!
River Series | Architecture Series | Eden Series | Numbers: Four | Water Symbolism