Now a river flowed out of Eden to water the garden; and from there it divided and became four rivers….The name of the third river is Hiddekel; it flows east of Assyria.
—Genesis 2:10,13a
The river Hiddekel flows eastward through Assyria, which means it flows from Nineveh on one side to Babel on the other. In Nineveh people enjoyed wealth and nobility, whereas Babel was characterized by idol worship and human vainglory. Therefore Nineveh should represent the material world, while Babel should represent the religious world. According to the direction of the flow, first we are carried out of the material world, represented by Nineveh, and eventually we are also carried out of the religious world, represented by Babel.
Adapted from The Reality of the Divine Stream, page 22.
Tomorrow: “Confronting the Religious World”