1

One Artist’s Rendition of the Tree of Life

and the River of Life

2

3

TextsTexts• Rev. 21:10-11 (NIV):–“And he carried me away in the

Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. 11 It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal.”

4

• Rev. 22:1-2 (NIV):–“Then the angel showed me the river

of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. “

5

IntroductionIntroduction

• We have been looking recently at the New Jerusalem.–We have learned that it will be the

capital city of the Earth.–A city of this size, placed in the

middle of the U.S., would stretch from Canada to Mexico and from the Appalachian Mountains to the California border.

6

• The New Jerusalem will be huge.–As I have told you, I envision it as

being like a pyramid-shaped mountain, the apex of which will be 1,500 miles high!

–Dwelling places and all the other buildings would be built on the slopes of this glorious mountain-shaped city.

7

• We need not worry that Heaven (which will be on the New Earth) will be crowded.–The base area of the New

Jerusalem alone will be nearly two million square miles.

–This is forty times bigger than the country of England.

–It is ten times bigger than France.

8

–It is larger than the country of India.

–And remember, that is just the base area, or “ground level”.

• If the city is not pyramid shaped, but rather a perfect cube, and it contained floors 12 feet high, the city of New Jerusalem would have well over 600,000 stories!

9

The Gates to the CityThe Gates to the City• What is the significance of the

gates?–The city has a great high wall,

close to 300 feet high, with twelve gates each made of a single pearl, and twelve angels – one at each gate.

–On each gate is written one of the names of the 12 tribes of Israel.

10

• There are three gates on the East, three on the North, three on the South and three on the West (Rev. 21:12-13).

–Historically, a city’s gates were an important defense mechanism.

–Typically, the gates of a city were closed at night to keep out enemies and danger.

11

• However, Rev.21:25 (NIV) tells us:–“On no day will its [the New

Jerusalem’s] gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there.”

• First of all, the gates can remain open because they are attended by 12 angels, one at each gate.

12

• Second, there will be no enemies outside the New Jerusalem.–The entire New Earth will be filled

with the power knowledge of God (Habakkuk 2:14).

• Citizens from outside the gates (i.e., the natural peoples of the Earth) will go in and out of the city through these gates. (Rev. 21:24-26).

13

• All enemies of God and His kingdom will be forever cast into the Lake of Fire.

14

How Extravagant Will the City Be?

How Extravagant Will the City Be?

• Presumably, many other cities will be on the New Earth, such as those Jesus mentioned in the stewardship parables (Luke 19:17-19).

–The kings of nations who will bring their treasures to the New Jerusalem will come and go from their own cities and capitols.

15

• Heaven’s capital city will be astoundingly magnificent.–We have already discussed the

precious stones and gold used as building materials.

–Two of the most prominent fixtures of the New Jerusalem will be the River of Life and the Tree of Life.

16

What Is the River of Life?What Is the River of Life?

• John describes it thus in Rev. 22:1-2a:–“Then the angel showed me the

river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 down the middle of the great street of the city. . .’

17

• Why is water important in Heaven?–Because the city will be the center

of (resurrected) human life, and water is essential to life.

–Ghosts wouldn’t need water, but resurrected humans evidently will.

• Note that the source of this river of life is God’s throne, occupied by the Lamb (Jesus Christ).

18

• He is the source of all natural beauties and wonders.–They derive their beauties from

the Artist.

–We won’t have to leave the New Jerusalem to find natural beauty.

–It will be incorporated into the city, and the River of Life will be one of those beautiful things.

19

• The River flows down the middle of the main street.–I imagine it will have many

tributaries as well, which will flow throughout the city.

–I picture us enjoying the physical beauty of these waters; swimming in them, perhaps fishing in them, and also drinking their pure, crystal clear water.

20

• This fully accessible natural wonder, may perhaps serve as a divider down the middle of the main thoroughfare of Heaven (much like the berm separates the divided interstate highways).–The fact that the water flows

down from God’s throne suggests the throne’s high elevation and a descending mountain slope.

21

• Off of this main “broadway”, it would seem reasonable that the city would have many other avenues and streets.–One need only follow the River to

its source to arrive at the city’s centerpiece, the Lamb’s throne.

22

What Is the Tree of Life?What Is the Tree of Life?

• After John described the River of Life, he spoke of another striking feature of the New Jerusalem:–“. . .On each side of the river stood

the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.” (Rev. 22:2b, NIV).

23

• The Tree of Life is mentioned three times in Genesis 2, in Eden, and again four times in Revelation.–Three of the mentions in

Revelation are in the final chapter.

–The Revelation references refer to the same Tree in the garden of Eden.

24

• We are told that the Tree of Life is presently in Paradise, or the Intermediate (Present) Heaven (Rev. 2:7).

–The New Jerusalem itself, also in the present Heaven, will be brought down to the New Earth – Tree of Life and all (Rev. 21:2).

–In Eden the Tree seems to have been a source of on-going physical life.

25

• The presence of the Tree of Life suggests a supernatural provision of life as Adam and Eve ate the fruit.–Adam and Eve were designed to

live forever, but to do so they likely needed to eat from the Tree of Life.

–Once they sinned they were banned from the Tree and the Garden.

26

• They then became subject to physical death, just as they had experienced spiritual death.–Since Eden, death has reigned

throughout human history.–But in Heaven, our access to the

Tree of Life will be restored forever.

–In Heaven, there is no mention of the tree of knowledge of good and evil to test us.

27

• The redeemed will already have known sin and will desire it no more.–In the New Earth, we will eat

freely of the fruit of the same Tree that nourished Adam and Eve.–“. . . To him who overcomes, I will

give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God” (Rev. 22:7b).

28

• The tree will produce, not one crop, but twelve different ones.–A different fruit each month.

–The fruit is not to be admired only, but to be eaten.

• The description of the Tree of Life in Rev. 22 mirrors precisely what was prophesied in the Old Testament in Ezek. 47:12 (NIV):

29

–“Fruit trees of all kinds will grow on both banks of the river. Their leaves will not wither, nor will their fruit fail. Every month they will bear, because the water from the sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing.”

• Many Bible scholars believe the Tree of Life is a collective term.

30

• Similarly, the River of Life, and Avenue are also believed to be collective terms.–The idea is that there is not just

one central tree, but whole rows of trees alongside the River of Life, between the river and the great broadway and this pattern will repeat itself in the city’s many avenues and streets.

31

• Thus, the City would be full of parks with streams and, as already mentioned, fountains of waters.–This broader view of the Tree of

Life would account for the fact that the Tree grows on both sides of the great River of Life at once and yields 12 different kinds of fruit.

32

• The Bible also tells us that the leaves of the Tree are for the healing of the nations (Rev. 22:2).

–This is the third time that the natural inhabitants of the New Earth are referred to as “nations”.

–Nations will not be eliminated, but healed.

–The leaves will evidently have life-sustaining, healing properties.

33

• These will help maintain physical life and health.–On the New Earth we will still

partake of food and the life-giving properties of the River of Life and the fruit and leaves of the Tree of Life.

–It appears our resurrected bodies will still have needs, but they will all be met.

34

• The organic nature of edible fruit and medicinal leaves emphasizes the tie of mankind to Earth.–It also suggests that eternal life

on the New Earth won’t be as different from life in Eden as is often assumed.

35

Other Natural WondersOther Natural Wonders

• What the Bible tells us about the River of Life and the Tree of Life is indicative of other natural wonders that will be part of the New Earth.–Since it will be the New Earth, we

can expect geographical properties of present earth, like mountains, waterfalls, etc.

36

• In describing the New Earth, John viewed the New Jerusalem from “a mountain great and high” (Rev. 21:10).

–Note that John calls it “a” mountain, not “the” mountain.

–We know the New Earth will have at least one “great and high” mountain, and can assume it will have many more.

37

• Just as our resurrection bodies will be far better than our current ones, I believe the New Earth’s natural wonders will be far more spectacular than any on this present Earth.–I expect more magnificent and

more awesome mountains, lakes, flowers, etc., than are on our present Earth.

38

• To imagine the New Earth to have less natural beauty than this one would be regression.–I believe there is every reason to

expect progression.

–The use of precious metals and gem stones and vast architecture is lavish beyond our current ability to grasp, for there is nothing to compare it to.

39

• The New Earth’s waterfalls may dwarf Niagara – or the New Niagara may dwarf the one we know now.–There will probably be new rock

formations more spectacular than Yosemite’s; mountain peaks, higher than the Himalayas; forests deeper than any in our Pacific Northwest.

40

• On the present Earth, God shows his power and magnificence through natural wonders and weather (cf. Job 8:5-7; 38:34-35).

–Since the present Earth is the prototype of the New Earth, there is every reason to believe He will show His greatness and beauty the same way in the New Earth.

41

Will There Be Seasons & Varying Weather?

Will There Be Seasons & Varying Weather?

• In a passage that promises rescue, security, and no more famine or fear for His people, God stated:–“I will bless them and the places

surrounding my hill. I will send down showers in season; . . .

42

–“there will be showers of blessing. 27 The trees of the field will yield their fruit and the ground will yield its crops; the people will be secure in their land. They will know that I am the LORD, when I break the bars of their yoke and rescue them from the hands of those who enslaved them.”

43

• Rain is not a bad thing, it is necessary and good.–Presumably, the trees and crops

on the New Earth will require rain to sustain them.

–Will rain turn to snow in colder weather? Why not?

–If there is snow, will people play in it like we do now? Why not?

44

• Just as resurrected people will have eyes, ears and hands, so will the resurrected Earth have rain, snow and wind.

• In Gen. 8:22, God says:–“As long as the earth endures,

seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.”

45

• Lightning, thunder, rain and snow all declare God’s greatness (Job 37:3-6).

–I can think of no reason why we would believe such things will not be part of the New Earth.

–They won’t harm us; no one will perish in a flood or be killed by lightning.

46

• Just think, we could go hiking in a snowstorm without fear of trauma or death!

• We could stand in an open field in a thunderstorm and experience the majesty of God’s power without fear of injury or death.–How awesome would that be?

47

• Must the New Earth be tamed, stripped of high peaks, deserts, waterfalls, and thunderstorms because they cause pain or death in this present world? No.–Nature, including variations in

climate, will be a source of joy and pleasure, not a source of destruction.

48

• Certainly there will be seasons in the New Earth.–God is depicted as the creator

and sustainer of the seasons in Gen. 8:22:–“As long as the earth endures,

seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.”

49

In ClosingIn Closing

• Earth’s “upgrade” will be vastly superior to the present Earth.–Sin, the Curse, death, sorrow and

suffering will be gone.

–In every way the New Earth will be better than this present one.

50

• God’s original plan for Earth and mankind will be fulfilled.–We will experience all that God

intends for us.

–It will be glorious beyond our wildest ability to imagine.

• Heaven on the New Earth will exceed anything we can conceive of now.

51