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The river of life (22:1)

22:1 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. 3 No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever. 6 The angel said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true. The Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent his angel to show his servants the things that must soon take place.”

v1 – 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 – The provisions and nourishment of the citizens of the new Jerusalem are now described. This verse reminds us of the river watering the garden of Eden, Gen 2:10. The picture comes from Ezekiel’s vision (Ezek 47:1 ff.). The river of the water of life symbolises eternal life, the spring of the water of life has already been mentioned in Rev 21:6, it has now become a river and the free gift of the water of life occurs again in Rev 22:17, the emphasis being that eternal life is a free gift. The water of life flows from the throne of God and of the Lamb who are the source of all life (John 5:26). In Psa 46:4 ‘There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells’. The water of life is Christ himself, he is the source of the water producing eternal life (John 4:14). There could be a connection with the sea of glass, clear as crystal before the throne in 4:6. The expression ‘clear as crystal’ is also used of the new Jerusalem in 21:11.

v2 – 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. – This city has a great street, the great city where the two witnesses were killed also had a street, 11:8, only this one is paved with gold, like transparent glass, 21:21, the martyrs will walk on this street for all eternity. In Isa 35:8 it is called a highway, ‘it will be called the Way of Holiness, the unclean will not go on it but only the redeemed’. ‘They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away’, Isa 35:10. The river of life, whose source is Christ, waters the tree of life which gives eternal life to everyone who eats of its fruit (Gen 3:22). This brings us full circle back to Genesis: Jesus the tree of life in Genesis is now the tree of life in Revelation, he is the beginning and the end.

Again we go to our pre-fall state, thanks to our representative, the Lamb who was slain. Man is no longer barred from the tree of life as he was in the garden after he sinned (Gen 3:22), he may eat of the tree and live for ever, for the fruit of the tree conveys eternal life. The twelve crops of fruit yielding its fruit every month indicates an abundance, the number twelve could correspond to the twelve tribes or twelve apostles but it is more likely to be a regular supply. The tree get its water from the river of the water of life, and so therefore it is the tree of life, Ezek 47:12. In the letter to the church at Ephesus God promises that to him who overcomes He will give ‘the right to the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God’, 2:7, thus the new Jerusalem is also the paradise of God. It is a new garden of Eden. In 22:14 those who wash their robes also have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. In 22:19 if anyone takes away words from this book of prophecy ‘God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city’. The leaves are for the healing of the nations, who are within the New Jerusalem, Rev 21:24, probably John has a poultice in mind here, again he is referring to Ezek 47:12 ‘Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing’.

v3 – No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. – There will be no Adamic curse which involved mankind in painful toil and death, it also banished mankind from the Garden of Eden and from the tree of life which would enable him to live forever (Gen 3:17-24). The curse is now revoked so that mankind can take hold of the fruit of the tree of life and live forever. The throne of God and of the Lamb is not remote in heaven but on earth in the New Jerusalem, God’s dwelling place is with man, heaven has moved to the earth. Instead of painful toil His servants will serve him as they also served him on the former earth, 1:6, 5:10, 7:15. Compare with 5:13 ‘To Him who sits upon the throne and to the Lamb’. There will be plenty to do in heaven, ‘his servants will serve him’.

v4 – They will see his face, his name will be on their foreheads – To see God’s face was denied Moses Exo 33:20. To see God’s face is to enjoy his favour (Job 33:26, Psa 17:15, 67:1) it is the reward of the pure in heart (Mat 5:8). To see God’s face is to be like Him, the saints will be transformed into his likeness, 2 Cor 3:18, 1 John 3:2. His name on their foreheads is once again a reference to the seal and the 144,000 who represent all the redeemed (Rev 3:12, Rev 14:1), the seal indicating ownership and intimacy.

v5 – There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever. – A reiteration of Rev 21:23-25 the continuous presence of the Lord will be their light and so there will be no more night. Night is abolished because it is associated with evil, light is associated with that which is good. Jesus was betrayed at night, night is when sin is committed Rom 13:12, 1 Thess 5:5-8. The saints are sons of the light (1 Thess 5:5). God himself dwells in unapproachable light, 1 Tim 1:16. Compare those who reign for ever and ever with the fate of those who follow the beast and who are tormented day and night for ever. Just as when the seventh trumpet sounded it was announced that Christ will reign for ever and ever, 11:15, so the saints who serve him will also reign with Him for ever and ever, 1 Thess 4:17. Those who remain faithful will reign with him, 2 Tim 2:12, compare to the reward to those who overcome in Laodicea, they will sit with Jesus on his throne (3:21). Because He reigns for ever and ever so will the saints, see John 14:9 “Because I live, you also will live”, see also Dan 7:18.

v6 – The angel said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true. The Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent his angel to show his servants the things that must soon take place.” – The angel stresses the fact that these marvellous words are trustworthy and true just as God had in Rev 21:5. This repeats Rev 1:1, God has sent his angel to show his servants ‘what must soon take place’, this is again one of the keys to Revelation. Soon means in the biblical sense of ‘I am coming soon’. A true prophet prophecies according to the Holy Spirit rather than what their own spirit is saying (2 Pet 1:21). This picture of heaven is true, it can be trusted, it is worth dying for. This is a picture of heaven which ‘No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him’ 1 Cor 2:9. It is the place prepared for us by Jesus John 14:2-3.
I am coming soon (22:7)

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from The secret place series (4 albums in 1 download), released October 26, 2023
From The secret place​-​Second rendezvous, released 09 August 2011

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electron7 Belgium

Hi,
My artistic name is electron7 and I'm an independent electronic music composer and producer from Belgium.

Music is like a painting for me.


My music is first and foremost to praise and worship God.
My music is instrumental for 99% and is about personal situations, testimonies, God's power and feelings, biblical themes, etc.
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