April 16 – The River of Life
Revelation 22:1-5
“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 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. 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. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 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.”
The river of the water of life, flows from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city.
Psalm 46:4 says, “There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells.”
David saw this river, can you? This is the water of life!
The tree of life bears twelve crops of fruit. If you know anything about crops, you know that they come in seasons. They have to be harvested and stored so that we can be fed. That will end. There are no more seasons or need to store food. The tree of life bears twelve crops of fruit, one every month. We will be fed year round – hunger is gone.
The leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. It might be a little difficult to understand the necessity of the healing of the nations. There are going to be those who enter the new heaven and the new earth in an unresurrected state. These are the people who come out of the 1000 year reign. Some scholars believe that this tree is for them – to bring them to a point where they will live forever.
The curse comes from the original tree of life in Genesis. It has all come full circle. God is complete creation.
When Christ was crucified, the curtain in the temple was torn. All of a sudden mankind had direct access to God, but we still can’t see His face. Psalm 11:7 tells us why: “For the LORD is righteous, he loves justice; upright men will see his face.”
The righteous, upright man will see his face.
Paul tells us in Hebrews 12:14 that without holiness no one will see the Lord.
John is giving us back the chance to look upon God. First century readers, along with all of us, know full well that you can not look upon the face of God and live. But, in that day, we have the assurance that we will see His face.
We then have a throne. God and Jesus reign together. These are not two separate individuals. John 10:30 says, “I and the Father are one.”
This is so far beyond our understanding. Robert Thomas says, “Man in his finiteness cannot grasp the truth of the infinite being of the triune God.”
I simply can’t. I want to. I’m desperate to understand how this works, but at the same time remain grateful that the power of my God still leaves much mystery. He is greater than I am. There are things about Him I will never understand and that gives me hope.
Revelation 22:1-5
“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 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. 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. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 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.”
The river of the water of life, flows from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city.
Psalm 46:4 says, “There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells.”
David saw this river, can you? This is the water of life!
The tree of life bears twelve crops of fruit. If you know anything about crops, you know that they come in seasons. They have to be harvested and stored so that we can be fed. That will end. There are no more seasons or need to store food. The tree of life bears twelve crops of fruit, one every month. We will be fed year round – hunger is gone.
The leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. It might be a little difficult to understand the necessity of the healing of the nations. There are going to be those who enter the new heaven and the new earth in an unresurrected state. These are the people who come out of the 1000 year reign. Some scholars believe that this tree is for them – to bring them to a point where they will live forever.
The curse comes from the original tree of life in Genesis. It has all come full circle. God is complete creation.
When Christ was crucified, the curtain in the temple was torn. All of a sudden mankind had direct access to God, but we still can’t see His face. Psalm 11:7 tells us why: “For the LORD is righteous, he loves justice; upright men will see his face.”
The righteous, upright man will see his face.
Paul tells us in Hebrews 12:14 that without holiness no one will see the Lord.
John is giving us back the chance to look upon God. First century readers, along with all of us, know full well that you can not look upon the face of God and live. But, in that day, we have the assurance that we will see His face.
We then have a throne. God and Jesus reign together. These are not two separate individuals. John 10:30 says, “I and the Father are one.”
This is so far beyond our understanding. Robert Thomas says, “Man in his finiteness cannot grasp the truth of the infinite being of the triune God.”
I simply can’t. I want to. I’m desperate to understand how this works, but at the same time remain grateful that the power of my God still leaves much mystery. He is greater than I am. There are things about Him I will never understand and that gives me hope.
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