Inside The New Jerusalem
Revelation 21:24-22:5
Message #43
This is our final message in our mini-series on Heaven that we’ve been putting within our verse-by-verse series in Revelation. After today, we have only one final message coming to wrap up the entire series on Revelation. It will be a total of forty-four messages in the Revelation series when we finish next message.
My prayer through this entire book, and especially in this mini-series on Heaven, is that Heaven would become much more real to each of us. I pray we can imagine it more accurately and that we can see ourselves there more clearly. I pray that we would stop seeing it in an ethereal, opaque way. Heaven is real! It’s much more real than our culture has implied or impressed on us. I believe it’s the enemy of our souls that has made Heaven a little unclear to us and used all kinds of things, from cartoons to poor teaching in the church. We need to get lit up about Heaven because it’s really good. It’s a place God made for us, where we can be face-to-face with him and where we can have real relationship with him and those who are saved. I pray that we can see our loved ones who are saved there with us in a very real way.
We ended the last message in Revelation 21:22-23. In verse 22, we saw that the New Jerusalem has no physical Temple in it because the entire city of the New Jerusalem IS the Temple.
Revelation 21:22 (NLT)
22 I saw no temple in the city, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.
The New Jerusalem IS the place where the glory of God dwells and where God meets with man, which is the definition of the Temple.
And verse 23 explains how magnificent the glory of God IS in the New Jerusalem.
Revelation 21:23 (NLT)
23 And the city has no need of sun or moon, for the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its light.
Let me say this again.
The most vital, all-encompassing, incredible truth of the New Jerusalem is that God dwells there in a real, tangible way, and we dwell there with God.
And no matter how incredible all of Heaven will be, that will always BE the best and most glorious part of Heaven.
So today, we continue our tour with John of the New Jerusalem, which we have described as our base of operations in Heaven. In our last message, we saw the New Jerusalem from the outside – its walls, gates, and its foundation. Today, John’s angelic tour goes inside the center of the New Jerusalem.
We’ll see the people of the New Jerusalem
We’ll see the River of Life and the Tree of Life
We’ll see the throne of God with Saints worshiping
We’ll see the servants of God reigning WITH God
We’ll see US face-to-face with God
Let’s pick it up in verse 24. Remember, verse 23 says the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its light.
Revelation 21:24 (NLT)
24 The nations will walk in its light, and the kings of the world will enter the city in all their glory.
The glory of God IS the light of the New Jerusalem, and the Nations will walk in that light.
This Greek word for nations is “ETHNOS,” from which we get ethnic. It means “races and peoples, nations of people.” That is a reference to all the redeemed in Heaven.
When you read, we will walk in the light of the glory of God, what do you imagine? Do you imagine us actually walking? Walking on the streets of the New Jerusalem bathed in the glory of God? Or do you kind of “spiritualize” that in your mind?
Turn back over to Revelation Chapter 7. Remember, Revelation is not written chronologically, though it can loosely be written out chronologically. Look what John sees here in verses 9-10.
Revelation 7:9–10 (NLT)
9 After this I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes and held palm branches in their hands.
10 And they were shouting with a great roar, “Salvation comes from our God who sits on the throne and from the Lamb!”
This is John seeing in advance the New Jerusalem. These are the Nations that walk in the light of the glory of God.
They are standing in front of the throne
They are clothed in white robes
They are holding palm branches
They are shouting with a great roar
They are worshiping Jesus on the throne
This is stuff we do now. There is nothing in this list that we don’t do now. This is this life without sin, without the curse, without the Fall in the full glory of God. The Nations of the Redeem are actually walking in the light of the glory of God, and they are actually worshiping at the throne of God.
We are walking, worshiping, and living in relationship in the very real, continual presence of the full glory of God.
And then (also in verse 24) it says the kings of the world (earth) will enter the city in all their glory. Remember, there’s a chance the New Jerusalem will be suspended over the Earth because it is a three-dimensional cube, and the New Earth, which is an integral part of Heaven, will be populated with the Nations of the Redeemed. Those Nations (of people) will walk in the glory of the New Jerusalem, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into the heavenly city.
Do you remember when the “kings of the earth” brought their “glory” to this same King of kings? Not in the New Jerusalem, but just outside the Old Jerusalem in Bethlehem. The Magi came to worship this same King, born in a manger, and they humbly offered him the “glory” of their lands.
There is so much that God has (it’s called typology) a picture of in this life that is actually a picture of Heaven. The entire Tabernacle Temple is a picture of the throne room of Heaven – just phenomenal.
But will there be “kings of the earth” in Heaven? Yes, there will be. It says right here in Revelation 21, verse 24, the kings of the earth will bring their glory into the New Jerusalem.
Some people say this must be only referring to the 1,000 years of the Millennium, but John is definitely not describing the Millennium here. He’s inside the New Jerusalem. The New Jerusalem just came down (Revelation 21:3). All things have been made new. John is getting his first tour; he’s on the inside, and he’s seeing kings traveling from the earth into the New Jerusalem.
Write Daniel Chapter 7, verse 27, in your margin. Daniel is seeing a vision of the end of the Tribulation, but then in the same vision, we read this.
Daniel 7:27 (NLT)
27 Then the sovereignty (government), power, and greatness of all the kingdoms under heaven will be given to the holy people of the Most High. His kingdom will last forever, and all rulers will serve and obey him.”
The kingdom that is given to the Saints of God to rule on behalf of Jesus Christ will last forever (meaning for eternity). Most people point to this Daniel text and say, “Hey. That’s the Millennium because Daniel is seeing this vision of the end of the Tribulation. But this line His kingdom will last forever goes past the Millennium (forever goes past the Millennium, and past time).
And what about that favorite Christmas verse?
Isaiah 9:7 (NLT)
7 His government and its peace will never end. He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity. The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen!
The government of Jesus Christ over his Kingdom will never end (that’s for eternity).
So – there is a Kingdom
And there are Nations
And there are Cities
all on the New Earth that is part of Heaven.
When God created the Earth and Mankind, he started out by giving Man dominion over all of his creation, right?
Randy Alcorn - Heaven
God is by nature a creator and ruler. He is glorified by what he creates and rules. He delights to delegate authority and dominion to his children to rule his creation on his behalf.
That is exactly what God did with Adam and Eve. God created this earth for us to rule and have dominion over. Then Satan took that rule and dominion from us. But from that point on (Genesis 3:15), God’s plan IS a plan of redemption, of restoring the world and Mankind to how he originally created it.
1 Corinthians 6:2–3 (NLT)
2 Don’t you realize (Paul is talking with an attitude because the Corinthians are the most messed up church in the New Testament, Paul is scolding them) that someday we believers will judge the world? . . . 3 Don’t you realize that we will judge angels? . . .
2 Timothy 2:12 (NLT)
12 If we endure hardship, we will reign with him . . .
What does that mean? It means what it says: we will reign. We’ll rule under the authority of Christ and have dominion over some of his creation. And look, scientists won’t even guess how big the universe is. Now they’ve gone beyond a universe, and now it has to be the “multiverse.” They’re now saying, “Well, there must be more than one universe because there are billions of galaxies in the universe; we can’t even count it.” Well, if we’re going to be given dominion over God’s creation, that’s part of God’s creation. That’s a lot of creation! (And I’m sure in one of those galaxies, he’ll put an ocean so we can still fish.)
Revelation 22:5 (NLT)
5 . . . and they (the saints) will reign forever and ever.
I’m just trying to tell you we’re not sitting on clouds strumming harps. We’re involved in having dominion over the creation of God. If you are interested, there is an excellent parable in Luke 19, verse 11, called the “The Parable of the Ten Servants” (or Ten Minas, which is a measurement of weight for silver). It’s a parable of Jesus going to Heaven and giving his ten servants each a certain amount of silver (or money) and asking them to invest that money for him, and he’ll touch base with them when he gets back. In that parable, Jesus uses “governing cities in Heaven” as the reward for his servants who have invested well for his Kingdom and what he has given them in this life. He uses governing as a reward for being faithful here. The Saints will be ruling and reigning on the New Earth in real cities and nations in the real Kingdom of God.
So, back to our text. Let’s re-read verse 24 through verse 26.
Revelation 21:24–26 (NLT)
24 The nations will walk (literally) in its light (the Glory of God), and the kings of the world will enter the city in all their glory.
25 Its gates will never be closed (a reference to people coming in and out of the city) at the end of day because there is no night there (meaning no danger).
26 And all the nations will bring their glory and honor into the city.
Heaven involves:
Real Nations
Real Kings of earth
Bringing real glory and honor to the Real King
And then, in the middle of our tour, the Holy Spirit wants to make it clear there is only one way that you and I can be there.
Revelation 21:27 (NLT)
27 Nothing evil will be allowed to enter, nor anyone who practices shameful idolatry and dishonesty—but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.
The Bible is perfectly clear that the only way to have your name written in the Lamb’s Book of Life is for you to put your full faith and trust in Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord. He writes your name in the Book of Life in his own blood because he is the only One who could take your place, pay for your sins, and then offer you the righteousness of God in return. No other religion can do that—no other ideology. Nothing else can do that.
And so, my encouragement is don’t argue with God. Don’t try to tell God that all roads should lead to Heaven. Instead, seriously consider God’s claim that only those who’ve put their faith in Jesus Christ will be in Heaven. Get ahold of how supernaturally powerful and miraculous the Bible is, read it, and then believe it. And put your faith in Jesus Christ, knowing that he will write your name in the Book of Life in his own blood, and then you will be in Heaven when this day comes. When you put your faith in Jesus as your Savior and Lord, you will be eternally glad you did.
Moving on – the first five verses of Chapter 22 really go with Chapter 21, and they continue John’s tour of the New Jerusalem. Here, John really begins to see a restored Garden of Eden environment. He is showing you the comparison of the Garden of Eden with the New Jerusalem. See that the New Jerusalem is a restored Garden of Eden.
Revelation 22:1–2(a) (NLT)
1 Then the angel showed me a river with the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb.
2 It flowed down the center of the main street . . .
First, John sees the River of Life sparkling clear as crystal flowing from the Throne of God and of the Lamb. Back in the original Garden of Eden, there was also a river, and this is a real river – clear as crystal, and it is the symbol of the source of eternal life. Numerous times, Jesus referred to eternal life as “Living Water” (even “Rivers of Living Water"). Over and over, John Chapter 7, Jesus says that from your innermost being, rivers of Living Water will come gushing forth, speaking of the Holy Spirit. Here, it is speaking of eternal life. That is the River of Life, just like it is throughout the rest of the Bible.
And not only is the River of Life restored, but also the Tree of Life is restored.
Revelation 22:2(b) (NLT)
2 . . . On each side of the river grew a tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, with a fresh crop each month. The leaves were used for medicine to heal the nations.
One of the most amazing things that I see here in Revelation 22, verse 2, is that there is a fruit of the month club in Heaven.
The last sentence: The leaves were used for medicine to heal the nations is a hard one to interpret since there is no sickness or dying. It may be that this verse is simply referring to the perfect eternal life we will have for all eternity.
Here, God is restoring the “Tree of Life” that was in the original Garden of Eden. Since the day that sin and death entered Mankind through Adam and Eve, God has been restoring Mankind to be able to eat from the Tree of Life and live forever, and God has been restoring Mankind to the genuine face-to-face relationship Man had with God IN the Garden.
Both the River of Life and the Tree of Life are symbols of God restoring us to an eternal Paradise with him.
Verse 3 is another reference to the Garden of Eden.
Revelation 22:3 (NLT)
3 No longer will there be a curse upon anything. For the throne of God and of the Lamb will be there, and his servants will worship him.
Heaven will be a restoring to the Eden Paradise of God with Man. The curse will be gone, and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be there, and his servants will worship him. That’s US – we will be serving and worshiping God.
Most of all, more than anything else, Mankind will be restored to the perfect, intimate relationship that God created us to have with him. This face-to-face relationship with God is a reference to intimacy, to knowledge. The wording is similar to John 1:1. Jesus was belly-to-belly, face-to-face with God; he was one with God.
Revelation 22:4 (NLT)
4 And they will see his face, and his name will be written on their foreheads.
Under the curse, no one can see the full glory of God. Once the curse is removed and Heaven is opened, and all is new, we will not only walk in the glory of God, but we’ll see God face-to-face. We’ll relate to him at that level of intimacy.
This is a reference to :
Perfect communion with God
Perfect relationship with God – face-to-face
And then, perfect communion with God is made even more intimate at the end of verse 4: and his name will be written on their foreheads. That’s the seal of God. It gives us assurance that we are his – we belong to him. And so that is the assurance of that face-to-face relationship with God for eternity. We are marked with his seal. That’s cool!!
To wrap up, John reiterates again the phenomenal truth of us walking and living in the full glory of God.
Revelation 22:5 (NLT)
5 And there will be no night there—no need for lamps or sun—for the Lord God will shine on them. And they will reign forever and ever.
So, here’s what the last three verses of our text say about us
We will serve God in his perfect creation
We will worship God in his full glory
We will commune with God face-to-face
We will be sealed belonging to him for eternity
We will walk in the light of the glory of God
We will reign forever and ever with Jesus Christ
Guys, Heaven is real! It is so much more real than we have been influenced to think. Let’s get rid of our MIS-assumptions and MIS-understanding. Heaven will be more real than the life you are living today. This life is a vapor. We will live in a New Earth and New Heavens centered around the New Jerusalem, and all of it will be returned to glorified perfection. Don’t miss it!!
Have your name written in the Lamb’s Book of Life – today, by putting your full faith and trust in Jesus Christ as your Savior and your Lord. Let’s make sure we see each other on the streets of gold.
DON’T MISS IT!!
My prayer through this entire book, and especially in this mini-series on Heaven, is that Heaven would become much more real to each of us. I pray we can imagine it more accurately and that we can see ourselves there more clearly. I pray that we would stop seeing it in an ethereal, opaque way. Heaven is real! It’s much more real than our culture has implied or impressed on us. I believe it’s the enemy of our souls that has made Heaven a little unclear to us and used all kinds of things, from cartoons to poor teaching in the church. We need to get lit up about Heaven because it’s really good. It’s a place God made for us, where we can be face-to-face with him and where we can have real relationship with him and those who are saved. I pray that we can see our loved ones who are saved there with us in a very real way.
We ended the last message in Revelation 21:22-23. In verse 22, we saw that the New Jerusalem has no physical Temple in it because the entire city of the New Jerusalem IS the Temple.
Revelation 21:22 (NLT)
22 I saw no temple in the city, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.
The New Jerusalem IS the place where the glory of God dwells and where God meets with man, which is the definition of the Temple.
And verse 23 explains how magnificent the glory of God IS in the New Jerusalem.
Revelation 21:23 (NLT)
23 And the city has no need of sun or moon, for the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its light.
Let me say this again.
The most vital, all-encompassing, incredible truth of the New Jerusalem is that God dwells there in a real, tangible way, and we dwell there with God.
And no matter how incredible all of Heaven will be, that will always BE the best and most glorious part of Heaven.
So today, we continue our tour with John of the New Jerusalem, which we have described as our base of operations in Heaven. In our last message, we saw the New Jerusalem from the outside – its walls, gates, and its foundation. Today, John’s angelic tour goes inside the center of the New Jerusalem.
We’ll see the people of the New Jerusalem
We’ll see the River of Life and the Tree of Life
We’ll see the throne of God with Saints worshiping
We’ll see the servants of God reigning WITH God
We’ll see US face-to-face with God
Let’s pick it up in verse 24. Remember, verse 23 says the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its light.
Revelation 21:24 (NLT)
24 The nations will walk in its light, and the kings of the world will enter the city in all their glory.
The glory of God IS the light of the New Jerusalem, and the Nations will walk in that light.
This Greek word for nations is “ETHNOS,” from which we get ethnic. It means “races and peoples, nations of people.” That is a reference to all the redeemed in Heaven.
When you read, we will walk in the light of the glory of God, what do you imagine? Do you imagine us actually walking? Walking on the streets of the New Jerusalem bathed in the glory of God? Or do you kind of “spiritualize” that in your mind?
Turn back over to Revelation Chapter 7. Remember, Revelation is not written chronologically, though it can loosely be written out chronologically. Look what John sees here in verses 9-10.
Revelation 7:9–10 (NLT)
9 After this I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes and held palm branches in their hands.
10 And they were shouting with a great roar, “Salvation comes from our God who sits on the throne and from the Lamb!”
This is John seeing in advance the New Jerusalem. These are the Nations that walk in the light of the glory of God.
They are standing in front of the throne
They are clothed in white robes
They are holding palm branches
They are shouting with a great roar
They are worshiping Jesus on the throne
This is stuff we do now. There is nothing in this list that we don’t do now. This is this life without sin, without the curse, without the Fall in the full glory of God. The Nations of the Redeem are actually walking in the light of the glory of God, and they are actually worshiping at the throne of God.
We are walking, worshiping, and living in relationship in the very real, continual presence of the full glory of God.
And then (also in verse 24) it says the kings of the world (earth) will enter the city in all their glory. Remember, there’s a chance the New Jerusalem will be suspended over the Earth because it is a three-dimensional cube, and the New Earth, which is an integral part of Heaven, will be populated with the Nations of the Redeemed. Those Nations (of people) will walk in the glory of the New Jerusalem, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into the heavenly city.
Do you remember when the “kings of the earth” brought their “glory” to this same King of kings? Not in the New Jerusalem, but just outside the Old Jerusalem in Bethlehem. The Magi came to worship this same King, born in a manger, and they humbly offered him the “glory” of their lands.
There is so much that God has (it’s called typology) a picture of in this life that is actually a picture of Heaven. The entire Tabernacle Temple is a picture of the throne room of Heaven – just phenomenal.
But will there be “kings of the earth” in Heaven? Yes, there will be. It says right here in Revelation 21, verse 24, the kings of the earth will bring their glory into the New Jerusalem.
Some people say this must be only referring to the 1,000 years of the Millennium, but John is definitely not describing the Millennium here. He’s inside the New Jerusalem. The New Jerusalem just came down (Revelation 21:3). All things have been made new. John is getting his first tour; he’s on the inside, and he’s seeing kings traveling from the earth into the New Jerusalem.
Write Daniel Chapter 7, verse 27, in your margin. Daniel is seeing a vision of the end of the Tribulation, but then in the same vision, we read this.
Daniel 7:27 (NLT)
27 Then the sovereignty (government), power, and greatness of all the kingdoms under heaven will be given to the holy people of the Most High. His kingdom will last forever, and all rulers will serve and obey him.”
The kingdom that is given to the Saints of God to rule on behalf of Jesus Christ will last forever (meaning for eternity). Most people point to this Daniel text and say, “Hey. That’s the Millennium because Daniel is seeing this vision of the end of the Tribulation. But this line His kingdom will last forever goes past the Millennium (forever goes past the Millennium, and past time).
And what about that favorite Christmas verse?
Isaiah 9:7 (NLT)
7 His government and its peace will never end. He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity. The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen!
The government of Jesus Christ over his Kingdom will never end (that’s for eternity).
So – there is a Kingdom
And there are Nations
And there are Cities
all on the New Earth that is part of Heaven.
When God created the Earth and Mankind, he started out by giving Man dominion over all of his creation, right?
Randy Alcorn - Heaven
God is by nature a creator and ruler. He is glorified by what he creates and rules. He delights to delegate authority and dominion to his children to rule his creation on his behalf.
That is exactly what God did with Adam and Eve. God created this earth for us to rule and have dominion over. Then Satan took that rule and dominion from us. But from that point on (Genesis 3:15), God’s plan IS a plan of redemption, of restoring the world and Mankind to how he originally created it.
1 Corinthians 6:2–3 (NLT)
2 Don’t you realize (Paul is talking with an attitude because the Corinthians are the most messed up church in the New Testament, Paul is scolding them) that someday we believers will judge the world? . . . 3 Don’t you realize that we will judge angels? . . .
2 Timothy 2:12 (NLT)
12 If we endure hardship, we will reign with him . . .
What does that mean? It means what it says: we will reign. We’ll rule under the authority of Christ and have dominion over some of his creation. And look, scientists won’t even guess how big the universe is. Now they’ve gone beyond a universe, and now it has to be the “multiverse.” They’re now saying, “Well, there must be more than one universe because there are billions of galaxies in the universe; we can’t even count it.” Well, if we’re going to be given dominion over God’s creation, that’s part of God’s creation. That’s a lot of creation! (And I’m sure in one of those galaxies, he’ll put an ocean so we can still fish.)
Revelation 22:5 (NLT)
5 . . . and they (the saints) will reign forever and ever.
I’m just trying to tell you we’re not sitting on clouds strumming harps. We’re involved in having dominion over the creation of God. If you are interested, there is an excellent parable in Luke 19, verse 11, called the “The Parable of the Ten Servants” (or Ten Minas, which is a measurement of weight for silver). It’s a parable of Jesus going to Heaven and giving his ten servants each a certain amount of silver (or money) and asking them to invest that money for him, and he’ll touch base with them when he gets back. In that parable, Jesus uses “governing cities in Heaven” as the reward for his servants who have invested well for his Kingdom and what he has given them in this life. He uses governing as a reward for being faithful here. The Saints will be ruling and reigning on the New Earth in real cities and nations in the real Kingdom of God.
So, back to our text. Let’s re-read verse 24 through verse 26.
Revelation 21:24–26 (NLT)
24 The nations will walk (literally) in its light (the Glory of God), and the kings of the world will enter the city in all their glory.
25 Its gates will never be closed (a reference to people coming in and out of the city) at the end of day because there is no night there (meaning no danger).
26 And all the nations will bring their glory and honor into the city.
Heaven involves:
Real Nations
Real Kings of earth
Bringing real glory and honor to the Real King
And then, in the middle of our tour, the Holy Spirit wants to make it clear there is only one way that you and I can be there.
Revelation 21:27 (NLT)
27 Nothing evil will be allowed to enter, nor anyone who practices shameful idolatry and dishonesty—but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.
The Bible is perfectly clear that the only way to have your name written in the Lamb’s Book of Life is for you to put your full faith and trust in Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord. He writes your name in the Book of Life in his own blood because he is the only One who could take your place, pay for your sins, and then offer you the righteousness of God in return. No other religion can do that—no other ideology. Nothing else can do that.
And so, my encouragement is don’t argue with God. Don’t try to tell God that all roads should lead to Heaven. Instead, seriously consider God’s claim that only those who’ve put their faith in Jesus Christ will be in Heaven. Get ahold of how supernaturally powerful and miraculous the Bible is, read it, and then believe it. And put your faith in Jesus Christ, knowing that he will write your name in the Book of Life in his own blood, and then you will be in Heaven when this day comes. When you put your faith in Jesus as your Savior and Lord, you will be eternally glad you did.
Moving on – the first five verses of Chapter 22 really go with Chapter 21, and they continue John’s tour of the New Jerusalem. Here, John really begins to see a restored Garden of Eden environment. He is showing you the comparison of the Garden of Eden with the New Jerusalem. See that the New Jerusalem is a restored Garden of Eden.
Revelation 22:1–2(a) (NLT)
1 Then the angel showed me a river with the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb.
2 It flowed down the center of the main street . . .
First, John sees the River of Life sparkling clear as crystal flowing from the Throne of God and of the Lamb. Back in the original Garden of Eden, there was also a river, and this is a real river – clear as crystal, and it is the symbol of the source of eternal life. Numerous times, Jesus referred to eternal life as “Living Water” (even “Rivers of Living Water"). Over and over, John Chapter 7, Jesus says that from your innermost being, rivers of Living Water will come gushing forth, speaking of the Holy Spirit. Here, it is speaking of eternal life. That is the River of Life, just like it is throughout the rest of the Bible.
And not only is the River of Life restored, but also the Tree of Life is restored.
Revelation 22:2(b) (NLT)
2 . . . On each side of the river grew a tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, with a fresh crop each month. The leaves were used for medicine to heal the nations.
One of the most amazing things that I see here in Revelation 22, verse 2, is that there is a fruit of the month club in Heaven.
The last sentence: The leaves were used for medicine to heal the nations is a hard one to interpret since there is no sickness or dying. It may be that this verse is simply referring to the perfect eternal life we will have for all eternity.
Here, God is restoring the “Tree of Life” that was in the original Garden of Eden. Since the day that sin and death entered Mankind through Adam and Eve, God has been restoring Mankind to be able to eat from the Tree of Life and live forever, and God has been restoring Mankind to the genuine face-to-face relationship Man had with God IN the Garden.
Both the River of Life and the Tree of Life are symbols of God restoring us to an eternal Paradise with him.
Verse 3 is another reference to the Garden of Eden.
Revelation 22:3 (NLT)
3 No longer will there be a curse upon anything. For the throne of God and of the Lamb will be there, and his servants will worship him.
Heaven will be a restoring to the Eden Paradise of God with Man. The curse will be gone, and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be there, and his servants will worship him. That’s US – we will be serving and worshiping God.
Most of all, more than anything else, Mankind will be restored to the perfect, intimate relationship that God created us to have with him. This face-to-face relationship with God is a reference to intimacy, to knowledge. The wording is similar to John 1:1. Jesus was belly-to-belly, face-to-face with God; he was one with God.
Revelation 22:4 (NLT)
4 And they will see his face, and his name will be written on their foreheads.
Under the curse, no one can see the full glory of God. Once the curse is removed and Heaven is opened, and all is new, we will not only walk in the glory of God, but we’ll see God face-to-face. We’ll relate to him at that level of intimacy.
This is a reference to :
Perfect communion with God
Perfect relationship with God – face-to-face
And then, perfect communion with God is made even more intimate at the end of verse 4: and his name will be written on their foreheads. That’s the seal of God. It gives us assurance that we are his – we belong to him. And so that is the assurance of that face-to-face relationship with God for eternity. We are marked with his seal. That’s cool!!
To wrap up, John reiterates again the phenomenal truth of us walking and living in the full glory of God.
Revelation 22:5 (NLT)
5 And there will be no night there—no need for lamps or sun—for the Lord God will shine on them. And they will reign forever and ever.
So, here’s what the last three verses of our text say about us
We will serve God in his perfect creation
We will worship God in his full glory
We will commune with God face-to-face
We will be sealed belonging to him for eternity
We will walk in the light of the glory of God
We will reign forever and ever with Jesus Christ
Guys, Heaven is real! It is so much more real than we have been influenced to think. Let’s get rid of our MIS-assumptions and MIS-understanding. Heaven will be more real than the life you are living today. This life is a vapor. We will live in a New Earth and New Heavens centered around the New Jerusalem, and all of it will be returned to glorified perfection. Don’t miss it!!
Have your name written in the Lamb’s Book of Life – today, by putting your full faith and trust in Jesus Christ as your Savior and your Lord. Let’s make sure we see each other on the streets of gold.
DON’T MISS IT!!