Revelation 22:1-5 (NKJV) And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. 2 In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3 And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. 4 They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. 5 There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever.
It seems most appropriate that these 5 verses should be in chapter 21. The new topic begins in Revelation 22:6.
V1 “And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb.” The river is a river of water. This water is a living water so pure it is without any contaminants. Its source is God’s throne. Compare Ezekiel 47:1-12 (Millennial period river) and Genesis 2:20-14 (Garden of Eden river). Also compare John 4:10-14 where Jesus states that if she asked, He would give her living water. That water is life to the soul which is separated from God and has no spiritual life.
V2 “In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.” All the inhabitants can eat from these trees. We don’t have the Tree of Life on Earth, but we have the true vine, Jesus Christ (John 15:1-8).
V3 “And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him.” God cursed the universe because of sin, which defiled and contaminated God’s creation. Now there is no more curse. Compare the curse in Proverbs 3:33 and Isaiah 24:16-23. Compare no curse in 2 Corinthians 5:17. It will be a holy city because of God’s throne with God in the midst of this city. Those of us who have believed and trusted in the Lord Jesus will be servants. Compare Daniel 7:14 and Zephaniah 3:9 (some interpret this to be sinless lips, but I think it is better a pure universal language).
V4 “They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads.” All humans redeemed by the blood of the Lamb will now be able to see God’s face and sealed with His name. Compare Exodus 33:20 and John 1:18. When it is written that Jacob saw “God face to face,” it refers to a Christophany (see https://biblehub.com/topical/c/christophany.htm) as Joshua (Joshua 5:13-15) and Samson’s parents (Judges 5:19-23).
Keathley writes: “The face of our Lord in His ministry among men must have been a face which spoke volumes because of His character, control, love, sympathy, and understanding. Remember that the third time Peter denied the Lord during His trials, Luke tells us that “the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord…and he went out and wept bitterly” (Luke 22:61-62). The Lord only looked at Peter, but His face and those eyes said it all. One of the most important elements of communication and fellowship is not only what we say, but the way we say them, our tone of voice, and especially facial expressions.
“So “seeing His face” stands first for being face to face with the Lord, in His very presence. It means having perfect fellowship and clear understanding and illumination by the light of His countenance. It stands for a fellowship and understanding which is unblemished by our ignorance, or sins, or prejudices, or preoccupations with personalities, or anything else that might dim the light or distort the truth to our eyes or minds.
“Today in Scripture, God uses anthropomorphisms and anthropopathisms so we can understand ideas about what God is like. But then we will be in the direct presence of God with no fog or blurs to dim our vision of God. Today we believe in and teach the doctrine of the Trinity. We know it, teach it, illustrate it, and believe it, but who can truly say he understands it? But then we will.”
V5 “There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever.” Night is not needed. There are months and daylight here but no night.
Keathley says it best:
“And they (the saints) shall reign forever and ever.” Why is this inserted here? I believe there is an important connection. Man originally lost his capacity to reign over the creation of God because he listened to the one of darkness. Our reigning with the Lord in the eternal state proceeds from our fellowship and from the illuminating presence of God, and from this there can and will be no break or interference.
“In summary of this section of Revelation, what do we have in the eternal and blessed city of the New Jerusalem?
(1) Perfect restoration (no more curse, paradise regained),
(2) Perfect administration (the very throne of God and the Lamb shall be on it),
(3) Perfect subordination (His servants shall serve Him),
(4) Perfect transformation (the saints shall see His face and we shall be like Him [1Jn 3:2]),
(5) Perfect identification (His Name on our foreheads),
(6) Perfect illumination (He Himself shall illumine us),
(7) Perfect exaltation (we shall reign forever and ever).
“Here are seven perfect conditions pointing to one absolutely perfect state. Hallelujah, what a Savior! How great is our salvation in Christ!!!”
We learn:
- God is the source of living water.
- God removes the curse.
- God does not hide His face anymore.
- There are only blessings in the new heavens and earth.
Questions: - Are you looking forward to this time?
- Are you praying for unsaved loved ones?