02.66. LECTURE No. 66 -- Rev_22:1-5
LECTURE No. 66 -- Revelation 22:1-5
What the New Jerusalem Will Be Like - An Interior View of the City - The River of Life Will Be There - Even During the Millennial Period There Will Be a Wonderful River in the City of Jerusalem As It Will Be at That Time - David Prophesied of the River of Life in the New Jerusalem - One of the Blessings and Privileges of the New Jerusalem Will Be Access to the Tree of Life - During the Millennial Period There Will Be Trees on Each Side of the River Whose Leaves Will Be Used for Medicine - Even So, the Leaves of the Tree of Life in the New Jerusalem Will Be for the Healing of the Nations - Besides the River of Life and the Tree of Life the Throne of God and the Lamb Will Be in the New Jerusalem - There Will Be No Night There
OUR last, lesson was based upon Revelation 21:9-27, which gave to us a wonderful description of the New Jerusalem which will come down from God out of heaven upon the new earth and which will be the future home of the saints of God.
Concerning the New Jerusalem, in Revelation 21:22-27 the Apostle John said,
“And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it. And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there. And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it. And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.” The New Jerusalem, The Tree of Life
We are now ready to advance in our study by reading and considering what is written in Revelation 22:1-5, where John further said,
“And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.
“In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
“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: And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.
“And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for of the saints of God.” An Inside View of the City
We wish to say, in the very beginning, that in these words the Apostle was only continuing his description of the New Jerusalem.
The material was divided into chapters at this point merely as a convenience for Bible study. There is, however, no separation between chapter 21 and chapter 22 so far as the subject matter is concerned.
In our last lesson, the Apostle John gave us a word picture of the New Jerusalem, as it were, from without. He gave us, therefore, the appearance of this city, viewed from a distance, but in our present lesson, he has given us a view of the city as it will be within. How precious, therefore, this lesson should be to all of us who are hoping some day to enter through the gates into the city.
We do not mean to say that he has given to us all of the details of the divine economy, which will be carried on within the city, for there is no question but what he has left many things untold in this respect, but we are glad and thankful that he has given to us at least some idea as to what the inside of the New Jerusalem will be like.
Let us remember that the Book of Genesis is the Book of Beginnings, and that the Book of Revelation is the Book of the Consummation.
In other words, the Book of Revelation tells us what is to be the end of those things which are recorded as having had their beginning in the Book of Genesis. We need not be surprised, therefore, to find mention made in this portion of God’s Word of some of those things which were mentioned in the Book of Genesis. A Wonderful River Will Be There For instance in Revelation 22:1 it says, “And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.”
We need not be surprised that mention is made here of a “pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb,” for mention is made of a river which went out of the Garden of Eden in the early paradise, which existed when man was first created upon the earth.
This is confirmed in Genesis 2:8-14, where it says,
“And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and become into four heads. The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone. And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia. And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates.”
Thus, my friends, we see that water was a necessary part of that early paradise and that even the Garden of Eden would have been imperfect without it. From the words which we have just read, it is evident that the river which had its source in the Garden of Eden flowed out to water other portions of the earth.
We cannot imagine a city whether past, present or future without a source of water supply. The River of the Millennial Period In Ezekiel 47:1 the prophet said,
“Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward: for the forefront of the house stood toward the east, and the waters came down from under from the right side of the house, at the south side of the altar.”
The Prophet was here speaking of conditions as they will be in Jerusalem during the Millennial period, when Jesus will rule and reign in Jerusalem as King over the whole earth.
Ezekiel’s prophecy is confirmed in Zechariah 14:8, where it says,
“And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be.”
We wish to remind you that this language does not refer to the New Jerusalem, which will come down from God out of heaven, but to the Jerusalem of the millennial period, and we have mentioned these things here merely to show you that conditions as they existed in the Garden of Eden and as they will be in Jerusalem during the millennial reign of Christ will find their ultimate consummation in the New Jerusalem which belongs to the new earth, which is yet future and which is mentioned in our present text in Revelation 22:1-21.
Just as the waters proceeded out of Eden to water the garden and bless the earth and as they will flow out from beneath the millennial sanctuary, which Ezekiel saw in prophetic vision, a pure river of water of life, pure as crystal, will proceed out of the throne of God and of the Lamb in the New Jerusalem.
Many, in their study of this portion of God’s Word, have tried to spiritualize the meaning of this river, the same as they do with other portions of God’s Word, and in doing so, they have merely gotten themselves and those who follow their teachings, into a state of confusion to where the language of the Bible means very little to them.
Personally, I feel that when John speaks of a “pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb,” he means a literal river and I accept the scriptures and believe them to mean exactly what they say upon this point.
What the Psalmist David Said Did not David say, in Psalms 46:4,
“There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacle of the most High.”
Indeed he did, and this was not mere fancy.
Thus, my friends, we see that even the New Jerusalem would be incomplete without the pure river of water of life proceeding out of the throne of God and the Lamb. The Tree of Life Will Be There In Revelation 22:2 of our lesson text the Apostle John said,
“In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for healing of the nations.”
Here again we see a similarity between the early paradise in the Garden of Eden and those conditions which will exist in the New Jerusalem.
Indeed, what is more beautiful than the wonderful trees with which God has decorated the whole earth. The Garden of Eden, you know, was full of beautiful trees, and there is no question but what the landscape of the Garden would have been imperfect without them. In Genesis 2:9 it says,
“And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.”
Concerning the tree of life, which was in the Garden of Eden, in his book on the Apocalypse, Seiss says,
“The first Eden had its glad and glorious trees, ‘the tree of life also in the midst of the garden.’ It was not one individual tree, but a particular tree as to its kind, as we speak of ‘the apple’ or ‘the oak,’ denoting a species of which there are many specimens. It has the name of the Tree of Life, because man in innocence was to keep and preserve his life by eating of its fruits. It was the symbol and support of eternal life, both for body and of soul. And it is one of the special joys and provisions of the New Jerusalem that it is supplied with this same tree, in the same multitudinous sense, fulfilling something of the same offices.”
We need not be surprised that these conditions will exist in the New Jerusalem, because even in the earthly Jerusalem of the millennial period, conditions which at least typify these things will exist.
We have already called your attention to the prophecy of Ezekiel, who has told us that a river of water will issue out from under the threshold of the house, and that the waters will come down from the right side of the house at the south side of the altar, which will then be in Jerusalem. The first few verses of Ezekiel 47:1-23 reveal how this river will increase in volume, and size and flow out of Jerusalem until it reaches the sea. The Healing Trees of the Millennial Period In Ezekiel 47:12, the Prophet said,
“And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine.”
Thus, my friends, we see that the river of the sanctuary of millennial period will be in many respects like the river of the New Jerusalem, which, of course, belongs to the new earth, as it will be after the thousand years have been finished. The river of the New Jerusalem, however, will not flow from the sanctuary but from the throne of God.
It is interesting to note that during the millennial period, there will be on either bank of the river trees whose leaves shall not fade.
We are told that these trees will bring forth fruit which will be for meat and that the leaves thereof shall be for medicine. Thus, my friends, we see what a blessing and healing influence these trees upon the banks of the river will have upon those people, who will be living upon the earth during that time. Even conditions then will not be as perfect as they will be in the New Jerusalem, for in this new and last and final paradise of God will be the original tree of life itself, which we are told will bear twelve manner of fruits and yield her fruit every month. We have reason to believe, therefore that those who inhabit the New Jerusalem will partake of these fruits and will live forever.
Those who eventually secure access to the tree of life may count themselves very fortunate indeed. In Revelation 2:7 in the message to the church at Ephesus the Lord gave a promise saying, “To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.” For the Healing of the Nations
There is another interesting fact mentioned about the tree of life in our lesson text, and that is that “The leaves of the tree,” John said, “were for the healing of the nations.”
These words seem to suggest that outside of the walls of the New Jerusalem, there will still be nations of people dwelling upon the earth.
This is confirmed in Revelation 21:23-26, where it says,
“And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it. And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there. And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it.”
The inference is that these nations living outside the walls of the New Jerusalem will not have access to the tree of life, for only those within the city can partake of the fruits thereof, but the nations that are without will be benefitted in some way by the leaves of the tree of life, which will be growing within the city in the midst of the paradise of God.
It is suggested, however, that the healing spoken of in this passage refers rather to the preserving of the health of the people rather than to the matter of curing them from a state of ill health, for by that time, as we know, the curse will have been removed from off the earth and sickness and death will no more exist, for the former things will have passed away.
The idea, therefore, which the passage is intended to convey is that those who partake of the leaves of the tree of life will be preserved in health and strength much the same as Adam and Eve would have been if they had never sinned. The Throne of God to Be in the New Jerusalem In verse three (Revelation 22:3) of our lesson text it says,
“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.”
Here again we do not need to be surprised that the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the New Jerusalem, for in Revelation 21:3 the Apostle John said,
“And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.”
Also in Revelation 3:21, the Lord promised, saying,
“To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.”
In the third and fourth verses of our lesson text (Revelation 22:3-4), it also says,
“His servants shall serve him: And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.”
Thus, my friends, we see that the New Jerusalem will not be a place of idleness, but will be a place of activity, wherein the servants of God and the Lamb will find pleasure in doing the bidding of their Lord and Master. To identify them, His name will be in their foreheads. Thus, every servant of God will know his place and his standing with the Lord and will labor joyfully at whatever task may be his to perform. No Night There
Revelation 22:5 of our lesson text says, “And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.”
Let us conclude our message with these few lines of verse which we quote as follows:
“Rise, my soul, and stretch thy wings, Thy better portion trace;
Rise from transitory things Toward heaven, thy native place.
Sun, and moon, and stars decay,
Time shall soon this earth remove;
Rise, my soul, and haste away
To seats prepared above!”
~ end of lecture 66 ~