Tree of Life
Today’s passage: Revelation 22:1–5
Focus verse: On each side of the river stood the tree of life. (Revelation 22:2)
The angel shows John a river of the water of life, clear and pure. It springs from the throne of Father God and the Lamb. From them comes living water, the source of eternal life.
This river of living water streams down the middle of the city’s main street. On each side stands the tree of life. This tree produces fruit year-round to offer sustenance and its leaves supply healing.
You may recall that the tree of life is also present in the garden of Eden. It stands in the middle of their paradise, along with the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
When Adam and Eve listen to the serpent’s lies and disobey God, they eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. In that moment they know right from wrong.
Through their actions, sin enters humanity. For the first time, they realize their nakedness and are ashamed of the wonderful body God created for them. They hide from their creator.
God decides they must leave the garden, their idyllic paradise. Having already disobeyed him and eaten from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he fears they may also eat from the tree of life and live forever.
Though it may not seem like it at first, this reveals God’s goodness. What would it be like to live forever knowing that you caused sin to enter the world?
Death would serve as a release from that painful knowledge and prevent an eternity of anguish over what they did.
To spare them from everlasting agony over their sin, God expels them from the garden and assigns an angel to guard the path to the tree of life.
As they leave the garden of Eden, they leave the tree of life behind.
We don’t see the tree of life again until this last chapter in the book of Revelation, the Bible’s concluding passage, where it stands as a central element in the new Jerusalem.
Its presence stands for eternal life in God’s new heaven and new earth, an idyllic paradise where we’ll live with him forever. It replaces the original Eden.
Another notable feature of this new reality that awaits us is that there will no longer be any curse. What curse? It may harken back to the first curse recorded in the Bible.
It’s the curse given to the serpent, Eve, and Adam for eating fruit from the forbidden tree (Genesis 3:14–19).
God now removes this curse. This doesn’t matter as much to the serpent because he now lives condemned for eternity in the lake of fire.
But it does matter for the curses given to Adam and Eve, which extend to their offspring, including us. These curses of pain, control, and toil, along with the eventuality of death, are no more.
Questions:
- Is the tree of life in Genesis the same one we see in Revelation?
- What does the tree of life mean to us?
- How does our understanding of Eden inform our understanding of Heaven?
- What might be different?
- What might it be like to not experience the curses God punished Adam and Eve with?
[Discover more about the tree of life in Genesis 2:9 and Genesis 3:22–24.]
Tips: Check out our tips to use this online Bible study for your church, small group, Sunday school class, or family discussion. It’s also ideal for personal study. Come back each Monday for a new lesson.
Read more in Revelation Bible Study: Discover Practical Insights from John’s Epic Vision.
Discover practical, understandable insights from the book of Revelation.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront a status quo faith and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
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