We have walked together through streets of gold and gates of pearl. We have gazed upon foundations adorned with every precious stone and walls jasper-bright with the glory of God. We have seen a city that needs no temple because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. It is a city that needs no sun because the glory of God illumines it.
But what good is architectural splendor without the sustenance of life? What good is a city of refuge if there is no healing for the nations? What good is security if the curse that has haunted humanity since Genesis 3 still clings to us like a shadow?
In Revelation 22 the angel shows the Apostle John the final panorama of heaven. There is a river flowing from the throne with a tree bearing never-ending fruit. The curse of sin, death and pain is lifted forever. Human purpose is no longer found not in what we possess, but in who we worship. This is the world Christ came to make. Not merely a place to live, but a paradise restored. Not merely safety from judgment but healing for every wound sin has ever inflicted. Our hope is no longer deferred and our joy radiates in the full presence of God.
Many of us have buried loved ones this year. We’ve felt the sting of death’s cruel tyranny and asked whether the ache will ever end and joy return. John gives us a vision that what was lost in Eden will be restored in glory. What was broken by sin will be mended by sovereign grace. The pilgrimage we now walk ends not in death but in the very presence of the living God.
Let us behold what John seen, fixing our eyes on the city our brothers and sisters in Christ have already entered. Let us behold the world Christ came to make.
It is a world where life flows freely from God Himself (vs. 1-2a)
The river of life flows from the throne of God and the Lamb
Revelation 22:1 NASB: Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb,
Rivers are never just scenery in the Bible, but point to life, provision, and nearness to God. John sees a river, but not a river like the muddy Jordan or the mighty Euphrates. This is the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the very throne of God and of the Lamb. Life does not bubble up from the earth. It does not spring from hidden wells in the hills. It flows from the throne. And that means this river is not a natural phenomenon. It is a declaration that life comes from God alone.
To understand why this river matters, we have to go back to the very beginning of the Bible. The first world God made was not dry, harsh, or fragile. It was a place where life flowed outward from God to sustain everything He had made.
Genesis 2:10 NASB: Now a river flowed out of Eden to water the garden…
In that first world, humanity lived with God, not at a distance, but in fellowship. Life was supplied, not earned, and death was unknown. But that world did not last. When humanity rebelled against God, access was lost. The garden was closed and the river no longer flowed freely to us. The Bible describes the way back as guarded, blocked, unreachable. Since then, the human story has been marked by thirst. We work the ground, but it resists us. We seek life, but everything we draw from eventually runs dry. What was once given freely now feels out of reach.
But God did not abandon His intention. Long before John saw this river, God showed His prophets a future where life would flow again from His presence. Ezekiel was brought to the door of a coming temple and shown water trickling out from beneath it. At first it was shallow, almost unimpressive. But the farther it flowed, the deeper it became, until it was a river no one could cross. And wherever that river went, dead places came alive. Barren waters became fresh. Life multiplied where death once ruled.
Zechariah spoke of the same promise from another angle, a day when living waters would flow out from Jerusalem in every direction, in every season, because the Lord Himself would reign as King over all the earth. What the prophets saw in promise, John now sees fulfilled. The river flows again, not from a temple made with hands, but from the throne of God and of the Lamb. What once trickled now floods the world with life. Eden is restored, perfected, consummated in Heaven.
And notice the clarity of the river, clear as crystal. There is no mixture of grace and guilt, no compromise between holiness and sin. What comes from God is utterly pure, and what is pure brings life. We have been drinking from cracked containers all our lives seeking satisfaction in things that cannot satisfy. We will find all that our souls have ever longed for in this river.
Now John turns from the river to the tree. And what a tree it is, the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. This is not a tree that blooms once and then lies dormant. This is perpetual fruitfulness, ceaseless provision, endless abundance.
It is a world of endless provision and healed relationships (v. 2)
The tree of life bears fruit without ceasing
Revelation 22:2 NASB: in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
When John says the river and the tree stand in the middle of the city’s street, he is not handing out a tour map. He is telling us that life is no longer guarded or regulated. What once was restricted now occupies the most ordinary, public place imaginable, the center of the street.
At the very beginning of the Bible, God shows us a world where life was not fragile or fleeting. At the center of that world stood the tree of life, a visible sign that humanity was meant to live forever in fellowship with God. To eat from that tree was not magic. It was life sustained directly by God Himself.
But that world did not last. When the first human couple rebelled against God, the relationship that sustained life was broken. And because God is holy, access to that tree was no longer safe or good for fallen people.
Genesis 3:24 NASB So He drove the man out; and at the east of the garden of Eden He stationed the cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every direction to guard the way to the tree of life.
From that moment on, the tree of life stood just out of reach. Humanity lived east of the garden, cut off from the source of unending life. Generation after generation felt the consequences: death became normal, sorrow became familiar, and separation from God became the human condition. The tree came to represent everything that had been lost, life without death, joy without sorrow, fellowship without shame.
When John is shown the New Jerusalem, he sees the tree of life again. And this time, it is not hidden behind guards or confined to one sacred spot. It appears throughout the city, wherever the river of life flows. Access is no longer restricted. There is no flaming sword. No threat of exile. No warning to stay away. The sin that once made access deadly has been dealt with fully and finally at another tree, the cross of Christ.
The tree bears twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. Twelve is the number Scripture consistently uses to describe the whole people of God, the tribes of Israel, the apostles of Christ, the foundation of the redeemed community. This tree exists for the nourishment of God’s people. It is not decoration; it is provision. It sustains life because God Himself sustains life.
And because it yields fruit every month, there is no waiting and no scarcity. There is no Black Friday madness where people turn savage at the sound of a rolling gate because a flat-screen might be ninety dollars cheaper. No midnight campouts. No crowd-control barricades. And there is no season where nourishment runs thin. There is only continual abundance, because the God who gives life does not grow tired and does not stop giving.
We rush, hoard, and panic because we are convinced time and provision are always running out, and this tree exposes how deeply that fear has shaped us. Those who have gone without in this life will know want no more. We who have buried loved ones and felt the ache of absence will find joyous life without interruption. Have you longed for something more than this broken world can offer? The believer will finally taste and see that the Lord is good, and that His goodness truly has no end.
The leaves of the tree heal the nations
But the tree does not exist only for individual sustenance. The leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. This is not medicinal healing because there is no sickness in the New Jerusalem. This is the healing of reconciliation, the mending of what sin has torn apart.
The nations rage for power and control in our present world. They divide sorting humanity into competing groups. They teach people to see themselves primarily as victims or oppressors. Ethnic hostilities, tribal animosities, national pride, all of these are the bitter fruit of the fall. But in Heaven, the nations are healed. Jew and Gentile, slave and free, every tribe and tongue and people stand together, united not by political treaty but by the blood of the Christ.
The leaves of the tree do what no human diplomacy ever could. They heal the deepest wounds, reconcile the oldest enemies, and make of many peoples one holy nation under God. Isaiah prophesied centuries before Christ was born that the nations would stream to the mountain of the Lord. The Apostle Paul wrote that in Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek. And this is what we who have tasted the bitterness of division and strife will experience forever in the presence of the King. And now we come to the statement that stands underneath every promise we have just heard.
It is a world where the curse is permanently removed (v. 3a)
Revelation 22:3 NASB: There will no longer be any curse;
The curse has defined every moment of human existence since the fall
Humanity sings as though loss is inevitable, as though we were born to lose and destined to watch everything slip away. We routinely experience joy with a shadow attached. The vacation is great, but part of you is already counting the remaining days. The child is small and sweet, and part of you is already aware that this phase is disappearing. When a relationship is good we are still tempted to keep our guard up because we already anticipate loss. When life gets calm, we often start waiting for the other shoe to drop. We make peace with the normality of loss by saying “That’s just life,” or “Nothing good lasts.”
Scripture tells us why we feel this way at the instinctive level. The world is cursed. The curse is not random punishment but simply the consequence of sin. Because we seek to live life apart from God, life feels fragile. We insist on being our own masters, and then complain when the burden of mastery crushes us. That is not an accident. It is the curse fitting the sin. And that is why the lifting of this curse is not describing the improvement of something, but the removal of it.
After our first parents sinned, God pronounced a curse upon the ground.
Genesis 3:17–19 NASB: Cursed is the ground because of you; In toil you will eat of it All the days of your life. 18 "Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; And you will eat the plants of the field; 19 By the sweat of your face You will eat bread, Till you return to the ground, Because from it you were taken; For you are dust, And to dust you shall return.
The curse touched everything. It turned work into wearisome toil. It brought pain into childbirth. It injected futility into creation itself. It made death the inevitable end of every human life. The curse is why we groan, weep, and bury those we love.
For virtually all of human history the curse has been inescapable. We have tried to mitigate it through medicine, through technology, through law, but we cannot remove it. It clings to us like a shadow, constantly reminding us that we live east of Eden in a world bent and broken by sin.
Christ bore the curse to remove it forever
But Christ came to bear the curse.
Galatians 3:13 NASB: "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us, for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.'"
On the cross, Jesus willingly took upon Himself the judgment our sin deserved. He did not avoid it or lessen it. He endured it fully. The Bible says He “became sin for us,” meaning He stood in our place and took the consequences we could never bear ourselves. He took the curse that fell on a broken world so that we could receive blessing instead of condemnation. And because He bore it completely, the curse no longer has any rightful claim on those who belong to Him. Many of us quietly fear that grace can forgive us but cannot undo what has already been ruined, and the cross answers that fear head-on.
This is why Christians can stand at the graves of other believers and say, with confidence rather than denial, “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” We still feel the bite of death in this life but it no longer has the final word. It is a defeated enemy, able to frighten us, but no longer able to destroy us. There is no curse in the New Jerusalem, not because we have evolved or earned our way out of it. Christ has borne it away, and where He reigns, the curse cannot stay in effect. Notice what follows:
It is a world where God dwells with His redeemed people forever (vs. 3b)
The throne in the city guarantees that the curse can never return
Revelation 22:3 NASB: and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it,
The throne is not outside the city, distant and removed. It is in the city, central and permanent. God dwells with His people, and where God dwells, the curse cannot exist. This is the ultimate fulfillment of God’s ancient promise to be with His people. Another name for Jesus is “Immanuel”, which means “God with us.” Not God visiting us. Not God observing us from afar. But God dwelling among us, reigning over us, filling every corner of our existence with His holy, life-giving presence.
And because the throne is established forever, the curse can never return. There is no second fall, no re-entry of sin and no lapse back into death. What God has made new will remain new forever. We struggle to rest even in good moments because experience has trained us to expect collapse, but the throne tells us this world will not unravel again. And the believer who knows the bitterness of the curse in this life will know only the sweetness of His presence in the life to come. Now John tells us what redeemed people will do in Heaven. And here we find not a static eternity of boredom, but the glad, ceaseless worship of those who have been made fit for the presence of the King.
It is a world where His servants serve with joy, see His face, and bear His name (vs. 3-4)
Revelation 22:3 NASB: …and His bond-servants will serve Him;
We will serve Him as willing bond-servants
“His bond-servants will serve Him.” This is no forced servitude. This is the glad, willing, joyful service of those who have been set free to do what they were made for. Some people say that if you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life. Work was never meant to feel like punishment, and yet most mornings we show up because life requires it. But even if we have a job we love, it still wears us down at times. Love for the task does not remove effort, responsibility, or fatigue.
But in Heaven, the curse that turned work into drudgery is gone. Service remains, but resentment does not. Effort remains, but futility does not. His servants serve Him, not because they must, but because nothing else would feel more natural, more fitting, or more alive. For the first time, what we are called to do and what we were created to be are perfectly aligned.
This is worship in its fullest sense. Worship is not merely singing songs but the offering of our entire selves in glad obedience to the King. We were made for this. Every moment of our earthly pilgrimage has been preparation for this. And when we finally stand in His presence, we will discover that service is not a burden but a privilege.
We will see His face without fear or shame
Revelation 22:4 NASB: they will see His face...
This is the beatific vision, the ultimate reward of the redeemed. In this life, no one can see God’s face and live. Moses was hidden in the cleft of the rock and saw only God’s back. Isaiah saw the Lord and cried, “Woe is me, for I am ruined!” Even the angels veil their faces in the presence of God’s holiness.
But in the New Jerusalem, we will see God as He has made Himself known to us, without the barrier of sin and without fear. Not as terrified criminals awaiting judgment, but as beloved children gazing upon the face of our Father. Not with shame, but with unspeakable joy. Not from a distance, but in intimate, eternal communion.
If the idea of seeing God face to face does not thrill you, that does not mean you are a bad Christian. It means you are a modern one. Many of us are more excited about seeing the novelties of heaven than about seeing God Himself. And it is not because God is unworthy, but because our hearts are distorted. If you think happiness is getting what you want, then heaven sounds boring. But if happiness is becoming who you were made to be, then seeing God becomes everything. Seeing God is like finally being fully known and fully loved. It is the end of hiding, pretending, and insecurity.
This is what we were made for. Not simply to know about God, but to know Him. To behold His beauty and be satisfied forever. Our loved ones in the Lord whom we buried this year, they have already seen His face. They have already entered into the joy of their Master. They are not waiting in some shadowy intermediate state. They are in the presence of the King, beholding the glory you and I still long for.
It is a world where His people reign in the light of His glory forever (v. 5)
Revelation 22:4 NASB: and His name will be on their foreheads.
I don’t know about you, but the idea of someone using my forehead as a canvas for their autograph session doesn’t sound appealing. A name on your forehead sounds invasive, even humiliating. If someone came at me with a Sharpie, I’d be like “Not today, Picasso.” But this is not branding by a tyrant. This is belonging without fear. God is not marking slaves. He is claiming sons and daughters. We already wear names in this life, career, reputation, success, failure, tribe. And most of them crush us. But in the New Jerusalem, there is only one name that defines us. One name that never fades, never disappoints, never has to be defended. We will not hide it. We will not resent it. We will rejoice in it. Because when you have finally seen His face without fear, bearing His name becomes the highest honor imaginable.
This is the reversal of Genesis 4, where Cain bore a mark of shame. This is the fulfillment of Exodus 28, where the high priest bore the name of God on his forehead as he entered the Holy of Holies. We will be a kingdom of priests, all of us bearing the name of the One who redeemed us, all of us granted access to His presence forever.
We will not merely visit the throne room. We will dwell there. We will not merely glimpse His glory. We will be saturated in it. And we will bear His name, not as a burden but as the highest honor any creature could ever receive.
We will reign forever in the light of His glory
Revelation 22:5 NASB: And there will no longer be any night; and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illumine them; and they will reign forever and ever.
“And they will reign forever and ever.” This is the destiny of the redeemed, not merely to inhabit the city, but to rule with Christ. We who were once slaves to sin will reign as co-heirs with the King of kings. We who were once under the curse will exercise dominion in the new creation. Many people are less afraid of dying than of discovering their lives did not finally matter, and reigning with Christ speaks directly to that fear.
And we will do so in the light of God’s glory. There will be no night. No need for lamp or sun. Because the Lord God will illumine us. His glory will be our light, His presence our joy, His reign our inheritance forever.
Conclusion
The believer’s soul is restless, not because we are ungrateful, and not because we lack faith. It is restless because we were not made for a cursed world. We were made for the place where we belong. Every ache we carry, every quiet dissatisfaction we cannot quite name, points us forward. Each moment when joy feels partial reminds us this world is not our home.
John shows us a world where the grass truly is greener. The hills rise higher than anything we have known. The water is sweeter than anything we have ever tasted. God is not teasing us with poetry but telling us the truth. The life He has prepared for His people is richer and more alive than sin allows here. The river flows clear and strong and the tree never withers. The curse never returns and nothing good is ever lost again.
For those who belong to Christ, the end of this pilgrimage is not terror, but welcome. It is the voice we have longed to hear, saying, “Well done.” Not well done because we were impressive. Well done because we trusted the Lamb who was slain. It is the invitation to enter into rest. Not the rest of inactivity, but the rest of completion. The rest of finally being home and knowing the struggle is over forever.
We will worship God, not because we are commanded, but because we cannot help it. Worship will not feel like duty. It will be overflow. Service will feel like joy. Praise will feel like breathing. Seeing His face will make singing inevitable.
Until that day, we walk by faith. We bury our dead with hope. We live with longing, not despair. We drink now from His grace while we wait for the river itself. One day the waiting will end. The restlessness will be satisfied. And we will join the redeemed, finally home in the world Christ came to make.
