The River of Life

Hear it? Running water. Clear and bright, sparkling like crystal. Along its banks, trees heavy with fruit. And the light. There is light everywhere, and it never fades.

Do you remember how the Bible begins? In a garden, in Eden. A river flowed out of it to water the garden, and in the middle grew the tree of life. But when people turned away from God, they had to leave the garden, and the way to the tree of life was closed. Ever since, the Bible has been telling the long story of how God would bring his people home. Now, at the very end of the book of Revelation, the last chapter of the whole Bible, John is shown a new heaven, a new earth, and a holy city. And an angel shows him one last wonderful sight.

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. The river does not come from a mountain spring, or from melting snow. It flows straight from God's throne. Life itself, pouring out from God. It runs right down the middle of the city's great street. And on either side of the river, John sees the tree of life. The same tree that grew in Eden, now growing on both banks, open to everyone. It bears twelve kinds of fruit, a new crop every month. No winter. No empty branches. Always enough.

And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. Think about everything that has gone wrong between the peoples of the world: wars, unfairness, hatred, sadness. Here, the nations are healed. And then John says, there shall be no more curse. The sorrow that came into the world way back in Genesis is gone, completely. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. And they shall see his face. In the Old Testament, even Moses was told he could not see God's face and live. But now God's people will look at him, face to face, and his name will be on their foreheads, because they belong to him.

And there shall be no night there. No darkness. No fear of the dark. They will not need the light of a lamp, or even the light of the sun. For the Lord God giveth them light. God himself is their light. And they shall reign for ever and ever. That is where the whole Bible story has been heading. From a garden to a city. From a river in Eden to a river from the throne. From a tree that people were shut out from, to a tree open to every nation. From hiding from God among the trees, to seeing his face. The first pages and the last pages fit together, like the two ends of a rainbow.

John's vision echoes the prophet Ezekiel, who lived as an exile in Babylon around six hundred years earlier. Ezekiel saw a river flowing from the temple, growing deeper as it went, bringing life wherever it reached. On its banks grew trees whose fruit came every month and whose leaves were for healing. To a people far from home, with their temple destroyed, it was a picture of hope.

The river of life. You'll find it in Revelation chapter twenty-two, verses one to five, where the Bible ends as it began, with a river, a tree, and God with his people. From Genesis to Revelation, it is one story, and it ends in light. So here is a question to carry with you. What part of God's promised future are you most looking forward to, and how could that hope shape the way you live today?