A Picnic on the River of Life, Revelation 22:1-2

 

22 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…

The original Greek paints the opening scene like this:  A river, of the water of life, shining bright as crystal, flows from the throne of God and of the Lamb, ² through the middle of the main street.

One throne, one river, one Source, of Salvation.

I wonder if Jesus thought about this beautiful river when He said:

Whoever drinks of the water that I will give will never be thirsty again. The water that I give will become a spring of water welling up to eternal life. John 4:14.

Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. John 7:38.

And that's not all, it gets even better. 

…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.

The original text paints a powerful picture.

It doesn’t say “the” tree of life, but simply states that on either side of the river, tree(xulon) life (zóé).

Tree: Xulon (xoo'-lon) literally means anything made of wood, a piece of wood, a club, staff; the trunk of a tree, used to support the cross-bar of a cross in crucifixion.

Life: Zóé (dzo-ay') means, the God kind of life. 

Zóé life is what heaven is like. The God kind of life. Unending, abundance. It's God's original, and ultimate, plan for earth; "Thy Kingdom come Thy will be done on earth, as it is in Heaven."

Now, our picture reflects a beautiful river, flowing from the throne of God, with trees (xulon; woods) of life on either side. Each tree bears a dozen different kind of fruit, every month.

Let’s pause here for a moment, sit on the banks of the beautiful river, have ourselves a little picnic. Taste the twelve different flavors of fruit. Lay back, relax, soak in the beauty of it all.

Do you think if we look upstream, toward the Source of the river, we can see the One who sits on the throne?

I think I see Him.

Can you?

But wait, something doesn’t look quite right. It seems out of place. In all this beauty, it’s not so beautiful.

Can you see it?

Oh no, I know what it is.

I put it there.

You did too.

He let us.

Hold on a moment while I wipe my eyes, and pray I’m sorry.

Do you see it, yet?

On His hands, His feet, His side.

Here’s a clue: The exact same word to describe the trees here (xulon) is used to describe the tree there, the one on which, Jesus died. Acts 5:30; 10:39. Acts 5:30; 10:39.

He left that throne to be crucified on that tree (xulon) for you and me.

He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree (xulon), so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. “By His stripes you are healed.” 1 Peter 2:24.

His stripes, those scars, the only man-made thing in heaven…placed there, by you and me.

All of heaven, in all of its glorious splendor, is but a simple reflection, of the great, great, awesome, amazing, love, Jesus has for you and me.

 

Let’s pray.

Lord Jesus,

Thank You.

 

If you don’t know Jesus as your Lord and Savior, then, your eternity, is going to look a lot different than this. The opposite of this. But it doesn’t have to.

Call out to Jesus, He can, and will, and wants, to hear from you.

Ask Him to forgive you. Invite Him to live with you. To be Lord of you. Follow Him, from here to heaven, forever.

Let us know, we can help.

 

Remember, we love you.

Most importantly,

Jesus loves you.