The Curse Undone

22:1The river from the throne

"He showed me a river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb, in the middle of its street."

Rivers matter in the Bible. Eden had one: "A river went out of Eden to water the garden" (Genesis 2:10). The psalmist sang, "There is a river, the streams of which make the city of God glad" (Psalm 46:4). Ezekiel saw one flowing from the temple, and Zechariah saw living waters going out from Jerusalem (Ezekiel 47:1; Zechariah 14:8). Each time the river meant life from God's presence.

Now look at where this one begins. It does not rise in a mountain or a spring. It comes "out of the throne of God and of the Lamb." Life itself has its source in God, and the Lamb shares the throne. Notice the singular: in 22:3 it is "his servants will serve him," not "them." Many readers see in that a quiet sign that the Father and the Lamb are one God.

Jesus said, "He who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, from within him will flow rivers of living water" (John 7:38). John adds that Jesus "said this about the Spirit" (John 7:39), so many readers connect this river with the Holy Spirit. The river is "clear as crystal," with nothing muddy or hidden, and it runs "in the middle of its street," in the centre of the life of the city.

22:2The tree of life, open at last

"On this side of the river and on that was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruits, yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations."

In Genesis, "the tree of life" stood "in the middle of the garden" (Genesis 2:9). After the fall, God drove the man out and placed cherubim and a flaming sword "to guard the way to the tree of life" (Genesis 3:24). The Bible's first great sorrow was a closed way. Here the way is open, and the tree is not behind a sword but on both sides of the river, in the street, where everyone can reach it. Earlier, Jesus had already promised to the overcomer, "I will give to eat from the tree of life" (2:7).

Ezekiel's vision lies behind this one: trees on either bank whose fruit would not fail, bearing "new fruit every month," with leaves "for healing" (Ezekiel 47:12). John's version has twelve kinds of fruit, perhaps one for each month, a picture of abundance that never runs out.

"The healing of the nations" can puzzle readers, since nothing in the new creation is sick. Some take it as the healing of the wounds between peoples. Others see it as a picture of life that completely heals. Either way, there is no trace of the old divisions. And behind it all stands another tree. Peter says Jesus "bore our sins in his body on the tree" (1 Peter 2:24). The way to the first tree was opened by the second.

22:3No more curse, and service in joy

"There will be no curse any more. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will serve him."

The curse is the first thing to go. God had said to Adam, "the ground is cursed for your sake. You will eat from it with much labor all the days of your life" (Genesis 3:17). Since then the whole world has groaned: weeds in the garden, pain in childbirth, sweat and failure in work, and death at the end. Now it is all lifted. This is the final answer to Genesis 3, and it comes because the Lamb is on the throne.

Then the throne is in the city, so nothing stands between God and his people. And what do his people do? "His servants will serve him." The word for "serve" is the one John used earlier for those who "serve him day and night in his temple" (7:15), so it is a service of worship. It is also a picture of work restored. Adam was placed in the garden "to cultivate and keep it" (Genesis 2:15), and that work was good before the fall. In the new creation, the curse has gone from labour. The Bible gives few details, but it suggests that we will not drift in endless idleness. We will do what we were made for, with all the joy of doing it for God.

Notice also that these people are called servants, and they are free. In the kingdom of God, serving the King is the highest freedom.

22:4-5His face, his name, and no more night

"They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads."

This is the line the whole Bible has been leaning toward. Moses was told, "You cannot see my face, for man may not see me and live" (Exodus 33:20). Jesus promised, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God" (Matthew 5:8). Here is the promise kept. The priests in Numbers were to say, "Yahweh make his face to shine on you" (Numbers 6:25), and God said, "they shall put my name on the children of Israel" (Numbers 6:27). Now the blessing is fulfilled for everyone who belongs to him.

The name on the forehead is a deliberate contrast. The beast marked his followers on "their right hands, or on their foreheads" (13:16). Those who belong to the Lamb carry the name of the Lamb and his Father (14:1). The high priest once wore a golden plate on his forehead, "HOLY TO YAHWEH" (Exodus 28:36). Now all God's people are marked as belonging to him.

"There will be no night, and they need no lamp light; for the Lord God will illuminate them. They will reign forever and ever." The darkness that frightened people has gone, and the light is God himself. And the final promise is that his people "will reign." Those who were once made "kings and priests to our God" (5:10) will share his rule with him, with nothing left to fear.

Tomorrow, on the last day of the series, the voice speaks again: "Behold, I come quickly" (22:7).