Revelation
22:2
In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river,
was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her
fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the
nations.
They
will only need to eat from the tree of life during the first 1,000 years of the
eternal kingdom. We will see some things
from Ezekiel regarding the Millennial temple that line up with Revelation
22. It’s not until John’s book of the Revelation
that we can see that the first installment of the eternal kingdom is 1,000
years. We know from Scripture that the
kingdom will never end.
Isaiah 9:7
Of the increase of his
government and peace there shall be no end.
The
kingdom that the Lord Jesus Christ will establish at his Second Coming to this
earth will last forever and ever. We see
this in the Old Testament; for example:
Daniel 4:3
…his kingdom is an
everlasting kingdom, and his dominion is
from generation to generation.
But
it isn’t until the book of Revelation written by John (who was given more light about this eternal kingdom—a ‘progressive
revelation’), that we learn there will be
an initial installment of 1,000 years,
aka the Millennium.
The
nations won’t need to eat from the tree of life in the eternal kingdom after the 1,000 years when there will be
no sin, no death, and no need for physical (or spiritual) healing.
But
the focus of Revelation 22 has to do with the first 1,000 years of the eternal
kingdom. During that Millennium, sin
will still be on the earth and the gentile nations will be under the Law of
Moses like the Jews were back in the Old Testament.
In
the Millennium under the New Covenant the people of Israel will have the Spirit
of God living in them and will be caused by God to keep the commandments. Israel will at last be with the Lord; He will
be their God and they will be His people.
Ezekiel 36:27-28
And I will put my spirit within
you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my
judgments, and do them. And ye shall dwell in the land that
I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.
But
the gentiles will still sin during the first 1,000 years of the eternal
kingdom, and with sin comes disease and the greatest disease of all – death; so,
there will be a need for healing. Let’s
look at Revelation and Ezekiel to get a better understanding:
Revelation 22:1-3
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. In the midst of the street
of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which
bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves
of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse:
When Christ comes He will reverse
the curse on creation. But lifting the
curse doesn’t mean that the perfect end result will be instantaneous. For example, when God cursed the earth at the
Fall for Adam’s sake…
Genesis 2:17; 3:17-19
But of the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou
eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
And unto Adam he said, Because
thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of
which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the
ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy
life; Thorns also and thistles shall it
bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of
thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it
wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
…Adam instantly died spiritually;
but the physical effects were gradual; he died physically at 930 years—he lived
almost 1,000 years. The physical
consequences of the spiritual truth took some time to manifest. So too, the opposite will be true. It will take 1,000 years for the curse to be
entirely lifted off the earth. Therefore,
even though the curse is being lifted during the Millennium, the gentiles will
still be living under sin and death and the effects of the curse on the earth over
the past 6,000+ years.
So, Revelation is speaking of the
Millennial kingdom when the Lord will be on the earth in the Millennial temple.
Revelation 22:2
In the midst of the street of
it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life
[one of the trees in the Garden of Eden], which bare
twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month:
This unusual tree was placed in the
Garden by God and we learn from this verse that it bore twelve manner of fruits—unlike
the trees that we’re used to that bear only one type of fruit. Obviously, twelve represents the twelve
tribes of Israel which will be bearing fruit for the Lord in the Kingdom. So, in type,
this tree represents Christ and the twelve fruits symbolize Israel bearing
fruit for the Lord. There are actually many
of these trees; they will line the streets and will continually bear fruit
every month, as will Israel.
…and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the
nations.
Again, this is for the first
installment of the kingdom – the first 1,000 years. After the 1,000 years and the Great White
Throne Judgment when there is a new
heaven and new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness…
2 Peter 3:13
Nevertheless we, according to
his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth
righteousness.
…there won’t be any need for
healing because Death will have been thrown into the Lake of Fire.
Revelation 20:14
And death and hell were cast
into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
But during the first 1,000 years
when there is still sin and death in the earth, particularly among the gentile
nations, there will be a need for the leaves for healing.
In the Bible, ‘leaves’ represent
healing. When Adam and Eve sinned and
ate of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, they made aprons of fig leaves
to cover themselves. Adam knew something
about leaves and their healing properties.
(Even in our day there are medicinal properties in certain herbs and
leaves.) Adam and Eve were trying to
cover up their sinfulness before God.
They were trying to heal
themselves of death with fig leaves; but it didn’t work. They dried up and fell off and God had to
clothe them.
Look what God says about the tree
of life in Genesis 3…
Genesis 3:22-24
And the LORD God said, Behold,
the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put
forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: [There are some healing properties
associated with this tree of life.] Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the
garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. So he drove out the man; and he placed at the
east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned
every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.
It wasn’t so much that God was
keeping Adam away from it, but it was that now Adam had to come to God with an
animal sacrifice in order to eat of it.
He would have to continue to come with a sacrifice to be allowed to eat
of it so that he could receive healing.
And evidently he kept bringing his sacrifice all those years until sin
caught up with him and he died.
Revelation 22:2
…and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the
nations.
When will that be? During the Millennium when there will be
worship of the Lord in the city of Jerusalem that comes down.
Revelation 21:2; 24-25
And I John saw the holy city,
new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride
adorned for her husband.
And the nations of them which
are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring
their glory and honour into it. And
the gates of it [New Jerusalem] shall not be
shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there. And they shall bring the glory and honour
of the nations into it.
This ‘glory and honour’ refers to
worship service. The nations will come
and worship just like the Jewish people did when God called them to Jerusalem
to worship three times a year on the feast days.
Deuteronomy 16:16
Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the LORD thy God in the
place which he shall choose; in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast
of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles: and they shall not appear before the
LORD empty:
The gentiles will do the same
thing. When they come there to worship
and offer the proper sacrifices, they will be able to receive the medicinal
healing from the tree of life.
Let’s look at the tree of life and
the Millennial temple (where the Lord and David will be) that comes down from
heaven. Ezekiel talks about the same thing that John
does in Revelation 22…
Ezekiel 47
1Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house [the
house of the Lord – the temple]; and, behold, waters
issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward: for the forefront of
the house stood toward the east, and the waters came down from under
from the right side of the house, at the south side of the altar.
Ezekiel goes into more detail about
the water flowing from the throne of God in Revelation 22:1
– the water of life.
2Then brought
he me out of the way of the gate northward, and led me about the way without
unto the utter gate by the way that looketh eastward; and, behold, there ran
out waters on the right side.
3And when the
man that had the line in his hand went forth eastward, he measured a thousand
cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the waters were to the
ankles.
4Again he
measured a thousand, and brought me through the waters; the waters were
to the knees. Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through; the waters
were to the loins.
5Afterward he
measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass over: for
the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not
be passed over.
6And he said
unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen this? Then he brought me, and caused me to
return to the brink of the river.
7Now when I
had returned, behold, at the bank of the river were very many trees
on the one side and on the other.
Ezekiel is seeing what John talks
about, the tree(s) of life—there were many.
8Then said he
unto me, These waters issue out toward the east country, and go down
into the desert, and go into the sea: which being brought forth into the sea,
the waters shall be healed.
9And it shall
come to pass, that every thing that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers
shall come, shall live: and there shall be a very great multitude of fish,
because these waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed; and
every thing shall live whither the river cometh.
10And it shall
come to pass, that the fishers shall stand upon it from Engedi even unto
Eneglaim; they shall be a place to spread forth nets; their fish shall be
according to their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many.
11But the miry
places thereof and the marshes thereof shall not be healed; they shall be given
to salt.
12And by
the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all
trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof
be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because
their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof
shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine.
So when Revelation 22:2 talks about
leaves for the healing of the nations, you can see the same thing in Ezekiel –
particularly verses 7 and 12. When the
nations come to worship, they can eat of this tree. The tree(s) shall be for meat (sustenance);
and the leaves will be for medicine, for healing. The gentiles will be free to go eat of this
tree more than just on the three mandatory feast days. The Jews were free to go to the temple every
day if they chose. So anytime a gentile
needs healing, he can go to the tree of life like the Jews did who went to the
Lord Jesus Christ (represented by this tree of life) during his earthly
ministry for healing. In that day, if a
gentile is willing to subject his heart to the Lord, he can take the proper
sacrifice to the temple in Israel and the Lord will heal him.
Hopefully this helps!
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