LEARNING DAILY

 

Revelation 22 1-4, And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God.  In the middle of the street, 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 Gentiles.  And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and the Lamb shall be in it, and His servant shall serve Him.  They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads.

 

Heaven.  If we could grab hold of what little the Bible tells us about this eternal place, our desire would be to be there.  The unknown of the life after death would cause us not to fear death.  For the Christian, the death of the Lord Jesus on a cross and His resurrection has defeated death and its sting.  David Jeremiah calls heaven paradise, a return to the Garden of Eden.  Everything has become new or like what God first created.  Perhaps the river is symbolic; I prefer to believe it is a “literal river that symbolizes the life-giving abundance of God’s blessings and provisions that flows from the throne in the eternal state” (LSSB).  The river flowing from the throne of God shows that He is the source of life eternal (John 4:14). 

 

Remember Eve eating from the tree and giving the fruit to Adam to eat?  They were removed from paradise and it was locked up.  Now the tree of life will always be in bloom; even though we will have spiritual bodies, eating from this tree is our dependence on the Lord for life and strength and health.   The leaves of the tree are for the healing of the Gentiles.  This shows the absence of anything that brings physical or spiritual harm.  In the holy city, there is no sickness, no disease, no evil, no tears, no death.  Eating from the tree of life must refer to the idea of spiritual blessings.  Believers live in God’s Paradise for eternity.

 

All that is great and wonderful.  Here is the reason to be faithful while we are alive on this sinful and unrighteous earth.  Here is the reason we do all we can to live a life dedicated to living life on the narrow way that leads to God’s kingdom.  Here is the ultimate goal for living the life God wants us to live.  Are you ready?  On the new earth the saints – that’s you and me – will see and live with Jesus, the Lamb of God. Matthew 5:8, Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God!”   1 John 3:2-3, “Beloved now we are children of God; it has not yet been revealed to us what we shall be, but we know when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as he is.  And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as he is pure.” Live your life on the narrow way.  Do not turn your head to the left or right – just focus on living for Him.

 

What will we do in heaven?   Don’t expect to be on an eternal vacation, sipping iced tea and laying back in a lounge chair soaking up the sun (actually that should be Son since He provides the light!).  No, do not miss the last words of verse 3, “and His servants (that’s us) shall serve Him”.  Serving Him. Worshipping Him because we are His special people.

 

Go back and read Revelation 3:21. The Lord Jesus made a promise to all those who are overcomers.  They will rule with Him.  I look forward to the time when I can be eternally with Him, giving Him my total worship and serving Him as He desires.  What about you? 

From now on DJSB will be used to note information or quotes from the David Jeremiah Study Bible and LSSB will refer to information and quotes from the Life in the Spirit Study Bible.