…on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. (Rev. 22:2b)
Over and over, Revelation answers the questions and problems of Genesis. Why were heaven and earth separated? So that they could be united in the new Jerusalem! Darkness was separated from light, but would it ever be vanquished? The Lamb is light, and his victory will swallow up darkness in a perpetual day! Why did there have to be two distinct people—Adam and Eve—separated but made to be joined? Because they foreshadow the marriage of the Lamb and the Church!
Genesis is answered and explained by what we read in Revelation. It should not surprise us, then, when the tree of life returns, full of fruit and healing for all. What was once in the garden is now recreated in the new heavens and new earth, yet the new surpasses the old. Instead of one fruit, we now see twelve kinds of fruit, and even the leaves bring healing.
But both of these trees are simply sacramental embodiments of the greater tree, the true tree of life, which is the cross. On that tree healing and life are offered to all, and all who eat of that tree will live forever. Eden’s tree points forward to the cross just as the new Jerusalem’s tree points back to it. Both revolve around Jesus, pierced for us, hanging on the tree of the cross, offering life to the world.
We are constantly looking for life. New habits, new friends, a new job, pleasure and power—our quest goes on and on. But from the beginning of the Bible to its end, the message is clear: there is only one tree of life. The explorers who looked for Fountain of Youth in the new world were just as mistaken as we are when we look for life in our hobbies and careers. Life only comes from one tree.
Turn back to the cross; turn back to its healing. Jesus Christ is true life, and all who eat of him live forever (Jn. 6:51). Do not waste your energy pursuing life in other places, but let his life fill you so that you bring it with you into your work and hobbies and habits. After all, those who receive his life become sources of it for others (Jn. 7:38).
Steven+
Scripture Reflections
“Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns.
7 Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory,
for the marriage of the Lamb has come,
and his Bride has made herself ready;
8 it was granted her to clothe herself
with fine linen, bright and pure”—
for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. (Rev. 19:6b-8)
This passage from Sunday has a verse that contains nearly an entire biblical doctrine in a nutshell. Like diamonds, verses like this aren’t common, but worth finding! In this instance, the doctrine is sanctification and the verse is number 8.
It was granted her—
Sanctification is given by God, not earned or possessed by us. Everything right that we do is a gift, and so our response to our own godliness should be humility and thanksgiving, not pride. Unless God moves first, we can’t move towards him. He deserves the credit for every place and time we have responded rightly to his commands.
To clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure—
One of the targets for our growth in godliness is beautiful purity. This part of the doctrine of sanctification is unpopular today, but the Bible does not hesitate to say that we are to pursue purity. John claims that everyone who hopes to see God “purifies himself as [God] is pure” (I Jn. 3:3). Paul prayed for hearts that were “blameless in holiness” for the Thessalonians (I Th. 3:13). Purity of every sort—our thoughts (Phil. 4:8-9), our conversations and jokes (Eph. 5:4), our sexual practices (I Cor. 6:18-20)—is not optional, but something the church is supposed to be striving towards at all times.
The righteous deeds—
Sanctification is less complicated than it sometimes appears. We are not called to change our whole being. We can’t change our hearts, try as we might! Instead, we are simply called to obey in specific actions, and trust that the Spirit will transform our hearts. Righteous deeds—small acts of obedience—are all that is asked of us. This means both more freedom and more rigor. It means more freedom because it is not our job to change our hearts or fix ourselves (or our spouses or children!). But we also need to be more rigorous, because little acts of obedience (like telling the truth when it hurts or refusing to grumble, slander, and gossip) are more important than we realize—they are how we grow in holiness before God.
There is more that can be said about sanctification, but the final word today comes from verse 7. God calls us to sanctification not because he values perfection for perfection’s sake or is a killjoy, but instead because we are preparing for a wedding. We will be joined to Jesus Christ in joy forever, and we are called to prepare for this like a bride preparing for her wedding day!
Steven+
Scripture Reflections
In Sunday’s sermon I mentioned some ways that Revelation 7:9-17 points us to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. I even made the case that this throne room vision is a heavenly perspective on Pentecost—the Spirit is poured out, ushering in the first fruits of the Lord’s harvest (the multitude). There is one more Pentecost image that I left out, though, and I want to mention it here.
After the innumerable multitude from every tongue, tribe, and nation have entered the throne room, one of the elders comes to John with a question: “Who are these?” On the surface, it’s a bit of a silly situation—of all the people in the throne room, John is certainly the most confused. All he can do is punt the question back to the one who asked it: “sir, you know.”
If we dig deeper, it makes more sense. John’s answer (“sir, you know”) points us toward another vision with strikingly similar content. In Ezekiel 37, the Spirit brings Ezekiel into a valley filled with dry bones. Then God asks Ezekiel, “Son of man, can these bones live?” Ezekiel, like John, doesn’t know what’s going on, so he punts the question back with almost the exact same words: “O Lord GOD, you know.” Here’s the short version of the rest of the vision—God tells Ezekiel to prophesy to the bones. He does, but it doesn’t bring the bones life. However, when the LORD breathes his Spirit into them, they come alive! It’s a vision of a dead and wasted Israel, brought back to life by the Spirit of God. It’s the same Spirit, poured out at Pentecost, that brings the first fruits of the Lord’s harvest out of the grave and into the throne room.
Both of these visions show pictures of the Spirit bringing the dead to life, and they give us a glorious hope for the resurrection that awaits us. They also give us a remarkable hope for our present, if we can remember one simple thing. The same Spirit is in us, right now! If that’s true, then no matter how you feel on your worst days, you are not bound to sin, shame, or guilt any longer. You can’t be! The Spirit who raises from the dead has joined you to Christ and given you a share in his resurrection. He has breathed the life of Christ into your dry bones. This is why Paul can say that you are “a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Cor. 5:17).
Neither death nor sin has power over those who have received the life of Christ by the Spirit. That’s a truth we can cling to in times of trouble, darkness, and weakness. I don’t mean a “truth” like a fact, or like some mantra we repeat to ourselves. I mean it is a reality. You have the Spirit of God pointing you to Jesus Christ, the anchor of your soul. Cling to him. He will not fail you!
Justin