Revelation 22, 2021 Eden Restored
1 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, flowing with water clear as crystal, continuously pouring out from the throne of God and of the Lamb. 2 The river was flowing in the middle of the street of the city, and on either side of the river was the Tree of Life, with its twelve kinds of ripe fruit according to each month of the year. The leaves of the Tree of Life are for the healing of the nations.
3 And every curse will be broken and no longer exist, for the throne of God and of the Lamb will be there in the city. His loving servants will serve him; 4 they will always see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.
5 Night will be no more. They will never need the light of the sun or a lamp, because the Lord God will shine on them. And they will reign as kings forever and ever!
Scripture teaches the Garden of Eden will one day be fully restored; sometimes it is referred to as the heavenly Jerusalem. Like the Apostle John, we cannot comprehend a city without a temple; there is always a structure representing some kind of religion in our cities and communities. However, in this vision, clearly God has no interest in occupying structures made by human hands. Instead, we will meet with him face to face as the Lord’s presence illuminates everything for the citizens of his eternal Kingdom.
When I was a child, we used to sing about meeting the Lord Face to Face:
Face to face! O blissful moment!
Face to face—to see and know;
Face to face with my Redeemer,
Jesus Christ who loves me so.
Prayer: Lord, one day your redeemed family will rejoice in your presence. Thank you for promising to banish grief and pain, straighten the crooked ways of humanity, and illuminating the dark things in your pure Light. In Jesus’ name. Amen.