Commentary - Revelation 22:1-5

Bird's-eye view

This magnificent passage brings the biblical storyline full circle. What was lost in the Garden of Eden is restored and gloriously amplified in the City of God. John is shown the very heart of the New Jerusalem, which is not a place of retirement but a source of perpetual, generative life. The imagery is drawn straight from the Garden of Eden and the prophets, particularly Ezekiel's vision of the temple river. We see a river, a tree, the removal of the curse, and unmediated fellowship with God. This is the consummation of all things, the final state of the glorified Church.

Crucially, we must understand that the New Jerusalem is the Bride of Christ, the Church. Therefore, this vision is not simply a travel brochure for the afterlife. It is a description of the Church in her mature, glorified state, a reality that begins now and flows into eternity. The life described here, characterized by purity, fruitfulness, healing, service, and intimate fellowship with God, is the life that the gospel plants in us and will one day bring to full flower. This is the ultimate goal of redemption: God dwelling with His people, and His people reigning with Him in righteousness and joy forever.

Outline

Context In Revelation

Revelation 22:1-5 is the culmination of the vision of the New Jerusalem that began in chapter 21. After the final judgment and the destruction of the old order symbolized by the harlot Babylon, John is shown the Bride, the Lamb's wife, descending from heaven. This city needs no temple, for God and the Lamb are its temple. It needs no sun or moon, for the glory of God is its light. Chapter 21 describes the city's structure, its gates, and its foundations, all symbolizing the covenant people of God from both Old and New Testaments. This final section in chapter 22 moves from the city's external glory to its internal life source. It is the climax of the entire book, showing the ultimate triumph of God's kingdom and the blessed state of His redeemed people. It stands in stark contrast to the curses, plagues, and judgments that have filled the preceding chapters, offering a final, breathtaking vision of the peace, life, and glory that God has prepared for those who love Him.

Key Issues

From Garden to City

The Bible begins in a garden and ends in a city that is also a garden. This is not an accident. The Garden of Eden was the original temple-sanctuary, the place where God walked with man. It had a river flowing out of it, and it contained the Tree of Life. After the fall, man was exiled from the garden and barred from the Tree of Life. The rest of the Bible is the story of God's plan to bring us back. But we do not simply return to Eden. The end is grander than the beginning. We come to a city, the New Jerusalem, a place of community, culture, and worship. Yet, this city has at its heart the very things that defined the original garden: the river of life and the tree of life. This tells us that God's plan was never to scrap His original creation but to redeem it and elevate it. The life of the New Jerusalem is not a static, ethereal existence, but a dynamic, fruitful, and healing life that flows from the very throne of God and transforms everything it touches. It is the fulfillment of Ezekiel's temple vision, where a trickle of water becomes a mighty river that brings life to the dead sea. The gospel does not just get us back to the garden; it makes the whole world a garden city, filled with the glory of God.

Verse by Verse Commentary

1 Then he showed me a river of the water of life, bright as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb,

The vision begins with its source. All life, and especially eternal life, flows from a single point: the throne of God and of the Lamb. Notice the throne is one, not two. The Father and the Son rule with a single authority and will. From this throne of sovereign grace comes a river. This is not muddy water; it is bright as crystal, signifying absolute purity and holiness. This is the "water of life," a direct echo of Jesus' words to the woman at the well and His cry at the feast of Tabernacles. This river is nothing less than the Holy Spirit, proceeding from the Father and the Son, poured out upon the people of God. As Ezekiel saw the river flowing from the temple, John sees it flowing from the throne, because in this city, God and the Lamb are the temple. All spiritual life, all refreshment, all cleansing, all power, flows from the sovereign grace of the Triune God.

2 in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

This river flows down the main street of the city, making life and fruitfulness central to the community, not a peripheral luxury. And alongside this river is the Tree of Life. In Genesis, it was a single tree. Here it seems to be a forest of life, lining both banks of the river. This is a picture of abundance. This tree is perpetually fruitful, bearing twelve different kinds of fruit, a new crop every month. The number twelve signifies the completeness of God's people, the twelve tribes of Israel and the twelve apostles. This means there is a constant, varied, and complete supply of spiritual nourishment for all the saints. There is no off-season in glory. But the tree's purpose extends beyond just feeding the citizens. Its leaves are for the healing of the nations. This is a key phrase for a postmillennial understanding. The Church, nourished by the gospel (the Tree of Life), is God's instrument for bringing healing and restoration to the nations of the world throughout history. This is not about medicinal cures in heaven, but about the gospel's power to heal the brokenness, strife, and idolatry of fallen human cultures as the kingdom of God advances in time and on earth.

3 And there will no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His slaves will serve Him;

Here we have the great reversal. The defining feature of the world since Genesis 3 has been the curse: futility in work, pain in childbirth, and death. In the New Jerusalem, the curse is gone. Not suppressed, not managed, but utterly abolished. Why? Because the throne of God and the Lamb is established in it. The presence of the King banishes the curse. Where God reigns, the curse cannot remain. In place of the cursed futility of work, we have glad service. "His slaves will serve Him." This is not the drudgery of fallen labor. The word is latreuo, which often refers to priestly, liturgical worship. Our eternal existence will be one of joyful, meaningful, worshipful service to our King. We were created to work, to exercise dominion, and in the new creation, this purpose will be restored to its unfallen glory.

4 and they will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads.

This is the highest privilege of the redeemed, the goal of all our striving. In our fallen state, no man can see God's face and live. But in glory, we will have the beatific vision. We will see Him as He is. This speaks of an unmediated, intimate, personal fellowship that was lost in Eden. This is what Moses longed for on Sinai, and it is the promise to all who are pure in heart. And as we behold Him, we are marked by Him. His name will be on our foreheads. In the ancient world, a slave was sometimes marked with the name of his master. In Revelation, the followers of the beast receive his mark on their forehead or hand. Here, the saints are marked as the treasured possession of God. The forehead represents our mind, our identity, our public confession. We will be openly and eternally identified as belonging to Him. His character will be imprinted upon us. We will be His, and everyone will know it.

5 And there will no longer be any night, and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illumine them, and they will reign forever and ever.

The final description banishes all darkness. Night, throughout Scripture, is a symbol of ignorance, danger, and sin. In the City of God, there is no night. This means there is no more sin, no more confusion, no more fear. The created lights, the lamp and the sun, are rendered obsolete. This does not necessarily mean the physical sun will be extinguished, but that its light will be overwhelmed by a far greater light, just as a candle is rendered pointless at high noon. The Lord God will illumine them. God Himself, in His unshielded glory, will be the direct source of light and life for His people. And the final word is not one of passive enjoyment, but of active rule. "They will reign forever and ever." The dominion mandate given to Adam in the garden is finally and fully realized. Redeemed humanity, in Christ, will reign with Him over the new creation. We are not just saved from hell; we are saved to be kings and priests, sharing in Christ's glorious and eternal reign.

Application

This vision is our ultimate hope, but it is not just pie in the sky when you die. The river of life, the Holy Spirit, flows now. The Tree of Life, the gospel of Jesus Christ, offers its fruit to us now. The healing of the nations is the ongoing work of the Great Commission, in which we are called to participate now. Every time a soul is saved, every time a Christian marriage is strengthened, every time a corrupt institution is reformed by the Word of God, the leaves of the tree are being applied.

We are called to live as citizens of this city in the here and now. This means we must turn away from the curse. We must reject the world's cheap substitutes for life and drink freely from the river of God's grace in Word and Sacrament. We must live as those who bear His name on our foreheads, meaning our thoughts and public lives should be marked by our allegiance to Christ. We must serve Him gladly, not as resentful slaves, but as beloved children who find our freedom in His service. And we must live as those who are destined to reign, which means we must learn to exercise godly dominion in our homes, our churches, and our communities. The glory of the New Jerusalem is not just a future destination; it is a present reality that is invading history, and we are called to be its faithful agents.