Eden Restored: Revelation 22:1-5

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb.

A river. The water of life—what Jesus promised the Samaritan woman, what he offered at the feast. Clear as crystal—pure, unpolluted. Flowing from the throne—its source divine. The throne of God and of the Lamb—unified authority, unified life-giving.

Eden had rivers. The new Jerusalem has the river—the source of all life flowing from the source of all being.

Down the middle of the great street of the city.

The river flows down the center. The main thoroughfare of heaven has a river running through it. Life at the heart of the city.

On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month.

The tree of life. Lost in Genesis 3, guarded by cherubim, forbidden to fallen humanity. Now restored. Standing on both sides of the river—accessible to all. Bearing fruit monthly—perpetual harvest, constant provision.

And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.

The leaves heal. Nations—ethnos—the peoples of the earth. Whatever wounds remain, whatever brokenness persists, the leaves address it. The nations healed of their hostilities, their histories, their hurts.

No longer will there be any curse.

The curse of Genesis 3—reversed. Thorns and thistles, pain in childbirth, struggle for bread, death returning to dust—all ended. No longer any curse. The undoing of the fall complete.

The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him.

The throne present. The servants serving. The worship of heaven is service. The service of heaven is worship.

They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.

See his face. What Moses could not do. What the priests could not do. What no human could survive. Now possible. Face to face with God. And his name on their foreheads—identity, ownership, belonging.

There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light.

No night. No lamps needed. No sun required. The Lord God himself—light. The original "Let there be light" now perpetual.

And they will reign for ever and ever.

Reign. Not just survive. Not just exist. Reign. The dominion lost in Eden restored in the New Jerusalem. Forever and ever—without end.

The river of life. The tree of life. The face of God. The end of curse. The reign of the redeemed. The story that began in a garden ends in a city—but a city with a garden at its heart.

Paradise lost becomes paradise restored—and exceeded.