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River and Tree of Life in the New Creation
Revelation 22:1–2 shows the river of the water of life flowing from the throne of God and the Lamb, with the tree of life on either side bearing continual fruit and leaves for the healing of the nations. The scene joins Eden’s tree and river with Ezekiel’s life-giving temple river, but now the source is openly the throne of God and the Lamb.
Revelation 22:1–5 closes the Bible with a greater Eden: river of life, tree of life, no more curse, God’s presence, His name on His servants, and unending light. Unlike Genesis 3, there is no expulsion from God’s face. The servants of God and the Lamb worship Him and reign for ever, completing Revelation’s creation-to-new-creation arc.
Genesis 2 describes Eden with a life-giving river and the Tree of Life. Revelation 22 ends the Bible with those same Eden-shaped images restored and enlarged: the river of the water of life flows from God’s throne, and the Tree of Life stands beside it. The final new creation deliberately looks back toward the first garden.
Song’s garden and living-water imagery participates in a broad biblical garden-and-water trajectory that begins in Genesis and reaches the river of life and tree of life in Revelation 22.
Living waters flowing from restored Jerusalem in Zechariah provide a close prophetic background to Revelation's river of life.
Revelation's river of life and healing tree directly rework Ezekiel 47's temple river and life-giving trees.
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