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River of Life, Tree of Life, and the New-Creation Garden City
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.
Revelation 22:3–5 declares that there will be no more curse. God’s servants serve Him, see His face, bear His name, need no created light, and reign for ever and ever. The passage reverses Eden’s curse and exile while fulfilling Revelation’s repeated promises about God’s name, priestly service, divine presence, and shared reign.
Revelation 22:4 gives one of Scripture’s most direct statements of restored communion with God: “they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.” In the Old Testament, seeing God’s face is bound to His overwhelming holiness and presence; here the redeemed dwell before Him without barrier. The divine name marks permanent belonging.
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.
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