The Revelation of Jesus Christ in Revelation 22: The River of Life, the Tree of Life, and the Promise, “I Am Coming Soon”
- 2 days ago
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Last Saturday we stood at the edge of the new creation.
John had seen the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.
He had heard the great announcement:
“God’s dwelling place is now among the people.”
Revelation 21 brought us to the great hope of Scripture fulfilled: God with His people, death gone, sorrow gone, the Lamb at the center, and all things made new.
But John is not quite finished.
There is still one more chapter.
And in this final chapter, the Bible does not fade out in uncertainty.
It ends with life.
It ends with worship.
It ends with invitation.
It ends with promise.
And it ends with the voice of Jesus Christ saying:
“Yes, I am coming soon.”
The River of the Water of Life
John begins:
“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.”
Revelation 22:1
What a way for the Bible to close.
At the center of the eternal city is not emptiness, but abundance.
Not drought, but a river.
Not death, but life.
And this river flows from the throne of God and of the Lamb.
That matters.
Life does not rise from the world itself.
Life flows from God.
The throne that once signified absolute majesty now becomes, for God’s people, the source of everlasting joy, refreshment, and peace.
This is not merely a picture of survival.
It is a picture of fullness.
The final future of God’s people is not bare existence.
It is life overflowing from the presence of God.
The Tree of Life Appears Again
Then John tells us:
“On each side of the river stood the tree of life.”
Revelation 22:2
At once, the reader is taken back to Genesis.
The Bible began with a garden.
It ends with a city filled with the life of God.
And in that city, the tree of life appears again.
In Eden, access to the tree of life was lost after the fall.
Sin brought exile.
The way was shut.
But now, at the end of all things, the tree is no longer guarded from redeemed humanity.
It stands in the city of God.
Its fruit is plentiful.
Its life is available.
Its leaves are “for the healing of the nations.”
Revelation 22:2
That does not mean there will still be disease in the new creation in the way we now know it.
Rather, John is giving us a picture of perfect wholeness, perfect restoration, perfect peace.
The nations once raged.
The nations once walked in darkness.
The nations were deceived by Babylon, corrupted by the Beast, and drawn into rebellion.
But now the nations are healed.
Christ’s redemption is not thin.
It is not partial.
It is not fragile.
It is complete.
“No Longer Will There Be Any Curse”
Then comes one of the most beautiful statements in the chapter:
“No longer will there be any curse.”
Revelation 22:3
That short sentence reaches all the way back to Genesis 3.
The curse fell when sin entered the world.
Pain.
Toil.
Thorns.
Separation.
Death.
The whole creation has groaned under its weight.
Human history, in one sense, is the long sorrow that followed Eden.
But here John tells us that the curse will not endure forever.
It will be removed.
Not reduced.
Not managed.
Removed.
The fall will not be the last word in the human story.
Sin will not be the last word.
Death will not be the last word.
Jesus Christ will have the last word.
And where the curse once spread ruin, now the throne of God and of the Lamb stands at the center of all things.
His Servants Will Serve Him
John continues:
“The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him.”
Revelation 22:3
Notice that eternity is not described as aimless inactivity.
The people of God are not absorbed into silence or left in passive stillness.
They serve Him.
This is joyful service.
Willing service.
Perfect service.
At last, redeemed humanity becomes what it was always meant to be: a people living fully before God, belonging wholly to Him, delighting in His presence.
And then John adds these words:
“They will see his face.”
Revelation 22:4
This is staggering.
Throughout Scripture, the holiness of God is so overwhelming that sinful humanity cannot simply stand before Him as though nothing were wrong.
Again and again, the distance between God and man is felt.
But now the distance is gone.
The redeemed see His face.
This is intimacy.
This is acceptance.
This is communion restored and completed.
The God who once seemed hidden will be seen.
The God who called His people through promise, law, prophets, incarnation, cross, resurrection, and Spirit will at last be known in unveiled glory.
No More Night
John says:
“There will be no more night.”
Revelation 22:5
Night in Scripture often carries the sense of danger, fear, uncertainty, hiddenness, and sorrow.
But the eternal city has no such darkness.
“There will be no need for the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light.”
Revelation 22:5
This echoes what John had already seen in Revelation 21.
God Himself is the light of His people.
The Lamb is central still.
There is no fading here.
No sunset.
No extinguished flame.
No returning darkness.
And John says:
“And they will reign for ever and ever.”
Revelation 22:5
The servants of God reign because they belong to the King.
This is not the reign of pride, violence, or self-exaltation.
It is the shared glory of those united to Christ.
The Lamb who was slain has brought His people into His kingdom.
“These Words Are Trustworthy and True”
As the chapter moves toward its close, the angel says:
“These words are trustworthy and true.”
Revelation 22:6
That is important because Revelation can feel overwhelming.
Its visions are immense.
Its judgments are terrible.
Its symbols are powerful.
Its promises are almost beyond imagination.
So John is told, and we are told, that these words are trustworthy and true.
This is not religious fantasy.
This is not wishful thinking.
This is the word of God.
The Lord who spoke through the prophets has now brought the vision to its conclusion.
And then the voice comes:
“Look, I am coming soon!”
Revelation 22:7
The final chapter of the Bible is filled with urgency.
Jesus is coming.
History is moving somewhere.
The church is not left to drift indefinitely without purpose.
The Lord who came once in humility will come again in glory.
A Blessing on the One Who Keeps This Prophecy
Jesus says:
“Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy written in this scroll.”
Revelation 22:7
Revelation was never meant to be merely decoded.
It was meant to be obeyed.
The blessing is not pronounced on the merely curious.
It is pronounced on the faithful.
To “keep” the words of Revelation means to remain loyal to Christ.
To endure.
To worship God alone.
To refuse the seductions of Babylon.
To reject the claims of the Beast.
To live in holiness, hope, and watchfulness.
Revelation is not given to satisfy speculation.
It is given to strengthen obedience.
Worship God
John, overwhelmed by what he has seen, falls down to worship at the feet of the angel.
But the angel replies:
“Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your fellow prophets and with all who keep the words of this scroll. Worship God!”
Revelation 22:9
That command is fitting.
After all the visions, all the thunder, all the judgments, all the songs of heaven, and all the final glory, the proper response is simple and absolute:
Worship God.
Not the messenger.
Not the symbols.
Not spiritual power in the abstract.
Worship God.
Revelation has exposed the false worship of the world again and again.
Now, at the end, the true response is clear.
God alone is worthy.
The Final Moral Separation
Then the chapter speaks with solemnity again:
“Let the one who does wrong continue to do wrong; let the vile person continue to be vile; let the one who does right continue to do right; and let the holy person continue to be holy.”
Revelation 22:11
This is not an invitation to sin.
It is a warning that the direction of one’s life matters, and that the coming of Christ will reveal and confirm what has been embraced.
Revelation never treats human choices as trivial.
The book has shown us two cities.
Two allegiances.
Two destinies.
Babylon or the New Jerusalem.
The Beast or the Lamb.
Judgment or life.
There is no neutral ground at the end.
“
I Am Coming Soon”
Again Jesus says:
“Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done.”
Revelation 22:12
And then:
“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”
Revelation 22:13
The One who speaks at the end of the Bible is the Lord of all history.
He stands at the beginning.
He stands at the end.
Everything lies within His sovereign purpose.
Empires rise and fall.
Babylon glitters and collapses.
The dragon rages and is cast down.
Death reigns for a time and is destroyed.
But Jesus Christ remains.
The final chapter of Scripture does not leave us with a principle.
It leaves us with a Person.
The risen Christ speaks.
The Lord of glory promises.
The Bridegroom is coming.
Blessed Are Those Who Wash Their Robes
John writes:
“Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city.”
Revelation 22:14
That is a remarkable sentence.
The right to the tree of life is not gained through human achievement.
The robes are washed.
Elsewhere in Revelation they are washed in the blood of the Lamb.
The paradox stands at the center of the gospel: cleansing comes through the sacrifice of Christ.
The holy city is not entered by the morally self-satisfied.
It is entered by those redeemed by grace.
Outside are those who remain opposed to God.
Inside is the city of life, holiness, and joy.
The final separation is real.
But so is the open promise of mercy to all who belong to Christ.
“The Spirit and the Bride Say, ‘Come!’”
Then comes one of the most beautiful invitations in all of Scripture:
“The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ And let the one who hears say, ‘Come!’ Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.”
Revelation 22:17
Notice how the Bible ends.
It ends not only with warning, but with invitation.
The Spirit says, “Come.”
The bride says, “Come.”
The thirsty are invited.
The water of life is still held out as a gift.
Even here, in the final chapter, grace is central.
The gospel remains an open invitation.
Come.
Come to Christ.
Come to the water of life.
Come while the invitation is still being proclaimed.
A Final Warning
John then gives a solemn warning not to add to or take away from the words of this prophecy.
Revelation 22:18–19
This is fitting for the close of the book, and indeed for the close of Scripture.
God’s word is not ours to edit.
We do not improve it by adding our own authority.
We do not soften it by subtracting what offends us.
The church is called to receive, keep, and proclaim what God has spoken.
The Last Words of Jesus
And now we come to the closing words:
“He who testifies to these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming soon.’”
Revelation 22:20
This is the promise that hangs over the whole Christian life.
Jesus is coming soon.
Not soon in the sense of human impatience alone, but soon in the sense that history is moving swiftly toward God’s appointed end.
The church lives between promise and fulfillment.
We look back to the cross and resurrection.
We look upward to the reigning Christ.
And we look forward to His return.
John answers as the church has answered ever since:
“Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.”
Revelation 22:20
That is the cry of faith.
It is the cry of longing.
It is the cry of suffering saints.
It is the cry of the faithful church in every century.
Come, Lord Jesus.
Bring justice.
Bring resurrection.
Bring the end of sorrow.
Bring the fullness of your kingdom.
Bring what you have promised.
The Bible Ends with Grace
The very last verse says:
“The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen.”
Revelation 22:21
This too is fitting.
The Bible ends with grace.
After all the warnings, all the visions, all the judgment, all the glory, we are reminded once more that the people of God live by grace from beginning to end.
Grace called us.
Grace redeemed us.
Grace sustains us.
Grace will bring us home.
The Story Ends Where It Has Always Been Headed
Revelation 22 is not merely the end of one book.
It is the end of the whole biblical story.
The river flows.
The tree of life stands.
The curse is gone.
The servants see His face.
The night is over.
The Lamb reigns.
Jesus speaks.
The Spirit invites.
The church responds.
And grace has the final word.
From Genesis to Revelation, Scripture has been telling one great story.
Creation.
Fall.
Promise.
Redemption.
Judgment.
New creation.
And at the center of that story is Jesus Christ.
He is the Lamb who was slain.
He is the risen Lord.
He is the King of kings.
He is the Alpha and the Omega.
He is the One who says, “Yes, I am coming soon.”
The final chapter of the Bible does not end in confusion.
It ends in certainty.
It ends in hope.
It ends in holy longing.
And so the prayer of the church remains what it has always been:
Amen.
Come, Lord Jesus.
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Oh, I want to see Him, look upon His face,
There to sing forever of His saving grace;
On the streets of Glory let me lift my voice;
Cares all past, home at last, ever to rejoice.
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Author: R. H. Cornelius (1916)
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What a Day That Will Be!
There is coming a day,
When no heart aches shall come,
No more clouds in the sky,
No more tears to dim the eye,
All is peace forever more,
On that happy golden shore,
What a day, glorious day that will be.
What a day that will be,
When my Jesus I shall see,
And I look upon His face,
The One who saved me by His grace;
When He takes me by the hand,
And leads me through the Promised Land,
What a day, glorious day that will be.
There'll be no sorrow there,
No more burdens to bear,
No more sickness, no pain,
No more parting over there;
And forever I will be,
With the One who died for me,
What a day, glorious day that will be.
What a day that will be,
When my Jesus I shall see,
And I look upon His face,
The One who saved me by His grace;
When He takes me by the hand,
And leads me through the Promised Land,
What a day, glorious day that will be
James Hill (1955)
Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. 1 John 3:2
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