In His work in the New Jerusalem Christ, as the lamp of the holy city, will shine with God as light from within the New Jerusalem over the nations. “The city has no need of the sun nor of the moon that they should shine in it, for the glory of God illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb. And the nations shall walk by its light” (Rev. 21:23-24a). The Lamb as the lamp will shine with God as the light to illumine the city with the glory of God, the expression of the divine light. Because such a divine light will illumine the holy city, it will not have need of any other light, whether created by God or made by man (Rev. 22:5). Although the sun and moon will be in the new heaven and new earth, we shall have no need of them in the New Jerusalem, because our dwelling place will be much brighter than either of them. Christ, the lamp, will shine with God as light.
The nations will walk by this light. In the millennium the light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be intensified sevenfold (Isa. 30:26). I believe that in the new heaven and the new earth the light of the sun will be even brighter than this. Nevertheless, Revelation 21:24a says that the nations will walk in the light of the New Jerusalem. Christ will shine with God as light, and this shining will be brighter than that of either the moon or the sun. Actually, the nations will not need to walk in the sunlight, for they will walk in the light of Christ’s shining.
Finally, in His work in the New Jerusalem Christ, as the tree of life, will nourish the sons of God-the saints as the components of the New Jerusalem-and heal the nations as the peoples of God on the new earth (Rev. 22:2; 21:7). For eternity in the new heaven and the new earth, all God’s redeemed will enjoy Christ as the tree of life as their eternal portion. Eternally, Christ will carry on the work of nourishing the sons of God (Rev. 21:7).
In Revelation 22:2 the tree of life growing on the two sides of the river signifies that the tree of life is a vine, spreading and proceeding along the flow of the water of life for God’s people to receive and enjoy. Christ as the tree of life, as the life supply, will be available along the flow of the Spirit as the water of life. Where the Spirit flows, there the life supply of Christ will be found. The fruits of the tree of life will be the food of God’s redeemed for eternity.
The last part of Revelation 22:2 says, “The leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.” Whereas the sons of God, who are the components of the New Jerusalem, are born of God with His life and nature, the nations are the peoples in Revelation 21:3. After the millennial kingdom, those of the nations who are not deceived by the Devil to rebel against the Lord will be transferred to the new earth as the nations living around the New Jerusalem. They, as the created unregenerated man, will be maintained to live forever in their created state by the healing of the leaves of the tree of life. These leaves symbolize the deeds of Christ.
In the new heaven and the new earth the regenerated believers will eat the fruit of the tree of life, receiving Christ as their life and life supply inwardly so that they may enjoy the divine life for eternity. But the restored nations will be healed by the leaves of the tree of life, taking the deeds of Christ as their guide and regulation outwardly so that they may live the human life forever. When the nations look at the way the Lord Jesus does things and behaves Himself, His deeds will become a source of healing to them, and this healing will maintain their human life forever.
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