In this chapter we want to see the final consummation of the overcomers. If we read the Bible thoroughly, we can see that the overcomers are the life-line, the pulse, of the entire Bible. The first overcomer among God’s people was Abel (Gen. 4:2-8). The Lord Jesus in Matthew 23:35 referred to the martyrdom of Abel, indicating that he was the first overcomer. Starting from Abel the Lord has continued to gain overcomers to ultimately consummate His economy and bring in the kingdom of Christ and of God (Rev. 11:15).

We have pointed out that the book of Revelation is on the overcomers and the New Jerusalem. The overcomers have a strong issue, and this issue is the conclusion of the divine revelation. The New Jerusalem is the ending, the conclusion, and the totality of the divine revelation in the sixty-six books of the Bible.

The crucial items in Revelation 21 and 22 concerning the New Jerusalem were already mentioned previously in the Bible. The most striking point in the New Jerusalem is the tree of life, which was mentioned at the beginning of the Bible (Gen. 2:9). If there were no tree of life in the holy city, there would be no food for God’s redeemed to live on. The tree of life is the centrality and universality of the holy city.

The New Jerusalem is actually a high mountain with a height of twelve thousand stadia. The city is a cube with the length, breadth, and height all being equal (Rev. 21:16). The Holy of Holies in both the tabernacle and the temple was a cube, being equal in length, breadth, and height (Exo. 26:2-8; 1 Kings 6:20). Hence, the New Jerusalem being a cube signifies that the entire city will be the Holy of Holies. In it, all God’s redeemed ones will serve and worship God, will see and touch God’s presence, and will live and dwell in God’s presence for eternity. The center of the New Jerusalem is the tree of life for the feeding and nourishing of the entire city.

Now we need to consider how one tree could be available to feed the entire city. The tree of life is not like a pine tree. Because a pine tree is so tall, it is not available to us. The tree of life is a vine tree. Christ is the vine tree (John 15:1) and He is the life (John 14:6a), so He is the tree of life. That the one tree of life grows on the two sides of the river of water of life (Rev. 22:2) signifies that the tree of life is a vine that spreads and proceeds along the flow of the water of life for God’s people to receive and enjoy. A pine tree grows high, but a vine tree spreads. If we want to eat the tree of life, we do not need a “ladder,” because this tree is a vine tree so available for us to eat.

The river of water of life in the New Jerusalem is within the one golden street (Rev. 22:1). The tree of life grows in and alongside the river of water of life, which spirals down the mountain to reach all twelve gates of the city. The tree of life as a great vine is the available food, the nourishment, for God’s redeemed in eternity, so it is the life-pulse of the New Jerusalem. I went to England in 1958, and someone took me to see a big vine tree called the Queen’s vine. But this vine is very small in comparison with the vine that I have seen. I have seen the great vine tree, the tree of life, in the New Jerusalem. The Lord Jesus said that He was the true vine (John 15:1). He is the vine tree and we are the branches (v. 5). He is the centrality and universality of God’s economy, and God’s economy consummates in the New Jerusalem.

The divine revelation in the Bible, beginning from God’s creation in Genesis 1, concludes with two long chapters, Revelation 21-22. In these two chapters is the New Jerusalem as a great and strong sign of God’s economy. The centrality and universality of this holy city is the tree of life, the greatest vine in the universe. This vine comprises our God, our Lord, our Master, our Father, our Lord Jesus Christ, and us. We are a part of this vine because we are the branches.

In Genesis 2 we see the tree of life, and after all the ages the tree of life is still present in the New Jerusalem. The Triune God embodied in Christ was the tree of life at the beginning, but at the end of the Bible, the tree of life is spreading throughout the holy city. Thus, the Bible starts with the tree of life and ends with the tree of life.

In Genesis 2 along with the tree of life, there is also a river. This river had four heads and flowed toward the four directions of the earth (vv. 10-14). Then in the New Jerusalem, there is a river in which the tree of life grows. Thus, there is a river at the beginning and end of the Bible. At the flow of the river in Genesis 2 there were gold, bdellium (a kind of pearl) and onyx stone, a precious stone (vv. 11-12). Then at the end of the Bible, the holy city is built with gold, pearls, and precious stones (Rev. 21:18-21). There is the same picture at the beginning and end of the Bible of the tree of life with a flowing river issuing in gold, pearls, and precious stones.
Home | First | Prev | Next