Have you ever realized that Revelation is a book of life? A good number of books have been written as expositions of this book, but most of them are written along the line of prophecy. But the Lord has shown us that this is a book of life, not only of prophecy.
Tree of life is mentioned four times in this book. Water of life is mentioned four times also, three times in the singular and once in the plural. Book of life is used three times, and crown of life is also mentioned. The Lord Jesus also declared in this book, “I am...the living One; and I became dead, and behold, I am living forever and ever” (1:17-18). Revelation, as the last book of the Bible, is a book of life. This is because in the very beginning of the Bible, the central theme is also life (Gen. 2:9).
The record of God’s creation in Genesis 1—2, strictly speaking, is not a record of creation but a record of life. If it were really a record of creation, it would not be so short. Only one verse is the record of creation, and that is the first verse of chapter 1: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” This is the record of creation. Then from Genesis 1:2 to the end of chapter 2, it is entirely a record of life.
According to the Hebrew text, Genesis 1:2 must be rendered in this way: “But the earth became waste and emptiness.” “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. But the earth became waste and emptiness.” This means that the earth became full of death, and upon the surface of the earth was the darkness of the deep. The deep and the darkness signify death. The Spirit of God then came in, not to create but to recover by life. Following the coming of the Spirit of God, light came. The light was not for creation but for life. Light came in to separate the darkness from the light. This was for producing life.
The first day, light came in for the producing of life. Then an expanse came in to separate the waters above from the waters beneath. This again is for the producing of life. The expanse is air. Without air, life is impossible. Light is for life, and air also is for life. This was the second day.
On the third day the land came out of the water. The third day means resurrection. The Lord Jesus was resurrected on the third day. He was the good land that came out of the water of death. After the earth came out of the water on the third day, all kinds of life were produced. All life comes out of the resurrected Christ.
Because of higher life, there is the need of greater light. Therefore, on the fourth day the great light-bearers, the sun, the moon, and the stars came forth. On the fifth day the higher animal life was produced. The fish in the waters, the birds in the air, and the beasts of the field—all of these animal lives—were produced.
Then on the sixth day the highest life among creatures was produced. This is the human life, the life which is according to the image of God, the highest of all lives. Now we can see that Genesis 1 is not a record of creation but a record of life.
Genesis 2 continues by showing how God made man from the dust of the ground and placed him before the tree of life. By the side of the tree of life was another tree, the tree of knowledge. Man was made with the highest life among the created lives, but man still needs the divine life, the eternal life, the uncreated life. Genesis 2 gives us the details of how man was made and for what purpose. Man was made in three parts—the body, soul, and spirit. The body is for contacting the physical world, the soul is our being, and the spirit is the part whereby we may contact God. We are a person with a body without and a spirit within so that we may receive God into us as the divine life, and this divine life is signified by the tree of life. The highest life among all the created lives must receive God as the divine life. Then we will be one with God.
If we will receive the divine life, we will have the living water flowing within us as shown in Genesis 2. By the tree of life, a river was flowing, and in the flow of the river, precious materials were produced: gold, bdellium (pearl), and onyx (precious stone). These precious stones are for the purpose of producing a bride. Following this, there is a bride (Eve) to match the bridegroom (Adam). This bride, we know by Revelation 21, typifies the holy city built with these three kinds of precious materials: gold, pearl, and precious stones. Thus, this is not a record of creation but a record of life which produces material for the building up of the universal bride to match the universal Bridegroom. This is the opening of the sixty-six books of the Bible. The first two chapters of the Bible are a record showing how life produces the materials to build up the bride.
Brothers and sisters, do we need teachings? Do we need doctrines? No! Praise the Lord, we need life, and Christ is life, and Christ is God. God is in Christ as our life.
If we read the Bible from Genesis 1 to the Gospel of John, we see that “in Him [Christ] was life” (John 1:4), and He says, “I have come that they may have life and may have it abundantly” (10:10). He said again and again that He is life. He told Martha that He is life (11:25), and He told His disciples that He is life (14:6). He came that we may have life. Life is all we need.