Revelation 22:1 shows that the throne of God and of the Lamb is in the center of the New Jerusalem. God and the Lamb being on one throne proves that God and the Lamb are not separated; God in the Lamb is sitting on the throne. This is what is indicated in Revelation 21:23, which reveals that God as the light is in Christ as the lamp and is one with Christ. In eternity Christ will still be the redeeming Lamb (22:1). Christ accomplished redemption on earth. This redemption was designed by God in eternity past and accomplished in time. Before the foundation of the world, God had appointed Christ as the Lamb to redeem fallen mankind. In time Christ as the Lamb was slain (1 Pet. 1:19-20). In eternity Christ will still be the Lamb, indicating that the redemption He accomplished in time will be brought into eternity. In the New Jerusalem the throne of God and of the Lamb is in the center of the holy city, indicating that in eternity the redeeming God is the Ruler. Furthermore, His reign in eternity is based on the redemption that He accomplished in Christ.
Revelation 22:2 says, “On this side and on that side of the river was the tree of life, producing twelve fruits, yielding its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.” In the New Jerusalem Christ will be the tree of life. The word for tree in Revelation 2:7, as in 1 Peter 2:24, means “wood”; it is not the word usually used for tree. In the Bible the tree of life signifies Christ as the embodiment of all the riches of God (Col. 2:9) for our food (Gen. 2:9; 3:22, 24; Rev. 22:2, 14, 19). It signifies the crucified (implied in the tree as a piece of wood, 1 Pet. 2:24) and resurrected (implied in the life of God, John 11:25) Christ. In the New Jerusalem this crucified and resurrected Christ will be the tree of life for the nourishment of all God’s redeemed people—the saints as the components of the New Jerusalem—forever.
According to Revelation 22:2 the tree of life grows “on this side and on that side of the river,” spreading and proceeding along the flow of the water of life for God’s people to receive and enjoy. This indicates that Christ as the tree of life, as the life supply, will grow and be available along the flow of the Spirit as the water of life to God’s redeemed people. Where the Spirit flows, there the life supply of Christ will be found.
In the New Jerusalem Christ as the tree of life not only nourishes the sons of God; the leaves also heal the nations as God’s people on the new earth. In the Bible leaves are a symbol of man’s deeds (Gen. 3:7). The leaves of the tree of life symbolize the deeds of Christ. In eternity the restored nations will be healed by the leaves of the tree of life. They will take the deeds of Christ as their outward guide and regulation that they may live the human life forever. When the nations look at the way Christ does things and behaves Himself, His deeds will become a source of healing to them, and this healing will maintain their human life forever.
In the New Jerusalem Christ is also the spring of the water of life. Revelation 21:6 says, “I will give to him who thirsts from the spring of the water of life freely.” The spring of the water of life refers to Christ. The water of life is the Triune God Himself as our life. This water of life has a source, then a spring, and then a flow, a river. The river comes from the spring, and the spring from the source. The source is the Father, the spring is the Son, and the flow, the river, is the Spirit. In eternity Christ is the spring of the water of life, just as the Spirit is the river, and the Father is the source. According to the picture depicted in Revelation 21 and 22, the river of water of life flows from the spring of the water of life to the entire New Jerusalem, dispensing the Triune God to the whole city and saturating the whole city.
In eternity Christ is also the Shepherd. Christ’s redeemed people still need His shepherding in eternity. Revelation 7:17 prophesies that “the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and guide them to springs of waters of life.” Shepherding includes feeding. Under the shepherding of Christ, God’s redeemed people will not lack (Psa. 23:1). Christ will lead them to the spring of the water of life, indicating that in eternity He will shepherd them into Himself that they may enjoy the eternal dispensing of the Triune God for His manifestation to the fullest extent.
When the Lord comes back, He will save Israel, crush the Gentile nations, and judge the peoples on earth. Afterward, He will establish His kingdom on the earth for a thousand years, which is the millennium. In the millennium Christ with His overcomers as co-kings will reign over the nations. Such a reigning will be the unique work of Christ in the millennium to show to the entire universe His kingship with His divine and heavenly authority to shame Satan. In the millennium Christ as the Bridegroom will enjoy the marriage dinner of the Lamb with the overcoming believers as the bride. At the end of the millennium, Satan will be released from the abyss to deceive the nations that are in the four corners of the earth and to lead them to rebel against God. However, God will use fire from heaven to devour them, thereby purifying for the last time all the peoples on the earth. Then Christ will judge all the dead at the great white throne. The perishing unbelievers will be judged by Christ according to the scrolls, which are a record of their works, and they will also be cast into the lake of fire according to the book of life.
In eternity Christ the Lamb will be the Husband, and the New Jerusalem will be the wife. Christ will enjoy a married life with His redeemed forever and ever. Christ is also the temple of the holy city as our dwelling place and for Him to dwell among men. In addition, He is the lamp of the holy city to shine with the Triune God as the light and to dispense Himself into the redeemed people. The nations will not need to walk in the sunlight, for they will walk in the light of Christ’s shining. The throne of God and of the Lamb is in the center of the New Jerusalem, indicating that the Ruler in eternity is the redeeming God. Furthermore, His reign in eternity is based on the redemption that He accomplished in Christ. Christ is also the supply of the holy city as the tree of life nourishing the sons of God and healing the people on the new earth. As the spring of the water of life flowing out the river of life to the entire New Jerusalem, He dispenses the Triune God to the whole city and saturates the whole city. He is also the Shepherd of God’s redeemed people, shepherding them to Himself that they may enjoy the eternal dispensing of the Triune God for His manifestation to the fullest extent.