Healing of the Nations

And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever.  Revelation 22:1-5

Here is the last chapter of the last Book of the Bible, Revelation, where the angel of the Lord has shown John, while on the isle of Patmos, this vision of the future where all believers will be at, after God has brought judgment on the sin of mankind throughout the earth. The first thing we should take notice is the word “pure” to describe a river. You know it is going to be new, because these don’t exist in our world anymore. The water of life symbolizes the continual flow of eternal life from God’s throne to heaven’s inhabitants. John writes that there is a “tree of life” which is interesting, due to the fact we are always seeing people, tree growers experimenting genetically with trees and plants creating hybrids of these types of species to help further the way people who like their fruits or vegetables with or without seeds for example. And it’s great what man has been able to do messing around with some of the genetic codes of some plants and trees.

Tree of life—A symbol of both eternal life and continual blessing, the trees bears 12 fruits, one for each month, and is symbolic of the abundant variety in heaven. The English word “therapeutic” comes from the Greek word translated “healing.” The leaves somehow enrich heavenly life, making it full and satisfying. There will be a medicinal value in the leaves of the tree. While it may not be too clear for us to understand what or why this healing of the nations is needed, we can clearly see what sin has been doing to man, and through man, to destroy and cause much hurt and pain.

No more curse—The curse on humanity and on the earth is a result of Adam and Eve’s disobedience: “Cursed will be the ground; thorns and thistles will it bring forth. Cursed be man, by the sweat of his brow shall he earn his bread.” (Genesis 3:16-19) and finally sin will be totally finished. God will never have to judge sin again, since it will no longer exist in the new heaven and new earth.

But the throne of God and the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. They shall see His face—Jesus said, “Blessed are the pure in heart,” for “they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8) They shall see His face. Until this time, no one living could ever look into the face of God and live, when Moses met with God, God had to put his hand out to protect Moses, when He had revealed a part of His glory as He passed by Moses: And he said, “Please, show me Your glory.” Then He said, “I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.” But He said, “You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live.” And the Lord said, “Here is a place by Me, and you shall stand on the rock. So it shall be, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and will cover you with My hand while I pass by. Then I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back; but My face shall not be seen.” (Exodus 33:19-23) Cautionary measures were needed for God to respond only in part to Moses’ request to see more of God than he was already experiencing. But those who live in heaven can look on God’s face without harm because they are now in their glorified bodied state (1 John 3:2).

His name shall be on their foreheads— In the Old Testament, in Deuteronomy 6:4-9, in what is called the Shema, Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. And these words I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. The Israelites were to continually meditate upon and be directed by the commandments that God had given to them. I find that same recognition God wants us to have when we are in heaven. We will have His name upon the frontlets between our eyes, indicating that we are God’s personal possession.

There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light—Hard to believe is it? That is why he immediately said, And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true (Revelation 22:6). It sounds too good to be true, and it brings to mind all the disappointed times when we thought something here in our lifetime was supposed to be all that it said it would be, only to find out later . . . it wasn’t true. So the Lord affirms that these are true and faithful sayings. That God should for man do such things as are declared in the pages of Scripture, to purchase us by the blood of His Son, Christ Jesus, that we would be children of God, and obtain an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you (1 Peter 1:4). For we are so undeserving and unworthy that we should reign forever and ever in His glorious New Kingdom.

Beloved friend, If you are a Christian today, My prayer for you is that you are sitting under the teaching authority of God’s written word, taught by an anointed Pastor/teacher called by God to rightly divide His Word of truth. For these written words are a part of your inheritance. For those who aren’t sure where you stand? With all that has been written, I understand. You haven’t heard or perhaps read all of the gospel that God so loved the world, that He gave His Only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16) And that the Bible teaches a bodily resurrection of all men, the saved to eternal life (John 6:39; Romans 8:10-11), and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment (Daniel 12:2; John 5:29; Revelation 20:13-15). Our country recognizes Memorial Day, this weekend. The soldier who has given his life for our nations freedom cannot be overlooked. Our nations heritage has much storied heroism and bravery at such a great cost and sacrifice. I think of the U.S. Civil War, where countrymen fought one another, families were divided, even believer’s in Christ fought for both sides. I can’t help but think, The healing of the nations by these leaves mentioned today, are for reconciliation. First unto Christ, for the remission of our sins. Then to each other. Jesus prayed to His Father, that they all may be one, as You, Father are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us. (John 17:21)

May the Lord Bless your walk with Him!

Author: rontrujillo

Married 37 years We have six children. All of whom are adult. Three are married one of them blessed us with three beautiful grandchildren. Retired Firefighter @ Boeing Aircraft 37 years (Formally McDonnell Douglas) Born Again Summer of 1981 View all posts by rontrujillo