Revelation 21
Verse 1 -
New Heaven and New Earth -
II Peter 3:9-13 - The first heaven and the first earth shall pass away.
All the things people have worked for will be burnt up.
All the space stations, military might, economic empires, movie popularity, nice fancy homes - everything will be burnt up.
Psalms 72:8 - Christ had a rule from sea to sea during the millennium reign. This reign of Christ is eternal, because there is no more sea.
I believe this new heaven and new earth will be much like the present heaven and earth before sin entered in the Garden of Eden.
Verse 2 - Saved people will not spend eternity in heaven. God will spend His eternity on the new earth with His people. 1
Rev. 22:1,2 - The tree of Life has been “transplanted” from the Garden of Eden to eternity.
II. Tree of life.
A. Note the physical description of Adam taking of the tree of life. You can almost see the Devil (egging) him on.
B. This is the reason God removed Adam and Eve from the garden. They would live eternally in a physical body.
1. Why didn't God leave Adam and Eve in the garden, and remove the Tree of Life? He's going to "transplant" it anyway!
a. To further reveal His anger for sin. We always must pay the consequences of our sin even if we are forgiven.
b. To be a witness to future generations of the wrath of God toward sin. This should show people what was lost in the fall and help them realize their need to trust Christ.
2. God said Adam and Eve would live forever in their physical bodies if they partook of the Tree of life. This is not spiritual life for they already had eternal life.
a. This would be a most horrible thing for Adam and Eve to never die.
1. I Cor. 3:21-23 - Death is a gift from God.
2. I Cor. 15:53, 54 - They would never have a perfect body - I John 3:2
b. God is keeping intact His plans for the New Heaven and New Earth.
1. Satan had an opportunity to spoil all of God's plans if he could have gotten Adam to eat of the Tree of Life.
God kept Adam from sinning to the extent His plans would be spoiled.
Ps. 76:10 - Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee: the remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain.
c. Foolish sins of our youth, we bear all of our lives.
1. Young spiritual life.
2. Young physical life.
C. A physical Tree in Gen. 1-3 becomes a spiritual reality now.
1. Prov. 3:18 - Wisdom "She is a Tree of Life to them, that lay hold on her: happy is everyone that retaineth her". She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her.
2. Prov. 11:30 - "The fruit of the righteous is a Tree of Life." The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.
3. Prov. 13:12 - the fulfilled desire of hope. Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life.
Prov. 15:4 - a wholesome tongue. A wholesome tongue is a tree of life: but perverseness therein is a breach in the spirit.
A promise to all overcomes that they can eat of the Tree of Life. Rev. 2:7 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.
These things are withheld from Adam and Eve in the physical sense, for since they are sinners (yet saved by grace), they can only be obtained spiritually.
D. The transplanted Tree - Rev. 22:1-3
1. Not just one tree, but the only tree. Perhaps the only kind of tree - none other is mentioned. In a spiritual world, we'll have no need of wood. We'll be living in mansions prepared by God.
2. The emblem of immortality. Everywhere we look, we'll see the emblem and be able to freely partake of it.
3. 12 manner of fruits
a. Constantly bore fruit, evidently a different kind of fruit every month.
b. An abundance of fruit, supply never fails. Tree is never barren.
4. Fruit and leaves - Ezk. 47:12
a. Fruit to be eaten, not to sustain life for Jesus did not need food to sustain His spiritual body. Luke 24:42, 43.
b. Leaves for "healing" - "attendance" or "household" of the nations.
E. Will there be people in physical bodies in eternity?
1. Honestly, I don't know. I John 3:2 - Like John, I don't know what kind of body we'll have in eternity.
2. I don't believe we'll be 33 1/2 years old in eternity like some believe. What has time got to do with eternity?
3. Yes ---- Gen. 1. This is what Christ started out with and He'll wind up with the same thing, plus many added glories for Himself. Ps. 76:10.
F. Purpose of the Tree of Life - So that men can live eternally.
1. The Tree fulfills the desire of the saved person to really worship God.
a. But he is never able to worship God on his own. He will always need God to bless him and enable him to worship God.
b. If a man in eternity got to the place he didn't need God in order to worship God, he would be able to control his own will (which he lost in Adam.) and he would be equal with God.
c. (There might be a possibility of us falling again!!!! -- This will be impossible).
2. There ought to be no objection to us needing the Tree of Life in eternity in order to really worship God.
a. God gave Adam a symbol of God's authority in the Garden of Eden, before Adam sinned.
b. After sin is done away with, all things will be restored to God's original plan, except that since God allowed sin to take place, and then redeem us from sin, we are able to more fully recognize His power, love, so forth.
3. We can actually worship God more because of what He has done for us.
a. The tree of life will be an eternal symbol of God's grace bestowed upon sinful man. I do not mean to say that we will remember our sinful nature in eternity.
b. Rev. 21:4 and Heb. 9:14 make it plain that we will not remember our sinful nature.
c. In Christ, our conscience has been purged.
d. In this life we do not mourn over our past sins.
e. We rather rejoice that God has forgiven us and we worship Him the more, so shall it be in eternity, but more perfectly.