77 - The Tree of Life

Genesis 3:22–24 Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—” 23 therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. 24 He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.

Revelation 22:1–2 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

Revelation 22:14 Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates.

One of the many remarkable things about the Bible is its self-consistency. Written by about 40 very different authors (shepherds, kings, physicians, scholars, etc.) in several different geographical locales (Israel, Babylon…) over a period of around 1600 years, its message is completely coherent throughout. There is no other work like it, and the fact that it forms a single literary whole with no incongruities or inconsistencies is one of the evidences that it is God’s handiwork.

Our passages above illustrate this point quite wonderfully. Drawn from close to the very beginning of the book and from its final chapter, it is remarkable that there is a common theme on display - our access to the tree of life. It is clear from the account in Genesis that the tree and the right to eat of its fruit are emblematic of eternal life. Adam and Eve had the right to eat from this tree during their time in Eden. They were sinless - there was no cause of death within them - and that condition would have continued had they not eaten the fruit from the tree that was forbidden them - the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

On that day, they forfeited the right to eat from the tree of life. God even set a secure guard to prevent their return to the garden and eating from that tree. They were sinners now, with death at work in them, and therefore it was not right that they should eat from a tree that spoke of sinlessness and absence of death. So Adam and Eve were sent “east of Eden” (east often in Scripture being a direction associated with curse and condemnation).

The history of man in the interim can be looked at in one way as a series of failed efforts to bypass the cherubim guards and eat from the tree of life. We are preoccupied as a race with eternal life - with extending our time on earth or prolonging youthful looks. Otherwise we try to create a name for ourselves that will live on long after we die. It’s worth noting in passing that one reason why the current pandemic is so jarring to us is that it shatters the illusion we have created that we will never die. It shows us that we are fragile and mortal and that we will not live forever by our own methods, intellect and ingenuity. We cannot get around those cherubim while we remain sons of Adam, still bearing the guilt of his sin within ourselves.

Some people like to skip to the end of a book to see how it will finish before they invest the time in reading it. That is what we have done above - and what an ending it is! Here in New Jerusalem, we find the river of the water of life running down the main street. Either side of the river is the tree of life, watered from the river and abundantly fruitful. Two symbols of eternal life adorning the one street! The whole picture along that street is life and healing and joy! Remarkably, the people who live in New Jerusalem have a right to enter the city by its gates and to eat from that tree.

We saw yesterday that New Jerusalem is the church - the bride who comes down out of heaven prepared for her marriage to the Lamb (Jesus). And we know that the citizens of New Jerusalem are believers - whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life. How did they get the right restored to them  to eat of the tree of life (which Adam and Eve forfeited for all their offspring)? How have they been able (as it were) to pass by the cherubim and their flaming swords and to access the tree?

We said that it would not have been right for those in whom death was at work due to sin to eat of a tree that speaks of eternal life and sinlessness. But all the sons and daughters of Adam are born guilty of his sin. So if they are to eat of the tree, they must become children of God. Their guilt must be dealt with and there must now be a principle of life in them, rather than death - the evidence of which is that they now have a right to eat from the tree of life. But how could this happen? There is a clue in 22:14 above. They “washed their robes,” it says. In the Bible, the robes that characters wear often speak of their standing before God. Unbelievers are pictured in filthy robes, whereas believers wear spotless robes of Christ’s righteousness. And it is the blood of Christ in which filthy robes may be washed to become spotless:

Revelation 7:13–14 Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” 14 I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

So at the beginning of the Bible, man rebels against God. His robes become filthy. He has death at work within him and loses his right (and that of all who are related to him in the flesh) to eat of the tree of life. At the end of the book, Christ has died to take away the guilt of His people. They wash their robes spotless in His blood. They now have eternal life at work in them and the right to eat from the tree of life (which belongs to all who are related to Him in the spirit). Beautiful symmetry and consistency, but beyond that, amazing truth! 

All who will turn from their sin and trust Jesus to save them from its guilt and power may wash their robes and eat of the tree of life. Have you?

76 - Eternal Blessings

Revelation 21:1–5 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” 5 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

It would be hard to pass by such a glorious passage without comment! Here we have a description of the blessings that await the Church at the end of the age - and therefore the blessings that await every true believer! I will highlight a few of the many lines of thought that are contained here, with the aim of fueling our wonder and awe at these things. Note the assurance from our Savior at the end of verse 5 that they are both trustworthy and true - we may count on them; we may rest in them!

A new heaven and a new earth. Jesus indicates He is making everything new (v 5). It follows that heaven and earth will be renewed. The whole creation was plunged into bondage to decay by the disobedience of our first parents, since the effects of their actions were not confined to mankind, but spread more widely. Therefore, just as believers are redeemed at the cross, and await the redemption and renewal of their bodies on the Last Day, so creation will be renewed through Christ’s work at Calvary (see Romans 8:18-25). If our glorified bodies are still recognizable (this was true for Jesus in His resurrection body) then we believe that the new heaven and earth also will be recognizable as such - they will not be completely different than the present ones and made new in the sense of being completely purged of the effects of sin. This renewed heaven and earth will be the home of righteousness (2 Peter 3:13).

No more sea. This may seem like a strange thing to include here but like much of this passage, I believe it is to be taken figuratively. For the Jews in particular, the sea was a symbol of all kinds of bad things. First, of their enemies, of the wicked, of forces of spiritual darkness (Isaiah 17:12, 57:20, Daniel 7:2). Second, of restlessness and instability (Ephesians 4:14, James 1:5). Third, of affliction and discipline (e.g. Psalm 42:6, Lamentations 2:13). It is against this backdrop that we can better understand those passages where God sets limits on the sea, and in which Jesus stills the storms by the word of His command. So the concept that “the sea was no more” in the passage above is intended to convey the end of wickedness, of spiritual enemies, of restlessness and instability, and the end of affliction and discipline!

The bride prepared. How spectacular the church will be on that Day! Much of the latter part of Revelation chapter 21 is intended to convey her beauty and her glory (all bestowed on her by God’s grace). Like the heavens and the earth, the church will also be renewed, as we have already mentioned - everything will be new!

God with us. Verse 3 is covenant language. God was with Adam and Eve in the garden but that closeness and intimacy was ruined by their sin and they were cast from His presence. In the Old Covenant, God was with His people in the Ark of the Covenant and the shekinah glory in first the Tabernacle and then the Temple. However, for their own sake, He was very much present with safeguards - a kind of very intensive social distancing, without which they would be consumed justly for their sin in His infinitely holy presence. Then He “tabernacled” among us (as it says in John 1:14) as the God-man, Christ Jesus. At the cross, He dealt a death blow to sin and to death and the curtain of the temple was torn to show that He had opened a way for man to be clean enough to fellowship with God once again. And now in the passage above, that perfect intimacy of relationship is finally and fully realized and restored!

No crying, no death, no mourning, no pain. Our hearts readily embrace these prospects for the future, as well they should! All the evils introduced into the creation by our sin will be fully wiped out through the saving work of our God. He Himself will tenderly comfort us and wipe away our tears. But let us not lose sight of the greater blessing as we relish the prospect of the lesser ones. God will be with us! We will see Him as He is. He will wipe away all our tears. The end of our grief and of our pain will be a wonderful thing to experience for sure, but these will only be ours because He has loved us with an everlasting love. They will only be removed from us because of the One Who bore all the penalties of our sin at the cross. It is His face, which we will gaze upon on that Day, that will make all the other blessings so special and so enjoyable to all His children!

And from the One Who cannot lie, we have the spoken and written assurance that all these things are trustworthy and true! They shall most certainly come to pass. These eternal things are the ones we need to focus on so that our very real (but transient) pains and griefs and afflictions here can rest in a proper perspective in our thinking:

2 Corinthians 4:16–18 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. 17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

75 - Two or Three Witnesses...

Deuteronomy 19:15 “A single witness shall not suffice against a person for any crime or for any wrong in connection with any offense that he has committed. Only on the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses shall a charge be established.

What a wise provision this is! I was thinking about it this morning and Christ’s “trial” came into mind. His accusers were forced to abide by this rule, and it must have proved most inconvenient in their circumstances. They wanted Jesus dead, but they could only get there if two or three witnesses would agree on some offence they saw or heard Him commit. Here is one of the accounts that we have:

Mark 14:53–65 And they led Jesus to the high priest. And all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes came together. 54 And Peter had followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. And he was sitting with the guards and warming himself at the fire. 55 Now the chief priests and the whole council were seeking testimony against Jesus to put him to death, but they found none. 56 For many bore false witness against him, but their testimony did not agree. 57 And some stood up and bore false witness against him, saying, 58 “We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and in three days I will build another, not made with hands.’ ” 59 Yet even about this their testimony did not agree. 60 And the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, “Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you?” 61 But he remained silent and made no answer. Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” 62 And Jesus said, “I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.” 63 And the high priest tore his garments and said, “What further witnesses do we need? 64 You have heard his blasphemy. What is your decision?” And they all condemned him as deserving death. 65 And some began to spit on him and to cover his face and to strike him, saying to him, “Prophesy!” And the guards received him with blows.

Note, first of all a quite obvious but important fact. There were no truthful witnesses who could bring testimony against Jesus that would demonstrate that He had sinned. Jesus had even challenged the people of His day publicly to come forward with a charge against Him:

John 8:46 Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me?

So right off the bat (and completely paradoxically), the high priest, chief priests, elders and scribes knew that they were going to have to find false testimony about Him if they were going to be able to put Him to death “legally.” Apparently, there was no shortage of false witnesses against Him (v 56). Had the law stipulated that a person could be executed based on the testimony of a single witness, this trial would have been very different. But clearly there were no two “witnesses” who gave the same account about any alleged crimes Jesus had committed.  Finally, some stood up and alleged an offence against Him concerning things He had said about the temple. To speak against the temple was a serious matter. The first martyr, Stephen, was put to death because he understood clearly and taught what Jesus had said on the matter. But the false witnesses had misunderstood what Jesus actually said (which was not an offence under the law) and in any case, their testimony wasn’t consistent and so couldn’t be taken as grounds to condemn Jesus.

You can sense the frustration that the proceedings had gone on for some time and there was no evidence (either true or false) that could be used to get rid of Jesus (v 60). So the high priest abandoned the attempt to get Jesus executed by underhanded and dishonest means and adopted an entirely new approach - asking Jesus directly if indeed He was the Christ, the Son of God. And Jesus was condemned because He answered that question utterly truthfully in the presence of two or three witnesses! But His accusers already decided that they didn’t want this man to be their king (despite all the signs and wonders He had performed and all the prophecies He had fulfilled to show that that is exactly Who He was). So they condemned Him.

This is important to think about. It is critical to the Gospel that Jesus had no sin of His own to die for. How different it would be if this account had left even the remotest possibility that Jesus had sinned! How different it would be if the record of His sinlessness was not so clear! But here it is - Jesus Christ inadvertently shown to be the spotless Lamb of God by the very ones who would never believe that about Him! The undoubtedly innocent Savior condemned to suffer on the cross for His people; nailed there because He told the truth about Who He is!

The sovereign hand of God is clearly at work in all of this - and not least in making the provision in the law that we began with. Without that provision, Jesus would still have been the spotless Son of God, for sure, but that fact could never have been so clear to everyone. It could never have been so obvious that He was condemned because He openly and honestly confessed Who He is (“the good confession,” as it is called).

God had determined that the sinless Christ had to suffer and die as the only way His justice could be satisfied and yet sinners worthy of death could be acquitted. Yet how could the death penalty be brought against someone Who said no wrong, did no wrong, thought, believed and desired no wrong for His whole life? There cannot be many ways, but what happened by God’s predestination is one of them. And the remarkable thing is that the trial of Jesus really proved His innocence, and found his accusers guilty!

Let’s marvel at the wisdom and the power of God and the perfection of every detail of His plans to save rebellious sinners from the condemnation we deserved!