The final chapter of the Book of Revelation continues with the description of the new earth and the new city where Christ and His Bride shall live. John sees a river of living water, clear as crystal proceeding forth from the Throne of God (Revelation 22:1), and on either side of the river is the Tree of Life yielding twelve manner of fruits each month, whose leaves are for the healing of the nations (Revelation 22:2). All of the imagery described here is symbolic, but before we venture to understand it, let us firstly look at a similar description that is given in the Kingdom Age (the Millennium), and whose fulfilment is largely literal.
The earthquake under the seventh vial (Zechariah 14:1-5; Revelation 16:17-20) will greatly reshape the contours of the earth for the Millennium. The millennial city of Jerusalem shall be situated at a high elevation, and a great fountain shall spring up from a fissure or crack in the earth caused by the quake. The millennial temple will be the source of the fountain (Ezekiel 47:1; Joel 3:18) which shall spring up and flow as a river all the way down to the Dead Sea, healing its waters (Ezekiel 47:8-9) so that they become filled with the same aquatic life as what exists in the Mediterranean Sea (Ezekiel 47:10). The great river shall be lined on either side by trees (Ezekiel 47:7; Ezekiel 47:12) whose fruit will be a source of food, and whose leaves shall be a source of medicine.
The language used in Ezekiel to describe the Kingdom Age closely resembles the language used to describe the Eternal Kingdom. Whereas the former has a more literal fulfilment and some spiritual application, the latter has a more spiritual fulfilment and some literal application. We will never fully comprehend how the pyramid city shall truly look until we are physically there, but there is no doubt that it shall have streets and trees and rivers and many other features beyond our mortal understanding.
The River of life and the Tree of Life spoken of in Revelation 22:1-2 are entirely symbolic, being representative of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the Tree of Life continually manifesting the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), and He is the Fountain of living waters (John 4:14; John 7:37-38) in whom we find healing strength and restoration by our fellowship with Him. The Tree of Life is actually mentioned six times in the Bible; three times in Genesis and three times in Revelation. But notice, in Revelation 22:2, the Tree of Life is given a feminine designation (“Her fruit”), because the Bride’s union with Christ (by virtue of Her marriage to Him) makes Her also a life-giving source to all peoples that would come into contact with Her.
As the natural herb is a source of medicinal remedy for all kinds of ailments and sickness, so the leaves of the Tree of Life are for the healing of the nations. The leaves represent fellowship, like what Adam and his wife had with God in the beginning. So long as they enjoyed uninterrupted fellowship with God, then they and the planet (over which they ruled) continued on in a state of peaceful equilibrium. The nations of the saved shall also enjoy an uninterrupted connection with Christ and His Bride by their complete obedience to God’s divine laws. This will be reflected in the bringing of their glory and honour (the tithes of their increase) into the new city (Revelation 21:24).
The curse of sin and death will be gone, having been destroyed in the Lake of Fire (Revelation 22:3), and the King and Queen shall happily rule over the universe. The 144,000 Jews will be their servants, and the foolish virgins shall be their attendants. The servants are said to have the Father’s name written in their foreheads (Revelation 22:4), for the revelation of Jesus Christ had come to the 144,000 Jews under the ministry of the two Jewish prophets (Revelation 11:3; Revelation 7:3-4). Revelation 22:4-5 does at first seem a little confusing, for although the Bride consists of God’s sons and daughters, yet they also performed a role as servants of God on the earth and shall reign with Christ, whereas the Jewish group are servants of God on the earth and shall remain in the serving role for all Eternity.
The tremendous scriptural insight that we enjoy as God’s sons and daughters is because of the prophet-messenger, William Branham, whom God sent to make all of these things known to us (Revelation 22:6). Jesus said of Himself that He is coming quickly (Revelation 22:7), but it would take the prophet to make known the second coming of Christ in Word form as King Theophany Jesus. The importance of the prophet can therefore never be negated, for if the prophet is removed from the equation, then the Bridegroom would never have been made known, and the Bride would never have made Herself ready to meet Him.
Unfortunately, many have been overtaken by a deity spirit, and like John, have fallen down to worship the prophet (Revelation 22:8), rather than worship the God who sent the prophet. How sad and how foolish that is. One need only read the story of Eleazar finding a wife for Isaac (Genesis chapter 24) to see that once Rebekah had been united with Isaac, then Eleazar faded out of the picture. And so, once the prophet had carried-out his ministry of introducing the Bride to the Bridegroom, then he went off the scene so that the focus would be on Christ entirely, and not the messenger.
The prophet-messenger, William Branham, was the seventh star in Christ’s right hand (Revelation 1:16). Those seven stars were the messengers to each of the church ages, and were sent to guide the people to where the Word (Christ) was at. Like the wise men or magi; they saw a star in the east, and the star led them to where the Word was made flesh (in the young child, Jesus). So at the end time, God sent forth the seventh star in Christ’s right hand; it was seen in the west, and it led a gifted people (like the magi who carried gifts) to the Word made flesh, to Emmanuel. The magi indeed rejoiced when they saw the star, for it announced that the King had been born, but they did not worship the star. The star refused worship (Revelation 22:9), for the prophet-messenger was only sent to lead the elect to the Messiah; and like the magi, when the elect come to the place where the Word is at, they worship the Messiah, not the star!
The angel instructed John not to seal up the sayings of the prophecy of the Book (Revelation 22:10). The Lamb had taken the Book in Revelation chapter five and tore off the seven seals upon it; for when Christ descended in Revelation 10:1-2, He has an open Book in His hand. But today so many in the circles of the message want to seal up the Book by claiming that the prophet did not entirely fulfil His ministry and that he must return again to finish up all the mysteries. There are those who claim that the seventh seal is not open and that the seven thunders have not sounded, and all kinds of other nonsense. It is because they are without the Holy Ghost; they do not have the inward Teacher to correctly dovetail the message with the Bible. These are people trying to seal up a Book that has been fully opened to the Bride of Jesus Christ.
A time is fast approaching wherein he that is unjust, filthy, righteous, or holy shall remain in that state forever (Revelation 22:11). When the Door of Mercy to the Gentiles finally closes, then whatever spiritual state a man is in at that time, it shall be the state in which he shall remain. For those who are righteous and holy (the elect of God), they shall be translated into the presence of God. But for those who are unjust and filthy, they shall all be cast into the Great Tribulation. Such a time is when God shall recompense every man for his works. Jesus said that His reward (or wages for service) is with Him (Revelation 22:12), to execute His wrath upon those who rejected His Word, and to seat His Bride next to Him on the Throne in order for Her to rule and reign with Him.
It is those who are one with Christ now by uniting with the Word that shall enter into the new city and dwell there with Christ who is the Tree of Life (Revelation 22:14). Those people are the Bride of Christ from seven church ages dwelling in their eternal home where the Lamb is the Light of the city. But for the dogs (homosexuals and lesbians etcetera), whoremongers, murderers (even those with hatred in their hearts [1 John 3:15)], idolaters, liars, and so many others (Revelation 22:15), they will have no part in the Eternal Kingdom, for they will have already been cast into the Lake of Fire following the Great White Throne of Judgment.
Watch carefully now the words of Jesus in Revelation 22:16. He explicitly states that He has sent His angel or prophet-messenger to testify of all these things unto the Bride. So then if the people reject the prophet, they are in effect rejecting Christ who sent the prophet (1 Samuel 8:7)! It is Jesus (Revelation 10:1) who sent His angel (Revelation 10:7) to bare faithful witness unto the Bride (Revelation 10:8-11) of the revelation God had given. And because the church systems rejected the prophet, they have rejected the very Jesus that they claim to serve and worship. They have rejected the root and offspring of David; in other words, they have rejected the Creator and the Kinsman Redeemer; they have rejected the Great Fountain of Spirit (the Word) and the Word made flesh! How deeply tragic it is to refuse the message of God in these last days.
The prophet is spoken of in Revelation 22:16, and then in Revelation 22:17, the Bride is spoken of. She and the Spirit are in agreement, for the message that She received is the Holy Ghost (the Word for the age). But for those who would add to the message (Revelation 22:18), God will pour out upon them the plagues contained in the seven vials; and for those who would take away from the message, their names shall be struck off the Book of Life. It is therefore a very grievous and serious offence to mess around with God’s Word and to attack, mock, and scoff at the vindicated message of God’s prophet. It is the attitude of the people toward the Word that ultimately determines their standing in the Book of Life.
So wonderfully insightful it has been for us to journey through the chapters of the Bible’s final book and marvel at the tremendous truths contained within it. Jesus closes off the book with the words, “Behold I come quickly!” And in response to those words, we too can say like John, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus!”
Amen!