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We need a vision of the tree of life—Gen. 2:9; Rev. 22:1-2, 14:
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The tree of life signifies the Triune God in Christ to dispense Himself into His chosen people as life in the form of food—Gen. 2:9.
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The tree of life is the center of the universe:
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According to the purpose of God, the earth is the center of the universe, the garden of Eden is the center of the earth, and the tree of life is the center of the garden of Eden; hence, the universe is centered on the tree of life.
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Nothing is more central and crucial to both God and man than the tree of life—3:22; Rev. 22:14.
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The New Testament reveals that Christ is the fulfillment of the figure of the tree of life—John 1:4; 15:5.
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All the aspects of the all-inclusive Christ revealed in the Gospel of John are the outcome of the tree of life—6:48; 8:12; 10:11; 11:25; 14:6.
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The enjoyment of the tree of life will be the eternal portion of all of God’s redeemed—Rev. 22:1-2, 14:
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The tree of life fulfills for eternity what God intended for man from the beginning—Gen. 1:26; 2:9.
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The fruits of the tree of life will be the food for God’s redeemed in eternity; these fruits will be continually fresh, being produced every month—Rev. 22:2.
Morning Nourishment
Rev. 22:14 Blessed are those who wash their robes that they may have right to the tree of life and may enter by the gates into the city.John 6:48 I am the bread of life.
The tree of life is the center of the universe. According to the purpose of God, the earth is the center of the universe, the garden of Eden is the center of the earth, and the tree of life is the center of the garden of Eden…. Nothing is more central and crucial to both God and man than the tree of life. The tree of life in the garden was an indicator that God desires to be our life in the form of food. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, p. 429)
Today’s Reading
The New Testament reveals Christ as the fulfillment of the figure of the tree of life. Speaking of Christ, John 1:4 says, “In Him was life.” Since John 1:3 refers to the creation in Genesis 1, the mention of life in verse 4 should refer to the life indicated by the tree of life in Genesis 2. This is confirmed by John’s mention of the tree of life in Revelation 22. The life displayed by the tree of life in Genesis 2 was the life incarnated in Christ. The Lord told us that He Himself is life (John 14:6). Furthermore, John 15 reveals that Christ is a tree, the vine tree. On the one hand, He is a tree; on the other hand, He is life. If we put together John 1:4 and 15:5, we shall realize that Christ is the tree of life. The fact that He said in John 6 that He is the bread of life indicates that He has come to us as the tree of life in the form of food. Therefore, Christ, the embodiment of God, is the tree of life.Concerning Christ as the fulfillment of the figure of the tree of life in Genesis 2:9, Revelation 2:7 says, “To him who overcomes, to him I will give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God.” It was God’s original intention that man should eat of the tree of life. Due to the fall, the tree of life was closed to man (Gen. 3:22-24). Through the redemption of Christ, the way to touch the tree of life, which is God Himself in Christ as life to man, has been opened again (Heb. 10:19-20). However, in the church’s degradation religion crept in with its knowledge to distract the believers in Christ from eating Him as the tree of life. Hence, in Revelation 2:7 the Lord promises to grant the overcomers to eat of Himself as the tree of life. The word for tree in Revelation 2:7, as in 1 Peter 2:24, is wood in Greek, not the usual word used for tree. We have seen that the tree of life refers to Christ as the embodiment of the Triune God to be our life in the form of food. Here in Revelation 2:7 this expression refers to the crucified (implied in the tree as a piece of wood—1 Peter 2:24) and resurrected (implied in the zoe life—John 11:25) Christ who is in the church today, the consummation of which will be the New Jerusalem, in which the crucified and resurrected Christ will be the tree of life for the enjoyment of all God’s redeemed people for eternity (Rev. 22:2, 14). The eating of the tree of life not only was God’s original intention concerning man; it will also be the eternal issue of Christ’s redemption. For eternity God’s redeemed people will enjoy the tree of life as their portion.
The tree of life growing on the two sides of the river [Rev. 22:2] indicates that the tree of life is a vine, spreading and proceeding along the flow of the water of life for God’s people to receive and enjoy. It fulfills, for eternity, what God intended from the beginning. In eternity God’s redeemed people will enjoy the tree of life; that is, they will enjoy Christ, the Son of God, the redeeming Lamb, as their eternal life supply.
Through Christ’s redemption, which has fulfilled the requirements of God’s glory, holiness, and righteousness, the way to the tree of life has been opened again to the believers. Hence, the believers who wash their robes in the redeeming blood of Christ have the right to enjoy the tree of life as their eternal portion. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 429-430)
Further Reading: The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 41; CWWL, 1964, vol. 3, “The Economy of God,” ch. 12