B
In Revelation 2:7 the tree of life signifies the crucified (implied in the tree as a piece of wood—1 Pet. 2:24) and resurrected (implied in the life of God—John 11:25) Christ, who today is in the church, the consummation of which is the New Jerusalem, in which the crucified and resurrected Christ will be the tree of life for the nourishment of all God's redeemed people for eternity (Rev. 22:2, 14).
Morning Nourishment
Rev. 2:7 …To him who overcomes, to him I will give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God.1 Pet. 2:24 Who Himself bore up our sins in His body on the tree, in order that we, having died to sins, might live to righteousness…
John 11:25 Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes into Me, even if he should die, shall live.
For the proper church life and the recovery of the church life, that is, for the proper growth in the Christian life, what we need is not merely the mental apprehension of teachings but the eating of the Lord as the bread of life in our spirit (John 6:57). Even the words of the Scripture should not be considered merely as doctrines to teach our mind but as food to nourish our spirit (Matt. 4:4; Heb. 5:12-14). Here in Revelation the Lord promised to give the overcomer to eat of the tree of life. This points back to Genesis 2:8-9 and 16, which concerns the matter of eating ordained by God. In the epistle to the church in Pergamos, the Lord promised the overcomer that he would eat of the hidden manna (Rev. 2:17), which refers to the eating of manna by the children of Israel in the wilderness (Exo. 16:14-16, 31). And in the epistle to the church in Laodicea, the Lord promised to dine with the one who opens the door to Him (Rev. 3:20)… This indicates that the Lord desires to recover the eating of the proper food by God's people, the food ordained by God and typified by the tree of life, the manna, and the produce of the good land, all of which are types of the various aspects of Christ as food to us. (Life-study of Revelation, pp. 117-118)
Today’s Reading
In Greek the word for tree [in Revelation 2:7], as in 1 Peter 2:24, means “wood”; it is not the word usually used for tree. In the Bible the tree of life always signifies Christ as the embodiment of all the riches of God (Col. 2:9) for our food (Gen. 2:9; 3:22, 24; Rev. 22:2, 14, 19). In Revelation 2:7 it signifies the crucified (implied in the tree as a piece of wood—1 Pet. 2:24) and resurrected (implied in the life of God—John 11:25) Christ, who today is in the church, the consummation of which will be the New Jerusalem, in which the crucified and resurrected Christ will be the tree of life for the nourishment of all of God’s redeemed people for eternity (Rev. 22:2, 14).The promise to the overcomers in the church in Ephesus was to eat of the tree of life. The tree of life is in the Paradise of God…”The Paradise of God” in Revelation 2:7 is the New Jerusalem…, of which the church is a foretaste today…We are enjoying the crucified and resurrected Christ as the tree of life…as a foretaste today in the church. This enjoyment of the foretaste will usher us into the full taste…in the New Jerusalem for eternity. The promise of eating the tree of life given to the overcomers in Ephesus indicates that they will eat Christ in the church life today and eat Him as the tree of life in the New Jerusalem for eternity. Our experience confirms this.
The enjoyment of Christ as the tree of life in the New Jerusalem in the new heaven and new earth will be the common portion of all of God’s redeemed people, whereas the particular enjoyment of Him as the tree of life in the New Jerusalem in the coming millennial kingdom is a reward given only to the overcoming believers. If we overcome all the distractions in the church's degradation to enjoy Christ as the tree of life in the church today, we will be thus rewarded. Otherwise, we will miss this particular enjoyment in the coming kingdom, though we will still enjoy Christ as the tree of life in the New Jerusalem in the new heaven and the new earth for eternity.
The tree of life always brings us back to the beginning where there is nothing but God Himself. There is no work, labor, endurance, or anything else—only God Himself. In the church life, again and again we need to be brought back to the beginning, forgetting all other things and enjoying God Himself as the tree of life. (Life-study of Revelation, pp. 118-121)
Further Reading: Life-study of Revelation, msg. 10