Wednesday, December 10, 2008


Revelation 22: 1-5

And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb.
In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever.

Dear Ladies,
I have always been perplexed by the portion of scripture in verse 3 where it talks about the leaves of the tree being used for the healing of the nations. Why do the nations need to be healed once we are in heaven if old things pass away and God creates a new heaven and earth? Have any of you ever thought about what this verse means? I've tried doing a study on it but always walk away confused. If you have any thoughts I'd love to hear them...thanks!

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5 comments:

pam said...

Wow, you picked a heavy one yet filled with so much hope. I don't know if I'll get this correct---but here is one theory I've read in my Bible program. The Tree of Life was for perpetuating physical life forever---while we think of heaven as the place of perfection where there will be no need--one theory is that the Tree of Life will be there as the representation of how that happens for us. It is of His creation, His way of provision for physical well being in eternity.

I've heard SO MANY teachings on Revelations and I come to a point where I must sit back and be content to not know. Someday it will happen and then I will go, "Oh, so that's what You meant". It shouldn't stop our pursuit of Him as we read it but it is confusing to get past our own small minds.

ellen b. said...

Well I will inquire of my pastor brother about this passage...
I have no clue myself :0)
I'm looking forward to the face to face understanding in my future...
Are you back in O.C. now?

Kathy said...

I love the passage you chose today, Cori. I find it exciting to read about Heaven! I'll have to get back to you about your question! I have a wonderful book that might be helpful. I'll get it out when I have a few minutes to see if it addresses this verse.
Merry Christmas...
Kathy

Margie said...

I checked 2 of my trusted Commentaries (one by Warren Wiersbe and the other by J. Vernon McGee), and both pretty much say that some questions about Heaven must just go unanswered until we get there. Although there is much speculation about it, there can be no absolute answers for some questions.

McGee says that whatever the healing properties of the tree might be for, there is one thing that is certain, and that is that "the possibility of sin entering simply is not there"! Rev 22:3 says "And there shall be no more curse: ..."

I guess I didn't help much in answering your question, but I know one thing, I can't wait to find out all the answers to the questions that we have!

Margie :)

Pat @ Mille Fiori Favoriti said...

Hi Cori

Today is our big day! Our grandson was born! I'll be posting about ti later --still amking phomne calls :-)

Hugs, Pat