Revelation 22:1-3 - "There Shall Be No More Curse"

The last two chapters of the Bible bring our attention to our eternal home that we call heaven. Remember in Revelation 21, John was taken by angel to a great and high mountain where he saw the great city, the Holy Jerusalem come down out of heaven from God. He gives a description of the twelve foundations with the names of the twelves tribes of Israel written on them. He describes the twelve gates made of solid pearl that had the names the twelve apostles written on them. This eternal home is for both the Old Covenant and New Covenant saints! The Light of God and of the Lamb shine continuously, reflecting the glory of God through the transparent gold and jewels that the city is built on and with! John gives the dimensions of the city and basically we get an outside look at this marvelous and beautiful place the Lord has prepared for His saints. Now when we come to Revelation 22, John takes us into the city. The first thing he sees is a “pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb”. This must be the same river that the psalmist saw in Psalm 46:4-5: “There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God, The holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High. God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved…”. Inside this city, we discover that it is like a beautiful garden, reminiscent of the Garden of Eden. Remember in the Garden of Eden there were four rivers (Gen. 2:10-14). Here in the holy and heavenly city there is only one river that flows continuously from the throne of God and of the Lamb. I can’t help but think of the statement of Jesus in John 7:38: “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."   Here in Revelation 22, we find the very source of this “living water”! In Ezekiel 47, the prophet Ezekiel saw a purifying river flowing from the temple, which we believe was fulfilled in the millennial kingdom.  But this river in Revelation 22 will flow directly from God's throne, the very source of all purity. In the Garden of Eden, man was prohibited from eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and prevented from eating of the tree of life (Gen. 2:15-17; 3:22-24). But in this eternal home, man will finally have access to the tree of life. I believe this is the very same tree that was in the first Garden of Eden. Both the river and the tree symbolize abundant life in the glorious city. The fruit that this river and tree produced was for the “healing of the nations”. Actually, there will be no need for any healing since there is no more curse, no more sin, no more sickness or death. So, this “healing” must be speaking of the continuous nourishment and life flow that comes from God Himself and the Lamb on the throne. In other words, we will be totally and fully satisfied with the Lord Jesus Christ continuously for all eternity! The statement, "No more curse" takes us back to Genesis 3:14-19 where the curse began. Genesis ends with these words, “In a coffin in Egypt” (Genesis 50:26). The Old Testament closes with the statement, "Lest I come and smite the earth with a curse" (Malachi 4:6). How interesting is that! The last word in Old Testament is the word “curse”. But the last chapter in the New Testament concludes and ends with the announcement, "And there shall be no more curse!"  Satan will be consigned to hell; all of creation will be made new; and the curse of sin will be gone forever. Hallelujah!!!! God bless!