River of Life's Path

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.

(Revelation 22:1-2)

The next aspect I want to discuss, as mentioned by the Apostle John in the above passage, is the river of life. This Scripture reveals that the river will flow from the thrones of both God the Father and God the Son. During our Lord’s millennial reign, the river of life will flow only from the throne of God the Son (Ezekiel 47:1). All saints will have free access to drink from this river at all times, as it will flow throughout the city, from the throne to the city gates. From the above passage, we also see that this river will water the trees of life growing along its banks. We can only speculate about the effect that drinking from this river will have on the saints, but it must be glorious. The highest point in the New Jerusalem will be the throne of God and the Lamb, located at its centre. From the centre of the city to its outer wall, the distance is 1,200 kilometres. The river of life, flowing from the throne, will maintain a consistently gentle rate of flow. To achieve this, it will need to drop approximately 1 meter for every 13 kilometres. This means the city will slope upward from its perimeter to its centre to accommodate the gentle flow of the river of life. We can only speculate about the total length of the river within the city, as it will follow an ever-widening circular path from the centre to the outer limits of the city, as we will see when examining the street of the city.

And He said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts.

(Revelation 21:6)

And the Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let him who hears say, "Come!" And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.

(Revelation 22:17)

What happens to the river when it reaches the gates of the city? Unlike the fruit of the tree of life, which only the saints may eat, the water of the river of life will be freely available for all to drink in the new earth. The above passages of Scripture confirm that God freely allows all His creation to drink from the waters of the river of life. Thus, while the street of the New Jerusalem will end at the city gates, the river will continue to flow out of the city gates. In effect, twelve branches of the river of life will flow from each gate, extending throughout the earth to the north, south, east, and west. This aligns with the river of life during our Lord’s millennial reign, which flowed into the sea (Ezekiel 47:8). In the new earth, however, the rivers will not flow into any sea. Where, then, will the rivers end? We can only speculate, but some rivers on earth today do not flow into the sea, instead being absorbed into the ground at the end of their path. This is one possible fate for the rivers of life.

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.

(Revelation 22:1-2)

The above passage of Scripture mentions the tree of life, the same tree God placed in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:9). However, in the New Jerusalem, there will be a vast number of trees, unlike the single tree in Eden. The passage indicates that these trees will line the banks of the river of life, which flows throughout the city. Like the street of the city, the trees of life will begin at the edge of the sea of glass and end at the city gates. This passage also reveals that the tree of life will produce twelve different fruits, a different fruit each month. As an aside, this suggests that the new earth will orbit a new sun created by God, completing its orbit in twelve months. The passage further implies that only the saints will be permitted to eat the fruit of the tree, as the leaves are designated for the healing of the nations living outside the city walls.

"He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God." '

(Revelation 2:7)

Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city.

(Revelation 22:14)

Unlike the river of life, which is freely available to all, the fruit of the tree of life will be exclusive to the saints of God. The above passages of Scripture confirm this. In the first passage, our Lord Jesus states that one of the rewards for His saints is the right to eat from the tree of life. In the second passage, the Holy Spirit declares that only those who keep His commandments in this life will have the right to eat from the tree of life.

The twelve gates were twelve pearls: each individual gate was of one pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.

(Revelation 21:21)

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.

(Revelation 22:1-2)

This brings us to the description of the street in the New Jerusalem. Note that both passages above mention only one street in the city, not multiple streets. This Scripture teaches that the street will be made of the same material as the residences, pure gold that is as transparent as glass. The street will follow the same path as the river of life, or more accurately, the river of life will flow in the middle of the street. The river of life begins at the throne of God, but the street does not, as the river first flows through the sea of glass surrounding the throne. Thus, the street of the heavenly city will begin at the edge of the sea of glass, winding in an ever-widening circle until it reaches the city walls, where it will branch out to each gate, ending at the final gate. Because the river of life flows in the middle of the street, there will effectively be two streets, one on either side of the river. The combined width of the streets will be substantial, as the river will be wide enough to swim across (Ezekiel 47:5), and the trees of life will grow along its banks. How will the saints cross the streets if the river of life separates them? As our Lord Jesus demonstrated when He was on earth, walking on water will be a normal practice for the saints in the age to come.

Michael E.B. Maher

The End of the Age

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