We Believe In Jesus: The RedeemerSample

Renewal of Creation: Revelation 22:2-3

According to Revelation 22:3, this renewal of heaven and earth will completely remove the presence and curse of sin. All the effects of humanity’s fall will be eradicated, so that God’s people will live without sin, suffering, sickness or death. Revelation 21:4 even tells us that God will wipe every tear from our eyes. All creation will be restored to God’s original plan, and his people will receive the blessing of unending life in his everlasting kingdom. And the New Jerusalem described in Revelations 21–22 will be the capital of that kingdom. Revelation 22:2 describes one part of that New Jerusalem in this way:

On each side of the river stood the tree of life … And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. 

Genesis 2 and 3 record that the tree of life used to be planted in the Garden of Eden. In particular, Genesis 3:22-24 states that when God banished Adam and Eve from the Garden, he did it partly to prevent them from eating its fruit. But when Christ returns, after the final judgment, the fruit of the tree of life will be available to humanity again, bringing us everlasting peace and health under the glorious kingship of God.

When Adam and Eve fall into sin, the effects then are therefore not just for Adam, but also for the creation. Similarly, at humanity’s final redemption, just as the creation was plunged into bondage to decay, as Romans 8 says, with Adam and Eve’s sin in the beginning, it will also be liberated from the same effects of sin as humanity experiences their final liberation as well. So there’s a connection between the image-bearing under-ruler, and the realm that they rule. That effect is tied together both in terms of sin, the experience of human sin, and the fall of creation into that same experience as well, and the liberation of humans from their sin finally in a way that the creation will be liberated from that bondage also. – Dr. Robert Lister

Click here  to watch We Believe in Jesus: The Redeemer, lesson one in the series We Believe in Jesus. Biblical Education, For the World, For Free. thirdmill.org