Heaven: Even Better Than Eden

The Better Garden Because Better Access (22:1-5)

What’s the first book of the Bible?

What’s the last book of the Bible?

What do they have in common?

Genesis and Revelation are the bookends of the Bible. Creation and New Creation. The Bible begins with God the creator who creates all of creation including people and creates in a garden-city called Eden for them to live and worship in and be with him, and the Bible ends with a garden-city, the New Heavens and the New Earth, where God’s new creation people live and worship him and are with him.

Now, usually when we think about Adam and Eve we think that they had it good, which they did:

naked and unashamed

all the food and water they needed

they were in charge of taking care of God’s creation

no sin or death

walk with God in the cool of the day.

And we think that it’d be great to go back to that. Which it would be, except what if I told you that in the Bible God tells us about a better garden-city?

The blessings to come in the eternal garden-city will far exceed Eden’s blessings. Why? Because we’ll have better access to God than Adam and Eve did because of Jesus.

So, in the last chapter of the Bible, Revelation 22, the author John sees a vision of what the new heavens and the new earth will look like and what it will be like to live there. These 5 verses that we are going to look at tell us about what living in this new garden-city will be like.

Here John sees 4 things:

a river,

the tree of life,

no curse,

and a unique experience with God, with Jesus, that is better than anyone had experienced before!

What Does He See?: Living water, pure and free, from the throne (v. 1-2a)

In the garden of Eden, there was a river that flowed out of Eden from a mysterious place. We are not told from where. Here we are told that in heaven there will be a river, the river of the water of life, flowing directly from the throne of God and of the Lamb. God and the Lamb are the source of eternal life.

This living water is pure as crystal, and free to all who would have it from the throne of mercy and grace. Anyone who drinks of this water is cleansed and refreshed once and for all. Ever-flowing. Some translations say “pouring out”. Gushing. This is a symbol of the unending blessing of eternal life that believers will experience in the new heavens.

What Does He See Next?: Tree of life with healing and eternal provision for the nations (v. 2b)

When Adam and Eve sinned in the garden, God cast them out before they were able to eat of the tree of life. Because they had sinned, if they ate of tree of life we would have been stuck in sin forever with no hope. God wouldn’t allow them to live in their sinful state forever. He would not allow mankind to be separated from him forever. Instead, he graciously prevented that from happening and cast them out of the garden.

The tree of life, once banned from guilty humanity will now satisfy the city’s residents during all 12 months of the year.

What’s your favorite fruit?

Because the inhabitants will be free from sin, they will be able to feast on the tree of life and live forever! Something Adam and Eve were not able to do.

In other words, there isn’t a moment that there needs will not be met. Eternal provision.

Not only that, but it seems as if there is more than one tree, maybe a multitude of this type of tree on either side of the river, possibly to accommodate those will number those who God has saved more than the stars in the sky.

All of our needs will be met and we will be healed forever.

He suffered and died on the cursed tree, and by his wounds we have been healed, so that we may one day eat from the tree of life forever and live forever in a sinless state, unlike Adam and Eve, and unlike how we are now. Forever healed.

What Does He See Next?: No Longer Any Curse (absolute security, v. 3a)

Earth was cursed because of Adam and Eve’s sin. Guilt, strife, struggle for survival, sickness, sorrow, and death resulted.

What was the curse that God pronounced on Adam and Eve?

Childbirth was cursed. It would be painful.

Marriage was cursed. The most intimate human relationship fractured.

The ground was cursed. Work would now be hard and frustrating.

Worst of all, the curse of death.

In the new creation none of these will remain because

Galatians 3:13 ESV

13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”—

Birth will be fully complete and redeemed in that the all who will be there will be those who were born-again of God as new creations.

Marriage will be redeemed. There will be no marriage between man and woman, but only the perfect marriage of Jesus and his beautified, blood-bought Bride, the Church.

Work and the relationship between humans and nature will be redeemed: No more hardship and frustration acquiring what we need.

AND there will be no more sin and death.

Rather than having animal skins to cover the shame of our sin like Adam and Eve, there will be no more shame for there will be no more sin. And no more sin means no more curse. No more curse means no more threat of judgement because the curse and all of its effects will be broken.

How do we know this? Because the next verse says direct access to God and his throne and we won’t be destroyed by a holy God! This means that we will have a restored relationship with God through the Lamb.

What Does He See Next?: Restored relationship with God and the Lamb (v. 3b-4)

The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, in heaven.

In other spots in Revelation, when God’s throne is mentioned it stresses the inaccessibility of a transcendent God—that is almost impossible to gain access to the throne of God. But here we see the nearness of God to his people.

Adam and Eve got to walk with God in the cool of the day. They had contact and conversation with him… but God would come and walk with them at limited time of the day.

We shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is (v. 4)

English Standard Version (Chapter 3)

Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears1 we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is

Adam and Eve walked with God in the cool of the day, but after they sinned against him, they hid from him in shame.

Moses couldn’t see the Lord’s face and live. He was only able to see his back or else he would have been destroyed. He had to cover his face when he talked with the people because of the glory he experienced when he spoke with God in the tabernacle. It was frightening to the people, for fear that they might be destroyed because he was holy and they were not..

All those who follow Jesus have seen God with eyes of our heart.

2 Corinthians 4:6 ESV

6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

For now, in this life we walk by faith, not by sight.

But in that day, we will see him face to face. This will be the greatest blessing of the age to come.

Now, what will that moment be like? That’s hard to imagine isn’t it. It’s not like we can put a face to the name. But scripture tells us what his disposition, what his countenance toward us will be.

What will his face look like when we see it? We’ll see love face-to-face

ILLUSTRATION

So what will heaven be like? Not only will it be better than it was for Adam and Eve in the Garden before they sinned but it will be much better than the world we live in now. Why? Because we will have direct access to God because of what Christ has done for us.

1 Peter 3:18 (CSB)

18 For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring you to God.