The River of Life

 The River of Life

December 31, 2025

Revelation 22:1-2 (NASB95) 

1 Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne ofGod and of the Lamb, 2 in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

In The vision of New Jerusalem in Revelation 22, one of the prominent features is the river of the water of life with the tree of life on both banks. This image of a river is one of the consistent symbols throughout the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. In Genesis we see the river flowing out of the garden and many trees,, including the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and the tree of life.

Genesis 2:10

10 Now a river flowed out of Eden to water the garden; and from there it divided and became four  rivers. (Gen 3:22 Tree of life)

In Psalms we pick up the theme that a righteous man is like a tree planted by the water who is blessed and is a blessing.

Psalms 1:1-3

1 How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,

Nor stand in the path of sinners,

Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!

2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD,

And in His law he meditates day and night.

3 He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,

Which yields its fruit in its season

And its leaf does not wither;

And in whatever he does, he prospers.

Psalm 46:4 (NASB95)

4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, The holy dwelling places of the Most High.

In Ezekiel, there is another vision of the temple which includes a river and trees whose leaves are for healing..

Ezekiel 47:1-12 (NASB95) 

1 Then he brought me back to the door of the house; and behold, water was flowing fromunder the threshold of the house toward the east, for the house faced east. And the water was flowing down from under, from the right side of the house, from south of the altar.

…

5 Again he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not ford, for the water had risen, enough water to swim in, a river that could not be forded.

…

12 “By the river on its bank, on one side and on the other, will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither and their fruit will not fail. They will bear every month because their water flows from the sanctuary, and their fruit will be for food and their leaves for healing.”

And of course Jesus taught that those who believe in Him will have rivers of living water flowing their innermost being, which is the Holy Spirit.

John 7:38,39 (NASB95)

38 “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’” 39 But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

So as we end up this year and look forward to 2026, be prepared to jump in the river! The blessings and healing are in the river of life but you don’t just want to dip your toe in, you want to plunge in headlong to participate in the most blessings. In Ezekiel’s vision, the river grew stronger and deeper until it was a mighty river that could not be forded, you had to dive in and swim. Likewise, the Lord has mighty things planned for the new year, but you will need to be fully in the river to be part of the healing of the nations. Your hands (leaves) are for healing when you are like the Psalms 1 man (or woman) who meditated in the Word (Jesus) day and night. So don’t be afraid, but dive into the river of life and watch to see what the Lord will do through the Holy Spirit in 2026.