Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be anything accursed… (Revelation 22:1-3a ESV)
The New Jerusalem to someday descend out of heaven to occupy its regal residence upon the earth is a mesmerizing assortment of glories—a high wall, twelve gates, sentry angels, bejeweled foundations, a glass-gold street, Lamb-light, and more! But before we leave this beautiful vision, John throws a monkey wrench into the cogs and wheels of our thinking about it. “The leaves on the tree of life were for the healing of the nations.” But the very next verse affirms no more curse anymore! No curse echoes these earlier triumphant strains, “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (21:4). If there’s no curse, if the former things have passed away, what need can there be for healing? What value do the tree of life’s leaves for healing have where everybody’s healthy and whole? It seems that the Lord, before we leave this city, wants us to press the pause button to contemplate this conspicuous paradox.
Well, maybe the original Greek word for “healing” means something different than we think of healing today. Yet almost all the English translations I checked out interpret therapiea (ther-ap-i’-ah) as healing or medicine. Therapiea does have a secondary meaning of service, as the nonconformist YLT translates it: “the leaves of the tree [are] for the service of the nations.” But a lexical examination of therapiea and its verb cognate therapeuō (ther-ap-yoo’-oh) mostly convey physical healing. And therapeuō is not just limited to typical pathogen-borne illnesses such as the flu or colds (Mt 10:1). Jesus’ healings expressed as therapeuō included blindness (Mt 12:22), a withered hand (Mt 10:12), lame and maimed (Mt 15:30), and even demon possession (Lk 8:2).
Furthermore, as Revelation is a quilt of Old Testament revelations, the fabric patch for this tree of life vision is brought to you by Ezekiel 47. There the leaves of the trees by the throne-river are tᵊrûp̄â (ter-oo-faw’), its singular appearance in the Hebrew Bible, whose rapha root concretely conveys bodily healing. You may be familiar with Jehovah-Rapha, the Lord our healer. So Ezekiel’s undergirding vision buttresses the New Testament translation of the leaves for bodily healing.
Some of the classic commentators I consulted suggested that healing refers to the sustaining life to the nations. A few alluded to Adam and Eve’s life being contingent upon eating of the tree of life. The latter argument I don’t find persuasive, as Genesis has no indication of the pair having ever eaten from the tree of life. What I found consistent among them, though, is their settled view that this city is future-oriented (which I also agree with). So logically it makes sense that the tree of life in this future city must also be exclusively future. Or is it?
Here’s where I’ve come to land the plane on this one. I propose that this conundrum is designed to bend our perception of the tree of life as not solely a future reality. There’s a present reality, an application now, to it as well. Its leaves, like a time machine suddenly appearing out of nowhere, intersect our present age of old things yet awaiting their day of passing away, where the nations are still experiencing Eden’s curse and in need of healing. This future vision breaks through our overcast present day its golden rays of hopeful promise. The tree of life bridges two realities, now and future. It’s future-present! The reality of the tree of life begins now. Its consummation comes then. This Jesus Christ who is the same yesterday, today and forever is this tree of life. We’ll enjoy the full satisfaction of the tree of life in that city to come, but the good news is that we can also enjoy it—Him—in foretaste now! We can sing a better song than the Shulamite bride:
Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest
is my beloved among the young men.
I delight to sit in his shade,
and his fruit is sweet to my taste. (Song of Songs 2:3 NIV)
As we delight to abide in Jesus’ shade and enjoy those sweet revelations of Him, we’re invited to partake of His healing leaves as well. “Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits—who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases” (Ps 103:2-3 NIV).
Glory Unveiled: Discovering Jesus 