The Tree of Life in Revelation 2:7

By Daniel K. K. Wong

[Daniel K. K. Wong is President and Professor of Biblical Studies, Truth Theological Seminary, Alhambra, California.]

Revelation 2:7, with its reference to the tree of life, is included in Christ’s message to the church at Ephesus (vv. 1–7). This church, although praised for its works, perseverance, and discernment (vv. 1–3), had left her first love, and therefore the Lord exhorted her to repent and return to the state from which she had fallen (vv. 4–5). To those who heeded the Spirit’s warning and overcame Christ promised the blessing of eating from the tree of life: “To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God.” This promise to overcomers raises several questions. What is the background of this blessing? What is the nature of the blessing? For whom is the blessing intended?

The Background of the Blessing

The tree of life is first referred to in the Garden of Eden (Gen. 2:9). God did not at first prohibit eating from the tree (vv. 16–17). When Adam and Eve sinned, God removed them from the garden so that the tree of life would not be in their path (3:22–24). Mankind would have access to the tree of life in another way, namely, by faith, and this will be in Paradise (Rev. 22:2, 14, 19).

The tree of life is mentioned four times in Proverbs (3:18; 11:30; 13:12; 15:4), metaphorically depicting wisdom, fruitful works, hope, and the benefits of the wise use of the tongue.

The tree of life is alluded to in Ezekiel 47:12, in which the prophet described the vision of a river flowing from the future millennium temple. On the banks of the river he saw trees yielding fruit. The fruit of the trees will not fail nor will their leaves wither because of the water that will flow from the sanctuary. The fruit is for food and the leaves are for healing. Ezekiel 47 addresses the future restoration of Israel in the messianic kingdom. The trees here, then, speak of millennial blessing—a foretaste of the eternal reward (cf. Rev. 2:7; 22:2) and a reminder that health, fruitfulness, and vitality are from God.[1]

Several other references in Jewish apocryphal and pseudepigraphal works also speak of the tree of life in emphasizing God’s blessings. According to the Testament of Levi 18:9–12 God will set up a new priest in His eternal order. The priest will open the gate of paradise, remove the threatening sword against Adam, and give saints the ability to eat of the tree of life. In 1 Enoch 24:3–5 the writer saw in Paradise a towering tree of surpassing fragrance and peculiar beauty whose fruit resembles the dates of a palm. The fruit of the tree does not fail nor do its leaves wither. The tree is a reward from God to the elect after the great judgment. According to 2 Ezra 2:1–13 God will give His people the kingdom of Jerusalem and the tree of life. They will toil no more; neither will they become weary. Then as recorded in 2 Ezra 8:50–52, the seer saw the tree of life in paradise, where a city was built and rest was provided for the saints in the age to come. These references from intertestamental literature show that the tree of life, as in the Scriptures, stands as a symbol of the believers’ hope that they will live forever in God’s kingdom.

The four references to the tree of life in the Book of Revelation (2:7; 22:2, 14, 19) show that all the redeemed will have access to that tree and will all partake from it. What was once forfeited by Adam and Eve and denied to their posterity and what has been hoped for and anticipated by saints of all ages will be fully restored and realized in the New Jerusalem (22:2).

The Nature of the Blessing

To ascertain the nature of the blessing that stems from the tree of life three questions must be answered.

Is the tree of life literal?

Some interpreters view the tree as only symbolic.[2] But a literal view of the tree is proper for two reasons.[3] First, since there was a literal tree of life in the historical Garden of Eden (Gen. 2:9; 3:22, 24), it is possible for this tree also to be literal. Second, if the city, walls, gates, street, river, and light are literal (and the most reasonable evidence shows that they are[4]), then the tree of life is most likely literal also. However, viewing the tree as literal does not exclude its also having symbolic significance for those who see it and eat of it. Just as the literal walls and foundations of the New Jerusalem will be memorials to Israel and to the apostles (Rev. 21:12, 14), so the tree of life can have a memorial function also.

What does the tree of life represent in the spiritual realm?

Some say the tree of life speaks of the cross of Christ. Others say it speaks of immortality or eternal life in the New Jerusalem.[5]

The cross of Christ interpretation. Those who hold this view[6] trace the usage of ξύλον (“tree”) in earlier Greek literature as well as in the New Testament, suggesting that the tree of life may have connoted the cross of Christ to the original readers of Revelation 2:7. Several reasons are given in support of this view.

First, the meaning “living wood” for ξύλον is rare in Greek literature.[7] The usual meaning of the term in earlier Greek is “dead wood” or “timber.” It is often applied to an instrument of punishment. For example it is used of the pillory, of stocks for the feet, of a combination of the two with holes for head, arms, and legs, of a stake of impaling, and of the cross of crucifixion.[8]

Second, the King James Version renders ξύλον as “tree” eleven times. Of these eleven, the sense of the proverbial expression in Luke 23:31 is “wood.”[9] Apart from this one instance, all other uses of the term occur in the expression “tree of life” (five times, all in the Apocalypse [2:7; 22:2, twice, 14, 19]) or “in explicit allusion to the cross of Christ, twice in Petrine sermons in Acts 5:30 and 10:39, in Paul’s sermon at Pisidian Antioch (Acts 13:29), in Gal. 3:13, and 1 Pet. 2:24.”[10] In view of this, it is concluded that “ξύλον is used freely in the New Testament for ‘wood’ and can also mean ‘cross’ but is never used for ‘tree’ except in explicit reference to the ‘tree of life.’ ”[11] On the basis of this evidence Roberts contends:

May it not be that the word was used in this special sense by the early Christians, and that John is also thinking of the cross when he speaks of the “tree of life”? The phrase itself has a previous history in Jewish literature; but may it not have received this new content in its Christian use? Ramsay has shown that there is a studied concentration of meaning into all the symbolism of these letters, and it is not impossible that here ξύλον may contain an allusion to the cross.[12]

Hemer concurs.

It is natural to connect the words with Gen. 3, but the very close resemblance between the symbols applied to the heavenly city and to the seven churches suggests that in many particulars Rev. 21–22 is the consummation of Rev. 2–3. In that city there shall be no more the curse of sin for which the cross was the tree of life, the means of salvation. The shortcomings of the cities are there remedied, and the potentialities of their churches realized.[13]

Third, exponents of the cross interpretation refer to Revelation 5:6 and 13:8 for support, arguing that the idea of the Lamb or the sacrificial death of Christ in these and other references in the Apocalypse harmonizes with their explanation.[14]

Fourth, exponents of this view point to parallels among the tree of life, the cross, and the pagan tree-shrine in the asylum of the goddess Artemis.[15] The logic of this suggestion is that since all three connote “the presence of the deity”[16] and since the tree in Revelation 2:7 may have had a pointed analogy in the tree-shrine of Artemis,[17] which (like the cross) connotes “the means of salvation,”[18] the tree of life may be equivalent to the cross of Christ.[19]

Several biblical and extrabiblical evidences pose problems for this view that the tree of life refers to the cross.

One weakness of this interpretation is its failure to take into account the correspondence between Revelation 2:7 and Genesis 2:9. This correspondence is indicated by the expressions “the tree of life” and “in the paradise[20] of God,” which suggest that John, when he wrote Revelation 2:7, was thinking not of the cross but of the tree of life in Genesis 2–3.

Another weakness of this interpretation is its failure to take into consideration the other symbols and people in Revelation 2–3 that are connected with the Old Testament. Examples include the lampstand (Rev. 2:5 and Exod. 25:31–40; 27:21–22; Jer. 52:19); paradise (Rev. 2:7 and Gen. 2:8, 15; 3:23); Balaam and Balak (Rev. 2:14 and Num. 22–24; Deut. 23:4; Josh. 13:22); manna (Rev. 2:17 and Exod. 16:4, 7, 15; Deut. 8:3, 16); Jezebel (Rev. 2:20 and 1 Kings 16:31; 18:4; 19:1); the rod of authority (Rev. 2:26–27 and Ps. 2:8–9); the morning star (Rev. 2:28 and Num. 24:17); the book of life (Rev. 3:5 and Ps. 69:28; Dan. 12:1); and the pillar in the temple (Rev. 3:12 and 1 Kings. 7:21; Jer. 52:17). This failure has led some to overlook the fact that a connection between Revelation 2:7 and Genesis 2:9 is consistent with this overall context.

Also Revelation 2:7b injects a further problem for this view. According to this interpretation verse 7b would read something like this: “To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the ‘cross of life’ which is in the paradise of God.” This puts the cross in paradise and would not make good sense.

The fact that the idea of the Lamb or the sacrificial death of Christ is prominent in the Apocalypse does not necessarily support the cross interpretation of the tree. In every verse in which reference to the Lamb occurs the primary emphasis is always on the person or redemptive work of Christ, rather than on the wooden cross of Christ (5:6, 8, 12, 13; 13:8; 14:1, 4; 21:23; 22:1, 3). Further, even if the tree of life does connote the means of salvation or the presence of God and in these senses is analogous to the cross, this still does not mean that the cross is in view here. In Revelation John never referred to the means of salvation or the presence of Christ with the cross imagery; he always used the imagery of the Lamb (cf. 21:23; 22:1, 3) or the blood of the Lamb (1:5; 5:9; 7:14).

Though the meaning “living wood” for ξύλον is rare, it nevertheless is not lacking in early Greek literature. Liddell and Scott,[21] Moulton and Milligan,[22] and Schneider[23] have traced the usage of ξύλον from Agatharchides (55), Collimachus (Cer 41), Euripides (Cyr 572), Herodotus (3.47), Papyris,[24] Theophrastus (Hipp. 1.2, 6), Xenophon (Anab. 6.4, 5; 7.65), and others[25] and found sufficient evidence pointing to the meaning “living wood.” Most instances cited by these authors stand in contexts referring either to sources of fruit and other products or to trees as cult objects; in either case the idea of a living tree is relevant.

Also in the Septuagint ξύλον commonly refers to trees. It is used of both fruit trees and forest trees (Gen. 1:11–12, 29; 2:16; Deut. 19:5; 20:20; Judg. 9:8–10; Pss. 74:5; 96:12; 104:16) and of trees as cult centers[26] (Deut. 12:2; 16:21; Judg. 6:26; Jer. 3:6, 13). The Septuagint also uses ξύλον of the tree of life in Genesis 2:9; 3:22, 24. This rendering of the tree in Genesis 2–3 would have been the sense John felt most appropriate in Revelation 2:7.[27]

The immortality or eternal life view. In light of the connection between Revelation 2:7 and Genesis 2:9, most interpreters understand John’s expression “the tree of life” as looking back to Genesis and representing immortality or eternal life.[28] In this view God’s gift for overcomers consists of the privilege of living forever in the future New Jerusalem. The eating of the tree is both an enjoyment and a memorial of that blessing.

This view is preferable for several reasons.

First, the idea of the tree of life itself (Gen. 2:9; 3:22, 24; Rev. 2:7; 22:2, 14, 19) suggests the concept of a life beyond physical death. The possibility of perpetual life is clearly present.[29]

Second, after the Fall, God revealed that the tree helps man “live forever” (Gen. 3:22). This explicit revelation reinforces the concept of immortality.

Third, this view is consistent with Jewish thought. For example Sirach called it δένδρον ἀθανασία, the tree of immortality (Sir. 19:19). In the Book of Adam and Eve (28:4) the phrase “tree of life” is joined immediately with the thought of immortality: δοθήσεται σοι ἐκ τοῦ ξύλου τῆς ζωῆς καί ἀθάνατος ἔσει εἰς τόν αἰῶνα. As noted previously, the tree in other ancient Jewish writings is linked closely with perpetual life (cf. T. Levi 18:9-12; 1 Enoch 24:3–5; 25:4–5; 2 Ezra 2:1–13; 8:50–52). It is a symbol of hope that believers will live forever in God’s kingdom.

Fourth, in John’s writings ζωή (“life”) normally speaks of spiritual life, which is God’s gift.[30] In Revelation 21–22 it is used of immortality (cf. 21:6; 22:1, 17, etc.). Thus it is natural to understand the expression “the tree of life” as also speaking of the eternal life God wants overcomers to enjoy.

Fifth, the idea that the tree of life suggests eternal life is evident in the light of its connection with the river of the water of life; in 22:1–2 the tree and the river are closely linked, both receiving their source directly from God. Since the expression “water of life” is synonymous with eternal life—and the river in the New Jerusalem memorializes forever the wonder of His spiritual water of life given to believers (as in John 4:13–15; Isa. 55:1; Rev. 7:17; 21:6; 22:17)—so the phrase “the tree of life” may also be synonymous with everlasting life. The tree may be intended by God to teach eternally that the life God gives believers is the source of fruit, and the fruit is the product of life (22:2).[31]

Sixth, even the references to the tree of life in Proverbs are consistent with this interpretation (3:18; 11:30; 13:12; 15:4). For in each of these references aspects of blessedness (e.g., joy, fruitful works, hope, fulfilled desires, wise words) are attached to the person who follows God’s wisdom. These aspects of blessing are depicted by the rich vital image of the tree of life because they are ultimately related to the vitality of life from God.

However, this view poses a problem. According to Genesis 2:16–17 God did not forbid Adam from eating of the tree of life. Thus it may be inferred that Adam was free to eat of it.[32] Therefore if the tree represents immortality, and if Adam had access to the tree, why had he not already obtained eternal life?[33]

There are two possible answers to this question. One solution may be that perhaps before the Fall, God had not yet enabled the tree of life to give eternal life, much as the brazen serpent in Numbers 21 did not have power to heal until God so invested it. But the tree of life would have been invested with this life after the Fall. Why, then, was it already mentioned in Genesis 2:9? Perhaps this mention was only by way of a quick summary listing of trees. After the Fall, God then revealed that the tree of life helps individuals “live forever” (3:22), for it is a bright sign of hope of good things to come, as in Revelation 2:7 and 22:2.

Another possible solution is that in Genesis 2 Adam and Eve could eat of the tree of life (there is no forbidding of it). But in this case God meant they could eat of it in due time. But after they sinned, God removed them from the Garden so that the tree of life would not be in their path. People have access to it another way (by faith in Jesus Christ) and in another place (paradise; Rev. 22:2, 14, 19).

Either of these two explanations is reasonable. There is therefore no real problem in understanding that the tree of life represents eternal life. This is a blessing God has promised to overcomers in the message to the Ephesian church.

What is the purpose of the healing leaves?

According to Revelation 22:2 the leaves of the tree of life will be for the healing of the nations or “people,” the inhabitants of the New Jerusalem. This immediately raises several questions: Why would healing be necessary in eternity?[34] What is the meaning of the healing leaves? What is their purpose? Admittedly these questions are puzzling. However, the concept of healing leaves need not imply sickness. The tree of life existed in the Garden of Eden before sin and sickness (Gen. 2:9; 3:22), and it can also exist in the New Jerusalem without illness. After all, there will be no curse there (Rev. 22:3).

As to the meaning of the healing leaves, there are several explanations. One is that the concept of healing could be a symbol of the idea that all healing is from God. The leaves of the tree, then, would be a symbol of God’s past healing in His redemptive work. They would be a reminder (in eternity) of the full healing through the benefit of Christ. Another view is that the idea of healing could be a symbol of the concept of health,[35] soundness, or spiritual wholeness[36] in Christ forever. In this explanation the leaves become symbolic of the true health and vitality of humankind. The third and preferred explanation is that the healing leaves may represent spiritual service or care.[37] The Greek word for healing is θεραπεία, “serving, service, care,”[38] from the verb θεραπεύω, “to serve, be a servant.” Liddell, Scott, and Jones list many examples where this term refers to serving and has no connection with illness or the need for healing.[39] Only in the sense of care, treatment, or serving the sick did it come to be applied to “healing” or “curing,” as in “therapy” and “therapeutic.” True, the word is used in Revelation 13:3, 12 of a wound healed; but in Luke 12:42 it is used of “service” of a faithful and wise steward, and in Acts 17:25 for serving God. The leaves, then, are there to minister to or serve the redeemed as they serve God (Rev. 22:3).

The People of the Blessing

For whom is the tree of life blessing intended? Some writers believe it is intended only for more faithful Christians.[40] To these writers, eating of the tree of life is a special reward in addition to and distinct from eternal life that all Christians enjoy.[41] Benedict reasons, “The promise to the Ephesian church, if it does not clearly state, at least clearly implies that in the celestial paradise in eternity only the victorious Christian will have a right and privilege to partake of the tree of life.”[42] Barnhouse claims that eating from the tree of life is only for some of the saved, a blessing “in distinction to salvation.”[43]

This assumption has not met with general acceptance among interpreters, however. Walvoord addresses this contention directly.

The promise here mentioned for the overcomer is not a message to a special group of Christians distinguished by their spirituality and power in contrast to genuine Christians who lack these qualities; it is rather a general description of that which is normal, to be expected among those who are true followers of the Lord. The Apostle John in his first epistle asks, “who is he that overcometh the world?” (1 John 5:5). He answers the question, “He that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God.” In other words, those in the Ephesian church who were genuine Christians and by this token have overcome the unbelief and sin of the world are promised the right to the tree of life which is in the midst of the paradise of God.[44]

The main problem with the view that the tree of life is only for faithful believers, then, is its failure to take into account the fact that νικάω (“to conquer, to be victorious, to overcome”) in John’s writings is synonymous with saving faith in Christ. Consequently it overlooks the point that every saved person is an overcomer and that all the saved will share in this reward God has promised to overcomers.

Another problem with this view is that it does not take into consideration the fact that “life” in John’s writings always means eternal life, that it is for all believers (e.g., John 3:16, 36; 5:24; 10:28; 17:3; 1 John 3:14–15; 5:11–13). It never refers to future life as a special reward distinct from eternal life.

A third problem with this interpretation is its proposed definitions of the nature of the blessing. Ross, for example, believes that eating from the tree will be a reminder of both “God’s provision” and the overcomers’ “need for continued dependence” on God.[45] However, are not these concepts (“God’s provision” and the “need of continued dependence”) true of all the saved? Why then is there need for a sharp distinction between two classes of Christians? Others of this persuasion believe that eating of the tree represents “fellowship.”[46] Again, it is difficult to see why this idea cannot apply to all believers (cf. 1 Cor. 1:9; 2 Cor. 13:14; Phil. 2:1; 1 John 1:3, etc.). In fact, it is unlikely that fellowship is the purpose (or meaning) of eating from the tree since the parallel passage in Ezekiel 47:12 states clearly that the fruit of the tree is for “food” (i.e., nourishment or enjoyment).

With many expositors,[47] this writer believes that the promise of eating from the tree consists of both an enjoyment of life in its grandest realization and a picture of living forever in the New Jerusalem. It is a blessing to be enjoyed by all the redeemed. Twelve lines of evidence support this explanation.

First, the tree of life in Revelation 2:7 looks back to Genesis 2:9 (cf. Gen. 3:22, 24) and looks forward to Revelation 22:2, 14, 19. The implication of this connection is clear: Sin barred human beings from the tree of life, and overcoming sin restores their right to eat from the tree and thus to “live forever” (cf. Gen. 3:22).[48] This truth applies to all believers.

Second, in ancient Jewish writings, the blessing the tree of life signified was immortality, which all saints have (T. Levi 18:10, 11a; 1 Enoch 24:3–5; 2 Ezra 2:10–13).

Third, eating of the tree of life, as noted previously, is synonymous with enjoying eternal life (Rev. 22:1–2, 17).

Fourth, this harmonizes with statements elsewhere in Scripture about all believers enjoying eternal life (John 3:16, 36; 5:24; 6:47; 11:25–26; 20:31; 1 John 5:13; Rev. 2:10–11; 7:17; 21:6; 22:17) and enjoying the tree of life (Rev. 2:7; 22:2, 14, 19).

Fifth, it is more natural to see the promises to the overcomer in the context (Rev. 2–3; 21:6–7) as common privileges belonging to all the saved. For example no believer will be hurt by the second death (2:11; 20:6);[49] none have their names erased from the book of life (3:5); all will be clothed in white garments (3:5; 19:8); all will be spared from the hour of testing (3:10);[50] and all will drink of the water of life (7:17; 21:6–7; 22:17). Thus it is reasonable to understand that the promise to the overcomers in Ephesus is also a common blessing for all believers. It seems wrong for the provision of the tree of life to be an exception to the overall context by being limited to a special class of Christians.

Sixth, from Revelation 22:14 all the redeemed partake of the tree of life for several reasons. (a) In this reference (22:14b), access to the tree is linked with admission into the city. The Lord will admit all the saved within the gates. Since this is so, it would be only natural to assume that partaking of the tree is for all the redeemed as well.[51]

(b) The reference in verse 14a to “those who wash their robes” fits well with the consideration that all the saved will partake of the tree of life.

When the Apocalypse refers to garments, it never refers to a group with unwashed or unclean robes receiving any of God’s blessing. Those admitted into His presence are clad in washed garments (7:14); have not soiled their (spiritual) garments (3:4; 16:15); [and] will walk with Christ in white linen (3:5; 7:9; 19:8).[52]

Some suggest that the clause “those who wash their robes” refers to only some saints who will enjoy this reward.[53] However, it is preferable to see this as a figure depicting the exercise of faith in Christ, by whom all believers are thereby cleansed. Their robes are washed by the blood of the Lamb (7:14), and Christ released them by His blood (1:5). By personal faith, all the redeemed wash their robes and receive clean robes of righteousness eternally (19:7–9). So all believers have the right to the tree of life and may enter the eternal city.

(c) Some point to another reading of 22:14a—“those who do His commandments,”[54] rather than “those who wash their robes”—to support the view that only some Christians (those who faithfully obey the Lord) will enjoy access to the tree of life. However, even if this reading were accepted it too would support the interpretation that all the saved are referred to. This is because the verse looks at the general lifestyle and customary trend of the saved, namely, a life of obedience that expresses one’s faith in the Lord.[55] This understanding is consistent with other passages both in the Apocalypse (1:3, 9; 3:8, 10; 6:9; 12:17; 14:12; 20:4; 22:7, 9) and in the rest of Scripture (e.g., Pss. 37:27–34; 103:18; Ezek. 18:19, 21; Dan. 9:4; Matt. 19:17; Luke 8:15; 11:28; John 8:31, 51; 14:15, 23; 15:10; 1 John 2:3–6; 3:24; 5:2–3) that state that keeping God’s commands is a hallmark of all believers. “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me” (John 10:27).

(d) Μακάριος (“blessed”) occurs six times elsewhere in Revelation and seems each time to apply to all the saved (1:3; 14:13; 16:15; 19:9; 20:6; 22:7).[56] It makes good sense, then, for μακάριος in 22:14 also to apply to all believers.

Seventh, according to Revelation 22:19 a person who misses out on the tree of life is also viewed as not having any part in the New Jerusalem itself (i.e., he will not even be in the city, since he is unsaved). The natural conclusion then is apparent: The person who receives admission to the city also receives access to the tree of life.

Eighth, even the meaning of the healing leaves (22:2) is consistent with the preferred interpretation. As already noted, the leaves could be either a symbol of God’s past healing in His redemptive work, or a symbol of the concept of health, soundness, or spiritual wholeness in Christ. The leaves may also mean spiritual service or care and their purpose may be to minister to or serve the inhabitants of the New Jerusalem as they serve God (v. 3). Any one of these explanations is reasonable; and each one applies to all believers. Further, since the blessing of the leaves is for all the inhabitants of the city (v. 2), it is valid to see the blessing of the fruit as also being for all the redeemed. Access to one privilege of the tree implies access to the other.

Ninth, the overall flow of Revelation 21–22 demands a correlation of the various aspects of reward to all the saved (see, e.g., 21:3–7). These verses do not mention a single aspect of blessedness that cannot apply through grace to all believers.

Tenth, the contrast in the immediate context (22:14–15; 22:19; cf. 2:5, 7), in the wider context of chapters 21–22 (cf. chaps. 2–3),[57] and in the book as a whole, is between those who overcome and those who practice abomination and lying (21:27; cf. 21:7–8). The former will enjoy all the blessings (v. 7) of the new heavens and the new earth as the sons of God. The latter will find their part in the lake that burns with brimstone and fire (v. 8). In view of this, it is logical to see the tree of life as a reward for all believers. The distinction in the overall context of the Book of Revelation seems to be not between two different classes of believers but between the saved and the lost.

Eleventh, the preferred view is supported by the principle of the analogy of faith. According to Ezekiel 47:12 a tree with the same basic description and function as the tree of life in Revelation will exist in the messianic age and will not be limited to a special group of kingdom saints. Similarly the tree of life in the eternal state will most likely not be limited to a special group of believers either. This analogy seems valid because the same group of believers and the same sort of tree are in view in both places. Consequently it seems illogical to assert that a portion of those saints who have already enjoyed the tree in the kingdom age will be excluded from the tree in the New Jerusalem.

Twelfth, the preferred interpretation is consonant with intertestamental literature. For instance the idea that the person who receives admission to paradise also receives access to the tree is found in 2 Enoch 8–9; the Testament of Levi 18:10, 11; 2 Ezra 2:1–13; and others. The fact that in eternity the distinction is between the saved and the lost rather than two classes of believers is stated in 2 Enoch 8–10. According to these chapters only two options are open: paradise “for the righteous” (9:1) and “a very frightful place” for “those who do not glorify God” (10:1, 4). This reference in the rabbinic literature lends support to the preferred view, for the initial readers of the Apocalypse who were familiar with rabbinic tradition (at least the Jewish readers) would more likely have identified the overcomer in Revelation 2:7 with the “righteous” in 2 Enoch 8–9. They would have understood that admission into the city includes the enjoyment of the fruit and that the final contrast in eternity is between believers and unbelievers.

Thus it seems preferable to conclude that the blessing of eating from the tree of life is a blessing to be enjoyed by all believers.

Summary

In the message to the church at Ephesus the Lord promised believers that they will eat of the tree of life in the paradise of God. The blessing Christ promised here is referred to first in the Garden of Eden, was denied to Adam and Eve because of sin, has been anticipated by saints and prophets of all ages, and will ultimately be restored and realized in the new heavens and the new earth. The tree in the eternal city will be a literal, physical tree intended by God to depict the fullness of eternal life and to teach eternally the lesson that the life God gives is the source of fruit, and fruit is the very product of that life (Rev. 22:2). The healing leaves on the tree will minister to or serve the saints as they serve God. The eating from the tree is an enjoyment of life in its grandest realization and it depicts eternal life in the New Jerusalem. That this reward is promised to all the redeemed is indicated consistently by twelve lines of biblical and extrabiblical evidence.[58]

Addendum

Ezekiel 47:12	Revelation 22:1–2
1. A river	1. A river
2. Tree on both banks	2. Tree on both banks
3. Fruit each month	3. Fruit each month
4. Fruit for food	4. Fruit for food (cf. 2:7)
5. Leaves for healing	5. Leaves for healing

This correspondence between the two accounts does not mean, however, that the references in view are the same. The river in Revelation 22:1 is coming from the throne of God in the New Jerusalem, whereas the river in Ezekiel 47:12 is flowing from the sanctuary in old Jerusalem. In addition, Revelation 22 is speaking of eternity after the millennium, whereas Ezekiel 47 is talking about the messianic age of the millennium itself. The difference between the two accounts is further indicated by several contrasts.

Ezekiel 40–48	Revelation 21–22
1. Temple (chaps. 40–46)	1. No temple (21:22)
2. Sea (47:8, 10)	2. No sea (21:1)
3. Death (chaps. 40–46)	3. No death (21:4)

 In view of this, it is best to conclude that the two accounts are different.

Notes

1. Striking similarities exist between Ezekiel 47:12 and Revelation 22:1–2. (See Addendum above)
2. Among those who hold this view are F. F. Bruce, “Revelation,” in International Bible Commentary, ed. F. F. Bruce (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1979), 1627; R. H. Charles, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Revelation of St. John, International Critical Commentary (Edinburgh: Clark, 1920), 1:54–55; J. M. Ford, Revelation, Anchor Bible (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1975), 391; Philip E. Hughes, The Book of the Revelation of John (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1990), 38; George E. Ladd, A Commentary on the Revelation of John (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1972), 286; and Robert H. Mounce, The Book of Revelation, New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1977), 90.
3. Among those who hold this view are Paul E. Bartlett, “The Tree of Life” (Th.M. thesis, Dallas Theological Seminary, 1974), 7; Richard R. Benedict, “The Use of ΝΛΚΑΩ in the Letters to the Seven Churches of Revelation” (Th.M. thesis, Dallas Theological Seminary, 1966), 7; James R. Brady, “The Tree of Life: An Exegetical and Theological Study of the Old Testament Motif” (Th.M. thesis, Dallas Theological Seminary, 1982), 18; Henry M. Morris, The Revelation Record (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale, 1983), 465; William R. Newell, The Book of the Revelation (Chicago: Moody, 1955), 42; Charles C. Ryrie, Revelation (Chicago: Moody, 1968), 119; and John F. Walvoord, The Revelation of Jesus Christ (Chicago: Moody, 1966), 330.
4. Examples include the fact that the city is distinguished from the redeemed (Rev. 21:24–27; 22:2–5); the new heavens and the new earth are evidently as literal as the old; details about size and other matters suggest that the city is literal; and since Christ and the inhabitants will exist literally in glorified bodies, the city must be literal also.
5. A third view suggests that the tree represents a special reward for some believers, distinct from eternal life that all the redeemed have. Since this explanation relates more to the question of the recipients of the tree of life blessing, it will be discussed later.
6. Charles Brütsch, Die Offenbarung Jesu Christi, Zürcher Bibelkommentare (Zurich: Zwingli, 1970), 1:127; Charles H. Giblin, The Book of Revelation, Good News Studies (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical, 1991), 54; Colin J. Hemer, The Letters to the Seven Churches of Asia in Their Local Setting (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic, 1989), 44, 51, 55; Irenaeus, Against Heresies 5.17.3 (Irenaeus said the cross as the tree of life contrasts with the tree of knowledge of good and evil, through which the human race fell in sin); and Richard Roberts, “The Tree of Life (Rev. ii. 7),” Expository Times 25 (1913–14): 332.
7. Hemer, The Letters to the Seven Churches of Asia in Their Local Setting, 42.
8. Ibid., 43.
9. Ibid.
10. Ibid.
11. Ibid. Other interpreters who, though not holding to the cross view, take ξύλον in Revelation 2:7; 22:2, 14, 19 to mean “wood” (Paul Billerbeck, Die Briefe das Neuen Testaments und die Offenbarung Johannis [Munich: Beck, 1926], 792; Rudolf Dameran, Die Offenbarung des Johannes [Marburg: By the author, 1984], 3:142; and Eduard Lohse, Die Offenbarung des Johannes, Das Neue Testament Deutsch [Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1983], 26, 111).
12. Roberts, “The Tree of Life (Rev. ii.7),” 332.
13. Hemer, The Letters to the Seven Churches of Asia in Their Local Setting, 44.
14. Ibid., and Roberts, “The Tree of Life,” 332.
15. Hemer, The Letters to the Seven Churches of Asia in Their Local Setting, 51.
16. Ibid.
17. Ibid., 55.
18. Ibid., 44, 51, 55; cf. Giblin, The Book of Revelation, 54.
19. Hemer, The Letters to the Seven Churches of Asia in Their Local Setting, 44, 51, 55.
20. Παραδείσος derives from a Persian word describing a pleasure garden and park with wild animals built for Persian kings (Edward Robinson, A Greek and English Lexicon of the New Testament [New York: Harper & Brothers, 1880], 616). It occurs in the Septuagint in Genesis 2:8, 15; 3:23–24 in the expression “the Garden of Eden.” It occurs also in reference to the Jordan Valley, which was well watered “like the garden of the Lord” (Gen. 13:10; cf. Joel 2:3). The term is also used of any stately garden in prophetic and wisdom literature (cf. Jer. 29:5; Eccles. 2:5; Song of Sol. 4:13). In later Judaism the term is used to portray the abode of the righteous dead in the interim period (cf. Apoc. Abr. 21:6; Apoc. Mos. 37:5; 1 Enoch 60:7, 23; 61:12; 70:4; 2 Enoch 9:1) as well as the abode of the blessed in the future kingdom of God (Apoc. Mos. 13; 2 Enoch 65:9; 4 Ezra 7:36; 8:52). Παραδείσος is used three times in the New Testament (Luke 23:43; 2 Cor. 12:4; Rev. 2:7). These references show that it is “a name for the abode of God, a permanent home of the redeemed with Christ” (Robert L. Thomas, Revelation 1–7: An Exegetical Commentary [Chicago: Moody, 1992], 152). Thus what was originally a garden of delight (Gen. 2:9) has taken on the connotation of the new heavens and the new earth (Rev. 2:7; 22:2). The beauty and satisfaction of such a future home with God gave the Ephesians an incentive to overcome by heeding the words of Christ.
21. Henry G. Liddell, Robert Scott, and Henry S. Jones, A Greek-English Lexicon (Oxford: Clarendon, 1985), 1192.
22. James H. Moulton and George Milligan, The Vocabulary of the Greek Testament Illustrated from the Papyri and Other Non-Literary Sources (1930; reprint, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1949), 434–35.
23. J. Schneider, “ξύλον,” in Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, ed. Gerhard Kittel and Gerhard Friedrich (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1967), 5:37.
24. Flor 2.152, 4; Lille 1.5, 58; Oxy 4.729, 33; 12.1421, 4; 14.1631, 9; Petr 2.39, 7; Tebt 2.5131; 5.205.
25. Cf. Idomeneus (7165); Plotinus (6.7.11); Pollianus (7175).
26. Schneider, “ξύλον,” 5:37–38.
27. John’s other uses of the Septuagint in the context include Revelation 2:27, which includes a citation from Psalm 2:8–9, and Revelation 20:8, which alludes to Ezekiel 39:1. These examples seem to lend support to this consideration.
28. George R. Beasley-Murray, The Book of Revelation, New Century Bible (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1992), 80; Isbon T. Beckwith, The Apocalypse of John (New York: Macmillan, 1919), 451; Friedrich Bleek, Vorlesungen über die Apokalypse (Berlin: George Reimer, 1862), 169; Bruce, “Revelation,” 1627; Jean de Monléon, Le Sens Mystique de Apocalypse (Paris: Nouvelle Editions Latines, 1984), 42; Friedrich H. Düsterdiek, Die Offenbarung des Johannis (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1887), 136–37; Jacques Ellul, L’Apocalypse, architecture en mouvement (Paris: Desclée, 1975), 128; William Hendricksen, More than Conquerors (London: Tyndale, 1962), 63; Ernst W. Hengstenberg, Die Offenbarung des heiligen Johannes (Berlin: Ludwig Oehmigke, 1850), 1:134; Hughes, The Book of the Revelation, 38; Ladd, A Commentary on the Revelation of John, 41; R. C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation of St. John’s Revelation (Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1963), 94–95; Lohse, Die Offenbarung des Johannes, 26; Hanns Lilje, Das Letzte Buch der Bibel (Hamburg: Furche-Verlag, 1955), 75; Mounce, Revelation, 90; Ulrich B. Müller, Die Offenbarung des Johannes, Ökumenischer Taschenbuchkommentar zum Neuen Testament (Würzburg: Echter-Verlag, 1984), 104; Newell, The Book of Revelation, 42; Jürgen Roloff, Die Offenbarung des Johannes, Zürcher Bibelkommentare, N.T. (Zurich: Theologischer, 1984), 51; Ryrie, Revelation, 23; Klemes Stock, Das Letzte Wort hat Gott: Apokalypse als Frohbotschaft (Vienna: Tyrolia-Verlag, 1985), 147; John R. W. Stott, What Christ Thinks of the Church (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1972), 34; Thomas, Revelation 1–7: An Exegetical Commentary, 152; Richard C. Trench, Commentary on the Epistles to the Seven Churches in Asia (London: Parker, Son, and Bourn, 1861), 92; Berhard Weiss, Das Neue Testament (Leipzig: Hinrichs, 1907), 2:396; Alfred Wikenhauser, Die Offenbarung des Johannes, Regensburger Neues Testament (Regensburg: Friedrich Pustet, 1959), 38; and others.
29. Harold H. Rowley, The Faith of Israel: Aspect of Old Testament Thought (London: SCM, 1956), 155.
30. In John even the verb ζάω refers to living eternally in all except four instances (John 4:50, 51, 53; Rev. 13:14). Cf. Jesus Luzaraga, “Eternal Life in the Johannine Writings,” Communio 18 (1991): 24-34.
31. Surely in eternity the saints will show forth the fruit of the Spirit in unprecedented abundance.
32. S. H. Hook, “Tree of Life,” in Dictionary of the Bible, ed. James Hastings (New York: Scribner’s Sons, 1963), 1013.
33. B. S. Childs, “The Tree of Life,” in Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible, ed. George A. Buttrick (Nashville: Abingdon, 1962), 4:696; and Paul Watson, “The Tree of Life,” Restoration Quarterly 23 (1980): 236.
34. Mounce, The Book of Revelation, 387; and Walvoord, The Revelation of Jesus Christ, 330.
35. Leon Morris, The Book of Revelation, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1987), 249.
36. Mounce, The Book of Revelation, 387.
37. Morris, The Revelation Record, 466; and Henry B. Swete, The Apocalypse of St. John (London: Macmillan, 1906), 296.
38. Walter Bauer, William F. Arndt, and F. William Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 2d ed., rev. F. William Gingrich and Frederick W. Danker (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1979), 359.
39. Liddell, Scott, and Jones, A Greek-English Lexicon, 792–93.
40. Donald G. Barnhouse, Messages to the Seven Churches (Philadelphia: Eternity Book Service, 1953), 38; Benedict, “The Use of ΝΛΚΑΩ in the Letters to the Seven Churches,” 11; Harlan D. Betz, “The Nature of Rewards at the Judgment Seat of Christ” (Th.M. thesis, Dallas Theological Seminary, 1974), 38; Brady, “The Tree of Life,” 52; Joseph C. Dillow, The Reign of the Servant Kings (Miami Springs, FL: Schoettle, 1992), 554–55; and William R. Ross Jr., “An Analysis of the Rewards and Judgments in Revelation 2 and 3” (Th.M. thesis, Dallas Theological Seminary, 1971), 14.
41. Brady, “The Tree of Life,” 52.
42. Benedict, “The Use of ΝΛΚΑΩ in the Letters to the Seven Churches,” 11.
43. Barnhouse, Messages to the Seven Churches, 138; and Dillow, The Reign of the Servant Kings, 554.
44. Walvoord, The Revelation of Jesus Christ, 59.
45. Ross, “An Analysis of the Rewards and Judgments in Revelation 2 and 3, ” 16.
46. Brady, “The Tree of Life,” 55; and Dillow, The Reign of the Servant Kings, 555.
47. Beasley-Murray, The Book of Revelation, 78–79; Bleek, Vorlesungen über die Apokalypse, 169; Ellul, L’Apocalypse, architecture en mouvement, 128; Hengstenberg, Die Offenbarung des heiligen Johannes, 1:134; Ladd, A Commentary on the Revelation of John, 41; Tim LaHaye, Revelation (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1975), 28; I. Howard Marshall, Kept by the Power of God (Minneapolis: Bethany, 1975), 187–88, n. 4; Newell, The Book of Revelation, 42, 52; Roloff, Die Offenbarung des Johannes, 51; J. J. Ross, Pearls from Patmos (New York: Revell, 1923), 186; James E. Rosscup, “The Overcomer of the Apocalypse,” Grace Theological Journal 3 (Fall, 1982): 277-78; Ryrie, Revelation, 22–23; Thomas, Revelation 1–7: An Exegetical Commentary, 152; Walvoord, The Revelation of Jesus Christ, 59, Weiss, Das Neue Testament, 2:396; and Wikenhauser, Die Offenbarung des Johannes, 38; and many others.
48. Hughes, The Book of the Revelation, 38; Michael J. Marx, “The Tree of Life,” Worship 27 (1953): 185; Mounce, The Book of Revelation, 90; J. B. Smith, A Commentary on the Book of Revelation (Scottdale, PA: Herald, 1961), 65; Thomas, Revelation 1–7, 153; Walvoord, The Revelation of Jesus Christ, 59; and Wikenhauser, Die Offenbarung des Johannes, 38.
49. The second death will have no power over believers (Rev. 20:6).
50. See discussion on Revelation 3:10 in Daniel K. K. Wong, “The Johannine Concept of the Overcomer” (Th.D. diss., Dallas Theological Seminary, 1995), 153–55.
51. Rosscup, “The Overcomer of the Apocalypse,” 277.
52. Ibid.
53. Benedict, “The Use of ΝΛΚΑΩ in the Letters to the Seven Churches,” 10–11; Dillow, The Reign of the Servant Kings, 554; and Robert Govett, Govett on Revelation (Miami Spring, FL: Conley & Shoettle, 1981), 85.
54. This reading appears in the Textus Receptus; uncial 046; several minuscules; and Old Latin, Syriac, and Coptic (Bohairic) versions.
55. Rosscup, “The Overcomer of the Apocalypse,” 277.
56. For example in Revelation 1:3 happiness is pledged to the person who reads (an individual) and those who hear and keep (a group) what is written in the prophecy. In 20:6 blessing is promised to one who has a part in the first resurrection and over him the second death has no power.
57. For discussion on the spiritual condition of the readers of the seven letters see Wong, “The Johannine Concept of the Overcomer,” 157–81.
58. The findings of this study that all the saved are overcomers and that all true believers will have a share in the blessings of the tree of life raise a question: Will all believers receive the same degree of reward in eternity? The answer is no. Though believers all share the blessing of salvation, they differ in the extent to which they are victorious in the battles of the Christian life. For that reason, God, who knows all things (John 21:17), will discern how best to suit rewards to each believer. Future rewards will vary for different Christians. For further discussion see Wong, “The Johannine Concept of the Overcomer,” 288–92.