Last week we had a look at the Tree
of Life in Genesis. Today we want to have a look at the Tree of
Life in Revelation:
So let's continue and see what the
word life in the tree of life means in Revelation.
The New Testament was written in
Greek, and the Greek word for life is zoe.
According to the Strong's dictionary, it means:
"life real and genuine,
a life active and vigorous, devoted to God, blessed, the
portion even in this world of those who put their trust in Christ,
but after the resurrection to be consummated by new accessions
(among them a more perfect body), and to last
forever."4
Zoe is thus real and genuine life,
active and vigorous, accessible now already, lasting forever. To
me, it is thus the same life that was available in Genesis 2:9,
except that there are no more fences. God is presenting it again to
His beloved. He wants people close to Him, devoted to Him, adoring
Him, being blessed in the process, and experiencing the wonders of
the world to come.
As we shall see later in this book,
the fruit of the tree of life presented in Revelation is not for
all people though. It is a very interesting study, and we will have
a look at it. But for now, know that the word zoe is
mentioned an amazing 126 times in the New Testament according to
Strong's concordance. So the principle for us here is that this zoe
life is already available to us from Jesus's life until the here
and now as well as forevermore.
The New Testament often mentions
how we already have zoe life through His Spirit Who lives
within us. I believe God mentions it often so that we can
know that we are blessed and have part of this tree of
life in this world already if we put our trust in Christ and if we
are devoted to God. Isn't that just great news? We can experience
the fullness of what Adam and Eve experienced, but in an exciting
and different way. We can experience the world to come even though
we are still living here on earth. We can be focused on our eternal
life, already feeling it pulsating lively within. It is all
possible.
The two trees thus represent the
same life that we can receive from God. The fruit of both trees can
transport us to be part of His future world now already. The only
difference is that the tree of life in the New Testament doesn't
have a fence around it. We are free to enter in.
All of this is possible because of
what Jesus came to do for us.
(Excerpt from The Tree
of Life by Ilze Henderson)