Revelation 21:10, 22—22:5 (NRSV)
Read Revelation 21:10, 22—22:5 on biblegateway.com
Verse 10And in the spirit he carried me away to a great, high mountain and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God. Verse 22I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. Verse 23And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb. Verse 24The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. Verse 25Its gates will never be shut by day-and there will be no night there. Verse 26People will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. Verse 27But nothing unclean will enter it, nor anyone who practices abomination or falsehood, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life.
Chapter 22Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb Verse 2through the middle of the street of the city. On either side of the river is the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. Verse 3Nothing accursed will be found there any more. But the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him; Verse 4they will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. Verse 5And there will be no more night; they need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.
Devotion
And in the Spirit he carried me away. Wow! The magnificence of this vision amazes me. I see the river of the water of life with the tree of life on either side yielding fruit for every month. I see the leaves on the tree of life, leaves for the healing of the nations. This vision into another dimension of God's realm highlights the great need of the realm in which we live today: the healing of the nations.
Here and now displaced persons need homes. Here and now diseases need a cure. Here and now weapons need to be turned into productive tools. Here and now lonely people need friends. Here and now those in prison need visitors. Here and now we need each other as siblings in a beloved world community, all created in God's image. Here and now all the nations—indeed all of us—need healing.
Prayer
Glorious God, in your gracious care you desire the healing of the nations. Keep that vision before us and make us instruments of your healing grace in all our relationships. Amen.