Hope in this world is a dream. Our hopes in things like ‘a better New Year’ are always dashed. The last Chapters of Revelation, however, give us a more accurate picture of the future. One which is not based on hope or luck but where God will be with His people forever in the new heaven and will wipe away every tear from their eyes , because it is based on a person, Jesus Christ.

In this passage, we find an invitation for the ‘thirsty’ to drink from the spring of the ‘water of life’ … the forgiveness which comes without cost through faith in Jesus. All this is to encourage His followers to persevere and not give up. Those who are caught up in sin and unbelief cannot enter the new heaven and a terrible future awaits them. We are further given a picture of the new heaven as a city, the church, which is the ‘bride’ of Christ, reflecting his glory.

God and the Lamb, Jesus Christ, will, in this place, be the temple. In the city we are told there is the tree of life. This is a connection with the tree of life in the garden of Eden and a reminder of the cross, that tree of wood, where Jesus suffered and died as a sacrifice and substitute. Through Jesus Christ, God has reversed the curse of Adam’s failure and brought his people to the place where they will finally fulfill his purposes.