Revelation 22:1-5 - Eternity Meets the Present: Living Now in God's Reign and Presence

Imagine an architect begins renovating your neighborhood, and you’ve seen the stunning model of what’s to come: lush gardens and light-filled homes in  a thriving community. But instead of staying, you sell your home and move to a broken, crumbling city.

That’s what we do when we forget that Jesus is reigning and dwelling with us. We retreat into isolated and defeatist lives, even though God’s presence is already breaking in. But what if the future reality of the new heavens and new earth reshaped how we live, personally and together, in all our relationships whether in our neighborhoods or church?

Revelation 22:1–5 gives us a vision of a glorious and very real, physical future: God’s people, in God’s place, under God’s rule and blessing forever. It’s the final chapter of God’s redemptive plan, where everything broken is healed, everything dark is illuminated, and God’s presence fills His people.

This vision was given to the apostle John while exiled on the island of Patmos to encourage persecuted churches to remain faithful. It’s apocalyptic, which means it is full of imagery and promise, not to confuse us, but to anchor us in hope.

Though we may not face persecution like they did, we are tempted to live as if this world is all there is. But the truth is: Christ reigns now. He has made His dwelling with us now. And that should change everything.

It means we don’t live as isolated, powerless individuals. We are God’s people, filled with His Spirit, placed into His church to be His temple in the world. The rivers of living water that flow from His throne now flow through us, bringing healing, joy, and light to our homes, our church, and our neighborhoods.

You’ll want to listen closely today because this isn’t just about where we’re going when we die, but about how we live now. God’s Word is showing us not just our future, but our present calling, to be a people where heaven is already breaking in.

Let’s listen carefully and expectantly to the Word of the Lord from Revelation 22:1–5.

Revelation 22:1–5 ESV

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, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.

From this text and the rest of Scripture we see that…

God promises to dwell with His people forever, beginning now

God has shown us what’s coming. Like an architect unveiling a model of the completed design, Revelation 22 gives us a stunning picture of our eternal home: a city filled with light, peace, joy, and the presence of God.

But this isn’t just a dream of some far off day. It’s a vision meant to shape how we live today.

Before we dive into the details of verses 1–5, let me give you the backdrop. This New Jerusalem has no temple, because God and the Lamb are its temple. It needs no sun or moon, because God’s glory is its light. There’s no night, no curse, no uncleanness. Only the redeemed dwell there. It’s the place where everything broken is healed. God’s people are in God’s place under His rule and blessing.

In these five verses, John gives us five images, each one overflowing with God’s glory and grace:

1) The River of Life (v. 1) flows clear as crystal from the throne of God and the Lamb. It reminds us that all life, joy, and sustenance come from Christ’s reigning presence. This river fulfills Ezekiel’s vision (ch. 47) and flows not from a temple made with hands, but from Christ Himself.

2) The Tree of Life (v. 2) with twelve kinds of fruit, always bears fruit for all God’s people, every tribe, and leaves for the healing of the nations. It echoes the Garden of Eden at the dawn of creation, but it’s better than when it was first created and better than after it was broken by humans. No longer is it guarded by a sword but it is freely offered to us because of the Lamb.

3) No More Curse (v. 3). The curse from Genesis 3 is reversed. In Christ, the ‘ban’, a term used in Israel’s conquest to describe what was devoted to utter destruction because of sin which we are under without Christ, is lifted from us, because He bore it for us on the cross. Now God’s people serve Him, not in fear, but in joy.

4) God’s Face and Name (v. 4) are now seen by us and placed upon us. We are given the ultimate blessing (Num. 6). His name is on our foreheads, like priests in Exodus, because we belong to Him. All of life becomes worship.

5) Eternal Light and Reign (v. 5) are now permanent. No night. No lamp. God is our light forever. And we reign with Him, fulfilling what Adam and Eve were meant to do, what Daniel foresaw, and what Jesus secured.

All of these images point to one great truth: God will dwell with His people.

And here’s what’s amazing, this is not only our future. It has begun now. As we saw a few weeks ago, in Ephesians 2:22, Paul wrote that we, the church, are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. This is not just individual indwelling but a corporate temple, already under construction.

So what does that mean? Over the past few weeks, we’ve seen what it means to live as God’s family. We’ve been reminded that we are no longer strangers but adopted children (Eph. 2), that our love for one another is our greatest witness (John 13), and that we are called to Spirit-formed devotion to God and each other (Acts 2). But where is all of this going? Revelation 22 shows us the end of the story, and the beginning of our eternal life together. This is the future we’re headed toward, and the present we’re called to reflect.

We can live now as if God is among us, because He is. We can worship, love, serve, and rule, not in our strength, but in His presence, which rushes out of us live rivers of fresh water, just as Jesus promised in John 7 when He was referring to the giving of the Spirit. The blueprint of the future is already shaping the construction of a beautiful life-giving river flowing from us into our world.

This is the life we were made for, perfect communion with God, unshakable joy, and freedom from the curse. But even though it’s true, even though this new creation has already begun in Christ by the Spirit in us…

We live as if God were distant, dwelling instead in idols, isolation, and fear

Why? Because we forget. We forget the blueprint. Or worse, we forget that the blueprint is meant to shape our lives now.

In verses 1–2, the river of life flows from the throne of God and the Lamb. But instead of receiving life from Christ by the Spirit which Jesus has given to us, we try to manufacture our own healing. We want to be the source, the savior, the one in control. We don’t want to share the throne, not with God, and certainly not with His people.

In verse 3, we’re told that the curse is gone and God’s people worship Him. But instead of resting in that finished work and delighting to worship God together with His people, we chase after cursed things. We worship idols, ourselves, our comfort, our plans, and reject communion with God's people.

In verse 4, we’re marked by God’s name and promised His face. But we don’t seek His face on a day-by-day and minute-by-minute basis. We live like spiritual orphans, baptized into God’s name, but blind to our Father's smile. We rarely look to see Jesus by faith.

In verse 5, God is our light and we reign with Him. But instead of seeking and living in his light, we prefer darkness. We don’t live in the light of Christ’s rule. We reign on our own terms. Pragmatic, self-reliant, and disconnected from one another.

Beneath all of this is one core problem: we doubt God's goodness. We don’t trust that He is working all things for our good, even the hard things in life. And so we drift from living in and from His presence.

Some of us chase pleasure and ignore eternity. Others want God’s blessings without God Himself. Some try to build God's kingdom through guilt and manipulation, forgetting that it’s God’s Spirit, not our striving, that brings new life.

What is so terrible about this is that we live as if the curse is still on us. As if Christ never rose from the dead and poured out His Spirit upon us.

But the good news is that…

Jesus bore our curse and dwelt among us so we could dwell with God in joy, both now and forever

The Lamb who is seated on the throne didn’t just design the blueprint of our salvation, He fulfilled it in His own body. He entered into our broken world, lived the life we failed to live, and died the death we deserved. He rose again, not just to promise us a better future, but to bring that future into the present.

In verse 1, we see the river of the water of life flowing from the throne of God and the Lamb. Why “Lamb”? Because Jesus is the once-for-all perfect sacrifice who bore the full weight of our rebellion and guilt, fulfilling all the types and ceremonies in the temple, being the lamb of God, the One who takes away the sins of the world.

In verse 2, we see the tree of life, its fruit never fails, and its leaves heal the nations. But must remember: this fruit is only ours because Jesus was hung on a tree in our place. His cross became the new tree of life. Because He was cut off, we are grafted in. Because He thirsted, we drink living water without price.

In verse 3, the curse is gone. Not ignored, not swept away, but dealt with in full. Jesus bore the curse, what the Old Testament calls “the ban,” utter destruction. He became the cursed one, hung on a tree (Gal. 3:13), so that we could be free. His resurrection is the proof of our freedom both now and forever: the curse is broken, and heaven is opened.

In verse 4, the people of God see His face. But remember: Jesus endured the hidden face of the Father so we could behold that glory. On the cross, He cried, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” so that we would never have to be forsaken. His name is now on our foreheads…we are marked, sealed, and claimed. No longer strangers, we are sons and daughters of the King.

In verse 5, there is no night, no lamp, and no sun because Jesus is our light. And yet, on the cross, darkness covered the earth. The Light of the World was snuffed out, for a moment, so that the dawn of eternal day could rise over us. Now, we reign with Him. Not later. Now. In part now, and in fullness forever.

Jesus is the presence of God with us. He left the glory of heaven not only to walk among us, but to dwell within us in our brokenness, so He could heal our brokenness, both now and forever. He is the true temple. The final sacrifice. The true light. The living water. The true Tree of Life. The One who reigns on the throne. He is the blessing of God upon us. He didn’t just cleanse us, He made us vessels of His Spirit, homes for His glory, channels of living water.

Do you know that blessing? Do you know that peace? Have you seen His face by faith? If not, you can today. Give Him your curse. Lay down your striving. Confess that Jesus is Lord. Believe that God raised Him from the dead, and you will dwell with Him, not just someday, but now.

But He didn’t stop there. Jesus didn’t just solve our problem and hand us a blueprint. He gave us His Spirit. Now the Spirit flows from His throne into our hearts, empowering us to live this new life today, at home, in the church, in our neighborhoods. We are signs and foretastes of the coming kingdom. Let the world see it: the Lamb has conquered. And He dwells with us. And because of this…

By the Spirit, we now live as God’s dwelling place—together showing the world His healing and reign

By the Spirit’s power, we can live now as if God truly dwells among us, because He does. His reign isn’t just a future promise. It’s a present reality. And that changes everything.

As we abide in Jesus, our Justifier and Sanctifier, we begin to live as those adopted into God’s covenant family. We no longer live for ourselves, but as dependent children, worshiping the Triune God and carrying His redemptive presence into the world. That’s what it means to live with a Redemptive Perspective as Kingdom Disciples. We live not just with heaven in view, but with heaven breaking in…now.

Instead of acting like we’re alone, the Spirit draws us together as God’s healed people, united under Christ’s reign. We do this because we have received a vision of heaven where together we worship God. Together we see His face. His name is on all our foreheads. Together we live in constant light. Jesus is all our light. And together we reign forever and ever. This is a vision of togetherness in the future and this extends to the present. And so, rather than clinging to comfort and isolation, we live as a family on mission: signs, foretastes, and instruments of the kingdom to come.

Instead of retreating from our cities and waiting for the world to wander into our churches, we go, empowered by the Spirit, not in our own strength to make disciples, baptizing them, and teaching them to obey all of Christ’s commands. We go as those who know the curse is being undone, the darkness is lifting, and rivers of living water are flowing through us.

We no longer live under the lie that we have nothing to offer. In reality, we carry the very thing that the world longs for: healing, peace, joy, and belonging. The Tree of Life is already growing fruit through the church. The River of Life flows from the throne of God and the Lamb who live in us, and we, His people, are its channels in the world.

What does it look like to have rivers of living water flow from us?

In our church, by the Spirit, we don’t have to live as isolated or powerless people who have nothing to offer this broken world. No, we’ll look for brokenness in our city and bring the healing of Christ’s presence to it together. We will love the outcasts, care for the broken and do so with delight because the Spirit empowers us,

In our families, we’ll reject passive isolation and invite neighbors and friends into the hope that lives within us. We’ll ask them to join us for a cookout, listen to their stories, taking genuine interest in them, and when things fall apart for them, which they do for all of us, we’ll be there for them offering hope and help by the Spirit.

In our workplaces, we won’t hide that we belong to Jesus. We’ll work as those marked by His name, bringing His light into the lives of those around us. Working diligently, not unto men, but unto God, showing the world a work ethic that transcends anything they have seen…diligence without slavery to money or promotions at the cost of our family or church, all by the Spirit’s power.

This is nothing less than a radical realignment of life under Christ’s reign. He is on the throne. He is working. And by His Spirit, we live today as citizens of the world to come which is breaking into the present.

So what now? What do we do in the coming weeks, months, and years while we wait for this ultimate consummation of God’s kingdom? We live the future now. We become a people of His presence. A community of healing, carriers of His light. We do this together, with Christ in our midst, so that the world might see and know His healing presence.

Brothers and sisters, we are not waiting to become God’s people, we are His people right now. Let’s go into our neighborhoods, schools, and workplaces as those who carry the light of Christ, the joy of the Spirit, and the healing that only the Lamb can give. The river is flowing. The tree is growing. The Lamb reigns. Let us live as citizens of the world to come, for our Triune God’s glory and the joy of the world.