ATTENTION: Please note that this is The Adult Sunday School Lesson, Tree of Life aka Water of Life, on Revelation 22:1-9 or 22 :1-9, 13-17 respectively for the 5-29-11 International Sunday School Lesson. You will find the 5-22-11 lesson, All Things New aka New Order of Things, directly beneath this message and on the right side.
Jed
Tree of Life
or
Water of Life
Revelation 22:1-9
or
Revelation 22:1-9, 13-17
International Sunday School Lesson
May 29, 2011
Commentary
By
Jed Greenough
“The wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight.” We know this from the beginning when in Eve’s mind after listening to the serpent she thought that if she partook of the Tree of Good and Evil she would gain wisdom. Since that time man has been hungry and thirsty. Since that time the choice has been cause for pain and toil.
What will life be like in heaven? We have often heard or asked that question and question whether there will literally be such things as a river of the water of life or streets like gold.
What we should know with certainty however is that it will be paradise. That is the meaning according to The Strongest NIV Exhaustive Concordance of the Greek word for heaven used in the New Testament and it comes from the base word for garden.
Before there was that wrong choice in the original garden there was none of this life threatening hunger and thirst that runs rampant in the world today. Adam and Eve were cared for, God provided all their sustenance.
In heaven we can be certain that it will be the complete opposite of what we and all those who went before have gone through. In heaven God will again provide all the sustenance we need. No one will hunger in all the ways that that means and no one will thirst in all the ways that that means.
If you are a Christian, do you already feel that you are partaking? But if you are like me there is still a hunger and thirst isn’t there? There is a hunger and thirst for righteousness, a hunger and thirst for people to know God, to accept Jesus as His son and our savior, a hunger and thirst that God will be glorified and a hunger and thirst to be with Him.
Ephesians 3 says that God’s love surpasses our ability to understand. If God’s love surpasses our ability to understand that does leave us with one very important idea that we can grasp. That is that there is more than enough love to go around. Therefore we need to share this good news of the gospel with as many as we can so that they too will partake of the free gift of the water of life!
Shall We Gather At the River?
Words and music by Robert Lowry, 1864
Shall we gather at the river,
Where bright angel feet have trod,
With its crystal tide forever
Flowing by the throne of God?
Refrain
Yes, we’ll gather at the river,
The beautiful, the beautiful river;
Gather with the saints at the river
That flows by the throne of God.
On the margin of the river,
Washing up its silver spray,
We will talk and worship ever,
All the happy golden day.
Refrain
Ere we reach the shining river,
Lay we every burden down;
Grace our spirits will deliver,
And provide a robe and crown.
Refrain
At the smiling of the river,
Mirror of the Savior’s face,
Saints, whom death will never sever,
Lift their songs of saving grace.
Refrain
Soon we’ll reach the silver river,
Soon our pilgrimage will cease;
Soon our happy hearts will quiver
With the melody of peace.
Refrain
For Discussion:
1. Find scriptures in the Bible relating to the water of life.
2. Find scriptures in the Bible relating to the tree of life.
3. Two of the seven beatitudes to be found within the book of Revelation are located in this the 22nd chapter.
4. Did you sing the song Deep and Wide in your youth?
5. Read the Invitation to the Thirsty, Isaiah 55.
6. Discuss among the class the images that they have in their minds of what all this will look like.
7. Discuss the ways that one “keeps the words of the prophecy in this book.”
8. If the tree and river are figurative, discuss different ideas for what they can stand for.
9. Discuss how exciting and wonderful it will be to see God’s face from verse 4. Some may think that there are instances where someone saw God but in those cases they were only representations of Him, for no one can see God and live.
6-05-11: God’s Promises Fulfilled (God Keeps His Promises) Joshua 1:1b-6; 11:16-19, 21-23 or Joshua 1:1-6; 11:16-23 respectively.
6-12-11: God Has Expectations (God Expects Obedience) Joshua 1:7-16 or Joshua 1:7-18
6-19-11: God Protects (God Protects His People) Joshua 2:2-9, 15-16, 22-24
6-26-11: God is Victorious (God Gives Victory) Joshua 6:2-3, 4b, 12-20 or Joshua 6:2-4, 12-20
Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved
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