22 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 2 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. 3 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. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 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 for ever and ever.
And so the age-long preparation began. God spoke. He made the first overtures of friendship. He came to man, at sundry times and in divers manners, speaking to the fathers by the prophets, by shadow, by suggestion, by type and illustration, speaking to them in the darkness, reassuring their hearts that one great, glad day all would once again be well, creating faith and hope in their hearts. A new kind of light, a new kind of sight came to them - the insight of faith, and by this they began to learn to walk. They saw - but not as they once did - but this was a sure token and promise that once again they would. Thus the 'suggestions' to faith throughout the time of preparation. Eden's river of life was 'echoed' again in the wilderness, when water came forth from the rock. Rivers in dry places were promised through the prophets, and soon there arose an unbearable longing in man's heart for final healing. And in the fullness of the time Jesus came, the Light of the World. But full healing is not yet, even in the coming of Christ; we walk by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). The reconciliation is effected in His death and resurrection and the estrangement annulled - but only in the word of promise. The great Swiss theologian, Emil Brunner, writes in this connection: 'Forgiveness does not cancel the actual effects of sin. The ruin which began with sin still takes its course, even where the guilt of sin has been forgiven.... The roots of sin have not been eradicated. Living fellowship with God has been promised to him, and in this promise it is present in the Word; but it is not yet present in power.... The real working out of the new life which has taken place in Christ is more a foretaste and a suggestion than an actual effect. Therefore the Christian remains above all one who hopes'.