In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
This verse comes from the very last chapter of the Bible, where the apostle John describes a vision of the New Jerusalem — a fully restored world that God creates at the end of time. At the center of this city flows a river, and lining both banks stands the tree of life. This is the same tree that appears at the very beginning of the Bible in Genesis, the one humanity was cut off from when sin entered the world. Here it returns, and it is abundantly productive — bearing twelve different crops, one for each month of the year, never running out. Most striking of all, even the leaves carry power: they bring healing to all the nations of the earth, suggesting a world finally free of division, sickness, and war.
God, the brokenness around me sometimes feels like it has the final word — in my body, in my closest relationships, in the world I watch every day. Thank you that your vision for what comes next is not survival but abundance. Give me enough hope in that reality to carry me through what feels broken today. Amen.
Think about a tree that is never bare — no off-season, no winter dormancy, no anxious waiting for spring. Twelve crops, one per month, endlessly and quietly producing. The tree of life in John's vision doesn't grow behind a locked gate or inside a restricted garden. It stands right along a city street, open and accessible. But what stops me is the detail about the leaves. Not the fruit — the leaves. The part of a tree we normally rake into bags and haul to the curb. Even those carry healing here. John seems to be insisting that in God's fully restored world, nothing is wasted. Not a single overlooked thing. You may be carrying something that feels permanently broken — a relationship that curdled years ago, a body that won't cooperate, a wound in your country or community so deep that no treaty or apology seems capable of reaching it. This verse doesn't minimize any of that. It doesn't promise a quick turnaround. But it does say: there is a healing coming that is vast enough to restore entire nations. Whatever fracture you are holding today, however stubborn or old it is, it does not get the final word. The final word is a tree, heavy with fruit, its leaves rustling with a restoration that no human hand could manufacture.
The tree of life appears at the very beginning of the Bible in Genesis and again here at the very end — what does that bookend tell you about what God has been working toward all along?
Is there a place in your own life where you are quietly hoping for healing but have nearly stopped expecting it? What would it mean to hold that hope again, even just a little?
The verse says the leaves heal 'the nations' — a collective, political healing, not just a personal one. What do you think that would actually look like in the world you live in today?
How might genuinely believing in an ultimate future restoration change the way you show up for someone in your life who is suffering right now, in a very ordinary and specific way?
What is one small, imperfect way you could be an instrument of healing — in a relationship, a conversation, or a community — before the week is out?
For I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith the LORD; because they called thee an Outcast, saying, This is Zion, whom no man seeketh after.
Jeremiah 30:17
And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
Genesis 2:9
Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.
John 4:10
And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine.
Ezekiel 47:12
And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.
Revelation 22:1
Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.
1 Peter 2:24
And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
Psalms 1:3
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.
Revelation 2:7
in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
AMP
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.
ESV
in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve [kinds of] fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
NASB
down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.
NIV
In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
NKJV
It flowed down the center of the main street. On each side of the river grew a tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, with a fresh crop each month. The leaves were used for medicine to heal the nations.
NLT
right down the middle of the street. The Tree of Life was planted on each side of the River, producing twelve kinds of fruit, a ripe fruit each month. The leaves of the Tree are for healing the nations.
MSG