Revelation 22 - Lake Erie Bible Church

Chapter 22
Lake Erie Bible Church
P-T Ken Reed
THE REVELATION TO JOHN
36. Actually, both views are correct as it continues the thought of vs.1 and introduces the
thought of vs.2.
37. The prepositional phrase functions as a conjunction bridging the fact that both the
river of life in vs.1 and the tree of life in vs.2 are both located in the middle of its
street.
38. The street in view is the same boulevard made of pure gold mentioned in 21:21.
39. As noted in that verse, the street is symbolic as to the way of salvation by Divine
design.
40. Concerning eternal life, we note that the way of salvation would lead one to God,
Jesus Christ and eternal life as well as salvation finding its ultimate source from all
combined.
41. While the river beautifully adorns the street’s median, we see additional elements
complimenting both its beauty and symbolism, “And on either side of the river was
the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month”.
42. That the tree of life is directly associated with the river of life is apropos as both are
symbolic of eternal life.
43. The phrase “on either side ” is literally in the Greek, “from this place and from that
place” and is correctly understood as being on both banks of the river.
44. What has stumped many interpreters is that the tree of life is a singular, yet is seen
growing in at least two places.
45. Ecologically, the mystery is unraveled with understanding of the Aspen tree, native to
North America and other parts of the world.
46. This deciduous tree is of the Salicales family and Populus genus with many varieties.
47. Most in the U.S. grow up 20–100 feet in height, but some of the giant poplars such as
the black cottonwood are known to reach 200 feet with a diameter of 7-8 feet.
48. One of the unique features of the Aspen is its root system that is extensive and often
encompasses large areas.
49. From the primary seedling/tree, lateral roots spread out producing sprouts with
vertical sinker roots with depths of 5 feet or more.
50. This produces a multitude of surface Aspen trees called a “stand”.
51. This collection of multiple stems, called ramets, all form one single, genetic
individual, usually termed a clone.
52. Literally thousands of Aspens can be the result of one “stand”.
53. The Pando tree a.k.a. the Trembling Giant is a clonal colony of a single male Quaking
Aspen (Populus tremuloides) located in Utah, USA.
54. With some debate, this particular Aspen is both the oldest and heaviest known living
organism in existence weighing collectively some 6000 tonnes/metric tons (13.2
million pounds).
55. The size of the Pando encompasses 107 acres and has around 47,000 trunks
56. After fires in areas of Aspen stands, the Aspen often resurfaces dominating the site
producing a new, even-aged stand within a decade.
57. Modern botanists now recognize the Aspen stand with its single root system as being
literally one tree.
58. Using the Aspen as a frame of reference, we can now visualize “one” tree of life that
appears in a multiplicity of locations.
4