Singapore is a tiny tropical island of just under 640 square kilometers. Despite its soaring skyscrapers, it remains one of the cleanest and greenest cities in the world. Visitors find out quickly why Singapore is known as the Garden City of the Tropics. East Coast Parkway, the road from the airport to the city center, is sheltered by a tree canopy. Singapore has set its vision to transform itself from a “Garden City” to a “City in a Garden.” Singapore, my home, is a beautiful island.

On the island of Patmos, the elderly apostle John was given a vision of the heavenly garden city (Revelation 21:1–22:5). John saw “a river with the water of life” (22:1) and “on each side of the river grew a tree of life” (v.2). This heavenly garden is reminiscent of the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:8–3:24) where there is also a river (2:10) and the tree of life (v.9).

The tree of life in the Garden of Eden represented never-ending physical life (Genesis 3:22). God had not forbidden Adam and Eve to eat from any tree except for the tree of the knowledge of good and evil  (2:16-17). So eating from the tree of life was permitted. But after they had sinned by eating from the forbidden tree, they were prevented from eating the fruit of the tree of life, for then they would have lived forever in sin (3:22,24).

But now, those who wash their robes are permitted to eat from the tree of life (Revelation 2:7,14). The curse for sin is completely removed (22:3). There will be perfection and purity (v.1), perfect service (v.3), and perfect communion with God “for they will see His face” (v.4), something that sinful man can never experience (Exodus 33:20). This is the special blessing given to those who are cleansed by the blood of the Lamb—Jesus (Revelation 7:14-17).