158. Tree of Life in Paradise
Revelation 2:7 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 22:14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.
The first promise to the overcomer: the Tree of Life. If you are an overcomer, then you will eat of the tree of life in the paradise of God. This is considered a conditional promise, the condition being a person who overcomes. One overcomes the Enemies by faith in Jesus Christ; He defeated Sin, Death and the Devil, and those who believe in Jesus overcome with Him. A more narrow sense of being an overcomer refers to those who have learned to activate the victory through experience, that is, they know how to apply faith in Christ to the particular problems that arise. But the wider sense should be applied in these seven Book of Revelation promises to overcomers, that is, all believers in Christ are overcomers, whether they have learned how to apply overcoming faith to the problems of life or not so much; all believers are overcomers.
The promise of Revelation closes the curse of sin in Genesis 3, where access to the Tree of Life is closed off to human beings, lest they eat and live eternally in sin. But in between Genesis and Revelation Jesus Christ has come from God, He has overcome, and He has opened the way for all sinners to the Tree of Life. Christ has restored God’s original purpose for created humanity, sustenance for a life that never ends.
Living in a paradise is a relentless dream of all people; the dream is a remnant memory of humanity “remembering” what once was; the dream is also a hope and wish that in the future life could be like that again. The amazing Good News is that this Paradise Dream is exactly what Jesus earned for us on the cross; He even promises just this to the thief on the cross next to Him. Eternal life is a paradise. Jesus Christ is the Tree of Life through whom paradise is sustained.