Subtitle: The Rhythm of Eternity

Excerpt: The Tree of Life, a symbol of restored fellowship and divine provision, reappears in Revelation, bearing fruit monthly in the New Jerusalem. This suggests that eternity will unfold in rhythm and sequence, with time redeemed and a meaningful progression.

Author: Randy DeVaul

In the final chapter of the Bible, tucked within the radiant vision of the New Jerusalem, we find a detail that quietly reshapes our understanding of eternity: the Tree of Life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yields its harvest monthly. This isn’t poetic imagery. It’s theological architecture. It suggests that eternity, far from being a static blur, will unfold in rhythm, sequence, and recognizable time. The Tree of Life, first glimpsed in Eden, reappears not as a relic but as a living symbol of restored fellowship, divine provision, and redeemed time.

The Biblical story begins with time. Genesis opens with days, evenings, mornings, and seasons. Time was not created to be a curse. God uses it as His canvas, painting creation in rhythm: light and darkness, work and rest, seedtime and harvest. He places time and its rhythm for His greatest creation: mankind. People were never to be enslaved by it, but to flourish within it and be guided by it as we steward (manage) and have dominion over God’s earthly creation. The Tree of Life was centered in Eden, a living invitation to ongoing communion with God. It was not a magic tree, but a sacramental one. The Tree’s fruit sustained life because God sustained life.

But sin fractured that rhythm. Time became a burden. The days grew heavy with toil, aging, and loss. The Tree of Life was guarded, access denied, lest humanity live forever in a fallen state. From that moment, time became a countdown. Mortality set in. The rhythms of creation were still present, but now they echoed with sorrow. The seasons still changed, but they carried reminders of what was lost.

Throughout Scripture, the Tree of Life reappears in metaphor. Proverbs calls wisdom a tree of life. Righteousness, fulfilled desire, and gentle speech are all likened to it. These glimpses remind us that the life God intended is not gone, not over, but waiting. The tree becomes a symbol of restoration, a whisper of Eden in a broken world.

Then, in Revelation, the whisper becomes a shout. The Tree of Life returns, not in a garden, but in a city. It grows beside the river of life, flowing from the throne of God. Its fruit is abundant, its leaves are healing, and its harvest is monthly. This is not timelessness. Time is not non-existent. Time is redeemed. The mention of literal months implies sequence, variety, and rhythm. Eternity will not be an endless moment, but a meaningful progression. We will not lose track of time. We will finally experience it as God intended.

This matters deeply for how we live now. Many believers imagine eternity as a kind of spiritual fog – peaceful, yes, but vague. Revelation offers something richer. The New Creation is not a retreat from reality; it is reality restored. The Tree of Life bearing fruit each month tells us that eternity will be dynamic, not static. There will be movement, discovery, worship, and joy. Time will continue, but without decay. We will not age, but we will grow. We will not hurry, but we will progress.

This vision is especially comforting for those in later seasons of life. Senior adults often feel the pressure of time, causing fear, unfinished dreams, fading strength, and the sense that the clock is winding down. But Revelation says otherwise. The story doesn’t end in decline; it ends in renewal. The Tree of Life is not behind us, but it’s ahead of us. And its fruit is not one-time,it’s rhythmic; it’s monthly. Through eternity, there is always more to come. More healing. More joy. More life.

Theologically, this challenges the notion that eternity is outside of time. The Greek word often translated “eternal” in the New Testament doesn’t mean timeless; it means “of the age to come.” It’s qualitative, not just quantitative. Eternal life is not merely endless into infinity. it is full. It is life as God lives it. And God, though outside of time, chooses to interact with us within it. The rhythms of creation are not discarded or irrelevant. They are redeemed.

Christ is the key to this restoration. His cross is called a tree in Acts and 1 Peter. Through His death and resurrection, access to the Tree of Life is reopened. Revelation 2 promises that those who overcome will eat from it again. Revelation 22 declares that those who wash their robes have the right to it. The Tree of Life is not just a symbol. It extends into a promise that will be fulfilled. And its fruit is not just nourishment or good-tasting. It is celebration.

Imagine eternity not as a cloud, but as a garden-city. Imagine walking beside the river, seeing the fruit change with each passing month, knowing that every cycle brings new joy. Imagine time without pressure, without loss, without regret. That is what the Tree of Life points to. It is not the end of an old story. It is the beginning of the forever story.

In a world obsessed with speed, deadlines, and productivity, the Tree of Life invites us to slow down and look forward. It reminds us that time is not our enemy. In Christ, time becomes a gift again. The rhythms of eternity will not erase our identity, but rather they will fulfill it. We will not be lost in the vast void of eternity. We will be found, engaged, and alive.

So let us live today with the peace of tomorrow. Let us walk in wisdom, speak with gentleness, and pursue righteousness, all symbolic echoes of the Tree of Life. And let us remember that the best fruit is still ahead. Fresh. Sequential. Fully ripe and ready to eat. It will come, month by month, in the city of God, beside the river, under the light of the Lamb.

And we will be there as citizens, as sons and daughters, as people finally living in it.