Eden Restored

22 Then the angel showed me the river^(A) of the water of life,^(B) as clear as crystal,^(C) flowing^(D) from the throne of God and of the Lamb ² down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life,^(E) bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.^{(F) 3} No longer will there be any curse.^(G) The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him.^{(H) 4} They will see his face,^(I) and his name will be on their foreheads.^{(J) 5} There will be no more night.^(K) They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light.^(L) And they will reign for ever and ever.^(M)

³⁴ Jesus replied, “The people of this age marry and are given in marriage. ³⁵ But those who are considered worthy of taking part in the age to come^(A) and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage, ³⁶ and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels. They are God’s children,^(B) since they are children of the resurrection.

³⁶ Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life,^(A) but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.

²⁴ “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me^(A) has eternal life^(B) and will not be judged^(C) but has crossed over from death to life.^(D)

⁵³ Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh^(A) of the Son of Man^(B) and drink his blood,^(C) you have no life in you. ⁵⁴ Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.^{(D) 55} For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. ⁵⁶ Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them.^{(E) 57} Just as the living Father sent me^(F) and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. ⁵⁸ This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.”^(G)

²¹ What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death!^{(A) 22} But now that you have been set free from sin^(B) and have become slaves of God,^(C) the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.^(D)

3 See what great love^(A) the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!^(B) And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.^{(C) 2} Dear friends,^(D) now we are children of God,^(E) and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears,^[a](F) we shall be like him,^(G) for we shall see him as he is.^(H)