The expression “Paradise of God” is found in Revelation 2:7 “To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.” Each one of us should want to overcome by faith so that we can live in God’s Paradise. 1 John 5:4-5 “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world — our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”
What do we know about God’s paradise? The writings of John in the Revelation give us a description. Revelation 21:2-8 “And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.’ Then He who sat on the throne said, ‘Behold, I make all things new.’ And He said to me, ‘Write, for these words are true and faithful.’ And He said to me, ‘It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.’”
The first thing that I understand is that we will be with God and He will dwell with us. There will be no distance from God. We will be with the almighty Creator of the universe. We will see His face. We will be His people, His children. He loves us and will take care of us. He will wipe away every tear from our eyes. I understand that to imply that He will comfort us. There will be no cause for crying or having sorrow. In this life we may cry or have sorrow because of loss of loved ones, because of disappointments, because of injustices or wrongs we have received from others or because of pain that we endure in our physical bodies. In the paradise of God, all of our needs will be met. The unrighteous individuals have been removed and put into the lake which burns with fire and brimstone. There will be no more losing of loved ones to death because there will be no death. We will not suffer in our bodies since there will be no more pain.
More description is given in Revelation 22:1-5 “And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever.”
In the Paradise of God, there are two things described which give us life. First is the pure river of water of life. It is clear as crystal and proceeds from the throne of God and of the Lamb. The implication is that we can freely drink of this river and live forever. Then there is the tree of life which bears twelve fruits. The implication again is that we may freely eat the fruit of the tree and life and live forever. The leaves of this tree are for healing; whatever problems there may be, we will be healed with the leaves from the tree of life.
There will be no more curse. You may remember that Adam and Eve were cursed in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:16-19). The woman was cursed to bring forth children in pain and to be submissive to her husband. The man was cursed to toil to earn a living. The ground would bring forth thorns and thistles; man would die and return to the ground. All of these curses are gone.
In the paradise of God, we will be serving God. I don’t know what that means. But I am confident that I will want to do whatever He asks me to do. There will never be night there; there will be no need for a lamp or of the sun in the sky. God will give us light. We shall reign forever and ever. There will be no end to our reign. To reign implies exercising authority over others. Perhaps we will reign over those who are outside of the paradise of God. Here is a description of those who are outside. Revelation 22:15 “But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.”
God will make everything new. This includes new heavens and a new earth. Isaiah 65:17 “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former shall not be remembered or come to mind.” We won’t remember the old things. Revelation 21:1 “Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea.” 2 Peter 3:10-13 “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.”
My encouragement is that of the apostle Peter. What manner of person ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God? Anticipate the coming of the paradise of God.