22:1–5 The final description of paradise contains elements alluding to the Garden of Eden. The intimacy of God with His people (vv. 3, 4) and the abundance of His blessing (vv. 1, 2, 5) are stressed even more than in the preceding verses. The final state restores the unbroken, idyllic communion between God and human beings. But the apex of history is more magnificent than the beginning. The garden is now also a city, and the light has driven out all night.

Revelation is designed not only to inform and assure Christians about God’s final purposes, but to increase their longing for God and the realization of His purpose. The certainty of that consummation comforts saints during times of temptation and persecution.