“The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.”
Revelation 22:2
What happens when the knowledge of Jesus continues to cover the earth as the waters cover the sea (Isaiah 11:9)? The nations find healing! Is it a surprise that the Father of lights wants to heal every nation on earth? This is why Jesus bled and died. Remember, the Father promised Jesus the nations, the ends of the earth for his possession (Psalm 2:7-8). Jesus desires the whole earth to freely choose Him. He desires the nations to be His bride (Ephesians 5:31-32).
Just as Jesus healed the sick in his earthly ministry, He desires to heal the sick through His people. He wants to heal every individual person on the planet of all sickness, trauma, and pain (Revelation 21:4). We know that suffering happens, but we don’t suffer without joy or hope. The joy that the Lord gives us is deeper than any suffering and gives us the strength to endure.
The book of Acts serves as an example of how Jesus began the new world through His disciples. He told them the Holy Spirit would come upon them and they would be His witnesses starting in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Here we see God’s plan to spread the knowledge of God across the entire earth, all the way to the end of it. As a result, the disciples went out and brought healing to whoever wanted it. And with this, came a lot of persecution.
Healing is Free
The old world order does not always take nicely to the arrival of a new one. The old order is especially not a fan of healing that comes for free. For instance, there was a man named Simon who practiced sorcery and wanted to pay money to receive the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:18). But Peter corrected him and essentially explained you can’t buy what God gives out freely!
The knowledge of God that is spreading across the world is that God is offering healing for free through His Son Jesus Christ. If you look at the gospels, you will see that Jesus never charged anything when he healed a person. All they needed was faith and He did all the work. Faith is simply believing in your heart that He’s able to do it and acting accordingly. And again, in the book of Acts, Peter freely healed a man who couldn’t walk. He told him, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk” (Acts 3:6)!
When it comes to the healing of the nations, Jesus works in the same way. For whoever so desires it, His healing is utterly and totally free. Think of this passage at the end of the entire Bible. After 66 books, Genesis to Revelation, God says: “And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price” (Revelation 22:17). How beautiful and precious that the Creator of the universe offers us healing without a price. This is another foundation of the new world and it goes against the grain of the old world order.
In the new world, God will even protect us. He said in Isaiah 11:9 that the animals of the new world will not “hurt or destroy” people. This is good news that is meant to fill us with the hope of the Holy Spirit. In the next verse it reads, “In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples – of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious” (Isaiah 11:10). The nations will come to Jesus, finding healing in His resting place, and it shall be absolutely glorious.
The root of Jesse is a term to describe the Messiah, and it found fulfillment in Jesus who was a descendent of David through Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born (Matthew 1:16). Even His name Jesus was given to Him because it means “the Lord saves.” He was sent to save people from their sin so that they would find healing in every part of their being – body, soul, and spirit. Now, through the spreading of His gospel to the ends of the earth, the nations will be healed. This is where everything is headed: an entire world made right and whole.