John had already mentioned “the street of the city” in Revelation 21:21. This “street” is more than a lane or traffic thoroughfare; it is rather akin to the city square (Genesis 19:2), the place where the population meets to interact. The earlier passage had told us that the “street” was “pure gold,” an indication that the street was touched by the glorious presence of God, and so symbolic of people’s interaction being characterized by God’s presence. In line with that message, we are now told that this God-sourced river flows down this street. As with so much of the book of Revelation, we are not to imagine this in any literal manner, as if we are to imagine the people interacting in or on either side of this river. The point of the symbolism is that the interactions of the city’s population are centrally characterized by the blessed effects of this God-sourced river. Here is a hint to the opening line of the Aaronic blessing: “The Lord bless you” (Numbers 6:24).
2 through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.