The Tree Of Life
Young Earth - Old Earth, what does it matter?
Science and the Bible can be harmonized
The Bible and Science in Conflict
Understanding Genesis Chapter 1
Scriptural Evidence for Long Days
The Origin of the Universe
The Creation / Evolution Controversy Part 1
The Creation / Evolution Controversy Part 2
The Creation / Evolution Controversy Part 3
The Creation / Evolution Controversy Part 4
Entropy, the Fall, and Adam
The Tree Of Life
What I learned at an Answers in Genesis Conference
What's Wrong With This Picture?
Science finds a purpose for the appendix
Flat Earth - A lesson to all of us
Why are young people leaving the church?
Why Does God Hate Me?
Links to the World and Beyond
There Is More To It Than You Think!
After recently researching and writing Entropy, The Fall, And Adam , I had a few additional thoughts concerning the tree of life that I wanted to share. Unlike the previous article, this should be a pretty short study. While this will cover a lot of familiar territory for most people, the conclusion may surprise even the seasoned student of the word. If you are thinking about skipping this article at least read the last few paragraphs.
Tree of life is mentioned 10 times in the King James Version of scripture. Four of those times are in Proverbs and really are not referring to THE tree of life; rather they are comparing something else to a tree of life.
Proverbs 3:18 compares wisdom to a tree of life, although you have to read verse 13 to fully grasp what is being compared.
Proverbs 11:30 states that the fruit of the righteous is a tree of life.
In Proverbs 13:12 a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.
Proverbs 15:4 makes the comparison of a tree of life to a healing tongue.
For the purpose of this study one should gather from these verses that obviously a tree of life is a good thing. The tree of life is first introduced in the Garden of Eden along with the tree of knowledge of good and evil:
And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. (Gen 2:9 KJV)
God puts the man and the woman in the garden and as you know gives them some specific instructions:
And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. (Gen 2:16-17 KJV)
We all know the account; the serpent talks the woman into eating of the forbidden tree. She offers it to the man and he eats. Their innocence lost, the first couple tastes sin and it is bitter. It brings about quick action on the part of God:
And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: (Gen 3:22 KJV)
So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life. (Gen 3:24 KJV)
God casts them out of the Garden to prevent them from eating of the tree of life. Had they eaten, they would have lived forever. Obviously Adam did not physically die the day he ate of the fruit. Therefore we must conclude either the threat was a bluff, God did not literally mean in the day Adam ate he would die, or the death was something other than physical.
Adam did eventually die so this was no bluff. The real skeptic might conclude the tree of life was the bluff but that makes not sense. If God were bluffing he would simply have cut the tree down. Instead he places cherubim with a flaming sword at the gate to prevent reentry into the garden. They witnessed the curse upon themselves and the serpent. Their eyes were opened and they saw they were sinners. This was no bluff. God meant what he said.
To assume the second conclusion is to place far too much emphasis on the physical. If eating of the tree of life would solve all of Adam’s ills would not God have been anxious to save his creation? Yes, he would. In fact, he did put in motion the plan to completely fix Adam’s problems before he banished the couple from the garden. In Genesis 3:15, the very first messianic prophecy is given. It tells of the day when one of Eve’s descendants will overcome and destroy the serpent.
If killing the serpent would have solved the problem, Adam could surely have taken care of one little snake. But the problem was not physical. Although there are obvious physical consequences to Adam’s sin the real tragedy was the loss of his relationship with God. Adam died spiritually the day he ate of the fruit. The spirit of Adam became separated from God. That is spiritual death.
Since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, that means all suffer the same separation dilemma as Adam. The only way to fix the problem is to reconnect the spirit to God. We cannot do this ourselves. It’s a God thing.
Spiritual separation is eternal separation, but it doesn't have to be - the relationship can be repaired. God's purpose in heaven and on earth is to bring all things together under one head (Jesus). Those who reject Jesus remain willfully eternally separated from God. Since God will not allow rebellion to run amuck in the new heaven and new earth, the rebellious must be dealt with. The penalty for sin is death. God created the lake of fire for the purpose not only of punishing the guilty, but for permanently separating all who will not repent from the redeemed.
The purpose of the tree of life was to literally keep the physical body alive forever. It was intended only for those who are spiritually one with God. Adam was spiritually separated from God because he had eaten of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. What would have happened if a fallen Adam had eaten of the tree of life? Obviously, he would have lived forever, but could his spirit have been reconnected with God? I believe the relationship could have been repaired even then. I think this because all have sinned yet those believers who are alive when Jesus returns will not physically die. A believer is simply a repentant sinner. God still banished Adam from the garden and the tree. Why?
The problem for Adam was thousands of years would pass before God lifts the curse in heaven and on earth. Sinful mortal man makes enough of a mess in his short life on earth. Imagine the damage an immortal sinner could make, especially if he was married and producing fallen offspring who also ate of the tree of life. You think it’s bad now!
Death is a curse. Jesus, on the cross, made a way to remove the curse of spiritual death. Those who trust in him will not die but have everlasting life. Yet people still physically die because we do not have access to the tree of life. Why? - Because banishment from the tree is part of the curse. Once heaven and earth have passed away, and the new heaven and earth come into existence, we will eat of the tree.
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. (Rev 2:7 KJV)
And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and 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: (Rev 22:1-3 KJV)
Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. (Rev 22:14 KJV)
What if Adam had not eaten of the tree of knowledge of good and evil and never ate of the tree of life either? Would he have lived forever? I believe he would have physically died. Eating of the tree of knowledge of good and evil killed Adam’s spirit. Not eating of the tree of life killed his body. Two totally separate deaths. Is it possible one was a sin of commission and one was a sin of omission?
Without the tree of knowledge of good and evil, Adam would never have seen his physical death coming as a result of not eating of the tree of life. One day he would simply just wake up dead. His spirit would have been alive with God, while his body would have been a lifeless shell. Just the same as happens to believers today when they die.
Physical death is a natural part of our universe. All living matter eventually dies. God built this into the programming, in the beginning. At the same time, scripture is correct when it says death entered through Adam, because no man had yet died. The scriptures on sin death always refer to mankind.
It was to be God’s good pleasure, before Adam sinned, to offer the tree of life as a means to bypass the natural physical order of his creation. Only man is mentioned as having been offered access to eat of the tree of life. Only man was intended to benefit from the tree. Not eating of the tree caused physical death. This serves as a proof that physical death was in the world before Adam fell.
How did I arrive at this conclusion? If bunny rabbits could live forever by eating of the tree of life then it stands to reason any of the animals could also know good and evil by eating the fruit of the other tree. Yet all of them die and all of them remain unaware of their own mortality. The fruit was only for man. If any of the animals ate of either tree it obviously had no affect on them. Only man, because he possesses a spirit, had the opportunity to bypass nature - and he blew it.
After recently researching and writing Entropy, The Fall, And Adam , I had a few additional thoughts concerning the tree of life that I wanted to share. Unlike the previous article, this should be a pretty short study. While this will cover a lot of familiar territory for most people, the conclusion may surprise even the seasoned student of the word. If you are thinking about skipping this article at least read the last few paragraphs.
Tree of life is mentioned 10 times in the King James Version of scripture. Four of those times are in Proverbs and really are not referring to THE tree of life; rather they are comparing something else to a tree of life.
Proverbs 3:18 compares wisdom to a tree of life, although you have to read verse 13 to fully grasp what is being compared.
Proverbs 11:30 states that the fruit of the righteous is a tree of life.
In Proverbs 13:12 a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.
Proverbs 15:4 makes the comparison of a tree of life to a healing tongue.
For the purpose of this study one should gather from these verses that obviously a tree of life is a good thing. The tree of life is first introduced in the Garden of Eden along with the tree of knowledge of good and evil:
And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. (Gen 2:9 KJV)
God puts the man and the woman in the garden and as you know gives them some specific instructions:
And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. (Gen 2:16-17 KJV)
We all know the account; the serpent talks the woman into eating of the forbidden tree. She offers it to the man and he eats. Their innocence lost, the first couple tastes sin and it is bitter. It brings about quick action on the part of God:
And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: (Gen 3:22 KJV)
So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life. (Gen 3:24 KJV)
God casts them out of the Garden to prevent them from eating of the tree of life. Had they eaten, they would have lived forever. Obviously Adam did not physically die the day he ate of the fruit. Therefore we must conclude either the threat was a bluff, God did not literally mean in the day Adam ate he would die, or the death was something other than physical.
Adam did eventually die so this was no bluff. The real skeptic might conclude the tree of life was the bluff but that makes not sense. If God were bluffing he would simply have cut the tree down. Instead he places cherubim with a flaming sword at the gate to prevent reentry into the garden. They witnessed the curse upon themselves and the serpent. Their eyes were opened and they saw they were sinners. This was no bluff. God meant what he said.
To assume the second conclusion is to place far too much emphasis on the physical. If eating of the tree of life would solve all of Adam’s ills would not God have been anxious to save his creation? Yes, he would. In fact, he did put in motion the plan to completely fix Adam’s problems before he banished the couple from the garden. In Genesis 3:15, the very first messianic prophecy is given. It tells of the day when one of Eve’s descendants will overcome and destroy the serpent.
If killing the serpent would have solved the problem, Adam could surely have taken care of one little snake. But the problem was not physical. Although there are obvious physical consequences to Adam’s sin the real tragedy was the loss of his relationship with God. Adam died spiritually the day he ate of the fruit. The spirit of Adam became separated from God. That is spiritual death.
Since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, that means all suffer the same separation dilemma as Adam. The only way to fix the problem is to reconnect the spirit to God. We cannot do this ourselves. It’s a God thing.
Spiritual separation is eternal separation, but it doesn't have to be - the relationship can be repaired. God's purpose in heaven and on earth is to bring all things together under one head (Jesus). Those who reject Jesus remain willfully eternally separated from God. Since God will not allow rebellion to run amuck in the new heaven and new earth, the rebellious must be dealt with. The penalty for sin is death. God created the lake of fire for the purpose not only of punishing the guilty, but for permanently separating all who will not repent from the redeemed.
The purpose of the tree of life was to literally keep the physical body alive forever. It was intended only for those who are spiritually one with God. Adam was spiritually separated from God because he had eaten of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. What would have happened if a fallen Adam had eaten of the tree of life? Obviously, he would have lived forever, but could his spirit have been reconnected with God? I believe the relationship could have been repaired even then. I think this because all have sinned yet those believers who are alive when Jesus returns will not physically die. A believer is simply a repentant sinner. God still banished Adam from the garden and the tree. Why?
The problem for Adam was thousands of years would pass before God lifts the curse in heaven and on earth. Sinful mortal man makes enough of a mess in his short life on earth. Imagine the damage an immortal sinner could make, especially if he was married and producing fallen offspring who also ate of the tree of life. You think it’s bad now!
Death is a curse. Jesus, on the cross, made a way to remove the curse of spiritual death. Those who trust in him will not die but have everlasting life. Yet people still physically die because we do not have access to the tree of life. Why? - Because banishment from the tree is part of the curse. Once heaven and earth have passed away, and the new heaven and earth come into existence, we will eat of the tree.
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. (Rev 2:7 KJV)
And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and 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: (Rev 22:1-3 KJV)
Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. (Rev 22:14 KJV)
What if Adam had not eaten of the tree of knowledge of good and evil and never ate of the tree of life either? Would he have lived forever? I believe he would have physically died. Eating of the tree of knowledge of good and evil killed Adam’s spirit. Not eating of the tree of life killed his body. Two totally separate deaths. Is it possible one was a sin of commission and one was a sin of omission?
Without the tree of knowledge of good and evil, Adam would never have seen his physical death coming as a result of not eating of the tree of life. One day he would simply just wake up dead. His spirit would have been alive with God, while his body would have been a lifeless shell. Just the same as happens to believers today when they die.
Physical death is a natural part of our universe. All living matter eventually dies. God built this into the programming, in the beginning. At the same time, scripture is correct when it says death entered through Adam, because no man had yet died. The scriptures on sin death always refer to mankind.
It was to be God’s good pleasure, before Adam sinned, to offer the tree of life as a means to bypass the natural physical order of his creation. Only man is mentioned as having been offered access to eat of the tree of life. Only man was intended to benefit from the tree. Not eating of the tree caused physical death. This serves as a proof that physical death was in the world before Adam fell.
How did I arrive at this conclusion? If bunny rabbits could live forever by eating of the tree of life then it stands to reason any of the animals could also know good and evil by eating the fruit of the other tree. Yet all of them die and all of them remain unaware of their own mortality. The fruit was only for man. If any of the animals ate of either tree it obviously had no affect on them. Only man, because he possesses a spirit, had the opportunity to bypass nature - and he blew it.
