The Tree of Life

Immortality Accessed

 

Genesis 2:8, 9

Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed.  And the Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground  -  trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food.  In the middle of the garden were The Tree of Life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

 

Genesis 2:15-17

The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.  And the Lord God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die."

God intended for his newly created beings (Adam and Eve) to experience total freedom and to live forever, and this could have been accomplished had they not chosen to believe the serpent instead of trusting their Creator.  Partaking of The Tree of Life would have assured them of perpetual existence, never to end.  God guaranteed it!

The tree of the knowledge of good and evil was not placed in the Garden of Eden as some kind of test.  Rather, God placed it there as an act of protection for Adam and Eve, because the serpent was confined to that specific tree and had access only to that tree.  All Adam and Eve had to do was stay away from it.

The Fall of Man

Genesis 3:1-7

Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made.  He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?"

The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die'."

"You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman.  "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."

When the woman saw that the fruit was good for food and pleasant to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it.  She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.  Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked, so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

Immortality Denied

Genesis 3:20-24

Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living.  The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.  And the Lord God said, "The man had become like one of us, knowing good and evil.  He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from The Tree of Life and eat, and live forever."

So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken.  After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to The Tree of Life.

Adam and Eve chose to believe the serpent.  Eating the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil did not cause Adam and Eve to die.  The fact that they didn't believe God and chose to believe the serpent instead caused their downfall and their inability to live an immortal life because they were denied access to The Tree of Life from then on.

Immortality Restored

Revelation 2:7

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.  To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from The Tree of Life, which is in the paradise of God.

Revelation 22:1, 2

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city.  On each side of the river stood The Tree of Life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, wielding its fruit every month.  And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.

Revelation 22:12-14

"Behold, I am coming soon!  My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done.  I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.

"Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have right to

The Tree of Life, and may go through the gates into the city."

The Tree of Life is mentioned six times in Scripture  -  three times in Genesis, the first book of the Bible, and three times in Revelation, the last book of the Bible.  Whether this was intentional or co-incidental matters not.  What matters is that The Tree of Life as Adam and Eve knew it would once again be the source of perpetual everlasting life.  For me personally, it would be an exciting time to watch Adam and Eve partake again from The Tree that they first ate from in the Garden of Eden when they were created.  And for everyone else to likewise eat from The Tree of Life, how thrilling it will be! 

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