The Narrow Path Ministries

What is the Tree of Life?

Wikipedia also has an article here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tree_of_Li ... Christian)

The LORD is the source of life, so the interpretation of the "tree of life" should probably be closely associated with Him. This quote from Calvin, taken from the Wikipedia article above, is thought provoking,

John Calvin (Commentary on Genesis 2:8), following a different thread in Augustine (City of God, xiii.20), understood the tree in sacramental language. Given that humanity cannot exist except within a covenantal relationship with God, and all covenants use symbols to give us "the attestation of his grace", he gives the tree, "not because it could confer on man that life with which he had been previously endued, but in order that it might be a symbol and memorial of the life which he had received from God."
...
Thus he intends man, as often as he eats the fruit, to remember the source of his life, and acknowledge that he lives not by his own power, but by God’s kindness.

Genesis 3:22 And the LORD God said, "The man has now 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."

Prov 3:18 She is a tree of life to those who embrace her;
those who lay hold of her will be blessed.

Prov 11:30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise.

Prov 15:4 The tongue that brings healing is a tree of life, but a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit.

Rev 2:7b To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.

Rev 22:2b On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.

Hello Theophilus

You wrote:What is the Tree of Life?

Wikipedia also has an article here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tree_of_Li ... Christian)

The LORD is the source of life, so the interpretation of the "tree of life" should probably be closely associated with Him. This quote from Calvin, taken from the Wikipedia article above, is thought provoking,

John Calvin (Commentary on Genesis 2:8), following a different thread in Augustine (City of God, xiii.20), understood the tree in sacramental language. Given that humanity cannot exist except within a covenantal relationship with God, and all covenants use symbols to give us "the attestation of his grace", he gives the tree, "not because it could confer on man that life with which he had been previously endued, but in order that it might be a symbol and memorial of the life which he had received from God."
...
Thus he intends man, as often as he eats the fruit, to remember the source of his life, and acknowledge that he lives not by his own power, but by God’s kindness.

I don't think Calvin had it right.

Genesis 2 (ESV)
15The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. 16And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die."

Genesis 3
1Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made.

He said to the woman, "Did God actually say, 'You shall not eat of any tree in the garden'?" 2And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3but God said, 'You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.'" 4 But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. 5For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." 6So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. 7Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.

and you wrote

Genesis 3:22 And the LORD God said, "The man has now 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."

I've always wondered what Ge 2:17 means {???} "...but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die."

The devil {serpent} "played with the truth" with Eve. But first, we have no record of Adam telling Eve what God had told him, Ge 2:16. He had apparently said "something" to her {???}. The serpent asked Eve about not being permitted to eat from any tree, Ge 3:1, seemingly to add confusion. Eve's reply was that they weren't allowed to eat, nor to touch the tree of the knowledge of good & evil, Ge 3:2. As the rest unfolds in Ge 3:4-7, Adam and Eve became wise like God {Heb., elohim, can read "like gods"} at least in terms of knowing good and evil.

But what was this knowledge? "Knowing right from wrong" certainly seems to figure in. Could Adam and Eve differentiate between the two before they ate the forbidden fruit? Adam had certainly gotten direct commands from God. He appears to have understood them. We have no reasons to think he didn't. But did he?

Adam is not on record as replying to God that he would obey Him.

As soon as the serpent enters the scene, it's like "What's going on here?" Where was Adam when Eve talked to the serpent? Had he, or she, wandered off from the other? We don't know. But they weren't together at the time.

In any event, I've wondered if Adam & Eve didn't eat from the Tree of Life because, well, they were already alive weren't they? Everything was going along in their lives {new though they be}....

Genesis 3 (ESV)
22Then the LORD God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—" 23therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. 24He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.

Did Adam & Eve, with their new "wisdom," learn that the Tree of Life would give them neverending life? It's likely, Ge 3:22. Earlier it was the Tree they apparently thought they didn't need to eat from.

After speaking to them {in Ge 3 which I haven't posted}, God wasted no time in kicking them out of the Garden and put a "quick seal" on the Tree of Life lest Adam "reach out his hand" and eat some on the way out!!! God, obviously, didn't want that to happen.

At any rate, had God not taken action in banning them from the Garden, they could have eaten from the Tree of Life and lived forever. God knew the Tree of Life gave this, and now, they did.
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Back to Calvin.
I haven't read what else he wrote about this. But his treatment from what you posted, Theophilus, seems more like a "devotional" than exegesis.

Calvin wrote:Given that humanity cannot exist except within a covenantal relationship with God....

Adam and Eve existed in relationship with God, though they disobeyed Him. Had they covenanted with God, as I wrote before: Genesis doesn't mention any type of "agreement" {covenant} Adam and Eve made with Him! Neither Adam nor Eve made any promises to obey!!!
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As an aside, there were Jewish traditions that said fallen angels taught humanity various crafts and skills; crafts and skills that God had intended to teach...in His Own time. The trickery of the serpent in Genesis sort of ties into this idea, in that the serpent seemed to want to "rush" things by getting Eve confused.
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Earlier I wrote:I've always wondered what Ge 2:17 means {???} "...but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die."

Most of us have heard this death was "spiritual death" and that "physical death was delayed." True, "in Adam all die," wrote Paul. We know we die physically, at least, as a result of "the fall of Adam" or since sin entered into the world.

Some have interpreted the phrase, "...in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die" to be God's way of saying, "You will become mortal." I lean toward this interpretation and can't quite "unravel" {for lack of vocabulary} if Adam and Eve "died spiritually" when they ate from the Knowledge Tree.

Had they eaten from the Tree of Life first, this could be a natural conclusion. Yet had they eaten from this they would have lived forever...unless....

But, of course, things didn't happen that way....

Just some thoughts for now.
I'd like to get to Revelation on this topic later, Thanks,

Hi Rick,

Thanks for your insights on Genesis 2 and 3. It's interesting that the Tree of Life was in their midst but they may have not partaken of it or even have known about it until after eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil!

There could be a relationship between the eating of the "tree of life" and eternal life and the eating of "the flesh of the Son of Man" and eternal life. I think the eating in John 6 refers to believing in Jesus as the Christ sent from God. There could be a link between believing and knowing Christ, and the knowledge or belief that the tree of life bestowed eternal life. I'm not sure about this.

John 6
53Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. 55For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 56Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. 57Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. 58This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your forefathers ate manna and died, but he who feeds on this bread will live forever."

I'll continue to look into this further. I going to try to listen to Steve's commentary on Revelation about this.

Thanks bro.

I just listened to Steve's verse-by-verse teaching in Rev 22, and there appear to be 2 uses of the phrase, tree of life.

1. Rev 22:1-6 - tree of life symbolizes righteous men living in the Holy Spirit
2. Rev 22:14,19 - tree of life symbolizes eternal life

1. Rev 22:1-6 - tree of life symbolizes righteous men living in the Holy Spirit

Rev 22:1Then 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 2down 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, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.

Ezek 47:12 Fruit trees of all kinds will grow on both banks of the river. Their leaves will not wither, nor will their fruit fail. Every month they will bear, because the water from the sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing.

Isa 61:3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the LORD
for the display of his splendor.

Psalm 1:3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither.
Whatever he does prospers.

The association of the River of Life with the Holy Spirit follows from these verses.

Joel 3:18 "In that day the mountains will drip new wine,
and the hills will flow with milk;
all the ravines of Judah will run with water.
A fountain will flow out of the LORD's house
and will water the valley of acacias.

Zech 14:8 On that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem, half to the eastern sea and half to the western sea, in summer and in winter.

John 7:37 On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. 38Whoever believes in me, as[c] the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." 39By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.

2. Rev 22:14,19 - tree of life symbolizes eternal life

Rev 22:14"Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city.

Rev 22:19And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.

Hello Theo

You wrote:Hi Rick,

Thanks for your insights on Genesis 2 and 3. It's interesting that the Tree of Life was in their midst but they may have not partaken of it or even have known about it until after eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil!

There could be a relationship between the eating of the "tree of life" and eternal life and the eating of "the flesh of the Son of Man" and eternal life. I think the eating in John 6 refers to believing in Jesus as the Christ sent from God. There could be a link between believing and knowing Christ, and the knowledge or belief that the tree of life bestowed eternal life. I'm not sure about this.

John 6
53Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. 55For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 56Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. 57Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. 58This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your forefathers ate manna and died, but he who feeds on this bread will live forever."

I'll continue to look into this further. I going to try to listen to Steve's commentary on Revelation about this.

Thanks bro.

My stuff on the Tree of Life is actually kind of a "backgrounder" for an ongoing eschatology study relating to the last two {or three} chapters of Rev that I've been "in" for about a year now, on & off {I was just thinking out loud}.

I think you'd really like {seriously!}:
G.K. Beale's Seminar on Revelation
also
G.K. Beale: "Idealist-Amillennialist" @ preteristarchives
Btw, preteristarchives has the same lectures {but not all of them}. I'm giving you the preteristarchive link for "bio" stuff on him. Also, one thing about his "talking style" is annoying. He speaks quietly---then suddenly---LOUD! So you may wanna adjust yer volume to "low." I wouldn't wear headphones...if I were you, But don't miss this guy!!! He goes from Genesis to Revelation!

I'm relistening to Steve's Rev 21-22 lectures also, as well as checking out some new eschatology mp3s on eschatology I just found.

Re: the Tree of Life & John 6.
There may be some type of "connection" between the two. But not directly or openly, that I can see. At least in John 6, Jesus was making reference to, or giving an analogy between, his body and the manna that fell in the desert during the Exodus.

Also, I've been working on alternate translations/renderings with exegesis of Rev 21-22...being essentially self-taught in NT Greek {it takes time}.

Leave alone studies on the Olivet Discourse & related {another ongoing study of mine, for years & years}....

Let's keep at it, Brother Theo!
Take care.
P.S. to save a PM...I've not gotten back to the "role of spirits" thread {busy}, but have it bookmarked, Thanks.

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