Banishment from Eden and the Tree of Life

The scripture below sheds a bit more light on the question of "The Tree of Life" which we discussed briefly in the last post. From v22, the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil gives man the ability to know good and evil. Obviously this does not mean All-Knowing like God because we humans don't know so much.

The more interesting tree in this discussion is the Tree of Life which in v22 says that it gives immortality. So it appears for all the time Adam and Eve were in the Garden, they did not eat from the Tree of Life, yet God did not specifically said not to. Here we can speculate perhaps God was already teaching them about the Tree of Life. Perhaps God even promised a time in the future where they can eat from the Tree of Life. Perhaps they had an understanding that God was sanctifying / preparing them and once that is finished they can partake in the Tree of Life and achieve immortality. So perhaps because the fruits of Tree of Life were promised to man and so it did not cause so much temptation as the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.

Whatever the plan was for the Tree of Life, it was cut short by the First Sin. As a result of sin and man being in a sinful state, God cannot allow man to be immortal and yet sinful. Hence the Tree of Life was out of bounds. But God does not intend to keep the Tree of Life from man forever. Instead God has a plan to cleanse the sinful man and then give him immortality, only when he is cleanse, by eating the Tree of Life.

Fast forward thousands of years later, our Lord Jesus of Nazareth is that Tree of Life. When we repent and accept Him, then His sacrifice makes us clean again for God. Then only we eat from the Tree of Life - Jesus - we achieve immortality and be in the Presence of God.



Genesis 3
²² Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”— ²³ therefore the LORD God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. ²⁴ So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.




Revelations 2
7 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.”’


John 6
³⁵ And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. ³⁶ But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe. ³⁷ All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. ³⁸ For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. ³⁹ This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. ⁴⁰ And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”


John 6
⁴⁴ No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. ⁴⁵ It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’^[e]Therefore everyone who has heard and learned^[f] from the Father comes to Me. ⁴⁶ Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God; He has seen the Father. ⁴⁷ Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me^[g]has everlasting life. ⁴⁸ I am the bread of life. ⁴⁹ Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. ⁵⁰ This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. ⁵¹ I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.” 
⁵² The Jews therefore quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?” 
⁵³ Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. ⁵⁴ Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. ⁵⁵For My flesh is food indeed,^[h] and My blood is drink indeed. ⁵⁶ He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. ⁵⁷ As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. ⁵⁸ This is the bread which came down from heaven—not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever.”