A Tale of Two Trees

Genesis 2:8-9

⁸ The LORD God planted a garden toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the man whom He had formed. ⁹ Out of the ground the LORD God caused to grow every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

 
I believe the Genesis account of creation is factual and literal.  So naturally, when Moses describes a garden in the east part of Delight, or Eden, with two specific trees, I take it that these were two actual trees.  When I teach on the Genesis creation story, I always ask what type of trees these were.  The kids typically describe an apple tree, especially for the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil (Tree of KG&E).  This is how the tree has always been depicted in paintings, bible pictures, and cartoons for years.  It is true, no real description exists for the Tree of KG&E or for the Tree of Life, and so it is natural for people to insert an image of something they are familiar with.  We do know there was fruit on the trees though.  Some scholars surmise it was fig or pomegranate, as these are typical types of fruit trees in the region where the Bible was written.   I believe they are types of fruit trees no longer available or known to mankind.

 

Did you hear the one about..?  Adam bit the apple and, feeling great shame, covered himself with a fig leaf. Eve, too, felt shame and covered herself with a fig leaf. Then she went behind the bush to try on a maple leaf, a sycamore, and an oak.

Genesis 2:15-17

¹⁵ Then the LORD God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it. ¹⁶ The LORD God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; ¹⁷ but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.”

 

Most everyone knows the basic storyline here…The Serpent (Satan) shows up and tempts Eve to eat the fruit of the Tree of KG&E.  Eve listens to Satan and does, and then gives some to Adam, who has been standing there listening the whole time.  This is a whole sermon in itself – Men, are you just standing by and not doing or saying anything while Satan whispers in the ear of your wife and children, tempting them to disobey God?  Be the spiritual leader of your family and chop that snake's head off!  Satan always tries to twist and pervert what God has said.    

 

Genesis 3:1-7

 ¹ Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” ² The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; ³ but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’” ⁴ The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die! ⁵ For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” ⁶ 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 desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. ⁷ Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings.

So the Man and Woman did eat from the Tree of  KG&E, and they did gain knowledge.  They used their freewill to make a choice, they chose to disobey God.  They sinned, and in that instant they knew they were naked.  You see, they did gain the knowledge of good and of evil.  Where before they knew only good (fellowship with God by being sinless) they now knew first-hand about evil (sin, and separation from God).  It wasn’t the fruit of that tree that gave them the knowledge, it was the ACT of willfully disobeying God by choosing to eat that fruit.  The act of disobedience brought sin into their life, and therefore the opposites of Good and Evil, right and wrong, Righteousness and Sin.

Genesis 3:22-24

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

So, Adam and Eve were forced out of the garden, and Cherubim were placed at the entrance to keep them out.  They did not die physically, but they did die spiritually.  God blocks their access to the tree of life, and therefore they will now experience a physical death eventually.  Adam is reported to have lived for  930 years, although we do not know how long Eve lived. So, what happened to the two fruit trees, where did they go?  Are they mentioned anywhere else in the Bible ever again?

 

Revelation 2:7

 ⁷ He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God.’ 

It is important to know that it is not possible to figure out where the Garden of Eden is located, based on clues given in the book of Genesis.    No matter how Moses and others describe where it was located, and what rivers flowed out of it, the face of the earth changed completely between that time and now.  The flood, another Bible story which I take literally, occurred.  This event changed the entire face of the planet, and I believe that Eden ceased to exist at that point.  But, as we read, the Tree of Life is mentioned again in the Bible.  In the very last book of the Bible, Revelation, the apostle John is exiled on the island of Patmos, and is given knowledge that the Tree of Life is located in the Paradise of God, or Heaven.  Those who overcome will once again be allowed to eat from the tree it is promised.

 

Revelation 22:1-19

 ¹ Then he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, ² in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. ³ There will no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bond-servants will serve Him; ⁴ they will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads. ⁵ And there will no longer be any night; and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illumine them; and they will reign forever and ever.  ¹² “Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done. ¹³ I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”  ¹⁴ Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city. ¹⁵ Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying. ¹⁶ “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”  ¹⁷ The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost.  ¹⁸ I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book; ¹⁹ and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book.

 

John is shown a vision, a Revelation, of Heaven.  He describes the Throne of God, a river of life flowing from it, and on either side of the river, the Tree of Life.  I take this to mean that there are more than one tree, several trees on both sides of the river in fact.  So we now know what happened to the Tree of Life, and where it is.  We also know that it bears twelve types of fruit, it produces fruit every month, that the fruit gives life, and that the leaves are for the healing of the nations.  But, what about the Tree of KG&E.  Where did it go?  Does it too show up in the last book of the Bible, or anywhere in the Bible for that matter?

 

Numbers 21:5-9

⁵ (T)hey (the Israelites) spoke against God and against Moses, and said, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!” ⁶ Then the Lord sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. ⁷ The people came to Moses and said, “We sinned when we spoke against the Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord will take the snakes away from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.⁸ The Lord said to Moses, “Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.” ⁹ So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, they lived.

John 3:14-15

 ⁴ Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,⁵ that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”

The answer to my knowledge is “no”, it is not mentioned anywhere else in the Bible that I can find.  There is a type, or symbol, of the Tree of KG&E however mentioned in the story of the Israelites wandering in the wilderness for forty years.  The Israelites once again become discouraged and began to curse God and Moses for their plight.  God sends snakes among the people who are bitten and begin to die.  The Israelites recognize their sin, and God tells Moses to make a representation of the snake out of bronze, and hang it on a pole.  Whenever the Israelites were bitten by a snake, they would then look at the bronze snake on the pole and live.

The symbolism is that of Jesus Christ on the cross.  Bronze is an alloy metal, made by mixing copper and tin.  So too, Jesus is an "alloy" in a way, fully human and fully God.  The furnishings of the Jewish Tabernacle used for the sacrifice were specifically made out of bronze.  The bronze altar, all the utensils, and  the bronze laver pointed to the coming Messiah and His final and complete sacrifice for all mankind, in both their construction and use.  

The Israelites were to look at the bronze image of the snake on the pole to save them.  The snake was the symbol of the thing which had bitten them and was causing their death.  Like this, we have been "bitten" by sin, and are dying.  2 Corinthians 5:21 says that "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."  On the cross, Jesus took on our sin and became sin.  All we need do is make the decision to look to Him in our state of dying, and we will live.

Galatians 3:13

¹³ Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written, “CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO HANGS ON A TREE”—

1 Peter 2:24 (KJV)

 ²⁴Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.

But…I also want to present this idea for consideration.  There was another "tree" mentioned in the Bible very similar to the Tree of KG&E.  This tree was the cross that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was crucified on.  This tree was not placed in the middle of a Garden, but was in the middle between the crosses of two men sentenced to die for their crimes, on top of a hill named Golgotha.  This tree bore fruit that hung from it, Jesus who was crucified for our sins and became the first fruits of those to be raised from the dead (I Corinthians 15:20). 

This tree is also the place where men and women, like Adam and Eve, must make a decision once again.  They must use their free will, that part of us that makes us created “in the image of God”, to decide whether to obey God or to disobey.  We must make a choice to take the fruit of this tree (Jesus’ death and resurrection) or to deny it.  But, beware.  Satan, that serpent of old, is still there whispering in our ear.  Satan says “There is no God.  Jesus was just a man like any other man.  You are not that bad of a person.  Even if there is a God, surely he will not condemn you for your sins.  Let’s just not think about these types of thingsssss….” 

This second Tree of KG&E, the cross of Jesus Christ, again requires an ACT which brings mankind back into fellowship with God, and provides access to the Tree of Life in Heaven.  If we choose to deny God’s gift, then we continue on in sin, separated eternally from fellowship with God.  But, if we choose to accept this gift, then we accept Jesus’ death and resurrection, his death in our place for our sins.  We choose to believe that he was raised from the dead and that he is at the right hand of God in Heaven.  We are returned to fellowship with God and are made sinless through the sacrifice of Jesus on our behalf.

What is your choice?