The Tree of Death
Copyright © June 1, 2019 by Robert Wayne Atkins, P.E.
All Rights Reserved.
Introduction
In the Garden of Eden there was an abundant supply of fresh water and food, including fruit trees of all kinds.
However, there were also two very special trees in that garden. One tree was the "Tree of Life." Adam and Eve could have freely eaten from that tree the same way they ate the fruit from almost all the other trees in the garden. But they did not see any need to eat the fruit of the "Tree of Life" because there was no death in the Garden of Eden. And Adam and Eve never got sick. Therefore they probably believed they would live forever because God had breathed His Eternal Spirit into Adam to give him life. And that Eternal Spirit was passed into Eve when God made her using one of Adam's ribs.
The other special tree in the Garden of Eden was the "Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil." God warned Adam that if he ate the fruit from that tree then he would surely die. Adam told Eve the reason why neither one of them should eat the fruit of that one tree. Therefore Adam and Eve both understood the basic concept of life and death even though they had never seen anything die.
The serpent spoke to Eve in the garden and the serpent challenged the truth of God's words about that one tree. The serpent told Eve that the fruit of that tree would make her as wise as God and that she would not die. Both of the serpent's comments were lies. Nobody, including the devil, will ever be as wise as God. And Eve would gradually begin to die if she ate the forbidden fruit. Tempted by the false promise of something good, and deceived by a lie that something bad would not happen, Eve ate the fruit of the tree. She did not immediately die so Adam also ate some of the fruit.
At the moment they ate the forbidden fruit two things immediately happened to both Adam and Eve:
- They both immediately understood evil. They already understood the concept of good because they lived in the Garden of Eden where everything was perfect, and they had enjoyed fellowship and conversation with God every day. But now they understood the concept of disobedience and the concept of a lie. Even though they now understood evil, they also realized they would never be as wise or as smart as God. And they also realized that the serpent had lied to them.
- They also both realized that death would eventually claim them and that they would not live forever as they had originally believed. When they ate the fruit of the forbidden tree a deadly curse entered their bodies and they both immediately realized that their bodies would gradually wear out and each one of them would eventually die. At that moment they understand the truth of God's words. God had never said that they would instantly die if they ate the forbidden fruit. God had only said that they would die as a result of eating the fruit.
Two important concepts are clearly illustrated by the above events:
1. God always tells the truth.
2. The Devil always lies.
Discussion
Thousands of years have passed since Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden so that they could not eat of the fruit of the "Tree of Life" and live forever.
After they were expelled from the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve personally experienced the heartbreaking tragedy of death when their son Cain jealously murdered his brother Abel simply because God was pleased with Abel's behavior and God had told Cain He was not pleased with Cain's behavior.
This same type of righteous persecution has been happening for thousands of years.
- Some governments execute godly people simply because of their faith in God. The Roman government did that to the early Christians in the first century. The German government did that to Jews and Christians in the 1940s. And some governments in different parts of that world do that to Christians in the 21st century.
- Some religions execute godly people of other faiths simply because they believe in a different faith. It doesn't matter if the people of the different faith are peacefully doing good deeds that benefit everyone regardless of their faith. The only thing that matters is that those other faiths are different. In other words, the people of the deadly faith are following in the footsteps of Cain and they are jealously executing Godly people because they personally have no intention of doing the righteous good deeds of those Godly people. And they justify their murders by saying they are doing God's will as it has been explained to them. (Could they be following in the footsteps of their ancestor Eve?)
Matthew 7:21-23 - "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!' " (NIV)
Conclusion
There were two special trees in the Garden of Eden: The Tree of Life, and the Tree of Death which is more commonly known as the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.
All mankind bears the curse of death from that second tree and every person will eventually die. Some die as infants, some die as children, some die as young adults, some die in middle age, and some die at a very old age. But all people die. That is the bad news.
But there is some good news. In the Holy Bible in the Book of Revelation we are told that some people will be given a second chance to eat of the "Tree of Life" that Adam and Eve neglected:
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. (NIV)
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, yielding its fruit every month. (NIV)
Revelation 22:14-21 - "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.
Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
"I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star."
The Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let him who hears say, "Come!"
Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.
I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book.
And 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.
He who testifies to these things says, "Yes, I am coming soon."
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God's people. Amen. (NIV)
The decision is yours. Please do not repeat Adam and Eve's mistake and ignore the tree of life.
Grandpappy's e-mail address is: RobertWayneAtkins@hotmail.com