The Tree Of Life Is No Longer Off Limits

There are two specific trees mentioned in the story of Adam and Eve. One is the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, which God warns the pair not to eat from. But they do anyway, and the consequences for them and all of humanity are well documented. This is the only time this tree is mentioned in Scripture.

The other tree is the Tree of Life. It’s existence is first mentioned in Genesis 2:9, but it’s second reference is downright tantalizing. After Adam and Eve have been expelled from The Garden, God says this:

“See, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever.”  (Genesis 3:22)

Christians have often interpreted this verse as a caution for humans not to try to be their own gods. We must remember our status as creatures. It is such a danger, in fact, that God places a guard with a flaming sword to prevent any further access to the Garden and the Tree of Life. It is now off limits for all future human beings.

Or is it?

In an equally tantalizing verse, the Tree of Life makes another appearance. At the opposite end of the Bible, in the final chapter of Revelation, it a key feature in the new heaven and new earth that John envisions:

“Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city. On either side of the river is the Tree of Life with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations."  (Revelation 22: 1-2)

Typically, these verses have been seen as events to unfold at an undetermined time in the future. Some might look at current events and imagine correlation to the preceding events in Revelation, but most believe the paradise described here has the definite character of "not yet." In fact, most conceive of its enjoyment as some sort of reward in the afterlife.

But not everyone.

Preterism is the belief that the events in Revelation have already occurred, concluding with the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem in 70 A.D. Since then, the new heaven and new earth are revealed in the Christian church. While there are different versions of partial and full preterism, the implication is powerful. The Tree of Life is no longer off limits.

I am not a preterist. Many problems exist with this belief that I will not explore here. But we can take from preterism one important realization. Eternal life is not about what happens after we die. It is a gift that has already been given, and that is available to us at each and every moment. The new heaven and the new earth are already here, if only we can open our eyes to see it.

Or, more precisely, we can find the Tree of Life if we can free ourselves from the teachings which obscure it from view. The Kingdom will move closer if we can overcome what we have learned about sin, guilt, and pardon.

In the previous post, I asked the reader to sit with me under the The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, and to imagine that we have the choice not to eat from it. What would it mean if we could avoid the mistake of Adam and Eve (and the judgment, guilt, and shame) that has plagued all of human history?

It would give us the chance to sit under the Tree of Life, and to enjoy its fruit. Could it be that this is a place we can find both our own healing, and also "the healing of the nations?"

(In the next post, I will invite you to join me under The Tree of Life.)