Trees of Life, Knowledge, and Salvation

Bible students have noticed interesting parallels between Genesis 1 & 2 and Revelation 21 & 22 – the introduction and consummation of the Bible story. For example, consider that these chapters contain the only descriptions of creation as God intended it; a perfect world free of sin and its horrible, tragic consequences. As we look more closely at some of the relevant details, can we learn anything about the tree of life in the New Jerusalem (Revelation 22:2) from examining the trees in the Garden of Eden (cf. Genesis 1:29, 31; 2:9, 16-17)? Do these trees reveal anything about God and His government? Would comparing the two trees in the Garden of Eden with the Tree of Life in the New Jerusalem provide any insight regarding eternal security (‘affliction will not rise the second time’, Nahum 1:9)? Finally, from the many narratives about trees in the Bible, should another tree be included in our comparison of the Garden of Eden with the New Earth?

To address these questions, we need to first carefully examine the situation in the Garden of Eden. Note that God generously provided many beautiful, edible trees throughout the Garden – including the Tree of Life (Genesis 2:9). Yet the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil was present along with the Tree of Life ‘in the midst of the garden.’ With the advantage of hindsight, we might be tempted to believe that this second important tree was ill-advised, perhaps even a mistake. After all, without this tree, the serpent wouldn’t have the needed access to successfully tempt Eve and then Adam.

Yet such a suggestion wilts under closer scrutiny. As Angel Rodriguez clarified in his book, Spanning the abyss: How the atonement brings humanity and God together, the tree of knowledge of good and evil guaranteed Adam’s and Eve’s freedom. Without that tree, Adam and Eve had no alternative but to accept God’s version of reality. Additionally, forbidding Adam and Eve to eat of one tree among the thousands likely provided represented the simplest possible test of their freedom. Had they trusted God’s Word instead of the serpent’s deceptions, their choice would have eventually secured them against temptation. However, because of their disobedience, we are now born with a distrust of God based on Satan’s lies about Him.

Indeed, alienation from God describes humanity’s natural ‘default’ because of sin. We instinctively hide from God as did Adam and Eve – even though He comes searching for us. As Paul explains, we are carnal, sold under sin, without God in the world. Jesus told Nicodemus that anyone who does not believe in the Son of God is ‘condemned already’; our situation is completely hopeless if we do not accept Christ as our Saviour.

How does this relate to the two trees in the garden and the tree of life in the New Jerusalem? First, love cannot exist without freedom. Although this observation has been made many times in many ways, it will always be true. Love cannot be compelled – only freely chosen. Coercion is hostile to love. Thus, the tree of knowledge tangibly provided Adam and Eve with freedom – freedom to love and serve God, but also freedom to distrust and disobey Him; freedom always includes both alternatives. Second, during an initial period of probation, the tree of life and the tree of knowledge remained separate trees in order to preserve liberty. But how do these circumstances change in the New Jerusalem? The tree of life includes both trunks – on either side of the river of life! (see Revelation 22:2). Why this change? Because, as verse 3 explains, in the new earth, there will be no more curse (the curse of sin; deception about God) and thus, ‘His servants shall serve Him’ – freely, voluntarily – motivated by love for God in response to His love for us. Only by love is love awakened. ‘We love Him because He first loved us’, as John tells us.

What comprehensive change in humanity’s natural enmity toward God caused by sin occurs in the Bible between the Garden of Eden and the New Earth? Another tree, we might call it the Tree of Death or the Tree of Sin, was raised on Calvary. Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, freely surrendered His life, becoming sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21), accepting our curse (Galatians 3:13), so that by accepting His free gift, our sin and guilt can be removed. We can walk in newness of life (Romans 8:1-11) because of Christ’s great sacrifice. Furthermore, although Adam and Eve distrusted God under the simplest of tests, Christ trusted God through the worst possible agony and alienation. The parents of the human race fell in relatively easy conditions; Jesus gained the victory in spite of enduring supreme suffering and apparently eternal abandonment. Yet Christ did not act alone; His Father freely gave His Son to redeem us – as the most familiar verse in the Bible, John 3:16, assures every human being. Yet how does this overwhelming demonstration of self-sacrificing love reconcile us to God (cf. 1 Corinthians 5:19)? If we are naturally estranged from God, believing the serpent’s lies about Him, how does the Cross change that?

First, notice what Satan implied in his opening statement to Eve (Genesis 3:1): ‘Has God really said you can’t eat of any/every (the original Hebrew allows either English word) tree in the garden?’ (emphasis supplied) This deceptive question assumes that, rather than being generous, God is restrictive. Instead of indulging them with every pleasure and happiness, God denies them what He knows would bring greater joy and fulfillment. If you have ever encountered a skeptic’s question along the lines of, ‘You really can’t dance?’ or ‘You mean you can’t go to the football game on Friday night?’ or ‘You can’t drink one beer?’ or ‘You really have to sleep with only one person all of your life?’ – then you have heard echoes of the serpent’s lying tongue.

Second, we must understand that in giving Christ for the world, God risked everything – including His own existence – to save us. God freely gave His Son to die, at the risk of failure and eternal loss. Precisely here, many Christians deny God freedom, believing that if Christ could have failed, our eternal security was at risk. Thus, they prefer predestination to liberty. Similarly, according to this view, believers are not free; they can only choose Christ – ‘irresistible grace’. Yet observe that this perspective blunts the enormity of God’s love and attenuates Christ’s sacrifice – a comprehensive risk that demonstrated His love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). And as we have noted previously, without freedom, love cannot exist.

We clearly see, then, that instead of God restricting us or denying us anything, He has given us everything in Christ! Jesus contrasted these competing claims between Himself and the serpent, Satan: 'The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly' (John 10:10). As we behold the gift of God in Christ, hanging on the Cross, we see an infinitely generous God, a God who would yield His own eternal life to give us all things in Christ (cf. Romans 8:32). Calvary’s tree – a tree of sin and death – reconciles the two trees in Eden, connecting them once again in wonderful unity. In his commentary, Revelation, Sigve Tonstad explains that the parallels between the Genesis passage describing the two trees in the garden and Revelation’s depiction of the tree of life – as a single tree spanning the River of life – suggest this glorious reconciliation.

In closing, the book of Esther almost didn’t get included in the canon of Scripture (the ‘official’ Bible) because the name of God does not appear in the book. Yet the climax of the story, when Esther courageously risks her own life to save her people – ‘If I perish, I perish’ – reflects God’s risking eternal loss in the gift of Christ. The very real risk that many in the Christian world deny powerfully illustrates the infinite love of God for humanity. Eventually, that love revealed on the Cross will secure God’s universe for eternity. Responding to such overwhelming evidence refuting Satan’s lies and restoring our trust in God, we will freely love and obey God; and in doing this, we will forever grow toward our true potential. ‘Heaven is a continual approaching unto God through Christ’ (Ellen G. White, Desire of Ages, chapter ‘The Invitation’). And the more we learn of Christ, the greater will be our happiness. The tree of life and the tree of knowledge (freedom’s potential) harmonised once again by the tree on Calvary!