The Tree of Life in the Paradise of God.
Notes
Transcript
What does the Bible say about the Tree of Life and the Paradise of God?
What does the Bible say about the Tree of Life and the Paradise of God?
Revelation 2:7.
7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.’
Genesis 2:8. LXX
8 The Lord God planted a paradise in Eden toward the east and placed there the human that he formed.
The Septuagint refers to Eden as a paradise 14 times. Perhaps this is where John gets his pairing of these two concepts
Genesis 2:8-9.
8 And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed.
9 And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Genesis 3:22.
22 Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—”
Genesis 3:24.
24 He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.
Tree of life is presented as the source of immortality, God’s life giving presence.
Exodus 37:17-23.
17 He also made the lampstand of pure gold. He made the lampstand of hammered work. Its base, its stem, its cups, its calyxes, and its flowers were of one piece with it.
18 And there were six branches going out of its sides, three branches of the lampstand out of one side of it and three branches of the lampstand out of the other side of it;
19 three cups made like almond blossoms, each with calyx and flower, on one branch, and three cups made like almond blossoms, each with calyx and flower, on the other branch—so for the six branches going out of the lampstand.
20 And on the lampstand itself were four cups made like almond blossoms, with their calyxes and flowers,
21 and a calyx of one piece with it under each pair of the six branches going out of it.
22 Their calyxes and their branches were of one piece with it. The whole of it was a single piece of hammered work of pure gold.
23 And he made its seven lamps and its tongs and its trays of pure gold.
1 Kings 6:23-35.
23 In the inner sanctuary he made two cherubim of olivewood, each ten cubits high.
24 Five cubits was the length of one wing of the cherub, and five cubits the length of the other wing of the cherub; it was ten cubits from the tip of one wing to the tip of the other.
25 The other cherub also measured ten cubits; both cherubim had the same measure and the same form.
26 The height of one cherub was ten cubits, and so was that of the other cherub.
27 He put the cherubim in the innermost part of the house. And the wings of the cherubim were spread out so that a wing of one touched the one wall, and a wing of the other cherub touched the other wall; their other wings touched each other in the middle of the house.
28 And he overlaid the cherubim with gold.
29 Around all the walls of the house he carved engraved figures of cherubim and palm trees and open flowers, in the inner and outer rooms.
30 The floor of the house he overlaid with gold in the inner and outer rooms.
31 For the entrance to the inner sanctuary he made doors of olivewood; the lintel and the doorposts were five-sided.
32 He covered the two doors of olivewood with carvings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers. He overlaid them with gold and spread gold on the cherubim and on the palm trees.
33 So also he made for the entrance to the nave doorposts of olivewood, in the form of a square,
34 and two doors of cypress wood. The two leaves of the one door were folding, and the two leaves of the other door were folding.
35 On them he carved cherubim and palm trees and open flowers, and he overlaid them with gold evenly applied on the carved work.
The tree of life imagery in the Tabernacle and Temple represent the life that comes from God.
Tree of life in Proverbs is spoken of as a source of life: wisdom is a tree of life, righteous fruit is a tree of life, hope fulfilled is a tree of life, a gentle tongue is a tree of life. Proverbs 3:18; Proverbs 11:30; Proverbs 13:12, Proverbs 15:4.
Isaiah 51:1-3.
1 “Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness, you who seek the Lord: look to the rock from which you were hewn, and to the quarry from which you were dug.
2 Look to Abraham your father and to Sarah who bore you; for he was but one when I called him, that I might bless him and multiply him.
3 For the Lord comforts Zion; he comforts all her waste places and makes her wilderness like Eden, her desert like the garden of the Lord; joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the voice of song.
Isaiah 65:17-25.
17 “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind.
18 But be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy, and her people to be a gladness.
19 I will rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in my people; no more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping and the cry of distress.
20 No more shall there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not fill out his days, for the young man shall die a hundred years old, and the sinner a hundred years old shall be accursed.
21 They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
22 They shall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat; for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be, and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands.
23 They shall not labor in vain or bear children for calamity, for they shall be the offspring of the blessed of the Lord, and their descendants with them.
24 Before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking I will hear.
25 The wolf and the lamb shall graze together; the lion shall eat straw like the ox, and dust shall be the serpent’s food. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain,” says the Lord.
Isaiah 65:22 LXX.
22 They will surely not build and others inhabit; they will surely not plant and others eat; for the days of my people will be like the days of the tree of life, for the deeds of their labor will grow old.
Revelation 22:2.
2 through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
Ezekiel 47:1-12.
12 And on the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither, nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing.”
The tree of life is in Ezekiel’s Temple.
What is meant by healing?
Who are the nations in this verse?
“This is Ezekiel. He’s writing to the captives of Judah. It’s Israel-centered. It’s Jew-centered, if you will. But when John uses it in Revelation 21, guess what? It’s not. John cites it and adds the phrase “the nations”—“the healing of the nations.” Again, he’s just taken another Jewish prophecy and applied it to the whole Church.” Dr. Michael S. Heiser, Naked Bible Podcast Episode 397
Revelation 22:14.
14 Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates.
Revelation 22:19.
19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.
The Lexham Bible Dictionary Tree of Life
A tree that represents immortality, divine presence, wisdom, and righteousness as a path of life and an eschatological promise.
The tree of life reminds us the redemptive effect of the cursed tree (the cross) Galatians 3:13-14.
“Scripture depicts the garden of Eden as God’s sanctuary and cosmic dwelling place. He placed humanity within the garden to serve and protect it and to represent Him in the physical universe” (Dalley, “Temple Building,” 239–51; Levenson, “Temple and the World,” 288).
In Revelation we see God fully establishing his sanctuary and cosmic dwelling place on earth. Those who conquer through the love of Jesus share in that space, which includes the tree of life for food and healing.