Gardens and Trees

The Garden of Eden and the Tree of Life

Paradise

Paradise - A walled garden, park. Includes rivers and trees. There is no death or evil.

John Milton’s books.

Paradise Lost (1664) The Fall of Man

Paradise Regained (1671) The Temptation of Jesus

Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil

Tree of Life

Tree of life is a literal tree. Physical. Real. Functional.

Tree of life is a symbolic tree. Representative. Points to something else. Deeper meaning.

It seems to be connected to the presence of God.

In Genesis, the fruit of the tree is to sustain life, provide eternal life.

In Revelation, the fruit of the tree of life is to be an eternal healing for the nations.

Adam/Man was created and placed in the Garden

It seems that Adam was created finite, with a need to be sustained.

He was created in God’s image. He was designed for relationship with God and others.

Adam created finite - A need for the fruit of the tree. Can’t survive without it.

The second Adam, Jesus was resurrected to be infinite, without a need but the Spirit of God.

Trees - God’s wisdom, truth, knowledge, presence/connection are rolled into these 2 trees.

Paradise Lost

Genesis 3 - Man sins against God. He is kicked out of the garden.

Man is removed from the presence of God.

Man is removed from the Tree of Life.

Curse - no fruit of the tree, creation corrupted. Someone hung on a tree is cursed.

Man’s attempts to get the Presence of God

After the garden, man had a desire for a connection with God, or the Divine. He tries religion or mysticism to restore what was lost. Get back to the garden. Get back to paradise. Get back to the connection with something transcendent.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 (CSB)

11 He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also put eternity in their hearts, but no one can discover the work God has done from beginning to end.

right place - mountains, temples, ie. tower of Babel

right practices - rules, rituals, sacrifices

right priests/prophets - man to God, God to man. shaman, holy men, mystics, etc. This could even be the right king. Nation of Israel wanted a king in 1 Samuel 8.

right people - nations, people groups, descendents, adopted or claimed identity, join a group.

Replacement of the Tree

In Rabbinic writings, the Jews replaced the tree of life with the Torah. There was a connection made that fulfillment and happiness, maybe even life itself, was connected to keeping the Torah.

Proverbs 3:13-18, Proverbs 11:30, Proverbs 13:12, Proverbs 15:4,

The Garden of Gethsemane and the Tree

Paradise Regained

Matthew 5:17 CSB

17 “Don’t think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.

John 19:41 CSB

41 There was a garden in the place where he was crucified. A new tomb was in the garden; no one had yet been placed in it.

Acts 5:30 CSB

30 The God of our ancestors raised up Jesus, whom you had murdered by hanging him on a tree.

Acts 10:39 CSB

39 We ourselves are witnesses of everything he did in both the Judean country and in Jerusalem, and yet they killed him by hanging him on a tree.

Galatians 3:13 CSB

13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, because it is written, Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.

1 Peter 2:24 (CSB)

24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree; so that, having died to sins, we might live for righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.

The symbolism of the cross, upon which Jesus was crucified, and the Tree of Life in the Bible are deeply interconnected in Christian theology. Here are some ways in which the cross connects with the Tree of Life:

Restoration and Redemption: The cross is the instrument of Jesus' crucifixion, where He bore the sins of humanity and died to bring about redemption. This act of sacrifice is seen as the means by which the effects of the fall—introduced through the disobedience associated with the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil—are reversed. Through the cross, believers are given access to the eternal life originally symbolized by the Tree of Life.

Victory over Death: The cross represents Jesus' victory over sin and death. In the Garden of Eden, the Tree of Life symbolized a life in perfect communion with God, which was lost due to sin. Through Jesus' death and resurrection, the power of sin and death is broken, and the way is opened for believers to partake in the life that the Tree of Life represents.

Bridge to Eternal Life: The cross serves as a bridge that reconnects humanity with God. In a metaphorical sense, just as the Tree of Life stood in the center of the Garden of Eden, the cross stands at the center of history as the means by which access to eternal life is restored.

Symbol of Sacrificial Love: The Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden was a symbol of God's provision and love for humanity. Similarly, the cross is a symbol of God's sacrificial love in giving His Son to die for the sins of the world (John 3:16). It represents the ultimate expression of love that brings life to those who believe.

Fulfillment of God's Plan: The presence of the Tree of Life in Revelation's description of the New Jerusalem signifies the fulfillment of God's plan for humanity's redemption. The cross, as the means of this redemption, is intrinsically linked to the realization of this eternal life and fellowship with God.

In summary, the cross and the Tree of Life are connected as symbols of life, redemption, and the restoration of the relationship between God and humanity. The cross is the means by which the life symbolized by the Tree of Life is made available to all who believe in Jesus Christ.

THE CROSS - The Tree of Death

right place - John 4, God’s presence is not a physical location, but proximity of the heart. “Honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Isa 29:13

right practices, rules, rituals, sacrifices Psalm 40, Psalm 51:16-17, Hebrews 9:13-14,

right priests/prophets - Hebrews 9:23-28,

right people - Hosea 1:9, Hosea 2, 1 Peter 2:9-10, Romans 8:12-17, Galatians 3:28,

“On the Tree” Jesus became the curse. Acts 5:30, Acts 10:39, Galatians 3:13, 1 Peter 2:24,

Jesus resurrected - 2nd Adam, born incorruptible, eternal

Romans 5:15–21 CSB

15 But the gift is not like the trespass. For if by the one man’s trespass the many died, how much more have the grace of God and the gift which comes through the grace of the one man Jesus Christ overflowed to the many. 16 And the gift is not like the one man’s sin, because from one sin came the judgment, resulting in condemnation, but from many trespasses came the gift, resulting in justification. 17 If by the one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive the overflow of grace and the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. 18 So then, as through one trespass there is condemnation for everyone, so also through one righteous act there is justification leading to life for everyone. 19 For just as through one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so also through the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. 20 The law came along to multiply the trespass. But where sin multiplied, grace multiplied even more 21 so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace will reign through righteousness, resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

The Tree of Life in the New Jerusalem,

Revelation 21-22

Paradise Realized

Tree of Life - Revelation 2:7, Revelation 22:1-5, 14, 19.

No Temple in the New Jerusalem. Not needed. God is fully present.

He is the light, HE IS PRESENT.

River of the Water of Life, Flowing from the Throne of God and the Lamb.

No more curse.

Tree of life is a literal tree; Tree of life is a symbolic tree

In Genesis, the fruit of the tree is to sustain life, make eternal life

In Revelation, the fruit of the tree of life is to be an eternal healing for the nations.

It seems that Adam was created finite, with a need to be sustained.

The second Adam, Jesus was resurrected to be infinite, without need but the Spirit of God.

1 Corinthians 15:35-58

The tree of life seems to represent the Presence of God. He is with them personally in the Garden of Eden. Then, He is with them personally in the New Jerusalem, in Revelation 22.

Do You Want Paradise without Jesus?

Closeness, relationship, peace.