Quote:
Originally Posted by Robert
I do not catch the point, Trapped. There was a tree of "good and evil". yes? So good and evill was on one tree. Yes? There was anoter tree of Life. Yes? So this is clear, that tree of knowledge was opposite the tree of life. I do not have to study WL ministry to see this. May be my English is not perfect, but I do not catch Your point here...
For me, good coming from my intention is anyway evil in God's Eye. Is not?
|
Hi Robert,
Hopefully I can explain my point; let me know if anything is still unclear afterwards.
The tree was not "the tree of good and evil", but "the tree of the knowledge of good and evil." So it wasn't "good and evil being on the same tree". It was the tree of the knowledge of something -- the knowledge of good and evil.
Not just "the tree of good and evil". But the knowing of it.
The Bible confirms this after Adam and Eve eat of it, and God says in Genesis 3:22, "the man has now become like one of us,
knowing good and evil."
Yes, the Bible mentions another tree in the center of the garden, the tree of life. But the tree of life is not said to be "opposite" from any tree. If you read Genesis, God does not even mention the tree of life to Adam and Eve. He doesn't tell them to eat it. He doesn't point to it. He doesn't say anything about it. All God tells them is that they can eat "of any tree EXCEPT the tree of the knowledge of good and evil."
What God does tell them is that if they eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (the tree He commanded them not to eat), they would die. At this point, Witness Lee would teach that Adam and Eve die because the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is really "the tree of death", and that some poisonous element got into man from the tree. But there is a big problem with this teaching.
1. The Bible never, ever calls it a tree of death.
2. The Bible describes the tree positively. It is called a) good for food, b) pleasant to the sight, and c) makes you like God. None of those can be "death" or "poison". No one calls something poisonous "good for food".
3. The tree was forbidden to eat, but this does not necessary make it a bad tree. Like I said in #2 above, it is described positively but is just forbidden.
4. Witness Lee says the name of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was deceptive because it's really the tree of death. But
God called it "the tree of the knowledge of good and evil", and God is most certainly not deceptive! Witness Lee was wrong.
5. The tree's names are not deceptive at all. If you eat the tree of life, you live forever (Genesis 3:22), and if you eat the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you......know good and evil (also Genesis 3:22)!!! The names of the tree are exactly what they got from it. No deception.
6. Additionally, God said it in plain words to Adam and Eve - if you eat the tree you will die. There's no deception involved.
So Adam and Eve ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and God made good on His promise that they would die. And where do we see the proof of Adam and Eve dying? Genesis 3:22-23 again:
...He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden...
God prevented Adam and Eve from eating the tree of life so they would not live forever. In other words......so they would die.
Death did not come from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, like Witness Lee taught. It came because God punished Adam and Eve by preventing them from eating the tree of life, which prevented them from living forever.
This is why the Bible tells us "the wages of sin is death". Death did not come from the tree. Death is our punishment from God for sin, for disobedience.
I'll write another post tomorrow to explain why getting this story right matters and to answer the rest of your question.
Trapped