Quote:
Originally Posted by Where is it?
Can anyone please refer me to any biblical text, references, passage, or Gods commands regarding the tree of life? I went and re-read the whole creation account last night after seeing this thread, but I didn’t see any. Maybe I’m just the uneducated high school graduate, who is not able to read between the lines correctly. Would like some help.
Thanks all.
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Where is it?
Welcome to the forum!
There are only a handful of mentions in the entire Bible of the "tree of life".
These are all the passages in the creation account in Genesis 2-3 that even include the words tree of life or include references to it.
Genesis 2:8-9
And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, where He placed the man He had formed. Out of the ground the LORD God gave growth to every tree that is pleasing to the eye and good for food. And in the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Genesis 2:16-17
And the LORD God commanded him, “You may eat freely from every tree of the garden, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; for in the day that you eat of it, you will surely die.”
(no command to eat the tree of life mentioned, but it is clear from what is shown in Genesis 3:22-24 below that "you will surely die" means "I will prevent you from being able to eat the tree of life")
Genesis 3:22-24
Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil. And now, lest he reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever...” Therefore the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. So He drove out the man and stationed cherubim on the east side of the Garden of Eden, along with a whirling sword of flame to guard the way to the tree of life.
As you can see, there is no direct command to eat of it. God puts man in a garden. He tells man he can eat of everything in the garden except for the TKGE. When man disobeys and eats the prohibited tree, God prevents them from eating the tree of life so they will not live forever.
Here are the ones in Revelation. Again, the tree of life is shown to be a right we have that can be taken away if we do something we shouldn't.
Revelation 2:7
Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.
Revelation 22:1-2
Then the angel showed me a river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the main street of the city. On either side of the river stood a tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit and yielding a fresh crop for each month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.
Revelation 22:18-19
I testify to everyone who hears the words of prophecy in this book: If anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. And if anyone takes away from the words of this book of prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and the holy city, which are described in this book.
And here's the rest in Proverbs, which I personally don't take as referring to the actual TOL, but are just metaphors and poetic language as much of Proverbs is.
Proverbs 3:18
She is a tree of life to those who embrace her, and those who lay hold of her are blessed. (Ironically the "tree of life" here is actually a metaphor for "wisdom", as seen in Proverbs 3:13)
Proverbs 11:30
The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and the one who is wise saves lives.
Proverbs 13:12
Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.
Proverbs 15:4
The soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit.
Trapped