The Tree of Life

Q: What was the purpose of the Tree of Life in the pre-Fall Eden? Does the Tree of Life still exist in a specific geographical location? As the Tree of Life has a function in the fulfilled Kingdom, will the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil also be present?

A: Not much is said about the existence of the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden before the Fall. It is clear that both it and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil existed in the Garden and were located in the middle of the Garden. "In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:9)." Other than the book of Revelation, the only other mention of the Tree of Life is in Genesis 3 where God says about Adam, "He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever (Genesis 3:22)." I always found this passage fascinating since it implies that if Adam had been able to eat of the Tree of Life before God banished him and Eve from the Garden, he may have been able to live forever. However, it is not clear if this form of eternal life would have been within the context of a fallen world or if the world would have been restored to its original state. We most likely will never know because before Adam had a chance to reach the Tree of Life God banished Adam and Eve from the Garden and "placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life (Genesis 3:24)."

I do not believe that the Tree of Life still exists in a geographical location somewhere in the world today. Nobody has ever known the location of the Garden of Eden much less where the Tree of Life was located. Besides, the world of today doesn't resemble the world during the time of Adam and Eve. When God sent the global flood, during the life of Noah, the Bible records that from the time the rain started until Noah's Ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat was about five months. During this time we read that "all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened (Genesis 7:11)." The results of which were that "all the high mountains under the entire heavens were covered (Genesis 7:19)" and the "waters rose and covered the mountains to a depth of more than twenty feet (Genesis 7:20)." Just think of the way in which the geography of the planet must have changed after a catastrophe of global proportions? We only need to look back five years to the Tsunami of 2004. I have read that the earthquake that started the tsunami was powerful enough to vibrate the entire planet 0.4 inches and caused earthquakes as far away as Alaska. Photographs after the tsunami even show how the geography of certain places was forever changed. Now, magnify that to the level of a global flood and you can imagine the changes the planet would undergo. The Garden of Eden and the Tree of Life would no longer be around after something so devastating.

The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil is not mentioned outside the book of Genesis other than in occasional references to the fruit that was eaten which led to the Fall. The Book of Revelation only mentions the Tree of Life as being a part of the Kingdom of God. And it makes sense that the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil would not be present in the future Kingdom. Jesus described heaven as a place "where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal (Matthew 6:20)." Isaiah prophesied that in the new heavens and new earth, "The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox... (Isaiah 65:25)" These are examples of a creation not stained by the effects of sin. And sin entered into the world only after Adam ate from the Tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil. For this tree to be a part of Heaven would be inconsistent with the idea of what heaven is supposed to be. I wouldn't call it Heaven if there was a chance that someone could eat the forbidden fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and allow sin to enter back into the world. We could not have anything resembling eternal life if that which caused death was still available for us to partake in.

Adam was prevented from eating from the Tree of Life. Yet, in the book of Revelation it describes that God will give us "the right to eat from the tree of life (Revelation 2:7)." Further on in the same book is says that believers "have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city (22:14)." In the book of Genesis we only read where Adam was prevented from accessing the Tree of Life after the Fall. We are never told if he had access to the Tree of Life prior to the Fall. Either way, it is clear that in the Heaven to come believers will have the opportunity to eat from the Tree of Life and there is no mention of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. This should serve as encouragement to the believer that they have access to God and all that He promises us because of our faith in Jesus Christ. God's promises are eternal and never change. Even though Adam's disobedience led to sin and death entering the world when he ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, we can be thankful that the obedience of Jesus Christ led to forgiveness, eternal life and access to the Tree of Life for all who place faith in Him.