Introduction
The Garden of Eden narrative has symbolic elements that have fascinated theologians and believers for centuries. Central to this story are the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, two trees that hold deep spiritual significance. This article delves into the creation of Eve and the spiritual secrets and meanings behind these trees, exploring their roles in the biblical account and their implications for understanding obedience, disobedience, and the human connection to the Divine. Let’s uncover the layers of symbolism and revelation embedded in these ancient scriptures together.
The Creation of Eve
After the creation of Adam, God observed that man needed a companion, and primarily a helper to assist him in fulfilling his assignment on earth, so God created Eve. According to Genesis 2:18-23, God shut down the life of Adam and then duplicated his spirit to make Eve.
God used Adam’s spirit as a prototype to make Eve. Most scholars have made the general mistake of taking several concepts used here to be literal in contextual meaning, just like the ribs used here, but this revelation was given to Moses using physical symbols because that’s the language he would properly understand. The language he learnt in Egypt was hieroglyphics, a language that makes use of pictorial symbols to represent sounds for communication.
This happened because God cannot use a language we don’t understand to reveal any secret to us. So Eve becomes like Adam but lacks some of the qualities of Adam because not all of Adam’s features were taken to make her. Yet Eve was called Adam’s helpmeet because she was made to compliment Adam’s weaknesses. When Adam saw Eve, he quickly recognised that this creature was made from the features taken from him, so he said “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman because she was taken out of Man” [Genesis 2:23].
The Trees in the Garden
It was written “And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed” [Genesis 2:8]. So the scripture says “And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it” [Genesis 2:15].
So the duty of man was to nurture this garden. From the ground came forth all types of pleasant trees with good fruits; but there were two notable trees: the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Yet, how can we tell if these two trees were literal trees or symbolic terms for something else?
The Tree of Life and Its Significance
Concerning the tree of life, it was narrated saying “To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God” [Revelation 2:7], but what is the impact of the tree of Life? So it was narrated saying “And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever” [Genesis 3:22].
In other words, the tree of life is an endowment for eternal life. How can one access this tree of life? So it was written “Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city” [Revelation 22:14].
Obedience and Disobedience
Seeing that obedience to God’s Word is the only access to this tree of life, then disobedience to God’s Word should be access to the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. As we all know disobedience to God’s Word automatically means obedience to Satan’s counsel, then this proves that these two trees are not natural trees but symbolic terms for obedience and disobedience.
Disobedience to God’s Word automatically means obedience to Satan’s counsel Share on XSymbolic Nature of the Trees
If the tree of life is spiritual, the seed that grew into the tree is spiritual, because Jesus Christ said “Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God” [Luke 8:11]. This proves that what Moses saw were symbols of the earthly realm with heavenly meanings. The scripture also talks about the water for germination of the seed which grew into the tree to be spiritual [Revelation 22:1-2].
The Symbol of Water
What does this water symbolize? It was written “He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)” [John 7:38-39].
Now we know this water is a symbol of the Holy Spirit. As the revelation of the beginning was shown to Moses with symbols, so were they shown to John in symbolic terms as well. If the water in this garden is spiritual, so should the sun (light) required for synthesis be spiritual, because it was narrated saying “And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof” [Revelation 21:23].
The Sun of Righteousness
So it was buttressed saying “But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall” [Malachi 4:2]. In other words, this sun is a personality, He is Jesus Christ. Access to the Tree of Life is obedience to God’s Word, but man lost access to the Word of God which is the Tree of Life, and he couldn’t connect to God, because the access portal was sealed by Cherubim angels [Genesis 3:24].
To elaborate further, the Tree of Life is the symbolic representation of the Word of God [Genesis 2:9, Luke 8:11], while the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil is the symbolic representation of the word of Satan (the serpent). These trees were planted as seeds, whose soil is the seat of man’s heart [Matthew 13:37-39].
To be continued…