The Tree of Life in the Bible: God’s Secret in Genesis

Have you ever heard of the tree of life and its meaning in the Bible? Most people have heard the story of Adam and Eve and the Garden of Eden. Even many non-Christians have heard that story and have a general idea that Adam and Eve came to die after they were tempted by the serpent to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. But most Christians don’t realize that there was another tree in the garden, the tree of life, and that it holds the secret to eternal life.

Everyone Wants Eternal Life

About 115,000 people die every day. Despite this fact, just about everyone wants to live forever. And throughout history, humans have sought ways to stretch and extend their lives for as long as they can. There are many stories of wealthy and powerful people seeking eternal life, including Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China, who sent an expedition on a failed mission to the Eastern Sea to find the elixir of life more than 2,000 years ago.

Nowadays, wealthy and powerful people are searching for modern-day versions of the elixir of life. Some are putting their hope in cryogenic freezing, others are searching for a way to reprogram human cells, and still others think the answer could lie in some sort of pill. Some of the world’s brightest minds are searching for a way to live forever.

So why is all mankind lamenting death and longing to live forever? Why do all human’s have to die? And is there really a way to live forever? The good news is that people don’t need to be rich to receive eternal life, because God gives it freely.

How? The answer is in the book of Genesis.

The Tree of Life in the Bible

Jesus revealed that there is a secret hidden since the creation of the world, and that He had come to reveal that mystery.

Matthew 13:34-35 Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable. So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet: “I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world.”

Jesus said that He would reveal things hidden since the creation of the world. This implies that there are secrets hidden in parables in the creation story in the book of Genesis. Let’s review the story of Adam and Eve to learn the secret hidden in the Garden of Eden.

Genesis 2:16-17 And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”

God put Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden where there was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And He commanded Adam and Eve not to eat from it. But Adam and Eve were tempted by the serpent and they ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and they came to die.

Genesis 3:4-6 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.

Everyone knows this history. It’s not a secret. Then what was the secret Jesus was talking about? The secret is that even though Adam and Eve sinned and they came to die, there was something else in the Garden of Eden that could allow them to live forever.

The Tree of Life Gives us Eternal Life in the Bible

There’s still a way for sinners to get eternal life.

Genesis 3:22 And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.”

There was another tree in the Garden of Eden — the tree of life. The characteristic of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was that anyone who eats of it must die. But the characteristic of the tree of life is that anyone who eats of it can live forever. God said that even Adam and Eve who had sinned by eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil could live forever if only they could reach out and eat from the tree of life. That means all sinners on earth can live forever if they can eat from the tree of life.

God Blocked the Way to the Tree of Life in the Bible

However, the Bible says that God blocked the way to the tree of life.

Genesis 3:23-24 So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. After he drove the man out, he 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.

God said that Adam and Eve must not be allowed to eat from the tree of life, and that they must be kicked out from the Garden of Eden. God even told two angels with flaming swords to block the way to the tree of life so sinners could not eat from it.

Since God blocked the way, only who has authority to reopen the way to the tree of life? Only God. That means that eternal life can only be given by God. It also means that if we find an account of someone opening the way to the tree of life, and allowing sinners to eat from it, that person would have to be God.

The Reality of the Tree of Life in the Bible

This is not just Adam and Eve’s story, but it is the story of every human born on this earth. The story in the Garden of Eden is also a parable. And a parable is a story with a hidden meaning. Most people know that the serpent represents Satan (Rev. 12:9). The Garden of Eden represents Heaven where all humans lived as angels before they were born on this earth after committing sin. We can confirm this through the words God spoke to king Tyre.

Ezekiel 28:11-17 The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, take up a lament concerning the king of Tyre and say to him: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: “You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone adorned you…. You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you. Through your widespread trade you were filled with violence, and you sinned. So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God, and I expelled you, guardian cherub, from among the fiery stones. Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth; I made a spectacle of you before kings.

Where does the Bible say that King Tyre was a guardian cherub, a guardian angel? In Eden. But this wasn’t the Eden of Genesis. Tyre wasn’t alive at the time of Adam and Eve, and when he was cast out of Eden, he was cast down to the earth. This Eden represents Heaven where angels live. In Heaven, all of us were angels who committed the same sin as Adam and Eve and King Tyre. We disobeyed God and sinned against Him, listening instead to the serpent, Satan. We all lost the right to eat from the tree of life and live forever. That’s why all humans come to die (Ro 6:23).

But if we can regain access to the tree of life, we can live forever.

Then, what is the reality of the tree of life?

Jesus’ Flesh and Blood is the Tree of Life in the Bible

Jesus taught us the reality of the tree of life by revealing the way to receive eternal life. He said that whoever eats His flesh and drinks His blood has eternal life.

John 6:53-54 Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.

What should we eat in the Garden of Eden to have eternal life? The tree of life. What did Jesus tell us to eat to have eternal life? His flesh and blood. That means that Jesus’ flesh and blood is the reality of the tree of life in Eden.

But, of course, Jesus didn’t want us to eat His literal flesh and blood. It’s important for us to eat Jesus’ flesh and drink His blood exactly the way He told us to. So how can we eat Jesus’ flesh and drink his blood?

The Passover Contains Jesus’ Flesh and Blood

The only way to eat Jesus’ flesh and drink His blood is through the Passover.

Matthew 26:17-19 On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where do you want us to make preparations for you to eat the Passover?” He replied, “Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, ‘The Teacher says: My appointed time is near. I am going to celebrate the Passover with my disciples at your house.’” So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and prepared the Passover.

Jesus himself directed His disciples to prepare the Passover. The Bible specifically mentions the yearly feast celebrated on the 14th day of the first month of the sacred calendar (Leviticus 23) even three times in the above verses. When He kept the Passover with His disciples, Jesus revealed that the Passover bread and wine contain His flesh and blood.

Matthew 26:26-28 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”

What did Jesus say the Passover bread is? “My body.” What did he say the Passover wine is? “My blood.” In John 6, Jesus said that eating his flesh and blood is the way to have eternal life, meaning His flesh and blood is the reality of the tree of life in the Garden of Eden. The Passover allows us to eat Jesus’ flesh and blood so it is the ceremony to eat the from the tree of life.

In other words, the way for mankind to receive eternal life, being freed from the agony of death is actually to keep the Passover.

The Passover has a certain date. So that is the day that God has appointed for us to eat from the tree of life.

Some people think that any bread and wine eaten in a church has God’s promise of eternal life. But Jesus never mentioned anything about a weekly or monthly Communion or Eucharist. He only emphasized the importance of the Passover.

Luke 22:15 And he said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.”

Jesus said He eagerly desired to eat the Passover with His disciples. This was the night that Jesus would be betrayed, arrested and beaten. The next day He would be crucified. Jesus knew this. He knew that He only had a few hours left on earth. And yet, He eagerly desired to keep the Passover. Why is the Passover so important? It’s because the Passover is the way to eat from the tree of life. It is the way for Jesus to give us eternal life. It is the reality of His flesh and blood that He was going to shed on the cross for us.

No matter how righteous a person may be on this earth, in the spiritual point of view, we are all just sinners who committed grave sins in Heaven and were cast down to this earth. What we need most, is to eat from the tree of life in order to receive salvation.

Only God Opens the Way to the Tree of Life

Who taught us how to eat from the tree of life by keeping the Passover? It was Jesus.

In the Garden of Eden, God blocked the way to the the tree of life,with cherubim and a flaming sword. That means only who can open the way to the tree of life? Only God. Since the reality of the tree of life is the Passover, only who can give the Passover to sinners? It is only God.

Since Jesus gave us the Passover, He must be God who came to the earth to save us. We can confirm this by studying about the Trinity. The Bible testifies that Jesus is God who came to give sinners eternal life through the Passover. He Himself stated that His mission was to bring life to the full, eternal life.

John 10:10 I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

So Jesus, God, came to this earth and gave us the Passover. Because eating the Passover bread and wine is the only way to eat from the tree of life in the Bible, the early church kept the Passover faithfully.

So why have so many people never heard about the Passover?

The first thing you learn in church should be about the tree of life in the Bible, the way to receive eternal life. But churches don’t teach about the tree of life, or its reality, the Passover. Why? It’s because the Passover was abolished in 325 AD at the Council of Nicaea, which was organized by Roman Emperor Constantine. After the Passover was abolished based on the advice from the Roman church, anyone who kept the Passover according to Jesus’ instructions was considered a heretic and was persecuted. The truth of the Passover eventually disappeared.

Without the Passover, sinners couldn’t eat from the tree of life anymore. The way to receive eternal life was blocked again. But the Bible prophesied that the Passover would be restored in our age.

Isaiah 25:6-8 On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine — the best of meats and the finest of wines. On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove his people’s disgrace from all the earth. The Lord has spoken.

Isaiah prophesied that God would prepare a banquet of aged wine in order to destroy death forever. Which wine in the Bible has God’s promise to give eternal life? It is only the Passover wine that has God’s promise to swallow up death and give eternal life.

Then why is the Passover wine said to be aged?

It’s because God, who knows the end from the beginning (Isa. 46:10) knew that no one would keep the Passover for about 1,600 years after it was abolished in 325 AD.

But God prophesied about a time when people would keep the Passover again, and receive the promise of eternal life.

Christ Ahnsahnghong is God

In the church that keeps the Passover, we can say “Surely this is our God.” Because He has opened the way to the tree of life — something that only God can do.

Isaiah 25:9 In that day they will say, “Surely this is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us. This is the Lord, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.”

In the world, it is only the World Mission Society Church of God that keeps the Passover that allows sinners to eat again from the tree of life. That’s because the Church of God was founded by God Himself, who came a second time in the flesh as Christ Ahnsahnghong to restore the Passover, the way to eat from the tree of life in the Bible.

In order to save sinners who were destined to die due to the sins that they had committed in heaven, God shed His precious blood on the cross. Jesus came to this earth at a great cost. He was mocked and despised, beaten and flogged. He knew this would happen to Him. He knew the terrible death He would have to endure. But He still came. Why? It’s because it was the only way for Him to open the way to the tree of life for us. He had to die so that we can receive eternal life. That’s why He eagerly desired for us to keep the Passover.

And Jesus did not hesitate to appear a second time on this earth that had treated Him with such contempt.

Hebrews 9:28 So Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.

Jesus has appeared again in the flesh with His new name, Christ Ahnsahnghong, to restore the Passover and reopen the way to eat from the tree of life. Surely, He is our God, the only one who can open the way to the tree of life, and the one who has fulfilled all the other prophecies about Second Coming Christ in the Bible. Let’s believe in Him and keep the Passover to receive salvation.