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If Mankind was Supposed to Live Forever,
Then Why did God Kick Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden
Before They Could Eat of the Tree of Life?




An answer to an email.


When man[kind] was first created, we were intended to live forever.   In the Garden of Eden, man had access to the Tree of Life.   The Tree of Life is different from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, of which they were forbidden to eat:

Genesis 2:9 And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

Adam and Eve were told that they could eat of every tree except for the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.    The fruit of the tree of life was not excluded.   I am pretty certain that Adam and Eve ate of the Tree of Life before they fell.

GENESIS 2

16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

So then why did God bar them from the Tree of Life after they had sinned?

GENESIS 3

22 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:

23 Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.

24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

He barred them from the tree because it is only for the RIGHTEOUS.   After they had sinned, they no longer had right to it.   Our Lord reveals that access to the Tree of Life will be granted to those who are with Him in Heaven.   But it is only the righteous that will eat of the Tree of Life.   Those who die in their sins will not eat of it.  

Revelation 2:7 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; 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 22:14 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 [heavenly Jerusalem].

What would happen to a sinner who eats of the Tree of Life I do not know.   Here are some possiblitities that may or may not be right:

1. They would be able to live forever in a sinful state, without being accountable to God.
This is implied by Genesis 3:22: 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:
God wanted man to live forever and wants no one to end up in hell (2 Peter 3:9), but He realized if a person living in sin were to take hold the Tree of Life, they may live eternally in their sins, evading the consequences.   This does not mean that God is powerless to stop them if this were to happen, it just means that He took away their opportunity to try all together.   It is just a theory.
2. They would go instantaniously to Hell.
This goes [along] with [the] idea that God showed mercy toward them by blocking their access to the Tree of Life after they had sinned.   God didn't tell them to not eat of it, He set an ARMED GUARD to prevent them from even trying!!!   As for the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, he only told them not to eat of it.   So maybe God, in His love, was protecting them from something really terrible that would have happened if they had eaten of the Tree when they were sinners.







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