Our God Is a Consuming Fire

1. The Tree of Life

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 2 tells us how the LORD God formed a human being and breathed the breath of life into him. Then we are told that there were two trees in the middle of the garden:

Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed… In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. (Gen. 2.8-9)

The first thing that God says in Genesis 2 relates to these trees. He says:

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. (Gen. 2.16-17)

Genesis 3 gives the account of how the man and woman did eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They did not drop down dead. The text simply states that their eyes were opened and they realised they were naked. Big deal? God had said they would die.

Of course Adam and Eve ate the fruit of the forbidden tree. In addition, their descendants have gone forth and filled the earth (no problems obeying that command), and we still eat the fruit of the forbidden tree. We deceive ourselves if we think God hoped Adam and Eve and all their descendants would for all time resist temptation and refrain from eating the fruit of this tree. God was – and still is – in control. Genesis 3.9 onwards is not God’s hastily thrown together contingency plan because things had gone wrong.

After Adam and Eve (and we) have eaten God says,

“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.” So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden. (Gen. 3.22-23)

Because mankind has eaten from the fruit of the first tree (the tree of the knowledge of good and evil) God ensures that we cannot eat from the fruit of the second tree (the tree of life). The precise nature of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is not our concern here. God’s reaction is sufficient: mankind has become “like one of us, knowing good and evil”. We are like gods. Or rather, it is almost as if we have become members of the godhead – “like one of us”. In making sure that we cannot eat from the tree of life, God ensures that mankind cannot live forever. God explicitly states that the man must not be allowed to live forever. That means we are mortal. We die. We are not immortal. We do not live for ever.

The serpent was right. Adam and Eve did not die when they ate the fruit of the forbidden tree. But the serpent was also wrong. Because they ate the fruit of that tree they were denied the fruit of the other tree. Without eating of the tree of life we cannot live for ever. The banishment from the garden of Eden is not phrased as a punishment. They were banished to stop them eating of the tree of life. Cherubim and a flaming sword were placed at the entrance to the garden so as to ensure that no one had access to the tree of life (Gen. 3.24).

That is where the Genesis story ends. Only those who have eaten of the tree of life will live for ever. But access to the tree of life is barred. No one has eaten of the tree of life; no one will live for ever. Apart from some metaphorical references in Proverbs, we see no more of the tree of life in the entire Old Testament. It is forbidden and forgotten. As we continue through the Scriptures and study the New Testament we could be forgiven for thinking that the tree of life has been entirely lost. But then, suddenly, right at the end of the story, in the last chapter of the last book, Revelation, we’re shown the tree of life again – and it is bearing fruit.

1.1 From Genesis to Revelation

Earlier in the book of Revelation (2.7) Jesus (through John) says, “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.”

Is access possible after all? Who are these victorious ones? The possibilities are tantalizing. Then in Revelation 22 we are given more detail. The angel shows John the river of the water of life which flows down from the throne of God and of the Lamb. The narrative continues:

On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. (Rev. 22.2)

The fruit is abundant. Fresh fruit every month. But we are still not told who has the right to eat it. We note too that such are the life-giving properties of this tree that its leaves bring healing to the nations. The nations too are right there in the holy city enjoying the healing which the tree of life gives them.

It isn’t until the very last page of the Bible that we are told who may eat the fruit of the tree of life: