Tree of life

In the words of the Bible, it is the hope of fallen man to approach or reach the tree of life. “Hope withheld makes the heart sick, desire fulfilled is a tree of life. “4 Accordingly, the Israelites of the Old Testament era saw the tree of life as the fulfillment of their hope. Likewise, the hope of all Christians from the days of Jesus until today lies in the promise: “Blessed is he who washes his robe: he has a share in the tree of life, and he will be able to enter through the gates into the city. ”5 Since the ultimate hope of humanity is the tree of life, we can assume that Adam's hope was also the tree of life.

It is written that God denied Adam the way to the tree of life after his fall and placed the cherubim with flaming swords as guards in front of it.6 From this we can conclude that the tree of life represented the epitome of Adam's hope before the fall. Adam was expelled from the Garden of Eden without having fulfilled his hope of reaching the tree of life. Since those days, the tree of life has remained an unfulfilled hope for fallen mankind. So what did Adam specifically hope for in the phase when he was still immature and growing towards perfection? His hope was to become a man who would realize God's ideal of creation by attaining perfection without falling. The tree of life indeed symbolizes a man who has fully realized the ideal of creation. The perfect Adam was to be this man. The tree of life therefore symbolizes the perfect Adam.

If Adam had not fallen and had instead realized the tree of life, then all his descendants could have found their way to the tree of life. They would have established the kingdom of God on earth. But Adam fell and God placed the cherubim with the flaming sword between him and the tree of life. Since that day, despite the best efforts of fallen men to restore the ideal, the Tree of Life has been an unattainable dream. Weighed down with the burden of Original Sin, fallen humans cannot fulfill the ideal of creation and become trees of life on their own. In order for this ideal to be realized, a man who has fulfilled the ideal of creation must appear on earth as a tree of life. The whole of humanity must then be connected to this olive tree7 and become one with it. Jesus was the man who came as this tree of life. The tree of life, the goal of people's longings in the Old Testament age8, was none other than Jesus.

Since God blocked Adam's path to the tree of life by the guards with the flaming sword, no one could reach the tree without first opening the way. On the day of Pentecost, fiery tongues descended upon the saints and they were filled with the Holy Spirit.9 This event describes the opening of the way and the pushing aside of the flaming sword, which was experienced as the appearance of the tongues of fire that preceded the coming of the Holy Spirit. This opened the way for all mankind to be able to approach Jesus, the tree of life, and to be united with him.

Nevertheless, Christians were only connected to Jesus in spirit. The children of all Christian parents, however devotedly they may believe in Jesus, are born with original sin, from which they must be redeemed. Even the most faithful saints were not free from Original Sin and therefore could not prevent themselves from passing it on to their children.10 For this reason, Christ must once again appear on earth as the Tree of Life. By uniting all people to himself once again, he must take away their original sin. Christians therefore eagerly await the tree of life, which in the Book of Revelation symbolizes Christ at his return.

The goal of God's providence of redemption is to make up for the mistake that led to the failure to attain the tree of life in the Garden of Eden by realizing the tree of life mentioned in the Book of Revelation. Because of his fall, Adam could not reach the ideal of the first tree of life.12

In order for the redemption of fallen humanity to be completed, Jesus, the “Last Adam ”13 , must return in the last days as the tree of life.4 - Prov 13:12
5 - Rev 22:14
6 - Gen 3:24
7 - Rom 11:17 Just as the Bible compares the relationship between Jesus and his disciples to the vine
and the branches (John 15:4) and depicts Jesus as the tree of life, the
figurative meaning of the olive tree in Rom 11:17 also refers to Jesus. (A.d.R.).
8 - Prov 13:12
9 - Acts 2:3-4
10 - cf. Messiah 1
11 - Rev 22:14
12 - Gen 2:9
13 - 1 Cor 15:45