the nature of the Tree of life

[Mr. Redflame]

Could their ever have been a chance that the tree of life extended one's life span instead of given immortality? Also, do you guys believe that God Himself ever held back death from all living creatures?

And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish [though, I doubt that it can be inferred from this that some animal life has died already] the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. -Gen. 1:28.

Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. -Gen. 3:16.

And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. -Gen. 3:17-19.

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: -Gen. 3:22 kjv.

Could this list of verses have any relevance?

[Mr. Redflame]

I'm sorry the titles no good. Instead it should say "what are effects of the tree of life's fruit?".

[zachshrader]

It says live forever in verse 22. You quoted it. Does that not answer your question?

[anvilhauler]

Could their ever have been a chance that the tree of life extended one's life span instead of given immortality? Also, do you guys believe that God Himself ever held back death from all living creatures?

And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish [though, I doubt that it can be inferred from this that some animal life has died already] the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. -Gen. 1:28.

Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. -Gen. 3:16.

And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. -Gen. 3:17-19.

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: -Gen. 3:22 kjv.

Could this list of verses have any relevance?

Which tree of life?

When God created Eve from one of Adam's ribs she quite likely would have been fertile and so she most likely will have been pregnant within a month or two.  From the scripture we know that their children were only ever born after they were ejected from paradise.  Adam and Eve quite likely only ever lived in the garden of Eden for a very short time.  Hence a lot of discussion about that tree in the garden is rather a moot point and of no real use discussing in the world after the fall.

But what we do know is that there is another tree of life that we are invited to eat from and that will be for eternity.

Revelation 2 Authorized (King James) Version (AKJV)
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 Authorized (King James) Version (AKJV)
1 And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. 2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3 And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: 4 and they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads. 5 And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.

This future tree of life is the only one worth considering.

[Mr. Redflame]

sorry if I'm asking questions that may be unlearned, but the tree of life having life extending properties in it, has been one of the most surprising things I've discovered on the web. anvilhauler I meant the tree of life mentioned in Genesis alongside the verses I listed. zachshrader the catch to this one is that a fruit with life-extending properties allows one to simulate immortality, hence "live for ever".

hmm, in Genesis 4:1 it says that Adam knew Eve which is said after the fall. It might still be possible though that Eve was pregnant before the fall.

[Jeanne]

I highly doubt Eve was pregnant when they were evicted from Eden because Genesis 4:1 states:

4 And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord.

This was AFTER the events of Genesis 3, when the serpent deceived Eve and they ate the fruit.

Also, Adam and Eve were CREATED immortal because it wasn't until sin entered into the picture that death even existed. Remember, God told Adam:

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.

Of course, they didn't drop dead at that very moment, but that was when the curse of death entered the world. God killed two animals to clothe them with, and from that moment, their bodies would have begun to wear out, though it took many centuries longer to do so then than it does now.

I also believe that God only ever created one Tree of Life and that it is now in heaven somewhere awaiting the new creation. I can't prove this, so this is only my opinion.

But yes, if Adam and Eve had eaten from the tree of life after they sinned, they would still be alive today in their fallen state and there would be no chance of redemption. In that respect, death is actually a blessing so that we don't HAVE to spend eternity separated from God.

[zachshrader]

zachshrader the catch to this one is that a fruit with life-extending properties allows one to simulate immortality, hence "live for ever".

I dont remember the Bible ever saying anything like this, so where are you coming up with this?  God said live forever and I believe it.  If it didnt mean live forever, and only meant to extend life, but they would still die eventually after theyre extended life, wouldnt that make God a liar? 

[creationliberty]

I dont remember the Bible ever saying anything like this, so where are you coming up with this?

He's not. He said it himself: "one of the most surprising things I've discovered on the web" It's not that he's studying the Bible for himself, but rather, he's learning this from other various websites. That's why I haven't commented on any of this. When you don't have the sources quoted from the people who are teaching those strange things, allowing us to go back and check out their doctrine to discern whether or not they are of Christ, it's difficult to point out the lack of discernment that led him down this path in the first place. Don't misunderstand, it's not wrong to ask, but we want to address the source of the problem to prevent endless vain discussions. Nonetheless, I'm glad you all are responding to these things.

[zachshrader]

Oh duh Im an idiot. Well Im sorry for jumping down your throat Troy.  I thought you believed what you were saying.