| The Tree of Life [message #12263] |
Sat, 30 September 2017 02:13 |
 Mark L
Messages: 856
Registered: October 2006
Location: Canada |
Senior Member |
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Do you ever think about what is going on in a verse. So much of what is written in the bible is two dimensional. By that I mean just the bare fact(s) are given with no extras adjectives or embellishment. Probably because doing so would mean we would need a library instead of a book.
So I gave some thought to the Tree of Life in the Garden.
Genesis 3/24.
The facts
They were driven out of the garden Cherubim were place there along with a flaming sword to guard the tree of Life.
So the first fact we see here is that the Tree of Life must have been available to people on the earth to get to or else why guard it. I'm sure Adam/Eve told their children about it. The whole earth must have known about it. I think the tree of Life was there probably up to the flood. Or at least a long time after the garden.
I did some research some yrs ago and came the opinion that the flood occurred about 7000 BC. Later in going over my OT survey notes I was absolutely astounded to read Bro Freeman believed the flood occurred about 7000 BC. According to those notes he also believed there was about 10-15,000 yrs of history before the flood. An opinion I agree with.
There are lots of conservative scholars (like Bro. Freeman) (and conservative hangers on like me) who believe that the genealogies in the OT are not father son lists. That includes the list in Gen 5. Those who believe in a 6000 yr old earth generally take it from the genealogies. For lots of good reasons a 6000 yr old earth simply isn't credible. By that I mean scriptural reasons not science.
Us human beings or Living Souls as the bible calls us are just a just a pale shadow of the partly physical partly spiritual personality God created in the garden. Both male and female. God created us humans “a little lower than the angels” Ps 8/5
In other words concerning strength abilities intelligence we were created close to what an angel is capable of.
I think over the thousands of yrs of our history (and especially at the flood) we have lost most of the awareness of the spiritual side of our nature. Creation being made subject to vanity is a reference to this as well. Rom.8/20 To at least some degree Adam/Eve (and their descendants) would have been cognizant of and aware of the spiritual realm around them “and” the personalities living in it. Angels for eg.
Adam/Eve had kids and apparently lots of them because they all got mates somewhere. Cain himself established a city (or more probably imo) a civilization. There must have been thousands (or millions) living there. Over the 1000's of yrs of history prior to the flood there must have been many cities and civilizations established. Millions and billions of people. Think of the many civilizations that have risen and fallen just over the last 2000 yrs here in our post flood world.
Genesis 6/11-13 says the earth was filled with violence. Do we think that was just neighbors engaged in fisticuffs? Or is it as I think there were wars big and small. Cities countries civilizations fighting with each other. With all kinds of weapons. With the intelligence people had then some of those weapons must have been horrifying.
So to get to the point of the tree of life . . . It must have been a prize worth having. Eat of it and live forever. Never die! Probably the one prize in all the earth worth having! At least as far as sinful man was concerned. The knowledge of it was certainly in the earth.
I think it is entirely reasonable to assume that not only was the knowledge of it available but that sinful man tried to get to it. Why else block the way.
It is interesting that God set Cherubim there to guard it. Not just angels but cherubim. A personality with a higher class of strength intelligence and ability to guard it. And not just one but cherubim “plural” probably lots of them. And not just Cherubim plural but also some serious spiritual weapon. (the sword which turned every way) Obviously because just the Cherubim wouldn't have been enough.
So to keep sinful men from the tree God had to set very significant powerful spiritual beings and weapons for a defense. Man in his natural state working together on his home ground (the earth) with the weapons their civilization gave them must have been powerful indeed.
Is it beyond reason that sinful men would have lived and planned the same way we do today? Armies don't just up and head off to battle. There is much planning and thought that goes into it. By knowledgeable experienced intelligent people. My point is that I think there were great campaigns and wars designed to get to the tree and eat of it.
As I said it was a prize worth having. Obviously they never got to it though.
[Updated on: Sun, 08 October 2017 00:33]
You can read
"Meanderings on Scripture by Mark
https://mlederman.substack.com/
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