| A Tale of Two Trees - Part 2 |
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(Gen 2:9 KJV) 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.
Why do you think God placed these two trees in the Garden of Eden? Leaving the tree of life aside for the present let
us focus on the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Nothing that God does is without purpose so it stands to
reason that this tree was there for a reason. Obviously eating the fruit of this tree gave the eater something and that
something is the knowledge of good AND evil. This word ‘AND’ signifies that the knowledge of one cannot come
without the knowledge of the other, if it were otherwise the tree would have been called the tree of the knowledge of
good OR evil. Good and evil are opposite and opposites are teaching tools par excellence. We teach kids the
meaning of words by using opposites such as big/small, short/tall, near/far etc. This is how the knowledge of good
and evil comes to us by comparing one to the other. For instance we know that kindness is good because cruelty is
evil. How would we have ever learnt the meaning of kindness unless we knew what cruelty meant?
Why is it important to have the knowledge of good and evil? The short answer is that without the knowledge of evil, it
is not possible to have the knowledge of good and since God is good it is not possible to know him or understand him
without it. For example how would we know that God is forgiving unless we had done some evil that necessitated
judgment? So without the knowledge of evil, we can know God only on a superficial level, only on the outside not his
inner self. And until evil arose in the universe God had no opportunity to reveal his inner character such as his
mercy, his loving-kindness, his gentleness, his patience, his forgiveness, his grace and above all his love. Even the
angels and archangels who stood in his very presence possibly for eons had no inkling of his inner person. Had this
not been the case none of these angels including Lucifer would have rebelled against him. The very purpose for
which Lucifer was created was to become Satan, the opposer and the opposite of God. The word Satan in the Greek
means an opposer, an adversary, one who is an opposite to the true God. Thus after his fall the archangel Lucifer
became Satan and it was by comparing the character of Satan to that of God that all creatures including man came to
know who God is by understanding that which he is not. Just as God came in the flesh in the form of his only begotten
Son Jesus so will Satan come in the flesh in the form of the antichrist. The antichrist will be the exact opposite of the
true Christ. (2 Th 2:4 KJV) Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is
worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.
God created man to become a perfect being even as God is perfect.
(Mat 5:48 KJV) Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
(Eph 4:13 KJV) Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a
perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.
In Matthew man’s perfection is compared to that of God and in Ephesians to that of Christ. That’s as high a standard
as any creature can attain, the question that begs to be asked is this - Was Adam such a man before his fall? Many a
preacher has suggested that he was, that he was a perfect creature and then the fall happened, his spirit died and
now all that’s left is an evil carnal person closer to being a beast than a human living only by his senses. They go on
to say that Jesus came to restore man to his original perfect state and that is the meaning of Jesus’ sacrifice. Does
the bible concur with this analysis? Far from it, on the contrary the bible makes it abundantly clear that Adam was
anything but a spiritual perfect creature. Adam and Jesus, flesh & blood and flesh & spirit are two entirely different
species of beings and were so even before the fall of man.
I Cor. 15 makes a clear and concise distinction between the first man Adam and the last Adam Jesus.
(1 Cor 15:45 KJV) And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made
a quickening spirit.
(1 Cor 15:46 KJV) Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that
which is spiritual.
Without the knowledge of good and evil it is not possible to be spiritual. Since Adam did not have this knowledge he
was more or less a robot for robots lack the ability to make moral choices. It is one’s ability to make a clear distinction
between good and evil and then follow that which is good that makes one a moral person. So was Adam a moral
person before the fall? How could he be – he did not know what good and evil meant? Does this mean he was
immoral? No he was not immoral either, he was an amoral being which is exactly what a robot is. Likewise he was
neither mortal or immortal, he was amortal – he could have lived forever yet he was subject to mortality. This was not
a flaw in his design, on the contrary God specially designed him in this fashion. To cut a long story short man had to
eat that fruit for then and then only would he able to understand the meaning of good when he compared it to his own
evil. Furthermore it is the eating of the fruit that brought death into this world and death it is that made it possible for
God to reveal to us the full and complete measure of his love.
(Song of Solomon 8:6 KJV) Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong
as death. Death is the full and complete measure of God’s love, this is the only enemy that is equal and opposite to
His love; without death it would not be possible to understand how strong and infinite God's love truly is. Without evil,
there would have been no death and without death we would have never understood the unconditional love of our
God. Unconditional love can only be displayed to those whose condition does not warrant any love – therefore Adam
had to eat that fruit - firstly to understand the difference between good and evil and secondly to be the recipient of
the immeasurable love of God which has taught us how to love him as he loves us. The story of the fall is glossed
over by preachers as if it was an accident that God set out to rectify after the fact but nothing with God is an after-
thought, everything is planned right down to the last jot and tittle including the fall of man. Did God plan the fall? Yes
he did. Did he cause the fall? No he did not? Man fell by his own choice as did Lucifer but both these falls only served
to fulfill the purposes of God.
The scope of this plan is absolutely breath taking and its flawless execution is awe inspiring to say the least. Yet there
is so much more to this story that it can honestly be said that we have hardly scratched the surface until this point.
The tree of life in the Garden was planted to show man that though God knew what was coming he had already
planned to make a way out where there was no way. Death is a permanent state and an implacable enemy but God’s
love would overcome even this unconquerable foe and once again open the passage for man to the tree of life
(everlasting.) Here’s a summary of the first three chapters of Genesis:
God creates man as a robotic creature with no understanding of good and evil but with every intention of making sure
that he did not stay that way. Since God himself is not evil nor can ever become evil, he created Lucifer for the
purpose of becoming the evil one who would bring man the knowledge of evil making it possible for God to bring to
him the knowledge of good. In due time God would put on display for the entire universe to see how infinite his love is
by giving his only begotten Son Jesus to die on the cross for man. (There is a great deal of confusion as to who
Jesus Christ really is - in short, He is God in the flesh, the invisible made visible - read my article Who is
Christ Jesus for a detailed explanation of the Trinity of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.)
God would then raise Jesus from the dead since death had no right to him and thereby conquer death. This made it
possible for man to go into life everlasting not as a flesh and blood creature like Adam but rather a flesh and spirit
being like Jesus. It must be plain to see by now that this process had to be followed, man had to start off as a flesh
and blood corruptible creature who would be transformed through his faith in Jesus the Son of God into an
incorruptible flesh and spirit being. He had to learn good and evil which can neither be programmed into a person nor
taught in school. This knowledge comes only through experience; it was imperative that man experience evil first
hand so that God could bestow upon him his infinite goodness and then in the process of time would man finally
become a perfect being capable and deserving of inheriting God’s eternal Kingdom.
In conclusion God has created man to become a perfect being. Adam was not that man; the first man who became
perfect and the express image (identical in character) to God is Jesus Christ. Yet this perfect man had to arise out of
corruptible flesh and blood, he could not be created perfect from the beginning. What exactly is a perfect being? A
perfect being is one who has a perfect conscience; who has complete knowledge of evil yet he himself is absolutely
incapable of becoming or doing evil. Until Jesus arose from the dead, there was only one perfect and absolutely good
person in the universe and that person is God. (Mat 19:17 KJV) And he said unto him, Why callest thou me
good? there is none good but one, that is, God. Jesus is only the second person in the entire universe who is
absolutely good or perfect. But there is a whole army of such beings that God has prepared who are awaiting to be
revealed to the entire universe in the not too distant future. (Rom 8:19 KJV) For the earnest expectation of the
creature (all of creation) waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. After the resurrection of Jesus
from the dead, this will be the next major event in the universe. Even angels are in awe of this new creation whose
nature, in conscience is identical God himself. If God had not set the bar so high when he set about to create man,
there would have no need for evil to arise in the universe nor for Jesus to suffer and die a horrible unnatural death. If
all God wanted was robotic creatures to follow his every command, he would have programmed them as such. No,
God wanted much more than that. He wanted a new breed of beings who would understand him perfectly and in so
doing, they would love him just as he loves them. This new creation in Christ not only understands evil and therefore
understands good, he has become incapable of ever again becoming evil. This earth is an immunization camp, God
has allowed us to be exposed to evil so that some of us may become immune to it. Without a complete immunization
to evil there can be no freedom. Wherever there exists a capability for creatures to be evil, there exist laws to curb
their freedoms. Absolute freedom means an absolute absence of all laws. Even one law is one too many. Even
in the New Testament there are at least two laws.
(Mat 22:37 KJV) Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy
soul, and with all thy mind. (Mat 22:38 KJV) This is the first and great commandment. (Mat 22:39 KJV) And
the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. (Mat 22:40 KJV) On these two
commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
But in the age which is to come there will be no laws, not even one because there will be no need for any laws. A
being who is perfect in love can never cause any harm to his fellow beings and therefore requires no law to dictate
his behavior since it is dictated by love. This then is the difference between the first Adam and the new creations in
Christ: The first Adam might never have been jealous or covetous in the Garden but that would be because he just
did not know what jealousy or covetousness meant. The new man, of whom Jesus is the prototype, will never be
jealous or covetous because he is incapable of these actions although he knows exactly what jealousy and
covetousness mean. Had we never been exposed to evil we would always have had the capacity to become evil and
that type of creature can never inherit the kingdom of God. This is the reason why the world that is to come has not
been deeded to angels or any other creature because they do not possess this God like capacity of knowing evil but
never being capable of becoming evil. This is why David said: (Psa 8:4 KJV) What is man, that thou art mindful
of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?
Do you really think God would want to have his mind full of the thoughts of the evil corrupt human beings that walk
this planet? No he thinks about the potential he has given to each one of us to acquire his very nature and become
absolutely good even as he is good. These are the creatures who have been made worthy of judging angels (would
one not have to be higher than the angels to judge them? Yet speaking of the 1st Adam, David said that God had
made him a little lower than the angels. Can a lower being judge a higher being?) No the new creations, the begotten
sons of God are so far above every other creature that all of creation is in awe of these beings. All the more the
tragedy when one observes life on this planet and realizes what these creatures could become and what they have
become. Nonetheless those whom God has called and chosen will be there in that age and in that world which is even
now upon the horizon. I earnestly pray to God my Father and the Lord Jesus Christ that everyone who reads these
words will believe in Him and will be counted worthy to have citizenship in the eternal kingdom that is soon to come.
Amen.
good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
Why do you think God placed these two trees in the Garden of Eden? Leaving the tree of life aside for the present let
us focus on the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Nothing that God does is without purpose so it stands to
reason that this tree was there for a reason. Obviously eating the fruit of this tree gave the eater something and that
something is the knowledge of good AND evil. This word ‘AND’ signifies that the knowledge of one cannot come
without the knowledge of the other, if it were otherwise the tree would have been called the tree of the knowledge of
good OR evil. Good and evil are opposite and opposites are teaching tools par excellence. We teach kids the
meaning of words by using opposites such as big/small, short/tall, near/far etc. This is how the knowledge of good
and evil comes to us by comparing one to the other. For instance we know that kindness is good because cruelty is
evil. How would we have ever learnt the meaning of kindness unless we knew what cruelty meant?
Why is it important to have the knowledge of good and evil? The short answer is that without the knowledge of evil, it
is not possible to have the knowledge of good and since God is good it is not possible to know him or understand him
without it. For example how would we know that God is forgiving unless we had done some evil that necessitated
judgment? So without the knowledge of evil, we can know God only on a superficial level, only on the outside not his
inner self. And until evil arose in the universe God had no opportunity to reveal his inner character such as his
mercy, his loving-kindness, his gentleness, his patience, his forgiveness, his grace and above all his love. Even the
angels and archangels who stood in his very presence possibly for eons had no inkling of his inner person. Had this
not been the case none of these angels including Lucifer would have rebelled against him. The very purpose for
which Lucifer was created was to become Satan, the opposer and the opposite of God. The word Satan in the Greek
means an opposer, an adversary, one who is an opposite to the true God. Thus after his fall the archangel Lucifer
became Satan and it was by comparing the character of Satan to that of God that all creatures including man came to
know who God is by understanding that which he is not. Just as God came in the flesh in the form of his only begotten
Son Jesus so will Satan come in the flesh in the form of the antichrist. The antichrist will be the exact opposite of the
true Christ. (2 Th 2:4 KJV) Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is
worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.
God created man to become a perfect being even as God is perfect.
(Mat 5:48 KJV) Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
(Eph 4:13 KJV) Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a
perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.
In Matthew man’s perfection is compared to that of God and in Ephesians to that of Christ. That’s as high a standard
as any creature can attain, the question that begs to be asked is this - Was Adam such a man before his fall? Many a
preacher has suggested that he was, that he was a perfect creature and then the fall happened, his spirit died and
now all that’s left is an evil carnal person closer to being a beast than a human living only by his senses. They go on
to say that Jesus came to restore man to his original perfect state and that is the meaning of Jesus’ sacrifice. Does
the bible concur with this analysis? Far from it, on the contrary the bible makes it abundantly clear that Adam was
anything but a spiritual perfect creature. Adam and Jesus, flesh & blood and flesh & spirit are two entirely different
species of beings and were so even before the fall of man.
I Cor. 15 makes a clear and concise distinction between the first man Adam and the last Adam Jesus.
(1 Cor 15:45 KJV) And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made
a quickening spirit.
(1 Cor 15:46 KJV) Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that
which is spiritual.
Without the knowledge of good and evil it is not possible to be spiritual. Since Adam did not have this knowledge he
was more or less a robot for robots lack the ability to make moral choices. It is one’s ability to make a clear distinction
between good and evil and then follow that which is good that makes one a moral person. So was Adam a moral
person before the fall? How could he be – he did not know what good and evil meant? Does this mean he was
immoral? No he was not immoral either, he was an amoral being which is exactly what a robot is. Likewise he was
neither mortal or immortal, he was amortal – he could have lived forever yet he was subject to mortality. This was not
a flaw in his design, on the contrary God specially designed him in this fashion. To cut a long story short man had to
eat that fruit for then and then only would he able to understand the meaning of good when he compared it to his own
evil. Furthermore it is the eating of the fruit that brought death into this world and death it is that made it possible for
God to reveal to us the full and complete measure of his love.
(Song of Solomon 8:6 KJV) Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong
as death. Death is the full and complete measure of God’s love, this is the only enemy that is equal and opposite to
His love; without death it would not be possible to understand how strong and infinite God's love truly is. Without evil,
there would have been no death and without death we would have never understood the unconditional love of our
God. Unconditional love can only be displayed to those whose condition does not warrant any love – therefore Adam
had to eat that fruit - firstly to understand the difference between good and evil and secondly to be the recipient of
the immeasurable love of God which has taught us how to love him as he loves us. The story of the fall is glossed
over by preachers as if it was an accident that God set out to rectify after the fact but nothing with God is an after-
thought, everything is planned right down to the last jot and tittle including the fall of man. Did God plan the fall? Yes
he did. Did he cause the fall? No he did not? Man fell by his own choice as did Lucifer but both these falls only served
to fulfill the purposes of God.
The scope of this plan is absolutely breath taking and its flawless execution is awe inspiring to say the least. Yet there
is so much more to this story that it can honestly be said that we have hardly scratched the surface until this point.
The tree of life in the Garden was planted to show man that though God knew what was coming he had already
planned to make a way out where there was no way. Death is a permanent state and an implacable enemy but God’s
love would overcome even this unconquerable foe and once again open the passage for man to the tree of life
(everlasting.) Here’s a summary of the first three chapters of Genesis:
God creates man as a robotic creature with no understanding of good and evil but with every intention of making sure
that he did not stay that way. Since God himself is not evil nor can ever become evil, he created Lucifer for the
purpose of becoming the evil one who would bring man the knowledge of evil making it possible for God to bring to
him the knowledge of good. In due time God would put on display for the entire universe to see how infinite his love is
by giving his only begotten Son Jesus to die on the cross for man. (There is a great deal of confusion as to who
Jesus Christ really is - in short, He is God in the flesh, the invisible made visible - read my article Who is
Christ Jesus for a detailed explanation of the Trinity of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.)
God would then raise Jesus from the dead since death had no right to him and thereby conquer death. This made it
possible for man to go into life everlasting not as a flesh and blood creature like Adam but rather a flesh and spirit
being like Jesus. It must be plain to see by now that this process had to be followed, man had to start off as a flesh
and blood corruptible creature who would be transformed through his faith in Jesus the Son of God into an
incorruptible flesh and spirit being. He had to learn good and evil which can neither be programmed into a person nor
taught in school. This knowledge comes only through experience; it was imperative that man experience evil first
hand so that God could bestow upon him his infinite goodness and then in the process of time would man finally
become a perfect being capable and deserving of inheriting God’s eternal Kingdom.
In conclusion God has created man to become a perfect being. Adam was not that man; the first man who became
perfect and the express image (identical in character) to God is Jesus Christ. Yet this perfect man had to arise out of
corruptible flesh and blood, he could not be created perfect from the beginning. What exactly is a perfect being? A
perfect being is one who has a perfect conscience; who has complete knowledge of evil yet he himself is absolutely
incapable of becoming or doing evil. Until Jesus arose from the dead, there was only one perfect and absolutely good
person in the universe and that person is God. (Mat 19:17 KJV) And he said unto him, Why callest thou me
good? there is none good but one, that is, God. Jesus is only the second person in the entire universe who is
absolutely good or perfect. But there is a whole army of such beings that God has prepared who are awaiting to be
revealed to the entire universe in the not too distant future. (Rom 8:19 KJV) For the earnest expectation of the
creature (all of creation) waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. After the resurrection of Jesus
from the dead, this will be the next major event in the universe. Even angels are in awe of this new creation whose
nature, in conscience is identical God himself. If God had not set the bar so high when he set about to create man,
there would have no need for evil to arise in the universe nor for Jesus to suffer and die a horrible unnatural death. If
all God wanted was robotic creatures to follow his every command, he would have programmed them as such. No,
God wanted much more than that. He wanted a new breed of beings who would understand him perfectly and in so
doing, they would love him just as he loves them. This new creation in Christ not only understands evil and therefore
understands good, he has become incapable of ever again becoming evil. This earth is an immunization camp, God
has allowed us to be exposed to evil so that some of us may become immune to it. Without a complete immunization
to evil there can be no freedom. Wherever there exists a capability for creatures to be evil, there exist laws to curb
their freedoms. Absolute freedom means an absolute absence of all laws. Even one law is one too many. Even
in the New Testament there are at least two laws.
(Mat 22:37 KJV) Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy
soul, and with all thy mind. (Mat 22:38 KJV) This is the first and great commandment. (Mat 22:39 KJV) And
the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. (Mat 22:40 KJV) On these two
commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
But in the age which is to come there will be no laws, not even one because there will be no need for any laws. A
being who is perfect in love can never cause any harm to his fellow beings and therefore requires no law to dictate
his behavior since it is dictated by love. This then is the difference between the first Adam and the new creations in
Christ: The first Adam might never have been jealous or covetous in the Garden but that would be because he just
did not know what jealousy or covetousness meant. The new man, of whom Jesus is the prototype, will never be
jealous or covetous because he is incapable of these actions although he knows exactly what jealousy and
covetousness mean. Had we never been exposed to evil we would always have had the capacity to become evil and
that type of creature can never inherit the kingdom of God. This is the reason why the world that is to come has not
been deeded to angels or any other creature because they do not possess this God like capacity of knowing evil but
never being capable of becoming evil. This is why David said: (Psa 8:4 KJV) What is man, that thou art mindful
of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?
Do you really think God would want to have his mind full of the thoughts of the evil corrupt human beings that walk
this planet? No he thinks about the potential he has given to each one of us to acquire his very nature and become
absolutely good even as he is good. These are the creatures who have been made worthy of judging angels (would
one not have to be higher than the angels to judge them? Yet speaking of the 1st Adam, David said that God had
made him a little lower than the angels. Can a lower being judge a higher being?) No the new creations, the begotten
sons of God are so far above every other creature that all of creation is in awe of these beings. All the more the
tragedy when one observes life on this planet and realizes what these creatures could become and what they have
become. Nonetheless those whom God has called and chosen will be there in that age and in that world which is even
now upon the horizon. I earnestly pray to God my Father and the Lord Jesus Christ that everyone who reads these
words will believe in Him and will be counted worthy to have citizenship in the eternal kingdom that is soon to come.
Amen.
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