How can we identify the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil in today’s society?

The Meaning of the Two Trees in Scripture

Our first encounter with these two trees is in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:9).

God warned the first man whom He created not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, but he could eat from the fruits of all the other trees in the Garden (Genesis 2:15-17).

When we read these verses we are bombarded with a few questions. 

• What were these trees?
• Were they actually trees or something else?
• Was the Garden of Eden a literal place?

What if we dissect these verses in Genesis? What will we discover?

Let’s start here.

We will look at specific words in the verse below and the corresponding Hebrew words and their meaning from Strong’s Concordance.

Dissecting the Meaning of the Words

‘Ground’ in Hebrew means ‘ăḏāmâ,(H127), which means the whole inhabited world. It is taken from the root word āḏam (H119), which means to be or look red or ruddy.

The Hebrew word for man (H120) is also ‘āḏām, which means single man or humanity.

Thus, the first man who God created, He named Adam, which could refer to a single man or the entire humanity on the earth.

The Hebrew word for tree is ʿēṣ (H6086), which means tree or a piece of wood. It is from the root word ʿāṣâ, which means to shut.

God commanded all these trees to grow or spring up (ṣāmaḥ H6779) all over the earth.

Metaphorically, in the Bible, trees represent man as noted in the verse that says,

Based upon Genesis 2:9, the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil are literal trees that God planted in the Garden of Eden.

It can be assumed, then, that these trees produced food, fruit or meat (ma’ăḵāl H3978), which when eaten would give humanity long life (ḥay H2416) or death if the latter was eaten.

Note that the tree of life is similar to the breath or Spirit of God that He breathed into the nostrils of the first created man. Its purpose was to constantly revitalize the body to keep it alive.

On the other hand, evil (raʿ H7451) is bad or malignant to the body. If the food of this tree is eaten it begins to spread like a slow moving cancer that ravages the body.

It is quite possible that this tree was the origin of the deadly malignant disease of cancer.

In spite of the fact that there was also good or benefit (ṭôḇ H2896) in this tree, its evil dominate the body to destroy and terminate.

The Bible states that both trees were located in the midst or middle (tāveḵ H8432) of the Garden of Eden.

‘Garden’ is from the Hebrew word gan (H1588), which means an enclosed garden of plants, from the root word gānan (H1598), which means to defend or protect. This Hebrew word is always used to refer to God protecting man.

Eden is ʿēḏen (H5731) in Hebrew meaning pleasure from the root word ʿēḏen (H5730), which means luxury, dainty, delight.

Hence everything, including the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, that grew in the garden were pleasant (ḥāmaḏ H2530) to the eyes. They were all desirable and something to be coveted.

Thus, the Garden of Eden is not necessarily a Garden in a particular area on earth, but it could encompass the entire earth, filled with plants, enclosed and protected by God, where He placed humanity to live in pleasure and luxury.

In view of these meanings, if we dig a little deeper, we could see this verse in a broader sense, telling us that God created a sinless humanity across the entire earth, where trees for food, medicine, and long life sprouted everywhere.

The entire earth was like a beautiful garden where humanity would live forever in splendor. But two special trees grew in the middle of the earth. These were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Humanity was commanded to eat from only the tree of life to allow them to live forever. But they should not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil because this will corrupt their bodies, leading to death.

The Tree of Life

Imagine an entire world where there are no tears, no death, no sorrow, no crying, no pain.  

Humanity lives forever in peace and tranquility, enjoying the pleasures that God gave them.

They could eat from the tree of life, which would revitalize their bodies, keeping them young, fresh, and full of vitality and health.

The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil

This tree is special because it consists of knowledge, skill, perception, discernment, understanding and wisdom (daʿaṯ H1847).

You can receive good knowledge from this tree, and you can gain bad knowledge.

We can compare this tree with the internet in our modern society. You can gain vast knowledge from the internet, which is good and helpful to individuals and the world at large.

However, there is a dark side to the internet that will corrupt your entire being and may even cause your death.

Hence, God told the first humans to simply avoid this tree. I believe that the tree of life contains only good knowledge that will give them life.

However, Adam, the leader of this world, was tempted, and he succumbed to the wiles of the devil, and the entire world plunged into darkness.

The Symbolism of the Trees in Today‘s society

Does the tree of the knowledge of good and evil still exist in the world today?

Yes, it does!

While I believe that the manifestation of this tree is in the form of the internet, you can also gain supernatural knowledge of good and evil from daimōn.

Daimōn (G1142) is the Greek word for a demon or devil, and it refers to an inferior deity, whether good or bad.

These daimons, or demons, possess vast knowledge, both good and evil, which they will give to humans at a cost.

Sometimes you will hear various people on the internet testifying that they received their knowledge about certain inventions, prophecies, or wisdom from angels of God.

Even though the knowledge that they received is good, it is not necessarily from God, but from demons whose mission is to teach good knowledge.

The Greek philosopher Socrates claimed that he received guidance from an inner voice, whom he called his daimonion or daimon (demon).

To the Greeks, these demons were guiding spirits or geniuses who guided them to do good things (Wikipedia).

Other types of demons impart only evil knowledge, but both types are from Satan. Therefore, we must be careful when receiving knowledge from entities we believe are angels from God.

Many Christians believe that the inner voice who speak to them is God, but they may be hearing the voice of demons.

Many so-called Christian prophets are receiving their prophetic knowledge and dreams from demons. There is a thin line that separates the voice of God from the voice of demons.

This thin line is the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22).

According to the above verse, you will be able to identify the false prophets by their fruits.

Are they living by the fruit of the Spirit, which is “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23 NKJV)?

Or are they living by the fruit of the works of the flesh, which are “adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries” (Galatians 5:19-21 NKJV)?

The private lifestyle of these prophets will clearly reveal the source of their knowledge.

The Symbolism of the Tree of Life

The tree of life also exists in our society. However, you will not find this tree growing somewhere on earth.

The embodiment of the tree of life is in the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the way, truth, and life (John 14:6).

You can enjoy the benefits of this tree when you accept His presence in your heart to speak to you and guide you through life’s journey.

Wisdom is a tree of life to those who take hold of it (Proverbs 3:18).

The tree of life is the fruit of righteousness or the fruit of the Spirit.

The tree of life is a wholesome tongue (Proverbs 15:4).

The literal or original tree of life will return to the new earth after the return of Christ.

This tree of life will be in the midst of the Paradise of God on both sides of the river. The leaves will heal the nations (Revelation 2:7; 22:2, 14).

Are you enjoying the fruits from the tree of life?

Have you ever been visited by an angel?

Feel free to share your experience and testimony.

Thank you for reading and sharing.