What Is the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil in Genesis 3?
1) Direct Answer
- The tree of life is Christ—God’s own Life and Word offered to man.
- The tree of the knowledge of good and evil is Satan’s perverted wisdom, offered through the serpent, mixing truth with error and bringing death. It was not an apple tree; it was a channel of union with unbelief that produced a corrupt seed.
2) Scriptural Explanation
- Genesis 2:9 places both trees “in the midst” of the garden, making them central to man’s choice.
- Genesis 2:17 says, “in the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” After partaking, death set in (Genesis 3:19; Romans 5:12).
- Genesis 3:1-6 shows the serpent ministering a message contrary to God’s Word, and Eve receiving it. 2 Corinthians 11:3 confirms, “the serpent beguiled Eve.”
- Genesis 3:7 says “they knew that they were naked” and covered their loins, showing moral shame, not a stomach issue from fruit.
- Genesis 3:15 declares enmity between two seeds: the woman’s Seed and the serpent’s seed. That speaks of a real lineage. 1 John 3:12 says, “Cain was of that wicked one,” revealing the serpent’s line through unbelief.
- Genesis 3:14 curses the serpent “upon thy belly,” showing a creature brought down—once upright, now degraded.
- The tree of life points to Christ: “In Him was life” (John 1:4). He said, “I am the life” (John 14:6), “I am the living bread” (John 6:51). Overcomers are promised to eat of the tree of life (Revelation 2:7), and in the New Jerusalem it appears again (Revelation 22:2). God barred the way to it (Genesis 3:24), so fallen man wouldn’t live forever in sin. Access opens again by redemption.
3) Simple Clarifying Logic
- Literal fruit cannot give a conscience of good and evil, nor does it make one ashamed of nakedness. But receiving a wrong word and entering a wrong union brings moral shame and death.
- God speaks of “seed” in Genesis 3:15. Fruit doesn’t beget a lineage; reproduction does. That’s why sorrow in conception and childbirth was multiplied (Genesis 3:16). The issue touched the womb and the life stream.
- If Adam and Eve had then taken the tree of life, they would have lived forever in a fallen state. Therefore the tree of life is eternal life in Christ; the other tree brought death by mixing good and evil—religion without revelation, truth mingled with a lie.
4) Reinforcing Statement
Now notice: to “eat” is to receive and become one with what you take in. Receiving Christ, the Word and Spirit, is partaking of the tree of life today; receiving the serpent’s reasoning is partaking of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Stay with the pure Word, and you live. Mix it, and you die.
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What did the Laodicean Church Age (our age) Angel (- messenger) Say about this?
Ranked passages from the local William Branham sermon and Church Age Book database. Relevance is relative, not a statement of doctrinal certainty.
Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever
52-0810E §42
I said, "In my heart." That's right. And I said, "The trouble of it is, doctor, in the Garden of Eden, there's two trees; one was knowledge and one was faith. One was life. One was death of knowledge, other one was life by faith. And as long as they eat by faith of this tree, all right, they lived. But when he got on this tree, he died. The first bite he took, he separated himself from God. And man continually has been biting off of that tree. And every time he takes a bite by knowledge, he destroys himself. God de...
Marriage and Divorce
65-0221M §74
Now we find out death was caused ... death is the cause of sin of the woman, come through the woman and not the man. By her way of living her life, and by her, all death comes. Her way of giving life is death. How many knows that? Job 14, if you want to put down the Scripture. If you question this, I got scriptures wrote down for every bit of this. You want to read Job 14 now. It says, "Man that is borned of woman is of a few days and full of trouble." Is that right? "He cometh up like the flower, he's cut down and...
The god of this evil age
65-0801M §76
Notice. The children of obedience and disobedience has nothing in common. The disobedient worship their God. "Oh," they say, "We believe the Bible." Yes it's a mixed tree, (see?); they add the world and knowledge to it, Satan's tree, mixed. See, she took from Satan's tree, good and evil. "Oh, we believe the Word, sure, but not all of it." Eve believed the Word too, but let Satan take his tree and pervert it a little bit. That's what it is. "Whosoever shall add one word or take one word from it." He's still the same...
Church Ages, part 3: The Ephesian Church Age
60-1205 §107
Now, let's take this just a minute. And now the tree. St. John, the 6th chapter, if you want to mark it down, Jesus said, "I am the bread of life." Now remember... Now, we're going to use these two posts as a symbol here, so ... just before closing now. Now, on my right hand is the tree in the garden called the "tree of life." On my left hand is the tree in the garden that's called the "tree of knowledge." How many knows that the Bible says that it was a tree of life and a tree of knowledge? Now, man was to live by...
Revelation, Chapter 4c Throne of mercy and judgement
61-0108 §123
And the LORD... said, Behold, the man is become... one of us^^ (now, He never said the woman has become one---"the man has become one"), and knows^^ good and evil ^^ (the woman didn't, she was deceived. Do you see it?):^^ Now, Paul said, "I suffer not a woman to teach or to usurp any authority, for Adam was first formed and then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived." So she didn't become one of God. She didn't know no different, she was deceived. Do you get it? If you do, say "Amen," so I... ....