The Tree Of Life

Why is the Tree of Life needed in Heaven? Adam and Eve ate from the Tree of Life so that they would live forever. However, would it serve the same purpose in heaven? The Bible states that we will put on immortality when Christ comes back to receive His redeemed at His second coming. (1 Corinthians 15:51-54) We will be immortal before we get lifted into the air. So, by the time we get to Heaven, we would have already been immortal long before we set eyes on the beautiful Tree of Life. We would have to. There is no way we would survive the presence of God’s glory which will completely wipe out all mortal life on earth leaving only Satan and his angels alone on this dead planet. And neither would we survive traveling through airless space as mortals.

We know that in heaven we will have a very large feast with Jesus (Isaiah 25:6). We know that the Tree of Life will produce 12 different kinds of fruit that we will all enjoy and eat (Revelation 22:2). However, this is not for sustenance, it will simply be for mere pleasure. Didn’t the bible say that we will be like the angels when we get to heaven? (Luke 20:36) Didn’t three angels come down to visit Abraham? Didn’t he kill a fatted calf and they all ate? (Genesis 18:8) Didn’t Jesus himself eat with the disciples at various times after the resurrection in His resurrected glorified body? (Luke 24:41-43, Acts 10:41) Angels have the wonderful ability to morph themselves not only in appearance but also in their physical makeup. (Hebrews 13:2) In their physical state, they can consume food just like mortal humans do. And they can enjoy it just as much as we do. But when the Lord takes His redeemed to heaven He will do away with our mortal bodies and give us immortal bodies. These newly transformed immortal bodies will not have the useless digestive systems we have today. Paul says:

“Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats: but God shall destroy both it and them….” (1 Corinthians 6:13)

Our immortal bodies will have no need for the organs we have today for their function is to process corruptible material such as food, air, water and nutrients that only mortals are dependent on. Our glorified bodies will not be dependent on any external sustenance for survival. That is the gift of immortality that God has given us. Therefore, the Tree of Life will be of no use to beings that are already immortal.

God took the Tree of Life to heaven. (Revelation 2:7) He did this for a purpose. However, that purpose was not to impart immortality to anyone for there will be no mortals in heaven. (1 Corinthians 15:50) The Tree of Life was designed for Adam and Eve in their mortal state. They had access to all sorts of fruit in their Eden home as well as outside of their Eden home. However, the Tree of Life was the only tree that produced fruit that contained healing properties as well and promote ageless life. It was literally the fountain of youth. By the way, the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil had no poisonous properties or gave no ill effects to whoever ate it. It was just as nutritious as any other tree. What set it apart from any other tree was that God forbid Adam and Eve to eat its fruit.

The Tree of Life is more like a trophy that God took into heaven. This idea is nothing new. Why did God take Enoch? (Gen 5:24) Why did He take Elijah (2 Kings 2:11) and Moses (Jude 1:9)? Why did He take that small crowd of people that resurrected with Him at His resurrection? (Mat 27:52-53) God apparently loves trophies. His ultimate trophy will be all the redeemed that He will come back for at His second coming.

The Tree of Life will be the only item in heaven that once resided on the old earth before and after the fall. There will be absolutely nothing left on this earth that would survive the consuming fire that will utterly extinguish everything on this planet right down to the molecular level. This tree will be the only bridge in our memories of an old world made new. Throughout eternity, we will all come to sit under the shades of its leaves and remember where we came from and what it cost to get here. Yes, its leaves will be for the healing of the nations for as long as we gather under her, broken relationships will all be healed and mended as we recount and retell the story of our wonderful redeemer and the story of redemption.

So, it is no mere coincidence that God chose to take this tree up to heaven. It is a physical memorial that will stand forever. God created the Sabbath as a memorial for man to remember their creator. God placed the Tree of Life in heaven as a memorial as well so that we may recount our stories of a lost world now redeemed. It will be a bridge to the past in a sense. Although the Bible says that all tears will be wiped away and sorrow will be no more for the old things will be forgotten, it does not mean that all our memories will be brainwashed, for we will remember with perfect clarity every detail of our life here on earth. We will remember every second from the time we were born to the day we were taken to heaven for this is the story the angels are anxious to hear, and we will have a whale of a story to tell. The pain, the suffering, and the sorrow that was brought on by sin will be forgotten and never to be experienced again. But our memory of our past life will be crystal clear.

Immortality will be freely imparted to all life in the universe. Once sin is obliterated, it will never ever reoccur again. So, we will see that even the plant kingdom and all animals will be endowed with immortality for nothing alive will ever die.

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