spite of God’s prohibition not to eat of it, the woman succumbed to Satan’s temptation. Through a tree in the Garden of Eden, there was paradise lost. From that time until now, spiritual death and a loss of paradise have continued to be the results of eating from the wrong tree. What the first Adam lost through eating of this tree, the last Adam, Jesus Christ, paid the penalty for on another tree—the cross! God would indeed provide for man the one way back to the “tree of life.” Through a tree in the Garden of Calvary, there was paradise gained! However, not only did God provide for redemption, He also provided for restoration. The resurrected Jesus announced in Revelation 2:7, “To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.” And when we come to the concluding chapter of this final book of the Bible, we find redeemed man once again enjoying the “tree of life.” In his beatific vision of heaven, John not only saw “the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb,” he also saw “the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations” (Revelation 22:1–2). There are other trees used to symbolize many very important truths in Scripture. It is not an overstatement to say that trees are literally a parable of the Gospel story! Therefore, it is my sincere prayer that God’s spiritual sap will flow afresh through your mind and spirit as you study the trees in God’s Word!
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