The tree of life was given to sustain Adam's life in the garden, but after the fall God blocked access to it so no sinful human could eat and live forever in a fallen state.
Les Feldick explains that had Adam eaten from it after sin, he would have lived forever in a body of sin, which would have been awful. So God drove him out and placed a flaming sword to guard the way to the tree. In Revelation, the tree reappears in the eternal state, where its fruit and leaves enhance the eternalness of resurrected believers.
Genesis 2:9 — Shows the tree of life was placed in the midst of the garden from the very beginning.
Genesis 3:22 — God states the danger: eating from the tree of life after sin would mean living for ever.
Genesis 3:24 — God stationed cherubim and a flaming sword to keep the way to the tree of life.
Revelation 22:2 — The tree of life reappears in eternity, bearing fruit and leaves for the nations.
Scripture places the tree of life in the middle of the garden, right beside the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:9). After Adam and Eve sinned, God said that if the man put forth his hand and took from the tree of life, he would eat and live for ever — so He drove the man out of the garden and stationed cherubim and a flaming sword to guard the way to the tree of life (Genesis 3:22-24). In the final book of the Bible, the tree of life appears again in the New Jerusalem: it bears twelve manner of fruits each month, and its leaves are 'for the healing of the nations' (Revelation 22:2).
Les emphasizes that the tree of life was not a mystical object but its purpose was connected with continuing life forever. He points to Genesis 3:22, where God says 'lest he eat and live forever,' and asks listeners to imagine what it would have been like if Adam had eaten in his body of sin — that would have been awful (Clip 2). After the fall, the tree of life passes off the scene and is not mentioned again until Revelation (Clip 4). In the eternal state, Les notes it bears twelve kinds of fruit 'for eating,' and he says we will enjoy good food in our resurrected bodies (Clip 1). The leaves, he says, are therapeutic and enhance our eternalness, which is exactly why Adam was not permitted to eat after sin — had he eaten, he would have lived forever in a fallen condition (Clip 3).
God drove Adam and Eve out of the garden and placed a flaming sword to keep everyone from the tree of life. Les explains this was mercy: had Adam eaten the tree of life in his fallen, sinful condition, he would have lived forever in that body of sin — something Les calls 'awful.' So God barred the way.
Les says the tree of life reappears in the final chapters of Revelation in the New Earth. There it bears twelve kinds of fruit, and Les points out that fruit is for eating — he says we'll eat in our resurrected bodies and enjoy good things. The leaves of the tree are therapeutic and enhance the eternalness of believers.
Les notes that many things introduced in Genesis disappear and reappear only in Revelation. The tree of life is seen in Eden, then after Adam and Eve are cast out, the Bible gives no further reference to it until Revelation, where it appears in the eternal city. He calls it a beautiful tie between the book of beginnings and the book of ending.
Genesis 2-3 Bible Study: How the Fall of Man Changed Everything
Now then, even though, as we pointed out a couple weeks ago, he was given dominion over everything on the earth, from pole to pole, from east to west, nevertheless, God, I think, set up a special little place, which we call the Garden of Eden, and it naturally, as most of you realize, was there in the Middle East in the cradle of civilization in that area in the Euphrates River.
Tree of Life in Eternity
Les shows that the tree of life returns in Revelation 22 in the New Earth and will bear twelve kinds of fruit, which he says is for eating.
Access Barred After the Fall
Les explains God's statement in Genesis 3:22: if Adam ate the tree of life after sin, he would live forever in a body of sin, which would have been terrible.
Therapeutic Purpose
Les teaches that the leaves of the tree of life in eternity are therapeutic — they enhance our eternalness, not simply cure sickness.
Genesis-Revelation Pattern
Les points out that after Adam and Eve were cast out, the tree of life is not mentioned again until Revelation, following the Bible's pattern of Genesis-to-Revelation.
What the Bible Really Says About God's Righteousness — Romans 3
Now think for a minute, boy you've got to put all this together, I know it gets complicated. Back there before they ate of the tree, what did God tell them? The day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. Well they ate. Now you don't have offspring from someone that dies. But see Adam has still got that bell ringing in his mind.
Christ the Firstfruits: Resurrection Explained Verse by Verse
There is so much in these next few verses that I wish I could just compact it all into 30 minutes, but you can�t do it, and so you�ll have to bear with me. It�s going to take some time. Now then verse 21. Verse 21. That was Adam when he rejected God�s discipline, and was disobeying Him, and ate the fruit, and Adam died spiritually immediately, but he died physically of course 900 years later.
Does God Harden Hearts? Romans 9:18-24 and the Potter's Clay
You know, I�m always taking you back to Genesis. You go back into the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve have sinned. They�ve partaken of that forbidden tree, and they immediately saw their human nakedness. And what did they do? Well, they sowed their fig leaves. But those fig leaves just sort of fell into nothing when they heard the Lord coming down the path. And so what do they do? They run and hide.
Genesis 2:9: 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.
Shows the tree of life was placed in the midst of the garden from the very beginning.
Genesis 3:22: And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:
God reveals the consequence of eating from the tree of life after the fall: living for ever in a fallen state.
Genesis 3:24: So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.
God physically barred access to the tree of life after the expulsion.
Revelation 22:2: In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
Shows the tree of life returning in the eternal state, bearing fruit and leaves for the nations.
It was one of two special trees in the middle of the garden. According to Les, its purpose was connected with living forever — had Adam eaten after sin, he would have lived eternally in his fallen body.
After Adam and Eve sinned, God placed cherubims and a flaming sword to keep them from eating the tree of life and living forever in their state of sin. Les describes this as a mercy.
Les says yes. He points out that the tree bears twelve kinds of fruit in Revelation 22, and fruit is for eating. In our resurrected bodies, we'll eat and enjoy good things, and the leaves will enhance our eternalness.
Watch the Teaching: Genesis 2-3 Bible Study: How the Fall of Man Changed Everything