* Is the "Law" the Knowledge of Good and Evil? What is the meaning of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil? What was the curse that began at the tree? What is the meaning of “Cursed is he who hangs on a tree” (Gal. 3:13; Deut. 21:23)? Why did Christ hang on a tree? What is the relationship between the Tree and the cross? Why did God nail the law to the cross (Col. 2:14)? What was the fate of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil? And what legacy has that tree left?
* What the Tree Was and What it Wasn't: The Tree was not evil. God created the Tree and like everything else that God created, it was "good" as the Lord described the entirety of His creation, including the Garden that He planted in Eden on the same day that He made Mankind, male and female, both Adam and Eve. (Skeptics claim the Bible has two contradictory creation accounts in Genesis chapters 1 and 2. However, virtually every historical account ever authored presents an initial summary followed up by details. So the details recounted in Genesis chapter 2 expand upon the summary of the previous chapter.) Some Christians, tragically and for philosophical reasons, want to attribute evil to God. They want to turn Him into the author of everything, not only of confusion but even of wickedness. Thus some claim that the Tree itself was evil. However, this was not The Tree of Evil, nor was it merely the Tree of the Knowledge of Evil. Rather, God refers to it as The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Adam and Eve did not have to eat from this tree to know goodness. For from the moment of their creation they were alive to God. They knew Him. And He is good! And they knew the goodness of His creation. Further, they would not have to sin by disobeying and eating of the Tree in order for them to "know" evil. For none of today's Holy Angels have rebelled against God. Yet surely they have a "knowlege of evil" to whatever degree they possess knowledge of the angelic and human rebellions. (And some of the righteous angels have personally interacted with fallen Lucifer and fallen men.) If Eve had not succumbed to Lucifer's temptation, regardless, knowning the Tempter himself, she would have known evil. So, whereas Genesis metaphors might confuse some people, the Tree itself was a symbol of the law. In Bob Enyart's book, The Plot, and in his seminar on The Tree, he shows from Scripture that one of the definitions of the Law is the knowledge of good and evil. Thus the Tree was a symbol of the law, both of the first law given to mankind (Do not eat of the Tree), and a symbol even of the Mosaic Law itself. (See the first paragraph, above, for examples of the symbolism involved.) In Bob Enyart's book, The Plot, and in his seminar on The Tree, he shows from Scripture that the "law" is the "knowledge of good and evil". So this study helps Christians understand what legalism is and what it means to live by faith!
* See Below: Our Tree YouTube video, the Joe King cartoon, and the Not-a-Tree geological formation!
Today’s Resource: Whatever happened to the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil? The answer is fascinating and can be found in this fun and amazingly educational 3-part video. Available on DVD (and audio download or MP3 CD). And as far as that other deadly tree, check out how science is cutting down Darwin's tree of life!
* More Joe King Artwork: By the way, Bob Enyart live displays another Joe King comic at kgov.com/carbon-14. And there's more, but you'll have to find it! (We've lost track of where it is ourselves! If you find it among the 10,000+ pages here, please let us know. :)
