TREES ARE PEOPLE
It is significant to notice that the Bible begins and ends with references to trees. This is an important clue that trees have spiritual significance. This significance is verified in many other scriptures that verify that trees symbolize people. But the symbolism does not end there.

In Genesis we see that there are two kinds of trees: Trees of Life and Trees of Knowledge of Good and Evil. We also see that both kinds of trees have seed that brings forth new trees like the parent tree. And we learn that both kinds of trees created by God are good for food and pleasing to the eye.

STUDY TIP: Sin is described as eating the fruit of the wrong tree.

It is critical to recognize that the symbolism of trees focuses on the fruit of the trees — not on the tree itself. The important fact that differentiates the two trees is their fruit. We know this because God’s warnings are about eating fruit. Thus, God permits eating the fruit of the Tree of Life, but does not permit eating the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. The problem with trees, therefore, is not the tree itself, but the problem is with the fruit of the trees.

Applying this fact to the symbolism of trees as people, we conclude that Biblical references to two kinds of trees are not to two kinds of people (i.e. trees), but to the fruit that each kind of tree produces. The issue, therefore, is the fruit of the trees, or, the fruit of the people.

But this leaves us with a need to understand how people produce fruit. In Biblical symbolism, people produce fruit with their mouths. For God, life or death is all about words that come out of the mouth. God judges people by their words, and his words have the power of life and death. ***

At this point of analysis it is necessary to look at the Biblical symbolism of food where we see that there are three kinds of food:

STUDY TIP: Since the Bible always follows the “first the natural, then the spiritual” principle, we know that we should always be looking for the spiritual interpretation of scripture, and never look at only the literal meaning. That means we rule out any interpretation that looks at natural, physical trees or the natural, physical food that trees produce.

What we find in the Garden (i.e. the world) are two kinds of trees:

The proposition God sets before all people — not just Adam and Eve — is that they are free to eat from either tree with the caution that the consequence of their choice of which tree they eat from is a matter of life and death. This seems like a clear enough choice until we recognize that both trees are pleasing to the sight and good for food.

If the two trees are both pleasing to the sight and good for food, we might logically ask how we are to know the difference between the two trees so we do not choose wrongly. The answer lies not in what the trees appear like because they both appear good to our natural senses  (i.e. eyes, ears, touch, smell, taste, emotions, mind). Rather, because God is spirit, like the wind, and because faith is the substance of things that cannot be seen, we must use our spiritual senses (i.e. heart) to discern the difference between good and evil.

The heart is the spiritual — not physical — organ which we use to know the difference between the two trees (i.e. good and evil). Hearts hardened by religion are unable to hear God’s spoken voice because religious people are so busy being religious that they can’t hear God’s voice. Circumcised hearts of New Covenant disciples, however, are able to hear and obey God’s commandments (i.e. his spoken voice/word) because God’s laws (i.e.  commandments) are written on their hearts.

Eating from the tree of life is critical to a healthy spiritual life. People who listen to God’s voice eat good spiritual food and have a healthy spiritual life. People who listen to the voices of Satan (e.g. False Prophets, Antichrists, etc.)Satan, however, are deceived and spiritually dead. In God’s language, they sin. Thus it can be said that the choice of who we listen to and what they say, are matters of life and death.

Distinguishing between the two kinds of trees is difficult because both trees that are pleasing to look at, are good for food, and yield fruit. But only one of them, the Tree of Life, provides good spiritual food that yields good fruit. The other tree, also planted by God, the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil provides food that also looks good and tastes good, but yields fruit that brings death.

Returning to the symbolism of trees as people, we see that there are two kinds of people: Those who are trees of life, and the wicked who are trees of death. The problem is, however, that they both appear to be good for food. So how does anyone distinguish between the good tree and the evil tree? The only way is to listen to God’s voice. God is the only one who can reliably distinguish between good and evil, but he has given us clues on identification of good trees and evil trees. Therefore anyone who wants to eat from the tree of life must be very discerning and listen to God’s voice to point the way that leads to life.

STUDY TIP: Here we have the essence of sin:

Eating the spoken or written words of anyone other than God or his anointed spokespersons.

In this definition of sin, we also have the justification for calling religion sin:

Religion always involves reading and/or listening to the words of religious leaders.

Thus it can be said that eating (i.e taking into the heart and mind) the written or spoken words of Old/First  Covenant religious leaders constitutes sin in God’s eyes.

These leaders/teachers are called idols, False Prophets, Judas, Kings, Queens and Princes,  Pharisees and Scribes,  Serpent, Devil, Satan, Adversary, Demons, Evil Spirits and Anti-Christs. People who listen to such people practice idolatry because they listen to and obey them instead of listening to and obeying God’s voice.

It must be said also, however, that New Covenant disciples are anointed by God to speak on his behalf through the power and influence of his spirit. These are true prophets, angels, messiahs, high priests, witnesses, and warriors who feed (i.e. teach) those who are spiritually famished good spiritual food because they hear God’s voice and report what they hear to religious people who do not have eyes to see or ears to hear God’s voice. They are trees of life who speak words of spiritual wisdom and spiritual knowledge to those who have heard only human wisdom and human knowledge.

STUDY TIPS: See TWO KINDS OF KNOWLEDGE; also see How to Hear God’s Voice.