Gen 3:22–24
22) Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”–
23) therefore the LORD God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken.
24) So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.
Isa 14:14
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.
RH Jan 26, 1897
As Adam and Eve ate of this tree, they acknowledged their dependence upon God. The tree of life possessed the power to perpetuate life, and as long as they ate of it, they could not die. The lives of the antediluvians were protracted because of the life-giving power of this tree, which was transmitted to them from Adam and Eve.
Gal 6:7, 8
7) Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.
8) For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.
1BC 1086
Transgression of God’s requirements excluded Adam from the Garden of Eden. A flaming sword was placed around the tree of life, lest man should put forth his hand and partake of it, immortalizing sin. Obedience to all the commandments of God was the condition of eating of the tree of life. Adam fell by disobedience, forfeiting by sin all right to use either the life-giving fruit of the tree in the midst of the Garden, or its leaves, which are for the healing of the nations.
EW 148, 149
The news of man’s fall spread through heaven. Every harp was hushed. The angels cast their crowns from their heads in sorrow. All heaven was in agitation. A council was held to decide what must be done with the guilty pair. The angels feared that they would put forth the hand, and eat of the tree of life, and become immortal sinners. But God said that He would drive the transgressors from the garden. Angels were immediately commissioned to guard the way of the tree of life. It had been Satan’s studied plan that Adam and Eve should disobey God, receive His frown, and then partake of the tree of life, that they might live forever in sin and disobedience, and thus sin be immortalized. But holy angels were sent to drive them out of the garden, and to bar their way to the tree of life. Each of these mighty angels had in his right hand something, which had the appearance of a glittering sword.
AH 540
After his expulsion from Eden Adam’s life on earth was filled with sorrow. Every dying leaf, every victim of sacrifice, every blight upon the fair face of nature, every stain upon man’s purity, were fresh reminders of his sin. Terrible was the agony of remorse as he beheld iniquity abounding and, in answer to his warnings, met the reproaches cast upon himself as the cause of sin.
John 17:3
And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.
ST May 1, 1893
Jesus, the Lord of life and glory, came to plant the tree of life for the human family, and to invite the members of a fallen race to eat and be satisfied. He came to reveal to them what was their only hope, their only happiness, both in this world and in that which is to come. “For this is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent.” He would allow nothing to divert His attention from the work, which He came to do… Jesus saw that men needed to have their minds attracted to God, that they might become acquainted with His character, and obtain the righteousness of Christ represented in His holy Law. He knew that it was necessary that men should have a faithful representation of the divine character, that they might not be deceived by the misrepresentations of Satan, who had… clothed God with his own satanic characteristics.
John 14:7, 9
7) “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.”
9) Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?”
John 12:32
“And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.”
John 1:29
The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”
2 Cor 3:18
But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.
John 17:3
And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.
John 8:32
“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
Gen 3:24
So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.
Eph 6:17
…and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
John 5:39, 40
39) “You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.
40) “But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.”
John 6:51–57, 63
51) “I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.”
52) The Jews therefore quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?”
53) Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.
54) “Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.
55) “For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed.
56) “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.
57) “As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me.
63) “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.”
5BC 1135
“It is the Spirit that quickeneth: the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life” This is eating of the fruit of the tree of life (MS 112, 1898).
MH 136
Just to the degree in which the word of God is received and obeyed will it impress with its potency and touch with its life every spring of action, every phase of character. It will purify every thought, regulate every desire. Those who make God’s word their trust will quit themselves like men and be strong. They will rise above all baser things into an atmosphere free from defilement.
2 Cor 5:14, 15
14) For the love of Christ constrains us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died;
15) and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.
1John 4:19
We love Him because He first loved us.
John 14:15
If you love Me, keep My commandments.
John 12:32
“And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.”
YI Feb 17, 1898
Faith works by love, and purifies the soul, expelling the love of sin that leads to rebellion against, and transgression of, the law of God. This true love in the heart always leads its possessor into harmony with the commandments of God; for through the agency of the Holy Spirit, the character is transformed, and the mind and will of the human agent are brought into perfect conformity to the divine will, and this is conformity to the divine standard of righteousness. To those who are thus transformed, Christ will say, “Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.”
Rev 22:2,14
2) In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
14) Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.
Luke 22:42
saying, “Father, if it is Your will, remove this cup from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.”
Matthew 27:41
41) Likewise the chief priests, also mocking with the scribes and elders, said,
42) “He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him.”
SD 231
…all that was lost in Adam the cross of Christ fully restores to every believing soul.
FLB 114
Those who…accept…Christ [as their personal Saviour] are looked upon by God, not as they are in Adam, but as they are in Jesus Christ, as sons and daughters of God.
AH 541
Faithfully did he repent of his sin and trust in the merits of the promised Saviour, and he died in the hope of a resurrection. The Son of God redeemed man’s failure and fall; and now, through the work of the atonement, Adam is reinstated in his first dominion.
Transported with joy, he beholds the trees that were once his delight—the very trees whose fruit he himself had gathered in the days of his innocence and joy. He sees the vines that his own hands have trained, the very flowers that he once loved to care for. His mind grasps the reality of the scene; he comprehends that this is indeed Eden restored, more lovely now than when he was banished from it. The Saviour leads him to the tree of life and plucks the glorious fruit and bids him eat. He looks about him and beholds a multitude of his family redeemed, standing in the Paradise of God. Then he casts his glittering crown at the feet of Jesus and, falling upon His breast, embraces the Redeemer. He touches the golden harp, and the vaults of heaven echo the triumphant song, “Worthy, worthy, worthy is the Lamb that was slain, and lives again!” The family of Adam take up the strain and cast their crowns at the Saviour’s feet as they bow before Him in adoration.