How I discovered who the Tree of Life really is after years studying the occult.

The tree of life is an enigmatic symbol which was first described in the ancient Hebrew scriptures thousands of years ago. Since then, people have been puzzling about what it means and how to access it, because the original text says that the way has been barred to humanity…

The fourth chapter of Genesis immediately after this is the story of Cain and Abel where one brother murders the other in a fit of jealousy. Throughout the course of the biblical narrative, humanity does not improve, instead continually devolving into chaos and destruction to the extent that God despairs of ever having created us. Correct me if I’m wrong, but not much has changed since then, except in areas when Christianity has a long history. The historian, Tom Holland (not to be confused with spiderman – see image below), has written books on the cultural phenomenon of Christianity after decades of studying Ancient Rome and Greece. Despite admiring the ancient philosophers, Holland could not reconcile their views on morality and ethics with his own because their sense of “might is always right, even when it’s wrong” was so alien to him. Holland traced the discrepancy to Jesus of Nazareth, the historical figure who started the Christian faith out of Judaism and who’s influence has radically changed ethics throughout world history.

Unfortunately, despite this incredible shift that culture has taken towards the teachings of Jesus, it has by no means solved the corruption and chaos of the human world. Slowed it down, perhaps, but certainly not halted the decaying process.

Interestingly, the life expectancy of humans also devolves throughout the chapters of Genesis, starting at almost a thousand years old for Adam, 950 years for Noah, 600 years for Noah’s son Shem, and 175 years for Abraham. Eventually David writes in the Psalms about life expectancy being 80 years, which is similar to today’s average in wealthy countries. So, who was right; the snake or the Lord? Technically, Adam and Eve did not die on the spot, but if you read the text carefully, you’ll notice that God never said their death would be instant. He said they will “surely die” from the day onward. In other words, the moment they ate the fruit they sealed their own fate, similar to how crossing the boundary of committing a crime means that eventually justice will catch up with you. It might take days or years… it might not happen until after your death, but justice comes for all of us eventually, and so does death.

Even though death is an inescapable reality of life, humans rail against it constantly. Freud labelled the unconscious drive towards living at all costs “Eros”, and the unnatural depressive spiral towards giving up on life “Thanatos” after the characters of Greek mythology. Most people cling to life, even when their odds of survival are slim. Certainly, there are incredible stories of survival in dire circumstances, partly because our biology pushes us to live, but also because nobody really wants to die. Even cases of suicide are not so much a desire to end life, but mostly a desire to escape from pain and hopelessness.

We seek life. We admire youth and vitality, and shun the elderly or unwell. Evidence of illness inspires fear and avoidance. The smallest signs of aging are quickly quashed by cosmetic procedures like botox or filler. Billions of dollars are spent every year trying to retain a youthful appearance, and more billions are spent on the pseudo-wellness industry that peddles snake-oil to the vulnerable and fearful. Why? Because we know deep down that death is not a natural part of the order of creation. It is an unnatural curse for our decision to live without the source of eternal life: God himself.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 says; “God has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.”

We know in our hearts that we were made for eternal life with God, but we chose independence from him. We don’t want to live by his rules, but foolishly we don’t have any means of perpetually sustaining ourselves without him. Humans cannot grant ourselves eternal life, no matter how hard we tried. And even if we did manage to crack the code and somehow cheat death, how do we suppose to live forever on a dying planet in a universe that is slowly moving inevitably towards heat-death? We have chosen an impossible task for ourselves.

If we accept that the body cannot live forever, do we also accept that our only hope in death is God? For many people, that answer is still “no” despite no viable alternatives. When I was in the occult I delved into various esoteric interpretations of what the Tree of Life is and how to access it, including an off-shoot of Judaism called Kabballah which resembles Eastern mysticism more than anything else (picture below).

Kabballah and the New Age have tried to turn the biblical Tree of Life into some sort of system or code which can be cracked so that mere mortals can somehow transform themselves into demi-gods. They don’t seem to realise that the angelic beings who sold them the lie of “being like God” in the first place, are themselves destined for death when the Lord comes back to reclaim the rental property we’re living on. Psalm 82 makes this abundantly clear:

People in the New Age love to quote this verse about being gods as though it somehow makes them invincible angels, which it does not. What it clearly says is that angels/heavenly host (or elohim in the ancient Hebrew language) are destined for the same fate as humanity if they too oppress others and victimise them.

So are we doomed? No, we’re only doomed if we reject the Tree of Life and the Way to get to it.

Dr Tim MacKie, a scholar of ancient Hebrew and Greek languages, explained his theory that Jesus is the tree of life, and I partly agree with him, but I have a theory of my own which builds upon his. I capitalise the Tree of Life and the Way as though they are names, because they are names. God the Father is the Tree of Life and Jesus the Son is the Way. Jesus explains it in the book of John:

Jesus calls himself the Way to the Father, but in other verses he also refers to himself as the vine and anyone who is in relationship with him are “branches”. The trinity of the Godhead is a great mystery that we all struggle to understand. Jesus said that he and the Father are one, but it’s also clear that they are not the same. However, if someone has a personal connection to Jesus (through the Holy Spirit) then they will learn who the Father is through that relationship. Jesus is the way to the Father, which makes Jesus the truth of spiritual reality, and he is also the font of life because the Father has appointed him to that position:

The Father is the source of eternal life, but Jesus shares this ability to grant eternal life, especially since conquering death himself by being resurrected. Jesus’ crucifixion, burial and resurrection broke the curse of death that hangs over us as mortal humans. If we accept the lordship of Christ in our lives and seek salvation through him, we will have a share in the new creation that eventually replaces this dying world (Revelation chapters 21-22). However, we must place our faith in Jesus instead of esoteric “wisdom” that honestly just looks like foolishness after experiencing the rebirth of the Holy Spirit.

Being born-again is a sample of the heavenly gift (Hebrews 6:4) that awaits us after death. A downpayment, if you will, or an engagement ring. For me, the day after my spiritual rebirth was astounding because it was like I had never seen the world in colour before. You have never lived until God shows you what true life really is. The sample is supposed to be an incentive to change our ways and to live according to who Jesus is instead. It inspires up to hope for something which hasn’t happened yet, but is promised, and we can know that the promise is good if we know the One who made the promise. Jesus is trustworthy to redeem those who belong to him once we have passed through death, but our purpose in this life is to share that good news with as many others as possible so they too can live differently and hope for something eternal.