And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. 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. (Gen 2:8-10) And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. (Gen 2:16-17). And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. (Gen 3:6)They, both of them, sewed fig leaves together to cover their genitalia. They tried to cover their own sin, and all scripture, from here on out, is about mankind's unsuccessful attempts to work off their own sins; in a futile attempt to save themselves from a ravaging Hell. God did recognize one thing, though: they had judged themselves guilty by His Word. What had God ordered? Two things: (1) Dress and keep the Garden, and (2) multiply.
They were ignoring their other trees and the Tree of Life, both of which were later identified as "the Greatest Commandment and the one line unto it (Mat 22:36-39). The second infraction was surely for sexual gratification without the intent to pro-create. They did not intend to multiply but enjoy coitus. It is obvious that the love of money, although the "root of all evil" comes first, but the lusts of the eyes and of the flesh is high on the scale (1 John 2:16).
Sewing fig leaves is an obvious hint as to the forbidden trees type. If two people were standing under a fig tree, one that offered them reward, it seems to me that with the large fig leaves right there, they would have been foolish to search for other types of leaves. It seems that in the Garden, the conditions of life were perfect. Imagine the size and quality of the figs and fig leaves. Sacred literature addressed my contention:
Then Adam took the fig, and laid it on the golden rods. Eve also took her fig, and put it on the incense. 2 And the weight of each fig was that of a water-melon; for the fruit of the garden was much larger than the fruit of this land. (Adam & Eve I 41:1).The books from which this passage comes is pseudopigraphia, meaning that its date and authorship is unknown. However, it missed becoming scriptural canon because it was written in Coptic and was not included in extant manuscripts. If it had been inspired by God, surely it would have become canon. However, the context of those books strongly support Christ and the creation story in the Bible. Whoever wrote it was quite discerning whether it was written before Christ or afterward! In those writings, it directly reveals that the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil was a fig tree: "Do you not see these figs and their leaves, with which we covered ourselves when we were stripped of our bright nature?" (Adam & Eve I 37:1).
I concluded that before I had ever even heard of the Books of Adam and Eve. It makes sense. Likewise, the size of the figs makes sense. Scripture even says that there were "giants in those days" (Gen 6:4). It stands to reason that with the temperate Garden and also in the world that "giants" must have included vegetation, (Actually, the magnitude of the world's crude oil would have had to come from giant vegetation and animals, although the time period obviously is against Holy Scripture. Ironically, the oil which seems to have provided life itself slowly leads to the death of the world. The fig tree of the Garden seems to be humankinds' giant carbon "footprint" which worries environmentalists so much. Ironically, if there had been no sin, there would have been no death, no fig trees, no oil, no carbon footprint, and no environmental hazard from it; and Al Gore would have been joyful rather than a pain to us all!)
My hypothesis is that the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil was not an apple tree, but a fig tree. I cannot prove that using scientific methods, but science supports that incidentally, and the evidence is persuasive. Below are pictures of the modern fruit bearing fig tree grown in the Middle East (Wikipedia ficus and bing,com/images; "fig tree pictures", respectively)":
Now let us examine what Wikipedia says about this particular type of fig tree:
- native throughout the tropics with a few species extending into the semi-warm temperate zone.
- been widely cultivated from ancient times for its fruit, also referred to as figs
- extremely important food resources for wildlife
- l importance throughout the tropics... as objects of worship
- used to make mummy caskets in Ancient Egypt
- the common and sycamore fig, were among the first – if not the very first – plant species that were deliberately bred for agriculture in the Middle East, starting more than 11,000 years ago.
- fig fruits, important as both food and traditional medicine, contain laxative substances, flavonoids, sugars, vitamins A and C, acids and enzymes. However, figs are skin allergens, and the latex is a serious eye irritant.
they are called kin Chinese "the fruit without a flower" because the flower is on the inside and is the fruit.- the high incidence of a one-to-one plant-pollinator ratio have long led scientists to believe that figs and wasps are a clear example of coevolution.
- Fig trees have profoundly influenced culture through several religious traditions. Among the more famous species are the sacred fig tree and the banyan fig.
- In Asia, figs are important in Buddhism and Hinduism. In Jainism, the consumption of any fruit belonging to this genus is prohibited.[The Buddha is traditionally held to have found bodhi (enlightenment) while meditating under a sacred fig. The same species was Ashvattha, the "world tree" of Hinduism.
- According to the Kikuyu people, sacrifices to Ngai were performed under a sycamore tree and if one was not available, a fig tree would be used.
- The sacred fig is considered to have a religious significance in three major religions that originated on the Indian subcontinent, Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism. It is the type of tree that Gautama Buddha is believed to have attained enlightenment under, and Hindu and Jain ascetics also consider the tree to be sacred and often meditate under them.
My point in presenting this information, is to acknowledge that the fig tree as a species is ancient, extant to the middle east, was good for food, curious to observe, a major source of nourishment, tasty, philosophical, and sacred to many indigenous religions. Indeed, to the world it is THE sacred tree! In Holy Scripture, the fig tree is not so holy (more on that later). The major pagan religions hold the fig tree in particularly high esteem; more so than any other tree. That makes sense because the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil represents human philosophy in contrast to the Tree of Life which represents the Doctrine of Christ. Paul compared the two in the Book of Acts chapter seventeen. Paul therein was cutting down the symbolic "fig tree", and lifting up the Tree of Life by proclaiming their "Unknown God" to them.
My gifts from God are knowledge, understanding, discernment, and wisdom. I'm proud of my understanding of Holy Scripture because it's okay to be proud of what God provides. He silently advised me to share what I learn with the word. My commentary is worldwide and in countries as far away as Russia and China. The French people have read my commentary vociferously. My commentary is my way to fulfill my Divine job assignment - the Great Commission.
Before I ever read any supplementary information, God inspired me to believe that the fig tree, not the apple, was the forbidden tree in the Garden of Eden. I was also inspired that the olive tree was the Tree of Life. I never dreamed that Holy Scripture supported that contention! I may have read it several times before but applied no logic to it. (By the way, my gifts are from the fig tree which also belongs to God.) Today I discovered scripture which validated both my hunches. They were hidden in an analogy.
The following analogy was used Judges 9:8-15 when Abimilech was made king, and a speech was made by Jotham:
The trees went forth on a time to anoint a king over them; and they said unto the olive tree, Reign thou over us. But the olive tree said unto them, Should I leave my fatness, wherewith by me they honour God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees? And the trees said to the fig tree, Come thou, and reign over us. But the fig tree said unto them, Should I forsake my sweetness, and my good fruit, and go to be promoted over the trees? Then said the trees unto the vine, Come thou, and reign over us. And the vine said unto them, Should I leave my wine, which cheereth God and man, and go to be promoted over the trees? Then said all the trees unto the bramble, Come thou, and reign over us. And the bramble said unto the trees, If in truth ye anoint me king over you, then come and put your trust in my shadow: and if not, let fire come out of the bramble, and devour the cedars of Lebanon. (Jud 9:8-15)The analogy is complex, but the focus is on various types of trees. All those trees were "inhabitants" of the Garden. As I contended earlier, the Tree of Life represents Jesus and the Tree of Knowledge Satan. My contention is that our forebears stood under the wrong "tree". Although they were created under the Law of God, they chose the law of sin. Both of those trees were in the midst of the Garden among other trees. I've always concluded that the other trees represented mankind. In the passages above, look at the types of other trees: vines and bramble among them. I believe that "vines" are the righteous and the "bramble" the unrighteous. The cedars represent the temple of God which was made from the cedars of Lebanon. Now that there is no temple, Christians are the temple!
The "fire" represents Hell which will burn the bramble. All the "trees" are to put their trust in the "shadow". The word "shadow" has great significance:
"Things" are that "which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ." (Col 2:16-17). In other words, all the "things" mentioned in the Old Testament are a fore-shadow of Jesus Christ. Jothan was saying that we are to worship Christ as King! I always say, "When reading scripture, ask yourself, 'where is Jesus?'" Jesus was the shadow of the olive tree back in the Garden. The olive tree was symbolic of Jesus but it was his Shadow which was King in the Garden. John said that in the beginning the Flesh - Jesus - was there (John 1-2, 14). Where was he? The Tree of Life "who" cast a divine shadow from the olive tree. Jesus was there in the shadow of the Tree of Life watching his creation eat figs rather than olives. No wonder God was so upset with his creatures1
More on the fig tree tomorrow, then we'll look at the olive tree.
For more on this topic review an earlier supplement: The Trees in the Garden Identified
Also, to review yesterday's introduction: Natures of the Trees of Paradise
For more on this topic review an earlier supplement: The Trees in the Garden Identified
Also, to review yesterday's introduction: Natures of the Trees of Paradise
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