THE TWO TREES IN THE GARDEN by Anita Keith-Gillon

God specifically mentions two trees that he planted: the tree of Life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.¹ 
Here arises a question. Why did God plant a tree and then tell Adam and Eve that they were not to touch it? Knowing that they would fall into temptation, according to our way of thinking, this was a trap. At this point we have to adhere to the principles of the Kingdom that go further than human logic. This is the principle of freedom.
As God does not dominate, control or manipulate anyone, the beings He creates are free to stay in His Kingdom or leave it. The forbidden tree was the way out of the Kingdom of God. The Garden of Eden represented the Kingdom of God. I believe that the tree was a natural tree but also a spiritual tree. If there is no way out, Adam and Eve would have been shut in and hence, not free.
We note that God did nothing to stop them. He allowed them to leave. This is freedom in God’s kingdom. Everything in His Kingdom is at our disposition if we decide to stay there.
Because they worshipped a created being, although designed to worship their Creator, they immediately left the Kingdom of God and entered the kingdom of darkness.
The kingdom of darkness is a spiritual state of slavery. Satan does not allow anyone to leave. He dominates controls and manipulates everything. Adam and Eve were no longer royalty; they became slaves. Everything, absolutely everything that they did in the kingdom of darkness worshipped Satan. Everything that worships Satan is called sin.
It seems very strange that the tree is called the knowledge of good and evil. What would this good be? Why is it not called the knowledge of evil? Here is where the deception of the kingdom of darkness lies. Everything that we do, whether it is good or evil, which is not directed by God, He calls it sin.
Satan gives us the idea that we can stop being bad and start being good and that that is enough to gain favour with God. But what happens when we do things in our own strength? Do we not become self-sufficient and proud? So, have we come out of the kingdom of darkness? Or have we just become prouder than ever?
The symbol of the kingdom of darkness is the yin-yang. The black contains a white spot and the white, a black spot indicating that in evil there is something good and in good there is something evil. If we analyze the human life we see that we live in a vicious circle: bad people want to be good and the good people, better. But this does not take us out of the kingdom of darkness. We end up more deceived than ever.
If Satan does not allow us to leave his kingdom, what can we do to get out of the darkness? If everything we do in this kingdom is called sin, we are in a very grave situation. If being a good person is not sufficient, we are slaves to sin and to Satan.² Sadly, we can’t help ourselves. We are spiritually dead,³ disconnected from God,⁴ under eternal condemnation.⁵ We are slaves to a created, fallen angel. This describes our sinful condition.
Perhaps our concept of sin is that it is only what is evil. But God has a different concept. For Him, sin is everything we do that is not directed by Him, that is, everything done outside of His Kingdom.
With this in mind we recognize our lost state and can understand the verse in the Bible that says we are dead in trespasses and sins.⁶
When this condition is revealed to us we discover God’s love that even while we were in this condition, He sent Christ Jesus to save us.⁷ He carried our sins and their consequences (pain and sickness) on the Cross⁸ and conquered that cruel slave master who deceived and enslaved us.
He is the Light that shines in the darkness and shows us where we are⁹ in order for us to see our condition. He is the Way out¹⁰ from the kingdom of darkness, the Bread that sustains us.¹¹ He speaks the Truth about His Father’s Kingdom. He is the Door,¹² an unusual door.¹³ I believe that we enter through Him but also enter in Him, because only by being in Him do we have the right to be in the Kingdom of God. Our citizenship and who we are in His Kingdom is because we are in Christ.¹⁴
Only by Christ Jesus, by believing in Him and by entering in Him can we come out from the darkness and enter into the Kingdom of God. He has already done everything there is to be done; He has already transferred us from darkness into the Light. If we believe it we are able to enjoy it. The Kingdom of God moves by Faith. Which faith? The faith of the Son of God who lives in me and I in Him.¹⁵ 

¹Gen 2:9 ²John 8:34 ³Rom.6:23 ⁴Rom.3:23 ⁵John 3:18 ⁶Eph.2:1 ⁷Eph.2:4, 5 ⁸Isa.53:4,5 ⁹John 8:12 ¹⁰John 14:6 ¹¹John 6:35 ¹²John 14:6 ¹³John 10:9 ¹⁴Rom.8:1 ¹⁵Gal.2:20

To be continued ...