The Tree of Life

God does not destroy the tree of life, he does not uproot it or carry it away, instead he leaves it be, guarding the way with a cherubim and a flaming sword. This shows that God has not given up on eternal life. From the beginning God means man to live forever and as "it was in the beginning, so it is now and ever shall be." There is no shadow of turning with the father of lights, giving good gifts from heaven to his children. Jesus Anointed ("Anointed" is simply translating Christ into English) is the way to eternal life. My dad and I were discussing just the other day the recognition that death is over and done with, according to the gospels and letters, death is in a real sense, behind us now. Some in the early church were actually saying that the resurrection from the dead had already occurred. They go over the mark in thinking this but clearly the apostles are teaching that "it is finished" and that God's salvation means death to death, it means that the grave is in the grave now, all that is past and we are become new in Jesus Anointed. Paul's people overdo a bit on this idea, but they've got it right essentially.