“The Tree of The Knowledge of Good and Bad”—Have JWs got it correctly?

by Kalos 9 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  Kalos

  “As for the tree of the knowledge of good and bad you must not eat from it, for in the day you eat from it you will positively die.” (Genesis 2:17)

  JWs interpret this tree as the symbol “knowledge of good and bad,” right of God to set standards for us; hence eating of it means snatching God’s right to rule over us—thus self-rule means ruination and death, and conversely God’s rule means blessings and eternal life.

  This interpretation has some intrinsic problems!

  1) If the tree is named “knowledge of good and bad,” then it would mean man can ‘know what is good and bad ONLY AFTER eating of that tree’! But that was not happened—Adam and Eve simply thought that it would be GOOD for them if they ate of that tree EVEN BEFORE eating of that tree! Hence a tree could not have been named that way! Truth is that there was no such a tree with such a name as ‘EVERY fruit-bearing tree is already given for man’s sustenance.’ (Genesis 1:29)

  2) Everything about fruit-bearing trees is good—they subsist on mud and dirty water and give back nutritious fruit (and sweet/pure juice or water in the case of some trees); hence are actually symbol of pure goodness [goodness for the sake of goodness as they produce fruit not for them to eat but for others to eat and enjoy], hence can never be a symbol of bad also! (James 3:11, 12) Such goodness is the core attribute of God Himself. (Mathew 5;44-48; Mark 10:18)

  If so, what is the true interpretation of this tree? There is no interpretation needed as this tree also has its origin in “the false stylus of the secretaries” who have “worked in sheer falsehood.” (Jeremiah 8:8)
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  Witness My Fury

  You need to get out more.
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  Crazyguy

  The tree was also the tree of wisdom, the jws took this part out. If you don't know this but this story was taken and adaptided from a much older story.
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  bruh2012

  I have always wonder this very thing.

  My conclusions:

  1. Both trees are ONLY symbols, with the one I believe set up as a test of choice. A test to prove loyalty and faith.

  2. God is ULTIMATE and he is beyond that made-up right to rule stuff when he controls and limits what satan and man can do.

  3. God was making a way to formulate his vision of the world needing Christ.

  4. WT has mis-translated the verses where Eve saw that the tree was GOOD.

  http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/watchtower/beliefs/265093/1/Genesis-3-6-Is-it-correct-or-incorrect

  5. We don't know how long satan was against his father doing what was evil in making that choice

  6. God did create that "button" of evil, in that it's there as a choice

  7. Maybe God did not want Adam and Eve to experience bad/evil - I am more in favor of my first conclusion though.

  Amazing how WT trys to fiqure out Gods thinking especially when Gods thoughts are higher than mans.
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  Bobcat

  Kalos:

  The word for "knowledge" at Genesis 2:17 ( had·da·‘aṯ; Strong's 1847) can refer to knowledge as in "information," or it can also refer to "knowing by experience, relationship, or encounter" (AMG's Word Study Dictionary of the OT). Adam & Eve could understand what was "good and evil" without 'knowing' good and evil in the sense of setting up their own standard of it.

  Bobcat
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  Rattigan350

  They were real trees. They could have eaten from the tree of life and still be alive today. What gave it its power was Jehovah's word that it was a tree of life.

  As for the tree of knowledge of good and bad. Eating of it didn't mean that they would know good and bad afterwards.

  They knew it was bad to eat of it and good to not eat of it.

  It just mean that they wanted to choose for themselves the course of good or bad.
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  Kalos

  Rattigan350

  I appreciate your attempt. However, it is the same explanation that prompted me to post the above! God never planted such a tree. (Compare Jeremiah 8:8) And Satan never told: If you eat of that tree, you will become like God. Because they were already like God (being created in God's image--Genesis 1:26). Jesus told all of us: "become like God"--Mathew 5:48
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  pcop

  Here is an interesting article.

  http://www.e-prophetic.com/articles/the-trees-of-eden/
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  Ocean1111

  Defining "good and bad" or "right and wrong" or "good and evil" has equated to national governmental laws, ideologies, philiosophies, religions and much human speculation and research of knowledge derived from human experience that can be transmitted over generations. Thus it is a global hack to try to find "the truth", and even then "the truth" has to preserve itself with superior violence.

  Whatever that tree may have been called or fully meant its global effects are now obvious as everyone is a personal judge attempting to determine "good an bad" for themselves and in some cases everyone else as well: world government.

  Eventually those with all the gold and all the guns will determine "right and wrong" for everyone else they allow to remain. But the vanity and futility of the effort will remain constant, until of course the "Definer" decides to resolve the folly, even in the folly people could not figure out the meaning of the riddle for thousands of years. The answer is humans will never answer the question, its a checkmate.
  
  The Big Brain Designer already knows all the answers and all the questions, the ones with the brains still have not figured out the brain question itself, we are just hacking the mere surface of the first layer.

  But I think JWs did nail it is really a "sovereign" question, but others share that basic understanding of human self-rule in the basic meaning and its global effects present even in today's temporarily half stable world. Eventually there are some in this world that will try to answer the question at global scale, because in the end someone has to be the ultimate judge, for everyone being the judge has equated to today's lost world.

  The concept of world government is rationale. Who implements it is the question already contained in the fruit whose seed is about to "sprout". (imo)
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  Fernando

  Religion versus the gospel

  Personally, I've come to conclude that both the "tree of life" and the "Holy Grail" are symbols of the same thing: the liberating gospel message of grace and peace sponsored by our creator.

  Similarly, I believe that both the "tree of the knowledge of good and bad" and the "poison chalice" (containing the "wine" of Revelation 14, 16, 17, 18) are symbols of the same thing: religion (sponsored by the enemy of both God and man).

  Related references:

  • A very graphic 20 minute portrayal in the Harrisson Ford movie "Indiana Jones and the The Last Crusade".
  • The book "Two Trees" by Robert Ingleson.