Two trees in the Garden of Eden represented differences between man and the angels, the tree of knowledge of good and evil and the tree of life. When man sinned and ate the fruit from the tree of knowledge, he drew closer to God and the angels in that he could distinguish good from evil.

After Adam and Eve sinned, the tree of life was still available in the garden for them to eat from and live forever. Why were Adam and Eve evicted from the Garden of Eden? Most people believe it was because they sinned. That's incorrect. It was to prevent them from eating from the tree of life!

And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. (Genesis 3:22-23)

If mankind had been allowed to eat of the tree of life and become spiritual bodies, the creation effort described in Genesis might have resulted in adding more rebellious spirits to Satan's gang for eternity! Satan and some of the angels he led had sinned by revolting against God. These new human beings had now exhibited the same tendencies as some of the original angels. They had sinned! Since they were sinful beings, why allow them to become immortal and possibly perpetuate their rebellious nature? Therefore, mankind was separated from the tree of life so they could not eat of its fruit and live forever. Obviously, at this point, neither man nor any part of man is going to live forever! He had the opportunity. Man was never commanded not to eat from the tree of life! Man could have eaten freely from the tree of life, but he chose poorly. Upon eating from the tree of knowledge, man was closer to the angels since he recognized good from evil.

When evicted from the Garden of Eden, at least one difference between man and the angels is obvious. That difference is immortality or eternal life. Man is mortal and angels live forever. Indeed, man was expelled from the Garden of Eden so that he could not eat from the tree of life and live forever! Now let's jump forward to the New Testament. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, must come to earth and live a sinless human life so that He can sacrifice His life for ours. The wages of sin is death and all humans sin. If Jesus lives a sinless human life He does not have to die and may give His life freely to pay the price for our sins. But there is an obvious problem with this scenario. Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and God is a spiritual body that lives forever. Consequently, so is His Son! Spirits cannot be killed. That being the case, how could Jesus die for our sins? The answer is in the Bible:

But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man. (Hebrews 2:9)

Jesus Christ was made to be "a little lower than the angels," exactly as man was created! Both Jesus Christ and man were made "a little lower than the angels." However, we are given the one, and only one, reason that Jesus was made lower than the angels for His thirty-three years on earth. He could not die as a spirit! He was made lower than the angels so that he could suffer death! That was the only change He had to make to become a human being! He had to change His body type. His spiritual body could not die as it is immortal. He had to become a physical human body so He could die for our sins. That is all He had to do. If the Son of God had to make only one change to become a human, then there is one, and only one, remaining difference between humans and the angels! That difference is a physical body versus a spiritual body. So only one item separates God and the angels from man! When Jesus was asked how men could enter into the Kingdom of God, He gave only one requirement which man had to accomplish:

Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. (John 3:5)

Jesus is addressing living men who have already been born of water. Human bodies are approximately 70% water and were carried in the womb in water. Man is the only animal which may gain eternal life since he is the only animal created with freedom of choice. One must choose whether or not to accept Jesus as their Savior. Thus to enter the Kingdom of God, one must first be born of water as a human and not some other animal. Our human birth of water gets us into the animal kingdom as Homo Sapiens. Each of us individually have no control or choice over our first birth. If one chooses to accept Jesus as his Savior, his second birth after Jesus returns to the earth will be a spiritual birth into the Kingdom of God. It is a real event, not simply some emotion! You are born a second time as a spirit, or born again. Therefore, the one remaining requirement for any existing man or woman to enter the Kingdom of God is to be born again as a spirit! That is, their body type must be changed from physical to spiritual. This birth is optional, you choose or reject this birth.

The spiritual body of the Son of God was temporarily taken away and replaced with a flesh and blood physical body so that He could suffer and die! He had to be born of water, His physical birth through Mary, to enter the kingdom of man. It will always be a mystery to man as to how this was accomplished. That is, where was His spiritual body during His human lifetime on earth? It cannot be killed or temporarily terminated, as it is immortal. It had to be "parked" somewhere. We will not understand this mystery until becoming members of the Kingdom of God.

Going the other direction, man must be born as a spiritual body to enter the Kingdom of God. Flesh and blood physical bodies cannot inherit the Kingdom of God:

And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God... (I Corinthians 15:49-50)

Only two body types are defined in the Bible, physical and spiritual, and each requires a separate and distinct birth:

That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. (John 3:6)

Nowhere in the scriptures is there a being described as a soul living within a physical body! If you believe you are born with an immortal soul as a member of the kingdom of man, you equate yourself with God and the angels, since this is now the only characteristic which differentiates you from members of the Kingdom of God. Satan thus preys on man's desire to be like unto God:

For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. (Genesis 3:5)

There now remains only one difference between man and the angels. That difference is body type. Do most Christian churches believe and teach this biblical fact? Absolutely not! The most common "Christian" theology is that man is born as an immortal soul living within a physical body. In other words, man is born with immortality. Is this theology supported anywhere in the scriptures? Absolutely:

And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die. (Genesis 3:4)

It is generally accepted that the serpent, or Satan, lied when he told Eve that she would live forever, "Ye shall not surely die." Today, that lie of immortality spoken by Satan is an accepted cornerstone of much "Christian" doctrine! Satan thus lends a hand in defining Christian theology.

So how do we obtain this one missing link of eternal life between us and the angels? By accepting Jesus as your Savior you become an heir to everlasting life:

That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. (I John 2:25)

Upon the Second Coming of Jesus to the earth you will be born again as a spiritual body into the Kingdom of God. Then, and only then will you be equal unto the angels. Speaking of those who shall inherit the Kingdom of God, Jesus states:

Neither can they die any more, for they are equal unto the angels... (Luke 20:36)

This can happen to you! You can become equal unto the angels and live forever!

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