The Tree of Life (Tracing Genesis 1-4 Patterns/Themes)

Jose Gonzalez welcomed attendees to the final class of the year before the holiday break, leading a prayer for those with health issues, including Natalie's dad's mother and Fred Hamilton's wife, before reviewing Genesis 1-4 themes concerning the "tree of knowledge of good and evil." The main focus of the session was the "tree of life," which Jose Gonzalez connected to the imagery of Psalm 1, the elevated location of Eden, and the rivers flowing out to water the garden. Jose Gonzalez explained that consuming from the tree of life leads to fruitfulness and becoming a source of life, contrasting with the negative effects of the tree of knowledge, and linked the concept to Abraham’s offering under the "oaks of Mamre," Daniel's choice of food, and Jesus as "the vine" in the New Testament.