«　WEEK 1　DAY 2　»

　　Gen. 2:16-17 And Jehovah God commanded the man, saying,… Of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, of it you shall not eat; for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.

　　Heb. 2:14 …The children have shared in blood and flesh, He also Himself in like manner partook of the same, that through death He might destroy him who has the might of death, that is, the devil.

　　The first of…two choices was the tree of life, which denoted God Himself as life. The content of the tree of life is life. It is life, simply, purely, and absolutely. The nature of this tree and the result of this tree are also life. Life is the content, nature, and result. Everything is life…What is the principle of the tree of life? Its principle is dependence. We all must be dependent.

　　The second choice was the tree of knowledge (Gen. 2:17), which was the opposite of the tree of life. Note that this tree was called the tree of knowledge of good and evil, not simply the knowledge of evil. Both the knowledge of good and the knowledge of evil come from the same tree. It does not matter whether knowledge is the knowledge of good or of evil. As long as it is knowledge, it does not belong to the tree of life. It belongs to the tree of knowledge.

　　Although the tree of the knowledge of good and evil signifies Satan, it does not signify him directly. It first signifies everything apart from God, and then it signifies Satan indirectly, because Satan is hidden at the back of the things that are apart from God. Satan likes to conceal himself. Thus, the tree of knowledge represents him indirectly: (Life-study of Genesis, pp. 162, 165-166)

　　God is very frank and always comes to the front. Satan, however, is subtle, always staying at the rear. If Satan wants to trouble you, he will not do it openly and frankly. He will do it subtly, acting through your wife or through a part of the world, such as a department store. Sometimes, Satan even utilizes the Bible, operating through the letters of the Scripture to harass you. Remember how the Jewish religionists, the Pharisees and the scribes, used the Bible to condemn the Lord Jesus to death (John 19:7). Because Satan is subtle, the tree of knowledge does not signify him directly. It signifies everything apart from God, including good things, scriptural things, and religious things. Regardless of whether a thing is good or evil, as long as it is not God Himself, it can be utilized by Satan.

　　The things apart from God fall into three categories: knowledge, good, and evil. Suppose you have the intention of doing a certain good thing. Deep in your spirit, however, you have the sense not to touch it and not to do it… Do not employ the principle of good and bad, but cooperate with the principle of life. If you do not have peace within, it means that the Spirit of life does not agree with what you intend to do. You need to cooperate with Him. If you do, you will receive life. Have you not had this kind of experience repeatedly in the past? Whenever you acted according to the good, you were killed. You experienced death. However, when you acted according to the inner life, you received more life.

　　The nature and result of the tree of life are both life because it is a tree of life. But the nature and result of the tree of knowledge of good and evil are both death because knowledge, good, and evil are all of death and bring in death… Actually, the tree of knowledge of good and evil is the tree of death; yet it is not called the tree of death, but the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Death is not only behind evil; it is also behind knowledge and good. The title of the tree of knowledge of good and evil is subtle because Satan always likes to conceal himself. Satan has the power of death (Heb. 2:14). Since the tree of knowledge of good and evil is actually the tree of death, it signifies Satan. (Life-study of Genesis, pp. 166-167, 169)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Job, msg. 37; CWWL, 1969, vol. 3, pp. 411-417, 425-432