Introduction

Are You Still In The Old Law Or The Tree Of Life In The New Jerusalem

† This question isn't abstract or theoretical, it's personal and covenantal.
† Every believer is located somewhere in the redemptive story, either clinging to what was passing away or living in what has been established.
† Scripture doesn't present two parallel systems, it presents one fulfilled transition from death to life, from shadow to substance.
† The Body of Christ isn't divided between covenants, it's defined by union in the New Jerusalem where the Tree of Life stands accessible.

Genesis 3:22-24

Then the Lord God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might reach out with his hand, and take fruit also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever"- therefore the Lord God sent him out of the Garden of Eden, to cultivate the ground from which he was taken. So He drove the man out; and at the east of the Garden of Eden He stationed the cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every direction to guard the way to the tree of life.

† Access to the Tree of Life was removed because of covenantal death, not physical mortality.
† Separation from God was the true consequence of the fall.
† Scripture begins with guarded access and ends with restored access.
† The Bible is a covenant story from lost life to restored life.

Romans 7:4

Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you also were put to death in regard to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might belong to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God.

† Paul doesn't describe reforming the Law, he describes death to it through Christ.
† Union with Christ requires separation from the covenant that condemned and bound.
† Fruitfulness belongs to resurrection life, not to the ministry of death.
† Remaining under the Law while claiming Christ creates a contradiction Paul never allows.

Colossians 2:13-14

And when you were dead in your wrongdoings and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our wrongdoings, having canceled the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.

† The written code stood against us, it was never neutral or supportive.
† God didn't adjust the ordinances, He removed them entirely.
† What was nailed to the cross has no authority to govern life afterward.
† Resurrection life can't coexist with a covenant that required death.

Hebrews 8:13

When He said, "A new covenant," He has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is about to disappear.

† The writer places the old covenant in a state of active disappearance.
† This passage was written before AD 70, during the transition period.
† The Law wasn't waiting for relevance, it was awaiting removal.
† Covenant location determines covenant obligation.

Hebrews 12:22-24

But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better than the blood of Abel.

† This isn't a future destination, it's a present covenantal reality.
† The writer places believers inside the New Jerusalem now.
† Perfection is tied to covenant completion, not biological death.
† The New Covenant defines where the Body of Christ stands.

Revelation 22:1-2

And he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

† The Tree of Life reappears only after covenant judgment is complete.
† Access to the Tree signals restoration, not probation.
† Healing of the nations fulfills the promise made to Abraham.
† Life flows from the throne, not from Sinai.

Galatians 4:24-26

This is speaking allegorically, for these women are two covenants: one coming from Mount Sinai giving birth to children who are to be slaves; she is Hagar. Now this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is enslaved with her children. But the Jerusalem above is free; she is our mother.

† Paul draws a clear line between two Jerusalems and two covenants.
† Bondage is tied to the old Jerusalem and the Law.
† Freedom is tied to the Jerusalem above, not a rebuilt city.
† The identity of the Body of Christ is rooted in the freewoman, not the bondwoman.

Historical References

† Justin Martyr stated that the old covenant was temporary and replaced by Christ's covenant.
† Irenaeus taught that immortality and life were revealed through Christ's completed work.
† Eusebius explicitly linked the destruction of Jerusalem to divine judgment and covenantal transition.
† Josephus recorded the fall of Jerusalem as a definitive end of the old order.
† Eusebius wrote that the church escaped Jerusalem before its destruction, marking a clear separation between covenants.

How It Applies To Us Today

† If we live under guilt, fear, and condemnation, we're functioning as if the Law still reigns.
† If we live in assurance, access, and fruitfulness, we're living from the Tree of Life.
† The Body of Christ isn't waiting for entrance, we're already citizens.
† Our calling is to live consistently with the covenant we're in.
† Knowing where we stand covenantally shapes how we pray, worship, and live.

Q & A Appendix

Q Where is the believer located covenantally today?
A In the New Jerusalem under the New Covenant, Hebrews 12:22-24.

Q Can a believer be in Christ and under the Law at the same time?
A No, Romans 7:4 says death to the Law is required to be joined to Christ.

Q What does the Tree of Life represent for believers now?
A Ongoing covenant life, healing, and fruitfulness flowing from Christ, Revelation 22:1-2.

Q When was access to the Tree of Life fully restored?
A After the old covenant system ended, culminating in the destruction of Jerusalem, Revelation 22:1-2; Hebrews 8:13.

Q Why do some believers still live as if they're under the Law?
A Because covenant identity hasn't been clearly taught, Galatians 4:24-26.

† This is the fulfilled perspective we proclaim at Fulfilled Prophecies †
© Fulfilled Prophecies - Dan Maines.

Source Index

† Genesis 3:22-24; Romans 7:4; Colossians 2:13-14; Hebrews 8:13; Hebrews 12:22-24; Revelation 22:1-2; Galatians 4:24-26

† Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho; Irenaeus, Against Heresies; Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History; Josephus, Wars of the Jews