In the beginning Adam sinned and died spiritually (lost the spirit of God) and all men were barred from the tree of life because of sin.

Genesis 3 “²² And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” ²³ So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. ²⁴ After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.”

Everyone was a sinner by being a descendant of Adam even though they never broke any commandment like Adam, because nobody had the Spirit of God in them.

Romans 5 “¹² Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned— ¹³ To be sure, sin was in the world before the law as given, but sin is not charged against anyone’s account where there is no law. ¹⁴ Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who is a pattern of the one to come.”

The angels who blocked the tree of life gave the Law to mankind to prevent anyone from eating from the tree of life until Jesus came.

Galatians 3 “¹⁹ Why, then, was the law given at all? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come. The law was given through angels and entrusted to a mediator. “

But then law came as covenant of works: they had to obey everything in the law to eat from the tree of life.

Romans 10 “⁵ Moses writes this about the righteousness that is by the law: “The person who does these things will live by them.””

Romans 7 “⁹ Once I was alive apart from the law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died. ¹⁰ I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death. “

But law increased sin and death as Paul saw here.

Romans 5 “²⁰ The law was brought in so that the trespass might increase.’

No one was righteous under the law. They were barred from the tree of life because of the law.

Romans 3 “There is no one righteous, not even one;….¹⁹ Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. ²⁰ Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.”

The law trapped entire world under the prison of sin until Jesus came to set the world free!

Galatians 3 ” For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law. ²² But Scripture has locked up everything under the control of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe. ²³ Before the coming of this faith, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed. ²⁴ So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. ²⁵ Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.”

The Jews were under curse not able to keep the law to be saved.

The Gentiles were dead outside the law unable to enter being dead in uncircumcision 

The law was the barrier to tree of life.

Then God himself became a man 

Jesus our lord came to do God’s will 

To remove the law by His death after fulfilling the law by his sinless life and his blood to take away the sins committed under law for all humanity.

Jesus took away sin by removing the law.

Hebrews 9-10 “Hebrews 9 “15 For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.”….But he has appeared once for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself.”…..Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said:…. “Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them”—though they were offered in accordance with the law. 9 Then he said, “Here I am, I have come to do your will.” He sets aside the first to establish the second. 10 And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all…..¹⁴ For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are made holy.”

Jesus Christ removed the barrier from the tree of life by making a new covenant making us perfect and sinless by His blood.

When Jesus died the veil in temple tore allowing men to come to tree of life.

Matthew 27 “⁵⁰ And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.⁵¹ At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.”

The veil in the Temple tore, because the Law was made obsolete.

Hebrews 8:13 “By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear.”

The Law was fully removed from the earth in AD70 when the Temple was destroyed in Jerusalem.

Now God’s presence and the tree of life is open to all nations because Jesus removed ALL sins from the world by removing the Law.

God is Spirit and is worshipped in Spirit and truth, in all nations when we just believe in Jesus, we are saved, and have eternal life.

John 4 “¹⁰ Jesus said ….whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life….“believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. ²² You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. ²³ Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. ²⁴ God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”

Now all men can come and take free gift of life by faith in Jesus without any works of law!

Revelation 21-22 “⁶ He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. ….Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb ² down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations…..¹⁴ “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city……¹⁷ The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.”