| Genesis 3:24 24 So he drove the man out; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden the Cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life. [Thus men passed from life to death, having lost the life of God, which is the light of men; and all men then walk in darkness, unless they are restored to the image of God — pure, perfect, holy, and righteous — passed from death to life — back to eating from the tree of life in paradise. Until restoration, all men are mostly deaf to the voice of the Lord, blind in darkness out of the light of God, lame in ability to walk with God, and dumb with inability to speak virtuous words as directed by God. From the Word of the Lord within: "Obedience leads to restoration of life."] | John 5:24 24 Truly, truly, I say to you, 'He who hears my word, and believes in [depends on, trusts, obeys] him who sent me, has eternal life, and shall not come into condemnation; but has passed [past tense] over from death to life.'3 [There is a voice of the Lord like thunder over the waters described in many Old Testament passages. This is radically different than the small still voice we hear from within our hearts or from the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit and the Word of the Lord within speak with words from Jesus, so we are hearing from the Son of God. But until we can truly hear the Voice of the Lord, we will not know for sure it is the Lord speaking to us. From the Word of the Lord within: "You will always have doubts until you hear His voice. My voice is like thunder over waters. You will hear His voice when He calls you." You will hear His voice for the first time after the baptism of fire and death to then be called forth and resurrected with Him as a new creature, and you will then know His voice; when you hear His voice like thunder over waters for the first time, you have passed over from death to life. This is the life that Adam lost in his fall in the garden, when he was cut off from the tree of life; men then became dead to the life of God. And when you pass from death to life, you enter paradise to once again eat from the tree of life, being translated into the Kingdom of Heaven while on earth to live in union with Christ and the Father. All this is to be experienced, not presumed in high notions.] | ||||||||