For Christians Only on Symbolism..?

God told them not to eat the fruit of the tree or they would die. He was keeping the right to tell them what to do.

When SAtan said you do not have the right to tell them what to do. So eating the fruit was and act of rebellion against God's rule. it was not the literial fruit it was the idea behind it. So God has waited all this time to get people who are righteous and good and want his rulership. By means of a resurrection they will come back to life and live forever on earth. Just as Adam and Eve could have done had they not rebelled.

Most concepts used as symbols in the Bible are rarely used as symbols in the Bible. That is: for any concept that is used in the Bible as a symbol, usually that same concept appears several times in the Bible *not* used as a symbol.

In the Bible, "the earth" almost always does NOT refer to planet Earth. (The concept of "Earth = planet" was unknown to the ancients.) Almost always "the earth" in the Bible is used with one of the other standard meanings of the term. It is used in the Bible symbolically on occasion, but with *many* different meanings.

"The Sun" is used in more than one Bible passage in a symbolic manner - and not always in the same way. In general, when used symbolically, it refers to something that has great authority and "illuminates" (by dispensing knowledge, by making the spiritual or moral nature of things clear, etc.). As previously mentioned, usually it is not used symbolically.

There are only two Bible passages I recall off the top of my head that uses "the river" symbolically. One is obscure (heavily symbolic and definitely in some way "evil" but the symbolism is not explained by the author). The other refers to it as "the river of the water of life", that referring to eternal life. As previously mentioned, usually it is not used symbolically.

The concept "the tree that bears good fruit" appears in the Bible only in the teachings of Jesus and refers to those followers of Jesus who produce demonstrable results or engage in evident activities that are considered "positive" or "good" in Christian theology. Unlike the other concepts, this one appears in the Bible ONLY as a symbol.