Peter had been raised a good Jew, taught the law from a little child. Paul knew what was right and wrong, what was good and what was evil. He knew what animals were good to eat and what animals were evil to eat. He also knew to never eat with Gentiles, and that was wrong.
But all of that came from the wrong tree. God’s plan was to use Peter to take the gospel beyond the Jewish people and bring life to the nations. He needed Peter to flow from the Tree of Life and not judge people based on what he thought was right and wrong.
To change the Tree Peter was living from, God had to get so serious He knocked Peter into a trance. It is very rare God uses a trance to get hold of someone, but this matter is so serious and so intense, God had to get through to Peter.
In the trance God shows Peter all the different animals and said that Peter can eat them all. Peter argued with God. He told God he doesn’t eat unclean food. Even though this was a trance, God still had to tell Peter three times before He stopped arguing.
Can you imagine arguing with God in a trance that you know what is right and wrong more than He does? That is the result of living at the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil – you think you are more righteous than God and more loving than Jesus! We all need to come to the Tree of Life or we will be lost in delusions of how pious we are!
Tree of Life Blog 