These days there seems to be a lot of
confusion, conjecture, fictional theories, and downright foolishness concerning
the whereabouts of the Garden of Eden. What happened to that awesome Garden
after Adam and Eve rebelled and received their eviction notice demanding they
leave their one time home post-haste? Was it destroyed by the Flood of Noah’s
time? Was it just simply eliminated by God? Where has it gone, this Garden of
God?
“And the
LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had
formed.”
Genesis 2:8.
Planted in the Hebrew is “nata”
and it means to establish. We see from the scripture verse above that God
planted (established) this Garden in Eden (Eden, by the way, means pleasure) and
then after creating Adam, placed him in his new habitat.
“And the LORD God took the man, and put him
into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.” Genesis 2:15.
Adam was created from the dust of the earth, and then he was transported to a
location more befitting his newly created life. Adam was given an awesome
responsibility in this newly established habitat, which was to keep the garden
beautiful (dress it). But none of these verses tell us precisely where Eden was.
So, just where is this garden of God?
After their rebellion and subsequent
fall, Adam and his wife were given an eviction notice. Suddenly we see our
antediluvian parents being banished from the Garden of Eden. That banishment
included a new life in another location apart from the Garden of Eden, a life
that would be consumed with hard physical labor, undoubtedly coupled with a deepsense of
guilt, shame, and misery for them both.
“Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the
ground from whence he was taken.” Genesis 3:23. God sent Adam
(and Eve) out of the Garden and back to the land and ground from which he was
created. So here we see that God speaks of two distinct locations. The ground
that He used to create Adam was distinctly different than the surroundings in
the Garden of Eden – the perfect environment for God’s new creation. We know
where the “ground” is – it’s the earth where we all live today. But where is
that elusive Garden?
“So he
drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims,
and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of
life.”
Genesis 3:24.
The word “kĕruwb (Cherub) in the
Hebrew, used in the above verse,
can denote one Cherub or a number of Cherubim. The translators of the King James
Version of the Bible translated “kĕruwb”
into English as Cherubims which doesn’t really make sense. The plural of cherub
is cherubim. There is no need for an “s” at the end as we see rendered in
English in the above verse. In this case God placed a Cherub (kĕruwb)
at the east of the Garden of Eden to keep the way of the tree of life. As we
look further into the Hebrew words we find that God placed just one angelic
sword there with the Cherub, this would further indicate the presence of just
one Cherub.
Was this precaution to keep Adam and his descendents out of
the Garden of Eden? Not hardly. Angels are very powerful and cherubim are even
more so. One angel would have been over-kill to keep mankind out of God’s
Garden.
Here’s a little tidbit of
information for those of you who are not familiar with the power of angels.
“And it came to pass that night, that the angel
of the LORD went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred
fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold,
they were all dead corpses.” 2 Kings 19:35. One angel in one
night slew 185,000 Assyrians; they are much more powerful than humans.
If we humans were being kept
from the Garden we would be able to see it and the Cherub wielding his flaming
sword. So, where is that Garden? Consider this. The Garden of Eden does not
exist in the dimension in which we live and the Cherub is not guarding against
humans, but guarding against supernatural beings bent on wickedness who
desperately want access to the tree of life. The flaming sword (angelic sword in
the Hebrew) that turned every way indicates a supernatural barrier. Therefore
there would be no “earthly” reason for guarding the entrance to the Garden of
Eden against unlawful entry by mankind. It’s a physical impossibility for mortal
humans “in the flesh” to see it, let alone enter the Garden of Eden (Paradise).
That Cherub is there explicitly to keep supernatural
malevolent beings from entering and being mischievous. But why? I’m going to
answer that question with a bit of conjecture on my part, but it’s a logical
conclusion. God told Satan and his hoard of fallen angels that there would be a
fight between two distinct seeds (“And I
will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed;
it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” Genesis
3:15). The hostility God is speaking about is between Jesus the
Christ (the seed of the women) and Satan’s seed. This proclamation caused
Satan to realize that if he was to survive it was up to him to disrupt God’s
plan of the redemption of mankind. If Satan had been allowed to enter the Garden
of Eden again; and more specifically to gain access to the “tree of life,” that
access could have greatly contributed to his agenda of disrupting God’s plan to
restore the broken relationship between Him and man.
Obviously God had no intention of
allowing Satan any latitude in this area again – hence the Cherub and his sword.
The Garden of Eden/Paradise is of another dimension where the faithful go when
they die. Therefore Satan and his cohorts had to have been denied any access to
that dimension without exception.
“And the
LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil:
and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and
eat, and live for ever:”
Genesis 3:23.
The above verse explains why God, being fully aware of Satan’s plan, had no
choice but to guard the entrance to the Garden of Eden. Otherwise man, by way of
Satan and his malevolent hoard of fallen angels, would have become as corrupt as
those wicked supernatural beings, but with one added detriment for mankind. With
access to the properties of that “Tree of Life”, man would have been immortal
just like those malevolent supernatural beings and just as bent on corruption,
shades of Genesis chapter 6 occurring over and over again.
The only way we humans can live forever is to shed these
mortal vessels we refer to as bodies. Basically we must die to live.
“So when this corruptible shall have put on
incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be
brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.”
1 Corinthians 15:54. It was Christ’s victory over death and over Satan
that gives humanity the only way of by-passing eternal damnation. Not at all the
way Satan would have preferred things to have turned out. But hey, there it is.
God is faithful! We can depend on God’s plans as always being perfect.
“He that
hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that
overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the
paradise of God.”
Revelation 2:7. Jesus’ own
words tell us where the tree of life can be found – it’s in the midst of
Paradise. And those who overcome will be given access to that tree. Certainly
the probability of Paradise and the Garden of Eden being the same location is
very great indeed since from the beginning the “tree of life” was “established”
as one of the trees in the Garden of Eden. We either have two names for the same
location – The Garden of Eden/Paradise – or someone dug up the “tree of life”
and replanted it in another location.
“And it
came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's
bosom:”
Luke 16:22.
Abraham’s bosom is a reference to Paradise. On the day Christ was crucified
there were two others suspended on their own crosses. One recognized who Christ
was and asked to be remembered. He is now in paradise with the rest of the
believers. “And Jesus said unto him, Verily
I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.” Luke
23:43. Paradise is the
location where the Apostle Paul tells us he went when he was raptured (caught up
– Harpazō in the Greek).
“How that he was caught up into paradise, and
heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.”
2 Corinthians 12:4. When the saints are finally caught up (Raptured) we
too will be with the Lord in Paradise (the Garden of Eden). If I’m correct in my
theory about the Garden of Eden and Paradise being the same location, then the
Garden of Eden has moved. “Wherefore he
saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts
unto men.” Ephesians 4:8. Now we see Paradise has been moved
to a new location – it has ascended up on high.
So, the Garden of Eden is still very
real, it’s just not visible to those still living on earth. Paradise is also
very real because both locations are one and the same, and God confirms this by
referring to the “tree of life” and it’s location as being both in the Garden
and in Paradise. It’s a place that is completely off limits to any form of evil.
It can’t be described with human words. It’s a dimension that will never be seen
by the damned. It belongs to God and the redeemed.
“We are
confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be
present with the Lord.”
2 Corinthians 5:8.
Everyone who has died with their faith firmly established in the Son of God is
now occupying that Garden/Paradise. They now know without any doubt that
Paradise was never lost – only man. Paradise awaits each of us who’ve placed our
faith and trust in the One who designed and created it, our Lord and Savior
Jesus the Christ. The alternative to Paradise has never moved; it’s exactly
where it was when Abraham had the discussion with the rich man in Luke chapter
16 verses 19 through 31. By the way, that discourse was not a parable but a true
account.
The Creator of all dimensions (Jesus
Christ) has a special dimension fully established, which currently houses
multitudes of God’s children. In contrast to that beautiful, awesome Garden
(Paradise) is a location which is the most unpleasant of habitations, and that
is a gross understatement. It currently awaits all the Christ-rejecters who have
made it plain they want nothing to do with God. Two distinct and completely
dissimilar eternal locations are in view as we live our lives out on planet
earth. Paradise and Hell – both equally real. Paradise is the place where the
living, continue living…forever. Hell is the place where the dead continue
dying…forever. Deciding on which location you prefer doesn’t take a lot of
intellectual prowess. It’s a simple choice. Which place is yours?
God bless you all,
Ron Graham
twotug@embarqmail.com
All scripture is from the KJV and God breathed
Ministry address – 96
County Road 5480 Salem, MO 65560
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