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 deep sense
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 "ke(ruwb (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 "ke(ruwb" 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 (ke(ruwb) 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,
Harpazo- 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?