Eden - Part 1

Heb 11:8 By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. 9 10 By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: 11  For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

Abraham had a destination, Like a homing pigeon he sought his roots! I was born in Shopville, Kentucky. I lived there for four short years. Since then, I have lived in Indiana and Michigan, but have now returned to Kentucky to die. This is the place of my birth. I want to be "home" when I die. There is a certain pull. It is the land of my ancestors. I live in Bowling Green but something tugs at my heart from Shopville. There is a sense of belonging as I stand in the Randall-Herrin Cemetery on Herrin Lane in Shopville. I wanted to be buried there with my family. It's as if Randall-Herrin Cemetery is a stepping stone to eternity!

Thousands of people  - from 70,000 to 300,000 tombs are in the Mount of Olives Jewish Cemetery (Wikipedia: "Mount of Olives"). They come from all over the world to be entombed there so as to be near the Gate to Heaven. There is something special there. It's soil is holy to the Jews. I believe it is the place where mankind was created. There is a spiritual call to come "home" to God's people.  

Mat 11:8-10 is the source of the lyrics for the song "Come Unto Me". Jesus calls us home to give us rest! Perhaps that is the reason so many head to Jerusalem to die. It is the Holiest of Holies in the Holy Land. The very word "Jerusalem" means "foundation of peace". "Peace" is at rest.

I believe Jerusalem is holy because that's where God first walked (Gen 3:8). Where God is, is Holy Ground (Exod 3:5). We know from scripture that the Garden of Eden is guarded by angels so that none can enter except through that one "gate". The Garden could not be entered any other way, and beyond the Garden of God was a wilderness to which mankind was expelled:

Gen 3:23 Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. 24 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.

In the beginning was the Garden which God prepared for His created children. Likewise, in the end, God prepared a place for His adopted children:

John 14:3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

I submit that the two "places" are the same. That the Garden of Eden is the Third Heaven; . where God goes to prepare for Christians a room in His mansion. Why is there a gate? People are dying to get in! From scripture, we know that the Gate to Paradise is straight, and the Way narrow (Mat 7:14). I propose that the cherubim guarding the gate to the Garden guards the gate to Heaven. Jesus is the Way to enter through that Gate, and to see the Tree of Life, we must follow Jesus.

Rev 2:7 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.

We know that the Tree of Life stood in the Garden of Eden by the River of God. That "river" flowed from underground and was the headwaters of four rivers. We know a couple of them. Let me add that we also know a third - the River Gihon which flowed from God is the Gihon Spring - "the fountain of the virgin" - which flows from the Kidron Valley to the Pool of Siloam on the south side of the City of David - the foundation of the present city.

The Kidron Valley is the Valley of Jehoshaphat -  "The valley where Yahweh shall judge." It makes sense that this is where Adam and Eve may have been when God announced the consequences of their sin; they having to leave the River of God.

Before we proceed, I know that the present geography does not support my hypothesis. However, Holy Scripture does! Why the difference? Things have changed. Part of my hypothesis is that the firmament changed big time with the flood. (See my commentary on Pangea at http://kentuckyherrin.blogspot.com/2016/10/eden-pangea.html). Since then, I changed the boundaries of Eden somewhat. In that commentary, I believed Eden was the pre-flood Pangea. However, now it seems that Pangea was the firmament, and Eden is what became the Kingdom of David - the Promised Land! 

Furthermore, the City of David is in the midst of the Garden in Eden. The entire Garden, I believe, is Jerusalem being "the foundation of peace". Jerusalem is the City of God which we find in the following psalm:

Psalm 46:4 There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High. 5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early.

Babylon, outside Eden is referred to in Revelation as a "great city". It shall be destroyed, representing the world! On the other hand THE "great city" is New Jerusalem:

Rev 21:10 And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God...

"The holy Jerusalem" is New Jerusalem. Heaven will come down from whence it came - the foundation of peace. New Jerusalem - the place of rest will replace the old city which is the foundation of rest. Jerusalem has been destroyed so many times that all that is left of the original city is its foundation.  

Thus, New Jerusalem is the location of the City of David, and just outside the city is where God created mankind; perhaps at the Mount of Olives. Jerusalem is in the midst of the Garden where the Tree of Life stood, and still stands! The Garden is in the Eastward in  Eden (Gen 2:8). Eden is where the land of milk and honey is - the Kingdom of David - from the sea to the Euphrates and from the Nile in Egypt to Lebanon (Gen 15:18; Deut 1:7; Josh 1:4).

I borrowed this map from the Jehovah Witness website. Although, that religion is a heresy, their map is quite accurate according to scripture.

I believe this "land of milk and honey" is Eden, and Jerusalem - the Garden - is Eastward in it. Because Moses disobeyed God, as did all those of the Exodus, they were not allowed to enter (Num 20:12). The Israelites had been in sin (Egypt) and wondered in the wilderness such as Adam and Eve did after their sin. God protected entry into Eden by death. All the Israelites who had been in Egypt died as God washed the people clean. They were then fit by grace to enter into Eden again. The Nephilim giants were symbolic of the cherubim who guarded the gate, and made the gate straight to enter therein. Only by God's grace (the Abrahamic Covenant) were the Hebrews allowed to enter. The password in that Covenant is Jesus because he was the Promise!

More on Eden tomorrow.