Back To Eden

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In the article “Where Is Eden?”, we have rediscovered that Eden was actually located on Israel. This finding is founded upon scriptural references, and also based upon a geological model linking the four riverheads with the main river as described in Genesis 2. These four riverheads are connected together through subterranean water channels via the Great Rift Valley.

For ages, the Jewish people had held this belief that Eden was in the land of Israel. Their rabbis had taught them so. Within their traditions, Eden was pictured as a perfect place, which was lost after the Fall. According to some Jewish beliefs, the Temple Mount was the very place where Adam and Eve were expelled from Eden. Some of the rabbis also taught that those who obeyed the Word of God would become a tree of life:

Proverbs 3:18	She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her, And happy are all who retain her.
Proverbs 11:30	The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, And he who wins souls is wise.
Proverbs 13:12	Hope deferred makes the heart sick, But when the desire comes, it is a tree of life.
Proverbs 15:4	A wholesome tongue is a tree of life, But perverseness in it breaks the spirit.

If Eden is actually located in Israel, we will obtain a new understanding of the Word of God. We will begin to see a loving God leading His people back to Eden again and again! The very place where the first Adam and his wife were expelled was the very place that the last Adam and His wife, namely Jesus and the Church of Christ, entered in. The very place where man fell was the very place of redemption and restoration.

And so it is written,
"The first man Adam became a living being."
The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. (1 Corinthians 15:45)

New Jerusalem, which is Jerusalem restored and renewed, will be the very place once called Eden. This new paradigm will discredit all the existing locations claiming to be Eden. And we will grow in our love and faith in Christ, and also have a love for the Israelites, the people of God. Going back to Eden is going back to the Promised Land, Israel, the land flowing with milk and honey!

We will also begin to understand more about:

Why Israel is the Holy Land - The land is God’s inheritance. It is God's choice. It is also His holy habitation.	Zechariah 2:12-13 And the LORD will take possession of Judah as His inheritance in the Holy Land, and will again choose Jerusalem. Be silent, all flesh, before the LORD, for He is aroused from His holy habitation!
Why God chose Abraham - Abraham is both a man of faith and a faithful man. He will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just.	Genesis 18:18-19 Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him. For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, so that the LORD will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him.
Why God asked Isaac to dwell in this land - Do not go down to Egypt. Live in the land of which I shall tell you. Dwell in this land. I will be with you and bless you. I will give you and your descendants all these lands. I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father. I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven. I will give to your descendants all these lands. In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed. Because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.	Genesis 26:2-5 Then the LORD appeared to him and said: "Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land of which I shall tell you. Dwell in this land, and I will be with you and bless you; for to you and your descendants I give all these lands, and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father. And I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven; I will give to your descendants all these lands; and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed; because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws."
Why Isaac blessed Jacob (later named Israel) with these prophetic words - You will have the smell of a field. God will give you the dew of heaven, the fatness of earth, and the abundance of grain and wine. Peoples will serve you. Nations will bow down to you. You will be master over your brother. Cursed are those who curse you. Blessed are those who bless you.	Genesis 27:27-29 "Surely, the smell of my son Is like the smell of a field Which the LORD has blessed. Therefore may God give you Of the dew of heaven, Of the fatness of the earth, And plenty of grain and wine. Let peoples serve you, And nations bow down to you. Be master over your brethren, And let your mother's sons bow down to you. Cursed be everyone who curses you, And blessed be those who bless you!"
Why Israel had to cross the Red Sea - Crossing the Red Sea is for Salvation. It is by the blood of the Lamb that we are saved. Salvation is only by the grace of God through Jesus Christ our Lord! This is saving faith.	Exodus 14:13-14 And Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. The LORD will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace."
Why God gave them His holy commandments - So that you may enter the land which the LORD is giving you. It is ‘a land flowing with milk and honey,' just as the LORD God of your fathers had promised you. His commandments are the terms and conditions of living in the Holy Land.	Deuteronomy 27:1-3 Now Moses, with the elders of Israel, commanded the people, saying: "Keep all the commandments which I command you today. And it shall be, on the day when you cross over the Jordan to the land which the LORD your God is giving you, that you shall set up for yourselves large stones, and whitewash them with lime. You shall write on them all the words of this law, when you have crossed over, that you may enter the land which the LORD your God is giving you, 'a land flowing with milk and honey,' just as the LORD God of your fathers promised you.
Why Israel had to wander 40 years in the wilderness before being allowed by God to possess the Holy Land - God was leading you all the way for forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and to test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. So He humbled you by allowing you to hunger. He then fed you with heavenly manna so that you might know that man shall not live by bread alone; but lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD. God is chastening you like a father chastening his son. You shall keep the commandments of the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him. And because the LORD is bringing you: into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, that flow out of valleys and hills; a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey; a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing; a land whose stones are iron and out of whose hills you can dig copper.	Deuteronomy 8:1-10 Every commandment which I command you today you must be careful to observe, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land of which the LORD swore to your fathers. And you shall remember that the LORD your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD. Your garments did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these forty years. You should know in your heart that as a man chastens his son, so the LORD your God chastens you. Therefore you shall keep the commandments of the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him. For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, that flow out of valleys and hills; a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey; a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing; a land whose stones are iron and out of whose hills you can dig copper. When you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless the LORD your God for the good land which He has given you.
Why Israel had to cross the Jordan - Crossing the Jordan is for Sanctification. It is by the purification and the power of the Holy Spirit that we become His holy people. This is the grace of the Holy Spirit empowering us to live the abundant life. This is living faith.	Joshua 3:5-6 And Joshua said to the people, "Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you." Then Joshua spoke to the priests, saying, "Take up the ark of the covenant and cross over before the people." So they took up the ark of the covenant and went before the people.
How God would bless Israel if they obeyed the commandments - God will set you high above all nations of the earth. All these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the LORD your God. Blessed shall you be in the city. Blessed shall you be in the country. Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks. Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.	Deuteronomy 28:1-6 Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the LORD your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the LORD your God: Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country. Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks. Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.
What would happen to Israel if they disobeyed the LORD - All these curses will come upon you and overtake you. Cursed shall you be in the city. Cursed shall you be in the country. Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. Cursed shall be the fruit of your body and the produce of your land, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks. Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out. The LORD will send on you cursing, confusion, and rebuke in all that you set your hand to do, until you are destroyed and until you perish quickly, because of the wickedness of your doings in which you have forsaken Me. The LORD will make the plague cling to you until He has consumed you from the land which you are going to possess. The LORD will strike you with consumption, with fever, with inflammation, with severe burning fever, with the sword, with scorching, and with mildew; they shall pursue you until you perish.	Deuteronomy 28:15-22 But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you: Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the country. Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. Cursed shall be the fruit of your body and the produce of your land, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks. Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out. The LORD will send on you cursing, confusion, and rebuke in all that you set your hand to do, until you are destroyed and until you perish quickly, because of the wickedness of your doings in which you have forsaken Me. The LORD will make the plague cling to you until He has consumed you from the land which you are going to possess. The LORD will strike you with consumption, with fever, with inflammation, with severe burning fever, with the sword, with scorching, and with mildew; they shall pursue you until you perish.
Why the Israelites were exiled for 70 years - Because they did not have obeyed the words of the LORD when they inhabited in the Holy Land and became prosperous.	Zechariah 7:4-7 Then the word of the LORD of hosts came to me, saying, "Say to all the people of the land, and to the priests: 'When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months during those seventy years, did you really fast for Me--for Me? When you eat and when you drink, do you not eat and drink for yourselves? Should you not have obeyed the words which the LORD proclaimed through the former prophets when Jerusalem and the cities around it were inhabited and prosperous, and the South and the Lowland were inhabited?' "

Just as Eden was the paradise that man had lost because of disobedience and sin, Israel was the Promised Land that the Israelites lost again and again because they disobeyed and sinned against God. God has never given up hope in leading His people back to Eden even though they kept repeating the same errors.

If the Temple Mount is Eden, then the Golden Gate or the East Gate is probably the place where God had placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life (Genesis 3:24). It was the entrance to the Temple. This gate is now shut.

Then He brought me back
to the outer gate of the sanctuary
which faces toward the east, but it was shut.
And the LORD said to me,
"This gate shall be shut;
it shall not be opened,
and no man shall enter by it,
because the LORD God of Israel has entered by it;
therefore it shall be shut. (Ezekiel 44:1-2)

When the King of Glory comes, He will enter through this gate. Only He can open this East Gate! It will be widely opened upon His return. Only those who obey Him and His commandments will enter through this gate:

Blessed are those who do His commandments,
that they may have the right to the tree of life,
and may enter through the gates into the city. (Revelation 22:14)

This is the gate of the LORD,
Through which the righteous shall enter. (Psalm 118:20)

The psalmist also told us this:

Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD?
Or who may stand in His holy place?
He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol,
Nor sworn deceitfully.
He shall receive blessing from the LORD,
And righteousness from the God of his salvation. (Psalm 24:3-5)

The Word of God is the sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17). The Word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart (Hebrews 4:12). The flaming sword guarding the way to the tree of life in Genesis 3:24 is the Word of God. The Word of God leads us to life eternal! The Word of God will also lead us back to Eden!

God wants us to be abide in His Word, which is His holy commandments.

If you abide in Me,
and My words abide in you,
you will ask what you desire,
and it shall be done for you.
By this My Father is glorified,
that you bear much fruit;
so you will be My disciples. (John 15:7-8)

Therefore the law is holy,
and the commandment holy and just and good. (Romans 7:12)

If we are abiding in His laws, we do not come under His laws. A law-abiding citizen does not come under the laws of the land. But the moment he breaks a law, he comes under the jurisdiction of the laws. Just take a look at the increase and spread of lawlessness inside and outside the churches around the world.

The laws of God have two sides. One side is to protect and preserve His people, the law-abiding citizens of His kingdom. That's His divine love. The other side of His laws is to punish the lawless transgressors who seek to do lawlessness in His kingdom. That's His divine justice.  

God never desires us to break His laws. He allows us entry into Eden by the blood of His Lamb, but to remain in the Holy Land, we must be holy as He is holy. To have no laws is to become lawless. Lawlessness is a disgrace. Disgrace means no grace. The grace of God grants us salvation, and the grace of the Spirit grants us the power to live the victorious Christian life! We are more than conquerors! Victorious over sin!

It is here we see the main difference between the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and bad. Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies (1 Corinthians 8:1). Some people have some knowledge of God, but do not obey God. Some people have some knowledge of God and do obey God, they will obtain wisdom leading unto life! Many Japanese study English, and they have some knowledge of English. But they do not practise it. Thus, many of them cannot speak proper English.

She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her,
And happy are all who retain her.
The LORD by wisdom founded the earth;
By understanding He established the heavens;
By His knowledge the depths were broken up,
And clouds drop down the dew. (Proverbs 3:18-20)

Wisdom is a tree of life, and wisdom is knowledge being applied and lived out. It is both knowing and doing. This leads to life.

Jesus told us this parable about true wisdom in Matthew 7:21-27:

Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,'
shall enter the kingdom of heaven,
but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.
Many will say to Me in that day,
'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name,
cast out demons in Your name,
and done many wonders in Your name?'

And then I will declare to them,
'I never knew you; depart from Me,
you who practice lawlessness!'

Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine,
and does them,
I will liken him to a wise man
who built his house on the rock:
and the rain descended, the floods came,
and the winds blew and beat on that house;
and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.

Now everyone who hears these sayings of Mine,
and does not do them,
will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand:
and the rain descended, the floods came,
and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell.
And great was its fall.

No lawlessness is allowed in New Jerusalem. Only those who are doers of the Word will enter!

Jesus answered them,
"I told you, and you do not believe.
The works that I do in My Father's name,
they bear witness of Me.
But you do not believe,
because you are not of My sheep,
as I said to you.
My sheep hear My voice,
and I know them, and they follow Me.
And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish;
neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand." (John 10:25-28)

..for not the hearers of the law are just in the sight of God,
but the doers of the law will be justified.. (Romans 2:13)

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only,
deceiving yourselves.
For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer,
he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror;
for he observes himself, goes away,
and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.
But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it,
and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work,
this one will be blessed in what he does. (James 1:22-25)

Was not Abraham our father justified by works
when he offered Isaac his son on the altar?
Do you see that faith was working together with his works,
and by works faith was made perfect?
And the Scripture was fulfilled which says,
"Abraham believed God, and
it was accounted to him for righteousness."
And he was called the friend of God.
You see then that a man is justified by works,
and not by faith only. (James 2:21-24)

All the 613 precepts, statutes and laws in the Old Testament were condensed into the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments were then further summarized into just two commandments by our Lord Jesus:

"Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?"

Jesus said to him,
" "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,
with all your soul, and with all your mind."
This is the first and great commandment.
And the second is like it:
"You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
On these two commandments
hang all the Law and the Prophets." (Matthew 22:36-40)

This second commandment is like the first, and no lesser.

Then the Apostle Paul gave the ultimate summary to all the commandments:

For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this:
"You shall love your neighbor as yourself." (Galatians 5:14)

The test and proof of our love for the unseen God (our obedience to the First Commandment) is our love for our seen neighbors (our obedience to the Second Commandment):

If someone says, "I love God,"
and hates his brother, he is a liar;
for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen,
how can he love God whom he has not seen?
And this commandment we have from Him:
that he who loves God must love his brother also." (1 John 4:20-21)

How do we know whether we truly love God:

If you love Me, keep My commandments. (John 14:15)

And the new commandment is the same as the old commandment:

"Brethren, I write no new commandment to you,
but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning.
The old commandment is the word
which you heard from the beginning.
Again, a new commandment I write to you,
which thing is true in Him and in you,
because the darkness is passing away,
and the true light is already shining.
He who says he is in the light,
and hates his brother, is in darkness until now.
He who loves his brother abides in the light,
and there is no cause for stumbling in him.
But he who hates his brother is in darkness and
walks in darkness,
and does not know where he is going,
because the darkness has blinded his eyes." (1 John 2:7-11)

"A new commandment I give to you,
that you love one another;
as I have loved you,
that you also love one another.
By this all will know that you are My disciples,
if you have love for one another." (John 13:34-35)

The old commandment was from the beginning. Abraham knew them in Genesis before Moses got them in Exodus.

Because that Abraham obeyed my voice,
and kept my charge, my commandments,
my statutes, and my laws. (Genesis 26:5)

God never changes. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8). There is no shadow of turning with Him (James 1:17). In fact, the New Covenant is the same as the Old Covenant. The difference is not in the contents. The Old was written on hearts of stone, and the New is written on hearts of flesh. The contents remain the same:

"Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD,
when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and
with the house of Judah--
not according to the covenant
that I made with their fathers
in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them
out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke,
though I was a husband to them, says the LORD.
But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel
after those days, says the LORD:
I will put My law in their minds,
and write it on their hearts;
and I will be their God,
and they shall be My people." (Jeremiah 31:31-33)

"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you;
I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and
give you a heart of flesh.
I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes,
and you will keep My judgments and do them.
Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers;
you shall be My people, and I will be your God." (Ezekiel 36:26-28)

You are our epistle written in our hearts,
known and read by all men;
clearly you are an epistle of Christ,
ministered by us, written not with ink but
by the Spirit of the living God,
not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh,
that is, of the heart.
And we have such trust through Christ toward God. (2 Corinthians 3:2-4)

The New Covenant is basically God putting His same law in our minds and writing it on our hearts so that He shall be our God, and we shall be His people. Why? So that we can dwell with Him in His Promised Land, back to Eden again. Note also that God made the New Covenant with the Jews way back in the Old Testament, and not just with the Church in the New Testament. And the first Church in Jerusalem were all Jews. All the disciples of Jesus were Jews.

The summary of 613 commandments into one commandment does not denounce or destroy the Word of God but fulfill or complete it:

"Do not think that I came to destroy
the Law or the Prophets.
I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.
For assuredly, I say to you,
till heaven and earth pass away,
one jot or one tittle will by no means
pass from the law till all is fulfilled.
Whoever therefore breaks
one of the least of these commandments,
and teaches men so, shall be called
least in the kingdom of heaven;
but whoever does and teaches them,
he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds
the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees,
you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 5:17-20)

The Word of God is His guidance and instructions to His people from Day One.

In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God. (John 1:1)

Both then and now, it should be seen as a total way of life. It requires complete dedication because it is seen as God's direction for living the covenant relationship. It is to free us from all sins! We will be free indeed, having perfect liberty!

In leading us back to Eden, God is preparing in these last days a remnant people who will walk and live according to His Word! They will prepare the way for His Coming!

He who has an ear,
let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
To him who overcomes
I will give to eat from the tree of life,
which is in the midst of the Paradise of God. (Revelation 2:7)

Please also read: Where Is Eden?

Written on:
1 May 2006