Paradise, Eden, and the Kingdom of God

PARADISE, EDEN AND THE KINGDOM OF GOD

1-16-2019

The Garden of Eden as described in the book of Genesis has generated a considerable amount of speculation in both religious and secular circles.  Was it an actual place created by God at the beginning of creation for Adam and Eve or is it merely symbolic imagery representing a perfect area of the world?  Of course, most people consider Eden a metaphoric addition to the Genesis record but let’s suppose it was a real place.

If Eden was an actual area of land, which is a high possibility, then it would be the model for the Kingdom of God or a window through which heaven would come to the earth.  The earth was to be an expression of heaven and the will of God, but this was to come as the earth progressed from chaos to the appearance of the garden.  The Garden of Eden is/was also called “paradise”.  God placed Adam in the orchard or garden of Eden and instructed him to care for it and to maintain it. Afterwards He created Eve from a part of Adam so that both Adam and Eve would be of one body.

Paradise began as a small limited piece of real estate. Some claim it was possibly located in the northern Iraq/Turkey area.  Adam and Eve were called to increase the Kingdom until it filled the whole earth. If Adam had been able to do so, all things would have been put “under his feet” (Psalm 8:6).

Psalms 8:4-6 NET Of what importance is the human race, that you should notice them? Of what importance is mankind, that you should pay attention to them, (5) and make them a little less than the heavenly beings? You grant mankind honor and majesty; (6) you appoint them to rule over your creation; you have placed everything under their authority

However, Adam failed, and so this calling was transferred to the “last Adam,” which is Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 15:45 NET (45) So also it is written, "The first man, Adam, became a living person"; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit.

The gateway to the Earth of the paradise of Eden is Jesus Christ.  It is prophesied by Isaiah that the world will eventually become a replica of the Paradise of Eden.  However, it will not instantly occur at the return of Jesus but only after a period of time when all people have been resurrected and instructed by the power of the Holy Spirit.  The Millennium lasts for a thousand years.  At the end of the Millennium all remaining people will be resurrected and reeducated by the fire of God.  At this time will be the possible restructuring of the earth into the paradise of Eden occur.

When the Kingdom of God transforms the entire earth in the paradise of Eden, some animals will no longer be lethal to each other or to people.

Isaiah 11:6-9 NET A wolf will reside with a lamb, and a leopard will lie down with a young goat; an ox and a young lion will graze together, as a small child leads them along. (7) A cow and a bear will graze together, their young will lie down together. A lion, like an ox, will eat straw. (8) A baby will play over the hole of a snake; over the nest of a serpent an infant will put his hand. (9) They will no longer injure or destroy on my entire royal mountain. For there will be universal submission to the LORD's sovereignty, just as the waters completely cover the sea.

Other Old Testament millennial prophecies include:  Zechariah 14:8-21; Joel 3:18;  Psalms 46:4; Micah 4:1; Isaiah 65:17-25; and Isaiah 66:18-24.

The animals will eventually become as they were at creation, tame and docile.  Genesis 2:19 seems to indicate that all the animals, including birds, willingly approached Adam to be given a name.

Genesis 2:19 NET The LORD God formed out of the ground every living animal of the field and every bird of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them, and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name.

The finale of the Kingdom may be found in Revelation 21.  John envisioned a “new heaven and a new earth”.  The exact definition of this statement (new earth) is unknown.  Most commentators doubt that a new planet will appear to replace the original earth.  It could be that a transformation of the earth will present the appearance of a new earth. 

Revelation 21:1-3 NET Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and earth had ceased to exist, and the sea existed no more. (2) And I saw the holy city -- the new Jerusalem -- descending out of heaven from God, made ready like a bride adorned for her husband. (3) And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying: "Look! The residence of God is among human beings. He will live among them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them.

“And the sea existed no more” It is thought that the original earthly creation did not contain surface water, with the water all being underground within the earth.  During the flood of Noah, Genesis states that it actually rained but the majority of the water came from under the ground. In the new earth the oceans and seas may again become underground reservoirs.

The word “Jerusalem” is said to be a plurality designating two Jerusalems.  The old earthly Jerusalem is supposedly prophesied to be destroyed according to Isaiah 26 but the New Jerusalem will perhaps be created by God on the new earth although it is said to descend from heaven.  As the city of the glorified saints it will be as a bride for Jesus Christ, who is the husband.

Genesis 2:24 KJ3  Therefore, a man shall leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave to his wife and they shall become one flesh (or one family).

As previously stated, the transformation of the earth to Paradise will not happen suddenly.  It was perhaps take about 1000 years.  The glorified saints of the first resurrection will be given authority to subdue the nations to Christ during the Tabernacles Age which will also be the seventh or Sabbath Millennium and there will be no debts or servitude.  The end of the seventh Millennium will also witness a war consisting of unbelievers attacking the people of God.

Revelation 20:7-8 NET Now when the thousand years are finished, Satan will be released from his prison (8) and will go out to deceive the nations at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to bring them together for the battle. They are as numerous as the grains of sand in the sea.

The mentioned, God and Magog, may be similar people but are not the same people of Ezekiel 38 and 39 which has already been mostly fulfilled by the Khazarian Jews from Russia and Eastern Europe and ended with the state of Israel in 1948.

At the Great White Throne judgment all remaining people will be resurrected at the second resurrection.  Each will confront the court of judgment and they will receive the judgment of God.  The law requires that all law breakers will be symbolically sold to various masters or redeemers as a version of mandatory subjection.  Their redeemers will be granted the responsibility to teach each of them righteousness.

Isaiah 26:9 NET I look for you during the night, my spirit within me seeks you at dawn, for when your judgments come upon the earth, those who live in the world learn about justice.

Adam’s sin prevented him from completing his calling which was to subdue the earth into a paradise as an expansion of the Garden of Eden.  He was given the Fruitfulness Mandate but was unable to fulfill it.  The Mandate may have been passed down through all the generations after Adam but it was definitely given to Abraham by God.  Then it was given to Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Ephraim, etc.  At the second coming Jesus Christ will attain the Fruitfulness Mandate and it will then be totally fulfilled.

Genesis 1:28 NET God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply! Fill the earth and subdue it! Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and every creature that moves on the ground."

The Kingdom of God, Lost by Adam and Eve

THE KINGDOM OF GOD, LOST BY ADAM AND EVE

NOTE:  Some of the information contained in this article was acquired from a video sermon by Dr. Michael K. Lake:  Understanding the Kingdom

The Kingdom of God

The revelation of God is given throughout the Bible.  The names and precepts do not change.  It concepts were changed it would impossible to understand the final section.  Things must stay the same and they do so.  Most people only read the last third of the Bible when all the definitions and concepts are defined throughout the beginning.  God introduces precepts and definitions throughout the Bible, starting in Genesis and they remain the same from one end to the other.  When God created mankind, He gave them commands of dominion:  be fruitful and multiply; replenish and subdue the earth; and have dominion over every living creature.  The blessing that God gave to mankind was not living in the Garden but the blessing of dominion.  These commands gave Adam and Eve the operating instructions for walking in the Kingdom of God.  The Kingdom and the commandments of God are the same and are inseparable. 

Christians of today cannot live in the Kingdom of God without being involved with the commandments of God.  Adam was given dominion commandments other than to be fruitful and multiply.  He was placed in the orchard of Eden and was told to care and maintain it.

The LORD God took the man and placed him in the orchard in Eden to care for it and to maintain it.   (Genesis 2:15 NET)

Then, God gave to Adam the ultimate commandment:  Eat the fruit of any tree but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Then the LORD God commanded the man, "You may freely eat fruit from every tree of the orchard, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will surely die."   (Genesis 2:16-17 NET)

Sin, Repentance, and the Commandments of God

The commandments of God did not start with Moses, but with Adam.  He was told not to eat from a particular tree or he would die to the Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of Heaven (both references are used in the New Testament).  Instant physical death is actually not the primary issue made by many people.  The Nachash told Eve she would not die if she ate the forbidden fruit.  That was not a total lie but only a partial lie or half-truth:  she did not instantly die a physical death but both Eve and Adam died to the Kingdom of God as did all forthcoming progeny.  Death is separation from the Kingdom of God and the loss of a glorified body.  

For more information on the Nachash, you may go to The Nachash in the Garden of Eden

Sin is defined as the violation of God’s commands and laws:  no law – no sin.  God created mankind to live in His Kingdom according to a few simple rules.  As the lawlessness of mankind increased, the laws increased as in the laws and commandments given to Moses.  First, John the Baptist started preaching to repent for the Kingdom of God is here, then Jesus began proclaiming the Kingdom of God is before you.  The dominion of the Kingdom that had been lost and could only be found by proclaiming God and following his commandments could now be achieved by proclaiming Jesus as the Messiah and Son of God, receiving the Holy Spirit, and following the commandments of God which are written within us and directed and disciplined by the Holy Spirit of God.

Now by this we know that we have come to know God: if we keep his commandments.   (1 John 2:3 NET)

I suppose there are a few genuine atheists in the world, but most individuals do not deny the existence of a God, however, they are not interested in following the laws and commandments of God.  They are lawless individuals who do not desire to have their particular lifestyle compromised by following the rules of God.  One does not have to be a perverted psychopath to be lawless, they merely desire to sing Frank Sinatra’s song, “I’ll do it, my way” regardless of the particular way.  It is difficult to sometimes understand, but certain individuals are obviously so satanically brainwashed, they have no desire for God or His ways.  They would rather be left to themselves, live a life that pleasures them and then die forever.  However, some have written books based on the death bed confessions of atheists, agnostics, and heretics with woeful confessions wishing they had led a different and better life.

Below is a list of several Revelation scriptures, however they are shown because the individuals would not repent regardless of the severe wrath of God that was being dispensed upon them.  Unbelievable but true.

The rest of humanity, who had not been killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, so that they did not stop worshiping demons and idols …  (Revelation 9:20 NET)

Furthermore, they did not repent of their murders, of their magic spells, of their sexual immorality, or of their stealing.   (Revelation 9:21 NET)

Thus people were scorched by the terrible heat, yet they blasphemed the name of God, who has ruling authority over these plagues, and they would not repent and give him glory.   (Revelation 16:9 NET)

They blasphemed the God of heaven because of their sufferings and because of their sores, but nevertheless they still refused to repent of their deeds.  (Revelation 16:11 NET)

Dress and Keep

Genesis 2:15 states that God put Adam in the garden to dress it and to keep it.

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 KJV)

The word “dress” in the Word Study Dictionary is defined as follows:

‛āḇaḏ: A verb meaning to work, to serve. This labor may be focused on things, other people, or God.

The word “keep” in the Word Study Dictionary is defined as follows:

̌āmar: A verb meaning to watch, to keep, to preserve, to guard, to be careful, to watch over, to watch carefully over, to be on one's guard. The verb means to watch, to guard, to care for.

In addition to the duty of gardener and husbandman, Adam was commanded to watch, preserve, and guard the garden.  From what or for what was Adam guarding?  Dr. Michael Lake, author and Chancellor of Biblical Life College and Seminary, believes that Adam was to guard the garden for a possible surprise visit from the Nachash, the luminous serpentine entity generally considered to be Satan or Lucifer.  I read a book, several years ago (I wish I could find it), in which the author theorized that the accuser (referred to as Satan) was a created being essentially created for the purpose of accusing.  [That is another story for another time (I will continue looking for the book)].  However, Dr. Lake believes that Adam was supposed to be on the lookout for the Nachash and apparently he failed the task.  Perhaps Adam did not give Eve the details beforehand but the Nachash entered the garden without warranting alarm from Adam (according to Dr. Lake).  In like manner, our home is like the garden.  We should obey the commandments of God and keep the accuser from access to our forbidden tree to whisper words of false encouragement to us.  The only point in the history of the earth when we will again live in the fulfilled Kingdom of God will be the Millennium when Satan is bound in the abyss for a thousand years.  Then there will be true peace and the lamb and lion will lie down together as it was at the beginning of creation. 

The tree of good and evil has several interpretations.  Some claim this particular tree was actually the Nachash himself and the tree of life was the actual son of God with the fruit being symbolic.  Mark Flynn (see quote below) states the Nachash is a brilliant glowing serpentine figure with large wings and has been mythologized as the firebird or phoenix who will one day spring back to life (think antichrist) in full glory (the second coming of the Nachash).  This would present a new reflection of the so-called eagle on the dollar bill which is considered a parabolic firebird by Tom Horn and others. 

Mark A. Flynn Forbidden Secrets of the Labyrinth

The tree did not simply offer the knowledge of evil, but evil along with good.  In other words, the fruit did not cause the earth to become a place of absolute evil or outer darkness, but a place likened to one where the subtlety of evil would be allowed to infect if.  According to the account in Genesis, a creature that obviously had been created before man, entered the realm of heaven on earth in order to convince Eve to try the fruit of the tree.

Dr. Lake claims the Nachash is a creature glowing with the brightness of fire and is the light the Illuminati seek after.  Scripture says that Satan can appear as an angel of light.  Whether this light refers to actual illumination can be literal or figurative according to the Greek dictionaries.

And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.

(2 Corinthians 11:14 NET)

The Nachash told Eve that eating the fruit would open her eyes and she would be as a god (divine being).  Do the illumined ones believe they will be as gods?  Have they been promised this godhood? 

For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will open and you will be like divine beings who know good and evil.   (Genesis 3:5 NET)

Albert Pike has written that Lucifer is the Masonic god.  Perhaps Lucifer is the name Satanists use to refer to the Nachash or firebird (phoenix) of the Garden of Eden.  I suppose the name is not as important as the theology.  Dr. Michael Heiser, from reading the original texts, has written that the names cherubim and seraphim are used interchangeably in the Old Testament.  That would make them the same entity with different titles depending on the context. 

Jesus, the Son of God, did not die on the cross to save people from hell, He died and was resurrected to save people from sin.  Sin is the violation of the commandments of God and His death did not negate the commandments.  He saved people from the sin nature that was imbedded into the heart of mankind by the actions of the Nachash.  This sin nature caused mankind to question and resist God’s purpose and reasons for giving commandments.  Although Jesus freed mankind from the sin nature, He did not free mankind from the commandments of God, only mankind’s questioning of the commandments.  Many today desire to escape the ultimate death in the Lake of Fire but have no intention of living their life modeled by the Son of God and following the commandment of God.  Welcome to the modern church.  By their fruit you will know them. 

Arthur W. Pink:  The nature of Christ’s salvation is woefully misrepresented by the present-day evangelist.  He announces a Savior from hell rather than a Savior from sin.  And that is why so many are fatally deceived, for there are multitudes who wish to escape the Lake of Fire who have no desire to be delivered from their carnality and worldliness.

Modern preachers say:  God doesn’t mean this – God doesn’t mean that.  Don’t read the Bible, instead read some arcane occult material because it will explain scripture and theology more to your liking than the Bible.  Get your theology from an internet blog:  they will say things you agree with and can relate to unlike the Bible.  Then get in line for the mark of the beast.

They say to the visionaries, "See no more visions!" and to the seers, "Don't relate messages to us about what is right! Tell us nice things, relate deceptive messages.   (Isaiah 30:10 NET)