Sure you may ask, Gen 1-3 is one of the chapters I have read most, maybe 50+ times in my life and one day I just realized it, Eden (also called Paradise, Rev 2:17) is a supernatural place, 1) the Lord God walking in the cool of garden,
OK, so this is your personal take on Gen 1-3?
1) Gen 2: 4-9….
“This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made earth and heaven. Now no shrub of the field was yet in the earth, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, for the Lord God had not sent rain upon the earth, and there was no man to cultivate the ground. Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. But a mist used to rise from the earth and water the whole surface of the ground. The Lord God planted a garden toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the man whom He had formed. Out of the ground the Lord God caused to grow every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.“ (NASB)
From that passage in Gen 2 how does it seem like A & E were created anywhere but planet Earth?
This is an earthly scene, with trees, plants and a mention of rain. The garden God planted was here on the earth that he had so lovingly prepared for the living creatures he designed to share life with us here. Among those creatures were serpents.
Assuming the form of a serpent or using one for his own deception somehow, satan planted seeds of his own in the mind of the woman….he cast doubt on God’s motives and painted him as a selfish parent, keeping things beneficial from his children.
Gen 3:1-7…
”Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die! but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’” For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings..
They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.” (NASB)
Again…all this is entirely earthly, not somewhere in heaven. The Earth itself is part of the
physical heavens, but certainly not part of the
spiritual heavens….so do you imagine that the Being who created the Universe could himself walk about on a tiny insignificant speck in that vast Universe? The Bible says that he has a vantage point in heaven that allows him to “look down” at what is happening here on the earth. He does not need to be physically present but can figuratively walk about by observing things that are taking place.
It says they “heard the sound” of God walking in the garden, not that they saw him.
Rev 2:7 mentions “the paradise of God“ where redeemed mankind will again have access to “the tree of life”.
again this is entirely earthly. A restoration of what they lost originally.
Being “mortal” didn’t mean that they
had to die….only that they
could if they disobeyed their Creator.
God provided the means to live forever, like he provided everything else.
2) direct communication between God and mankind,
There was no impediment of sin to interfere with direct communication with God, until Adam and his wife ate of the fruit. Only then was there a barrier between God and men, so that God set up a bridge or line of communication in the person of his “logos”, so that mankind could still communicate with God through a mediator. With his nation of Israel on earth, this was through Moses, later the Aaronic priesthood….and in the Christian Era, through the name of his son, Jesus Christ. Early servants of God had angelic communication. e.g. Abraham was visited by three angels in materialized form who delivered messages of Isaac’s birth and also travelled to Sodom to deliver Lot and his family from the city’s destruction. (Gen 18)
3) no death, death is an enemy, the last enemy, that will be done away, death never existed before A&E sinned,
Yes, death was not to take God’s human creation as they alone were given access to “the tree of life”….this gave them superiority over other creatures because they were not given everlasting life. (Eccl 3:19-20) As mortal beings, animals were created to live in a cycle of life, but humans alone, “made in God’s image”, were to live forever, provided that they remained obedient to all that God commanded them. Sin then caused death, which made them like the animals. “A return to the dust” is what they could now expect.
Gen 3:22-24 reveals that they were responsible for losing everlasting life for themselves, being denied access to “the tree of life”……they and all their children, necessitating a redeemer. So unending life, to be enjoyed in mortal flesh, was their original condition. Hey lost that, but not forever…..all of this occurred on earth. The Bible itself does not say otherwise.
4) the tree of life, back in Revelation in the new created supernatural New Heaven and the New Earth.
Why does “the new heavens and new earth” have to be supernatural? What is meant by those terms?
Since God created both realms in perfect condition originally, there is no need on God’s part to make new ones….he gave us an example of how he cleansed the earth in Noah’s day. He simply removed the wicked elements and started afresh with new stock, personally chosen by him to repopulate the earth.
When we realize that the “new heavens” is not a new Universe, but reference to his heavenly rulership (God’s Kingdom) and the “new earth” are the ones among mankind who are found worthy of everlasting life once God has again cleansed the earth of all wickedness and those who practice it, we get a different picture. This is tied in with Christ’s return. (Matt 24:37-39) God will again cleanse the earth of the unrighteous ones, so that those righteous in his eyes will get to enjoy the life God had planned for us all along. Christ came to buy back (redeem) what Adam lost for all his children. Heaven was never in man’s destiny originally…..but some were chosen to rule in heaven with Christ. They will rule over redeemed mankind on earth. (Rev 20:6)
It’s all very logical.
All of those 4 points can not be on our natural world, the world A&E were expelled on, away from the presence of the Lord, away from the tree of life.
I hope you can see that all of that which is recorded in the Bible for us, paints a very different picture to the one you have imagined. You see, we cannot entertain our own beliefs separately from our brethren….all must believe one truth (1 Cor 1:10) or God could be accused of speaking with a forked tongue….we know that it’s the devil who does that. God does not teach confusion, but has but one truth, which satan has twisted and caused such incredible division among those who identify as “Christians”.
All we need to do is read what God’s word says and make sure that everything is in agreement, otherwise contradictions just continue to muddy the already dirty waters.
There are not many versions of the truth…..there can only be one, and only God can direct us to that truth. (John 6:44; 65)