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Was the Garden of Eden a physical place or symbolic of God's divine existence? We should never add to nor take away from Holy Scripture, but it's acceptable to seek the mystery of God of which Paul spoke several times. That mystery is summarily the place of Christ in the history of the Hebrew people. One day it dawned on me after reading the willingness of Abraham to sacrifice Isaac: What's this have to do with Jesus? Everything! At that moment I was enlightened and angry at the same time. This revelation opened up a new understanding for me, but I was angry for my many preachers who had failed to teach symbiology.
We learn from John chapter one that since Jesus was there in the beginning, speaking the Word, the Old Testament writings are all about Jesus. Jesus was never taught Holy Scripture, he just knew because he was there, in spirit and in truth! (John 4:23), and then Jesus added that I am he! (John 4:26). John certainly knew the mystery of God. He spoke of it in Revelation 10:7, and described the mystery in the first chapter of John.
John's claim was that Jesus was there in the beginning with God. There, before the creation sitting at the right hand of God, but after the creation where was he? There was in the Garden of Eden. The Word walked in the cool of the evening and spoke the Word with His own Voice. (Genesis 3:8).
God is the center of everything. In the center of the Garden were two trees. One was the Tree of Life. It was the Tree whose fruit could be freely eaten. We find later that it had twelve fruits. (Revelation 22:2), and is still standing in the kingdom of God. The paradise of the Garden was obviously symbolic of the kingdom of God which we still refer to as Paradise or Heaven! It may be that since New Jerusalem will come from heaven back to the world, that perhaps the original Jerusalem (the "foundation of peace" which it means), ascended to heaven and can't be found now because it's not here! (Note: My implication is that Jerusalem and New Jerusalem is the same, and both are paradise).
Remember now, these comments are not Holy Scripture but hypotheses based on scripture. However, one must admit that this commentary does make sense. Jesus is the spiritual Tree of Life, it is obvious, and on a tree he died to give life! It appears that this real tree in the Garden of Eden was more than the physical, but was doctrinal as well. It represents the Way of Jesus and it's fruits were His Way. Adam and Eve could have eaten of the greatest fruit, but chose what appeared to be better fruit, but chose wrongly. More than the fruit, it was wrong doctrine which they chose. Basically, their one and only command was to honor God's request, and the Father much later, burned the Word in stone with His Holy Spirit. In fact, all the Ten Commandments are summarily about honoring God - loving Him.
The physical attributes of the Tree of Life are what can be seen, what is unseen, and what nourishes it. Symbolically, the tree itself is one, but consists of three parts: the seen with it's fruits amidst branches and leaves, the unseen which is the root system, and the unseen power - the water from below which keeps the tree alive. What is seen may be symbolic of Jesus with his branches, the unseen root is the Father himself, and the living water below is the Holy Spirit.
Not only is that physical but may be symbolic of the doctrine, and is obviously a picture of the Holy Trinity. In essence, Adam and Eve chose knowledge and it's attributes over eternal life represented by the good tree!
Where was Jesus in the beginning? He was there in the center of the Garden. Where is he now? On the River of God in Paradise. Maybe he hasn't even moved! To minister to mankind, God was made flesh. No longer was he a mere symbolic Tree which had power, speech, and existence, but He was God in the flesh. Although born by the Holy Spirit after John the Baptist, John said that He was before him. Where was he all that time? Speaking the Word to the patriarchs, and then sitting quietly for four-hundred years after his branch rejected Him.
This brings me to the question? What type of tree was this symbolic Tree? The answer to that may lie in Romans chapter 11. This recently occurred to me, and I wrote of it in my own blog:
The Olive Tree
God's people are represented as the olive branches in Romans 11. That particular tree has significance throughout the bible. In the Mediterranean and a few other places it grows naturally. As such it grew wild in those lands. It's oil is still one of the three main ingredients in the food of that area, along with grape and wheat.
Scripture says that Jesus is the true vine. Any vine thereon which does not bear fruit God is cut off. (John 15:1). Wheat represents mankind. It can either be good seed or bad, and it can either bear fruit or not. (John 12:24). And then we have the fruit of the olive tree. It's branches represent God's chosen people. Paradise (Canaanland) was promised to be naturally the Hebrews because God made a covenant with Abraham. From his tree a seed would grow to save the world. That seed was to produce God in the flesh who was called Jesus, Joshua in Hebrew, which means "deliverer". Abraham knew that God spoke both of the land of milk and honey and Heaven itself!
Joshua in the Old Testament was a deliverer. His name even meant that. Joshua was born to deliver. Moses led the Hebrew people out of the wilderness, but it was Joshua who delivered them to the promised land. Joshua was the seed of Abraham just as Jesus is. (I use the present tense because Jesus IS - he is eternal). You see, everything has always been about Jesus. God had one plan for the salvation of mankind, and it was always Jesus and salvation by grace. God didn't need a Plan B because of his power and foreknowledge.
The Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden bore fruit. We know it was twelve spiritual fruits, but we were never informed what it's natural fruit was. It makes sense that the natural growing olive tree represents the supernatural God in his natural form - the flesh. That is a rational thought because of the agony of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane before he died. Therein still grows the oldest olive trees in the world. It has been verified that some olive trees alive today are 2000 years old (Wikipedia). Perhaps, when Jesus was at Gethsemane some of the same trees with him in the Garden of Eden were still extant. Indeed, the Garden of Eden may have had at it's center what became Gethsemane. (See my commentary on this hypothesis at Herrin Daily Thoughts: The Garden of Eden: Jerusalem?). It makes sense that Jesus would come home to prepare for his own death. I say this because the Tree of Life represents Jesus Christ. He existed in Paradise on earth, and still does in the heavenly Paradise, It seems logical that his cup was emptied in Paradise where he sweated as if his own blood.
It is no coincidence that Gethsemane means "pressed out", and the oil of the olive was pressed out, just as Jesus's own water was pressed from his body. The Olive Tree is a very likely candidate for the physical tree of life, just as Jesus is for the spiritual Tree.
Paul uses the olive branches analogy in Romans 11 to represent the Hebrew people who are naturally God's. Those Hebrews who believed in Jesus in ancient times were those olive branches in the analogy. Of course the mystery of God of which Paul spoke meant that salvation was never by works but always by grace. As such the grounded and faithful Hebrew people were Christians before Christ came. They had faith that he would die for their sins. Abraham followed the Word on Mt. Moriah (Calvary), and that Word was Jesus (John 1). Abraham even mimicked God in his willingness to do what God would do with his own Son! Never forget that mankind were Christians from the creation! It was the Voice of Jesus who spoke to Adam way back in the cool of the evening.
With the branches of the olive tree which failed to be fruitful, those limbs were cut off, and new ones grafted onto the tree. It would appear that the limbs of the tree were the specific symbol of the Hebrews, the ones grafted on - the Gentiles, but the tree itself was representative of Jesus. The sap of the olive tree represents his blood which he sweated out at Gethsemane. God is the root from which the Tree grew. (See my blog on the mystery and the Tree of Life at Herrin Daily Thoughts: The Mystery and Low Hanging Fruit). I also believe that the Tree of Life, not only was representative of Jesus but also the cross: Herrin Daily Thoughts: Whatever happened to the "Tree of Life"?).
Adam was not only the forebear of the Jews but all mankind. As the Hebrew people were condemned to die because of Adam, the Gentiles were as well. The mystery of God was that grace was the way to salvation, but that it was for all mankind! (See Herrin Daily Thoughts: The Mystery of God: The Mystery of Christ). Romans 11 is Paul relating the mystery of God to the Romans. At that moment, it was revealed by Paul that Jesus didn't come just to save the Jews but them as well. JHVH was no longer the invisible Hebrew God but the visible God of all! At the moment Paul related this, it was revealed to the world that Jesus died for all! This Gentile born in little Shopville, Kentucky, was born-again in Clayton, Indiana, and of the same everlasting covenant as was Abraham!
Posted by Larry Herrin
The creation is just one portion of the mystery of God, which incidentally, Paul refers to as the mystery of Christ. There is more to come about that mystery.
We learn from John chapter one that since Jesus was there in the beginning, speaking the Word, the Old Testament writings are all about Jesus. Jesus was never taught Holy Scripture, he just knew because he was there, in spirit and in truth! (John 4:23), and then Jesus added that I am he! (John 4:26). John certainly knew the mystery of God. He spoke of it in Revelation 10:7, and described the mystery in the first chapter of John.
John's claim was that Jesus was there in the beginning with God. There, before the creation sitting at the right hand of God, but after the creation where was he? There was in the Garden of Eden. The Word walked in the cool of the evening and spoke the Word with His own Voice. (Genesis 3:8).
God is the center of everything. In the center of the Garden were two trees. One was the Tree of Life. It was the Tree whose fruit could be freely eaten. We find later that it had twelve fruits. (Revelation 22:2), and is still standing in the kingdom of God. The paradise of the Garden was obviously symbolic of the kingdom of God which we still refer to as Paradise or Heaven! It may be that since New Jerusalem will come from heaven back to the world, that perhaps the original Jerusalem (the "foundation of peace" which it means), ascended to heaven and can't be found now because it's not here! (Note: My implication is that Jerusalem and New Jerusalem is the same, and both are paradise).
Remember now, these comments are not Holy Scripture but hypotheses based on scripture. However, one must admit that this commentary does make sense. Jesus is the spiritual Tree of Life, it is obvious, and on a tree he died to give life! It appears that this real tree in the Garden of Eden was more than the physical, but was doctrinal as well. It represents the Way of Jesus and it's fruits were His Way. Adam and Eve could have eaten of the greatest fruit, but chose what appeared to be better fruit, but chose wrongly. More than the fruit, it was wrong doctrine which they chose. Basically, their one and only command was to honor God's request, and the Father much later, burned the Word in stone with His Holy Spirit. In fact, all the Ten Commandments are summarily about honoring God - loving Him.
The physical attributes of the Tree of Life are what can be seen, what is unseen, and what nourishes it. Symbolically, the tree itself is one, but consists of three parts: the seen with it's fruits amidst branches and leaves, the unseen which is the root system, and the unseen power - the water from below which keeps the tree alive. What is seen may be symbolic of Jesus with his branches, the unseen root is the Father himself, and the living water below is the Holy Spirit.
Not only is that physical but may be symbolic of the doctrine, and is obviously a picture of the Holy Trinity. In essence, Adam and Eve chose knowledge and it's attributes over eternal life represented by the good tree!
Where was Jesus in the beginning? He was there in the center of the Garden. Where is he now? On the River of God in Paradise. Maybe he hasn't even moved! To minister to mankind, God was made flesh. No longer was he a mere symbolic Tree which had power, speech, and existence, but He was God in the flesh. Although born by the Holy Spirit after John the Baptist, John said that He was before him. Where was he all that time? Speaking the Word to the patriarchs, and then sitting quietly for four-hundred years after his branch rejected Him.
This brings me to the question? What type of tree was this symbolic Tree? The answer to that may lie in Romans chapter 11. This recently occurred to me, and I wrote of it in my own blog:
The Olive Tree
God's people are represented as the olive branches in Romans 11. That particular tree has significance throughout the bible. In the Mediterranean and a few other places it grows naturally. As such it grew wild in those lands. It's oil is still one of the three main ingredients in the food of that area, along with grape and wheat.
Scripture says that Jesus is the true vine. Any vine thereon which does not bear fruit God is cut off. (John 15:1). Wheat represents mankind. It can either be good seed or bad, and it can either bear fruit or not. (John 12:24). And then we have the fruit of the olive tree. It's branches represent God's chosen people. Paradise (Canaanland) was promised to be naturally the Hebrews because God made a covenant with Abraham. From his tree a seed would grow to save the world. That seed was to produce God in the flesh who was called Jesus, Joshua in Hebrew, which means "deliverer". Abraham knew that God spoke both of the land of milk and honey and Heaven itself!
Joshua in the Old Testament was a deliverer. His name even meant that. Joshua was born to deliver. Moses led the Hebrew people out of the wilderness, but it was Joshua who delivered them to the promised land. Joshua was the seed of Abraham just as Jesus is. (I use the present tense because Jesus IS - he is eternal). You see, everything has always been about Jesus. God had one plan for the salvation of mankind, and it was always Jesus and salvation by grace. God didn't need a Plan B because of his power and foreknowledge.
The Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden bore fruit. We know it was twelve spiritual fruits, but we were never informed what it's natural fruit was. It makes sense that the natural growing olive tree represents the supernatural God in his natural form - the flesh. That is a rational thought because of the agony of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane before he died. Therein still grows the oldest olive trees in the world. It has been verified that some olive trees alive today are 2000 years old (Wikipedia). Perhaps, when Jesus was at Gethsemane some of the same trees with him in the Garden of Eden were still extant. Indeed, the Garden of Eden may have had at it's center what became Gethsemane. (See my commentary on this hypothesis at Herrin Daily Thoughts: The Garden of Eden: Jerusalem?). It makes sense that Jesus would come home to prepare for his own death. I say this because the Tree of Life represents Jesus Christ. He existed in Paradise on earth, and still does in the heavenly Paradise, It seems logical that his cup was emptied in Paradise where he sweated as if his own blood.
It is no coincidence that Gethsemane means "pressed out", and the oil of the olive was pressed out, just as Jesus's own water was pressed from his body. The Olive Tree is a very likely candidate for the physical tree of life, just as Jesus is for the spiritual Tree.
Paul uses the olive branches analogy in Romans 11 to represent the Hebrew people who are naturally God's. Those Hebrews who believed in Jesus in ancient times were those olive branches in the analogy. Of course the mystery of God of which Paul spoke meant that salvation was never by works but always by grace. As such the grounded and faithful Hebrew people were Christians before Christ came. They had faith that he would die for their sins. Abraham followed the Word on Mt. Moriah (Calvary), and that Word was Jesus (John 1). Abraham even mimicked God in his willingness to do what God would do with his own Son! Never forget that mankind were Christians from the creation! It was the Voice of Jesus who spoke to Adam way back in the cool of the evening.
With the branches of the olive tree which failed to be fruitful, those limbs were cut off, and new ones grafted onto the tree. It would appear that the limbs of the tree were the specific symbol of the Hebrews, the ones grafted on - the Gentiles, but the tree itself was representative of Jesus. The sap of the olive tree represents his blood which he sweated out at Gethsemane. God is the root from which the Tree grew. (See my blog on the mystery and the Tree of Life at Herrin Daily Thoughts: The Mystery and Low Hanging Fruit). I also believe that the Tree of Life, not only was representative of Jesus but also the cross: Herrin Daily Thoughts: Whatever happened to the "Tree of Life"?).
Adam was not only the forebear of the Jews but all mankind. As the Hebrew people were condemned to die because of Adam, the Gentiles were as well. The mystery of God was that grace was the way to salvation, but that it was for all mankind! (See Herrin Daily Thoughts: The Mystery of God: The Mystery of Christ). Romans 11 is Paul relating the mystery of God to the Romans. At that moment, it was revealed by Paul that Jesus didn't come just to save the Jews but them as well. JHVH was no longer the invisible Hebrew God but the visible God of all! At the moment Paul related this, it was revealed to the world that Jesus died for all! This Gentile born in little Shopville, Kentucky, was born-again in Clayton, Indiana, and of the same everlasting covenant as was Abraham!
Posted by Larry Herrin
The creation is just one portion of the mystery of God, which incidentally, Paul refers to as the mystery of Christ. There is more to come about that mystery.
