God did not bar the way into Eden until after the fall.
No, because He told Adam and Eve to do that. They were told to "dress and keep it". Genesis 2:15
Eden is also the paradise of God mentioned in scripture. That paradise did not get destroyed during Noah's flood. It is where the Old Testament righteous saints went after they died. And it was caught up into heaven united back with the Father when Christ ascended.
Adam and Eve were material human beings just like we are. We know this because Adam was formed out of "the dust of the earth".
And we can actually "see" that today with an electron microscope. If you remove all the organic material from a cell, what is left is a structured frame work. That structured frame work is the same structure and material as is found in rocks. If you were to remove all the organic material from a rock; this is what you would see. It is assumed to be the same structured frame work that makes up the entire universe. If you leave earth and go into "space" there's "stuff" in the "space". It's not just "empty space". That "stuff" is what is believed to keep planets and stars in their proper positions in the galaxies.
Now do photons (which make up light) consist of those types of structures? Based on what I know of math formulas; the answer to that is "no". Mass as we understand it, can not travel the speed of light because the faster it goes; the greater energy is needed to keep it moving faster. According to Einstein's E=mc2; the mass of the object doesn't actually change; it's just the amount of energy needed to make an object with mass move faster, increases exponentially.
Now Adam and Eve resided in a material location on a material earth. That location was called Eden. Genesis 2:10 speaks of a river coming out of Eden that becomes four heads of 4 other rivers.
Genesis 3:24 states that cherubim were placed "east of the Garden of Eden" "and a flaming sword which turned every way to keep the way of the tree of life". Now I'd have to look that up because I have not studied that particularly.
Now I looked this verse up:
"Drove out" means to "cast away". It's most often used in context of driving out nations or people from the presence of another. One time it's translated "divorce".
"East" is used 87 times. "Front" and "east" seem to be "interchangeable" as it's often describing the "front" of the tabernacle / temple (which faced east), mountain, "land of" (people to the east) etc. Most frequently though it's used to describe "a time before hand". So a "flaming sword" is placed at "a time beforehand" to "keep the way of the tree of life".
Now "flaming sword" is interesting because "flaming" is also translated "enchantment" in Exodus and in that context is in regards to the Egyptian magicians using "enchantments". "Sword" is most commonly translated "sword" as in "weapon of war"; but is also translated "tool". In the "tool" context; its most often described as a tool that carves stone. Interesting parallel there between the "flaming sword" and the way the 10 commandments were written.
"turned every way" means to "turn back" or to "overthrow". This sword (the sword of the Spirit is the word of God) "turns back" or "overthrows" those who would come to the "entrance" of the "way" of the tree of life. Matthew 11:12 speaks of the violent trying to take the Kingdom of heaven by force. The Word of God defends it from the proud. Jesus also speaks of "Narrow is the path that leads to eternal life and few there are that find it. That entrance is only had through being atoned for. The "Tree of Life" and the angel that guards it is speaking of the gospel. So therefore in that sense; this has nothing to do with physical heaven.
So, it does not seem logical to me that the garden of Eden (as it had existed before Adam and Eve were kicked out, considering that they were indeed material human beings) would become "Abraham's bosom" or "Paradise" in heaven.
We do see "the Tree of Life" in "Paradise" (which is not named to have been in "Abraham's bosom" either). We also see "the River of Life" in "Paradise". All these are named in Revelation to be "in the 3rd Heaven".
Paul describes someone he met stating they had been taken to the 3rd heaven and that he could not tell if that was a vision experienced "in spirit" or if he was actually there bodily. I tend to think it was rather similar to John's experience when he wrote Revelation. John says he was there "in the spirit on the Lord's day".
The river that came out of Eden was not named specifically as "the river of life". Genesis 2:10 does not actually name that river. Subsequent verses only name the 4 rivers it was divided into.
Pison - is believed to come from a word that means both "to scatter" (spring forth; as in scattering water about) and "to spread" usually in the context of being puffed up with pride.
Gihon - This word means "spring" as in gushing water. The spring that was under the temple bore the same name. Priests coming to perform their duties performed ritual baths in this spring. It is said by some to mean "river of life"; although the Scripture never calls it that.
Hiddekel - Believed to be the Assyrian name for the Tigris river. "Tigris" is the Persian name for this river and it means "the fast one".
Euphrates - also of foreign origin and is believed to mean "to break forth".
So we have all these rivers who's names indicate gushing flows of water in different languages. Is this a foreshadow of "dividing of the peoples" from "out of Eden" post flood? That's possible considering "of times past" is often a reference between the differences prior as opposed to post flood. The world before the flood was a very different one in so many ways. If that is the meaning? I don't know. The only conclusions I can draw off of, is from what historically happened.
So could Eden have been a material representation of Paradise in heaven? That's entirely possible, seeing how Adam and Eve were material representations of the image of God on earth. We know Paradise now is in the 3rd heaven. That is not a place that is accessible to material entities who still reside in a non transformed state. And this is why I don't believe the person Paul speaks of went to Paradise bodily.
Are there "transformed saints" there now?
Yes, I believe at least there are people in the New Jerusalem currently. Yet I believe that was true even before the resurrection. We have Moses, Elijah and Enoch that we know two of them were taken directly to heaven. Scripture says God buried Moses and that Satan contended with God over Moses's body.
Moses and Elijah show up on the Mount of Transfiguration as physical entities. We know this was not just a vision and they were literally there because Peter asks Jesus if they should build shelters for the 3 of them.
Scripture also speaks of the dead coming out of the graves and walking around in the "holy city". I believe that is a reference to the New Jerusalem. The New Jerusalem is also said to be in heaven. Although it does not seem that The New Jerusalem and the "Paradise of God" are the same thing. The New Jerusalem might be inside the "Paradise of God" but because Scripture does not say the Tree of Life is in the New Jerusalem; it does't seem to me that they are the same place.
Prior to that it was in the place of the dead as a temporary holding place where the 'good' people went, they received good things after death. God offered a sacrifice for Adam and Eve, so they were not forever lost he made a covering for them, it is interesting to think that after they died they would have gone back to Eden (Paradise), to await the resurrection of Christ. Abraham's bosom, Paradise, Eden, are all the same place.
I do not believe there is a Scriptural basis to say "the Paradise of God" was ever anywhere other than heaven. Nor do I see it as Scriptural to say "Abraham's bosom" became / or was Paradise; or that either of those were connected to the Garden of Eden.
Heaven (the domain of God) appears to me to be (if we were to borrow the language of science fiction) some other parallel dimension to this material universe. Entities from that domain can enter this one; but mortal non-transformed entities from this domain can not enter that one but only by vision or "in spirit".
"Abraham's Bosom" is considered by "theory" to have been the top part of Sheol that the "righteous" dead were contained in. Now were these those who were obedient to the revelation of Scripture received; or were they all of the atoned who died prior to the cross? That I don't know; but I tend to think they were only those who obeyed what ever written revelation they possessed at the time starting with Abraham; since he is named to be the patriarch of those in his "bosom".
The other indication that I believe there were others atoned for who were in Sheol (the "bottom half) of "hell"); is the references to Christ "You have not left my soul in hell; nor suffered your holy one to see corruption". Those verses clearly have only application to Christ. His soul is delivered from hades and his body does not decompose because there is no sin.
The "time of Jacobs troubles" (Jeremiah 30) states that "Jacob" (Christ) will be delivered from hell on account of His own righteousness. God being just can not leave someone who's never sinned in Sheol. And since Christ is the only one who has never sinned; this is why He was delivered from Sheol and why He by the authority invested upon Him from His completing the atonement, could ransom those from Sheol who had died from the point of Adam until the cross.
Christ did not go into the fiery torments to suffer after His crucifixion like some false teachers say, on the cross, He said , it is finished, his redeeming work was done by His death.
Christ bearing the wrath of God is a very necessary part of the atonement; because the punishment for sin is the wrath of God. So in order for Christ to satisfy that requirement, He has to endure that wrath himself.
Now I agree with you that the time in which He did that was not after He died.
The next post following this one; (because this one is already pretty long) will explain the atonement time line.
