The Sacred
Scripture declares that God created the heavens and the earth in six days and
rested on the seventh day. Read Genesis 1:1-2:6. It also states that all of
God's creations were “good”, which means that they were “fitting”,
“suitable”, or “pleasant” to Him. Yes, the earth and
everything therein were created in good condition. “For thus saith the
Lord that created the heavens; God Himself that formed the earth and made it;
He hath established it, He created it not in vain, He formed it to be
inhabited: I am the Lord; and there is none else” (Isa.45:18).
However,
there was a place called Eden which God had formed. The whole earth was not
Eden. Eden was God's “paradise”, God's “delight” and
God's “pleasure”. Eden means just that. And eastward in Eden
God planted a Garden which was more beautiful than any other place on the
earth, even Eden itself. Genesis 2:8-16 records:
“And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads. The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone. And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia. And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates. And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayst freely eat.”
Most Bible
scholars believe that the location of the Garden of Eden was somewhere
in the Middle East. Well, that is true. But where is the Garden of Eden
actually located? While some may speculate that it was
somewhere in present-day Iraq, near the Persian Gulf, others believe that it
was the area near the headwaters of the two rivers, Tigris (Hiddekel)
and Euphrates. Because of the order in which the four rivers, Pison, Gihon,
Hiddekel and Euphrates are listed in the Scriptures, those Bible scholars, who
believe that the Garden of Eden was somewhere in Eastern Turkey, feel that
Pison had to be the first and the northern-most river since Euphrates is shown
on today's map as the last of the four rivers in the south of the Mesopotamian
Basin. They believe that it flowed through the present-day Armenian S.S.R. and
then turned southward through Western Iran and emptied itself into the Persian
Gulf.
Beloved,
I beg to differ. Eden and its Garden were not located in either of
those two areas. No one could actually know where Eden and its Garden were
located unless the Spirit reveals them to him. A common fact often overlooked
by most Bible scholars is that the existing surface of the earth is radically
different from that of the period before the Flood. Today's maps do not show
us the original land surface of Eden, but we could pinpoint the original
location of the Garden of Eden. The land surface of the whole earth was transformed
in the days of Noah when all the fountains of the great deep were broken up,
and the windows and floodgates of heavens were opened. And floods of waters
burst forth and poured upon the earth for forty days and nights. With such a
great deluge, which caused all the high mountains to be covered by the waters,
it would be a great wonder if the land surface was not transformed. With the
constant pounding of the torrential rain upon the mountains, hills, valleys,
plains and rivers for forty days and nights, the original formations and
settings of all the geographical landscapes would inevitably be altered.
[Note: The earth is made up of different types of soil. Hence, with tons of
water on the earth, earthshakes and earth movements were inevitable.] Some
mountain ranges had either been reshaped or altered into plateaus or hills;
some headwaters would have been shifted that the rivers began to flow
on new courses; lands and plains would have become valleys or had become
'bowls' holding large amount of waters; and mountain tops of hard rocks might
have become islands. As large areas were flooded with water, terra firma would
be weighed down, pushed or heaved in different directions. Such movements in
the earth structures caused mountains to be brought low and valleys to be
raised up (cf. Isa.40:4). The Great
Rift Valley which stretches from Syria to Mozambique is a good example of such
land movement. The Red Sea which is a part of this rift is still tearing
itself apart inch by inch every year. [Note: One of these days the boiling pot
under the San Andreas Fault in California will erupt and cause a great
earthquake that a vast proportion of land will slide into the sea. There will
be great tidal waves and many small islands around the Pacific will be covered
with waters for many days. The land behind it will undergo a transformation.
There will be even greater changes at the Second Advent of Christ in the Day
of the Lord (Zech.14:4-10; Rev.16:10-21) and when the earth is made new
again (Rev.21:1-2).]
By the
revelation given unto me by the Lord, let me establish the location of Eden
and its Garden. Geographically, Eden was a vast location. Remember that the
Garden of Eden was planted in the east of Eden. It must be relatively smaller
than the area of Eden itself. There was one place befitting the description “God's
Garden of Eden” — “paradise”, “delight” and “pleasure”.
It was the Land of CANAAN. Hence, the area stretching from the north of
Canaan to Turkey and from the south of Canaan to the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt
and westward must have been Eden. The large river that flowed eastward
out of Eden to water the Garden no longer exists today as most part of Eden
had become a sea after the great deluge. The Great (or Mediterranean) Sea was
most probably a large area of plains and valleys with many large lakes and
rivers flowing into them. Its coastlines were originally ranges of hills and
mountains. There were four “heads” into which a large river from
Eden flowed eastward through the Garden and split up after flowing out of the
Garden. But only the Hiddekel and Euphrates rivers are identifiable although
their “heads” have been displaced in the region of Eastern Turkey.
Where the
four rivers originally were are not very important. Just remember that there
were four of them. However, let me try and trace where the four rivers were
most likely located.
The large
river of Eden which flowed eastward through the Garden divided into four “heads”
when it flowed out of the Garden. The River Pison was the first to break off
from its 'mother' and flowed southward, most probably, zigzagging downwards
along the mountain ranges of the Sinai Peninsula towards the top half of the
Red Sea and crossed the Nubian Desert southward. The second “head”
thrust toward southeast along the mountain ranges of the Arabian Peninsula and
downward into the land of Ethiopia. The Nile River and the Red Sea are part of
the Great Rift Valley. They might have been part of the two rivers, Pison and
Gihon. Geographically, River Hiddekel and River Euphrates might have flowed
along the mountain ranges of Lebanon and Syria, with River Hiddekel flowing as
far north as Eastern Turkey, before they meandered downward through the
Mesopotamia and emptied their waters into the Persian Gulf.
CANAAN
IS THE GARDEN OF EDEN
Throughout
the history of God's dealing with His people, the Land of Canaan had always
been His focal point. This is well supported by facts found throughout the Old
and New Testament Scriptures. The “goodly mountain” was Canaan
(Ex.3:8; Deut.3:25; 4:22). It was the “pleasant land” of milk and
honey, and the “glory of all lands” (Psm.106:24; Ezek.20:6,15; cf. Isa.8:8;
62:4; Hos.9:3; Zech.2:12). The Scripture tells us that God had chosen only one
place on this earth to put His Name, and that was Jerusalem in the Land
of Canaan (2 Chr.6:6, Neh.1:9). Before
Jerusalem was chosen, Israel could worship Yahweh at any place where they
could build an altar to offer their sacrifices. However, since the day when
God made it the chosen place of worship, Jerusalem had been the only
acceptable place of worship for the True Worshippers. Offerings unto
the Lord were acceptable only upon the altar in the temple ground of
Jerusalem (Deut.16:2-6). THE HOUSE OF THE LORD was in the City of Jerusalem.
When
the children of Israel possessed the Land of Canaan, they made certain cities
as cities of refuge (cf.Num.35). Ancient cities were usually built with
high walls around them to give its inhabitants security and comfort
in times of troubles. A high mountain was an ideal place for building a good
strong city. And usually the ruler would live in and govern from the city
which was also the capital of his empire where all national and religious
activities were centered. With this understanding, we should realize what kind
of city Abraham was looking for when God called him out of Ur of Chaldees to
the Land of Canaan. Abraham “looked for a city which hath foundations,
whose builder and maker is God” (Heb.11:10). Amen. “In the fear of
the Lord is strong confidence: and his children shall have a place
of refuge” (Prov.14:26 cf. Deut.33:27;
2 Sam.22:3; Psm.9:9; 46:7; 48:3; 62:7;
91:2,9; 94:22).
Yes,
Jerusalem was the place where God revealed His Presence and made
Himself known to Israel, His chosen people, the natural seeds of Abraham. When
God wanted to reconfirm His Covenant with Abraham, He commanded Abraham
to take his son, Isaac, to “the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a
burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of”
(Gen.22:2b). Since 691 A.D. the mountain peak of Moriah has been occupied
by the Mosque of Omar, better known as 'The Dome of the Rock'. This is the
place where the Temples of Solomon and Zerubbabel once stood in their
respective times. The word “Moriah” bears these meanings: “high
place, awe, light, Lord”. The Jews even believe that this place is
located at the center of the earth and that it was here that light first shone
upon mankind. And was it not so that the Shekinah Glory of God came
shining upon Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden when God came to
fellowship with them in the cool of the day, at evening time? (cf. Gen.3:8).
The Psalmists have declared: “For the Lord hath chosen Zion; he hath
desired it for his habitation. This is my rest for ever: here will I dwell;
for I have desired it” (Psm.132:13-14). (Don't you notice the hidden
mystery of the Spiritual Jerusalem?) Yes, the city, Jerusalem,
on Mount Zion is God's habitation forever. The Psalmists
(in Psalm 48:1-2) describe the holy mountain as “beautiful for situation”
(“fair and beautiful for elevation” – Amplified) or beautiful in
its loftiness. It was the “perfection of beauty” (Psm.50:2).
The Land
of Canaan was the very place where the Garden of Eden was
located and where Man had his beginning in an environment rich with the beauty
of God's creations. God's relationship with Man began here. It is therefore
obvious that God had chosen this place where He would deal with His
chosen people and dwell with them forever.
Satan has
caused much trouble in this place since the dawn of Man. Today, many religious
and political conflicts are still prevalent in the land. It is certainly not
what we would expect of a land that is “beautiful” and “pleasant”
and which was supposed to be a delightful paradise. Yet, the Lord God had
chosen that place to make His Presence known and to put His Name
in the midst of it. God has allowed His adversary to somewhat 'hinder'
His Divine Plan for a season that the Gospel might be preached to the Gentiles
(Rom.11:24-25). But eventually all things will be fulfilled according to His
Eternal Plan. Yes, I believe the Light of the Shekinah Glory will soon
shine upon God's chosen people again in the midst of Israel – for the
last time – to establish Itself there forever.
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