Two "worlds" in Genesis?

[jordanriver]

I am wondering, whats the deal with the Garden of Eden. At the end of Genesis 3 God kicks out Adam and Eve and they cannot get back into Eden (apparently because there's Cherubims and a flaming sword to keep people out.
So, where did the world come from that they were evicted to. Earlier in Genesis, God plants a garden for Adam and Eve to habitate, (eastward in Eden).

The question is, was there a natural world going on 'outside of Eden' all the while that Adam and Eve dwelled there. Was Eden a supernatural sanctuary world of its own protected from the other outside world where death and decay occurred.

If we believe the Bible to be true, we know the possibility of a supernatural world (where there's no second law of thermodynamics to worry about), because thats the promise of our eternal future:
Revelation 21:1-4
1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

If Eden was a supernatural sanctuary, its possible for there to have been a natural world going on outside of it (where animals eat other animals and the lamb does not lie down with the lion unless its been captured for a meal)

JR

[superdan54]

That's actually pretty much how I imagine it going down. The whole Garden account seems to be a completely different story than the Creation account. For starters, in the creation account, you have man & women being created at the same time, and in the Garden account, man is the first organism to be created, and everything else is created after him (trees, animals, etc..). It's also interesting that these trees apparently needed cultivation and tending, something 99% of plants don't really need.


p.s. Nothing in Genesis mentions the lion laying with the lamb. That's Isaiah 65 (the end times).

[KBertsche]

I am wondering, whats the deal with the Garden of Eden. At the end of Genesis 3 God kicks out Adam and Eve and they cannot get back into Eden (apparently because there's Cherubims and a flaming sword to keep people out.
So, where did the world come from that they were evicted to. Earlier in Genesis, God plants a garden for Adam and Eve to habitate, (eastward in Eden).

The question is, was there a natural world going on 'outside of Eden' all the while that Adam and Eve dwelled there. Was Eden a supernatural sanctuary world of its own protected from the other outside world where death and decay occurred.

If we believe the Bible to be true, we know the possibility of a supernatural world (where there's no second law of thermodynamics to worry about), because thats the promise of our eternal future:

If Eden was a supernatural sanctuary, its possible for there to have been a natural world going on outside of it (where animals eat other animals and the lamb does not lie down with the lion unless its been captured for a meal)

JR

The text certainly implies that the Garden was localized, not covering the whole earth. Also that the Garden was idyllic in some way (it was planted as a special place, and had a special tree). I wouldn't go so far as saying that it was supernatural or not subject to entropy; this would imply that the basic structure of matter and energy was different, and would make Adam a very different creature from you or I.

I've heard two conservative evangelical Old Testament scholars comment that the Garden shares similarities with the Temple, and was apparently meant to be symbolic of the Temple and of worship. Your comments on it being a "sanctuary" fit with this thought. I haven't studied this connection myself, but I suspect it would be a worthwhile study.

[4Pillars]

Actually, the Scripture is speaking of the three entirely different world.

The first earth or the garden of Eden (Gen. 1:6-8) -- the world of Adam thru Noah. - completely destroyed (gone)

The second earth or world - our present universe - (will be burned)

The third world (New Jerusalem) - where all christians will live when this present world is burned. (Rev. 21:1-3)

[MooseOnTheLoose]

My reading is that the Garden of Eden was indeed a protected bioshphere, perhaps used as a kind of creche or incubator to prepare ignorant, innocent mankind for the big bad world outside.

Obviously it was a very special place, or getting kicked out wouldn't have been the terrible punishment it appeared to be.

[The Curtmudgeon]

My reading is that the Garden of Eden was indeed a protected bioshphere, perhaps used as a kind of creche or incubator to prepare ignorant, innocent mankind for the big bad world outside.

Obviously it was a very special place, or getting kicked out wouldn't have been the terrible punishment it appeared to be.

The reason for their eviction wasn't punishment, Moose:

Genesis 3:22-23

²² And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: ²³ Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.

God punished man, sure, but eviction from the Garden was to prevent man from eating from the tree of life and living forever in his sins. In other words, the eviction was actually for our own good.

So we cannot (justifiably) infer any difference between Eden and the world outside it; the only purpose of the eviction was to prevent access to that one particular tree in the garden (hence also the guardian cherub who was placed at the entrance with a flaming sword). That doesn't mean that there was no other difference about Eden; it's just that the Bible doesn't tell of any and we have no other evidence.

The (my understanding of Genesis 2-3 is simply that Eden was a lush garden, while the rest of the world was untamed wilderness) Curtmudgeon

[Captain America]

You have an interesting point Jordan. There does seem to a sort of mystical quality about Eden. If it was a natural place, what happened to it? Was it destroyed by the flood? We see the tree of life appear again at the end of Revelation as part of the new Jerusalem. Is this a new tree that was created with the new heaven and new earth or was the old tree replanted there? Chapter 2 says the tree of life is in the midst of paradise of God. Is this the same place as Eden? the new Jerusalem? Is it a place or a state of being? I hope we can continue this discussion and come up with some meaningful answers.