The Bible (the law of God), including Genesis, is written in parable language (Psalm 78:1-2) so that the surface words have a spiritual meaning, usually relating to the theme of salvation. For example, people in the Bible are spoken of as being trees in parable language. Jesus is the tree of life. It is not a literal tree but a parable word for Jesus. That is why the tree is in the midst of the garden. Jesus is in the midst of the believers many times in the Bible. Further, the bride of Christ, the true believers, are called a garden in the Bible. They are not a literal garden but they are people. The river that flowed out of Eden to water the garden is the word of God, the gospel.
The question that was initially asked about where is Eden now, is a little like asking: "Where is the stone that the builders rejected? Is it at a construction site? No, Jesus is the stone. Think in parable language.
Yes Jesus is the tree! There is no other tree that gives life. That was kind of the Point for this thread, i thouht if we could just see how the tree has never stopped existing, maybe we could see from where it was man was banished in the first place, and that has everything to with the restoration.
They had clothed themselves with Christ in that tree. Every tree is recognized by its fruit. Fruits of righteousness are ETERNAL LIFE. What other tree could possibly lead to death and is Apart from Christ, and that is the flesh of a mortal man. Was it really an apple on the tree of knowledge, Lol. Every tree is recognized by its fruit, and there is only one thing producing fruit that leads to death! When they sinned they realized they were naked, they hid themselves because they realized they were no longer eating from that tree, nor a part of that tree. AND doesn't Paul say we are no longer naked, we HAVE CLOTHED OURSELVES WITH CHRIST.
There are different kinds of Flesh...and that place was a different kind of place.
Everything about the coming of Christ, the spiritual kingdom it will be, the tree we are a part of and taken up as, is a restoration to the condition it was before the fall, even the bodies we will bear, Christ is the resurrection of mankind, restored to its original condition as spiritual immortal beginning.
It took me a while to figure out how it is we were going to Judge the Angels. I say figure it out, let me rephrase, the best way I can make myself understand that, because it talks about not sparing Angels when they sinned....and it had to try and understand, where did those immortal beings go when they died?? Why was everyone on the face of the planet dead apart from Christ, and why was it we are going to be restored to this heavenly Image of Christ.....how FAR was the fall of man?
If the Angels are judged, then it goes to say when Paul talks about us All standing before Christ, that includes them, where else are they going to stand? And it was a judgment for things done while in the body.
And if these beings were being judged by things done while in the body, how does that work? The best thing I can come up with is ministering spirits. The spirit needs a body, isnt it safe to assume that just like Adam needed a HELPER, a wife, doesn't the spirit need a helper as well, as a wife, to become on flesh with? Just like the fallen Angels, can't we distinguish the spirit of the antichrist by the earthly bodies words and actions, the two are one flesh, and therefore judgement may be passed on both, by things done while in the body. And I think it can be applied the other way as well, for those who build up man, and make them walk in the spirit of God, who are joined to the flesh as ministering spirits. Ministering spirits to man, kind of sounds like a counselor to me in the first place, I mean, what else are these ministering spirits doing? Spirit is spirit is spirit, they were all created in the image of God, therefore one with God, what other Spirit could possibly be sustaining them?
I mean, if the second Adam is spirit....just who is the second Eve?
That Life giving spirit, joined to our flesh, IS the new creation. We are formed by the spirit, just as eve was formed from the man. We are to be one with that spirit, just as eve was one with the first man.
Once that has happened, that is the resurrected state of man and as Paul mentioned, we are no longer naked for we HAVE CLOTHED OURSELVES WITH CHRIST. What was it they realized after their eyes were opened that sin had done to their bodies, was that the nakedness referenced possibly, that sin had made them naked without CHRST?
If God didn't spare Christ himself from enduring scorn and shame, why should I assume he spared any other heavenly being as well?
When Job talks about not even the heavens being pure in his eyes, that gets really deep! Just my idea on these things.
