In our experience, there are few themes in Scripture more important than Eden. It may surprise many readers, but Eden is a theme that is recapitulated throughout Scripture. It is recapitulated in Israel’s history with the Promised Land considered to be an interim Eden! (See Joshua Berman’s book “The Temple, Its Symbolism and Meaning Then and Now“).
But critically, Scripture opens with the creation of heaven and earth (Genesis 1) and closes with a new heaven and new earth (Revelation 21). Immediately following the first creation is a presentation of a garden called Eden in which man is placed so that he may have communion with his Creator.
So also with Scripture’s closing. Immediately following the creation of a new heaven and new earth, John reveals a new Eden in which the righteous are placed so that they may have communion with their Redeemer. It shows that both are simply elaborate pictures of redemption, viewed from differing angles.
Creation shows forth the incredible power of God while Eden shows forth the marvelous relationship God had foreordained we have with Him. What this means, is that the entire corpus of Scripture – from the Fall in chapter 3 of Genesis to the last chapter of Revelation, is a history of God’s redemptive efforts to restore man to relationship with Him – pictured as Eden.
Because God “modeled” the Promised Land as an “interim” Eden between the first and final Eden, the prophetic promises to restore Israel to the land are a cipher for God’s promise to ultimately restore man to paradisal “Edenic” relationship with Him. It gives the promise of Israel’s return to the land deeper, redemptive meaning.
It should be no surprise then to find Scripture has numerous references to Eden in the Old Testament. Nor should it surprise to find countless allusions to Eden throughout Scripture. Unfortunately, in our experience, most of these important allusions are missed by Christian readers, most notably those generally found in the New Testament and particularly those made by Christ.
Few studies have benefited the author more than these Edenic studies. It has transformed his theology. We hope it provides the same benefits to the patient student who dives into these studies.