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Where is the Garden of Eden?

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Where is the Garden of Eden?

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Where is the Garden of Eden?

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Where is Eden? Will it be found? Will we ever return to paradise?

Transcript

 

Sermon presented by Peter Eddington on April 26, 2014 in the Cincinnati East, Ohio congregation.

 

Did you ever wonder what the Garden of Eden was like?  It's always an interesting topic of conversation, when we imagine Adam and Eve living in such an idyllic setting, with a perfect climate, to the point that not even clothes were needed for them to stay comfortably warm - and how about all those magnificent animals dwelling with Adam!  And God even paraded all the animals passed Adam and said, "Go ahead and give them all names."  As you'll recall, Adam realized that he was alone and there wasn't an animal like him. 

Where is the Garden of Eden today?  What became of it?  Now, we're not talking about an actual location, but I ask, "Where is it now?"  And you'll come to see what I'm really getting at as we move into the sermon this afternoon.  Eden has come to represent a kind of paradise for us, and wouldn't we all like to live in paradise?  Travel brochures and vacation pamphlets promise to jet us away to such a place.  Some people try Hawaii, they try the Caribbean, and they think they've found paradise!  The word paradise entered English from the French word paradis; inherited from the Latin, paradisus, which came from the Greek, meaning Royal Garden.  And the Greek work came from an ancient Persian word, paradeisos.  So the word paradise goes back thousands of years. 

Adam and Eve were placed in a luxurious garden – a kind of paradise.  And they were given work to do, but not the kind of struggle for survival that has characterized much of the human race since.  And that is since the sin of eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  In the beginning, humans were placed at peace with nature – not fearing bad weather or wild animals.  And this was a perfect setting to prepare humans for their ultimate destiny, which was to become part of the family of God.  However, something happened in that garden, that forever changed the course of human history, and it wasn't pretty. 

So, here's that question for today – "Where is Eden?"  Will it be found?  Will we ever return to paradise?  So the title of today's sermon is:  "Where is the Garden of Eden?' 

So firstly, Number oneWhere was Eden?  Not everyone believes it to have been in the Middle East.  There are a number of varied beliefs and explanations.  The Latter Day Saints believe that the Garden of Eden was on the North American Continent, and that Adam and Eve began their conquest of the earth in the upper part of what is now the state of Missouri.  And they believe that the children of Adam and Eve moved down along the fertile pleasant land of the Mississippi Valley.  They believed Noah's Ark was launched from Missouri, and traveled thousands of miles to then come to rest in the Middle East. 

Let's read Genesis, Chapter 2 and note a few details about the actual location of this garden, fit for royalty.  Genesis 2, notice Verse 8:

Genesis 2:8  The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed. 

Verse 9:  And out of the ground the Lord God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food.  And notice:  The tree of life was placed in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 

Verse 10:  Now a river went out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it parted and became four riverheads. 

Verse 11:  The name of the first is Pishon; it is the one which skirts the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. 

Verse 12:  And the gold of that land is good.  Bdellium and the onyx stone are there. 

Verse 13:  The name of the second river is Gihon; it is the one which goes around the whole land of Cush. 

Verse 14:  The name of the third river is Hiddekel; (which is also translated by the way, as the Tigris River) It is the one which goes toward the east of Assyria.  And the fourth river is the Euphrates.

So where are the Tigris and Euphrates rivers on our modern world map?  Historically the area is known as Mesopotamia, as part of the larger, Fertile Crescent.  It's also dubbed "the cradle of civilization."  The Tigris, Euphrates river basin is shared by Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Iran and Kuwait.  And most of us think of that area as The Middle East.  The exact location of Eden is generally believed to have been in the area of Iraq today – I might mention not North America.  Bible Scholars feel it could have been near the Persian Gulf, here on the north side near Basra, or along the western coast in Kuwait or Bahrain.  Others locate it in the Northern part of Iraq near Mosel, which is where Ancient Nineveh was in the early days, which is in the Northeast part of Iraq, in Tabriz, near Iran.  And in any case, it's in that general area of the Middle East.    

And that leads us then to a very big question, Number twoWhat on earth happened?  What on earth happened to paradise?  What do we see in Iraq today?  What happened to the Fertile Crescent, the cradle of civilization?  Well, as we understand from Scripture, Adam and Eve allowed sin to enter their lives by taking from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  And this cycle of disobedience became embedded in their children and their grandchildren, in fact, all the way down to you and me today.  The gravity of sin led to the need for sacrifice by a Lord and Savior.  And that was in order for humanity to regain any hope of moving forward toward eternal life, and toward the original intent of the Garden of Eden, which was eternal life in the family of God.  And we've just observed the Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread and reflected on that need of a Savior for our sins, and for the sins of all the world. Let us read Genesis 3, Verse 6:

Genesis 3:6  So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, (this is through the knowledge of good and evil), that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate.  She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.   

Verse 13:  And the Lord God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?"  And the woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."'

So she blamed it on the serpent. 

Verse 16:  To the woman God said:  "I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; in pain you shall bring forth children; your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you." 

Verse 17:  Then to Adam He said, "Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it':  Cursed is the ground for your sake; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life.

Verse 22:  Then the Lord God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil.  And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever" –

Verse 23:  therefore the Lord God sent him out of the Garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. 

Verse 24:  So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the Garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life. 

So we see a series of tragic events, and those events led to all of Adam and Eve's descendants down through history to be forbidden to take of the tree of life, except for very few servants to whom God would extend that offer.  We think of people like Abraham, or King David – very few.  So that's what happened to the Garden of Eden.  The Old Testament shows us very few men and women being led by the Spirit of God.  It isn't until the time of the New Testament Church that God's Spirit was made available to a wider group of people.  And even then, those of the true church are still a miniscule portion of the entire human race.  As we understand, it's not until Jesus Christ returns that the Holy Spirit then covers the face of the earth, like the waters cover the sea.  So, that's what on earth happened.

So, Number threeWhat does Eden look like today?  What do we see happening in the area of Mesopotamia today as we turn on the news?  Read the newspaper, or check the latest twitter feeds – social media.  Well, as you know, it's nothing like we see pictured of a paradise.  Rather, it's a hot bed of ethnic strife, war, religious confusion, violence, unhappiness, and a warped sense of whom and what God is.  Where is the Garden of Eden now?  Where is paradise?  It's gone!  Let's look a little more closely at this region as we see it today.  Geopolitically, the Bible primarily focuses on the Middle East and the City of Jerusalem.  Strictly during our last one hundred years, this region has stubbornly housed ethnic tensions that constantly stir.  Scripture tells us that the Mid-east is destined to affect the lives of all of human kind.  Why?

Famous Presidential speech writer, Peggy Noonan, penned a startling sense of reality in the Wall Street Journal on March 13th.  I'll real a bit of it to you, because it gives us a good overview of what we are facing in the Mid-east, as well as the wider area surrounding Europe and Asia.  And she begins with the crisis in Ukraine.  Quote:  "What is been happening in Ukraine is not a wake-up call precisely, but a tugging at the attention, a demand to focus, in the sense that in some new way we are watching the 21st Century take its shape and express its centralities.  Exactly one hundred years ago, in 1914, the facts that would shape the 20th Century gathered and emerged in the Great War."  We are coming up on the 100th Anniversary of the beginning of the Great War, right?  The First World War – in this very year, 100 years. 

She continues:  "History doesn't repeat itself – you can't as they say, ‘Step into the same spring twice', but it does have an unseen circularity.  September 11th started the Century and brought forward the face of terrorism.   It's still there, and may continue to cause grave destructions.  Since then, we are living in a time of uprisings, from the Mid-east to Africa to the streets of Kiev.  We are learning that history isn't over in Europe, that East-West tensions can simmer and boil over, and that the 20th Century didn't resolve as much as many had hoped."  (End-quote)    

And so we see that Eden, our image of paradise, is no more.  We see anything but peace and hope in the region today, and then some other tragic events from the region of where once stood this garden, because paradise certainly has been lost.  And peace amongst the nations of the Fertile Crescent is illusive. The fall of Fallujah, in Iraq, just not too long ago, shows that American and British lives lost in the century's first decade have been in vain.  The January 14 USA Today article titled:  "Losing Iraq?" describes, quote:  "A nation once seen as a great hope in the Middle East unraveling, as Al-Qaeda sinks its teeth in, and a bloodied United States wonders what could have been."  (End-quote)  And the many billions of dollars to modernize Afghanistan did not stop its government decision to release over seventy enemy prisoners, who promptly assaulted American and British soldiers. 

Christina Lamb somewhat cynically titled her Sunday Times piece, on December 22 last year, "Our new Afghan mission is to tiptoe away and hope nobody notices."   She also asks, "Which mission?  After twelve years of war, there's still total confusion."  She's talking about Afghanistan.    

How about Egypt?  Insufficient water is becoming a growing regional problem in Egypt because a dam is being constructed up the Nile River in Ethiopia, cutting off river and water to Egypt.  And Euphrates and Tigris Rivers in Iraq, of the Garden of Eden fame, are drying up, severely cutting water supplies in Iraq and Syria.  Middle Eastern countries waste an enormous amount of money on redundant armed forces and modern military hardware, in hopes of containing other nations around them, who are doing the same. 

Other serious difficulties in several mid-east countries include inadequate schools, falling birth rates, repressive governments, and if it's to overthrow greedy tyrants, lead to then worse tyrants.  As USA Today reported on March 3rd, quote:  "Iran is moving ahead with a nuclear program that a U.S. Official said would be frozen, and it is now clear that the U.S. and other world powers are willing to accept an Iranian enrichment program, that Iran refuses to abandon, according to Analysts familiar with the program."  And USA Today continues, "Allies watching the movement say, the easing of U.S. economic sanctions against Iran, to induce compromise on a long-term nuclear pact, may not be having the desired effect."  (End-quote)  And there is an understatement for you! 

And so we see our world, in the Middle East in particular, moving even further away from any kind of paradise – from any kind of Eden.  And it affects all of us whether we like to believe it or not.  It's easy to sit in the comfort of our modern homes and block out world conditions from our minds.  But that doesn't mean they'll go away.  It's going to take a strong force – a Godly force – to get our world back to a type of the Garden of Eden.  A major crisis in one part of the world like that can affect a wide range of events in other parts of the globe.  For instance, these events in the Ukraine may well play a major part in stalling efforts designed to inhibit Iran's march to possessing nuclear weapons.  Now we're distracted by other things, and Iran just keeps marching on, doing what they want to do. 

Notice this report in the International New York Times from March 4th, quote:  "A prolonged confrontation between Russia and the West could not only make it harder to find a resolution to the Syrian War, it could also crack the international consensus on reining in Iran's nuclear program, and even undercut solidarity in Asia against North Korea" - So one local problem can affect the rest of Asia.  It continues:  "United States is also dependent on Russia for an air corridor to Afghanistan, which if shut down would complicate Mr. Obama's plans to withdraw combat forces by the end of the year."  So a stand-off in Ukraine - Could easily inhibit attempts to find resolutions to other crisis in the Middle East and elsewhere.

What does Eden look like today? It is unrecognizable.  And we didn't even mention the atrocities going on in Syria.  Reports are emerging that al-Assad, leader of Syria, is once again using chemical weapons on his citizens, as of this last week.  Weapons that he vowed to destroy if the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, intervened to stop the U.S. getting involved. 

Number four:  Jerusalem is the focus of end-time prophecy – Jerusalem is the focus of end-time prophecy.  Prophetic passages in the Old Testament provide a telling backdrop to the chaotic events that we helplessly witness on a daily basis in the Mid-east - tragic occurrences that shed light on the loss of the hopes and dreams that God had for Eden.  Turn to Zechariah, Chapter 12 with me…we'll read the first three verses of Zechariah, Chapter 12 –it says that the Prophet Zechariah spoke an oracle of the time when Jerusalem would become a hotly contested piece of real estate…and guess what?  We see this coming to pass today, in so many ways, as we reach closer to the end of this age of man. 

Zechariah 12:1  The burden (or it says, the oracle) of the word of the Lord against Israel.  Thus says the Lord, who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him:

Verse 2:  "Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples, when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem. 

Verse 3:  "And it shall happen in that day (and when the Bible says "in thatday", it is often referring to the end-time) that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it." 

It is a very hotly contested piece of real estate, by the world's three major religions, by politics in other countries...in briefly explaining the significance of this, the Bible often represents the city of Jerusalem as symbolic of the nation of Israel, or Judah, as a whole.  And somehow the West and the Arab world erroneously believe that if the Israeli-Palestinian conflict there could be resolved, that all would be well – that all would be well in the Middle East.  But the Bible shows otherwise, and history shows otherwise.  The world, as a whole, has never fully figured out why the presence of the State of Israel, in their midst, and in particularly in the midst of the Middle East, should cause such hatred among Middle Eastern countries.  It's because the Middle East, and particularly Jerusalem, is destined to play a big part in fulfillment of many end-time prophecies just prior to Christ's second coming. 

We had a Beyond Today television program in which we specifically created a special booklet just to offer on Beyond Today about this topic, and it was called "Seven Prophetic Signs Before Jesus Returns", and it became a very popular program, and I think most of their printed copies have run out now, and we're not printing anymore, but you can see it on our web site… ucg.org/booklet – Seven Prophetic Signs Before Jesus Returns…insuring events will climax in a horrendous time of world trouble, never before experienced in human history – and Jerusalem will be at the center of it. 

Let's turn to the New Testament, Matthew 24, and note a few verses there, as we look at Jerusalem being the focus of end-time prophecy: 

Matthew 24:3  Now as Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things be?  And what will be the sign of Your coming, and the end of the age?"

Verse 4:  And Jesus answered and said to them:  "Take heed that no one deceives you.

Notice Verse 15 as we skip down through the prophecy that Jesus said to look for that will be shortly before He returns:

Verse 15:  "Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place" …he says, "Watch out!"

And the abomination of desolation is mentioned in Daniel 11 and Daniel 12, if you wanted to go read it – and Christ says: (Whoever reads, let him understand),

Verse 16:  "then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.

He says: Get out of town when you see this abomination of desolation being set up in Jerusalem, in the end-time. 

Verse 17:  "Let him who is on the housetop not come down to take anything out of his house.  - Just get out of there!

Verse 18:  "And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes

Verse 19:  "But woe to those who are pregnant and to those with nursing babies in those days. 

Verse 20:  "And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath.

So, what Verse 20 is saying is, God's people in the end time will be keeping the Sabbath, okay?  That's what that says right there!  The Sabbath is still to be kept today, and will be in the end-time when this all happens – at least by God's people. 

And you can look on our web site for time-line of end-time events and the 3 ½ years of the great tribulation, and once you see the abomination of desolation being set up in the holy place, you can start the count-down then to the 3 ½ years of tribulation.  And Christ says:  When you see that happen - get ready to go! 

Verse 21:  "For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. 

Verse 22:  "And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for – you know - God's people's sake, those days will be shortened.  

 

So clearly, ethnic, religious, and political tensions now dominate the Middle East.  And prophecy shows that no nation on the globe will be able to escape the effects that will come out of that region in the end-time.  It will affect us all.  

However necessary they were deemed at the time, the military incursions that both United States and Britain have made into that remarkable region of the Middle East, has showed us that, as Daniel Pipes wrote in the Washington Times, on January 14th, "Maladies run so deep in the Middle East that outside powers cannot remedy them."  (Maladies run so deep that outside powers cannot remedy them.)  Well, guess what?  There is one Power, one outside Power that can remedy them – we'll see.  Jerusalem is the focus of end-time prophecy.

Number five:  The Middle East is sick – and I've added a little extra to this fifth point.  The Middle East is sick, but will heal.  I had another option to number five here, and it was "Eden Restored" – Eden Restored.  In observing the Middle East regions' extremism, despotism, hatred and violence, Daniel Pipes, in the same Washington Times on-line piece from January 14th, placed this label on the area, he said:  "The Middle East is the sick man of the world."  Yet, the Bible indicates that this entire Middle Eastern region is prophesied, during Christ's magnificent millennial reign, to become another Garden of Eden - A place showing the way of peace to the rest of the world.  And it's hard to imagine that today, isn't it? 

I spent a little bit of time just going through some of the news reports of what's going on in the area.  How on earth could it ever be restored to a place like the Garden of Eden?  What can be most encouraging to us is to know, that such an Eden-like paradise is not too far off.  It will happen during the times of restoration of all things, spoken of by the Apostle Peter during his second sermon following the New Testament Day of Pentecost.  You can read about that in Acts, Chapter 3 – specifically the statements recorded in Acts, Chapter 3:19-21.  Of course, the Day of Pentecost is the Holy Day about six weeks from now that we'll be observing. 

The Apostle Peter wrote about a time when the earth would be refreshed, and when all things would be restored back to their original intent.  And those prosperous times of refreshing, that he spoke of in Acts 3:20, will be instituted on this planet by Jesus Christ, after His return to this earth.  There is a definite plan for the ideals of Eden to be brought back.  And yes, right in the middle of it all, Jerusalem is where Jesus Christ will bring His hope and joy back to mankind.  It's in the Middle East, one of the most unruly places on the planet right now, when Christ will return and change things. 

We've been on a tragic ride these past six thousand or so years since Adam and Eve first sinned.  And we've all followed suit, just like Adam and Eve.  We've all sinned – we're all to blame.  But it's time for a true, Godly paradise, to be restored.  Our dream of a utopian, almost impossibly ideal world will come - and that's our hope.  We ask, when will an Eden-like planet be restored to this earth?  Believe it or not, God has a step-by-step plan of how He's going to bring this about, and it is the descendants of Jacob, the twelve tribes of Israel, who will play a key role. The restoration of all twelve tribes of Israel as one nation, under the reign of the Messiah, is foretold over and over again in the writings of the prophets, and this restoration of the twelve tribes is a prerequisite to all nations then learning to follow God.  After Jesus Christ returns to Jerusalem to establish the kingdom of God, when He steps foot on the Mount of Olives, when He sets up His Father's kingdom, the survivors of the twelve tribes of Israel will experience even greater honor than they've previously known, because God promises an unprecedented re-gathering - all Israel.      

Now, when Christ returns we understand and know that the saints, the first fruits, will be resurrected as spirit beings, to rule with Christ, to help bring this all about.  But after the great tribulation, there will be descendants of Jacob who were not in the church, who were not saints, that will be left – that will be digging out from the rubble and the dust of the great tribulation.  And God is going to use them first to show how it should have been done the first time around – when God gave His glory to Ancient Israel. What's encouraging is, they do it right this time!  Turn to Ezekiel, Chapter 37 – notice this vital prophecy from the Book of Ezekiel.  And, of course note that this has not yet happened – it is prophetic, it has not taken place.  But it soon will. 

Ezekiel 37:21   "Then say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: "Surely I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, wherever they have gone, and will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land; 

Verse 22:  "and I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king over them all; they shall no longer be two nations, - you see, remember Ancient Israel was sub-divided into two nations, the Northern tribes and the Southern tribes…the Southern tribes was basically Judah, which everybody still recognizes today, but the Northern tribes kind of disappeared – it says no, they shall no longer be two nations, nor shall they ever be divided into two kingdoms again

Verse 24:  "David My servant shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd; they shall also walk in My judgments and observe My statutes, and do them. 

Verse 25:  "Then they shall dwell in the land that I have given to Jacob My servant, (because Jacob's name was changed to Israel, right?) Where your fathers dwelt; and they shall dwell there, they, their children, and their children's children, forever; and My servant David shall be their prince forever. 

This is talking about a resurrected king David.

Verse 26:  "Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them, and it shall be an everlasting covenant with them; I will establish them and multiply them, and I will set My sanctuary in their midst forevermore. 

So after Christ returns, the descendants of Jacob will be re-gathered, and offered God's truth.  And they will then start the process of this world healing.  As end-time prophecies unfold about Israel, these people will come to understand God and His expectations for them in a way they've never known before.  After the horrific events of the great tribulation, a time which for Jacob is called the time of Jacob's trouble, the descendants of the Lost Ten tribes of the Northern kingdom will discover who they are.  And Scriptures says, as we go through them, will show us that they will turn from their evil ways, and seek knowledge of the true God.  In our nation today, we don't see that, do we?  We see a turning away more and more from God – not getting closer to Him.  The House of Israel and the House of Judah, as the Bible calls them, will unite again as one nation under Christ, and He will be their king. 

The prophecies of Ezekiel point to the dramatic reunion of what is known as Lost Israel, to be reunited with their brothers from Judah.  This unified kingdom of Judah and the descendants of the other tribes will include not just the Jews, but many descendants who now live in British Commonwealth areas and America.  The British and American people are going to have to repent of breaking the laws of the original covenant, which includes the Sabbath and the Holy Days.  This nation will have to repent of not keeping God's Sabbath and Holy Days, when it should know better, because it was given to them long ago, and they rejected it.  And the Jews, from the original Southern kingdom, will have to acknowledge that Jesus was the Messiah that came. 

And finally, the modern descendants of both kingdoms, for the first time in almost 3,000 years will reunite as one nation.  And God says then King David will rule over them.  Since Christ will establish Jerusalem as His capital, the first people to experience the effects of His rule will be the restored kingdom of Israel - but they won't be the last!  It will eventually envelope the entire world, because the descendants of Jacob are just the beginning of restoring Eden.    

Number six:   All nations will see Eden – Number six I've called:  Allnations will see Eden.   As the Messiah rules from Jerusalem, Jesus Christ will establish a close working relationship with all of humanity.  And as the righteous reign of God extends from Jerusalem, and the surrounding Middle East, an idyllic, Eden-like civilization will come about.  Peace and hope will return to Old Mesopotamia.  The people of Israel, of Jacob, will play a necessary role in helping other nations implement God's way.  Like I said, they messed up the first time, when they wandered for forty years in the wilderness and all that – the second time around they're showed how it can be done right.  And once God has forgiven their sins, Christ will begin using a humbled and repentant Israel, all twelve tribes, to spread the knowledge of God's law to other nations. 

Notice Jeremiah, Chapter 33:6-9:

Jeremiah 33:6  "Behold, (speaking of the region) I will bring it health and healing; I will heal them and reveal to them the abundance of peace and truth.

Like I said, this is not something that's happened in their region yet, has it?

Verse 7:  ‘And I will cause the captives of Judah and the captives of Israel (talking about a time after the great tribulation, when Jacob does become captive to an oppressive power) to return, (says Judah and Israel will return) and will rebuild those places as at the first.

And as we read a moment ago, they'll actually be united as one nation, Israel and Judah.

Verse 8:  ‘I will cleanse them from all their iniquity by which they have sinned against Me, and I will pardon all their iniquities by which they have sinned and by which they have transgressed against Me.

Verse 9:  ‘Then it shall be to Me a name of joy, a praise, and an honor before all nations of the earth, (so when these captives out of the great tribulation are restored, when Judah and Israel are restored, they will become an honor to God) – and notice the middle of verse 9:  before all nations of the earth, who shall hear all the good that I do to them; they shall fear and tremble for all the goodness and all the prosperity that I provide for it.' 

So as the people of Israel learn to follow God's ways properly this time, their example will inspire other nations to seek the same way of life, and to want to reap the same blessings.  As other nations see Israel's prosperity and relationship with God, they will inquire how they too can be a part of it; how they too can be blessed.  But they will soon learn that Israel's prosperity comes because of its obedience now, to God. 

Notice back in Zechariah again – Zechariah, Chapter 8 this time, Verse 21 – once again, a prophecy for the end-time, after Jesus Christ has returned:

Zechariah 8:21 ‘The inhabitants of one city shall go to another city, saying, "Let us continue to go and pray before the Lord, and seek the Lord of hosts.  I myself will go also."

Verse 22:  Yes, many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the Lord.' 

So what we're reading here is about that time when other nations want to get on board.

Verse 23:  "Thus says the Lord of hosts:  ‘In those days ten men from every language of the nations (so representatives from all over the world) shall grasp the sleeve of a Jewish man, saying, "Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you."'"

We hear anything but, today, don't we?  With the anti-Semitism that prevails in our world.  This is quite a turn of events, with people looking to the Jews as the example for the rest of the world!  And of course, we're talking about all of Israel, all twelve tribes at that point.  All people will come to see that keeping God's law works.  They will come to Jerusalem to learn how they can apply it back in their own country.  And they'll go back and say, "Here's how to do it."  Jerusalem most certainly is the focus of end-time prophecy. 

One more Scripture, Micah 4:2, on this point of all nations starting to see Eden:

Micah 4:2  Many nations shall come and say, "Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; (or to the house of the God of Israel) He will teach us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths."  For out of Zion (of course, that's the general area there of Jerusalem) – for out of Zion the law shall go forth, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

Once again, these are future prophecies – we know this hasn't happened yet.  We know that nothing like this has ever happened in our world.  As the Ancient Persian word called it, paradaesa will truly be restored to the area of Ancient Persia, and all the nations will begin to learn God's ways, with the help of a restored, and now obedient, Israel.  Jerusalem will become the center for religious education.  So we could say ABC will move to Jerusalem, right?  It will be the center of religious education and political education, and you know, all kinds of education to get the world turned around.    

Number seven, I'll quote, "Playing your part" – Playing your part.  Because, we're on the cusp of a new age – we are forerunners today, as first fruits, in God's family.  It's those here who understand the meaning of the Day of Pentecost.  We are on the cusp of a new age – we are the forerunners of what is to come.  What we believe, and how we live today, is how everybody will believe and come to live.  We will become spirit beings at that time, but those left of our nation will turn around and show how it's to be done right.  So playing your part…because just knowing what God has revealed about the future is not enough.  Because with knowledge comes responsibility.  To benefit from what we have learned, to benefit from what we know, we must act on it.   

God inspired the writings of men like Isaiah, Zechariah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel to make us think; to cause us to consider the future, to examine prophecy and see what's to happen; To stimulate us though, to assume      responsibility for our character, for our behavior and for our destiny.  We must assume responsibility for our own destiny.  We can see what's happening in the Middle East; we can see what a mess it is.  We know the Garden of Eden is gone, but we also know that it's coming back – a type of the Garden of Eden is coming back.  The end-time millennial prophecies that God gave through Zechariah and others, is certainly sobering.  And the news today is not a pretty sight.  But it is inspiring for all of us to look forward, in faith though, to the fulfillment of these prophecies – to a time when things will be changed and turned around.  We have hope for this world and what its end will ultimately be.  And so we pray for the fulfillment of these prophecies in a certain way, don't we?  We pray that God's kingdom will come.  We pray for the time when the nation and tribes of Israel will be restored to then show how it's to be done. 

So pray for the time then, when all nations will follow suit, under Jesus Christ's ruler-ship.  Look at II Peter, Chapter 3, as we look at playing our part, looking at our responsibility for our own character, where Peter said:

II Peter 3:10  But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up."

Right there in that verse too, we see kind of an end-time prophetic scenario:  the day of the Lord; the heavenly signs – even ending up with the lake of fire at the end.  It's kind of like all these things are going to happen in the end. 

Verse 11:  Therefore, since all this is going to happen – it says since all these things will be dissolved then, what manner of person are you to be…

 

So, the first part of this sermon we've shown the mess the world's in, and the hard times that are ahead for it, but knowing that, what manner of person should you be?  Well, Peter said in Verse 11: be in holy conduct and godliness.  

Understanding prophecy should make us assume responsibility for our character, and to live a godly life. 

Verse 14:  Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless; 

So knowing the day of the Lord's coming, then we should live a blameless life.

Verse 17:  You therefore, beloved, since you know these things beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked. 

So, since you know this is going to happen, watch out!  Be careful!  Stay strong.

Verse 18:  but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 

So okay, we're supposed to live an active life of growth, increasing before God and His grace, and in knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

The original intent of the Garden of Eden will be restored until all who is saved becomes spirit and the physical is not even needed anymore.  That's at the very end of the plan, when everybody who is saved becomes spirit.  So knowing this, make sure you are found (and I need to make sure I am found) to be living a blameless life, filled with Jesus Christ – a life filled with the bread of life, as we just heard about during the Unleavened Bread season.  Grow in grace and knowledge.  Be found without spot and blemish.  Live a life of holy conduct and godliness - because otherwise, the day of the Lord will come up and surprise you.

Over the years, there have been many counterfeits to God's vision of paradise.  Many have tried to find paradise, but mostly in all the wrong places.  Because without God, paradise is impossible; without God, paradise is deceptive.  Phillip Brooks was a noted United States clergyman and author who briefly said….(The Bishop of Massachusetts in the Episcopal Church during the early 1890's)….and this Bishop Brooks is quoted as saying:  "Live such a life that if every man were such a man as you, and every life a life like yours, this earth would be a paradise."  And so by extension, if every man lived a life like God does, this earth would become a Garden of Eden.  

We're on the cusp of a great new age.  God's people, although a small group of truly faithful believers, are forerunners – we are forerunners of a paradise soon to come to this earth.  Turn to Revelation, Chapter 2, and Verse 7.  This is our final passage to you today – we started the sermon in the Book of Genesis, and what were we talking about - The tree of life in the Garden of Eden.  It's interesting that this idea bookends the Bible – from Genesis to Revelation.  Because notice Revelation 2:7:

Revelation 2:7  "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.  To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, … so we started in Genesis and what does Revelation end up with – the tree of life once again, and what does it say where this tree of life is, that we'll all get to eat from…to him who overcomes…this tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God."'

Eden truly did picture a paradise, and guess what?  It will be restored, and those who overcome will get to eat of the tree of life.  To be resurrected, to become spirit beings in God's family, and to truly be in the midst of God's Paradise.