In the beginning, Eve was not her name.
Eve wasn’t even second choice for the name of humanity’s mother. It was third. Adam came up with it only as they were leaving the Garden of Eden, forced out of God.
Continue reading A LITTLE KNOWN FACT ABOUT (EVE)
Cherubim is plural for the Hebrews word cherub, or angel, In the Old Testament, cherubim were heavenly beings who served God. In the Garden of Eden, angels guarded the tree of life (Gen 3:24). Two cherubim made of gold decorated the top of the ark of the covenant, symbolizing a covering of atonement (Exod 25:18-22). Given that God cannot Continue reading WHAT ARE CHERUBIM?
Of the men of the Bible two knew what it was like knew what it was like to have a personal, untainted, unobstructed relationship with God himself. One was Jesus, the Son of God. The other was Adam. Continue reading MEN OF THE BIBLE (ADAM: WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN)
Before they are symbols for us, trees are examples to us. The psalm writers looked at trees and recognized that their pattern of growth and life was an expression of praise to their Creator. Psalm 96:12 declares, “Let the field and everything in them rejoice. Then all the trees in the forest will sing joyfully.” And Isaiah 55:12 says, “All the trees will clap their hands.” Trees reach upward. Even when planted crooked or sideways, a tree will bend its trunk to vertical-an amazing picture of their purpose to remind us of our own purpose to praise God always. Continue reading SIGNS AND SYMBOLS OF THE BIBLE (TREE)
Thoughts about Eden make us look back and look forward. The beautiful garden where the first human beings were created is a symbol of a perfect beginning before sin shattered the creation. It was a protected place where God provided for every creature’s needs and had a face-to-face relationship with the man and woman, walking with them in the cool of the day. That Eden is gone. While the general location of the garden is indicated as the Tigris and Euphrates valley (along with two other water channels no longer functioning), all evidence of the paradise that was there has long been erased. The place exists, but the paradise is lost. What a fitting metaphor for the spiritual price we paid for the fall and the curse of sin. But a new heaven and new earth have been promised, an Eden-like place that will once again be the home of those who have been rescued from sin and given an eternal destiny with God.