Eastward in Eden

Today’s headline: “Water levels in the Euphrates River within the ‘cradle of civilization’ are plummeting sharply, raising alarm about a Biblical end-times prophecy.

“The deteriorating Euphrates River, Western Asia's longest waterway stretching across Turkey, Syria, and Iraq, runs through a historically significant Biblical area, the Fertile Crescent.”

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Genesis 2: [8] And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.
[9] And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
[10] And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads.

Eden is a territory and you have the river Euphrates that starts out in the Turkish area and flows down into the Persian Gulf area. What did God do in the eastern part of Eden? asks Alex Kurz in a study.

Isn’t it interesting that when God describes what He did in this territory He called Eden, He says He “planted a garden.” My personal opinion is it’s at the edge of the Euphrates River.

Genesis 2:15: [15] And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.

Remember there’s this whole issue of the appearance of age and Adam was created as a man who immediately communicated with the Lord and there are trees and rivers in the garden.

A river, according to geologists, takes hundreds if not thousands of years to make. You have a trickle of water from a higher elevation to a lower elevation and it takes years before that trickle becomes a brook, then a creek, then a stream, etc.

When God created this garden, it already had rivers, meaning God created it with the appearance of age. Adam’s an adult. What’s on the trees? You’ve got to wait until a tree grows to have fruit on it. The tree was a mature tree because it’s already producing fruit.

So, you understand that when science tries to study the physical universe, they apply the law of uniformity. God created everything with the appearance of age.

Here’s the replication principle. II Corinthians 12: [2] I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven.
[3] And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;)
[4] How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.

There’s the first heaven, called the open heaven, then there’s the second heaven, a closed heaven, and then there’s the third heaven and that’s where God dwells.

God is replicating on Planet Earth what already exists in the third heaven.

Revelation 2: [7] He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.

I know something about paradise. It has a tree. Paradise is a garden. God has a garden in the third heaven.

Revelation 22: [1] And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.
[2] In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

There’s a street up there. What do you think God intended to do with the gold?

You see the replication principle? When we study biblical science, we understand that what God’s doing in the natural world is a replica of the invisible world.

Ezekiel 1: [10] As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a man, and the face of a lion, on the right side: and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four also had the face of an eagle.

This is Ezekiel, who is literally transported into the invisible realm and he’s now describing the various creatures.

What did Ezekiel see? “Hey, there’s a lion up there. There’s the face of an ox.”

So the natural world possesses beasts that replicate something that’s already out there. Make no mistake, Ezekiel isn’t saying, “You know, the closest thing that I can kind of liken it to . . . ” He’s very specific.

Isaiah 6: [1] In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.
[2] Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.

In the invisible realm there are creatures who have wings.

Isaiah 60: [8] Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as the doves to their windows?

What kind of creature was Lucifer? He was an anointed cherub. How many wings does a cherub have? Four. How many wings for a seraphim? Six.

If you could just envision a creature that has four wings that puts on a robe of stones and Lucifer manifests light. In this creature, as he reflects the light through these different colored stones, there’s this kaleidoscope effect, but at the same time there’s something about those wings.

Ezekiel 10: [5] And the sound of the cherubims' wings was heard even to the outer court, as the voice of the Almighty God when he speaketh.

Guess what Lucifer was doing in the universe when he would flap and spread the wings? He was the voice of Almighty God.

Lucifer had the highest place of governmental rule in all of creation. He was the sum of beauty, He was the sum of all wisdom. You know who’s next above him?

Guess what Adam was created to do? “Adam, you’re in charge of it all. All of those stones are yours and when you speak, you speak as my voice.”

Adam sinned and “died” and that second Adam, what is His name? “The Word.” You see, Jesus Christ, who is the perfect Adam, He does and can do what the first Adam should have done.

Little side note: When you and I preach the gospel, whose voice are we? It’s the voice of God, right? Right now on Planet Earth, outside of the Word of God, we’re His “audible voice” when we’re preaching His Book and that’s why Lucifer hates us with such deep ire and hatred. We’re doing what He once did. Aren’t you and I light?

Ephesians 5: [8] For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:
[9] (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)
[10] Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.

Everything that Lucifer WAS—he was light, he had the voice of authority. God says, “With the second Adam I’m going to deal with a new creature called the church the Body of Christ.”

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From a study by Richard Jordan:

John 15: [1] I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.

Husbandry has to do with gardening. And the husbandman (and it’s interesting you have the husband and the wife); it’s interesting that God would use that terminology of a husband to describe the role that we ascribe to a husband.

But a husbandman in the Scripture is someone who cultivates and cares for a garden. Sort of the caretaker.

God literally steps out of heaven into man’s earth and takes on our humanity.

That verse is saying that God the Father was the caretaker for the Lord Jesus Christ. When He’s the husbandman of the vine and Jesus said, "I’m the vine," He’s literally saying, “You know, I’m doing this stuff to do what my Father gave me to do. He gave me a commandment. And my Father is the one who is taking care of me who’s jealous over watching over me and my development; my growth.”

Now there’s a verse back in Isaiah 53 that kind of alerts you to that. Isaiah 53: [1] Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?
[2] For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.

The Messiah’s going to grow up before Him. That is, the father is as a tender plant and as a root out of the dry ground.

You see how that starts talking about Him being a tender plant and a root out of a dry ground? There’s that horticulture terminology. There’s the husbandman. And what’s the father do? He’s overseeing; he’s tending. He’s watching out for him and he watches out for his development.