CYPRESSWOOD CHURCH OF CHRIST
April 5, 2009
25424 Aldine-Westfield, Spring, TX. 77373
www.blakehart.com/cypresswoodbulletin.htm
PRAYER REQUESTS:
God’s will for our congregation Various friends, relatives and co-workers
Our nation, leaders and military The persecuted church
EDEN
"For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God" (Romans 8:20-21).
God created the heavens and the earth and all the plants, animals and humans, and saw that it was very good (Genesis 1-2). We find in reading about the Garden of Eden that God would walk in the cool of the day in fellowship with His creation, and especially those created in His image. When Adam and Eve sinned, this pristine, peaceful scene was destroyed. They were cast out of the Garden, the cost of sin, and eternal life was taken from them. Creation itself was placed under a curse. What was good now, because of sin, became dangerous. Peace was turned to war. A lush garden was turned to desert. Creation became uncreation.
Going to the last two chapters of the last book of scripture, we find another picture. We see a new heaven and a new earth coming with the heavenly Jerusalem, a city so magnificent that it amazes us. Keep in mind, these are pictures, glimpses into what God intends for us as eternal life. As we read through Revelation, we catch glimpses of heaven, God’s throne, and a host of beings praising God. Throughout scripture there are glimpses of what God wants life to be like. We find weapons of war turned into tools of agriculture (Isaiah 2:4) and the lion, calf, wolf and sheep will be led by a child (11:6-8). While we must keep each context in view, there are insights into the original intention of the Garden.
Romans 8 expresses the idea that the curse in which creation was subjected to will be removed, that once again the creation will be free. Some take this text as a figurative idea and contrast it with others that speak of the earth being burned up. The language of judgment as seen in such books as Daniel and Revelation is not present in Romans 8. The idea of the creation being frustrated certainly is a figure of speech but it goes back to the curse. Humans have been cursed as well and need redemption, so why not in some sense creation?
The language of judgment used in 2 Peter 3 needs to be understood figuratively. In Isaiah 10, the prophet speaks of the sun and moon destroyed, and the earth a burning pitch with jackals and owls living there. The prophecy however concerns Edom. Edom’s world will come to an end. In 2 Peter 3 we see the word "destroy" used twice. The first time it is used of days of the flood, the earth being destroyed. The world was still here as well as the heavens, and Noah and family floated on the ark for a year. The second use of "destroy" is connection with fire. I suggest that we see that this is a cleansing but not an explosion of the heavens and earth. If what God created was good, and that included humanity - and through Christ as brought about the redemption of humanity - will He not do the same for His good creation?
Revelation 21-22 describes another garden scene. We see a river and trees in a walled city with precious stones as gates. God is the light so that the sun, moon, and stars were not needed. One other aspect of this city is that it comes down out of heaven; that is, it comes to us. We see something similar in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. We see Jesus coming down from heaven and the dead will rise and the rest of us will meet Him in the air. Many assume that this return is for Jesus to take us back to heaven. But is that how the first century church would have understood what Paul was saying? Paul draws on the culture of his day. The picture here is that of a victorious general returning home. People would go out and greet the general and lead him into the city with joy and celebration. When we meet Jesus in the air, it is not to go with Him to another place but to escort Him into our "city," which would be the new Jerusalem. It is a return to the original intent of God; intimate fellowship with God in the cool of the Garden. It is a return to Eden. Likewise, Isaiah uses Eden as a metaphor for the return of the captives to Israel after Babylon. "The Lord will surely comfort Zion…he will make her deserts like Eden, her wastelands like the garden of the Lord…" (51:3).
In 1 Corinthians 15, we read of the resurrection. We will receive a resurrected, imperishable, spiritual body when the Lord returns. What is this body? "But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is" (1 John 3:2). As anyone seen Him as He is now? When Jesus was raised from the dead, He spent forty days on earth in contact with His followers. We see Him talking and eating. We also see Him able to disguise Himself, appearing in locked rooms, and at different times. Is this the promised resurrected body that we will have, or something like it?
Our hope, our confident expectation, is that one day we will come into the presence of God in the Garden of Eden. Going back to its original intent, we will find that there will be plenty to do in keeping the Garden. I do not understand how all that will work, but I trust that God does.
How then should we live today? Some have been so dedicated to trying to figure out when the Lord returns that they lose sight of what we can do as Christians. When we consider that what God has created was good, maybe we can take another look at some issues of today. For instance, how can we work to prepare the creation for God’s return? We all like gardens with flowers and trees. That would certainly remind us of what is coming. We could become responsible caretakers of the earth, making an effort to keep it clean, to care for the planet. We recognize that God gave us creation to use to His glory. Today’s modern environmental movements ignore God in much of what they say and think that man is the cause of the all the earth’s problems. So their solution is to reduce humankind; some even suggest eliminating humanity. Certainly abortion and euthanasia contribute to this philosophy. It ignores the fact that God created the earth to be inhabited (Isaiah 45:18). This is to God’s glory. As I have said before, I think as Adam and Eve increased in number, then the Garden would increase until it occupied the earth. Outside the Garden, if we understand Genesis 3, was a land that was harsh and barren. Sin caused humankind to be cast into that harsh land. We look forward to a return to the Garden as God intended.
Not everything that humankind does is evil. We have much good. Discoveries in medicine and technology have helped many people to live longer and better lives. Of course, these can be used for evil purposes as well. But what of the good that has been done, or has been created? You see, we are creators as well. God has blessed us in this way. We created works of art, jewelry, and music just to name a few. When we find ourselves in the presence of God in the Garden, among the songs we might sing, would you not want to sing such favorites as How Great Thou Art and Our God He Is Alive; and many more. We think that all of this will disappear, but is that true? It is something to think about.
I’m not going to be dogmatic about the above; this is how I see it right now. While there are questions that can be raised about this view, I think it offers answers beyond what we see in others, at least in my mind. All I can tell you to do is to study this if you are interested in it (1).
George B. Mearns
(1) I was first introduced to this view by Jim McGuiggan in his commentary on Romans. Since then, I have read others who have expanded my understanding. In churches of Christ, this view has been held by some from years past as John Mark Hicks and Bobby Valentine explore in their book, Kingdom Come. N.T. Wright in Surprised by Hope and Christopher J.H. Wright in The God I Don’t Understand go into deeper details on this subject and are worth reading.