This is a beautiful prophecy of what is to come for the righteous! Is there any connection between the Garden of Eden and the New Jerusalem?
Revelation 21:1-3 (Hebrew)
“And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away; and the first sea was no more. And I John saw the set-apart city, the NEW JERUSALEM descending from the heaven to the earth, and it was adorned like a wife who is adorned before her husband. And I heard a great voice from the throne which said, “Look! The Tabernacle of YAHWEH is with man, and He will be ELOHIM to them, and they will be a people to Him! And YAHWEH ELOHIM wipe will off the tears from all faces, and the death will no longer reign, neither any suffering or outcries or affliction, for the former has passed by!’
So we see that eternal life begins when the New Jerusalem comes down from heaven on the 8th day after the 1,000 reign of YESHUA, and all things will be made new and there will be no more death or pain.
2 Corinthians 12:1-4 (Complete Jewish Scriptures)
“I have to boast. There is nothing to be gained by it, but I will go on to visions and revelations of the Master. I know a man in union with the Messiah who fourteen years ago was snatched up to the THIRD HEAVEN; whether he was in the body or outside the body I don’t know, ELOHIM knows. And I know that such a man---whether in the body or apart from the body I don’t know, ELOHIM knows--- was snatched into GAN-‘EDEN and heard things that cannot be put into words, things unlawful for a human being to utter.”
Complete Jewish Scriptures definition of “Gan-Eden” is (PARADISE)—literally, “GARDEN OF EDEN”; in Judaism the term also refers to PARADISE, Luke 23:43.
So as we see, Paul connects the Garden of Eden (Paradise) with heaven which we know is eternal life.
Eden in Hebrew is spelled: Ayin, Dalet, Nun
Ayin is a picture of an eye to see, watch, or know
Dalet is a picture of a door or entrance
Nun is a picture of a seed and means life, continuance, or offspring
When we combine these together for Eden we get a message: “We SEE the DOOR of CONTINUED LIFE.”
We see the door of continued life because those who are found worthy will enter the Garden of Eden of continued life meaning eternity. Tying in everything we just covered above makes so much more sense when we read YESHUA’s words in the Hebrew.
Matthew 18:8-9 (Hebrewgospels.com)
“If your foot or your hand is the stumbling block, cut it off, or remove it far from you. For it is more fitting for you to enter (the door) into the GARDEN OF EDEN crippled, than walking in Gei-Hinnom with two hands or with two feet. And if your eye offends, uproot it and remove it far from you, for it is more fitting for you to enter into the GARDEN OF EDEN with one eye than into Gei-Hinnom with two.”
Mark 9:43-48 (Hebrewgospels.com)
“And if your hand offends, cut it off! For it is more appropriate for you to enter into the GARDEN OF EDEN with one hand, than into the fire of Gei-Hinnom with two, into a place where the viruses do not die, and the fire does not rest. And if your foot offends, cut if off! For it is more appropriate for you to enter into the GARDEN OF EDEN with one, than entering with two into Gei-Hinnom, into the place where the viruses do not die, and the fire does not rest and is not cut off. And if your eye offends, uproot it! For it is more appropriate for you to enter into the GARDEN OF EDEN with one eye, than into Gei-Hinnom with two, a place where the viruses do not die, and the fire is not quenched.”
Most translations say “Enter into Life” where Garden of Eden is written in the Hebrew version, so its obvious YESHUA is connecting The Garden of Eden with eternal life which comes with the New Jerusalem from above. Dan one of the sons of Jacob from the 12 Patriarchs writings from the Dead Sea Scrolls says plainly that the New Jerusalem and the Garden of Eden are COMBINED; and that YAHWEH will be in the midst of it and living among men.
Testament of Dan 5:11-13
“And He will take the captivity from Beliyya’al and turn disobedient hearts to YAHWEH, and give ETERNAL PEACE to them that call upon Him. And the set-apart ones will rest in EDEN, and the righteous will rejoice in the NEW JERUSALEM, and it will be to the esteem of ELOHIM forever. And no longer will Jerusalem endure desolation, nor Yisra’el be led captive. For YAHWEH will be in the midst of it, living among men, and the Set-Apart One of Yisra’el will reign over it.”
.Dan understood what the reward was and also understood that YAHWEH would dwell amongst us forever, which matches:
Revelation 21:3 (Hebrew)
The Tabernacle of YAHWEH is with man, and He will be ELOHIM to them, and they will be a people to Him! And YAHWEH ELOHIM will wipe off the tears from all faces, and the death will no longer reign, neither any suffering or outcries or affliction, for the former has passed by!’
2 Esdras 8:51-55 (Parenthesis mine)
“But think of your own case, and inquire concerning the esteem of those who are like yourself, because it is for you that PARADISE (GARDEN OF EDEN) is opened (like dalet the door opened in the word Eden), the TREE OF LIFE is planted, the WORLD TO COME IS PREPARED, delight is provided, A CITY IS BUILT (NEW JERSUALEM), rest is appointed (eternal life), goodness is established and wisdom is perfected beforehand. The root of evil is sealed up from you, illness is banished from you, and death is hidden; hell has fled, and corruption has been forgotten sorrows have passed away, and in the end the treasure of IMMORTALITY is made manifest. Therefore, do not ask any more questions about the multitude of those who perish.”
Then we see in Chapter 10 that Ezra was able to walk in the vision of the New Jerusalem, but I’ll start with the context that began in Chapter 9.
2 Esdras 9:23-25
“But if you will let seven days more pass-do not fast during them, however; but go into a field of flowers where NO HOUSE HAS BEEN BUILT, and eat only of the flowers of the field, and taste no meat and drink no wine, but eat only flowers and pray to the Most High continually-then I will come and talk with you.”
Ezra did as the malach (angel) Uriel instructed him, then a woman appeared to Ezra and she was mourning over her son. Ezra begins to comfort the woman and he goes on to explain to her about the many lives lost during the destruction of the Temple. Then something happens:
2 Esdras 10:25-56
“And it came to pass, while I was talking to her, behold her face suddenly shone exceedingly, and her countenance flashed like lightning, so that I was too frightened to approach her, and my heart was terrified. While I was wondering what this meant, behold, she suddenly uttered a loud and fearful cry, so that the earth shook at her voice. And I looked, and behold, the woman was NO LONGER VISIBLE TO ME, BUT THERE WAS AN ESTABLISHED CITY, and a place of huge foundations (Revelation 21:14) showed itself. Then I was afraid, and cried out with a loud voice and said, “Where is the angel Uriel, who came to me at first? For it was he who brought me into this overpowering bewilderment; my end has become corruption and my prayer a reproach.” Verse 49 “And behold, you saw her likeness, how she mourned for her son, and you began to console her for what happened. For now the Most High, seeing that you are sincerely grieved and profoundly distressed for her (Zion), has shown you the brilliance of her esteem, and the loveliness of her beauty. Therefore I told you to remain in the field where no house had been built (2 Esdras 9:23), for I knew that the Most High would REVEAL all things to you. Therefore I told you to go into the place where there was NO FOUNDATION OF ANY BUILDING FOR NO WORK OF MAN’S BUILDING COULD ENDURE IN A PLACE WHERE THE CITY OF THE MOST HIGH WAS TO BE REVEALED. Therefore do not be afraid, and do not let your heart be terrified; but go in and see the splendor and vastness of the building, as far as it is possible for your eyes to see it, and afterward you will hear as much as your ears can hear.”
Ezra had to go into a field where no buildings built by a human was, because YAHWEH could not reveal the New Jerusalem to him amongst man’s structures, this shows how kodesh (set-apart) YAHWEH is. And afterwards, Ezra was able to walk around the New Jerusalem to see what the inheritance of the righteous looks like. But, was Ezra the only one to see the city?
2 Baruch 4:1-4:7 (Parenthesis mine)
“And YAHWEH said to me: “This city (Referring to destruction of 2nd Temple in Jerusalem) is delivered up for a time, and the people are chastised during a time (70 years of Babylonian captivity), and the world is not forgotten. Or do you perhaps think that this is the city about which I said: On the palms of My hands I have inscribed you. (Isaiah 49:16). This building that is now built (physical Jerusalem) is not the one revealed with Me (New Jerusalem), the one ALREADY prepared here when I intended to make PARADISE and I showed it to Adam before he transgressed, but when he transgressed the commandment, it was taken away from him (New Jerusalem), as was also Paradise (Garden of Eden). And after these things, I showed it to my servant Abraham, by night, between the halves of the sacrifices.”
YAHWEH showed the New Jerusalem to Abraham when He passed between the halves of the sacrifices when He made a covenant with him.
Genesis 15:7-10, 17-28
“An He said to him, I am YAHWEH, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to inherit it. And Abram said, O YAHWEH ELOHIM, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it? And He said to him, take for yourself a heifer, three years old, a three year old ram, a three year old she-goat, a pigeon, and a young dove. And he took to himself all these and cut them in two, and laid each piece against another; but the birds he did not divide.” Verse 17-21 “And it came to pass that when the sun had set and it was dark, behold there appeared a smoking furnace and burning torch that passed between those PIECES. On that day YAHWEH made a covenant with Abram, saying, to your descendants have I given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates…”
Abraham was shown the reward and I believe that is why he was looking for a city not built by human hands as we read in Hebrews.
Hebrews 11:8-10 (Parenthesis mine)
“By trust Abraham, when he was called to depart for the land which he was to receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing where he was going. By trust he became a sojourner in the land which was promised him as in a strange country, and he dwelt in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; for he looked for a CITY WHICH HAS FOUNDATIONS (NEW JERUSALEM), WHOSE BUILDER AND MAKER IS ELOHIM.”
2 Baruch continued: “And furthermore, I also showed it to Moses on Mount Sinai when I showed him the likeness of the tabernacle and of all its implements. And now, see, IT (New Jerusalem) is preserved with Me, as is also Paradise (Garden of Eden).”
Jubilees 1:4
“And Moses was on the Mount forty days and forty nights, and YAHWEH taught him WHAT WAS AND WHAT WILL BE, and the division of all the days of the Torah and of the witness.”
Exodus 25:40
“And see that you make them after the same pattern which I have shown you on the Mountain.”
Hebrews 8:5
“Now above all we have a High Priest who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven; and He has become the Minister of the sanctuary and of the TRUE TABERNACLE which ELOHIM pitched and not man. For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices, therefore it is necessary that this man have something to offer also. For if He were on earth, He would not be a priest, because there are priests who offer gifts according to the law, who serve the semblance and SHADOW OF HEAVENLY THINGS, just as it was commanded to Moses when he was about to make the tabernacle: See that you make all things according to the pattern showed to you in the Mount.”
When YAHWEH showed Moses how to make the tabernacle in the likeness of the one that is in the heavens on Mount Sinai, He also showed Moses the New Jerusalem and Garden of Eden. Therefore, Moses knew to forsake the riches in Egypt and to look forward to the reward of the New Jerusalem to come, which is the same hope and reward that we look forward to as the bride of YESHUA!
Hebrews 11:24-26
“By trust Moses, when he came to manhood, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of ELOHIM than to enjoy the pleasures of iniquity for a short while. And he reasoned that the reproach of Messiah was greater riches than the treasures of Egypt, for he LOOKED FORWARD TO RECEIVE THE REWARD.”
2 Baruch 51:8-11
“For they will see that world which is now INVISBILE TO THEM (New Jerusalem), and they will see a time which is now HIDDEN FROM THEM. And time will no longer make them older. For on the summits of that world they will live, and they will be like the malachim (angels), and they will be deemed equal to the stars. They will change themselves into any shape they wish, from comeliness into beauty and from light into esteemed splendor. There the EXPANSES OF PARADISE (Garden of Eden) will be spread out before them. And they will be shown the comeliness of the majesty of the living creatures that are beneath the throne, as well as all the armies of malachim (angels) who are now held by My word, lest they reveal themselves, and who are held by the command, that they stand in their places until their advent come. And then the righteous will be more excellent than the angels.”
Tree of Life connection:
Isaiah 46:10
“Declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure…”
YAHWEH has declared the end from the beginning, which includes being restored back to the Garden of Eden where everything began for Adam and Eve. Life began for man in the Garden of Eden and it will be the beginning of a eternal life returning back to the Garden of Eden.
Another connection I would like to make is that the tree of Life was in the Garden of Eden in the beginning and is also seen the New Jerusalem.
Genesis 2:9
“And out of the ground YAHWEH ELOHIM, made 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 the knowledge of good and evil.”
Revelation 22:1-2
“Then he showed me a stream which was full of living waters, and it was pure like crystal, coming out of the throne of YAHWEH and the Lamb. And in the midst of the plains even beside the stream, there grew up on its bank --- on this side and on that side – every tree of food, even the TREE OF LIFE. And on it were twelve kinds of fruit, and its fruit was for food, and its foliage for healing.”
2 Esdras 8:52
“Because it is for you that PARADISE (Garden of Eden) is opened, THE TREE OF LIFE IS PLANTED…”
The Tree of Life is in the Garden of Eden which connects it to eternal life, but through the disobedience of Adam and Eve iniquity and death came into the world.
Genesis 3:1-7
“Now the serpent was more subtle than all the wild beasts that YAHWEH ELOHIM had made. And the serpent said to the woman, Truly has ELOHIM said that you shall not eat of any tree of the garden? And the woman said to the serpent, we may eat of the fruit of all the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, ELOHIM has said, you shall not eat of it, neither shall you touch it, lest you die. And the serpent said to the woman, you shall not surely die; For ELOHIM knows that in the day you eat of it, your eyes shall be opened, and you shall be like mighty ones, knowing good and evil. So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and that the tree was delightful to look at, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and she also gave to her husband with her; and he did eat. Then the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.”
Genesis 3:22
“Then YAHWEH ELOHIM said, behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil; and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and LIVE FOREVER.
Wisdom 2:23-24
“For ELOHIM created man to be IMMORTAL and made him to be an image of His own ETERNITY. Nevertheless through the envy of Satan death came into the world: and those that take his side find it.”
So Adam and Eve went from being immortal to mortal on the day they ate the forbidden fruit; therefore, YAHWEH had to put them out of the garden and Enoch goes deeper as to why.
Enoch 25:1-7
“And he said to me, “Enoch, why do you ask me regarding the fragrance of the tree (Tree of Life), and why do you desire to learn the truth? Then I answered him saying, “I desire to know about everything, but especially this TREE. And he answered saying, “This high mountain which you have seen, whose summit is like the throne of the Master, is His throne, where the Set-Apart Great One, the Master of Esteem, the Eternal King, will sit, when He shall come down to visit the earth with goodness. And as for this fragrant tree NO MORTAL IS PERMITTED TO TOUCH IT until the great judgment, when He shall take vengeance on all and bring everything to its consummation FOREVER. It shall then be given to the righteous and set-apart. Its FRUIT shall be for FOOD TO THE ELECT: it shall be transplanted to the set-apart place, to the Temple of the Master, the Eternal King. Then shall they rejoice with joy and be glad, and they will enter into the set-apart place. And its fragrance shall be in their bones, and they will live a long life on earth, such as your fathers lived. And in their days shall no sorrow or plague or torment or calamity touch them. Then I blessed the Master of Esteem, the Eternal King, who has prepared such things for the righteous, and has created them and promised to give to them.”
No mortal can touch the Tree of Life, and this is the reason why Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden of Eden because they went from being immortal to mortal after eating the fruit. But as stated in Enoch 25, the righteous will be able eat the fruit of the Tree of Life just as it was in the beginning, which matches the words of YESHUA:
Revelation 2:6-7 (Hebrew)
“Whosoever has ears must hear what the RUACH (Spirit) says to the assembly. Whosoever overcomes, will EAT FROM THE TREE OF LIFE, WHICH IS IN THE GARDEN OF EDEN.”
Revelation 22:14 (Hebrew)
“Blessed are they who do His commandments, that they may have part in the TREE OF LIFE, and be pure to walk in the CITY (New Jerusalem).
Testament of Levi 18:10-11 (Parenthesis mine)
“And He will open the gates (Dalet the door) of PARADISE (The Garden of Eden), and will remove the threatening sword against Adam. And He will give to the set-apart ones to EAT FROM THE TREE OF LIFE, and the Spirit of Set-Apartness will be on them.” And Beliyya’al will be bound by Him, and He will give power to His children to tread upon the evil spirits. And YAHWEH will rejoice in His children, and be well-pleased in His beloved ones forever. Then will Abraham and Isaac, and Jacob rejoice, and I will be glad, and all the set-apart ones will clothe themselves with joy!”
This is eternity/immortality because we just read that no mortal can touch the Tree of Life, but the righteous who will be immortal will be eating from the Tree of life as they will be permitted to touch and eat from it. Also, YESHUA says Tree of Life is in the Garden of Eden in Revelation 2, then He says in Revelation 22:14 to keep the commandments to have a part of the Tree of Life and walk in the City which is a reference to the New Jerusalem, so He connects the New Jerusalem and the Garden of Eden together as outlined in this message. Keep clinging to YESHUA and endure by His mercy and look forward to the reward to come as our ancestors did, and that is to be with our ELOHIM forever in the Garden of Eden the New Jerusalem.
As always may YAHWEH bless you in YESHUA’s Name!