Issued: 5/24/24

“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined the things that God has prepared for those who love Him.”

1 Corinthians 2:9

   PLEASE NOTE:  Because Bible versions sometimes differ from each other in crucial ways, the version quoted here will be the one that best clarifies the point being made.  For a quick comparison between versions, please go to: http://www.biblehub.com.

   All bracketed material may be authorial comments, attempts at proper syntax, or minimal rewordings of Scripture for the sake of clarity and continuity.  These emendations will not be italicized.

   The “/” will be used to signify “and/or.”  The symbol “↔” is used to connect verses corroborating each other and so establishing doctrinal truths (Matthew 18:16↔2Corinthians 13:1).

   In differentiating between Yahweh Son [Jesus] and Yahweh Father [the Most High God], lower case letters have been used when discussing the former; upper case letters are reserved for the Only and Most High God.  Since Jesus was at pains to differentiate himself from Father, we have followed his lead here.

   The term neo-Christians will be used to differentiate between false Christians and Jesus’ true followers.

   The Bible is basically a narrative about a fall from grace and a return to grace, an eviction from Eden and a journey towards Father‘s Eden-like Kingdom with Holy Jerusalem as it capital city. In this essay let us think of the original Garden of Eden and the Kingdom of Heaven as versions of ‘Paradise,’ and discuss some of what Scripture tells us about both.

Eden’s Location

   On the basis of Genesis 2:10-14, the Garden of Eden was watered by four tributary rivers¹ branching out an unnamed main river. This main river doubtlessly corresponds with the one described in Revelation 22:1-2, “bright as crystal” and emerging from under Father‘s and Jesus’ thrones. That descriptor links us to Revelation 4:6 and possibly Ezekiel 1:22-28, given that the crystalline “expansion” above the winged creatures supported the throne of a man-like being with attributes associated with Jesus [↔Daniel 10:5-6; Revelation 1:13-15, 19:12-13],² Father‘s proxy God (1Corinthians 15:24-28). Please note that when Daniel encounters the man-like being he is by the shores of the Tigris River (Daniel 10:4).

   It would seem that the Garden of Eden was a small portion of a larger area apparently in what we call the Middle East. Since Adam was evicted east of Eden (Genesis 3:24), and since Canaan was the promised land in this order of things lying to the west of the Euphrates, a return to Father‘s Kingdom would entail crossing the Euphrates from east to west, which is the point of Revelation 16:12. Scripture establishes the correspondence between the Israelites’ entry into Canaan by stopping the flow of the Jordan and Judeo-Christians’ (1Peter 2:9-10; Revelation 5:9-10) entry into Father‘s Kingdom by stopping the flow of the Euphrates, so that people could cross dry-shod (Joshua 3:17). The theme of a ‘dry-crossing’ was also played out during the Exodus (Exodus 14:21-22) and in 2Kings 2:7-8,13-14.

   However, since the mortal and the spiritual cannot coexist on the same plane (1Corinthians 15:50), which necessitates the ‘born-again’ status Jesus spoke of (John 3:3) via the transformation of mortal flesh into immortal (1Corinthians 15:51-53),³ we must consider that Father‘s Kingdom, though near to us (Matthew 4:17), is nowhere on this world (John 18:36). Yet the mention of the Euphrates would seem to provide some sort of geo-location, which would suggest that our world may be superimposed on the foundation (Genesis 1:2↔Psalms 18:7,15↔Revelation 16:18-20) Father meant to endure forever (Isaiah 45:18↔1Samuel 2:8; Job 38:4; Psalms 24:2, 90:2, 104:5; Proverbs 8:29; Ecclesiastes 1:4; Micah 6:2).

   At the risk of sounding sci-fi-ish, and not because we endorse scientific theories in any shape or form, let us view this enigma in terms of a ‘parallel dimension.’ We know that the heavens open and close (Ezekiel 1:1; Matthew 3:16; John 1:51; Acts 7:55-56); and that except for Enoch (Genesis 5:24), Elijah (2Kings 2:11) and Jesus (Acts 1:9), no pre-resurrection, conscious, living person has/can/or will ever breach the divide (Luke 16:26↔Genesis 1:6-8, 7:11).⁴ Also we have Scriptures talking about the cosmos like a scroll or carpet that can be rolled up (Isaiah 34:4; Revelation 6:14), so that presumably the cosmos, despite the vastness science attributes to it, is nothing more than smoke and mirrors [↔Isaiah 40:22, 51:6].

   Now let us apply the same concept to the area Genesis’ Eden was located on and the ‘parallel’ dimension Adam was evicted to: Again, a divide that neither can be breached (Genesis 3:23-24) nor can be seen with the naked eye. Besides the Euphrates, what other factor links both ‘dimensions’? The Tree of Life (Genesis 3:22↔Revelation 22:2), which must be eaten from apparently to sustain immortal flesh—suggesting that immortal flesh must be continuously nourished in order to retain immortality. Why else, when all the evils mortal flesh is heir to have been done away with (Revelation 21:4), will the leaves of the Tree of Life be used “for the healing of the nations” (Revelation 22:2)?

   In the Garden of Eden land creatures, as well as Man and Woman, were vegetarian (Genesis 1:20-22,28-30). The fact that birds spontaneously sprang fully formed—as did all other creatures—undermines evolutionary theories; especially dinosaurs science posits took to the skies as birds and evangelicals memorialize in Genesis-themed attraction parks. Moreover, this presents us with an order of things diametrically opposed to nature as we know it. It comes as no surprise, then, than in Father‘s Kingdom predation will be done away with: Land animals will live in a state of complete harmony and back to eating plants. “The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the leopard will lie down with the goat; the calf and young lion and fatling will be together, and a little child will lead them. The cow will graze with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox…and the snake his bread of dust, and they shall do no harm, nor shall they destroy in all My holy mountain” (Job 5:23; Isaiah 11:6-7, 65:25). Because the sea will no longer exist (Revelation 21:1), Scripture does not mention sea creatures in any of its scenarios—though we must not discard river creatures [if any] or those unimagined things Father will blow our minds with (1Corinthians 2:9).

Father’s Holy Mountain

   Where is this “holy mountain”? Lucifer mentions it in Isaiah 14:13, which in turn links us to Psalms 48:2: “Beautifully situated, the joy of all the earth, Mount Zion towards the north, the city of the great King.” Which King? Father, of course (Isaiah 44:6), with Jesus as deputized “King of kings and Lord of lords” over Father‘s nation (Revelation 19:6). But “north” of where? Up in Heaven in relation to down on earth? Possibly, but lacking Scriptural corroboration, a moot point; though we know that the Holy City at present on a “mountain great and high” will descend from above to a specific location below (Revelation 21:10↔Galatians 4:26; Hebrews 11:14-16).

   Who are those “kings” Jesus outranks? Some of the redeemed (Revelation 5:9-10), specifically those chosen for positions of power not by Jesus but by Father (Mark 10:37-40). Why would Jesus not be in a position to grant James’ and John’s request to sit on both sides of his throne? Because Father calls the shots and Jesus, like everybody else, is subservient to Him. Which tells us what? They are not the same Person: Father is the Highest God Who answers to no other god (Deuteronomy 32:39; Isaiah 45:5-7), but Son, His appointed proxy God, acknowledges Him as his God (1Corinthians 15:28; Revelation 3:12).

   Where else do we hear about this mountain? In Daniel 2:35: “The rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth.” Please note the expression “filled the whole earth”: No room seems to be left over for anything else—perhaps the reason why there is no longer a sea in Father‘s Kingdom? Daniel is prophesying a time when all human governments on earth will be done away with, democracies as well as tyrannies; which is a way of trumping one of Satan’s Royal Flush cards: the patriotism/nationalism by which he keeps men divided and at loggerheads with each other. This will only take place at Armageddon, when Father incinerates them all out of existence (Revelation 20:9↔Hebrews 10:27).

   But where exactly will Armageddon take place? In the so-called Valley of the Slaughter [i.e., Hinnom Valley, Topheth↔Joshua 15:8, 18:16; 2Kings 23:10; Jeremiah 7:31], an unclean area surrounding the earthly Jerusalem (Jeremiah 7:31, 19:6-7) where human sacrifices took place (2Chronicles 28:3, 33:6↔Jeremiah 32:35) and carcasses of sacrificial animals were disposed of. This is the “Gehenna” Jesus mentioned in Luke 12:5, instructing his disciples to fear the Father Who could destroy both body and soul in that conflagration, perhaps referencing Isaiah 30:31-33: “For Assyria will be shattered at Yahweh’s voice; He will strike them with His scepter…For Topheth has long been prepared; it has been made ready for the king [Satan, leading his global army?↔Luke 4:5-6↔Revelation 20:7-9]. Its funeral pyre is deep and wide, with plenty of fire and wood. Yahweh’s breath, like a torrent of burning sulfur, sets it ablaze.” It does not take rocket science to surmise that this is the lake of fire and brimstone where Satan and all the unrighteous will get their deserved punishment (Revelation 19:20, 20:14-15↔Isaiah 13:7-8↔Luke 16:24).

   All of which leads us back to Zechariah 14:3-4: “Then shall Yahweh [Son] go forth, and fight against those nations [↔Daniel 10:20; Revelation 19:11-16], as when he fought in the day of battle. And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south”—thus creating the Valley of Slaughter where Armageddon takes place.

   Yet we must not think that the Holy City, despite the wording of Revelation 20:9, will be resting upon the earth, but rather hovering over—or at least visible from—the area where Satan’s armies will gather round. And judging by the precedent established in 2Chronicles 20:15-23, neither Jesus nor the redeemed watching from the ramparts of the Holy City will engage in any type of battle: Father will make mincemeat of the lot. It is not coincidental that Joel 3:2,12 speaks of Armageddon as the Valley of Jehoshaphat, the King of Judah who prefigured Jesus at that future battle where all evil nations will be judged. Please note the link between Joel 2:13 and Revelation 14:15-20. Revelation 21:1-2,10 tell us that the Holy City will descend from Heaven after a new order of things has been created; therefore this descent can only take place after Father‘s fire has melted away the ‘dimension’—our world—superimposed on the eternal foundation (Isaiah 45:18↔1Samuel 2:8; Job 38:4; Psalms 24:2, 90:2, 104:5; Proverbs 8:29; Ecclesiastes 1:4; Micah 6:2)—which is the gist of Amos 9:5, Micah 1:4, Nahum 1:5, Zephaniah 1:2-3 and Revelation 16:18-20, 21:1.

Father’s Holy City

   The Heavenly Jerusalem is not a place being built up: It is a done deal (Hebrews 11:16). It is up there with all the other supernatural things our astonishing space telescopes seem to miss—or are not able to detect, as for example, the stash of hail to fall during the final plagues (Job 38:22-23↔Revelation 16:21). The Holy City is described in Revelation 21:11-27. The doors are inscribed with the names of the Patriarchs (Revelation 21:12); after all, salvation came from the Jews (John 4:22), meaning not circumcised, ethnic Jews, but all Judeo-Christians who having circumcised their hearts are Abraham’s offspring by virtue of faith (Jeremiah 4:4; Romans 2:29 4:16; Galatians 3:28). Ethnic pride is one of the toxic strands Satan has CRISPR-ed into human hearts and keeps Father‘s objective from being realized (Ephesians 1:9-10)—though realized it will be in due time whether elitist Jews or Christians want it or not (Ezekiel 37:22).

   The City’s foundations are inscribed with the names of the Apostles (Revelation 21:14);⁵ memorializing the Christian contribution of which Jesus himself was the cornerstone (Acts 4:11). The City has no Temple (Revelation 21:22): Father has chosen to live in the hearts of every redeemed (Revelation 21:3) making up, like living stones, the conceptual Church which is the Son‘s body (Colossians 2:9; Ephesians 2:19-22, 5:23,30; Hebrews 3:6; 1Timothy 3:15; 1Peter 2:5; Revelation 3:12). And although there will be days and nights throughout Father‘s Kingdom [↔Isaiah 30:6], the Holy City “does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp” (Revelation 21:23, 22:5).

   As ordained, sabbaths will be held on seventh days: Despite the neo-Christian penchant for first-day, Sunday worship, the Seventh Day Sabbath is Father‘s specific signal between Him and His people (Exodus 31:13; Ezekiel 20:12), which will be observed perpetually in His Kingdom (Isaiah 66:22-23). Isaiah 66:23, Ezekiel 20:40 and Zechariah 14:16 all agree: “It shall happen that from one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, all flesh will come to worship before Me,” says Yahweh [Father]…”For in My holy mountain, in the mountain of the height of Israel,” says the Lord Yahweh [Father], “there all the house of Israel, all of them, shall serve Me in the land. There I will accept them, and there I will require your offerings and the first fruits of your offerings, with all your holy things…It will happen that everyone who is left of all the nations that came against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, Yahweh of Armies [Son], and to keep the feast of booths.” Where inveterate Sunday worshippers [↔Matthew 7:21; Romans 2:13] fit in all of this is left to readers to contemplate and, God willing, come to their senses before the time of grace expires.

The Kingdom of God

   Jesus gave us a few pointers. “In my Father’s house are many homes. If it weren’t so, I would have told you. I am going to prepare a place for you” (John 14:2); and he made it quite clear that this Kingdom, prepared before mankind’s beginnings (Matthew 25:34), was given to him so that he could share it with followers who had suffered as he had (Luke 22:28-30↔Romans 8:17; 2Timothy 2:12). Consequently, Jesus spoke of the Kingdom as Father‘s property, inherited by him because of his sacrifice on behalf of humankind (Psalms 2:8; Revelation 5:9-10)—which at the risk of sounding like a broken record tells us once again that Father and Son are not either the same person [donor vis-à-vis recipient] or on of the same rank (John 14:28; Revelation 3:12).

   Jesus also told us he would not drink wine again until Father‘s Kingdom had come (Matthew 26:29), which suggests an agricultural society (Isaiah 30:23; Ezekiel 34:23-30↔Deuteronomy 11:8-15); and while in the usual fashion Scripture mixes past and future events in the same prophetic narrative, the Israel in the Middle East is no land “flowing with milk and honey” (Deuteronomy 11:9), nor the crown jewel of all lands (Ezekiel 20:5-6). Scripture is obviously referencing Father‘s Kingdom [substance] with all its possible and yet unknown glories, whereas Canaan was and is a measly shadow of it.

   Finally, eating habits. Being immortal flesh and not disembodied spirits [↔Luke 24:39-43], the redeemed will partake of food. First in the Kingdom’s calendar of events is the so-called “wedding feast of the Lamb” (Revelation 19:9), which Jesus mentioned in Luke 12:37, 22:30. How Jesus will manage to serve the millions upon millions who will be in attendance (Revelation 5:11↔Genesis 15:5) boggles the mind; yet not only are all things possible with God (Mark 10:27) but the laws of physics as we know them will no longer be operant. How can we tell this? Because time will no longer exist in a creation made from scratch minus the physical laws which control our reality.

   Still such a wedding is the subject of Isaiah 25:6-7: “And in this mountain will Jehovah [Son] make unto all peoples a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined. And he will destroy on this mountain the shroud that is cast over all peoples, the veil [the old cosmos?↔Isaiah 40:22] that is spread over all nations,” the expansion between heavenly and earthly beings [↔Genesis 1:7-8]. While the noun “marrow” suggests the fatty tissue that fills most animal bones, it is doubtful given the return to Eden-like vegetarianism that animal foodstuffs are intended; instead, the innermost, choices parts of vegetable marrow are probably meant. For those lamenting the proscription of animal flesh, remember that such yearnings made trouble for the Israelites (Numbers 11:4-34); so focus instead on the fact that “the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 14:17).

The Final Objective

   Paul explained it to us in Ephesians 1:10, 4:4-6: Father‘s plan “for the fullness of times, to sum up all things in Christ, in heaven and on earth…[into] one body and one Spirit…one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” In short, subsuming into Father everything that Adam’s sin split away from Him; which this time around necessitates doing away with free will (Jeremiah 32:40; Ezekiel 36:26-28). Why then did Father give men free will in the first place? 1) To leave a patent record of who would and would not choose to submit to Him; 2) to show men what existence outside His perfection would be like; and 3) to teach men to learn the value of what was freely given in love yet never fully appreciated. We all know the adage: People never know the value of something until they lose it; and Adam, sitting pretty in Eden will everything given him on the proverbial silver platter, would not out of gratitude obey God in the one solitary thing He asked of him despite warnings of dire consequences (Genesis 2:16-17).

   Now this holy nation whipped into shape by Jesus does not consist exclusively of Jews and Christians, but includes non-Judeo/Christians who while not know chapter and verse yet behave in ways pleasing to Father. They are amongst those referenced by Peter in Acts 10:34-25 and by Paul in Romans 2:14-16. They will be chosen from amongst diverse nationalities: “In that time, a present will be brought to Yahweh of Armies [Son] from a people tall and smooth, even from a people awesome from their beginning onward, a nation [Ethiopia] that measures out and treads down, whose land the rivers divide, to the place of the name of Yahweh of Armies, Mount Zion (Jeremiah 3:14-18)…In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria. The Assyrians will go to Egypt and the Egyptians to Assyria. The Egyptians and Assyrians will worship together. In that day Israel will be the third, along with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing on the earth. Yahweh of Armies will bless them, saying, ‘Blessed be Egypt my people, Assyria my handiwork, and Israel my inheritance’” (Isaiah 18:7, 19:23-25). And while Son may be the ruling King over Holy Jerusalem, the nations of the world will go there to worship Father (Psalms 86:9-10), Jesus’ own God (Revelation 3:12).

   And this is why it was necessary to preach the Gospel to everyone in the world before Jesus’ return and Judgment Day (Mark 16:15; Acts 1:8; Colossians 1:23). While the Bible focuses on Israel and Middle Eastern nations to illustrate Gospel dynamics, that did not mean writing off the rest of mankind from the salvation to be found in Jesus. Father is no respecter of persons; and to Him neither Israeli, nor American, nor European, nor what-have-you ranks any better or worse above/below any ethnicity or race (Galatians 3:28). It is we human beings, prodded by Satan’s loveless mindsets, who institutionalize the biases, hatreds and xenophobic behaviors which we piggy-back onto religious beliefs despised by Father and Son. No wonder then, that as humanity wallows in apostasy, human nature has degraded to the extent Paul prophesied about (1Timothy 4:1-3; 2Timothy 3:1-5).

Which is nothing new, given that Jesus himself warned us of times when parents and children might be instrumental in each other’s deaths (Matthew 10:21). Therefore those readers who prioritize family regardless of true Christian conversion should consider directing loyalties to Him Who stands to do the most good for everyone concerned [↔1Samuel 2:30; Psalms 45:10-11]. Case in point: Though only Noah out of the whole of humanity at his time found grace in Yahweh’s eyes (Genesis 6:7-8), his faith ensured the survival of his entire family (Hebrews 11:7; 2Peter 2:5).

   Let Father‘s vision of unity be the inspiration that guides us towards that most cherished of destinations; where we may find, at long last, the true meaning of happiness amongst the family of faith which will never be our lot in this world.

¹ Namely, Pishon [unknown], Hiddekel [Tigris], Euphrates, and Gihon [unknown] said to encompass the whole land of Ethiopia (Genesis 2:11-14).

² Especially in relation to the rainbow, Yahweh Son‘s particular sign (Genesis 9:12-16↔Matthew 24:30; Revelation 10:1-2). Please note that in Genesis 9:16, the God speaking to Noah and his children (Genesis 9:8) is talking about a covenant other than the eternal covenant between Father and mankind (Genesis 9:16); yet again another way Scripture tells us there is a speaking God [Yahweh Son] and a higher God [Father] Whose semblance and voice have not been heard by men (John 1:18, 5:37). Thus, when Yahweh Son was telling Noah he would not bring another Flood upon mankind, he was also informing Noah of a future covenant Father would strike with men (Jeremiah 32:40).

³ Which in modern evangelism has become a boastful label without any substance to it [↔Galatians 6:3].

⁴ Moses, as it will be remembered, had died prior to entering Canaan (Deuteronomy 34:5-6); yet the debate between Michael and Satan was over Moses’ body (Zechariah 3:1-3; Jude 1:9). Though we know Enoch, Moses and Elijah to be the only conscious human beings in Heaven, Scripture does not tell us whether their flesh is mortal or immortal; or if a special dispensation was made in their cases.

⁵ Judas Iscariot’s name being substituted by Matthias’ (Acts 1:20-26).