“After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side[e] of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.”
As often as I’ve read Genesis in my lifetime, it’s only just occurred to me that the Garden of Eden wasn’t destroyed or removed. It wasn’t even hidden, only blocked. I don’t know why I ever thought anything happened to the garden itself. Perhaps because where the location appears to be, there doesn’t seem to be any such garden there that I know of.
If one was to ask Matt Slick from the website carm.org he would be adamant that the garden still exists today, despite the global flood, despite all the trials our planet has been through, and even all celestial bodies putting dents into the Earth. His reasoning is that God created the garden, and when Adam and Eve had been banished, he placed angels at the entrance to ensure no one could ever enter the garden and with angels guarding it, it would be hidden from prying eyes.
But to ask anyone else, many would be convinced that BECAUSE of the flood during Noah’s time, the garden would not have survived, however Matt argues that had the garden been buried under water for a time, once surfaced, there would still be regrowth.
Others argue that even if the garden were to exist, no one could know where it is. People assume it’s in the Middle East because of the rivers mentioned in Genesis, but Ken Ham, from answersingenesis.org has a solid argument that it might not even be in the Middle East.
If one looks at the streets, suburbs, towns and cities in today’s world, there are repeated names in other parts of the globe. For example, one could find Newcastle in England, but it can also be found in NSW on the east coast of Australia. There is a Melbourne in the Victorian State of Australia, but there is also a Melbourne located in Florida in the United States.
As Ken states, when places are being named, people will name them from the places they know. After the great flood, when Noah was perhaps naming rivers, he would have only known of the rivers from before the flood, so it’s only natural he would use those names for other rivers after the flood. This, in itself, gives a good argument that the Garden of Eden might very well not be in the Middle East. The bible doesn’t mention if, during the flood, the Ark floated off in any direction or just stayed put, and any sailor could tell you that with storms, or even rain, it can push a boat, no matter how big, in whatever direction the current takes.
I’m sure with some mathematical calculations of the topography of where Noah landed, a specialist could determine which way the current led as it’s believed that the surface of the land beneath the water dictates the direction and flow of water, but as yet, where Noah’s Ark is has also yet to be determined.
So whether it’s still well guarded by angels as Matt believes, or located elsewhere at Ken mentions, and with the lack of knowledge of the location of where the Ark ever landed, will we ever know the location of the Garden of Eden. It is, however, mentioned in Revelations that Eden will be restored, so no doubt, there will come a time when access will once again be granted into the Garden of Eden.
For now, I will add one final thought to this. With the entrance to the Garden facing East, anyone approaching it would then be facing west. With the flaming sword also placed at the entrance along with the angels, and if that God given sword just happened to be spinning, then anyone approaching it might easily mistake the sword at the entrance of the garden for the setting sun, in which case, deterring them to approach any closer.
TigerSpirit's Corner 