SCRIPTURES: 
Old Testament 
Gen. 1:26-31, Gen. 2:8-20, Gen. 3:22-24, Gen. 4:16, Ex. 19:16, Dt. 4:11-12, Ezek. 28:1-17, Is. 51:16, Ps. 115:16 
New Testament 
Mt. 3:2, Mt. 4:17, Rev. 15:7, Rev. 21:3

Tim Miller

Creation

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<li>Starting point</li>
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8 And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. (Gen. 2:8, ESV)
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<li>End point
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<li>Serpent cursed (Gen. 3:14-15); increased labor pains for the woman (Gen. 3:16); broken relations between men and women (Gen. 3:16; ground cursed (Gen. 3:17); death (Gen. 3:19)</li>
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22 And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” 23 So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. 24 After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life. (Gen. 3:22-24, NIV)
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<li>Mercy, Promise, and Hope for Future Restoration</li>
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3:15 And I will put hostility (“enmity” [ESV, NIV]) between you and the woman and between your offspring (Heb. zěrǎʿ; “seed” [HCSB] ) and her offspring; her offspring will attack your head (“strike your head” [HCSB]; “crush your head” [NIV, TEV], connotations activated by location of strike), and you will attack her offspring’s heel.” 3:21 The Lord God made garments from skin (implying the death of an animal) for Adam and his wife, and clothed them. (Gen. 3:15, 21, NET).

WHEN?

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<li>Region, Mountain, and Garden of Eden</li>
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8 And the Lord God planted a garden (the garden/orchard of Eden itself) in Eden (region in which the garden was planted), in the east (Moses wrote/compiled Genesis during the wilderness wanderings), and there he put the man whom he had formed. 9 And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 10 A river flowed out of Eden (downward movement from higher elevation; cf. Ezek. 28:14—“the holy mountain of God” [ESV]) to water the garden, and there it divided and became four rivers. (Gen. 2:8-10)
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<li>God’s Earthly Governmental Center
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<li>The entire earth was “very good” in God’s sight (Gen. 1:31), and was ready to be shaped and cultivated in beauty; a world full of fertile ground/soil (not yet cursed) and ready to be filled with unspeakable beauty as the Garden grew outward to the rest of the earth</li>
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16 Then Cain went away from the presence of the Lord and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.  (Gen. 4:16, ESV)

WHERE?

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<li>Goal/Purpose
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<li>God’s love for beauty: full of life-giving water and flowing rivers (cf. Gen. 13:10); beautiful and majestic trees, fragrant, many with delicious fruit (Gen. 1:29, 2:9; Ezk. 31:8); a “paradise” (cf. Rev. 2:7); display of his love for life and for humility (Gen. 2:8)</li>
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9 And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight (“all kinds of beautiful trees” [TEV]) and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden (“middle of the orchard” [NET]), and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. (Gen. 2:8, ESV)
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<li>Desire to be with His people in the midst of such beauty (the restoration indicates the original desire as well)</li>
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3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. (Rev. 21:3, ESV)
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<li>For Him (1 Cor. 8:6, Col 1:16)</li>
<li>Wanted us to join with He in decorating and developing the good world He had made</li>
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1:28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply! Fill the earth and subdue it (Heb. kā·ḇǎš; “govern it” [NLT]; “be its master” [NCV]; “bring it under control” [TEV]).! (Gen. 1:28, NET)
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<li>Requirement for continued inclusion
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<li>Humble and grateful acknowledgment of His authority through obedience</li>
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17…for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.” (Gen. 2:17, NASB)

WHY?

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<li>By His word, power, planting (see above)</li>
<li>Administration—in partnership with His image bearers (see above)</li>
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HOW?

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<li>Kingdom of Eden (Definition)</li>
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The Kingdom of Eden was the government established and planted by God in the beginning, when He created heavens and the earth. Its highest and supreme authority is God Himself, whose claim to authority is based on simply on the reality of who He is as the Creator and Planter and Possessor of the Eden and the rest of the earth, and whose authority is backed up by infinite power. Lesser authorities involved in this kingdom included (at least) cherubim and Adam and Eve, who were given authority and specific assignments by God. It was headquartered from the mountain of Eden, in the Garden of Eden, in the region of Eden, and from there it was meant to be cultivated throughout the rest of God’s good creation. It was made up of citizens created by God and put in the Garden by God, with a stipulation of obedience for continued inclusion. It was to be administrated primarily in loving partnership with human beings, although other authorities were on some level involved as well. Although God’s good creation outside of the Garden awaited further adorning and cultivation, the earth existed in a utopian state of perfection before the Fall.

SUMMARY

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<li>How does the picture of Eden painted through today’s lesson compare and contrast with any previous picture of Eden in your mind? What about the serpent?</li>
<li>What do you think work looked like before the Fall?</li>
<li>Why do you think God had Adam name the animals instead of just doing it Himself?</li>
<li>Read Revelation 22. What similarities do you see between this chapter and what we studied today?</li>
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DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

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Jake Paurus

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