Q. Where do you think the Garden of Eden was?

A. I will give my opinion on it and some reasons why
but there is no way to get into a detailed study of it
in this article, but you can go to the Internet and do
some research on it. There are several sites offered
by many good scholars but I believe that the Garden of
Eden was in Jerusalem and the Land of Eden was Israel
and parts of Lebanon. Here are some reasons why but I
can't get into massive details here. First of all,
directions in the Bible are always from Jerusalem or
the land itself. So, when God says that He drove Adam
"east" it is from the future site of Jerusalem. Have
you ever asked yourself why that city and that land is
so special to the Lord? Now east of Jerusalem is one
of the oldest cities in the world called Jericho.
North of Jericho is a city called Adam and it was
where he lived according to some Jewish and Arabic
histories and traditions. Jewish tradition has Adam
and Eve buried in the cave at Machpelah, which is the
same cave Abraham bought and where the patriarchs are
buried, except for Joseph. God considers Israel His
land, set apart for His people. Ever wonder why He
drives His people out of the land when they don't obey
his commandments? Because He did the same thing to
Adam and Eve when they disebeyed! The Mishkan(or
Tabernacle) was seen as a miniature "Garden of Eden"
and later was replaced by the Temple of Solomon. But
they could not put the Temple just anywhere, it had to
be in a specific area and the place was eventually
shown to Samuel and David. But David could not build
the Temple because he was a "man of blood" and so his
son Solomon (peace) would build it. The reason is
simple. The Temple was going to be on the actual site
of the Tree of Life and a man of death could not
restore it. It was sin that resulted in death that
caused man to be driven from the site of the Tree of
Lifein the first place, so a man of peace was the only
one who could restore it. He is obviously a picture of
Yeshua who will build the Temple seen by the Prophet
Ezekiel (Ch 40-48). Solomon was shown the pattern for
the Temple. Now when you read about what he built you
will see that the Holy of Holies made with a garden
motif.There were trees and pomegranates everywhere. He
also built two 14 ft. Cherubim that stood in the Holy
of Holies to guard the Tree of Life and no man could
get near that spot except one time a year, on the
tenth day of Tishri, called the Yom Kippur. Many
believe it was on the tenth of Tishri that Adam sinned
and it became an idiom for Yom Kippur to this day.
That's why God allowed the High Priest to approach the
Tree of Life one day only. Was it because it was on
that day Adam sinned, and the second Adam (symbolized
by the High Priest) must make atonement?
Ever wonder why the Middle East has so much oil? Could
it be because of the compressed vegetation from Eden?
Eden was not a small place originally. In the Book of
Revelation we see the restored Eden, called the New
Jerusalem, coming out of Heaven having a length and
width of 1500 miles. God drove Adam out of the Garden
area east, and if you go to Jerusalem today and travel
just east of the city you come to the Judean
wilderness. Jerusalem and it's surroundings are green
and was very luxurious anciently, but going east of
the city it became desolate and seemingly "cursed" and
a stark contrast to the city, just like what God told
Adam. In Ezekiel 28.13-14 it talks about Eden being
the "garden" and "mountain of God" and that seems to
point to Mt. Moriah. Another name for Mt. Moriah is
"Har- Moghed or "Har magedon" which means "mount of
the appointed times" (Isa 14.13, Rev 16.16). Where did
God go to "meet" Adam every day? That's right, on that
mount where the Temple would stand. You see, the
battle that raged in the garden is still the battle
today. Are you going to keep the Lord's appointed
times found in the Torah (festivals, Sabbath) or are
you going to replace them with a satanic counterfeit
like Christmas and Easter (notice there is "east"
again). The battle of Armageddon is over whether or
not one is going to obey God and His Torah. If not,
you will not have a place on His Holy mountain, the
site of the Garden of Eden and the Tree of Life.
Ezekiel describes a river that will once again flow
from beneath the Temple (Garden) just like it did in
Genesis 2.10. Now remember, Yeshua was crucified on
Mt. Moriah and probably very near the spot where Adam
originally sinned. Remember it was from a forbidden
(by God) tree that he ate from and it is possible that
that tree was just north of the Tree of Life in the
Garden of Eden. That's why Yeshua was crucified on a
tree, north of the Holy of Holies (the original site
of the Tree of Life)and near a garden, on the spot
where Adam may have sinned so long ago. Now, since the
goal of the plan of God is the restoration of all
things, it would seem to be in the order of all things
to restore the Tree of Life back in it's proper place.
Noah's flood changed the topography of the area and so
it would be impossible to actually locate the Garden,
the Tree of Life and how the rivers interacted today,
but I believe the Lord has given us plenty of signs as
to where it may have been. When we see the roles that
the Land of Israel, the city of Jerusalem and Mount
Moriah has played in Bible prophecy and in the
redemption of mankind, I believe that gives us a
strong indication as to where the Garden of Eden
really was. But that is my opinion on it for what it's
worth. That's one of those questions I'm still working on.