GENESIS 3:1-4

Q: How can the garden be a paradise if Satan is present?

I assume from that question that you would define “paradise” as a perfect place. The first thing to note is that Genesis 1 defines the whole of creation as “good” but not necessarily perfect, and Genesis 1:26,28 tells man that he must have dominion over all the living creatures and subdue the earth. Both of these commands imply some sort of struggle, which most of us would define as less than perfect. When God plants the Garden, it nowhere states that this is going to be a more perfect place than the rest of creation, only that it contains trees with fruits that are pleasant to look at and good to eat. (The latter idea was already present in Genesis 1:29.) Man will still have to physically maintain it, not paradise as far as a sedentary person as myself is concerned.

There are three additional indications that the Garden is not perfect. Genesis 2:17 states that at the time the Garden was planted by God, conditions were not even good, let alone perfect – man did not have a mate. Then, as you point out, the serpent was certainly not a “good” being by any stretch of the imagination, and yet Genesis 3:1 goes out of its way to point out that he was made by God. Thirdly, and most importantly, God planted in the middle of the Garden a tree that would lead to the death of anyone who ate from it. So much for a paradise!

So where did the equation Eden = paradise come from? Much of it involves a historical development of language over time. The references to the Garden of Eden in the rest of the Bible are few and far between, and none of them defines it as a perfect place. Ezekiel 28 and 36 contain two taunt songs making fun of then-current leaders in exaggerated terms. Eden is called “the garden of God” in both chapters and it is pictured as a place containing valuable jewels (28:13) and trees almost as grand as the cedars of Lebanon (31:8-9).

The prophets also reference the Garden of Eden in a few descriptions of Israel's future. Ezekiel 36:33-36 promises that one day Israel's abandoned towns will be like the Garden of Eden, which he defines as being “tilled, inhabited and fortified.” This still falls far short of a description of paradise according to our current use of the word. Isaiah goes somewhat further in saying that Zion's waste places will be like “the Garden of Yahweh,” defined as being full of joy, gladness, thanksgiving and song (Isaiah 51:3). The reverse side of the coin uses the Garden of Eden as part of a judgmental prophecy against Israel. Joel (2:1-3) says it will be equivalent to a mighty fire burning up a lush garden and turning it into a desolate wilderness. That is about it for the OT references.

Moving to the NT and the Greek language, the connection between the Garden of Eden and “Paradise” comes primarily from the fact that the Septuagint translates the Hebrew gan (“garden”) in Genesis 2-4 and Ezekiel using the Persian loan word paradeisos, having the original meaning of “enclosure, park, or pleasure ground.” This word appears several times in the NT, where it is usually rendered as “paradise” in Eng

The only other mention of paradise in the NT, as far as I know, is Revelation 2:7 where Jesus promises believers that they can eat of the tree of life in “the Paradise of God.” But Revelation 22 locates that tree in the New Jerusalem, not somewhere in Mesopotamia. Note that many of the images of the Garden of Eden resurface in Revelation 21-22 where they are recycled to describe the New Jerusalem in the New Heaven and Earth. However, that place is not a mere return to Eden in that it is now located in an urban, not a rural, setting, and it is superior to Eden in several ways: no more death, the tree of life can be safely eaten of, no more disease, no night, nothing/no one unclean can enter it, it will last forever, and God will actually dwell there, not just visit on occasion. A true paradise at last!

lish. By the time of the NT references, the word certainly had taken on more of its current meaning. But note that none of the NT references refers directly back to the Garden of Eden in Genesis 2. Thus, in Luke 23:43 Jesus promises the thief on the cross: “This day you will be with me in Paradise.” Also, Paul, in II Corinthians 12:1-5 describes someone (perhaps himself) who was taken, probably in a vision, to the “third heaven,” also called “Paradise.” We don't know exactly what or where this place is, but the best guess is that it is some sort of “holding tank” for believers prior to the Last Judgment.