Location of the Garden of Eden

[Dr. John Nay]

Garden of Eden in Egypt? In Genesis 2:10-14 we read a river that separated into four headwaters. These headwaters were the Pishon, Gihon, Tigris, and Euphrates. Two of these rivers are familiar Biblically, the Tigris and Euphrates. If one heads east from Jerusalem across the Arabian Desert they will initially come to the Euphrates and next the Tigris. The area between these rivers is called Mesopotamia (means, "between the rivers"). This area between the rivers is very fertile. Because these rivers are referred to in Genesis, chapter 2, many believe the Garden of Eden was located somewhere in this area. However, I believe the Bible does teach that there was a single continent (Pangea) before the Flood. During the Flood, and especially at the close of the Flood, this single continent was torn apart (techtonics proposes this took place over millions of years). Sooooooooooo, where the Garden of Eden was before the Flood?????? I don't know. Egypt???? -- perhaps. It is interesting that anthropologists (people that study man - several of my freshman girls do) propose that the center of Pangea was located in the region of what is now referred to as Mesopotamia.

[Skepti Que]

How big do you think the Garden of Eden was? What kind of physical separation was there between the Garden and what ever was not Garden? What were conditions like outside the Garden? What was the carrying capacity of the Garden?

[Dr. John Nay]

Size of Garden - Don't know. Genesis 2:8, "Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed." Genesis 2:15 says, "The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden." I do believe the Bible teaches a single continent before the Flood and that that continent (lithosphere) relative to the seas (hydrosphere) was roughly 7/8th of Earth (I get this from my view of geology, as the Bible doesn't tell us the size of the lithosphere). In other words, I propose that the land to sea ratio was approximately opposite of what it is now. Soooooooooooo, the Garden placed in Eden might well have been very large.

Separation - As to what marked the boundaries of the Garden I do not know. However, it appears that there were boundaries, as Cherubim were stationed and a flaming sword to guard the way to the tree of life. As you've noted the Garden was in Eden, implying an out of Eden.

Conditions - The water-vapor canopy (second day) of Genesis 1:6-8 had a profound impact on climatic conditions (not only this, but the weather too! for the entire earth before the Flood. I believe that the Arctic and Antarctica were no less than approximately 65 degrees fahrenheit, with no more than 75 degrees fahrenheit at the equator (actually slightly below the equator) I have extensive information supporting (what I believe to be) the fact that climatic condions on Earth were vastly different than they are today. Sooooooooooooo, I believe that Earth had a temperate climate before the Flood. There is an estimated 14 trillion tons of coal on Earth. It takes approximately 7-10 cubic feet of plant foliage to form a single cubic foot of coal. Coal is found at the extremity of the Arctic and Antarctica, pointing to different climatic conditions on Earth at one time.

[Skepti Que]

Is heaven a restoration of the Garden Of Eden or a new and different place entirely?
The Tree of Life will be in heaven. Is anything else the same?
SQ

[Dr. John Nay]

Garden Of Eden - new and different place entirely?

Personally, I think it will be a new place entirely for the following reasons:

No tree of the knowledge of good and evil
No ?sinful nature?, and thus, no temptation
No death or mourning or crying or pain (Rev 21:4)
No sinners or sin present (Rev 21:8, 27)
No night (Rev 21:23-25; 22:5)
No curse (Rev 22:3 cf. Rms 8:18ff.) Second Law of Thermodynamics

The Tree of Life will be in heaven. Is anything else the same?

For the most part I think not. (God, Jesus, & Holy Spirit same) I do thnk that the "functions" will be different, e.g. Jesus will not longer function as a mediator between God and man (1 Tim 2:5), nor will He need to sustain all things (Col 1:15-18), nor the Comforter need to comfort, etc.

[julian]

David Rohl in his book the Lost Testament proposes a location for Eden east of Lake Urumyia in modern north west Iran. He provides a number of local references to explain the location which I cannot personally verify. However, the location in that region would make sense in the rising of the Tigris and Euphrates. Ezekiel 28 refers to the 'mountain of God' in Eden which ties in with this mountainous region and Noah's ark came to rest in the mountains of Ararat which are also nearby.

[Dr. John Nay]

Julian

I don?t see how we can know where the Garden was before the Flood, in that the Flood was global. I do not know Mr. David Rohl, but I would be pleasantly supprised if he believed that the flood of Genesis was global.

[button66]

How big do you think the Garden of Eden was? What kind of physical separation was there between the Garden and what ever was not Garden? What were conditions like outside the Garden? What was the carrying capacity of the Garden?

I am a n00b and this topic is just way beyond me...