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Eden: The Garden of God
Day Four - Feast Of Tabernacles

BY HAROLD LEE
October 6, 2009

Sort of made me weak inthe knees listening to— What a wonderful piece that was!

It's interesting. Hewas talking about the dancing on the beach. My personal opinion: Ithink there's no greater—I don't know the right wordseven—expression of just unmasked, let's say, joy than to see youngpeople celebrating and dancing before God and enjoying one another.

The other morning I waswatching the children's choir here and some of the young ones swayingback and forth and clapping their hands. And there was justno—there's no inhibition to them. And I thought about David whenhe was celebrating before God and, of course, Michal criticized him. And she was the one that was in the wrong. I think God, as our Dad,I think He has a special place for that kind of unmasked, unrehearsedspontaneous expressions that our children and the young people. It'stoo bad sometime we just sort of get old and grumpy and grown-up andhairy-chested or back or whatever it is (laughter) and we're justbeyond that. And it's wonderful to me.

I'd like to say Helloto everyone, and say Hello to those that are listening in orwatching. To those that are in Kellogg, Idaho, know that you're inour thoughts and on our minds as well. To those—Mr. Kesting, tothose that are up near Indiana with Mr. Farmer, and, of course,scattered everywhere. Hello to you. Thank you for joining us.

We hope that theenthusiasm, the sermons and all of that that God has inspired. Andremember: God gets the glory! This is for Him. Not for thosepeople that He uses. But we hope that that is contagious and it willcause others to be inspired and to enjoy the Feast and get a glimpseof what God's doing on this earth.

A couple of years ago Iswitched up my sermon. I started at the end. And as a result of thesermonette because there was a Scripture that was touched on, I'mgoing to do that again. I'm going to read my last Scripture first totie it in with the sermonette.

Turn over to Revelationchapter 21. I just want to read a couple of Scriptures. And Ithink, as we go through this, you will see how all of this will tiein. Maybe right now it's sort of hanging out. But I wanted to makesure I had time to get to this because I didn't want to leave itunsaid. I'll start in Revelation 21:10 and just read a couple ofselected Scriptures.

Revelation21:10. And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and highmountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem,descending out of heaven from God, (NKJ)

And remember this part,this is as far in the future as we have the detail that God allows. We know, yes, we're going to live forever, but as far as detail thatwe can kind sort of wrap ideas around, this is the glimpse as farahead as we can see. And it showed the great city, the NewJerusalem, descending and, of course, it describes it.

One thing I did want totalk about is verse 18.

Revelation21:18. The construction of its wall was of jasper; andthe city was pure gold, like clear glass. 19) The foundationsof the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds ofprecious stones: the first foundation was jasper, the secondsapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, 20) the fifthsardonyx, the sixth sardius, the seventh chrysolite, the eighthberyl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth,and the twelfth amethyst. (NKJ)

It talks about thetwelve gates.

But now skip over tochapter 22, which was read in the sermonette. It said:

Revelation22:1. And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear ascrystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. (NKJ)

So out of this throneis this river of water and it's called the "water of life."

Revelation22:2. In the middle of its street, and on either side of theriver, (NKJ)

And notice also—notonly were these rivers:

Revelation22:2b. was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits,each tree yielding its fruit every month. (NKJ)

So in other words, thisin whatever way that we can imagine, this Tree of Life, which as weknow is going to be freely offered, it's also providing nourishment. We could go back and see that there was no need of the sun or themoon. In other words, everything that was required was there out ofthat and it came from God, and it came from God's throne.

It says:

Revelation22:2 cont. each tree yielding its fruit every month. Theleaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. (NKJ)

And then it talks aboutthe curses being lifted.

But this is a pictureof beyond the millennium or perhaps even starting and beyond. But itliterally is a—if you will—a Garden of Eden. And, as we willsee, that it mirrors what God originally intended for man.

Turn over to Johnchapter 5.

Most of you that havebeen around remember that in your tenure in the Church, trials seemedto—I'm going to say—they sort of tended to lump up or occuraround Passover time long ago—the Spring Holy Day season. And wereasoned that Satan was attempting to discourage—and I believe hewas—and to prevent God's people, in other words, to distract usfrom properly preparing for the Holy Days. And, of course we alwaysbreathed a sigh of relief. We would take the Passover; we would gointo that and go "Whew!" And there was a respite. Youwould go from there forward and there was. And then there weretrials around the Fall Holy Days. Of course, a lot of it could bejobs or trying to make arrangements. And then that would come andafter the arrangements were made and the attendance, there wasanother respite. "Whew!"

You know over the lastten years or so, that hasn't been the case—at least in myexperience and with the people that I talk to. It's almost likelooking out at the waves and they just continually come in and theycrash against and they go away and then another set comes rightbehind it. That has a wearing effect on us. The Bible talks about"the wearing down of the saints." And, Brethren, it canhappen to us! We can because of this—the increase in intensity—wecan become discouraged. We can become distracted. We can want togive up.

Look at verse 17. Iwant to just read one verse. John 5:17:

John5:17. But Jesus answered them, "My Father has been workinguntil now, and I have been working." (NKJ)

And I'll read that outof the Revised Standard. It says:

John5:17. But Jesus answered them, "My Father is working still,and I am working." (RSV)

Notice it wasn't: Hedid work; He used to work. If you look at those words and the tensesof those words and the utilization of those words, before there wasan earth They were working. This is a continual process up till thistime and the "still" implies it's going to go on untilbeyond infinity.

These two Beings thatwe understand were referred to as Elohim in the Old Testamenthave been working on a plan that They formulated before there was aphysical universe. As flesh and blood human beings, we exist becauseof Their will and Their desire. And we know that only They canreveal Themselves to us. We can't go out and find them. We can't goout and decide we're going to come to God.

It was mentioned in thesermon on choices. God made the first choice. He is the one thatdecided. He was the one that was called. If you examine it, as Imentioned, at some undefined point in the past—the far distancepast—and continuing as far as we know when Jesus Christ walked theearth and then into the future, They're going to be working.

They are very focused. And the reason that's important, Brethren, is if we get discouraged,it can be that somehow we feel that God is not involved. PerhapsHe's forgotten about me; perhaps in all of these trials, He's pushedme off, He's allowed me to experience these, and He's doing somethingelse. I think one of the very keys to our survival in the verytroubled times that we're in—and, Brethren, that we will continueto be in—is that God and Jesus Christ are very actively, veryintimately involved in what's going on in our lives and in this worldto bring about Their plan. Again if Satan can make us to believethat God is just somehow not involved, He's kind of lost interest,perhaps it was all He's kind of wound this up at the beginning andthen He went away and He's going to come back later to see whathappens. He just doesn't care. Brethren, I guarantee you we willbecome discouraged and we will give up.

Let's spend some timeexamining this today—this "My Father is working, and I work"over time to refresh in our minds just how intimately they areinvolved in our development and from that understanding to draw thestrength and the encouragement that we continue to make the properchoices as Mr. Ross mentioned earlier. That we continue that weleave the Feast dedicated and realizing God is with us and He has aplan and He's working it out. And we know it's going to hurt. Weknow there's going to be pain involved, but He hasn't somehow justgiven up. And if we do that, this coming year will be a time that wecan use to draw encouragement and to draw close to God.

What I'd like to do islet's first look at a very high level summary of what God is doing. Look over in Hebrews chapter 2. Those of you that are in thebusiness world, if you wanted to somehow in the Bible—and againthis is my opinion—find God's "Mission Statement"— Businesses have to have a Mission Statement. Well, here is a goodMission Statement, if you will. Hebrews chapter 2 and verse 9 itsays:

Hebrews2:9. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than theangels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour;that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man. (KJV)

And I've said thisbefore, but I'd just like to reiterate. Remember what God hasinvested in this plan. He's given us the guarantee we say of HisSpirit, but He invested the other Being, the other ElohimBeing, the most precious thing He had—His Son! I look at mychildren and I could not imagine something that I would be forced tohave to just walk away from them or allow them to go through. As aparent, you want to protect. God has invested His Son! And,Brethren, if you realize that, there is no way that He's just goingto "Well, it's not important."

Hebrews2:10. For it became him, for whom are all things, and bywhom are all things, (KJV)

And here's the MissionStatement:

Hebrews2:10b. in bringing many sons unto glory, to make thecaptain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. (KJV)

We gathered here tokeep the Feast and to celebrate the Sabbath-rest that's very sooncoming to all of mankind. We've already looked at, been taught thatmillennium will be administered by the Family of God. It's going tofollow a period of unparalleled destruction and death as we kept theevents leading up to this with the Feast of Trumpets and those. Andwe're here today in this Sabbath to get a foretaste of what is assure and absolute as the sun that was rising this morning.

What I want to do, as Imentioned, was to look forward as far as we can and then let's lookback. And the purpose of this is and human behaviorists saythis—those that study human—what do they call them—humanbehaviorists say that the best predictor of future behavior is pastbehavior. So looking back because remember this is true with God aswell. Remember God said in Hebrews 13:8:

Hebrews13:8. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today, and forever. (KJV)

So we want to know howHe's going to react. Let's look at how He has reacted—Malachi 3:6where He says, "I am the Eternal. I don't change." So Godis very consistent. So by looking at the past, at His past behavior,at His past plans, at His past activities, we can know with suretyhow He's going to.

Turn over to Genesischapter 1.

I don't know why. Ijust remember twenty-thirty years ago as Mr. Armstrong aged and hestarted to—you'd always know. You'd have your Bible open toGenesis 1 when he would come out, because you knew he was going to gothere. And then you knew he was going to go to the two trees. Ihave to tell you as I get older, there's just more and more there. There's things there that I've never seen before and it's like all ofGod's Word—it's just very rich!

But I think as welooked at what's happened with man, we will see what God's desire isfor us. Genesis 1 and we'll start in 1.

Genesis1:1. In the beginning God [And that's Elohim.] createdthe heavens and the earth. (NKJ)

And all of you knowthat that word "created" meant new works. We've gonethrough that so many times. And, of course, you can go over toIsaiah 45:18 and in your own study you can see where it said Hecreated the earth. And that meant that was the new works. That Heformed it to be inhabited. And He didn't create it in the ruin orthe confusion Isaiah says.

Continuing on verse 2,it says:

Genesis1:2. And the earth was (NKJ)

And we know that thatmeant "became." It became:

Genesis1:2b. without form, and void; (NKJ)

Or it became in ruinand chaos—not the way it was originally made. And something tookplace. We can only speculate when and exactly how long it lasted.

Genesis1:2 cont. and darkness was on the face of the deep. And theSpirit of God was hovering (NKJ)

And I think it's beenmentioned it meant "brooding." It meant to brood assomeone would brood over something that was the center of theirattention.

Genesis1:2 cont. was hovering over the face of the waters. (NKJ)

And we know whatessentially follows this. It was in essence a recreation of theearth since it had become to that state of ruin and confusion.

Skip down to verse 26just for the sake of time. It says in verse 26:

Genesis1:26. Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image,according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish ofthe sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all theearth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." 27) So God created man in His own image; in the image of GodHe created him; male and female He created them. 28) Then Godblessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply;fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea,over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves onthe earth." (NKJ)

One of the things thatcomes out here—and I feel this is a fundamental statement aboutGod's love—is God saw mankind and desired that he was part of thiscreation process. Man was not, as I said before, he wasn't just aspecimen. "Okay, cattle and goats and man." God wantedman to be a part of the process. His desire was from the beginningthat man participate in this process. God, because of His love,wanted to share and He wanted man's involvement. Not as a passiveobserver, not to see what God did, but He wanted him to be veryactive.

Skip down over tochapter 2 and verse 19. It says:

Genesis2:19. Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of thefield and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam tosee what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each livingcreature, that was its name. (NKJ)

Can you imagine theSupreme Being—the Creator—and He brought the animals and said,"Well, what do you want to call this one?" He cared! Itwasn't like "Well, I don't like that name. Let's call him—" "I don't like elephant. Let's call him big-nose" orsomething. Adam had the prerogative. And God wanted him to do that,because God wanted Adam's buy-in into this process.

Genesis2:20. So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air,and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found ahelper comparable to him. (NKJ)

I think we as humanbeings—I know I do—and we always have efficiency drilled in ourmind. How can you do something faster, cheaper, more efficient? There's an entire industry that has developed. They're typified bythe guys in the white coats with the clipboard and the two stopwatches and they go around the production lines. And movements aretimed and analyzed and changes to get the most out of—you've got tosqueeze the most— Can we made twenty-one widgets an hour insteadof twenty widgets an hour?

In the homes, even in aresidential home, when they design it steps are analyzed, especiallyin the kitchen. There's something called "The Golden Triangle"and that's the refrigerator, the sink and the stove. And there arethe number of steps that are idealized to be the most efficient. Sohow do you get from the kitchen to the cutting board to the sink tothe stove most efficiently? There are recommendations for all ofthat.

Everything we do in ourcommute. Okay, my GPS. How can I get to work the quickest? Now,that I don't blame you. That's probably not a good example for thatone. But everything in our lives are scrutinized and adjusted tomaximize our output. We're so conditioned to look at the end productas the important part and not the process. Brethren, we're on ajourney and that journey is important as is the destination.

Look at a child. What's important to a child? Is it to get from point A to point B? Or is it to look at things along the path—the butterfly, the bug,the flower?

I occasionally walk mygrandson to the bus stop or I pick him up at school. And I'mretired. I don't have to keep a set schedule as far as that. But Ipick him up at school and I'm always pulling him behind me. He'swanting to dawdle and I'm, "Come on! Let's go! Let's movealong." And I put him in the car to drive him home for what? Itake him to school and he wants to look at the shiny rock. "Lookat this rock, Grampa." "Come on. Let's go. Let's catchthe bus." Why didn't I leave five minutes early and dawdle withhim? Again, you never have to say to a kid, "Slow down alittle"—well, yes; they do when they're running in your house(laughter). "Don't get dressed so fast."

If God would have beenlike us, He would have come to Adam and said, "Adam, here's achart. Study it. It's all the names of the animals. There'll be atest on it tomorrow. And you better be ready." No. That's notwhat it's about. So "Adam, instead of chasing the birds andlooking at the beautiful sunset I gave you, I want your nose to thegrindstone."

I said this before andI'm sure it was true with Adam. If I have a twenty minute project, Ican take my grandkids to help me and they can make the efficiency ofturning that twenty minute project into about an hour and a half! Kayden and Kelty, they like to help me water the plants around thehouse. It takes about twenty minutes. Of course, they want to takethe sprinkler and the first one the plant is and "Oh, wait aminute! There's a bug. He needs a bath (laughter). So the bug getsa bath. "Oh, wait a minute! A butterfly!" And they'reoff chasing the butterfly with the sprinkler. You go around thecorner and there's the sprinkler on the ground spraying water andthey're over examining the butterfly or the cricket. I'm sure youknow the routine, all of you that have done that.

God wanted Adaminvolved not because it was the most efficient. It was because Heloved Adam and He loved spending time with Adam!

Verse 8 chapter 2 ofGenesis:

Genesis2:8. The Eternal God [Notice!] planted a garden eastward inEden, and there He put the man whom He had formed. (NKJ)

Notice it was God'sgarden. It belonged to Him, but He made it for man. He made it toshare with man. And this garden provided everything that man wouldneed. It provided his sustenance. It provided all of the thingsthat man wanted including eternal life. There it is! "Freelytake of it. It's yours. Just stay away from this one. Make theright choice, Adam."

If you want a title fortoday's sermon, it is Eden: The Garden of God.

Genesis2:9-10. And out of the ground the Lord God made every tree growthat is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of lifewas also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of theknowledge of good and evil. 10) Now a river went out of Eden towater the garden, and from there it parted and became fourriverheads. (NKJ)

And it goes through thenames. And it says:

Genesis2:15. Then the [Eternal] God took the man and put him in thegarden of Eden to tend and keep [or to dress and to keep] it. (NKJ)

Man had dominion overthe earth; was given a beautiful place to live; a place where God, asI mentioned, would provide all of his needs, and, even according toGod's will, who wanted him involved, his job was to dress and tokeep. "I give you this beauty. I've given you the necessities. Now make it more beautiful. Put your personality into it. Put whatyou understand. And, oh by the way, there's The Tree of Life for youas well."

God started Hiscreation—I believe—with a template of what He was doing and whatHe was going to provide for man's physical and spiritual needs,because remember: the garden had both physical and spiritual needs! And also the relationship that He desired, because remember God spenttime in the garden with man that He created.

We see in the Biblethat things on the earth, the physical, are representations of thingsthat are spiritual. God's throne was represented by the tabernacleand later the temple during the time that God dwelled with Israel. And the layout of the temple—and there's been sermons on this—andthe accoutrements of the temple having all meaning relating to whatmust be or what God has or what is in the spiritual. Even to thespeculation—and I want to use that word "speculation"—thatperhaps the animal kingdom was an analog to the angelic realm. Andagain we don't know. We do know some of the angelics like the fourcreatures and they had heads of the faces of the animal as well as aface of a man.

But using this premisein this case, I want to ask the question: Was the physical Garden ofEden a representation—perhaps—prior to that of a spiritual gardenthat God had made and God worked in? Was there a spiritual Eden thatGod had made that preceded the physical garden of the earth?

Look over in Ezekielchapter 28. You're familiar with this. This is the lamentation ofthe King of Tyre. Ezekiel 28 verse 12, it says:

Ezekiel28:12. "Son of man, take up a lamentation for the king ofTyre, and say to him, 'Thus says the Eternal God: "You were theseal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. 13) Youwere in Eden, the garden of God; (NKJ)

Now if you look in thecommentaries, they'll tell you that this is referring to King Hiramwho was the King of Tyre and his dynasty and he became very puffed upbecause of it. That Eden was the lush coast lands of Tyre and on andon and on.

We've alwaysunderstood, Brethren, that the King of Tyre was referring to Satanthe adversary. Now we do know that Satan was in the Garden of Edencontemporary with Adam and Eve. But is that the Eden that this isreferring to? Let's just continue on, it says:

Ezekiel28:13. You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stonewas your covering: (NKJ)

Now this is the onlyplace in the Bible this Hebrew word "covering"— It'sStrong's 4540. And I'm not as smart as Mr. Steve Buchanan;I'm going to try to pronounce it, but I apologize for those that knowthe right way: mecukkah (mes-ook-kaw'). And it means agarniture, an added embellishment.

He goes on and He says:

Ezekiel28:13b. Every precious stone was your covering: thesardius, topaz, and diamond, Beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire,turquoise, and emerald with gold. (NKJ)

These stones that werehis covering were much more than just an ornamental covering. Theyimplied a position that he had in God's government.

Hold your finger thereand turn over to Exodus 28, or set a marker.

And by the way, one ofthe listeners sent me a double-fisted handful of bookmarks(laughter). And they're on the information table. So you might wantto get those and there's a lot of them so if you want to have two orthree. But when I say, "Set a bookmark," you have noexcuse for not having a bookmark. Thanks to one of our listeners.

God gave Moses somevery specific instructions for the attire of the high priest. Andone of the items was the breastplate of lights and we come to call itthe "Urim and Thummin"—well, the Bible calls itthat—which was translated "lights in perfection." Let'slook at verse 29 of Exodus 28:

Exodus28:29. "So Aaron shall bear the names of the sons of Israelon the breastplate of judgment over his heart, when he goes into theholy place, as a memorial before the [Eternal] continually. 30) "And you shall put in the breastplate of judgment the Urimand the Thummin, and they shall be over Aaron's heart when he goes inbefore the [Eternal]. So Aaron shall bear the judgment of thechildren of Israel over his heart before the [Eternal] continually. (NKJ)

Now skip down to verse15, Exodus 28:15.

Exodus28:15. "You shall make the breastplate of judgment. Artistically woven according to the workmanship of the ephod youshall make it: of gold, blue, purple, and scarlet thread, andfine woven linen, you shall make it. 16) "It shall be doubledinto a square: a span (NKJ)

And The Bible in BasicEnglish says, "a handbreadth"—or "hand-stretch"is what they say. The Geneva Bible says a "handbreadth."

Exodus28:16b. shall be its length, and a span shall beits width. (NKJ)

So it was square.

Exodus28:17. "And you shall put settings of stones in it, fourrows of stones: the first row shall be a sardius, atopaz, and an emerald; this shall be the first row; 18) "thesecond row shall be a turquoise, a sapphire, and a diamond; 19) "the third row, a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; 20)"and the fourth row, a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper. They shallbe set in gold settings. (NKJ)

It's interesting and Idon't know the significance of it, but I'm sure there is. These areexactly the same stones—except for the third row—that Satan hadand was covered with—the first row, the second row, and the fourthrow. And again I don't know the significance of it, but rememberthese were for the high priest. And these were for providing God'swill to the people.

The reason I want tobring this up is it says he was covered with those, yet when we lookin the book of Job, Satan is not pictured with those. I believe thisGarden of God, this Eden when he had these stones was in the spiritrealm before he rebelled. I don't believe—because I think that Godstripped him of those when he sinned and those were actually thecoverings prior to his rebellion.

Okay, back to Ezekiel28:

Ezekiel28:13. You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stonewas your covering: the sardius, topaz, and diamond, Beryl,onyx, and jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold. Theworkmanship of your timbrels and pipes (NKJ)

And notice this!

Ezekiel28:13b. The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes wasprepared for you (NKJ)

In other words, it wasmade for you. It was given to you. God created those things andthen gave them to that being.

Ezekiel28:13 cont. on the day you were created. (NKJ)

There's two pointshere.

First we know thephysical creation, each component, was created in a day. Here itsays on the day that the being Satan was created. Well, thiswas before the creation of the earth. My question is: Is there aspiritual notation? We know a thousand years is as a day, but itsays "on the day you were created."

Apparently—and I'mspeculating—this Garden of God, this spiritual garden, which weknow that some things were already created when he was created onthat day leading up to that, there was some period of time. Did thephysical creation mirror that? Again I don't know how spirit time iskept. I have no idea. We know there's a notion of the passage ofit, but how that breaks down—

But notice also Godcreated him for a position, for an office. It was there for him whenhe came into existence. It was given to him—this office.

Ezekiel28:14. "You were the anointed [again a specialposition] cherub who covers; I established you; (NKJ)

God gave it to him!

Ezekiel28:14b. you were on the holy mountain of God; you walked backand forth in the midst of fiery stones. 15) You were perfectin your ways from the day you were created, till iniquity was foundin you. (NKJ)

Here we have in thespirit realm, a Garden called Eden, which was part of the estate thatGod had put some on the angelic beings including this one. Just likeHe later created a physical one and He put physical. I believe thephysical garden, which was created for man was a representation ofthe Garden of Eden in the spirit realm and was initially populated bythe being who later became known as the adversary.

Verse 16:

Ezekiel28:16. "By the abundance of your trading you became filledwith violence within, and you sinned; therefore I cast you asa profane thing out of the mountain of God; and I destroyed you, (NKJ)

And The NewInternational Bible says, "expelled." The New AmericanBible says, "banned." And The New American Standard says,"I drove you from."

Remember what happenedto Adam when he sinned? He was expelled. He was cast out. He was driven from the Garden of Eden.

Ezekiel28:16b. O covering cherub, from the midst of the fiery stones. (NKJ)

And The Tanakh says,

Ezekiel28:16. By your far-flung commerce you were filled withlawlessness and you sinned. So I have struck you down from themountain of God, and I have destroyed you, O shielding cherub, fromamong the stones of fire. (TAN)

Again, Adam and Evesinned and they were expelled. Satan sinned and he was expelled fromthat and stripped of his office. God drove Satan and his demons fromthe garden.

Jude chapter 1—justto fix that point in our mind. They were given, just like Adam wasgiven a place, a responsibility and an office, they were given thisas well. Jude 1 verse 5, it says:

Jude1:5. But I want to remind you, though you once knew this, thatthe Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterwarddestroyed those who did not believe. 6) And the angels who didnot keep their proper domain, (NKJ)

The King James says,"their first estate."

Jude1:6b. but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlastingchains under darkness for the judgment of the great day; (NKJ)

It's interesting howclosely the experience of what God provided for mankind and theoutcome seems to mirror what took place in the spirit realm. God asthe Creator provided an incredibly beautiful and productiveenvironment for both the angelic realm and the human species toflourish and to develop and to grow. And both became perverted intheir thinking and they sinned. And both were expelled from it.

Of course, it was thesame negative force that was at work in both cases. Remember Satandrew a third of the angels. But in both cases, neither wascompletely without fault. And we know that because we have to repentof our part. We have to make choices and we have to learn to makethe proper choices.

But the question is: Did this deter God from His plans? God created an environment twicethat we have record of. What's next? We've looked in the past,we've looked way back at some point in the spirit realm and we'veseen a parallel. What about the future? Do we have record of Godcreating again this garden and giving man a peaceful, fertileenvironment in which to grow and to flourish?

Look over in Isaiah 29. And a lot of this has been read. So I'm going to skip through someof it because some of it was even read in the sermonette, which Iappreciated very much. We know the Fall Holy Day Season starts withthe Feast of Trumpets, which is as I mentioned, a time unparalleledin history of destruction. And Isaiah, the early part of Isaiah 29talks about that. But I want to pick it up in verse 14, becausefollowing the Day of Atonement it marks the end of man's rule and ofthe god of this world. And they will cease. Isaiah 29:14:

Isaiah29:14. Therefore, behold, I will again do a marvelous work amongthis people, a marvelous work and a wonder; for the wisdom of theirwise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudentmen shall be hidden." (NKJ)

Verse 17—just skipdown. It says:

Isaiah29:17. Is it not yet a very little while till Lebanonshall be turned into a fruitful field, and the fruitful field beesteemed as a forest? 18) In that day the deaf shall hear the wordsof the book, (NKJ)

And again that wasalready read.

Skip forward to chapter30 and let's pick it up in verse 18. It says:

Isaiah30:18. Therefore the [Eternal] will wait, that He may begracious to you; (NKJ)

God is patient!

Isaiah30:18b. and therefore He will be exalted, that He may have mercyon you. (NKJ)

You know, Brethren,there is none of us that can take the glory, take the credit for whatGod has done for us!

Isaiah30:18 cont. For the [Eternal] is a God of justice;blessed are all those who wait for Him. (NKJ)

Who endure!

Isaiah30:19. For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem; youshall weep no more. He will be very gracious to you at the sound ofyour cry; when He hears it, He will answer you. 20) And thoughthe [Eternal] gives you the bread of adversity and the water ofaffliction, yet your teachers will not be moved into a corneranymore, but your eyes shall see your teachers. 21) Your ears shallhear a word behind you, saying, "This is the way, walk init," whenever you turn to the right hand or whenever you turn tothe left. (NKJ)

Skip forward to Isaiah35. And again I'm just reading parts of this because it's beencovered. And verse 1, Isaiah 35 verse 1:

Isaiah35:1. The wilderness and the wasteland shall be glad for them,and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose; 2) It shallblossom abundantly and rejoice, even with joy and singing. The gloryof Lebanon shall be given to it, the excellence of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the Lord, the excellency of our God. (NKJ)

Verse 7:

Isaiah35:7. The parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirstyland springs of water; in the habitation of jackals, where each lay,there shall be grass with reeds and rushes. (NKJ)

If you've been aroundwater, reeds and rushes imply lots of water. It's not just like inArizona where you get a puddle and it dries. You can't get reeds andrushes until there is year around water. So there is going to be theabundance.

Isaiah35:10. And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come toZion with singing, with everlasting joy on their heads. They shallobtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. (NKJ)

Ezekiel 34:24. Notonly is it mankind but the earth is going to be restored, recreated,established as the Garden of Eden as we'll see. Ezekiel 34 verse 24.

Ezekiel34:24. "And I, the Lord, will be their God, and My servantDavid a prince among them; I, the Lord, have spoken. 25) "Iwill make a covenant of peace with them, and cause wild beasts tocease from the land; and they will dwell safely in the wilderness andsleep in the woods. 26) "I will make them and the places allaround My hill a blessing; and I will cause showers to come down intheir season; there shall be showers of blessing. 27) "Then thetrees of the field shall yield their fruit, and the earth shall yieldher increase. They shall be safe in their land; and they shall knowthat I am the Lord, when I have broken the bands of their yokeand delivered them from the hand of those who enslaved them. 28)"And they shall no longer be a prey for the nations, nor shallbeasts of the land devour them; but they shall dwell safely, and noone shall make them afraid. (NKJ)

Verse 29:

Ezekiel34:29. "I will raise up for them a garden of renown, (NKJ)

And I maintain there'stwo meanings to that. There's a physical and I will show you aspiritual.

Ezekiel34:29. "I will raise up for them a garden of renown, andthey shall no longer be consumed with hunger in the land, (NKJ)

Hearken back to thesermonette. Blind and deaf—there's a spiritual, and the same withhunger. Remember what Christ said?

Matthew5:6. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst forrighteousness, for they shall be filled. (NKJ)

Ezekiel34:29b. they shall no longer be consumed with hunger in theland, nor bear the shame of the Gentiles anymore. 30) "Thusthey shall know that I, the Lord their God, am with them, andthat they, the house of Israel, are My people," says the[Eternal] God.'" (NKJ)

Ezekiel 36—justforward two chapters and start in verse 33.

Ezekiel36:33. 'Thus says the Lord God: "On the day that I cleanseyou from all your iniquities, I will also enable you to dwell in thecities, and the ruins shall be rebuilt. 34) "The desolate landshall be tilled instead of lying desolate in the sight of all whopass by. 35) "So they will say, 'This land that was desolatehas become like the garden of Eden; and the wasted, desolate, andruined cities are now fortified and inhabited.' 36) "Thenthe nations which are left all around you shall know that I, theLord, have rebuilt the ruined places and planted what was desolate. I, the Lord, have spoken it, and I will do it." (NKJ)

The very time thatwe're keeping the Feast Of Tabernacles, which pictures to us a timethat we live in temporary dwellings, that our tenure here is notpermanent—

I was talking tosomeone last night and he told me; he said—we were talking aboutage—and he said, "Well, I'm eighty." And I said, "Well,I'm sixty-three." And he said, "Well, you're just a pup." And I said, "Let me ask you a question. How long was it fromsixty-three to eighty?" And he said, "Like that!"(Snap of fingers.) Our tenure is not permanent even as a human.

But what we're doinglooks forward to a time of Sabbath-rest, a time of peace andabundance, a time of rebuilding—first and foremost a rebuilding ofthe relationship between man and God. Not just the physical, notjust the forests, not just the Garden of Eden, but a relationshipthat has been broken. A time when man, which has been led by lustand greed, will be removed from power and replaced with a righteousgovernment whose function is to serve and to build up and to teachand to help. A time when God will rebuild the earth and make it onceagain habitable, lush, verdant, providing man with everything heneeds to dwell in. A time when once again man is going to be giventhe task to dress and to keep God's Garden, to have dominion over it,to learn harmony and peace and how to live and prosper in a lifethat's guided by God's Laws and administered by His Family.

Brethren, I maintainthat when the vision is caught and everybody understands theirprimary function is to serve each other, there is going to beprosperity that we can't even dream about! Happiness! Peace!

So here's something Iwant you to ponder and then I'm going to hopefully answer: If Godbuilt a verdant garden, which was a representation of the spiritual,and we know He's going to build a physical one in the millennium, isthere a spiritual analog that precedes that one? In other words,there was a spiritual and then a physical. And we look forward andthere's a physical and then we look way out and there's a spiritual. What about in the middle? What about the six thousand years betweenthose when they were expelled? Is there a spiritual analog? What isGod currently doing?

Yesterday in hissermon, Mr. Buchanan made the statement and I think it's verygermane. I wrote it down and I just want to quote it. He said:

Godwas going to restore the Garden of Eden, but each part was to teachus a lesson of God. (Steve Buchanan, 10-5-2009)

And my comment is: Welearn about God by looking at His handiwork. There is a spiritualfulfillment to the future physical millennial garden that God isgoing to create. God has always been working on this garden as wewill see. My question is: Do we have a role in it? And if so, whatis it?

I want to start over inLuke 13. Keep in mind as we turn to Luke 13 that the Jews wereexpecting that the Messiah was going to come and He was going to comein like gangbusters. He was going to come in and tell all thoseother guys, "Look, these guys have it right. I'm here. I'm incharge now." and all of the Jews were going to be vindicated. That's what they were looking for. And when He appeared on the sceneand He didn't meet their expectations, they rejected Him. Hismessage to them in many places was that the Kingdom of God would notinitially come in—if I could use the colloquialism—a blaze ofglory, but the establishment of it was going to be staged.

Luke 13 and starting inverse 18:

Luke13:18. Then He said, "What is the kingdom of God like? Andto what shall I compare it? (NKJ)

And again you can readup to this to get the context. He was going to use an analogy tohelp them grasp this concept. In essence He was saying, "Whatanalogy can I use regarding the Kingdom of God that will give you anaccurate picture of how it's going to be established?"

Luke13:19. "It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and putin his garden; and it grew and became a large tree, and thebirds of the air nested in its branches." (NKJ)

In this analogy therewas a very small seed that was planted in a garden. And after thepassage of time in God's plan, it grew and it became very large.

Turn over to 1Corinthians. One of the problems of the Corinthian Church was theyhad broken down into factions. Every one wanted to claim they werebetter based on who their teacher was or who their leader was. AndPaul told them they were like babes that needed milk and needed tomature and need to grow-up. They needed to see God and Christ andnot the human leaders that they wanted to be associated with. They were arguing, "Well, mine's better than yours." 1Corinthians 3 and verse 6, he said:

1Corinthians 3:6. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave theincrease. (NKJ)

Notice he's takinghimself out of the picture! He took Apollos out of the picture.

1Corinthians 3:7. So then neither he who plants is anything, norhe who waters, but God who gives the increase. (NKJ)

Remember in the Gardenof Eden, God was the one that took care of it. God was the one thatprovided it. God was the one that provided the fruits—in the pastand in the future.

1Corinthians 3:8. Now he who plants and he who waters are one,and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor. (NKJ)

Take special note ofthis:

1Corinthians 3:9. For we are God's fellow workers; you are God'sfield, you are God's building. (NKJ)

We are God's field. Ithink The King James says, "You're God's husbandry." Andwe also know that we're being called spiritually to become thefirstfruits. What is God doing with us? He is the Husbandman.

Just like spirituallylong ago He created the Garden of Eden and gave it, just like thephysical, just like in the future, right now God is building agarden. And I maintain that that garden was created in six days. From the time the Bible record we have of Abel, when God called himin the first day of man's creation and throughout time, I believethere's always been people on the earth with God's Spirit that He'sworking with. And we know that that will culminate in that sixthousand years. God is building a garden as we will see. And I hopeto make that a little more clear. I see a couple of puzzled looks. But it's going to be a beautiful and a perfect garden.

We're more, as I said,more familiar with the terms "firstfruits" or "Brideof Christ," but let's look at this perfect garden. The Bibleclearly identifies us as just that. Look over in Song of Solomon. This is a place that we don't spend very much time and when we do, wesometime don't read it in mixed company. But what a beautiful lovestory about Christ and the Church is the Song of Solomon. Song ofSolomon chapter 4 and we'll start in verse 7. It says:

Songof Solomon 4:7. You are all fair, my love, (NKJ)

I'll wait a littlelonger. It's right after Ecclesiastes.

Songof Solomon 4:7. You are all fair, my love, and there isno spot in you. (NKJ)

Hold your finger there. I know you're ahead of me. Turn over to Revelation 14.

That word "spot"is Strong's 3971. It means a blemish, a stain. And in theHebrew it's used both to mean physically or morally.

Look at Revelation 14verse 1:

Revelation14:1. Then I looked, and behold, a Lamb standing on [theMountain of God], and with Him one hundred and forty-fourthousand, having His Father's name written on their foreheads. 2)And I heard a voice from heaven, like the voice of many waters, andlike the voice of loud thunder. And I heard the sound of harpistsplaying their harps. 3) They sang as it were a new song before thethrone, before the four living creatures, and the elders; and no onecould learn that song except the hundred and forty-fourthousand who were redeemed (NKJ)

Remember that's a veryimportant word because we were bought with a price! We wereredeemed:

Revelation14:3b. from the earth. 4) These are the ones who were notdefiled with women, for they are virgins. These are the ones whofollow the Lamb wherever He goes. These were redeemed from amongmen, being firstfruits to God and to the Lamb. 5) And [outof] their mouth was found no deceit, for they [were] [Notice!]without fault before the throne of God. (NKJ)

They were without spot! They were without blemish, but not because of them. It was thatthey were redeemed by the Lamb.

Okay back to Song ofSolomon chapter 4. There's no doubt that the Song of Solomon is alove story. And this Bride is without spot and without blemishbecause she's been redeemed by her Spouse. Let's pick it up in verse8.

Songof Solomon 4:8. Come with me from Lebanon, my spouse,with me from Lebanon. Look from the top of Amana, (NKJ)

And that's a mountainnear Damascus.

Songof Solomon 4:8b. from the top of Senir (NKJ)

And that's a very sharppeaked mountain in Lebanon.

Songof Solomon 4:8 cont. and [from] Hermon, (NKJ)

—which is a mountainin Palestine—

Songof Solomon 4:8 cont. from the lions' dens, from the mountains ofthe leopards. 9) You have ravished my heart, my sister, myspouse; you have ravished my heart with one look of your eyes,with one link of your necklace. (NKJ)

It's interesting hecalls her His "spouse," His "sister." Don't turnthere. Remember Abraham, who was the father of the faithful, marriedhis half-sister. They had the same father and they had differentmothers. I maintained the same with us. We have the same Father. Christ revealed us to the Father. He told Abimelech (Remember inGenesis 20:12?) that she was indeed his sister. We know ourspiritual mother is, of course, Jerusalem, according to Galatians4:26.

Verse 10:

Songof Solomon 4:10. How fair is your love, my sister, myspouse! How much better than wine is your love, and the scent ofyour perfumes than all spices! 11) Your lips, O my spouse,Drip as the honeycomb; honey and milk are under your tongue;and the fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance ofLebanon. 12) A garden enclosed is my sister, myspouse, a spring shut up, a fountain sealed. (NKJ)

You see the Garden ofEden belonged to God. And He allowed man, but then He expelled andthere was no access to it. Remember it was blocked. It was takenaway. This spiritual Garden of Eden is not open to anyone but thosethat God allows in. He controls the access to it.

The Tanakh says:

Songof Solomon 4:12: A garden locked is my own, my bride, a fountainlocked, a sealed-up spring. (TAN)

And The New LivingTranslation says:

Songof Solomon 4:12. "You are like a private garden, mytreasure, my bride! You are like a spring that no one else can drinkfrom, a fountain of my own. (NLT)

Songof Solomon 4:13. Your plants are an orchard ofpomegranates with pleasant fruits, fragrant henna with spikenard, 14) Spikenard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with all trees (NKJ)

And notice it talksabout the trees of this garden. And He's talking about His Bride!

Songof Solomon 4:14b. myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices— 15) A fountain of gardens, [Notice!] a well of living waters,and streams from Lebanon. (NKJ)

Notice chapter 5:

Songof Solomon 5:1: I have come to my garden, my sister, myspouse; I have gathered my myrrh with my spice; I have eaten myhoneycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk. (NKJ)

Turn over to Johnchapter 4.

His spouse, which isHis garden, is a well of living waters. It's closely controlled byGod so that not just anyone has access to it. But He is selectingthose that He is working with. You see, Brethren, God created aphysical Garden of Eden. And again I maintain with the calling ofAbel and all of those throughout, He is building a spiritual Gardenof Eden. And it's the firstfruits!

And what is that Gardenof Eden? Remember the garden was to provide the nourishment. It wasto provide the security. It was to provide everything that manneeded including the Tree of Life. And what are we going to bedoing? We're going to be there serving. We're going to be thereshowing them the proper ways, of helping them, of pointing them toGod, of pointing them to that Tree of Life that's available that's inthat garden.

John 4 and verse 10:

John4:10. Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew the giftof God, and who it is who says to you, 'Give Me a drink,' you wouldhave asked Him, and He would have given you living water." 11)The woman said to Him, "Sir, You have nothing to draw with, andthe well is deep. [How can I] get that living water? 12) "AreYou greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drankfrom it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?" 13)Jesus answered and said to her, "Whoever drinks of this waterwill thirst again, 14) "but whoever drinks of the water that Ishall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall givehim will become in him a fountain of water springing up intoeverlasting life." (NKJ)

Just skip forward tochapter 7 of John and verse 37—just over a few pages.

John7:37. On the last [great] day, that great day of thefeast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts,let him come to Me and drink. 38) "He who believes in Me, asthe Scripture has said, [And notice this!] out of his heartwill flow rivers of living water." 39) But this He spokeconcerning the Spirit, (NKJ)

There's no doubt thatthe source of this living water is Jesus Christ, but it will flowfrom Him to those recipients and, as with all things that Godprovides, will flow from them to benefit others!

We look closely atGod's Word and what He's done in the past in both the spiritual andthe physical, what He will do in the millennium. The Garden of Edenthat He's creating now even will play a very special role in thedevelopment of man. The physical garden and the spiritual garden,the Garden of God was to provide, as I mentioned, the protection andthe nourishment of man's needs and ultimately to provide a patternfor sharing oneself to the welfare of others, to the well-being ofothers. God is in the process today of building a spiritual gardenof firstfruits, who will be integrated into His Family and with herHusband provide the spiritual benefits conducive to and helpingbringing many sons to glory.

For a final Scripture: John 15.

Brethren, we have agreat responsibility in the spiritual garden that God is developing. We have been given a special invitation into that locked garden. Godwants us to be a part of it! If we can get the vision from thebeginning to the end, God has been consistent in what He has done inthe spirit realm and in the physical. Again He expelled Adam andimmediately began working on that spiritual garden with Abel andthroughout time is continuing to provide that. Ultimately He knowsto provide the nourishment and the help and the tools and theteaching to those that will come after us. Our job is to serve. Ourjob is to take that calling. If we understand that God isconsistent, when those waves of trials crash up against us, we knowHe's there; we know He's working on His purpose.

John 15 verse 5, itsays:

John15:5. "I am the vine, you are the branches. He whoabides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Meyou can do nothing. (NKJ)

Verse 8:

John15:8. "By this My Father is glorified, that you bear muchfruit; so you will be My disciples. (NKJ)

Those that are sittinghere today and other places around the world that God has called havebeen given an incredible blessing! We're called to be a part of thatsystem that's going to provide future generations of Gods thespiritual guidance, the assistance for them to become members ofGod's Family. Brethren, there can be no greater calling! As weobserve these Feast Days, let's renew in our mind the tremendousfuture that's in store for all of mankind. But let's also considerthe tremendous calling that we've been given to not only now in aphysical sense but also in a spiritual sense to provide for the needsof those future generations, to be very thankful that we've beengiven the access to the Tree of Life in this age and to grow and tobear fruit. Brethren, we are extremely blessed to be part of God'swork, to be part of spiritual Eden, the Garden of God.

Transcribedby kb January 7, 2009.