Is the garden of eden eternal?

Dave Darling said:

Hey, a question- is the garden of eden eternal? According to the scripture it seems so, apparently it is still out there, but no one is allowed in, it is being guarded by cherubim. Apparently there will never be a return to the garden after the fall of man, this is eternal. What do you think of this?

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I personally think it ceased to exist in Adam's time--maybe even in the time of the Flood. The main point is that Adam could not return to the place where he had access to Eternal Life. It was parabolic, but it was a real place.

Won’t heaven be like it.

Dave Darling said:

Hey, a question- is the garden of eden eternal? According to the scripture it seems so, apparently it is still out there, but no one is allowed in, it is being guarded by cherubim. Apparently there will never be a return to the garden after the fall of man, this is eternal. What do you think of this?

Click to expand...

Look at the way the garden of Eden is described. Two people living there who do not know the difference between good and evil. All of their needs are taken care of. On top of that they're not wearing any clothes but feel no shame. Now look at the ending of Jonah:

Jon 4:11 And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand...

Not knowing left from right is a euphemism for not knowing right from wrong. Even if you take it literally you have all those people who do not know left from right. They are children. The garden of Eden is childhood. Your parents care for all of your needs and you have no worries. Even walk around wearing no clothes but feel no shame. Then later as you grow older you discover that there is a right and wrong and that you have to care for your own needs. And you develop a sense of shame. Add to that the backbreaking work of farming at the time. People would have to clear fields and after having cleared them to grow food they would soon become overgrown with weeds:

Gen 3:18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;

Gen 3:19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

The garden of Eden is childhood. The age of innocence. Something everyone wants to return to but they can't.

Dave Darling said:

Hey, a question- is the garden of eden eternal? According to the scripture it seems so, apparently it is still out there, but no one is allowed in, it is being guarded by cherubim. Apparently there will never be a return to the garden after the fall of man, this is eternal. What do you think of this?

Click to expand...

IT is now in heaven --- but it will come to Earth along with the New Jerusalem as we see in Rev 2, Rev 22

The Throne of God is near the Tree of Life which is in the garden of Eden. But in Rev 21-22 that all comes to Earth