Avondale College

Johns Use of Paradise as a theme in Revelation: A Sample

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1 Introduction It is interesting to note that Johns Revelation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, while being the most contemporary of scriptures also make use of a copious amount of Old testament writing. This essay will examine how John used the image of paradise from the Old Testament to reveal the truth of Gods kingdom in Revelation. We will first look at the original use or understanding and what it meant to the original hearers. We will then examine how the use of this understanding by John to illuminate his prophetic writings with the light of cultural familiarity. Finally, we will look at how we receive this message in our contemporary society and, as modern readers, gain a fuller insight into these old words, just as John did when he wrote the book back in the first century.

Eden1 as a Foretaste of Paradise The Old Testament begins with the construction of the world and the establishment of Eden, a representation of heavenly paradise on earth. Indeed this place was truly idyllic as even God Himself pronounced it very good (Gen 1:31). While there are a number of allusions to paradise in the book of Revelation, John only explicitly refers to paradise only once. However, it is not where one might expect it to be, in the description of the New Jerusalem. Rather it is early on in the book, as he writes the letter to the church in Ephesus. As Christ, through the pen of John, finishes his letter to this faithful church, He reminds them to him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God (Rev. 2:7). By referencing the tree of

In the course of my research, I did come across some scholars who disagree that there is a link between Johns talk of paradise and the garden motif. However, I chose to treat it as connected for the purposes of this paper, and I trust I have sufficient cause to do so.

2 life, John instantly draws the reader back to the very beginning of the Bible in Genesis, the first mention of the tree along with the establishment of the first paradise.2 (pardeisos) is a loanword from the Medes and Persians meaning an enclosure or a park, and it was first used by the Greeks to describe the lavish parks of these Medo- Persian kings.3 While these rulers utilized the term to emphasize the enclosure, the Greeks began to use it to describe the contents of the walled area.4 The suggestion is made that the Greek translators of the Bible, knew about these lavish gardens, and used that imagery in their translation of certain passages. The Hebrew tongue had taken a similar word from the Persians5 as well, pardes, a royal preserve (Neh. 2:8; Eccl. 2:5; SoS. 4:13). This would lend credence to the particular translation of Genesis 2, where a Hebrew word meaning a fenced garden is translated as , rather than the more mundane , meaning a garden: an open space, not enclosed, where ordinary plants and trees grow6, in labeling the garden of Eden. By linking the paradise spoken of in Revelation with that of Genesis, John instantly taps into the cultural memory of the people. The garden in the east of Eden, was a pleasurable place, and rightly described in Ezekiel as truly the garden of God (Ezek. 28:13; 31:8-9). The second chapter of Genesis brings to mind a palatial garden, and if John is

2 P.H.R. Van Houwelingen, "Paradise Motifs in the Book of Revelation," Srospataki Fzetek 15, no. 4 (2011) , 2-3. 3 In the LXX, Genesis 2-3 is defined as Gods park, thereby inducting paradise into the religious usage. [Gerhard Kittel, Gerhard Friedrich, and Geoffrey William Bromiley, Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans, 1985), 777-778.] 4 5 6

Houwelingen, 3. Kittel, Friedrich, and Bromiley, 777-78.

Houwelingen; Jan N. Bremmer, ed., Paradise: From Persia, Via Greece, into the Septuagint, ed. Gerard P. Luttikhuizen, Paradise Interpreted: Representations of Biblical Paradise in Judaism and Christianity (Brill, UK: Leiden, 1999), 1-20.

3 drawing upon this imagery, it provides a key to understanding his thoughts. This is not simply a place of beauty and duty, but also a place where one can meet with the lord of the manor7, and be welcomed in His presence in the cool of the day (Gen3:8). Johns use of in Revelation 2:7 points then, not to the garden of old, but to a superior garden in the paradise that God is fashioning. This garden of God houses the tree of life and is where the overcomers are granted peace. Houwelingen states, Those who conquer belong in the company of the Conqueror, and they will be allowed to live in Gods natural environment, that is his royal domain.8

Fellowship with God as Paradise Indeed the garden image of paradise is only considered a blessing when it is coupled with the presence of the Prince of Peace. Thus, John also points to a community, gathered around Christ, as a fulfilled form of paradise.9 In Genesis, God assembled all of creation in a six-day period in order to construct a place where He could dwell in community among His created works. In essence, until God dwelt in relationship with man, paradise did not exist. It is the abiding of God that activates paradise, providing access to the tree of life, both then and in the New Jerusalem to come. By positing this image of God having a presence among His people, John is recalling a promise that God made to Jacob and Isaac in the patriarchal era, I will be with you (Gen.
7 8 9

Houwelingen, 3. Ibid., 4.

John seeks to modify the Jewish notion of Paradise. Paradise was lost, but Jesus Christ appears not only to save man from their sin, but also to restore to them their paradise home (22:14, 14). He alone can now give access to the tree of life. Paradise then, means to be with him in fellowship rather than the idea of a hidden paradise with its fantastic sensual delights. [Frank E. Gaebelein and others, The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Volume 12: Hebrews through Revelation (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1981), 436.]

4 26:3-4; 31:3). God gave them the assurance that His presence with them was something that would be continuous in type and empowering in function, so long as his will was manifest in their lives. This promise was a down payment on what John is writing about in Revelation. Exodus 4:22 provides us with the first inkling that the relationship God desires with His people is more than the typical vassal/ monarch relationship. God viewed Israel as His child, His first born. Later on, through the constructing of the tabernacle God commits to dwelling with His people. This promise is constructed of three main parts: 1. "I will be your God" Gen. 17:7-8 2. "You will be My people" Exodus 4:22; 6:7 3. "I will dwell among you" Exodus 29:43-4610 John grabs this theme in Revelation 21:1-4, as the new heaven and earth are being inaugurated; God declares that His dwelling place for eternity will be with saved humanity, His remnant people saved from destruction and welcomed into the superior paradise of the New Jerusalem. The Heavens are revealed as a restored and renovated Eden, and it bears several recognizable markers from the original paradise, but with a wonderful twist. In Eden, a river flowed out of it, and watered the garden (Gen. 2:10). In this new Eden, and fitting with the primacy of God in Heaven, the river flows from the throne of God (Rev. 22:1) and the claim of living water (John 4:10-14) that Jesus made to the woman at the well is fulfilled in the eschaton.11 This water is also a sign that the Holy Spirit is also there (John 7:37-39), the

Steve Bauer Dave Glover, John Mckewen, and Todd Muller, "Old Testament Themes Found in the New Testament" http://www.xenos.org/ministries/crossroads/OnlineJournal/issue1/ottheme1.htm (accessed 2012)
11

10

Clinton E. Arnold, Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary Volume 4: Hebrews to

Revelation (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002), 370.

5 Breath of Life watering the Tree of Life, and producing fruit that is healing and sustaining (Rev 22:1-2). Finally, just as the inaugural paradise was not fulfilled until the Creator fellowshipped with man, this new paradise requires more than a single entity in order to legitimize it. While it is comforting to know that God will dwell with His people, the vital aspect is that of His Spirit indwelling the heart of the believer.12 Ezekiel speaks of God placing His spirit inside of us in order that His children would know Him (Ezek. 37:14). Yet, prior to God tabernacling with His chosen, there needed to be a cleansing of the temple and a purification of the people (Exodus 29:44).13 In the New Testament, this needs to take place in the heart of man, through the sacrifice of Christ and the washing of His blood. The debt for sin being payed opened a door to a not only a future inheritance of glory (Ephesians 1:14-15), but the habitation of God in the heart of man right now. John draws on this historic imagery and presents his audience with stunning reality. Juster, citing Baulkham, states the New Jerusalem is a place of security and provision in all ways the place where heaven and earth meet at the center of the earth from which God rules his land and the nations and to which the nations are drawn for enlightenment.14 Just as Eden would not have been paradise without the fellowship of God, the new paradise

12

Dave Glover, (accessed)

13 Concerning a similar theme in Revelation 7, Stefanovic comments, The idea here is that God will spread the tent of his presence over his people. This calls to mind the presence of God among the people of Israel in the wilderness, when he tabernacled among them in the appearance of the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire. The presence of God in the midst of ancient Israel provided them with supreme shelter from the scorching heat and storm, and from hunger and thirst. In order for God to remain in this intimate relationship with them, His people needed to be cleansed and purified (Isaiah 4:26). [Ranko Stefanovic, Revelation of Jesus Christ: Commentary on the Book of Revelation (Berrien Springs, MI: Andrews University, 2009), 268] 14

Daniel C. Juster, Passover: The Key That Unlocks the Book of Revelation (Clarksville, MD:

Messianic Jewish Publishers, 2011), 99.

6 would cease to be so without the presence and participation of the faithful. John takes the Old Testament ideas of God living in His children and draws them to the conclusion that the New Jerusalem is not simply a place, but a holy people as well.

Conclusion John utilises the imagery of Edenic paradise and the fellowship of God with the Israelites to remind his audience that they are destined to return to this ideal as the coming of God draws closer. He is specific with His language, as he could use other words to describe these events. However, he settles on these words for they are the ones most pregnant with the meaning he desires to convey to a people desperate for relief and longing for their coming Lord. Johns use of Old Testament imagery is deliberate and calculated to elicit the strongest response from a people educated about the events of their cultural past. To a non-Hebrew, this language would be lost somewhat, as it is sometimes today among evangelical Christians. It is important that the reader of the Revelation of Jesus go back to the cultural context that it was written in in order to better understand, and appreciate, the wonderful message of hope for a soon coming paradise with God.

7 Bibliography Arnold, Clinton E. Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary Volume 4: Hebrews to Revelation. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002. Bremmer, Jan N., ed. Paradise: From Persia, Via Greece, into the Septuagint. Edited by Gerard P. Luttikhuizen, Paradise Interpreted: Representations of Biblical Paradise in Judaism and Christianity. Brill, UK: Leiden, 1999. Dave Glover, Steve Bauer, John Mckewen, and Todd Muller, "Old Testament Themes Found in the New Testament" <http://www.xenos.org/ministries/crossroads/OnlineJournal/issue1/ottheme1.htm> 2012. Gaebelein, Frank E., Leon Morris, Donald W. Burdick, Edwin A. Blum, Glenn W. Barker, and Alan F. Johnson. The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Volume 12: Hebrews through Revelation. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1981. Houwelingen, P.H.R. Van. "Paradise Motifs in the Book of Revelation." Srospataki Fzetek 15, no. 4 (2011). Juster, Daniel C. Passover: The Key That Unlocks the Book of Revelation. Clarksville, MD: Messianic Jewish Publishers, 2011. Kittel, Gerhard, Gerhard Friedrich, and Geoffrey William Bromiley. Theological Dictionary of the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans, 1985. Stefanovic, Ranko. Revelation of Jesus Christ: Commentary on the Book of Revelation. Berrien Springs, MI: Andrews University, 2009.