Tag: tree of life

Origin and Destiny in Eden

Rob WoodrumLeave a comment

Do you remember the old Mad Magazines, how the inside back page was an Al Jaffe cartoon that had an image on it which, if you folded it in, created another image which was a commentary on the first. I used to love those things. In many ways, the book of Genesis, if we metaphorically folded it to touch the book of Revelation, operates similarly. We begin and end in a Garden…and everything in between functions to elaborate on that hope. The imagery of the first few chapters of Genesis unlock the meaning of the imagery used in the rest of the Biblical narrative.

 We’ll be returning to our study in Genesis this Sunday, looking at Gen 2:8-17.

In Gen 2 we are introduced to the Garden of Eden, Adam (the human) in connection with it, and the two trees in the center of it.

Most of us have picture book ideas in our heads about the Garden of Eden – an image of an entire world in a tropical paradise setting and nothing unpleasant anywhere around. But the Genesis narrative doesn’t really validate that picture.

For instance, as you read v8; is all the land Eden? Is all of Eden a garden? Was the human “formed” in the garden? All of this implies that there is something outside that paradisical space. Isn’t that intriguing? Eden was an anomaly in the midst of non-paradise. A project begun to which we will return.

On Sunday we’ll look at the significance of the river that comes from Eden, and where it flows to.

What do you make of the trees and the warning God issues to the human? What is the first part of God’s command? Do you find it interesting that God leads with an invitation to enjoy what he’s made? Does that influence your understanding of the warning God concludes with?

If the human was made from dust (stuff of mortality), what does the Tree of Life represent to him? The forbidden tree is not the Tree of Good and Evil- it is something else – what word comes before good and evil? How would you interpret what that means?

We have a really interesting study in front of us – I hope you can join us this Sunday as we dig into this together!

Further Up & Further In

Rob Woodrum2 Comments

“I have come home at last! This is my real country! I belong here. This is the land I have been looking for all my life, though I never knew it till now…Come further up, come further in!” 
― C.S. Lewis, The Last Battle

Well, we are coming to our final study in the book of Revelation. We’ll be reading Revelation 22.

To really get a grasp of and appreciate the imagery of v1-5, you have to be somewhat familiar with Ezekiel 47:1-12. To contextualize that for you, Ezekiel was a prophet of God during Israel’s exile in Babylon. Many of his prophecies were about Israel’s return and justice dealt out for her enemies. Near the end of the book, Ezekiel sees the temple rebuilt, and a river flowing from it which gets deeper and deeper and has the remarkable properties of turning the salt water of the sea into fresh water. It also has the tree and fruit imagery as well.  Ezekiel was seeing more than just Israel’s return from exile, he was seeing the whole world restored.  John’s vision takes from this picture and completes it for us.

There is also imagery from Genesis 1-3 sprinkled in. What do you think the point would be, to have these parallels with return from exile and original creation? What does the end state appear to be, as you read this?

V6-21 are comprised of the final messages and warnings and encouragements about the whole of the vision.

I find it really curious to the point of humorous that John repeats his folly from chapter 19 again in v8. The repeated warning given by the angel in v9 seems emphatic enough to get our attention. Why do you think this warning is repeated? Why do you think John makes this mistake twice? What does that tell us about human nature and what we need to be alert about in our mission here?

I love the final words of Revelation, which then become the final words of the whole bible.

“May the grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s holy people”.

It all resolves with grace.

Amen.

Here’s something: if you have any questions about this book, or want to discuss various interpretations or ideas about it, or if you need one of my points of view clarified, let’s use the comment section of this post to discuss it. There are no wrong questions, and I can’t promise anything resembling an intelligent response, but I’d be happy to talk about this more if anyone wants to. If not, it’s cool. I really enjoyed teaching through Revelation, even though the research and artwork fairly well swallowed up most of my days. Still, I have to say that I’ve gained a new appreciation for a mindset that eagerly awaits Christ’s return – even as we reflect that future good in our lives and actions today. I hope you were able to get something out of it too!

Hope to see you Sunday!