Déjà Vu

Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed.

Genesis 2:8 (NIV)

I don't believe in time travel but I've been creeped out a few times in my life when I'm able to predict what is going to be said next and by whom, or even know what's going to happen next.

Apparently, I'm not clairvoyant though because the French actually have a phrase for this phenomenon– déjà vu, which means "already seen."

If you're wondering what all this has to do with Heaven, wonder no more.

When God recreates Heaven on Earth we may find ourselves experiencing a little déjà vu because of what we know about Eden.

What do we know about Eden?

Well, based on the description of Eden in Genesis 2, we learn that Eden is a paradise and that God planted a garden there.

We know that Eden was on Earth but was not Earth. They are two separate creations that coexisted.

We also know that in the garden God created He placed the man He created (Genesis 2:8).

Why does any of this matter?

I believe it matters for at least two reasons.

The first of which is we see that God created Earth and Eden and they existed together, and Adam existed in both.

We too will exist in both when God recreates them (Revelation 21:1-3).

Secondly, it matters because this is where our fear of Heaven (perhaps because of what we don't know about it) can become our longing for Heaven when we are able to see the beautiful truth that God gave us right at the very beginning.

That beautiful truth is God created us for Heaven.

He created us to be with Him and He with us.

How do we know that?

It's right there in Genesis 2:8 –God put man in the garden.

Eden shows us that God made us for Heaven and He made Heaven for us.

In Genesis 3:8, we learn that God dwelt in the garden with Adam and Eve, proven by "...they heard Him as He was walking in the garden in the cool of the day."

And, like in Eden where God and Adam fellowshipped together, Heaven is where we will fellowship with God and God will fellowship with us.

You may be wondering if that fellowship will be physical or spiritual.

Scripture absolutely assures us that we won't be just some blob of a spirit floating around in the celestials.

We know that Adam was given a physical body and that physical body, not Adam's spirit, was placed in Eden by God. We also see in 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 that we get a new body (more on this below).

If you need a little more assurance, read Luke 24:39 where Jesus declares that His resurrection body is physical and touchable as He shows His disciples His hands and feet with the wounds from Calvary clearly visible.

Our earthly body is perishable.

Jesus' earthly body was perishable.

Jesus was given a resurrected body and we too will get a resurrected body, and these resurrected bodies, like Jesus', will be imperishable.

1 Corinthians 15:51-52 (TLB) says:

"But I am telling you this strange and wonderful secret: we shall not all die, but we shall all be given new bodies! It will all happen in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For there will be a trumpet blast from the sky, and all the Christians who have died will suddenly become alive, with new bodies that will never, never die; and then we who are still alive shall suddenly have new bodies too."

Knowing this, is Heaven sounding less "scary" and more "I want to go there-y?"

I do hope this series on Heaven is bringing you as much comfort as it is me.

Please comment below if this has helped you or any other thoughts you would like to share.

Remember, in September we're Heaven bound so I hope you will join me again next week as we explore another truth about our always-intended-to-be home.