Prophetic Prospective Daily Devotional

And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.

As we continue our study of the book of Genesis, in this devotional, and in particular the first twelve chapters of the book, we are made aware that all the truth found in all sixty-six books of the Bible have their "beginning", their foundation, in the book of Genesis.

The first chapter is the record of "Creation" when Jesus in six, twenty-four hour days, created the heavens, the earth and all that is in them. Genesis 2 is a further explanation of some of the events and special effects of Creation.

Verses 1-3 reveal to us that after Jesus Christ, the member of the "Godhead" who created all things, Colossians 1:16, after the six days of Creation He rested on the seventh day. By the way, it was a twenty-four hour day that He rested, the same as the "day" He told the Jews to spend in rest, Exodus 20:11.

The atmosphere at Creation was like the tropics where there was a "mist", verse 6, that watered the earth since it had never rained, verse 5, and it would not rain until the time of the flood.

There is a great depth of knowledge in Genesis 2, but I guess my favorite is the record of Jesus creating the Garden of Eden, verses 8-17. Actually the "Garden" was created on the third day of Creation when the Lord brought forth the grass, the herb yielding seed and trees, Genesis 1:9-13.

It was in the "Garden of Eden" that the Lord created man and woman. The Lord placed man in the "Garden" to dress it and to keep it, verse 15.

In this chapter you will find several points of interest in relation to the "Garden". There were all types of trees in the "Garden", the “Tree of Life” and the “Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil” were only two of the trees. The trees put forth fruit for Adam and Eve to eat, with the exception of the "Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil."

Notice also there is one "river", not four rivers, coming out of the "Garden of Eden", verse 10. One river flowed out of the "Garden" and became four rivers somewhere outside of the "Garden of Eden".

The river flowing out of the "Garden of Eden" was the Gihon, which gave the water for King David to anoint his son Solomon to be king, I Kings 1:33, 38 and 45. By the way, the Gihon's head waters are located underneath the Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

The original sight of the "Garden of Eden" is the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. The "foundation stone" underneath the Dome of the Rock is, according to Jewish tradition, the place the Lord created man. It was also the site of the Holy of Holies in the Temple.

This has been the belief of the Jewish people for the location of the original sight of the "Garden of Eden", and has been known by the Jews for 5,776 years. In Jewish years, on their calendar, it's 5776. Where Jesus started, as the Creator, He will rule and reign from forever, the "Garden of Eden".

Now maybe you can see why the Moslems want the Temple Mount as their land. However, Bible prophecy says that the Garden of Eden belongs to the Jews, which will be the case in the last days, Isaiah 51:3, Ezekiel 36:35 and Joel 2:3. (See my audio CD series on "Return to Eden".)

All Bible prophecy will be fulfilled, and possibly very soon. The truth be known, the next event in Bible prophecy, the Rapture, could happen at any minute, maybe even today.

PRAYER THOUGHT: Thank you Lord for all truth found in Your Word.