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I am trying to figure out if the paradise mentioned by Jesus several times in scripture is the same garden that Adam and Eve lived in till they were sent out. The first mention of this paradise is the scene at the crucifixion of Jesus where he tells the thief at the right that the he will be with him in paradise after he repented.

Luke 23:43

Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

The second mention of the paradise of God is in the book of Revelation which was shown to John By Jesus who appeared to him while he was in jail in the island of Patmos. Jesus promises the saints who overcome the world the right to the tree of life which is in the paradise of God.

Revelation 2:7

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.

This same tree is mentioned being in the garden of Eden and is protected by a flaming sword that turns in all directions.

Genesis 3:22

And the LORD God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.

So if the tree of life is one, can we conclude that the Garden of Eden is the Paradise of God? And if that is true then did Adam and Eve live in a spiritual paradise of God in the flesh before being sent forth from the garden?

Adam and Eve being sent from a spiritual dwelling to a physical dwelling here on earth is not impossible because Jesus who is the second Adam left his spiritual dwelling and came to the physical world to be crucified, this movement between the two worlds is not new. Besides the saints with their resurrected bodies inherit the garden.

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    The Septuagint (abbreviated LXX) was a Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures translated several hundred years BC by a group of 70 Jewish scholars. They translated Genesis's "garden" as "paradeisos", and that is the same Greek word used in Luke 23. So we can be sure that Luke's reference is to the same idea, but whether it is literally the same place isn't certain. (This is a comment, not an answer, as you seem to be asking about doctrinal understanding rather than about the text itself.)
    – Ray Butterworth
    Apr 15 at 12:52
  • Yeah could be, it's just the tree of life is one and this garden could just be the same paradise Jesus is referring to, if Elijah went to heavens on a chariot of fire directly, why Christians believe that the reverse of that is impossible. It just take two angels to grab Adam and Eve out of paradise and fly them to the physical earth.
    – Few Against Many - Israel
    Apr 15 at 13:34

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The answer to the OP question depends on whether one thinks of the Garden of Eden as a physical place located (as indicated in Genesis) somewhere in the Tigris-Euphrates region, or whether it is a spiritual place that transcends geographical bounds. Gen. 2:10-14 states:

A river flows out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it divides and becomes four branches... The name of the third (branch) river is Tigris, which flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.

This eliminates the possibility that Jesus spoke of the physical Garden of Eden when he told one of the men crucified with him: “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

The OP also asks "If the tree of life is one, can we conclude that the Garden of Eden is the Paradise of God?" Not exactly. The Tree of Life may be "one" but it is used in several senses in the Bible. Especially in the Book of Proverbs it does not seem to be a literal tree but a symbol of various virtues.

  • Proverbs 3:18 She (Wisdom) is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her; those who hold her fast are called happy.

  • Proverbs 11:30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life.

  • Proverbs 13:12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.

  • Proverbs 15:4 A gentle tongue is a tree of life

In the Book of Revelation the Tree of Life seem to be a literal tree again but its location is not the physical Garden of Eden. Rather it is the New Jerusalem which is a "city" not a "garden." (Revelation 22:2)

The inevitable conclusion is that the author of Revelation thinks of Paradise in a more spiritual sense (as does Jesus in Luke), while Genesis gives it a more definite physical location. And if the Tree of Life is "one," its oneness is multidimensional.

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  • The references to the tree of life in Genesis and Revelation is unique in that it uses the article the for reference unlike the references to the tree of life in Proverbs which use the article a tree of life. The tree of life refers to something specific that is unique, I highly doubt that there are more than one tree of life.
    – Few Against Many - Israel
    Apr 15 at 16:07
  • Think about this for a moment."The tree of life", "a tree of life" . There is a difference.
    – Few Against Many - Israel
    Apr 15 at 16:09
  • The rivers you mentioned could very well be symbolic and not literal. It's just like Gog and Magog.
    – Few Against Many - Israel
    Apr 15 at 16:27
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    Dan, I've just edited an apostrophe, and would mention that in Revelation 22:2 the tree of life (singular) is said to be on both sides of the river of life. That indicates plural trees. Symbolism here! Also with it bearing 12 monthly crops of fruit. We're not talking about earthly things here in this scene from the heavenly city! There's more than one sense of 'paradise' as you pointed out with Christ's promise to the repentant thief.
    – Anne
    Apr 17 at 10:57
  • So now we have debunked that the tree of life in the garden was just one out of many. Thanks @Anne for Revelation 22:2
    – Few Against Many - Israel
    Apr 17 at 11:50
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I have been studying a little on paradise in Luke and the translation in Greek says park Eden Jesus told the thief today you will be with me in the park in Eden (if you use the Greek word) Greek: παράδεισος Transliteration: paradeisos Pronunciation: par-ad'-i-sos Definition: Of Oriental origin (compare [H6508]); a park that is (specifically) an Eden (place of future happiness paradise): - paradise. to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.I am the God of the living. Would it not be fascinating to know we who die knowing and serving Jesus Christ go to the garden until the Lord returns. I’ve never heard it preached before so I don’t know exactly from my limited knowledge of what happens when we(true Christ followers not these 2023 Christians) die.(our soul not out body) after I wrote there is a mention of paradise in II cor 12 Paul talks about a man being caught up into the 3rd heaven vs 2 and then caught up into paradise vs 4 the Greek definition is the same as in Luke and Revelations caught up means rapture raptured up up is Eden up up ?

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