EPILOGUE
Chapter 24: Restoration
of the Lost Paradise
In economics, when an economy is away from
the full employment level, some economists (classical economists and their
followers) claim that the economy has self-correcting ability whereas some
other economists (Keynesian economists and their followers) claim that the
government should actively implement fiscal policy and/or monetary policy to
let the economy move closer to full employment.
The Garden of Eden
Without God’s intervention, can people or the
government restore the lost paradise? Or can they make this world a paradise
where “justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream”
(Amos 5:24)? What or where is the paradise? In the Bible, God established the
garden of Eden to place the first human beings there. Why was the garden of
Eden so important? It was because the garden of Eden was a place where Adam and
Even resided with God’s blessings. In the garden of Eden, people would not have
lacked anything. People would not have worried about the scarcity of resources.
The Land of Canaan
Even after Adam and Eve fell, God could not
give up human beings who were created according to his image and his likeness.
God chose his people selectively – Enoch, Noah, Abraham and his descendants – to
walk with them and bestow his blessings upon them. God had a plan to build
another paradise in the land of Canaan. God told Abraham that he would give the
land of Canaan to (him and) his descendants (Genesis 12:7, 13:15, 15:7, 15:18, 17:8,
24:7). God promised Moses and the Israelites that he would lead them to the
land flowing with milk and honey (Exodus 3:8; Deuteronomy 31:20). What
qualifies a paradise? The most important qualification of a paradise is God’s
dominion or sovereignty – God’s governing activities directly or indirectly
over his people.
The land of Canaan itself
was not fertile. However, when God was with his people, the land would become a
fertile and blessed land. God commanded the Israelites to drive out all the
residents from the land of Canaan to establish his kingdom on earth. But, the
Israelites did not follow God’s command but got along with them. The Israelites
failed God’s plan due to their disobedience although God still walked with his
people – Gideon, Samuel, David, young Solomon, and some other kings of the
Southern Kingdom after Solomon. God still wanted to build his kingdom on the
earth, New Jerusalem, using his people after he let them return from Babylon. The
Israelites rarely changed even after the 70-year Babylon captivity.
The New Heaven and The New Earth
God foretold about the new heaven(s) and the
new earth, another expression of the paradise, through his prophets that he
would establish when an opportune time would come (Isaiah 65:17-25). God would
reign here in the new heavens and the new earth. God in Isaiah 65:17-19 says: “17For
behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former things shall not
be remembered or come into mind. 18But be glad and rejoice forever
in that which I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her
people a joy. 19I will rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in my
people; no more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping and the cry of
distress.” Peter in 2 Peter 3:13 states: “But in keeping with his promise we
are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness
dwells.” These new heaven(s) and the new earth is the restored paradise and the
kingdom of God where God is with his people. Peter explains these new heaven(s)
and the new earth will be realized on the day of the Lord. John in Revelation
21:1-2 says: “1Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the
first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2And
I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God,
prepared as a bride adorned for her husband”; and in Revelation 22:1-2
describes the scene of the new earth: “1Then he(=the angel) showed
me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne
of God and of the Lamb 2through the middle of the street of the
city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its
twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month; and the leaves of the
tree were for the healing of the nations.” This scene is similar to that of the
paradise where God had placed Adam and Eve. The tree of life was in the
middle of the garden along with the tree of the knowledge of good and evil
(Genesis 2:9). Genesis 2:9b states: “In the middle of the garden were the tree
of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” (NIV). Adam and Eve
could have lived forever if they had eaten the fruit from the tree of life
instead of the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. When Adam
and Eve fell, God hid the tree of life to forbid them to eat the fruit from the
tree of life and live forever (Genesis 3:22). However, the tree of life is
there in the new Jerusalem, the new heaven and the new earth.
John in Revelation 22:17
states: “The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ And let the one who
hears say, ‘Come!’ Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes
take the free gift of the water of life.” This invitation to the water of life
is similar to God’s invitation to the waters in Isaiah 55:1: “Come, all you who
are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.” God’s invitation or
calling of people to the water of life that began in the Old Testament will be
completed when the new heaven and the new earth arrive. Then, the economy of
God will also be fully realized.
Restoration of the Lost Paradise Today
How long should we wait until we see the
restored paradise? The lost paradise will be restored on the day of the Lord,
that is, when the Lord Jesus returns to us. However, the kingdom of God – the
paradise – can be realized in our life even today when we acknowledge the
sovereignty of God. Jesus in Luke 17:20-21 tells his disciples: “20Being
asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was coming, he answered them,
“The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; 21nor
will they say, ‘Lo, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is
in the midst of you.” The New Living Translation (NLT) translates Verse 21b as “For
the kingdom of God is already among you.” What Jesus meant here is not denying
the actual kingdom of God would not come but explaining how the kingdom of God
would be like. Jesus in the following verses tells about the coming of the
kingdom of God: “The days are coming when you will desire to see one of the
days of the Son of man, and you will not see it” (Luke 17:22). When we live by
the Word of God, the kingdom of God – the new heaven and the new earth, the
paradise – will be realized in our life today although we, along with all other
creatures, are eagerly waiting for the returning Lord (Romans 8:18-25).
According to Paul, not only God’s
people but also all other creatures are waiting for the coming of God’s kingdom
as they were unwillingly subjected to God’s curse when Adam and Eve fell but
hope that they will join God’s people in glorious freedom from its bondage to
decay (Romans 8:19-21). John closes the book of Revelation with his wish and
prayer, in Revelation 22:20-21: “20He who testifies to these things
says, ‘Surely I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! (ἔρχου κύριε Ἰησοῦ; תא מרנא , marana tha). 21The
grace of the Lord Jesus be with all the saints. Amen.” When the kingdom of God
comes, the economy of God – God’s governing activities will be there for
us.
