Part 2 – The Age of the Fathers – Adam to Abraham.

The Kingdom of Man (Adam) 

Gen2:7Then the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and the man became a living being.8And the LORD God planted a Garden in Eden, in the east, where He placed the man He had formed.

Adam the first man. His life (kingdom) starts on the earth in a land called Eden. God planted a garden in east Eden and placed the man there. This garden in Eden is the place where God chose to dwell with Adam (man). Here Adam, with the help of his wife Eve, would live and cultivate the garden while being in the presence of God. God would create a covenant relationship (a binding agreement) with Adam and Eve. Much like a marriage is a binding agreement between a man and a woman (Adam and Eve). This covenant would be between God and man(kind) (God and Adam-including his family). Adam would have one wife and one God. Adam and Eve were naked and not ashamed as they were innocent. They knew only “good” because they had the nature of God. This is why the covenant came with one commandment: do not eat from one particular tree in the garden, the tree of the knowledge of good AND evil for in that day you will surely die. They could freely eat from the tree of life and live forever at this point! But it’s already at this point when things change, and we are introduced to the serpent. Who is this serpent? Let’s look for clues. We’ll start with his names.

The Serpent (Dragon) – who is the Devil and Satan.

 Rev20:2He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent who is the devil and Satan.  

He is the Dragon (serpent) because that’s the form/body he has. He is called the shining one, the bright morning star, the light bearer as he is adorned with bright precious stones. In Latin “Lux” means light and “Ferre” to carry or bear in English Lucifer. (Webster’s)

Because he falsely accuses us before God (Rev12:10) he is called the Devil.

devil – (Strong’s Greek: 1228) diábolos a slanderer; a false accuser; unjustly criticizing to hurt (malign) and condemn to sever a relationship.

So, remember when you are weighed down by critical thoughts and feelings of condemnation (guilt, unworthiness) it’s not from God it’s the Devil trying to sever your relationship with God. Why? because he is God’s and our adversary.

Satan – (Strong’s Greek: 4567) adversary – an enemy or opponent.

When it feels like the world is against you its because it is! (24/7 all day every day!) But God is for us, and this is the very truth Satan seeks to hide from us because with God on our side we win; however, if he can sever our relationship with God then he has power over us. What happened? How did we get to this point? Let’s look at a few more clues to the mystery!

Eze28:12You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. 13You were in Eden, the garden of God. Every kind of precious stone adorned you: ruby, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and emerald. Your mountings and settings were crafted in gold, prepared on the day of your creation. 14You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for I had ordained you. You were on the holy mountain of God; you walked among the fiery stones. 15From the day you were created you were blameless in your ways— until wickedness was found in you. 16By the vastness of your trade, you were filled with violence, and you sinned. So, I drove you in disgrace from the mountain of God, and I banished you, O guardian cherub, from among the fiery stones. 17Your heart grew proud of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor; so, I cast you to the earth; I made you a spectacle before kings. 

So, in the kingdom of heaven we have a powerful Eloah (spiritual being) who is a guardian cherub in the Garden of Eden. He was so bright and beautiful decked out in precious stones that he becomes corrupted, proud and arrogant to the point he would challenge God’s authority. This is the beginning of sin and the source of all evil in the world.  

A rebellion in the kingdom of heaven was the challenge to the plan and the will of God. It starts a war in the heavens that would spread to the earth. He who was to guard the Garden of Eden and those in it would now deceive them and begin to enslave them and rule over them. He would begin to impose his (I) will upon creation and a third of the angels would follow him in his quest for self-glory. A false “god” with a hierarchy of fallen angels would now rule the earth and the kingdom(s) of Adam (man).

 Isa14:12 How you have fallen from heaven, O Day star (Lucifer), son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the ground, O destroyer of nations. 13You said in your heart: “I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God. I will sit on the mount of assembly, in the far reaches of the north. 14I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.” 

The Fall – of Man (Adam).

Gen3:1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field that the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden?’ ” 2The woman answered the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden, 3but about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You must not eat of it or touch it, or you will die.’ ” 4“You will not surely die,” the serpent told her. 5“For God knows that in the day you eat of it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6When the woman saw that the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eyes, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom, she took the fruit and ate it. She also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate it. 7And the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; so they sewed together fig leaves and made coverings for themselves.  

Like he still does today the serpent makes you doubt the words of God “Did God really say”. Now he says things like “Is the Bible really the word of God” and “Did the events in the Bible really happen or are they just stories and allegories”? Well, let’s find out. Notice the fruit didn’t just look good enough to eat. “It was desirable for obtaining wisdom” and Adam and Eve desired to know good and evil. They also had the free will to do as they pleased. So, they ate the fruit and broke the one rule in the garden and chose the words of the serpent over the words of God. Now they knew they were naked. The end of innocence is the knowledge of evil. No longer did they have God’s nature but the “crafty” nature of the serpent. Adam and Eve with all their future descendants (Adam’s family, mankind) were now under the power of the serpent. They belonged to him and his rebellious kingdom.

1John5:19 We know that we are of God, and that the whole world is under the power of the evil one. 

Eph6:12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this world’s darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 

The relationship between God and Adam (mankind) had been severed because Adam and Eve broke the covenant when they sinned. They would be banished from Eden, the garden, the Tree of Life and the presence of God.

 Gen3:22 Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil. And now, lest he reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever…” 23Therefore the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. 24So He drove out the man and stationed cherubim on the east side of the Garden of Eden, along with a whirling sword of flame to guard the way to the tree of life. 

Jubilees 3:15 And in the first week of the first jubilee, Adam and his wife were in the Garden of Eden for seven years tilling and keeping it, and we gave him work and we instructed him to do everything that is suitable for tillage.

What is sin?

Sin – (Strong’s Greek: 266) hamartía (a feminine noun derived from 1 /A “not” and 3313 /méros, “a part, share of”) – properly, no-share (“no part of”); loss (forfeiture) because not hitting the target; sin (missing the mark).

It’s like we’re all archers trying to hit a target God has put before us in order to be in His presence. Did Adam and Eve hit the bullseye? No, they missed the whole target and that’s what it means to sin: missing the mark and thereby losing (forfeiting) our right to be in the presence of God. What was the target they were trying to hit? To do what’s right to fulfill their part of the covenant. God told Adam and Eve not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil for in the day that you eat of it, you will surely die Gen2:17. So, it would cost them their lives to gain the knowledge of evil. Death would enter the world, and eternal life would come to end.

Rom6:23For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Adam and Eve sinned, and they paid the price, they died both a physical death (their bodies) and a spiritual death (their spirits severed from God, the source of life).

Notice Gen2:17 says in the day that you eat of it, you will surely die. We could say they died spiritually that day, but they didn’t die physically in a 24-hour day. What if God meant they would die within a millennial day? Remember in part one we discuss that a millennial day is at least 980 years (20 Jubilees cycles). With that in mind, Adam and his sons should have lived close to, but not more than, 980 years of age. Below is a chart that shows this to be true (until the flood of Genesis) according to their ages in the Bible. Methuselah lived the longest at 969 years. A day is like a thousand years and without access to the Tree of Life Adam and his descendants would die within a millennial day.

Would Adam and Eve remain severed from God forever? No, but once again they would need to do what God is telling them to do as part of a new covenant. To fulfill this covenant, they would need to sacrifice an animal. They would shed its blood to cover their sin for one year. The death of the animal would be payment (Atonement) for their sin(s) thereby giving them access to God. God is making a new covenant with Adam and Eve and their descendants if they will keep the covenant.

Lev17:11 For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life.

Heb9:22 According to the law, in fact, nearly everything must be purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

This was done for Adam and Eve when God sacrificed an animal for each one of them to both cover their sin debt with the blood and to cover their naked bodies with the skins. 

Gen3:1 And the LORD God made clothing from animal skins for Adam and his wife.

With their innocence gone and eyes wide open the very next verse after leaving the Garden of Eden is this:

Gen4:1 And Adam had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain. “With the help of the LORD I have brought forth a man,” she said. 2Later she gave birth to Cain’s brother Abel.

Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, while Cain was a tiller of the soil. 3When it was time for the harvest, Cain brought some of the fruit of the soil as an offering to the LORD, 4while Abel brought the best portions of the firstborn of his flock. And the LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, 5but He had no regard for Cain and his offering. So, Cain became very angry, and dejected.

6“Why are you angry,” said the LORD to Cain, “and why do you look dejected? 7If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you refuse to do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires you, but you must master it.” 8Then Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let us go out to the field.” And while they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him.

Wow it didn’t take long for the nature of the serpent to show up in the sons of Adam! The first-born son would rebel against God by refusing to do what God said to do. So, sin crouching at his door became the desire to kill his only brother.

What did Cain do wrong? All the descendants of Adam are under the curse of sin and their sin(s) would also need to be atoned for by the shedding of an animal’s blood. If they wanted to be in a covenant with God. They would offer a sacrifice to God to see if He would except it if yes, their sin debt was covered for one year. If Cain would have done the same, his offering would have been accepted. Instead, his offering was the fruit of the soil, so no blood was shed; therefore, his offering was not accepted. Cain choose to reject the covenant with God and then killed his righteous brother who accepted the covenant. Notice the animal Abel sacrificed was the firstborn of his sheep, a lamb. So, a lamb would die to atone (payoff) their sin debt (death). It would die for their sin(s).

How would Cain’s sons turn out? Here’s a quote from Cain’s great-grandson Lamech. He’s pretty proud of his sin.

Gen4:23Then Lamech said to his wives: “Adah and Zillah, hear my voice; wives of Lamech, listen to my speech. For I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for striking me. 24If Cain is avenged sevenfold, then Lamech seventy-sevenfold.”

The Sons of Seth.

Gen4:25And Adam again had relations with his wife, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth, saying, “God has granted me another seed in place of Abel, since Cain killed him.”

26And to Seth also a son was born, and he called him Enosh. At that time men began to call upon the name of the LORD.

Unlike Cain and his sons, Seth’s sons would call upon the name of the Lord. For this reason, it will be the sons of Seth that God will make covenants with. This is why the Bible details and follows the lives of the sons of Seth. From Seth to Jesus!

Next is a chart showing the descendants of Adam through his son Seth and their lifespans. (Seth – Joseph)

The Watchers (fallen angels) come down from Heaven to earth and create the Nephilim.

The pre-flood world was crazier than we are taught in Sunday school. Some of the angels (Elohim) also called the watchers left their abode in the heavens, came to earth, took wives for themselves, and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.

These fallen angels (Elohim) mated with woman. Creating “seeds” (children) of their own called the Nephilim, half human half angel hybrids…Demigods like the ones in Greek mythology.

Gen6:1-4 1Now it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them, 2that the sons of God saw the daughters of men(Adam), that they were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose.3And the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.” 4 Therewere giants (Nephilim) on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came into the daughters of men (Adam) and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown. 5Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. 7So the Lord said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.” 8But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. 9This is the account of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation; Noah walked with God. 10And Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.11Now the earth was corrupt in the sight of God, and full of violence. 12And God looked upon the earth and saw that it was corrupt; for all living creatures on the earth had corrupted their ways.

Enoch6:1. And it came to pass when the children of men had multiplied that in those days were born unto them beautiful and comely daughters. 2. And the angels, the children of the heaven, saw and lusted after them, and said to one another: ‘Come, let us choose us wives from among the children of men and beget us children.’ 3. And Semjâzâ, who was their leader, said unto them: ‘I fear ye will not indeed agree to do this deed, and I alone shall have to pay the penalty of a great sin.’ 4. And they all answered him and said: ‘Let us all swear an oath, and all bind ourselves by mutual imprecations not to abandon this plan but to do this thing.’ 5. Then sware they all together and bound themselves by mutual imprecations upon it. 6. And they were in all two hundred, who descended ⌈in the days⌉ of Jared on the summit of Mount Hermon, and they called it Mount Hermon, because they had sworn and bound themselves by mutual imprecations upon it. 7. And these are the names of their leaders: Sêmîazâz, their leader, Arâkîba, Râmêêl, Kôkabîêl, Tâmîêl, Râmîêl, Dânêl, Êzêqêêl, Barâqîjâl, Asâêl(Azazel), Armârôs, Batârêl, Anânêl, Zaqîêl, Samsâpêêl, Satarêl, Tûrêl, Jômjâêl, Sariêl.. 8. And these are the chiefs of their angels and their names, and their chief ones over hundreds and over fifties and over tens.

Just so you don’t think it’s completely crazy, there is a lot of evidence that supports the Bible. This is just one chart, and these guys are little compared to the pre-flood Nephilim. The pre-flood giants were killed and then petrified during the flood. Below is a video showing large, petrified humans and creatures.

Stop the first video below at 2:09 and the big skull you see in the cliff is Golgotha “the place of the skull” where Jesus was crucified. 2000 years ago, before all the erosion people would have seen these creatures more intact and they named them accordingly.

John19:16-17 16Then Pilate handed Jesus over to be crucified, and the soldiers took Him away. 17Carrying His own cross, He went out to The Place of the Skull, which in Hebrew is called Golgotha.

The invasion of earth – by the Sons of God – the Watcher.

This is why God caused the flood that destroyed all flesh. All flesh had become corrupted by these 200 hundred watchers (elohim), fallen angels who made a covenant between themselves. They came down from the heavens like gods. Corrupt immortal beings living among mortal mankind who did whatever they desired. We are told they came down in the days of Jared, Enoch’s father, in the 10^th Jubilee cycles 490AM (AM years from creation).

Around 650 years after Satan started the war in the heavens, he plans an invasion of earth from the heavens. In history a lot of military invasions are done with the intent of genocide. Conquer the land then kill or enslave the men first and then rape the women so they carry your seed (offspring). That tactic originated here with great success, but who thought it up…. Satan? No, it would be one of his up-and-coming leaders of the invasion who was about to make a name for himself… Azazel.

Azazel – creates weapons of war for men and cosmetics for women.

Enoch8:1-3 1 And Azazel taught men to make swords, and knives, and shields, and breastplates, and made known to them the metals of the earth and the art of working them, and bracelets, and ornaments, and the use of antimony, and the beautifying of the eyelids, and all kinds of costly stones, and all 2colouring tinctures. And there arose much godlessness, and they committed fornication, and they 3were led astray, and became corrupt in all their ways.

Enoch10:4-8 4And again the Lord said to Raphael: Bind Azazel hand and foot and cast him into the darkness: and make an opening 5 in the desert, which is in Dudael, and cast him therein. And place upon him rough and jagged rocks, and cover him with darkness, and let him abide there forever, and cover his face that he may7 not see light. And on the day of great judgment, he shall be cast into the fire. And heal the earth which the angels have corrupted, and proclaim the healing of the earth, that they may heal the plague, and that all the children of men may not perish through all the secret things that the 8 Watchers have disclosed and have taught their sons. And the whole earth has been corrupted 9 through the works that were taught by Azazel: to him ascribe all sin.’

Azazel – locked up in a pit in the desert until judgement day.

Azazel taught men the Art of War and women the Art of Seduction. And the whole earth has been corrupted 9 through the works that were taught by Azazel: to him ascribe all sin.’ Notice Azazel would be bound hand and foot and cast into the darkness of an opening (a Pit) in the desert, which is in Dudael, and cast him therein! And on the day of great judgment, he shall be cast into the fire.

9. And to Gabriel said the Lord: ‘Proceed against the bastards and the reprobates, and against the children of fornication: and destroy [the children of fornication and] the children of the Watchers from amongst men [and cause them to go forth]: send them one against the other that they may destroy each other in battle: for length of days shall they not have. 10. And no request that they (i.e. their fathers) make of thee shall be granted unto their fathers on their behalf; for they hope to live an eternal life, and that each one of them will live five hundred years.’ 11. And the Lord said unto Michael: ‘Go, bind Semjâzâ and his associates who have united themselves with women so as to have defiled themselves with them in all their uncleanness. 12. And when their sons have slain one another, and they have seen the destruction of their beloved ones, bind them fast for seventy generations in the valleys of the earth, till the day of their judgement and of their consummation, till the judgement that is for ever and ever is consummated.

The rest of the watchers are locked up in the valleys of the earth until the judgement day.

As a judgment, the Watchers (fallen Angels) would watch as their children, the Nephilim, destroyed each other in battle. Then God said to His loyal Angel (Eloah) Michael ‘Go, bind Semjâzâ and his associates who have united themselves with women so as to have defiled themselves with them in all their uncleanness. till the day of their judgement

Jude1:6 And the angels who did not stay within their own domain but abandoned their proper dwelling—these He has kept in eternal chains under darkness, bound for judgment on that great day.

Apostle Peter uses the term “tartarus” the abyss prison in Greek mythology…hmm!

2Pet2:4-5 4For if God did not spare the angels when they sinned, but cast them deep into tartarus, placing them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment; 5if He did not spare the ancient world when He brought the flood on its ungodly people, but preserved Noah.                                                      

God sent His loyal angels down to earth to do 3 things. First, destroy the offspring of the Watchers. Second, bind the Watchers in chains underground until judgement day. Third, cleanse the earth of corrupted mankind. He brought the flood on its ungodly people but preserved Noah. (1656AM)

Gen6:8Noah, however, found favor in the eyes of the LORD.9This is the account of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation; Noah walked with God. 10And Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

Gen6:17And behold, I will bring floodwaters upon the earth to destroy every creature under the heavens that has the breath of life. Everything on the earth will perish. 18But I will establish My covenant with you, and you will enter the ark—you and your sons and your wife and your sons’ wives with you.

Gen6:22So, Noah did everything precisely as God had commanded him.

Noah was blameless in his generation.

blameless – (Strong’s Greek: 8549) tamim from tamam; entire (literally, figuratively or morally); also (as noun) integrity, truth — without blemish, complete, full, perfect, sincerely (-ity), sound, without spot, undefiled, upright(-ly), whole.

As Noah walked with God it appears he kept himself whole. Fully a man, he wasn’t tainted with the seed of the Nephilim. Through Noah and his sons, the earth would be repopulated. Due to excessive sin the lifespan of people born after the flood would decrease to 120 years. “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.”

The Sons of Seth – survive the flood to repopulate the earth.

Noah is a great-grandson of Seth; therefore, it would be the sons of Seth that God would preserve thru the flood while Cain’s sons would be purged from the earth. From one man, Noah, through his sons, grandsons and great-grandsons the earth would be repopulated. The bloodline of Seth would continue through Shem down to Abram. Here is a chart from Genesis chapter 10 called the “Table of Nations”. Most of the modern nations have been traced back to these guys below. Good book called “After the Flood” by Bill Cooper.

Noah and his sons walked off the ark and became the nations of the world. It was 353 years from the flood to the birth of Abram (Abraham).

Abraham – receives the promise from God.

Gen12:1Then the LORD said to Abram, “Leave your country, your kindred, and your father’s household, and go to the land I will show you.2I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you; and all the families of the earth will be blessed through you.”

423 years after the flood, God confirms His covenant with Abram. If he will leave his homeland and go to a land God wants to show/give him then God will make his descendants into a great nation. What land do you think God wants to give to Abram? Where else but the land God chose to dwell with Adam… Eden!

Eden – where God will dwell and rule the kingdoms of man.

But where was this paradise on earth? We are told in Genesis 2 it’s near three lands: Assyria, Cush and Havilah. A river’s headwater starts in Eden and then flows out of Eden to water the Garden. It then branches into four rivers: Pishon, Gihon, Euphrates and Hiddekel (Tigress). As we are told, Moses (who talked with God face to face like a man talks to his friend) wrote the Book of Genesis almost 1’000 years after the flood. His description of Eden appears post-flood. Notice the three lands are named after Noah’s grandsons Asshur, Cush and Havilah who were all born after the flood. How much did the area change from pre-flood to post-flood. We don’t know for sure, but I believe there’s enough evidence to figure out the location of the Garden of Eden. This will take a little reading and some graphics but it’s important for understanding the plan of God as this is the place God chose to dwell/rule on the earth. Making it the seat of power on the earth and the very place Satan desires. So, it’s here-in and around Eden that most of the battles between God and Satan are fought, including the final battle of Armageddon. More on that later.

Gen2:8And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, where He placed the man He had formed. 9Out of the ground the LORD God gave growth to every tree that is pleasing to the eye and good for food. And in the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 10Now a river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it branched into four headwaters: 11The name of the first river is Pishon; it winds through the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12And the gold of that land is pure, and bdellium and onyx are found there. 13The name of the second river is Gihon; it winds through the whole land of Cush. 14The name of the third river is Hiddekel (Tigress); it runs along the east side of Assyria (land of Asshur). And the fourth river is the Euphrates.

See the four modern countries for points of reference Ethiopia, Egypt, Israel and Iraq. We know the three lands and the four rivers. What’s missing is the connection between the four rivers and the headwaters of Eden where all the water used to come from. That missing connection is the Jordan river that flows through the Jordan valley which creates the eastern border of ancient Canaan (the promised land future Israel).

When the headwaters stopped flowing into the Jordan Valley it began to dry up. This created the Dead Sea and the Sea of Galilee with a small river flowing between them called the Jordan river.

What we call the Jordan River today used to link the 4 rivers together before the flood.

What about the headwaters of Eden that became a river that flows into the Garden of Eden and then branches into 4 rivers? Well, there just happens to be a large spring in Jerusalem that supplies all the water for the city. This spring has the same name as one of the rivers of the Garden of Eden-the Gihon Spring (the living waters). The Gihon Spring is the headwaters of the Garden of Eden. It once (pre-flood) flowed eastward into the Jordan Valley then branched into the Gihon and Pishon Rivers as it flowed south through the lands of Cush and Havilah. The water that flowed northeast branched into the Euphrates and Tigress Rivers as it flowed through the land of (Asshur)Assyria.

Eden – the promised land.

The land between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River was called Eden from the beginning of creation until the flood of Genesis. After the flood, Noah’s not so good grandson Canaan with his 11 sons moved into Eden and renamed it the land of Canaan. Then God promised to bring back the sons of Noah’s good grandsons Abram (Abraham). Eden (Canaan) was called the “promised land”. After God fulfilled His promise to Abraham by bringing his grandson Israel back to Eden (Canaan, promised land) it was called the land of Israel.

This means the Garden of Eden was in the eastern parts of Israel which just happens to be one of the most violently contested areas in the world today. We know it as the West Bank.

This will become more evident as we continue on. Do we have any clues to where Adam and Eve went after they were forced out? Well, we have a city named Adam and there is only one Adam in the Bible, but this is a post-flood city mentioned in the book of Joshua. Perhaps it was rebuilt on the pre-flood ruins We are not sure but the location of the city of Adam is worth noting as it is just east of Eden, which is exactly where God sent them. It looks like they crossed over the eastern border of Eden (the Jordan River) and settled as close to the Garden of Eden as they could.

Remember Cain’s punishment for killing Abel was to be sent east of Eden also. Cain, however, was told to keep wandering east away from God.

Gen4:11Now you are cursed and banished from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 12When you till the ground; it will no longer yield its produce to you. You will be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.”

Gen4:16So Cain went out from the presence of the LORD and settled in the land of Nod (the land of wandering), east of Eden.

As Cain wandered eastward, he found the Euphrates and Tigress Rivers and settle between them. The place is called Mesopotamia, which means “a land in the middle of two rivers”. This is where Cain and his sons would build their cities. This fertile crescent was the cradle of civilization before and after the flood. This would be the “world” at the time of the flood judgement. In this fertile crescent Noah and his sons built the Ark.

After the flood the Ark came to rest around Mount Ararat just north of Mesopotamia. Noah’s sons, grandsons and great-grandsons would return to the same place they lived before the flood (Mesopotamia).

Noah’s sons, grandsons and great-grandsons are the fathers of the nations. Noah’s descendants began in Mesopotamia but spread all over the earth. The land where God chose to dwell with man (Adam) remains the land of Eden. God is about to call Abram (Abraham) to be the father of a great nation. God will lead this nation back to the Garden of Eden as a people for Himself. Let’s see how that works in Part 3 The Age of the Israelites.