Heavenly Fires: Angel in Eden
Heavenly Fires: Angel in Eden.
“So Yahweh expelled them from the Garden of Eden and sent them to work the ground, the same dirt out of which they’d been made. He threw them out of the Garden and stationed angel-cherubim and a revolving sword of fire east of it, guarding the path to the Tree of Life.” (Genesis 3:24, MSG).
In the center of the Garden of Eden, God planted two trees: the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, and the Tree of Life. Adam and Eve were forbidden to eat of their fruit. The Tree of the Knowledge was an opportunity… It was a test of obedience. God gave them the freedom to choose to disobey God or obey Him. The other Tree was put there to fulfill man’s destiny of eternal life, the fruit of immortality. The problem after the Fall is that mankind fell into a state of sin, they were no longer innocent. To eat of the Tree of Life would now lead to a hopeless life, a sinful life with no hope of ever achieving innocence, a sinful life that would never end. God would not want sinners to eat of the Tree of life, He would not want anyone under the power of sin to have eternal life. So God needed to protect the Tree of Life at all costs. God knew that if Adam and Eve were willful enough to disobey God with the one Tree, they could sooner or later disobey Him with the other Tree. This would be a catastrophe.
The first appearance of a heavenly fire in Scripture is in the Garden of Eden. God couldn’t stomach the idea that someone with a sinful nature could eat from the Tree of Life and achieve immortality in a fallen state, forever wicked. So Adam and Eve had to leave the Garden. To make sure He barred access to the Tree of Life, God stationed cherubim, we don’t know how many, to guard the Tree. Cherubim, those mighty and fearsome winged creatures created by God before the world began. Cherubim, the angel servants of Yahweh who flank the Throne, who accompany God’s glory, whose golden images arch over the Mercy Seat in the Holy of Holies. These cherubim were appointed by God in the Garden to have one mission… to guard the Tree of Life. Each angel wielded an awesome weapon, a revolving sword of fire, a flaming blade forged in heaven, that constantly turned in every direction, a fiery sword that flashed back and forth to protect the Tree of Life from being violated. This fire came from the celestial consuming fire, the glory of God.
“I’m about to call each conqueror to dinner. I’m spreading a banquet of Tree of Life fruit, a supper plucked from God’s orchard.” (Rev. 2:7). Because of Jesus’ death and Resurrection, the power of sin has been broken, and the Tree of Life is now ready to fulfill the destiny of mankind, eternal life. This Tree is available in paradise. God wants to restore the Garden of Eden in the new heaven and the new earth, and so, sure enough, God has placed the restored Tree of Life in the middle of heaven. This Tree is now open for business, it bears a fruit that is ripe for each of the 12 months. And it has leaves that are intended for the healing of the nations, the nurture and care of all people. The restored Tree of Life reverses the curse of the Garden. So one can see that this Tree is in many ways the Cross of Christ. Jesus’ death has destroyed the power of sin, and paved the way for believers to have eternal life. The Cross is our source of life, and has taken away the curse of sin. Jesus promises that all the overcomers, the victorious ones, will eat the fruit of this Tree, destined for these who participate in Christ’s victory and salvation.