My daughter bought me a new Bible for my B-day.It was one that I had been asking for, for a long time and she just happened to find the perfect one.
I had been looking for a Bible that I could just use for reading purposes,and still understand it.I was raised in church and am set on the "King James" version for the most part,but sometimes,I want to just read,w/out having to break out commentaries and dictionaries and concordance to research what is "really" being said,but to just read....for the pleasure of it. Anyways, a few years ago I was introduced to a wonderful translation that allowed this type of reading pleasure called "The Message" translation.But I only had the New Testament and I wanted one of the entire scriptures,old and new.So my daughter,who is the store mngr. of a Bible book store,bought me a copy of this translation and its even Hot Pink!!! which I absolutly LOVE!!!!
Here is an example of what I am talking about,I started at the beginning,in Genesis and I did'nt get far before I found myself pondering some interesting info............
In chapter two,God describes the garden of Eden...."Then God planted a garden in Eden,in the East.He put the man he had just made in it.God made all kinds of trees grow from the ground,trees beautiful to look at and good to eat.The Tree of Life was in the middle of the garden,also the tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.
A river flows out of Eden to water the garden and from there divides into four rivers.The first is named Pishon;it flows through Havilah where there is gold.The gold of this land is good.The land is also known for a sweet scented resin and the Onyx stone.The second river is Gihon;it flows through the land of Cush.The third river is named Hiddekel and flows East of Assyria. the fourth river is the Euphrates."
Then in the end of chapter 3 after Adam and Eve sinned,It say's this about the garden...."So God expelled them from the garden of Eden and sent them to work the ground,the same dirt out of which they had 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."
This description of the exact location of the garden and the details concerning all the rivers and stuff,really caught my attention,but what has stuck in my head and wont let me go is that last line......"a revolving sword of fire east of it,guarding the path to the Tree of Life." Thinking in todays terms and descriptions of landscape.It just makes me wonder,what exactly is a "revolving sword of fire" in todays standards? Any one care to take a stab at what they might think a "revolving sword of fire"might be??(no pun intended)
I welcome all comments and suggestions,you dont need to be a Bible scholar to lend me your thots.
So as I read my new Bible,and as I come accross other interesting topics or thoughts,I will throw them at ya'll.and let me know if you get one for yourself,it really is a good read!!
O.K. the scholar in me could'nt resist throwing this out there at ya'll....looking at a world map,it appears that the Euphrates runs from Northern Turkey,down through Syria,and into the Persian Gulf running through to Southern Iraq.
seeing this only at a glance,and keeping in mind that the other three rivers have probably changed names or are hidden somehow,I am beginning to get that bull dog feeling and the desire to sink my teeth into this.Anyone else GAME????
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Hmmmm, you might have me thinking ... I might have to do a little thinking ... before I would venture a guess.
The revolving sword of fire and the cherubim were put there to block Adam and Eve from the tree of life. If I were to take an educated guess, I would say that the revolving sword of fire is representative of Christ. There is a clue when the Bible says that it was placed east of the entrance to Eden. Christ, according to many, will reappear from the East. He will then call the faithful home, their bodies will be transformed in an instant and they will be ushered into the presence of God. Eden is a representation of Heaven. Christ gave back to man what Adam and Eve took away....immortality...when he died for us all on the cross and conquered death by rising on the third day. In addition, they are many references in the New Testament to the words of Christ being like tongues of fire and the sword of fire, especially in Revelation.
Iraq is mentioned numerous times in the Bible. It is amazing how the times are now revolving around this "hot" spot. Do some research and you will find some people think the Garden of Eden was in Iraq.
to southwesterngrad, Thanx, wow that is "rich" and it makes sense to me.Can you feel that day coming?? It is in the air!!
I had a dream about a dear friend of mine last nite,that was a mighty warrior for Christ,then he was killed,on the job,by a trucker not paying attention to the road. In my dream,He was sitting in a big recliner "lazy-boy"chair,and he was holding his bible.as I walked around the chair and looked at him,he simply said,"I'll see you soon".and that was my dream.
It really started me to thinkin!!
to dawgnurse, Yes I have heard that.Now w/ so much going on in the middle East(there's that word EAST again),and especially in Iraq,It really get's a person to thinking does'nt it?My Son-in-law is currently in his first tour of duty in Iraq and we saw some footage of his deployment and what it is like over there.It's a real eye opener. I cant even imagine what the garden must have been like,considering how dry and desolate it is over there.But I do also know that there are some mysteries that we will never understand until we are with Christ in the end.Our mortal bodies could not contain all the information and knowledge and mysteries that God has and knows.But I know I can hardly wait till the day when he will reveal his mysteries to me/us,then we will just simply.....know!!
Hi bboocrew, I thought I'd just share some of the interpretation that our church teaches about this passage. The King James version doesn't say the sword "revolves", it merely says it "turned every way to keep the way of the tree of life." Regardless of the wording, the Cherubim and flaming sword were placed there so that Adam and Eve would not partake of the fruit of tree of life right after partaking of the fruit of the tree of knowlege. If they had, they would have lived eternally in their sins, without a time to repent and serve God. I hope this helps.
Hmmm?? A revolving sword has me thinking of a long spear-like sword with flames on both ends...twirling.
FYI: I actually did a greek class one year and the "Message" version actually is a pretty accurate translation when compared to original Greek text.
Even with that info, I tend to stick with NKJ....Although like you...I like to read the Message too.
God Bless...
Laura
thanx for the info. on the Greek. I like just reading it for the sake of reading,kind of like a novel.I have started reading it at nite before I go to sleep and I am sleeping very SOUNDLY for the first time in a long time,and NO night-mares or wierd dreams of any kind.(the word of God is sharper than a two edged sword......)