TWO GARDENS

It is ironic that on this day when the United States remembers the horrible events of 9/11, that Our Daily Bread has a devotional on the two gardens:  Eden and Gethsemane.  The evil that motivated nineteen Muslims to carry out such a dastardly deed, set in motion the attempted take-over of the entire world by a religion of hate, violence, torture, rape, and murder.  Not only are they insane, but they appear to have hearts like Satan himself (Jn. 10:10)!

Eden was a perfect utopia; even God walked there in the cool of the day (Gen. 3:8).  Because Adam was a created being, he had no genetic flaws to blame for his disobedience.  Because he was in a perfect environment, he had no excuse for "going bad."  He was free to choose, free to listen to Satan, or obey his Creator.  We all know his choice, and because he trusted Satan rather than God, all of mankind now suffers the curse of death (Rom. 5:12).

Approximately four thousand years later, another "Adam" miraculously became flesh and dwelt among men:  Christ Jesus (1 Cor. 15:45-47)!  No one knows how long it took Adam to disobey God, but the "Last Adam," Jesus, obeyed His Father His entire life - Jesus never sinned (2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 4:15)!  The night before He was to be murdered, He knelt in another garden, Gethsemane, and unlike Eden, it was not in a perfect world!  By then, the world was filled with sinners, and even His disciples chose to sleep rather than pray with Him (Mt. 26:40).  Luke, who was not there (Mt. 26:37) but led of the Holy Spirit to write (2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Pet. 1:21), quoted Jesus as saying:  "...Father, if Thou be willing, remove this cup from Me: nevertheless not My will, but Thine, be done" (Lk. 22:42).

Two gardens of decision.  Two "Adams."  Two horrible outcomes!  The first brought sin and death into a perfect world.  The second turned a sinless Man into sin itself (2 Cor. 5:21), resulting in His being separated from His Father (Mt. 27:46), and Him suffering humiliation and the torturous death of crucifixion (Mt. 27:27-54).  Why?  Because God loves us!  John wrote (Jn. 3:14-18):
 
"And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:
that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.  For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.  For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved.  He that believes on Him is not condemned: but he that believes not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." 

One plan before creation began:  Two gardens - two "Adams" - two choices -

Revelation 13:8 or Revelation 17:8!