The Trees of Eden

Yeshũa is our model in all things, so if one’s soul is said to go to ‘Sheōl’ to await resurrection, one should expect the same to be said of Yeshũa’s soul. This understanding was shared by the ‘church fathers’:

‘For no disciple is above the Master, but every one that is perfect shall be as his Master. As our Master, did not at once depart, taking flight, but awaited the time of His resurrection prescribed by the Father, which had been also shown forth through Jonas, and rising again after three days was taken up [to heaven], so ought we also to await the time of our resurrection prescribed by God and foretold by the prophets’

Iraneus Against Heresies, Book 5, Chapter 31

The faithful receive ‘grace/favour’ when it comes to their past transgressions:

Ephesians 4:7

7 But to each one of us grace/favour was given according to the measure of the gift of Messiah.

The gift mentioned here is eternal life:

Romans 6:23

23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gracious/favourable gift of Elohim is everlasting life in Messiah ישוע our Master.

This gift is given to those who believe God:

Ephesians 2:8

8 For by grace/favour you have been saved/delivered, through faith/belief, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of Elohim.

One who was in captivity to sin is now, having repented, in captivity to righteousness:

Ephesians 4:7-8

7 But to each one of us grace/favour was given according to the measure of the gift of Messiah.

8 That is why it says, “When He went up on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men.”

Romans 6:16-18

16 Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves servants for obedience, you are servants of the one whom you obey, whether of sin to death, or of obedience to righteousness?

17 But thanks to Elohim that you were servants of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of teaching to which you were entrusted.

18 And having been set free from sin, you became servants of righteousness.

‘Leading captivity captive’ may also refer to a specific event that took place in ‘Sheōl’. When Yeshũa died, we are told that He went to ‘Sheōl’:

Matthew 12:40

40 “For as Yonah was three days and three nights in the stomach of the great fish, so shall the Son of Aḏam be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

This is also written of in Ephesians 4:

Ephesians 4:9

9 But what does “He went up” mean, except that He also first went down into the lower parts of the earth?

This elucidates for us what Yeshũa said to the thief on the cross about being ‘with Him’ that day ‘in paradise’:

Luke 23:39-43

39 And one of the evil-doers who were hanged, was speaking evil of Him, saying, “If You are the Messiah, save/deliver Yourself and us.”

40 But the other, responding, rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear Elohim, since you are under the same judgment?

41 “And we, indeed, rightly so, for we receive the due reward of our deeds, but this One has done no wrong.”

42 And he said to ישוע, “Master, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.”

43 And ישוע said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in paradise.”

Some will say that the comma in the English translation should be after the ‘today’, making it, ‘Truly I say to you today, you shall be with Me in paradise.’ i.e. that He was declaring to him that day that the thief would be with Him in paradise (at an undetermined future point), meaning that Yeshũa did not necessarily go to paradise that day. Although a clever linguistic point, this does not accord with how Yeshũa always used the, ‘Truly I say to you’, preamble:

Matthew 5:18

18 “For truly, I say to you, till the heaven and the earth pass away, one yod or one tittle shall by no means pass from the Torah till all be done

Matthew 5:26

26 “Truly, I say to you, you shall by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny.

Matthew 6:2

2 “Thus, when you do a kind deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do, in the congregations and in the streets, to be praised by men. Truly, I say to you, they have their reward.

Matthew 6:5

5 “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the congregations and on the corners of the streets, to be seen by men. Truly, I say to you, they have their reward.

Matthew 6:16

16 “And when you fast, do not be sad-faced like the hypocrites. For they disfigure their faces so that they appear to be fasting to men. Truly, I say to you, they have their reward.

Matthew 8:10

10 And when ישוע heard, He marvelled, and said to those who followed, “Truly, I say to you, not even in Yisra’ĕl have I found such great faith/belief!

Matthew 10:15

15 “Truly, I say to you, it shall be more bearable for the land of Seḏom and Amorah in the day of judgment than for that city!

Matthew 10:23

23 “And when they persecute you in this city, flee to another. For truly, I say to you, you shall by no means have gone through the cities of Yisra’ĕl before the Son of Aḏam comes.

Matthew 10:42

42 “And whoever gives one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, truly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward.”

Matthew 11:11

11 “Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than Yoḥanan the Baptist, yet the least one in the kingdom of the heavens is greater than he.

Matthew 13:17

17 for truly I say to you, that many prophets and righteous ones longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

Matthew 16:28

28 “Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste death at all until they see the Son of Aḏam coming in His kingdom:“

Matthew 17:20

20 And ישוע said to them, “Because of your unbelief, for truly, I say to you, if you have faith/belief as a mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it shall move. And no matter shall be impossible for you.

Matthew 18:3

3 and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become as little children, you shall by no means enter into the kingdom of the heavens.

Matthew 18:13

13 “And if he should find it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray.

Matthew 18:18

18 “Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be having been bound in heaven, and whatever you loosen on earth shall be having been loosened in heaven

Matthew 19:23

23 And ישוע said to His disciples, “Truly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of the heavens.

Matthew 19:28

28 And ישוע said to them, “Truly I say to you, when the Son of Aḏam sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me in the rebirth, shall also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Yisra’ĕl.

Matthew 21:21

21 And ישוע answering, said to them, “Truly, I say to you, if you have faith/belief and do not doubt, you shall not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be thrown into the sea,’ it shall be done.

Matthew 21:31

31 “Which of the two did the desire of the father?” They said to Him, “The first.” ישוע said to them, “Truly, I say to you that tax collectors and whores are entering into the kingdom of Elohim before you,

Matthew 23:36

36 “Truly, I say to you, all this shall come upon this generation.

Matthew 24:2

2 And ישוע said to them, “Do you not see all these? Truly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, at all, which shall not be thrown down.”

Matthew 24:47

47 “Truly, I say to you that he shall set him over all his possessions.

Matthew 25:12

12 “But he answering, said, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’

Matthew 25:40

40 “And the King shall answer and say to them, ‘Truly, I say to you, in so far as you did it to one of the least of these My brothers, you did it to Me.’

Matthew 25:45

45 “Then He shall answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, in so far as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’

Matthew 26:13

13 “Truly, I say to you, wherever this Good News is proclaimed in all the world, what this woman has done shall be spoken of also, to her remembrance.”

Matthew 26:21

21 And while they were eating, He said, “Truly, I say to you, one of you shall deliver Me up.”

Matthew 26:34

34 ישוע said to him, “Truly, I say to you that this night, before the cock crows, you shall deny Me three times.”

In every other case, Yeshũa says, ‘Truly/verily I say to you’, followed by the statement He is truly/verily saying. In this case, His true statement is, ‘Today you shall be with me in paradise’:

Luke 23:43

43 And ישוע said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in paradise.”

This would mean that ‘paradise’ is in ‘Sheōl’, and this is confirmed by the rest of Scripture. The word translated as ‘paradise’ is the Greek word ‘paradeisos’:

Luke 23:43

43 And ישוע said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in paradise (paradeisos).”

This is a word which we see used elsewhere in Scripture:

2 Corinthians 12:2-4

2 I know a man in Messiah who fourteen years ago – whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, Elohim knows – such a one was caught up to the third heaven.

3 And I know such a man – whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, Elohim knows –

4 that he was caught up into paradise (paradeisos) and heard unspeakable words, which it is not right for a man to speak.

Paul here distinguishes ‘heaven’ from ‘paradise’. Many, believing that we go to a heavenly realm when we die, confuse ‘paradise’ as ‘heaven’, since they believe heaven to be an ‘afterlife’ ‘paradise’. This is, perhaps, amplified by the fact that this is a teaching of other religions. This is not the teaching of the Bible, however. The English word ‘paradise’ conjures up images of an idyllic setting, but the Greek word ‘paradeisos’ means ‘garden’:

Genesis 2:8

8 And יהוה Elohim planted a garden in Ěḏen, to the east, and there He put the man whom He had formed.

Genesis 2:8 (Brenton’s LXX)

8 And God planted paradise (paradeisos) in Eden according to the east, and he put there the man whom He shaped.  

Genesis 13:10

10 And Lot lifted his eyes and saw all the plain of the Yardĕn, that it was well watered everywhere – before יהוה destroyed Seḏom and Amorah – like the garden of יהוה, like the land of Mitsrayim as you go toward Tso‛ar.

Genesis 13:10 (Brenton’s LXX)

10  And Lot having lifted up his eyes, observed all the country round about Jordan, that it was all watered, before God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrha, as the paradise (paradeisos) of the Lord, and as the land of Egypt, until thou come to Zogora. 

We see that the tree of life is still in this ’paradeisos’ in Revelation 2:

Revelation 2:7

7 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies. To him who overcomes I shall give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise/garden (paradeisos) of Elohim.”’

If we know that Yeshũa went to paradise, and we know that He went to the heart of the earth, and that ‘Sheōl’ is in the heart/depths of the earth, then we can conclude that paradise is in ‘Sheōl’. This is, presumably, where Abraham and the other faithful are. In Yeshũa’s account of ‘Sheōl’, He details how those in Abraham’s bosom (those with Abraham) are separated from the condemned by a great chasm and that they are comforted whilst the condemned are tormented by a flame (presumably, the eternal fire of their destruction):

Luke 16:24-26

24 “And crying out he said, ‘Father Aḇraham, have compassion on me, and send El῾azar to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am tormented by this flame.’

25 “But Aḇraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your life you received your good, and likewise El῾azar the evil, but now he is comforted and you are suffering.

26 ‘And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set, so that those who wish to pass from here to you are unable, nor do those from there pass to us.’

We have confirmation that the trees of Eden (such as the tree of life) are currently located in ‘Sheōl’ from the book of Ezekiel:

Ezekiel 31:16

16 I shall make the nations shake at the sound of its fall, when I bring it down to She’ol together with those who descend into the pit. And all the trees of Ěḏen, the choice and best of Leḇanon, all that drink water, shall be comforted in the depths of the earth.

Peter informs us as to Yeshũa’s purposes during His time in ‘Sheōl’:

1 Peter 3:18-20

18 Because even Messiah once suffered for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to Elohim, having been put to death indeed in flesh but made alive in the Spirit,

19 in which also He went and proclaimed unto the spirits in prison,

An understanding of who those ‘spirits in prison’ were is seen in the Aramaic English New Testament:

1 Peter 3:19-20 (Aramaic English New Testament)

19 And he preached to those souls that were detained in Sheol;

20 Which were formerly disobedient in the days of Noah when the long suffering of Elohim commanded an ark to be made, in hope of their repentance; and eight souls only entered into it and were kept alive in the waters.

The sins of these men were not reckoned to them since there was no Torah and they had not therefore, sinned like Adam, who had been instructed as to what was right and disobeyed:

Romans 5:12-14

12 For this reason, even as through one man sin did enter into the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned –

13 for until the Torah, sin was in the world, but sin is not reckoned when there is no Torah.

14 But death reigned from Aḏam until Mosheh, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Aḏam, who is a type of Him who was to come.

Yeshũa preached to these souls who sinned in ignorance:

1 Peter 3:18-20

18 Because even Messiah once suffered for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to Elohim, having been put to death indeed in flesh but made alive in the Spirit,

19 in which also He went and proclaimed unto the spirits in prison,

20 who were disobedient at one time when the patience of Elohim waited in the days of Noaḥ, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved/delivered through water,

His preaching is also mentioned by Peter in the next chapter:

1 Peter 4:1-6

1 Therefore, since Messiah suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, because he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin,

2 so that he no longer lives the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but according to the desire of Elohim.

3 For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the desire of the nations, having walked in indecencies, lusts, drunkenness, orgies, wild parties, and abominable idolatries,

4 in which they are surprised that you do not run with them in the same flood of loose behaviour, blaspheming,

5 who shall give an account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.

6 For this reason the Good News was also brought to those who are dead, so that, whereas they are judged according to men in the flesh, they might live according to Elohim in the spirit.

Yeshũa’s three days and three nights in ‘Sheōl’ were spent preaching to these souls to allow them to come to God. ‘Hades’ is the Greek word for ‘Sheōl’ (see Appendix – Heaven and Hell), and the testimony of the Word is that Yeshũa possesses the key to ‘Sheōl’:

Revelation 1:17-18

17 And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead, and He placed His right hand on me, saying, “Do not be afraid, I am the First and the Last,

18 and the living One. And I became dead, and see, I am living forever and ever. Amĕn. And I possess the keys of Hell (Hades) and of Death.”

When Yeshũa returns, the dead in Messiah will be released from ‘Sheōl’ and will meet Him in the air, having been resurrected in spiritual flesh.