Extracts of Francis Turretin
Did the Garden of Eden still exist after Adam’s fall?
And
if it once existed, does it still remain somewhere on earth today?
Many people throughout history believed that the earthly paradise—the Garden of Eden—still exists in some hidden or inaccessible place. Some thought it was preserved by God after the fall. Others imagined it remained somewhere far away in the East.
Turretin carefully examines this question and concludes that the earthly paradise does not still exist as it originally did.
The Garden of Eden was a real place on earth, but it no longer exists in its original glory and condition.
Its beauty, holiness, and special privileges were removed after sin entered the world.
Turretin first insists that paradise was not a myth, symbol, or imaginary story.
Scripture presents Eden as a real location.
Genesis describes:
real rivers,
real lands,
real trees,
and real human beings.
The Bible says:
“And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.”
— Genesis 2:8
The four rivers mentioned in Genesis 2 also show that Moses was describing an actual place on earth.
Therefore, Christians should reject the idea that Eden was merely allegorical or fictional.
Although Eden was real, Turretin argues that it did not remain unchanged after the fall.
When Adam sinned:
the ground was cursed,
death entered the world,
suffering began,
and mankind was expelled from paradise.
God said:
“Cursed is the ground for thy sake.”
— Genesis 3:17
And later:
“So he drove out the man.”
— Genesis 3:24
This expulsion was not temporary. Adam lost the right to dwell there.
Paradise was originally a place of:
innocence,
communion with God,
peace,
and blessing.
After sin, those privileges were removed.
Thus, even if the geographical region remained for a time, paradise as paradise ceased to exist.
Turretin gives special attention to the cherubim and flaming sword.
Scripture says:
“He placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword… to keep the way of the tree of life.”
— Genesis 3:24
This showed:
man could not return by his own effort,
access to life was now barred,
and the covenant of works had been broken.
The exclusion from Eden pointed to a deeper spiritual
truth:
fallen man cannot regain fellowship with God through his
own obedience.
Only through Christ can sinners regain eternal life.
Therefore, paradise was not preserved for future earthly access.
Turretin also argues that the flood in Noah’s day probably altered or destroyed the original geographical form of paradise.
The flood covered the entire earth:
“All the high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered.”
— Genesis 7:19
If the whole world was devastated by the flood, then Eden’s original beauty and arrangement could not have survived unchanged.
The rivers, landforms, and boundaries would have been greatly altered.
This explains why people cannot now identify Eden with certainty.
Turretin notes that many ancient writers imagined paradise still existed somewhere hidden.
Some believed:
it was on a high mountain,
beyond the known world,
or inaccessible to sinful men.
But Turretin rejects these speculations because Scripture never teaches them.
Christians should not build doctrines upon imagination or legend.
The Bible focuses not on recovering an earthly Eden, but on the heavenly inheritance promised in Christ.
Turretin emphasizes that Eden was a type and shadow of something greater.
The first paradise was temporary and earthly.
But believers
now seek a better country.
Adam lost an earthly paradise.
Christ gives His people a
heavenly one.
Scripture says:
“For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come.”
— Hebrews 13:14
And in Revelation:
“To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life.”
— Revelation 2:7
The earthly paradise has passed away, but through Christ believers will enter the eternal paradise of God.
Adam lost paradise because of disobedience.
Sin always separates man from God and brings misery and death.
The barred entrance to Eden teaches that sinners cannot return to God by their own works.
Salvation must come through grace.
The first Adam brought ruin.
The second Adam, Jesus Christ,
brings eternal life.
Romans 5:19:
“For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.”
Christians should not become obsessed with finding Eden on earth.
The true hope of the believer is not an earthly garden, but eternal fellowship with God.
According to Francis Turretin:
The Garden of Eden was a real historical place.
Adam truly lived there before the fall.
After sin entered the world, paradise lost its original glory and purpose.
Man was permanently expelled from it.
The flood likely destroyed or greatly altered its original condition.
Scripture gives no reason to believe Eden still exists somewhere hidden on earth.
Earthly paradise pointed forward to the greater heavenly paradise found in Christ.
The message of Scripture is not, “How can we find Eden
again?”
But rather, “How can sinners be reconciled to God?”
And the answer is found only in Jesus Christ.