A VERY ancient image of heaven emphasizes the enclosed Garden or Paradise: both the primordial Garden of Eden and the eschatological paradise of Revelation 21-22, containing the river and tree of life and the fruits that heal and nourish forever.

1. PARADISE [παράδεισος /PARADEISOS] is a loan word from old Persian, where the pairi-daēza- (read pari-daiza- or -dēza-) of the Avesta denotes an enclosure, then the park surrounded by a wall. In Gk. it occurs first in Xenoph. for the parks of the Persian king and nobility. Already by the 3rd cent. b.c. it can then be used generally for a “park.” In Jewish Gk., from the LXX on, it is used esp. for the garden of God in the creation story (LXX Gn. 2:8–10, 16 etc.). More exactly God’s garden as distinct from secular parks is ὁ παράδεισος τοῦ θεοῦ (LXX Gn. 13:10; Ez. 28:13; 31:8; cf. ὡς παράδεισος κυρίου, Is. 51:3) or ὁ παράδεισος τῆς τρυφῆς (LXX Gn. 2:15 vl.; 3:23f.; Is. 51:3 vl.; Ez. 31:9; cf. ὡς παράδεισος τρυφῆς, Jl. 2:3; ὡς κῆπος τρυφῆς, Ez. 36:35).⁶ This involves a notable shift in meaning; the LXX has moved the term from the profane sphere to the religious. Test. L. 18:10 (→ n. 16) was then the first to give the simple word the technical sense of “Paradise.” This religious use is in the pseudepigr. extended to the intervening hidden Paradise (→ 767, 15 ff.) and the eschatological reappearance (→ 767, 3 ff.) of Paradise. In Jewish Gk. it seems to have led to the replacement of παράδεισος in the secular sense by κῆπος.

2. The Persian term was adopted in Heb. and Aram. too (Heb. פַּרְדֵּס, Aram. פַּרְדֵּיסָא) Here, however, it kept its profane sense and was used for “garden,” “park.”⁹ Only once does פַּרְדֵּס have a transf. sense in older Rabb. literature. In this instance it is used for metaphysical Gnostic speculations which are cosmogonic in content,¹¹ but the exception is due to Jewish Gk. influence. The consistent Rabb. term for the Paradise of the first, the intervening, and the last time is Heb. גַּן עֵדֶן, Aram. גִּנְּתָא דְעֵדֶן.¹²

The exclusive starting-point of all later Jewish statements about the Paradise of the first age is the Paradise story in Gn. 2 f. If this alone offered rich materials for imaginative adornment,¹⁴ this tendency was increased even further by the combination of Paradise with the eschatological hope.

The hope of a future time of bliss, which is commonly attested in the OT, may be traced back to long before the Exile. The depiction of this age uses Paradise motifs.¹⁵ The last time is like the first. Ezekiel. is the first explicitly to compare the expected time of salvation with the Paradise of the first age, 36:35; Is. 51:3. Only in pre-Christian apocalyptic, however, do we find the idea that the Paradise of the last age is identical with that of the first,¹⁶ that the Paradise of the first age reappears in that of the last. The site of reopened Paradise¹⁷ is almost without exception the earth,¹⁸ or the new Jerusalem.¹⁹ Its most important gifts are the fruits of the tree of life,²⁰ the water and bread of life,²¹ the banquet of the time of salvation,²² and fellowship with God.²³ The belief in resurrection gave assurance that all the righteous, even those who were dead, would have a share in reopened Paradise.

Identification of the Paradise of the first age with that of the second necessarily carried with it the further idea that Paradise exists now in hidden form. This hidden Paradise is first mentioned in The Ethiopian Enoch. Throughout apocalyptic it is the present abode of the souls of the departed patriarchs, the elect and the righteous, and Enoch and Elijah, who were translated thither during their lifetime. Whereas according to the older view sheol received the souls of all the dead, only the ungodly were now sought in sheol and the righteous in Paradise, → I, 147, 11–16. Hell. ideas about the future life played a normative part in this reconstruction of the concept of the intermediate state (→ n. 13). It should be noted, however, that both old and new ideas were still current in the NT period. Either Hades or Paradise (→ I, 147, 22–30) is here the abode of the souls of the righteous after death. This duality is important for an understanding of the statements about what happened to Jesus between Good Friday and Easter Day, → 771, 37 ff.

Pre-Christian apocalyptic has no consistent answer to the question where this hidden Paradise is to be found.

a. The older view seeks it on earth, usually in the extreme East (cf. Gn. 2:8),²⁷ also the North (Eth. En. 61:1–4; 77:3; cf. Is. 14:13) or Northwest (Eth. En. 70:3 f.), or the extreme West, or on a high mountain reaching up to heaven, cf. Ez. 28:13 f.

b. Closely related to the notion of a high mountain whose peak reaches into heaven is the idea, found from the 1st cent. a.d., that after Adam’s fall Paradise was translated to God (S. Bar. 4:3, 6), and that since then it has been in heaven, or more precisely in the third heaven. Conceptually statements about the delights of the intervening and the eschatological Paradise merge into one another, though the former are not so strong, esp. in apocalyptic literature.

That we do not have three distinct entities in the Paradise of the first, the last, and the intervening time, but one and the same garden of God, may be seen quite indubitably from both the terminology and the content of the relevant statements. As regards the terms, Paradise in all three ages is παράδεισος in the Gk., גַּן עֵדֶן in the Heb., גִּנְּתָא דְעֵדֶן in Aram.³⁴ As regards the content, identity is proved esp. by the common mention of the tree of life in statements about the intervening and the eschatological Paradise.³⁵

In the NT the word paradeisos / παράδεισος—and this can hardly be accidental —occurs only three times (Lk. 23:43; 2 Cor. 12:4; Rev. 2:7), though the thing itself is more common.

1.     The First, Hidden, and Last Paradise in the New Testament.

The Paradise of the first age is not mentioned under the term παράδεισος but there are in the NT repeated refs. to the story of Paradise, → I, 141 ff. In his paradisial state Adam had δόξα (R. 3:23); sin and death were unknown (R. 5:12; 8:20); there was no divorce (Mt. 19:8b).

In its present concealment Paradise is according to Lk. 23:43 the abode of the souls of the redeemed in the intermediate state between death and resurrection. Elsewhere, however, the word παράδεισος is used for the hidden Paradise only in 2 C. 12:4. As later Judaism had no consistent view of the intermediate state of the righteous, but used many other figures of speech as well as גַּן עֵדֶן,³⁶ so the NT has other expressions as well as παράδεισος for the state of the redeemed after death: table fellowship with Abraham (ἐν τοῖς κόλποις Ἀβραάμ, Lk. 16:23),³⁷ being with the Lord (2 C. 5:8), σὺν Χριστῷ εἶναι (Phil. 1:23 cf. Ac. 7:59; Jn. 12:26), the heavenly kingdom (2 Tm. 4:18), the heavenly Jerusalem (Hb. 12:22), abiding-places in the Father’s house (Jn. 14:2).³⁸ As concerns the location of the hidden Paradise, it appears from Mk. 13:27 that Jesus sought it in the heavenly world, for the assembling of the elect from the four winds from the point of earth to the point of heaven is the assembling of the living and the dead (who dwell in Paradise), → 516, 18 ff.³⁹

Paradise as now concealed points beyond itself to its eschatological return. The first saying to the victors in Rev. 2:7 refers to this: Τῷ νικῶντι δώσω αὐτῷ φαγεῖν ἐκ τοῦ ξύλου τῆς ζωῆς,⁴⁰ ὅ ἐστιν ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ τοῦ θεοῦ, → 766, 3 f. That it is really speaking of the eschatological Paradise may be seen from the fact that all the victor sayings in the seven letters of Rev.⁴¹ have an eschatological character, and also from the fact that the gift of enjoyment of the fruit of the tree of life is an established attribute of the Paradise of the last time.⁴² Even though the word “paradise” is not used, the garden of God is in Rev. the epitome of the glory of the consummation. The Jerusalem of the last time is depicted as Paradise when ref. is made to the trees of life by the water of life (22:1f., cf. 14, 19), to the destruction of the old serpent (20:2 cf. 10), and to freedom from suffering, affliction and death (21:4). According to 21:2, 10 the eschatological Paradise is centred on the Jerusalem of the renewed earth.

2.     Paul’s Rapture into the Hidden Paradise (2 C. 12:4).

In writing which has all the force of an experience whose strange character is expressed by the use of the third person, Paul mentions in 2 C. 12:4 a rapture into Paradise, that is, acc. to established usage (→ 767, 18 ff.), the place of the righteous departed. The reserve which leads him to make only a brief reference distinguishes his account from the fantastic descriptions of heavenly journeys by contemporary Hellenistic mystics and Jewish apocalyptists. Since we cannot say for certain whether the rapture to the third heaven in 12:2 is the same as that into Paradise in v. 4, we do not know whether Paul located Paradise in the third heaven (→ 534, 25 ff.; 768, 17) or in some other place (→ 768, 10 ff.). All that can be said for certain is that ineffable revelations (ἄρρητα ῥήματα) were granted to him in Paradise.

According to Lk. the penitent thief prayed to Jesus: “Be graciously mindful of me (→ IV, 677, 6 ff.) when thou comest again⁴⁷ as king,”⁴⁸ i.e., at the last judgment⁴⁹ (23:42). The answer of Jesus: ἀμήν σοι λέγω, σήμερον⁵⁰ μετ᾽ ἐμοῦ ἔσῃ ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ (23:43), goes beyond what is asked, for it promises the thief that already to-day he will enjoy fellowship with Jesus in Paradise. Paradise is here the place which receives the souls of the righteous departed after death, → 767, 18 ff.⁵¹ It is thus the hidden (intervening) Paradise.⁵² But in the eschatological → σήμερον there is also expressed the hic et nunc of the dawn of the age of salvation. In the promise of forgiveness the “one day” becomes the “to-day” of fulfilment. Paradise is opened even to the irredeemably lost man hanging on the cross. He is promised fellowship with the Messiah. This shows how unlimited is the remission of sins in the age of forgiveness which has now dawned.⁵³

In the martyr stories of later Judaism a recurrent feature is that converted Gentiles who (voluntarily or otherwise) share the destiny of the martyrs will also share their reward. Thus, when the fate of the martyr Chananiah b. Teradyon (c. 135 a.d.), who was condemned to be burned to death, was announced to a philosopher, he said: “Tomorrow my portion will be with this man in the future world,” S. Dt. on 32:4 § 307. It has thus been concluded that the promise to the malefactor represents a special privilege,⁵⁴ i.e., ordination to be a companion of the Messiah,⁵⁵ cf. 4 Esr. 14:9: “Thou thyself wilt be translated, and henceforth thou wilt be with my servant (the Messiah, → 681, 16 ff.) and with those like thee, until the times are at an end,” cf. 7:28. But closer to the saying to the thief is Eth. En. 39:4 ff.; 70:1–4, where the Son of Man is with the righteous departed. The other NT statements about the intermediate state, which extend the promise of fellowship with Christ after death to all believers, are against a restrictive interpretation which would isolate Lk. 23:43.

The NT consistently represents fellowship with Christ after death as the distinctively Christian view of the intermediate state. Stephen prays: κύριε Ἰησοῦ, δέξαι τὸ πνεῦμά μου, (Ac. 7:59). Paul in the older epistles has no authority to pronounce on the intermediate state,⁵⁶ but he expects the union of the dead with Christ only after the parousia, 1 Th. 4:17. When he does speak of the intermediate state, however, fellowship with Christ is its sole content, 2 C. 5:8; Phil. 1:23; 2 Tm. 4:18; cf. R. 8:38 f.; 14:7–9. The σὺν Χριστῷ of Phil. 1:23 is simply the μετ᾽ ἐμοῦ of Lk. 23:43 in the third person. Though Paul was obviously acquainted with the Paradise traditions (→ 770, 8 ff.), he ignores them and refers the hope directly to Christ. In exactly the same way Jn. 12:26; 14:2 f. and Rev. 7:9–17 set fellowship with Christ in the centre. This assurance entails a radical refashioning of ideas about the future by faith in Christ. All fantastic speculations concerning the hidden Paradise and its delights are set aside.

In the NT statements concerning what happens to Jesus directly after death we find two different views, namely, that of descent and that of ascent. On the one side the saying to the thief implies the entry of Jesus into Paradise (Lk. 23:43, cf. v. 46). The Christology of Hb. also gives us a depiction of Jesus offering His blood in the heavenly sanctuary (Hb. 7:26 f.; 9:11–14). Similarly, the → ὑψοῦσθαι sayings in Jn. (3:14; 8:28; 12:32) interrelate the lifting up on the cross and the exaltation to the heavenly world.⁵⁸ On the other side we have statements about the sojourn in → ᾅδης (R. 10:7; Ac. 2:27, 31; Mt. 12:40) and the redemptive work there (1 Pt. 3:19 f.; 4:6; cf. Rev. 1:18).⁵⁹ The two conceptions arose independently. Those which imply ascent are linked to apocalyptic ideas like those in Eth. En. 39:4 ff.; 70:3 f., while those which imply descent are based on Ps. 16:8–11 (Ac. 2:25–28). The decisive pt. is that the context of both groups of sayings expresses the same assurance of faith, though in different garb. This is the certainty that the atoning efficacy of Christ’s death is unique, unrestricted, and universal.⁶⁰

In the victor saying in Rev. 2:7 the exalted Lord promises that He will give to eat of the fruit of the tree of life in the Paradise of God. He is thus shown to be the awaited Messiah who “will open the gates of paradise, remove the sword which threatened Adam. and give the saints to eat of the tree of life,” Test. L. 18:10 f. The new thing as compared with the OT and later Judaism, however, is the fact that the message of the Gospels goes much further when it says that the return of Paradise has come already with the coming of Jesus. Jesus Himself declared this when in Mt. 11:5 (par. Lk. 7:22) He showed by word and deed that His proclamation is a fulfilment of the depiction of Paradise in Is. 35:5 f. and when He accordingly made the divine will in Paradise binding again upon His disciples, Mk. 10:2–12 and par. The Marcan version of the temptation also depicts Jesus as the one who brings back the garden of God (ἦν μετὰ τῶν θηρίων, καὶ οἱ ἄγγελοι διηκόνουν αὐτῷ, Mk. 1:13),⁶² and the chorus in Mk. 7:37 extols Him in quotations from Gn. 1:31 and Is. 35:5 f. According to Jn. Jesus offered in His own person both the bread and the water of life, the ancient symbols of Paradise.⁶³ All these passages express the certainty that Jesus is already the one who brings back Paradise.⁶⁴

In the 2nd century one can see an invasion of Christian writings by sayings about Paradise from Jewish apocalyptic, cf. the (inauthentic) agraphon which Papias (c. 130) quotes and which has Jesus depict in fantastic terms the fruitfulness of the last time.⁶⁵ This relapse perhaps explains why the term “paradise” is so rare in the NT; it could so easily divert attention to the external aspects. For Jesus and the primitive Church the garden is not important as an independent entity. What really matters is not the felicity of Paradise but the restoration of the communion with God which was broken by Adam’s fall.

Joachim Jeremias

 (ROSE);  LILY

3659 ἄνθος, ἌΝΘΟΣ, ἄνθος

FLOWER/ROSE

ἌΝΘΟΣ, εος, τό: gen. pl. ἀνθέων even in Att.:-a blossom, flower, Hom., etc.

II. metaph. the bloom or flower of life, ἥβης ἄνθος Il.; ὥρας ἄνθος Xen.; χροιᾶς ἄνθος the bloom of complexion, Aesch.:-also, the flower of an army and the like, Aesch., Thuc.; τὸ σὸν ἄνθος thy pride or honour, Aesch.

2. the height or highest pitch of anything, bad as well as good, ἔρωτος Id.; μανίας Soph.

III. brightness, brilliancy, Theogn.; in pl. bright colours, Plat.; ἁλὸς ἄνθεα, i.e. purple, Anth.

MOUNTAIN

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