On “going back to Eden”….

READER COMMENT:

There is some talk about ‘going back to Eden’ and no longer eating any living creatures.  What does that mean?

OUR RESPONSE:

It seem this idea is developed from Revelation 22, verses 1 and 2. People see the phrase "the river of the water of life...flowing" and "Between the main street and the river was the Tree of Life producing twelve kinds of fruit" and you have the theory that the description sounds like the Garden of Eden.

As to not eating any living creatures, it is not clear we will eat at all. Revelation 7:16 seems to imply that eating and drinking are not necessary for sustenance. Yet Revelation 22:2 mentions the tree of life with 12 kinds of fruit (though it is not clear if that refers to edible fruit).

Matthew 8:11 seems to imply that the faithful will be "at the feast in the Kingdom of Heaven with Avraham, Yitz'chak and Ya`akov", which also implies eating. But as for eating animals, Revelation 22:3 says there will be no more curses. One could argue that animals were cursed when humans gained the approval to eat meat, so one could argue that if there are animals in the end, then they will not need to die to provide meat.

We can’t really spend much time trying to assess the things for which there’s no real answer, because Scripture isn’t clear.  But it is an interesting topic for speculation.