Life In the Eden Home
      
      
         413
      
      
        Eden—the time for “the redemption of the purchased possession.” The
      
      
        earth originally given to man as his kingdom, betrayed by him into the
      
      
        hands of Satan, and so long held by the mighty foe, has been brought
      
      
        back by the great plan of redemption
      
      
      
      
        All that was lost by the first Adam will be restored by the second.
      
      
        The prophet says, “O Tower of the flock, the strong hold of the daughter
      
      
        of Zion, unto Thee shall it come, even the first dominion.” And Paul
      
      
        points forward to the “redemption of the purchased possession.”
      
      
        God created the earth to be the abode of holy, happy beings. That
      
      
        purpose will be fulfilled when, renewed by the power of God and
      
      
        freed from sin and sorrow, it shall become the eternal home of the
      
      
        redeemed
      
      
      
      
        Adam Restored to His Eden Home—After his expulsion from
      
      
        Eden Adam’s life on earth was filled with sorrow. Every dying leaf,
      
      
        every victim of sacrifice, every blight upon the fair face of nature,
      
      
        every stain upon man’s purity, were fresh reminders of his sin. Terrible
      
      
        was the agony of remorse as he beheld iniquity abounding and, in
      
      
        answer to his warnings, met the reproaches cast upon himself as the
      
      
        cause of sin. With patient humility he bore for nearly a thousand years
      
      
        the penalty of transgression. Faithfully did he repent of his sin and
      
      
         [541]
      
      
        trust in the merits of the promised Saviour, and he died in the hope of
      
      
        a resurrection. The Son of God redeemed man’s failure and fall; and
      
      
        now, through the work of the atonement, Adam is reinstated in his first
      
      
        dominion.
      
      
        Transported with joy, he beholds the trees that were once his
      
      
        delight—the very trees whose fruit he himself had gathered in the
      
      
        days of his innocence and joy. He sees the vines that his own hands
      
      
        have trained, the very flowers that he once loved to care for. His mind
      
      
        grasps the reality of the scene; he comprehends that this is indeed Eden
      
      
        restored, more lovely now than when he was banished from it. The
      
      
        Saviour leads him to the tree of life and plucks the glorious fruit and
      
      
        bids him eat. He looks about him and beholds a multitude of his family
      
      
        redeemed, standing in the Paradise of God. Then he casts his glittering
      
      
        crown at the feet of Jesus and, falling upon His breast, embraces the
      
      
        Redeemer. He touches the golden harp, and the vaults of heaven echo
      
      
        3
      
      
         The Signs of the Times, December 29, 1909
      
      
        .
      
      
        4
      
      
         The Review and Herald, October 22, 1908
      
      
        .