Did Eden Foreshadow Heaven? If So, Why Was Satan Allowed In It?
Q: Was the Garden of Eden made to foreshadow heaven? Why was Satan allowed to speak in the garden?
A: Yes, at least parts of the Garden of Eden foreshadowed Heaven. There’s a tree of life in the Garden of Eden and a tree of life in Heaven. There are cherubim in the Garden of Eden and cherubim in Heaven. God meets with His people in the garden and in Heaven. I can see that. The Scriptures don’t explicitly say so, but I think they give us that impression implicitly.
Why was Satan allowed to speak in the garden? Well, Satan is allowed to speak in Heaven; have you thought about that? Here’s the deal. Pastors sometimes speak incorrectly by using theological shorthand. Here’s an example they might say: “God is so holy that He can’t allow anything sinful in His presence. And that’s why you have to become right with Jesus Christ, because you’ll never get to Heaven if you’re not made holy by the person and work of Jesus Christ.” That’s the point of that statement.
However, the statement, “God can allow nothing holy in His presence,” is not true. Jesus was God, and He walked amongst unholy people all the time on earth and even in Heaven. The Bible says that Satan has had – and, I believe, continues to have – access to Heaven. In the book of Job, we read about Satan’s access to Heaven, where he is speaking with God. The Bible also says that Satan is the accuser of the brethren who accuses them before God, day and night. That’s what he does. His accusation probably has some verbal form.
If you’ve somehow received the impression that Satan has no access to Heaven, or that Satan must remain silent in Heaven, that’s not what the Bible teaches. Therefore, there’s no violation in that regard concerning the analogy to be made between the Garden of Eden and Heaven.