East and West

Creation date: 19-Feb-2025
 

Last updated: 21-Feb-2025
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Sections

1 East and West
2 Garden of Eden's East Reference
3 After the Great Flood, Descendents of Noah travelled East
4 Kings of the East
5 Languages reading East to West and West to East
6 Sins separated by East and West

East and West

In the scriptures, there is the consistent use of patterns, dual prophecies, idioms, and so much more that connects all the books of the scriptures even though the writers that were guided fully by the Holy Spirit and separated by centuries and locations.  

When there is a place that is described solely as being "east" or "west" without any indication of a specific location, there are two fascinating points:

  1. To determine the term of "east" or "west" then the central location to determine the direction is God's City Jerusalem.
  2. Even in the time of the Earth's history of the reference, before the city of Jerusalem existed, the particular location was marked by God as His specific and area of High Significance that it is the reference location starting point of the "east" or "west".

The Location of Jerusalem in scriptural and world history is where many events happened and will continue to happen:

  1. Abraham's human sacrifice of his son, that was a test stopped by God, is same place that Jesus is Crucified in Jerusalem.
  2. David, before he was King David, brought the skull of Goliath to be buried at Golgotha (place of the Skull), also known as Calvary, is where Jesus Christ was crucified in Jerusalem.
  3. There have been and will be more wars in and around Jerusalem throughout history and in the future that surpass any other location in the world because of the Spiritual Significance recognized by the Satanic World against God.  Lucifer's city is Babylon and there will be a final judgment against Lucifer's city that will have Babylon be like Sodom and Gomorra's destruction fate. 
    (a) Note that the scriptures inform us that if Lucifer can eliminate all the Jewish people on the Earth, then Lucifer can stop the eventual destiny of the Lake of Fire.  For more information on Lucifer's attempt of murdering all Jewish people, read the topic on the future Tribulation's Purpose which explains the actions of Lucifer and the Fallen Angels after the victory of Jesus Christ at the Crucifixion.
  4. Jerusalem will be surrounded in the final and Second Armageddon Event where there actually is no battle as God destroys Lucifer's army with fire sent down from Heaven.
  5. There will be a future City of Jerusalem on the New Earth and New Heavens that is described as one aspect of the Bride of Christ.
    Revelation 21:1-2 1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.
    For more information on the New Jerusalem in Eternity see the Kingdom of God Topic.
(Source free blank map of world.)

Garden of Eden's East Reference

There are twp scriptural passage in the book of Genesis that describe "Eden" having:

  1. A garden in the "east" of Eden.  Genesis 2:8-9.
  2. An exit area in the "east" of Eden.   Genesis 3:23-24

The first reference of we are not geographically given the location of the place "Eden" in reference to any future known areas in the scriptures.  God only specifically informs us the Garden was in the east of Eden. 

Genesis 2:8-9 8 Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. 9 The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food.

From the scriptural references of the rivers in describing the Garden of Eden, we can discern that the size of Eden is very large.  Understanding that Eden is very large, then this help us on scripture informing us that garden was on the east side of Eden.  

Since there is a reference of "east", then this most likely infers a greater reference point to discern.  As mentioned at the start of this topic, God always uses patterns, dual prophecies, and greater meanings that when discovering conveys the author of the scriptures is outside of our Time Domain knowing the past, present and future.

In the second reference "east" in Genesis 3:23-24, it is when God is banishing Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden.  We can infer that meant that Adam and Eve were then in the geographical area of Eden, but outside of the garden.   Interestingly, if the garden was on the eastside of Eden, and then Adam and Eve were banished to the eastside of Edent then means the garden did not go the full border of Eden.

Genesis 3:23-24 23 So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. 24 After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.

Regarding the two "east" references, the question is there an additional subtle point?  The answer is the mention of "east" must have significance and importance.  Jesus Christ informed us that every character in the scriptures is important as read in Matthew 5:18

Matthew 5:18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass away from the law, till all things be accomplished.
Note: A "jot" and "tittle" are understood to be the smallest amount along with the most insignificant letters in the Hebrew language.  In Hebrew they are known as a nikkudot or Niqqud

The next question for us is the determination of an geographical starting place to have the location of Eden and the Garden of Eden.  As proposed by a few Biblical Scholars and this author:

  1. The area of Eden was most likely a very large area that could have been the entire land mass of the Earth, and
  2. The Garden of Eden was most likely east of the future city of Jerusalem because of the significance of Jerusalem in the scriptures as God's City in the future.
The following is partial excerpts of interesting and relative points from the Garden of Eden topic:

The Garden of Eden, in Genesis chapter two, describes the location having four major rivers where one of the rivers is named the Euphrates and then another Tigris.  Some Biblical Commentaries have then theorized that the Garden of Eden must have been somewhere near the modern-day two river system named the Tigris-Euphrates River System that is part of modern-day Iraq. 

The problem with any research on a location of the Garden of Eden is the Great Flood of Noah changed the whole Earth in many ways which would may have affected the course of existing river beds along with many other topological terrain features.  Some Biblical commentaries have theories based on modern-day names and archeological information that leads to the theory of the area known as the Fertile Crescent, area of modern-day Iraq extending down to part of north east Africa, are the same area of the Garden of Eden.  This can never be positively verified because the scriptures do not give us this information.  Moses most likely knew it because of information given to him by the Holy Spirit when he wrote the Book of Genesis, but Moses did not let us know as God did not instruct him to do so.

There is the possibility of the confirmation of some features surviving the Great Flood of Noah such as the Great Pyramid because of two scriptural verses of Isaiah 19:29-20 and Jeremiah 32:30; and, information from the writings of Josephus in The Antiquities of the Jews.  This possibility is mentioned because the area of the Great Pyramid is near the Fertile Crescent area.  There are some Biblical Scholars who have also come up with the theory that the builder of the Great Pyramid was Enoch.  This author is not endorsing the Great Pyramid and does not believe in this theory of Enoch building the Great Pyramid, where both are mentioned for the reader's general knowledge.

Possibly one of the prevailing beliefs is the area of the Garden of Eden must have been in the area where Noah descends down from Mount Ararat after leaving the Ark, which would be modern-day Iraq.  As already mentioned, Archeologist often calls this area of the Middle East the cradle of Civilization or the Fertile Crescent which then draws the wrong conclusion that this must have been the same area of the Garden of Eden. 

The Garden of Eden could have been located anywhere on the Earth, with the theory by some Biblical Scholars and this author that it had to be east of modern-day Jerusalem.   Part of the restrictions is because the Great Flood changed the whole Earth where before Biblical Scholars believe the whole Earth was a tropical paradise with a water canopy amongst other amazing attributes that extended life.  We cannot go by future scriptural references that give details on where Noah descended after leaving the Ark.

It is this author's opinion that the Garden of Eden cannot be found, cannot be determined and was buried/destroyed in the Great Flood  This does not mean that there are not fascinating aspects of the Garden of Eden to discover based on the scriptures.  For the Christian, there is a great deal of information dealing with the Garden of Eden that is a very rewarding undertaking to understand, plus it confirms an aspect of the animals on Noah's Ark in the Great Flood that this author has not seen in any Biblical Commentaries.

After the Great Flood, Descendents of Noah travelled East

In the scriptural passages concerning Noah's descendents that build the city of Babel, which is ruled by the world's first Dictator Nimrod, there is the verse that indicates they journeyed "East".   The "they" in Genesis 11:1-2 is the population of the Earth that were descendents of Noah after the Great Flood.

As detailed in the last section of this topic, when there is an omission of a geographical reference location concerning "east", then there is most likely a reason and a pattern.  The reason. after encountering the previous two occurrence of the use of "east" in the scriptures without a reference would infer that the location starting point is east of Jerusalem.

The following is an excerpt from the Ark of Noah topic:

Note: In Genesis Chapter 10, the scriptures speak about the generations of Noah who will be forming nations and separating from one another.  Some of the descendants, while in the land of Shinar, Genesis Chapter 11, travel east where the building of the Biblical infamous city of Babel occurs.  Shinar is the future modern-day Syria and Iraq.  Babel later becomes the city commonly known today as Babylon, which is located a little south of modern-day Baghdad, and it is still in existence where Sadam Hussein was rebuilding it a few decades ago before Sadam Hussein was executed for crimes against humanity. 

Because Genesis 11:2 details traveling east, which has thrown off some Bible Commentaries to believe that Noah original was also traveling east after exiting the Ark.  This cannot be assumed as the scriptures indicated that many descendants have been born.  Because there had many descendants born, then this lets the reader know that this is many years later after the Ark rested.

Genesis 11:1-2 1 And the whole earth was of one language and of one speech. 2 It came about as they journeyed east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there.

Note that in the scriptures when there is not a reference point to indicate where travelling "east", or any direction, then the reference point is Jerusalem.
 

Kings of the East

Perhaps the most widely known reference to the "east" in the scriptures is the Kings of the East of the Tribulation Period that are referenced in Revelation 16:12.  The vast army crosses the dried up river Euphrates to head to the First Armageddon Event.

Revelation 16:12 The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, to prepare the way for the kings from the east.

The identification of Kings of the East coming from east of Jerusalem is easily identifiable by the location they are coming against Israel.

The following is a partial excerpt from the Kings of the East topic:

The "Kings of the East" clearly identifies a power coming from Eastern Asia, because:

  • The scriptures use the reference point of Jerusalem in Israel as the geographical center. 
  • The Kings of the East come across the River Euphrates to the battle of the First Armageddon Event at the end of the Tribulation Period. 
  • The "great river Euphrates" will be dried up to enable the Kings of the East passage across it.
Revelation 9:12 The first woe is past; two other woes are yet to come.
Revelation 9:13-18 13 The sixth angel sounded his trumpet, and I heard a voice coming from the horns of the golden altar that is before God. 14 It said to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, "Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates." 15 And the four angels who had been kept ready for this very hour and day and month and year were released to kill a third of mankind. 16 The number of the mounted troops was two hundred million. I heard their number. 17 The horses and riders I saw in my vision looked like this: Their breastplates were fiery red, dark blue, and yellow as sulfur. The heads of the horses resembled the heads of lions, and out of their mouths came fire, smoke and sulfur. 18 A third of mankind was killed by the three plagues of fire, smoke and sulfur that came out of their mouths.

Map of the Euphrates Location in relation to Israel and the other countries in the Middle-East geographical area:

Languages reading East to West and West to East

There is an interesting observation that a few Biblical Scholars have noted in their commentaries where it appears many (not all) languages of the world read in the direction towards Jerusalem:

Rhetorically, is this a God phenomenon or purely coincidence?  This author would state it most likely not a coincidence at the time of foundation of a language for a few reasons:

  1. In the case of Hebrew, God gave the direction of writing right to left to them.
  2. In other cases of language, the people were also given the direction of the writing by God at the Tower of Babel incident when God confused their languages in Geneses 11 which was under the rule of the first world dictator Nimrod.
  3. Where there were humans creating written language they most likely instinctually or emotionally had a type of "homing center of directional pointer" to think of a location on the Earth as home thus writing in that direction.  As analogy, if someone is painting a flat surface then the natural pattern of painting would most likely painting left to right or right to left based on language direction.

This language writing direction observed phenomenon is based on the origin of the language and not necessarily the modern-day languages throughout the Earth.  As an example, English originated as West Germanic language that was brought to Britain in middle of the fifth century to seventh century AD by Anglo-Saxon migrants.  The English language has become the language of many countries that formed out of British colonization, just like Spanish and Portuguese from those countries colonization.  Before the colonization there are places like Australia' which had a native language that is not English and is known to have the Pama-Nyungan languages.

Notable languages that read "right to left" that can be said to read east to west which are located in or to the east of Jerusalem:

  1. Arabic - Middle East
  2. Aramaic - Middle East
  3. Hebrew - Middle East
  4. Kurdish - Middle East
  5. Persian (Farsi) - Middle East
  6. Rohigya - Middle East
  7. Syrian - Middle East
  8. Urdu - Middle East
  9. Fula / Fulani - Africa
  10. Dhivehi / Maldivian - Africa

Notable languages the read "left to right" that can be said to read west to east towards Jerusalem is most modern-day languages originating out of Europe that came after the original languages of the Old Testament.

Sins separated by East and West

The very well-known verse of Psalm 103:12, shown below, lets us know that there is a separation of sins that is compared to vast separation of East is to West that this author would use the comparison of being in God's City on Earth Jerusalem and not being able to see the furthest points of a two-dimensional map of the Earth.  The separation is forgiveness through the restitution payment of Jesus Christ at the Crucifixion.
 
Psalm 103:11-13 11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His loving devotion for those who fear Him. 12 As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. 13 As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him.

What to read next?

What is Salvation?  Is it possible to lose Salvation?  We have eternal life.  Evolution is not real.  When a Christian suffers is there benefits from it.  Rewards in heaven.  Do we Tithe?  What does the 3rd Commandment tell us?  What is Grace and Mercy?  Is there an Age of Accountability?  Is there a place of unending punishment and exile form God?