The fall of Adam meant the loss of everything that God had bestowed upon him, the most important (loss) being the Presence of God. Since then, God’s number one goal has been to restore His Presence in the life of every individual.

Our number one goal should be similar to God’s; we must seek to experience His Presence.

Before the Fall, the world had three spiritual divisions: the Garden of Eden, Eden itself and the rest of the earth. The Garden was the most important area because that is where God’s Presence was most manifest and that is where God used to meet with Man. When the Fall happened, God went to work to restore the Garden as typified by what happened at Mt. Sinai, the arrangement of the tabernacle of Moses, and the temples.

At Mt. Sinai, we see three divisions: up the mountain, the foot of the mountain and the surrounding area. The mountain top was a type of the Garden, for it was the place God came to meet with Moses. The tabernacle of Moses also had three partitions: the outer court, the holy place and the most holy place. The most holy place was the ‘Garden’ in which the Presence of God dwelt, where only the high priest would enter once a year. The temples of God which replaced the tabernacle of Moses also had three divisions with the most holy place still typifying the Garden of Eden.

Interestingly, this pattern was played out on a worldwide scale: Jerusalem (with the temple) was the ‘Garden’, the rest of Israel was the holy place, and the Gentile world was the outer court.

In a short while, God, in the person of Jesus, will once more dwell with His people while headquartering in Jerusalem. John prophetically saw it happening: “Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.” (Revelation 21:1-3) The Garden of Eden will have been restored.

In the meantime – before the earth is restored to its sinless state – every one of us can still have a Garden of Eden experience by which we relate with God at an extraordinary level.  This we can achieve if, like David, we can diligently pray saying, “One thing I have desired of the Lord, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the Lord, And to inquire in His temple.” (Psalms 27:4) When the Scriptures talk of God’s face, oftentimes that refers to the Presence. Therefore, by seeking the face of God, we shall experience His Presence – that which Adam had in the Garden of Eden before the Fall.

The Presence of God was, is, and will always be the most important thing. The most important thing for everyone therefore is to seek God’s Presence. God “is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6). When we seek Him, we shall be rewarded with the most important thing ever – the Presence of God.

God bless you.