Paradise on Earth

In the Jewish Torah, paradise first appears as the Garden of Eden in Genesis. It also is regarded as the abode of God, to which the righteous are welcome (Psalm 73:24–25):

Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but thee? And there is none upon earth that I desire besides thee.

In terms of concrete imagery, the most famous Old Testament vision of paradise is set forth in Psalm 23:2: "He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters." In Christianity paradise is the blessed afterlife promised by Christ in the Gospels—"And Jesus said unto him, Verily, I say unto thee, To-day shalt thou be with me in Paradise" (Luke 23:43)—or the more complex, mystical, and tangible paradise of the Book of Revelation (22:1–2):

And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

In Islamic scripture the image of paradise (Ar. janna, garden) is far more concrete and descriptive, a garden with flowering trees, running streams, silken cushions, and chaste companions promised in so many passages in the Koran:

This is the picture of Paradise promised to those who fear God: it contains rivers of ever-fresh water, rivers of milk that never sours, rivers of wine that are a delight to those who drink, and rivers of pure honey; also for those who fear God are found every fruit, and their Lord's forgiveness. (47:15)

They will be attended by youths perpetually young, carrying chalices and ewers and cups filled from a flowing spring, neither giving a headache nor intoxication, and The Adoration of the Lamb (c. 1425–1429) by Jan and Hubert van Eyck, from The Ghent Altarpiece, open-center panel. Christian interpretations of paradise in art were often drawn from passages in the Bible and other religious works, a practice discouraged by other faiths. The van Eyck brothers drew partly upon the Book of Revelations to create The Ghent Altarpiece. © ARCHIVO ICONOGRAFICO, S.A./CORBIS such fruits as they wish, and the meat of birds as they wish. They will have as companions beautiful black-eyed maidens, pure as well-guarded pearls, a recompense for their righteousness. There will not be heard any vain or profane words, but only: "peace, peace, peace." (56:10–25)

Although the concept of paradise as a religious afterlife is primarily found in the three monotheistic religions originating in the Near East, the association of a garden with religious repose is also found in Buddhism, where it ultimately influenced secular garden culture in China and Japan. Of course for those of a secular bent, the metaphor of a heavenly garden may ultimately derive from the ancient use of a garden as a place of earthly pleasure, rest, or contemplation, but in the world of metaphor the heavenly garden precedes and influences its earthly counterpart.

In an intermediate step from scriptural sources toward earthly recreation in the arts, paradise forms a part of various liturgies, especially those involving funerals. Thus paradise is invoked in the Jewish prayer for the dead, the Islamic mawlid, and the Roman Catholic requiem mass, where paradise is also seen as the heavenly Jerusalem, what St. Augustine of Hippo termed the City of God: "May the Angels lead you into paradise; may the martyrs receive you and lead you into the holy city of Jerusalem."