The whole Bible is a garden book. It opens with God planting a garden and ends with the garden restored, and the same handful of players move through all eight movements. This page reformats The Garden in the Scriptures into the paper-movements study used across the prophet set. Scripture NKJV; teaching grounded in the IHOPKC Bible Commentary index.
The Gardener
the LORD God
The One who plants Eden, walks in the cool of the day, comes to His garden, and rises in a garden at the end.
The Gardener
Adam
formed from dust
The first man, given the garden of Eden to tend and keep it, who hides after sin and hands his dominion to the enemy.
The First Man
The Woman
from Adam's side
Eve, formed from the opened side of Adam, the first bride and a pointer to the Bride who comes from the pierced second Adam.
The First Bride
The Serpent
the enemy
The one who takes the dominion Adam surrenders, and whose head the Seed of the woman is promised to bruise.
The Enemy
The Shulamite
a garden enclosed
The bride of the Song of Songs, whose own heart becomes the enclosed garden the Beloved delights in.
The Bride's Heart
The Second Adam
the Bridegroom
Christ, whose pierced side brings forth the Bride, who prays in one garden and is buried and raised in another.
The Bridegroom
Mary at the Tomb
supposing the gardener
The first witness of the resurrection, who mistakes the risen Christ for the gardener, and is truer than she knows.
The Witness
The Tree of Life
leaves for healing
Guarded in Eden, restored in the New Jerusalem, its leaves for the healing of the nations beside the river from the throne.
The Tree
Who is teaching: the colored dot beside each lettered point below shows which IHOPKC teacher it came from. Points marked NKJV text are the study's plain reading where the index carries no verse-level match.
Mike BickleAllen HoodCorey RussellGary WiensDavid SlikerDana CandlerNKJV text
The Garden in the Scriptures · Eight MovementsMovement I · 1 of 8
A Forerunner Study · Eden to the New Jerusalem
The Garden in the Scriptures
Eight movements, from the garden God planted to the garden He restores, tracing one story through the whole Bible.
Grounded in the IHOPKC Bible Commentary index; teaching from six forerunner teachers, verse-level exact matches marked below. Scripture NKJV. Companion to the Minor and Major Prophets sets.
BickleHoodRussellWiensSlikerCandlerNKJV text
Movement I · Genesis 2
The Garden God Planted
Genesis 2:8, 15, 18, 22
The LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed. Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.Genesis 2:8, 15 · NKJV
✓ 5578 exact match · 4 exact refs for Genesis 2:15 · Mike Bickle, Corey Russell, Gary Wiens · 2:8 read from the NKJV text
Kid mode on · simpler words
A.God planted a garden with His own hand for the delight of a living soul. Before He gave Adam a job or a rule, He gave him a home full of good things to delight in.God planted a garden with His own hands, a place of delight for a living person. Before He gave Adam any job or any rule, He gave him a home full of good things to delight in.
Allen Hood
B.He formed the man from the dust by the hand of the Word and the breath of God, gave him real work to do in the garden, and gave him a real choice about how to live in it.He formed the man from the dust by the hand of the Word and the breath of God, gave him real work to do in the garden, and gave him a real choice about how to live in it.
Corey Russell
C.It is not good for the man to be alone, God said, and He made the woman from Adam's opened side. On the cross the side of the second Adam was pierced, and His Bride came forth.It is not good for the man to be alone, God said, and He made the woman from Adam's opened side. On the cross the side of the second Adam was opened too, and His Bride came out.
Mike Bickle
The whole Bible opens in a garden. Before sin, before law, God plants a place of delight and puts a person in it to tend and keep, and He makes a bride from an opened side. The last book of the Bible will end in a garden too, and everything between is the story of getting home.The whole Bible opens in a garden. Before sin, before law, God plants a place of delight and puts a person in it to tend and keep, and He makes a bride from an opened side. The last book of the Bible ends in a garden too, and everything in between is the story of getting home.
Sources Allen Hood, Corey Russell, and Mike Bickle / IHOPKC on the planting of Eden and the making of the woman. Genesis 2:15 returned 4 exact matches; 2:8 is read from the NKJV text.Index tags for Genesis 2: creation, covenant, origins · NKJV
The Garden in the Scriptures · Eight MovementsMovement II · 2 of 8
Movement II · Genesis 3
The Garden Lost
Genesis 3:8, 15, 24
And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.Genesis 3:15 · NKJV
✓ 5578 exact match · 15 exact refs for Genesis 3:15, the first promise of the gospel · Mike Bickle, Allen Hood, Corey Russell
Kid mode on · simpler words
D.The LORD walked with them in the cool of the day. Sin taught the man to hide, and Adam handed his God-given dominion over to the enemy in the same act.The LORD used to walk with them in the cool of the day. Sin taught the man to hide, and Adam gave away his God-given rule over the earth to the enemy in the same act.
Allen Hood
E.Right there God made the first promise of the gospel: the Seed of the woman would bruise the serpent's head. The rescue is announced in the same breath as the curse.Right there God made the first promise of the gospel: the Seed of the woman would crush the serpent's head. The rescue is announced in the same breath as the curse.
Mike Bickle
So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.Genesis 3:24 · NKJV
✓ 5578 exact match · 2 exact refs for Genesis 3:24 · Mike Bickle, Gary Wiens
F.Then cherubim and a flaming sword guarded the way to the tree of life. Adam's keeping of the garden had been a spiritual trust, and the guarding of the tree was an act of mercy as much as judgment.Then angels and a flaming sword guarded the way to the tree of life. Adam's keeping of the garden had been a holy trust, and guarding the tree was an act of mercy as much as judgment.
Gary Wiens
The second movement is the fall. Walking with God turns into hiding from God, and dominion passes to the serpent. Even here mercy runs underneath the loss. The Seed is promised, and the way to the tree of life is guarded rather than destroyed.The second movement is the fall. Walking with God turns into hiding from God, and rule over the earth passes to the serpent. Even here mercy runs underneath the loss. The Seed is promised, and the way to the tree of life is guarded rather than destroyed.
Sources Mike Bickle / IHOPKC, Allen Hood, Corey Russell, and Gary Wiens on the fall and the first gospel promise. Genesis 3:15 returned 15 exact matches, 3:24 returned 2.Index tags for Genesis 3: creation, covenant, origins · NKJV
The Garden in the Scriptures · Eight MovementsMovement III · 3 of 8
Movement III · Song of Solomon 4
The Garden of the Heart
Song of Solomon 4:12, 16
A garden enclosed is my sister, my spouse, a spring shut up, a fountain sealed. Awake, O north wind, and come, O south! Blow upon my garden, that its spices may flow out. Let my beloved come to his garden and eat its pleasant fruits.Song of Solomon 4:12, 16 · NKJV
✓ 5578 exact match · 11 exact refs for Song 4:12 · 26 exact refs for Song 4:16 · Mike Bickle, Corey Russell
Kid mode on · simpler words
G.In the Song of Songs the bride herself is the garden. The Shulamite is the enclosed garden, the sealed fountain, a life set apart for one Beloved.In the Song of Songs the bride herself is the garden. The Shulamite is the enclosed garden, the sealed spring, a life set apart for one Beloved.
Corey Russell
H.She prays for the north wind of testing and the south wind of blessing, both of them, so her spices flow out toward Jesus. She welcomes even the hard wind if it makes her fragrant.She asks for the north wind of testing and the south wind of blessing, both of them, so her sweet smell flows out toward Jesus. She welcomes even the hard wind if it makes her fragrant.
Mike Bickle
I.Her cry, let my Beloved come to His garden, turns her focus off her own inheritance and onto His inheritance in her. She stops asking what she can gain from Him and starts pouring out what she is for Him.Her cry, let my Beloved come to His garden, turns her eyes off what she gets and onto what He gets in her. She stops asking what she can gain from Him and starts pouring out what she is for Him.
Corey Russell
The third movement moves the garden inside a person. The heart becomes the enclosed garden, and maturity is the moment the bride welcomes both winds and invites the Beloved to come and enjoy what grows in her.The third movement moves the garden inside a person. The heart becomes the enclosed garden, and growing up is the moment the bride welcomes both winds and invites the Beloved to come and enjoy what grows in her.
Sources Corey Russell and Mike Bickle / IHOPKC on the bride as the enclosed garden of the heart. Song 4:16 returned 26 exact matches, 4:12 returned 11.Index tags for Song of Solomon 4: bridal, love, song · NKJV
The Garden in the Scriptures · Eight MovementsMovement IV · 4 of 8
Movement IV · Matthew 5–7
The Weeding of the Garden
The Sermon on the Mount · Matthew 5:6, 8
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.Matthew 5:6, 8 · NKJV
✓ 5578 exact match · 16 exact refs for Matthew 5:8 · David Sliker, Mike Bickle
Kid mode on · simpler words
J.The Beatitudes are eight flowers in the garden of the heart, and the Sermon on the Mount is the constitution of the kingdom. Jesus is describing the soil where His own life grows.The Beatitudes are eight flowers in the garden of the heart, and the Sermon on the Mount is the rulebook of the kingdom. Jesus is describing the soil where His own life grows.
Mike Bickle
K.We weed our garden by resisting the six natural lusts of Matthew 5, and water it by the five activities of the devotional life in Matthew 6. The first weed is anger, the spirit of murder, then lust at the eye gate, then broken promises, the demand for our rights, and retaliation.We weed our garden by fighting the six natural lusts of Matthew 5, and water it by the five habits of the devotional life in Matthew 6. The first weed is anger, the spirit of murder, then lust at the eye gate, then broken promises, the demand for our rights, and getting even.
Mike Bickle
L.The garden first needs hunger, and the pure in heart are the ones who keep going. Unless our righteousness runs deeper than the scribes' and Pharisees', the weeding has not yet reached the inner man.The garden first needs hunger, and the pure in heart are the ones who keep going. Unless our goodness runs deeper than the scribes' and Pharisees', the weeding has not yet reached the inner person.
Candler · Sliker · Wiens
The fourth movement is the gardener's own work. Jesus hands His people the tools: pull the weeds of anger, lust, and retaliation, water the soil with secret prayer and giving and fasting, and stay hungry. The garden of the heart is tended, never left to grow wild.The fourth movement is the gardener's own work. Jesus hands His people the tools: pull the weeds of anger, lust, and getting even, water the soil with secret prayer and giving and fasting, and stay hungry. The garden of the heart is tended, never left to grow wild.
Sources Mike Bickle / IHOPKC on weeding and watering the garden of the heart; David Sliker and Dana Candler on hunger and purity; Gary Wiens on righteousness exceeding the Pharisees'. Matthew 5:8 returned 16 exact matches.Index tags for Matthew 5: kingdom, messiah · NKJV
The Garden in the Scriptures · Eight MovementsMovement V · 5 of 8
Movement V · Song of Solomon 5
His Garden, Not Hers
Song of Solomon 5:1
I have come to my garden, my sister, my spouse; I have gathered my myrrh with my spice; I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey. Eat, O friends! Drink, yes, drink deeply, O beloved ones!Song of Solomon 5:1 · NKJV
✓ 5578 exact match · 7 exact refs for Song 5:1 · Mike Bickle, Corey Russell
Kid mode on · simpler words
M.Chapters 1 to 4 of the Song are about receiving our inheritance in God. Chapters 5 to 8 turn the other way, toward God receiving His inheritance in us.The first half of the Song is about receiving our inheritance in God. The second half turns the other way, toward God receiving His inheritance in us.
Corey Russell
N.Jesus answers, I have come to My garden, and nine times in one verse He says the word My. He is taking full possession of a life that has finally been fully offered to Him.Jesus answers, I have come to My garden, and nine times in one verse He says the word My. He is taking full ownership of a life that has finally been fully given to Him.
Corey Russell
O.Then He spreads a table and turns to the friends: eat, drink, drink deeply. What He enjoys in her overflows to everyone around her.Then He sets a table and turns to the friends: eat, drink, drink deeply. What He enjoys in her overflows to everyone around her.
Mike Bickle
The fifth movement is the turn of the whole book. The bride stops measuring what she receives from God and starts becoming what God delights in, and the overflow feeds the friends at His table.The fifth movement is the turn of the whole book. The bride stops measuring what she receives from God and starts becoming what God delights in, and the overflow feeds the friends at His table.
Sources Corey Russell and Mike Bickle / IHOPKC on the turn from our inheritance in God to His inheritance in us. Song 5:1 returned 7 exact matches.Index tags for Song of Solomon 5: bridal, love, song · NKJV
The Garden in the Scriptures · Eight MovementsMovement VI · 6 of 8
Movement VI · Song 5:2 · Gethsemane
The Garden of Sorrows
Song of Solomon 5:2
I sleep, but my heart is awake; it is the voice of my beloved! He knocks, saying, “Open for me, my sister, my love, my dove, my perfect one.”Song of Solomon 5:2 · NKJV
✓ 5578 exact match · 11 exact refs for Song 5:2 · Mike Bickle
Kid mode on · simpler words
P.There is a second garden in the story, Gethsemane, whose name means the place of the oil press. To follow the Beloved into that garden is the fellowship of His sufferings.There is a second garden in the story, Gethsemane, whose name means the place of the oil press. To follow the Beloved into that garden is sharing in His sufferings.
Gary Wiens
Q.His hand is on the latch, and His hand is scarred. She rises to open with myrrh on her own hands, marked already by the same suffering she is being invited into.His hand is on the door, and His hand has a scar. She gets up to open with myrrh on her own hands, marked already by the same suffering she is being invited into.
NKJV text
R.Then comes the test of withdrawal, the dark night of the soul, and the keepers of the walls wound her. She still answers in love, and the testing deepens her rather than ending her.Then comes the test where He seems to pull back, the dark night of the soul, and the watchmen on the walls hurt her. She still answers in love, and the testing deepens her rather than ending her.
David Sliker
The sixth movement is the pressing. Every garden of the heart passes through a Gethsemane, a season of withdrawal and misunderstanding where love is proven. The oil comes out of the olive only under weight.The sixth movement is the pressing. Every garden of the heart passes through a Gethsemane, a season of feeling God pull back and being misunderstood, where love is proven. The oil comes out of the olive only under weight.
Sources Gary Wiens on Gethsemane as the fellowship of His sufferings; David Sliker on the dark night of the soul. Song 5:2 returned 11 exact matches; the scarred-hand reading is from the NKJV text.Index tags for Song of Solomon 5: bridal, love, song · NKJV
The Garden in the Scriptures · Eight MovementsMovement VII · 7 of 8
Movement VII · John 19–20
The Garden of the Empty Tomb
John 19:41; 20:15
Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said to Him, “Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him.”John 19:41; 20:15 · NKJV
✓ 5578 · John 19:41 and 20:15 are indexed under the incarnation and love tags · read here from the NKJV text (no verse-level exact match)
Kid mode on · simpler words
S.Jesus prayed in a garden, was buried in a garden, and rose in a garden. The place where He was crucified held a new tomb inside a garden, and that is where the resurrection happened.Jesus prayed in a garden, was buried in a garden, and rose in a garden. The place where He was crucified held a new tomb inside a garden, and that is where He rose from the dead.
Allen Hood
T.Mary supposed the risen Christ to be the gardener, and in a deeper sense she was right. The second Adam had come to a garden to undo what the first Adam did in one.Mary thought the risen Christ was the gardener, and in a deeper way she was right. The second Adam had come to a garden to undo what the first Adam broke in one.
NKJV text
U.His risen body had flesh and bones and could eat. The saints who rise will live in bodies like His, real and physical, in a real and physical world made new.His risen body had flesh and bones and could eat. The saints who rise will live in bodies like His, real and physical, in a real and physical world made new.
David Sliker
The seventh movement is the great reversal. In a garden the first Adam lost the world, and in a garden the second Adam won it back. Mary's mistake was truer than she knew: the risen Jesus really is the Gardener, come to grow the whole thing back.The seventh movement is the great reversal. In a garden the first Adam lost the world, and in a garden the second Adam won it back. Mary's mistake was truer than she knew: the risen Jesus really is the Gardener, come to grow the whole thing back.
Sources Allen Hood on Jesus praying, buried, and risen in a garden; David Sliker on the physical resurrection body. John 19:41 and 20:15 are read from the NKJV text under the incarnation and love tags.Index tags for John 20: incarnation, love, Spirit · NKJV
The Garden in the Scriptures · Eight MovementsMovement VIII · 8 of 8
Movement VIII · Revelation 22
The Garden Restored
Revelation 22:1–5
And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.Revelation 22:1–2 · NKJV
✓ 5578 exact match · 31 exact refs for Revelation 22:2, the most on this study · 4 exact refs for 22:1 · Mike Bickle, Gary Wiens, David Sliker
Kid mode on · simpler words
V.John sees the garden again, the water of life and the tree of life, and this time there is no curse from Genesis 3. The river and the tree reach all the way back to Eden.John sees the garden again, the water of life and the tree of life, and this time there is no curse left from Genesis 3. The river and the tree reach all the way back to Eden.
Gary Wiens
W.The river flows from the throne, so the garden and the throne share one city. The place of delight and the place of rule are finally one place.The river flows out from the throne, so the garden and the throne share one city. The place of delight and the place of rule are finally one place.
Mike Bickle
X.The leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations, and that healing comes over time as the wisdom of God is applied. The end is a living, growing city, with healing spreading through it.The leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations, and that healing comes over time as the wisdom of God is applied. The end is a living, growing city, with healing spreading through it.
David Sliker
The last movement closes the circle. The story that opened with God and His people together among the trees ends with God and His people together among the trees, the river from the throne and the tree of life with no curse left. The Bible is a garden book from the first page to the last.The last movement closes the circle. The story that opened with God and His people together among the trees ends with God and His people together among the trees, the river from the throne and the tree of life with no curse left. The Bible is a garden book from the first page to the last.
Sources Gary Wiens, Mike Bickle / IHOPKC, and David Sliker on the restored garden of Revelation 22. Revelation 22:2 returned 31 exact matches, 22:1 returned 4.Index tags for Revelation 22: bridal, come, end-times, throne · NKJV
The garden today · modern pictures
What each movement looks like now
The garden arc in the language of now, one story from a planted Eden to a healed city. Each card carries the verse it grows from.
Genesis 2:8
Planted for delight
Today it looks likeThe truth that you were made for a home and a joy, that your worth starts with being wanted rather than being useful.
Genesis 3:8
Hiding among the trees
Today it looks likeThe instinct to cover up and go quiet after we fail, and the God who comes walking and calling for us anyway.
Song 4:12
The enclosed garden
Today it looks likeA life set apart for one love, the guarded inner world that keeps something sacred instead of handing it to the crowd.
Matthew 5:8
Weeding the heart
Today it looks likeThe daily work of pulling anger, lust, and resentment before they take the whole plot, and watering the soil with quiet prayer.
Song 5:2
Gethsemane seasons
Today it looks likeThe pressing times when God feels withdrawn and people misunderstand you, where love gets proven under weight the way oil comes from a pressed olive.
John 20:15
Mistaking Him for the gardener
Today it looks likeThe risen life showing up in ordinary clothes, unrecognized until He speaks your name and the whole scene changes.
Revelation 22:2
Leaves for healing
Today it looks likeThe hope that the whole broken world gets tended back to health, healing that comes over time as the wisdom of God is applied.
These garden parallels are the study's own application; scripture is NKJV and the teaching provenance is marked on each verse above.
Source notes
This page reformats The Garden in the Scriptures into the paper-movements study used across the prophet set. Provenance was pulled from the local IHOPKC Bible Commentary annotation studio at http://127.0.0.1:5578/api/verse/<ref>, exact-confidence matches only. The teacher names and exact-ref counts beside each verse come from that query; teaching is drawn from Mike Bickle, Allen Hood, Corey Russell, Gary Wiens, David Sliker, and Dana Candler. Where the index carries no verse-level match (Genesis 2:8, John 19:41 and 20:15), points are marked NKJV text as the study's plain reading. The studio runs locally and its links resolve only on that machine. Scripture NKJV, matching the original garden page. The original long-form version with its PDF stays live at garden-in-the-bible.