Paradise
Read Genesis 1 and 2
The loving, creator God placed this planet in its precise location in space and spoke words of life over it to initiate an environment that was ideally suited to His purpose: a home for the pinnacle of His creation – human beings. He created this environment for humanity in stages (as set out in Genesis, chapter one). At the crowning moment, the first human being was placed in the centre: a cocooned location called, 'The garden of Eden'. Everything Adam needed was provided for him. God provided food and even gave Adam work to do in naming the animals and tending the garden. (Genesis 2:15)
The garden was highly protected. It had a set boundary and provided a haven for all of God’s creation. God walked there and met face-to-face with Adam, talking with him and listening to him. What an amazing situation: a human being having one-to-one conversations with his creator, the God of the universe! And there was freedom with just one rule: Adam was not to eat from the tree located in the middle of the garden (known as 'the tree of the knowledge of good and evil' – Genesis 2:16-17). God said that eating its fruit would cause Adam to die.
But it became apparent that something was missing. Adam got to know a great many animals and gave them all names to describe their characteristics and nature. (Genesis 2:19). But not one of them made a suitable companion for Adam, even though he had such a close relationship with God himself. God existed as three persons in one and can be thought of as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. They enjoyed a close, intimate relationship together and wanted to provide something similar for Adam. So God put him into a deep sleep, took one of his ribs and, from it, formed a 'woman'. When Adam woke from his operation and discovered another creature, just like him but different, he was entranced. She was ideal for him and God blessed their relationship. Chapter two of Genesis goes on to say that this union of man and woman formed the basis for what we now call 'marriage': 'That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife and they become one flesh'. (Genesis 2:24) Of course, in Adam's case there were no human parents, but they provide an enduring model for close relationships between human beings. Thus, the stage was set for an idyllic life where love, joy and peace filled their world and where God was at the centre of His creation on a daily basis – amazing!
Trouble in paradise
Read Isaiah 14:1-20
There was, however, just one problem. God’s creation was not limited to humans on the earth. He had also created an 'angelic host' to be with Him in heaven and to share His joy.They were spiritual rather than physical beings and their existence, like that of humans, was idyllic. They were continually praising God and there was one angel in particular who was leading the praise and worship: Lucifer. But Lucifer aspired to be like God Himself. At some point, he rebelled against God and, as a result, was cast out of heaven and found his way to the earth.
Read Genesis 3:1-7
One day, as Adam’s wife was busying herself in the garden, she was confronted by Lucifer who had taken on the appearance of a serpent or snake. This suited his nature which the Bible describes as being ‘more crafty (or cunning) than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made'. The snake said to her: ‘Did God really say you must not eat from any tree in the garden?’ Of course, this was not what God had said at all, but it raised doubts in her mind. As one of the 'managers' of the garden and its various animal inhabitants, perhaps she should have told the snake to mind his own business, but she responded by repeating what God had said to her husband about not eating from 'the tree of the knowledge of good and evil'. The snake then came out with a direct challenge to the creation and authority of God Himself: ‘You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’
According to Isaiah 14:13-14, Lucifer had said previously to himself: ‘I will make myself like the Most High'. This is why he was cast out of heaven, but he didn’t give up. His plan now was to corrupt God’s creation and challenge His kingdom from within. The woman should have said ‘No’ and gone to Adam for support and then the two of them could have turned to God for help. But the woman allowed the challenge to God’s authority to take root in her mind and, at that moment, she lost the battle. The fruit looked perfectly good to eat and the thought of becoming like God Himself was as attractive to her as it had been to Lucifer. She took some of the fruit and ate it.
Paradise lost
She didn't immediately drop dead on the spot, so decided to offer some of the fruit to her husband, Adam. He too was persuaded to give it a try and trust in his own judgement rather than that of his creator. Their physical lives continued, but their intimate relationship with God was broken. Like Lucifer, they had rebelled against Him and their disobedience gave birth to sin. God is holy (set apart by the purity of His character and nature) and can never have anything to do with sin. Consequently, a great gulf opened up between God and human beings. Adam and his wife suddenly realised their vulnerability to evil and it poisoned their own intimate relationship. They felt shame at their own nakedness and promptly tried to cover themselves with fig leaves. This was the first human attempt to cover up sin and to hide it from God. It failed. When the time came for their usual meeting with God, Adam and his wife were nowhere to be found. They were hiding. Sin has that effect. It still cuts us off from God. And out came the excuses. Adam went first: 'the woman You put here with me – she gave me some fruit from the tree and I ate it'. His wife went further: 'the serpent deceived me and I ate'.
Sin always has consequences. The snake was condemned to 'crawl in the dust' and told that there would, henceforth, always be enmity between the woman’s offspring and its own. But notice this: the Bible says, ‘He will crush your head and you will strike His heel’. Who is being spoken of here? It is Jesus, who crushed and defeated Satan in the very act of submitting to crucifixion by the Romans. Jesus was one of the 'woman's offspring'.
For the woman, the consequences were that she would suffer increased pain in childbirth and her husband, not God, would rule over her. For Adam, the consequences were that work would become a painful toil with the earth, cursed through their act of rebellion, and gainful production would be a constant battle against unyielding opposition (thorns and thistles). It was at this point, that Adam named his wife 'Eve' because she was to become 'the mother of all the living'. (Genesis 3:20)
Read Genesis 3:21
God stripped those ridiculous fig leaves off and clothed Adam and Eve with garments of skin instead. He obtained the skin by killing at least one animal. Its blood was shed so that their nakedness and shame could be properly covered. As such, it provided a means of Adam & Eve being 'at one' with God again. The blood 'atoned' for their sin. Yes, they were banished from the protected environment of the garden of Eden and God's easygoing presence in their lives, but they were not eternally separated and God could continue to deal with them from time to time. This shedding of blood was a symbolic act and we can see in the story of Cain and Abel (Genesis 4:1-6) how Adam must have passed the instruction on to his children. We learn later in Genesis that Abel sacrificed a lamb (the firstborn of his flock) to God and this was considered to be right, whereas Cain offered up the work of his own hands (remember the fig leaves of Adam and Eve?) and was told by God that this was not acceptable.
This shedding of blood as a sacrifice for sin has been passed down to every generation and is described in almost every book of the Old Testament. However, it was really only a pointer to things that were to happen later; it was strictly a temporary measure. Every year, the High Priest would enter the 'Holiest of Holies', initially in the 'tabernacle' (tent of meeting), then later in Solomon's temple (and subsequent temple buildings) with the blood of a pure lamb that had been sacrificed. The priest would cover the 'Mercy Seat' with the blood to atone for the sins of the people.
Paradise regained
Humans can never, through their own efforts, get back to that pure, intimate relationship with God. Our own good deeds are never good enough to make us right with God. Eventually, God Himself provided a way back: a single and lasting bridge over the gulf of separation. That bridge was first indicated in Genesis 3:21 and, throughout the Old Testament, until the perfect 'Lamb of God' (Jesus Christ) came as a sinless human being and submitted to death by crucifixion to die for the sins of the entire world. And that includes us. Jesus is and continues to be God’s real answer to the problem of separation from God, caused by sin.
You and I are spirits; we have a soul (a mind and a will and emotions) and we live in a body (a ‘suitcase’) that eventually decays and dies, returning to the dust from which it was made (Genesis 3:19). Our spirits are eternal; they never decay or die. So, when our body dies, our spirit lives on. The only question is: what happens to our spirit after we die? What is our final destination? Shall we be ushered in to the eternal presence of God, or separated from Him for ever, eternally tormented by our memories of the opportunities we were given to receive the gift of eternal life already bought and paid for by Jesus?
Satan’s most common means of separating us from God’s love is through our soul: the mind, will and emotions. This is the battle ground. This is where we can stop Satan in his tracks by speaking out the word of God. That is why it is so important that we learn the word of God and become entirely familiar with the Bible. If he can prevent us from believing what God has promised us, he can stop a human being from receiving God’s gift of eternal life. This is offered to us by Jesus at no cost to us other than 'repentance' from our sins. (This means turning 180 degrees from them and receiving His free gift of forgiveness.) Repentance is something that we need to practise regularly, keeping short accounts with the Father so that we have clear communication with the heart of the Saviour. If we have already received this gift of eternal life, demons will attempt to stop us from offering it to others by making us believe that they don’t want to hear, or making us embarrassed to tell them, or any coming up with any other excuse they think might prevent us from passing on good news.
So, are we going to believe what God has done for us, accept His free gift, then pass it on to our friends, relatives and acquaintances, so that they don’t have to spend eternity separated from God, but with God in heaven?
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