GENESIS
● Chapter 3
The Fall of Mankind
This chapter records the Fall of Mankind. It details the creatures that were involved in the Fall. It provides a clear picture of each creature’s persona.
The SerpentGen 3:1: Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
Here we have an introduction to the Serpent. The word “serpent” came from the Hebrew word “nachash” and has the following meanings: “hiss”, that is, “whisper a (magic) spell”; “a divine enchanter”; “use enchantment”; “learn by experience”. Some theologians theorized that the Serpent might have been, if not a snake with limbs crawling on trees, a reptilian creature that had a tail and stood upright on the ground. Not so; the Serpent was not a cold-blooded reptile. Not only was the Serpent “more subtil than any beast of the field”, he was also able to communicate and reason for he was smart and knowledgeable. He was an intelligent creature. He was of the highest order of animals, the primates, which have hands and stand on two feet. And being “more subtil”, he must be above all of them with Adam ruling over him.
“Yea, Hath God Said?”Now, the record of the Fall of Mankind begins with the part the Serpent played. He approached the Woman and initiated a dialogue over the will of the Creator concerning the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. The Serpent posted the question to the Woman: “Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” The order issued by the Creator to Adam was craftily reworded into a question. Notice his cunningness, the subtlety of the spirit of Satan. Yes, Satan was behind the Serpent. He had influenced the Serpent and motivated him to be used as an instrument to undermine God’s plan. Satan’s every move against his Creator, since his fall, is to thwart and destroy God’s Plans and Purposes. He has the ability and the dynamic to influence and energize living creatures that would yield to his spirit, whether they be dinosaurs, pigs, serpents or men. With just a word out of its original place the Serpent held the Woman in a dialogue. (And of course, the dialogue could not have been as straightforward and short as recorded in the next three verses of Scripture.)
“God Hath Said.”Gen 3:2: And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
3: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.Yes, “God hath said” to Adam that he could freely eat of every tree that grew from the ground in the Garden of Eden except for that Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, which was in the midst of the garden.
Now, there are three things one must not do concerning the Word of God: i) dislocate the word; ii) misplace the word; and iii) misinterpret the word. Nevertheless the Serpent did just that in those three words: GOD HATH SAID. He dislocated the center word and misplaced the same word to where God’s directive turned into a statement of uncertainty — HATH GOD SAID? Hence, he misrepresented a truth. With just a simple twist to those three words of
God, the fascinating charismatic Serpent cast doubt to the Woman whose response shows her understanding was affected. The Woman was under the Serpent’s enchantment. Her answer contains additional words that were not originally spoken by the Almighty God to Adam — “neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die”. God’s words to Adam was “in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die”.
What was going on in the mind of the Woman? Concerning the fruit of the forbidden “Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil”, she knew the command was “not to eat of it”, that is, “not to partake of it”. Then, as an afterthought, it seemed to her that to “touch it” death might not be the consequence, as her words showed. Perhaps, without hesitation, the Serpent jumped straight at the Woman with a suggestion to her to “touch it”, that is, “to lay hold of it”. As some Rabbis hinted, when the Woman did that, the Serpent said, “See, thou hast touched it, and art still alive; thou mayest therefore safely eat of the fruit, for surely thou shalt not die.” It is certainly an interesting reflection.
“The Tree Was Good For Food”Gen 3:4: And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
5: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
6: And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.What winsome words! “Ye shall not surely die:…your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods (Heb: elohim), knowing good and evil.” The word of the Serpent, though filled with falsehood – a knowledge that was perverted – was to the Woman, engagingly exciting and tempting. Unlike other trees which please the sight and taste, this one was stirring, rousing, not only her senses of sight and taste, but also an appetite in her to satiate wisdom. And so, desiring to be wise, the Woman succumbed to the temptation and “took of the fruit thereof, and did eat”. Having eaten of the “Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil”, the Woman went and “gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat”.
[Note: Tradition has it, depicted even by paintings, that Adam was alongside the Woman when the Serpent came to seduce her. And immediately after she had partaken of the forbidden tree she extended her hand to give the fruit to her husband to eat. To many
Bible readers, the phrase “her husband with her” indicates just that — Adam was all the time alongside the Woman, standing next to her and watching her being tempted by the Serpent. Foolish theologians seem never to think of asking how the Serpent dared to tempt (seduce) the Woman when her husband was standing beside her; and why Adam simply stood idly by in silence.
The word “with” has varied applications. That the Woman’s husband was “with her” is true; Adam was always there “with her” in the Garden of Eden. They were always together in the vicinity but they were not always alongside each other. Observe what Adam said later (in verse 12): “The woman whom thou gavest to be with me…” Comprehend the statement that the Woman was given to Adam to be “with” him.]
Gen 3:7: And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
Adam and the Woman, whom God gave to be with him, were naked since the day they came into being and they were never ashamed until now. However, what they had partaken opened their eyes, not to their physical naked bodies, but to a nakedness so appalling that they had to cover their naked bodies with fig leaves sown together. Adam and the Woman lost their righteousness and became spiritually naked in the sight of God.
Hiding From GodGen 3:8: And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.
That the Lord God had a regular appointed time and place of fellowship with Adam and his Woman is clear. The Presence of Yahweh, the Logos (the visible side of God), would come down and walk in the Garden of Eden in the cool of each day to seek fellowship with the couple. On this particular day, the couple was not in their usual place of meeting. They were afraid to meet their God and so they hid themselves among the trees. A sinner Man and a sinner Woman running away from the presence of their God.
Gen 3:9: And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?
10: And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.Notice that the Lord God called out to the Man, Adam. He did not call out to the Woman. It is important to know that the head of the Woman is the Man. The Man was first formed, then the Woman. Hence, a man is responsible for his wife and his family.
Yahweh is not an impersonal Being to Mankind. In calling out for Adam, God was looking for a response from His son; not that He did not know where and why Adam was hiding. Yahweh Elohim was a personal God and Father to Adam, His son. As a son Adam had to respond, and respond he did; sincerely, truthfully, reverently, for as wise Solomon later wrote: “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding” (Prov.9:10 cf. 1:7).
With Adam’s response Yahweh immediately posed two questions to Adam. Look closely at the questions.
Gen 3:11: And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?
Notice that the two questions are closely linked together. The first deals with Adam’s awareness that he was naked – “Who told thee that thou wast naked?” The second question followed immediately: “Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?” Therefore eating the forbidden tree was the cause of the awareness of his nakedness. He knew he was naked, not just naked but naked in a dreadful sense — a perversion, a vice, an uncleanness. [Note: The word “naked” used in this text of Genesis 3:7-11 is different from that in Genesis 2:25. It is translated from the Hebrew word “eyrom”, which comes from the root word “aram”, used only in a derogatory sense.] Remember Adam and his Woman had been and always were naked and were never ashamed until now. Why now? Why were their “fearfully and wonderfully made” bodies (as King David described it in Psalm 139:14) needing a covering? What caused such shame to Adam and his Woman, that they not only covered themselves but hid also from God, their Father? Why was there a sense of uncleanness, exposure, and consciousness of evil in them? Unless their sexual organs were involved in the eating of the forbidden tree.
The questions presented to Adam stipulate one important truth about the “Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil”; that it could not be a natural fruit tree, which Adam and his wife partook. What the couple had partaken was a perverted knowledge of good and evil that involved all the senses of the human body; a perversion which opened their eyes “to know” what was truly good and what was truly evil. When they ate the tree, they ate the fruit of it.
Blame GameGen 3:12: And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.
13: And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.A sinner man will always, if not almost always, excuse himself and put the blame of their woe on others or circumstances. When questioned, Adam blamed it on “the woman whom thou gavest to be with me”. In other words Adam was indirectly saying something like this: “If You have not given the Woman to live with me, this might not have happened”. And the Woman, when questioned, blamed it on the Serpent, on his mesmerizing charm that seduced her into eating of the tree. Very true, but it was an excuse that says: “I could not help myself. I was drawn into it”. Oh deceived Woman, the fruit of eating the tree was not beneficial as she was led to anticipate.
JudgmentGen 3:14: And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:
Turning to the Serpent, not Satan, Yahweh pronounced immediate judgment upon him. The Serpent was not a son of God but a beast of the field created to be a servant to Adam. As such, God had no need to hear his defense. No explanation, no reason, was required from the Serpent. And because the Serpent had yielded himself to Satan’s influence and evil work, the Lord God cursed him above all animals and beasts of the field. God rid him of his hands and legs; to crawl and glide on his belly. The Serpent became a snake, a cold-blooded reptile. Without limbs, dirt was a part of his diet as he ate off the ground. No doubt, his mate was cursed together with him that they might reproduce their kind in the snake family. [Note: When God destroyed Korah, Dathan and Abiram for rebelling against Moses and his leadership, He also destroyed their wives together with them (Num.16:27,31,32; Dan.6:24).]
Let us not forget that Satan is an inveterate dabbler of God’s creation since the day he lifted himself up to be an equal with his Creator to be worshipped. He will seek out those who will yield themselves to his spirit to put them under subjection. “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?” (Rom.6:16).
EnmityGen 3:15: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
Enmity was put between the Serpent and the Woman, and between their seeds. The Serpent was once a charming mesmerizing creature to behold and to bond with, but not quite now. Cursed to become a cold slithering slippery repulsive creature and thrown into the snake family, there was an aversion between it and the Woman, and which has become the norm between the serpent-snake and man. Though there is a fascination with snakes, Man, especially the womenfolk, generally abhors the sight of one, and it the sight of man.
Yahweh’s judgment on the Serpent was compounded — literally and spiritually. Both the Serpent and the Woman had each a seed. The (literal) seed of the Serpent was Cain, a fact which traditional churches simply bypass. On the spiritual side, his seed was one who is fathered by Satan; such a seed would oppose the Word of Yahweh. The (literal) seed of the Woman was Abel, the son of Adam. Her spiritual seed was the Christ, the Son of God, by whom are many more seeds fathered by His Word. Furthermore, the words speak allegorically of the enmity between the Serpent and the Woman. The Serpent is Satan for Satan is its “head”. The Woman is Israel through whom a virgin shall conceive (Jer.3:14; Hos.2:19-20; Isa.4:14; Mat.1:23) whose “seed” would bruise the “head” of the Serpent, who in turn could only bruise His heel. Even after ‘the seed of the Woman’ had bruised the Serpent’s head, the enmity between Satan and the Woman (Israel, including the Church of the Living God, cf. 2Cor.11:2; Rev.19:7-10) continued through the ages, where there is a persistent and contradictory hatred, and a perpetual war.
SorrowGen 3:16: Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.
Yahweh’s judgment upon the Woman provides further details about the eating of the forbidden “Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil”. Remember, after eating the forbidden tree, the eyes of Adam and His wife were opened to their nakedness, a sin so disgusting that they had to cover their sexual parts. In His judgment, God greatly multiplied her sorrow and conception, that is, her ovulation cycle was greatly multiplied, accompanied by great discomfort. Also, her pain was increased in childbearing. Lastly, the Woman’s longing desire was only to her husband, and she was also to be in submission to him as she was no longer on par with her husband. All these indicate that the Woman had misused her sexual reproductive organ when she fell into the deception of the Serpent. If not, why would God curse that part of her body? [More details under the subtitle: The Original Sin.]
Adam’s punishment was in no way similar to that of his wife. The Apostle Paul wrote that “Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression” (1Tim.2:14). Nevertheless, Yahweh had also to mete out His punishment upon Adam because of his action.
The Ground Was CursedGen 3:17: And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
18: Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
19: In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.On account of what Adam did – hearkening to his wife and partaking of the forbidden tree – God cursed the ground. Thorns and thistles sprang up, and Adam had to toil to eat of the plants that were his food. It was painful having to root up all sorts of noxious plants and troublesome weeds. By the sweat of his face, Adam had to labour for his food until he returned to the dust of the ground, for he, the physical being, was made from the dust of the ground, and to the dust he shall return.
“The Mother of All Living”Gen 3:20: And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.
Adam previously called his wife, Woman. He was (the) Man and she was (the) Woman. Now, he called her Eve (Heb: Chavvah), which means “life-giver” for she was “the mother of all living”. By right Adam should be called ‘the father of all living’ since posterity is reckoned to the male. However, Cain was not his son. Cain was the son of the Serpent. Hence, Eve was “the mother of all living” for she gave birth to her fraternal twins, Cain and Abel.
The CoveringGen 3:21: Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.
The coats of fig leaves sewed by Adam and Eve to cover themselves were insufficient and unsatisfactorily to the Lord. What sin they had committed had nothing to do with any natural fruit tree. Had it been so, then a covering of fig leaves would certainly have sufficed. Nevertheless, something had intruded into the body of Man that required Yahweh to shed the blood of innocent animals. With their hides, He made clothes to cover the Man and the Woman. This action of the Lord portrays His plan of salvation, which demands that innocent blood be shed for the propitiation and covering of sins. Since Yahweh shed blood for a covering, blood must be involved in the Fall. Moreover, the animal skin on the Man and the Woman indicates that brute life had touched the life of Mankind (through the Woman). [Note: God had to slay innocent animals to make coats of skin to clothe the Man and his Woman, and in the process blood was shed (Gen.3:21). Read Leviticus 4; Hebrews 9:22; 2 Corinthians 5:21. Notice that it was not the fruit of a literal tree that Adam and Eve had partaken. If they had indeed partaken of a literal fruit tree, then Adam and Eve should have covered their mouths rather than their sexual parts. Even in His covenant with Abraham, God’s requirement was still blood — from the foreskin! He that has a spiritual mind should behold the reason why the shedding of BLOOD is required for redemption.
“Knowing Good And Evil”Gen 3:22: And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:
The Serpent’s words were insinuatingly true in some way when he said to the Woman (not Adam): “For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods (Heb: elohim), knowing good and evil” (Gen.3:5 cf. Psa.8:5; 97:7; see also Heb.1:6). And in a subtle way Moses expressed God’s words ironically: “And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil:..” (Gen.3:22). Think on it.
The savoring of something forbidden surely provides certain knowledge about it. Had Adam and Eve not eaten of the forbidden tree, they would not have the knowledge of what it is “to know” what is truly “good” and what is truly “evil”, the way only God could know.
The knowledge of good and evil is not sin. God Himself has such knowledge. Adam too had that knowledge for he was created in the image of God, but to partake of it by an act is. We all know that sexual union between a man and a woman outside of holy wedlock is vile. Such knowledge does not make us guilty but to lock in union with someone who is not one’s
spouse does. It opens the eyes of the sinner to the meaning of “to know”. One cannot equate the carnal knowledge of good and evil, sold to the Woman through a perverted act with the Serpent, to that of God’s Omniscient Knowledge of good and evil.
The last part of the Scripture verse – “and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever” – is expressed as a figure of speech. The Hebrew expression shows a sudden silence. It expresses the grief of Yahweh towards the Fall of Man and yet a great promise underscores His words. His action in driving Adam eastward sheds light on His words — “and now, lest he…”.
Cherubim and Flaming SwordGen 3:23: Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.
24: So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.God drove Adam out of the Garden of Eden; but how far away did God have to drive Adam out before Adam was out of the garden? This passage of Scripture is both literal and figurative. Though the Garden of Eden was a literal place, it had no fence around it and no entrance or exit for it. We know that the “Tree of Life” was not a literal tree but the Law of Life in God’s Word and therefore the last verse could not refer to literal Cherubim and a literal Flaming Sword guarding the way into It on the eastside of the literal garden. If the Cherubim and the Flaming Sword were literal, then they should still be there guarding the eastern side of the Garden of Eden (which is the Land of Israel), even to this day. So would both the “Tree of Life” and the “Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil” be there, if they were literal natural trees.
“So he drove out the man;…” God divorced or detached the man from the place He had put him. God did not have to drive Adam out very far before Adam was separated from the place where God had put him. Adam had broken the law and judgment had to be passed. God had to affect a divorce between light and darkness, truth and error, life and death. Adam was not only separated from the natural garden where he dwelled but also from that spiritual Garden of God where God’s Presence truly dwelled.
The Cherubim and the Flaming Sword are imageries with hidden mysteries. Cherubim are often associated with the Presence of God especially around His Throne (Exo.25:20-22; Eze.10:1-22; Rev.4:5-9).
Cherubim are also guarding Angels of Light (2Cor.11:14). The Flaming Sword is a power that separates and destroys. These mysteries are portrayed on the mercy lid (seat) of the Ark of the Covenant found in the Most Holy Place of the Tabernacle of Moses (Exo.25), where only the High Priest could enter in but once a year into Yahweh’s Presence with the blood of a sin-offering.
Both the Cherubim and the Flaming Sword are expressed here as guarding the way to True Life. This expression creates a sense of awe (in the mind of man), giving rise to an imagery of an unapproachable Light (that holds Life). Man is a fallen creature and therefore he can no longer return to God’s Paradise. “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Rom.3:23). “For the wages of sin is death;…” (Rom.6:23). But man’s fascination with the Flaming Sword till this day has never ceased. He had been, and still is, thinking of ways to get past that Sword and into God’s Paradise. No matter what a man does to try and find his way into God’s Paradise, he will surely come face to face with Death. He can imagine, philosophize and devise ways to get into God’s spiritual Garden of Eden, however he will never get past the Flaming Sword that turns everyway. It is the fiery Law of Death. No matter how venerated a man’s life may be, or how devout and holy his approach, Death will still stand before him and is ever ready to destroy him. God is as much a consuming fire as He is a holy God. Until a way is provided, man’s vain imaginations and religious approaches to get into the spiritual Garden of God remain futile.
O glorious mystery! God guarded the “Tree of Life” and kept It in Himself until He sent It forth in the form of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, Who is the Way, the Truth and the Life. Yet Christ has the Burning Sword in His hand — “No man cometh unto the Father but by Me” (Joh.14:6). Jesus Christ is God’s Tree of Life manifested. Yahweh, Who is TRUE LIFE, the Word of LIFE, came to dwell in the flesh of His Own Son, Yahshua. It was this Light that came into the world and lit up a pathway for man to find his way into the Garden of God. Man could now taste and eat of the Tree of Life (Word of Life) in order to have the True and Eternal Fruitful Life that was ordained of God. “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth” (Rom.10:4). He is the consuming fire of God. He must purge sin before anyone is to eat of the Word of LIFE and enter into the spiritual Garden of God. “How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” (Heb.9:14).
Strangely, why were the Cherubim and the Flaming Sword placed only on the eastern side of the garden? What reason was there for such a position?
A mystery lies here, and unless one first sees the truth that the Garden of Eden was Israel (and not Turkey or Armenia or a certain area in the Mesopotamian Basin), one will not be able to see the revelation of it. [For more proof that the Land of Canaan is the locale of the Garden of Eden, read my message: The Holy City, New Jerusalem.]
The driving out of the Man and the placing of the Cherubim and the Flaming Sword are the schema of God that speaks prophetically of a great mystery. The First Man, the First Adam, was cast out eastward in death; a Second Man, the Last Adam, will surely come and bring Life back from the direction that Death went out. “And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit” (1Cor.15:45). True Life remained hidden as a mystery of God until He revealed It in His Son, Jesus Christ, Who was sent as the Messiah to the children of Israel according to the promise given to them.
Even the image of the rising sun was Yahweh’s modus operandi (Mal.4:2). The simple structure of the Tabernacle of Moses (later replaced in Jerusalem by the temple of Solomon, and of Herod) was constructed with its entrance facing the east (Num.3:38). Also, Ezekiel witnessed in his vision of the future (millennial) temple, “the glory of the LORD came into the house by the way of the gate whose prospect is toward the east” (Eze.43:4).
Yes, Life did return to the Garden of Eden (which is the land of Israel) when the Christ of Yahweh was born and died for a propitiation for sin, a reconciliation for iniquity. Having ascended into Heaven from the Mount of Olives (which lies east of the City of Jerusalem and its temple’s eastern gate) He will return once more to the same (Acts 1:10-12a). This return will be in the great Day of the Lord when Jesus Christ will come to fight in the Battle of Armageddon. In great glory, He will descend on to Mount Olivet and enter into the City of Jerusalem and the temple via the eastern gate (which is presently shut and sealed up). Read Ezekiel 44:1-3; Zechariah 14:4. Christ will then sit upon the Throne of David (Isa.9:6-7; Luk.1:31-33) and in His glory He will judge all nations that are gathered before Him (Matt.19:28; 25:31-46) after which He will reign over the Earth for a thousand years.
Indeed the TRUTH shall set us free — truth that is given to us by a revelation of the Spirit of God upon His Own Written Word. That mysterious Flaming Sword still turns every way to face those who dare to misappropriate the Tree of Life. The two saraph Cherubim watch over and shield the Shekinah and only Yahweh Himself will reveal to whom He so chooses (Matt.11:29).
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The Original Sin or The Seed of The Serpent
The teaching concerning the Fall is known traditionally as the doctrine of the Original Sin. Scripturally, it should be called the doctrine of the Seed of the Serpent, for the Fall was caused by the eating of the forbidden tree that resulted in a Seed of the Serpent being born — a seed of discrepancy.There is great spiritual blindness among modern theologians. Though they declare that the “seed of the woman” (who was the seed of promise) prophetically refers to Jesus Christ, yet they rule out any progeny from the Serpent. (They are consistent in inconsistency!) How could they deny that the Serpent had his seed when the Word of God specifically stated that both – the Woman and the Serpent – have their respective seeds? The subject of the two seeds of Genesis 3 cannot be suppressed nor can Eve’s relation and connection with the Serpent be evaded. For in it we are enlightened on the true doctrine of the Original Sin — that which brought about the Fall of Man. We cannot miss what the Spirit had written concerning the woman’s sorrow in conception and in childbirth; and that her desire would be to her husband who would henceforth rule over her. In His divine judgment, God meted the punishment to fit the crime. Why did God employ the pain of childbirth? What is the purpose of using the word “conception”? How about the word “desire”? Anyone who has the spirit of discernment should be able to see and understand what the whole chapter of Genesis 3 is all about.
The doctrine of the Serpent Seed is not an allegory, a myth, a legend, or a fable. It is based on literal historical facts set forth and emphasized by the use of certain particular (Hebraic) expressions, or figures of speech, in Genesis chapter 2 and 3. So, with all that we have comprehended thus far, let us place the pieces of information together. It would not be difficult to comprehend what Eve ate, and what events followed that brought about the Fall of Mankind.
Life or PerversionNow, God commanded every species of life, whether plant or animal life, to bring forth seed after its own kind (Gen.1:11-12, 24). Therefore, to hybridize two different species of animals is to go against God’s commandment and law of reproduction. The penalty for tampering with the law of God is Death. Remember this law.
There is a purpose to everything that God had created; and that is to bring glory to Himself (Eph.3:11; Eccle.3:1,17; Isa.14:26-27). Likewise, there is a purpose in each and every member of the human body. The misuse of any member is sin in God’s eye. Read Matthew 18:8-9; James 3:10-12. The commandment is clear: man must obey the Divine Law of Life and Purpose of the Creator. Disobedience is a transgression of the divine commandment, which leads to the perversion of the Divine Truth and Purpose of the Creator.
The purpose of the reproductive organ is to bring forth life. The Woman was given to Adam to reproduce himself. According to the divine plan of God, Adam and his wife were expected to come together at the appointed time and season of life (Eccle.3:1-8) to eat (partake) of the fruit (effect, reward) of the “Tree of Life” in the midst of the garden. The effect of such partaking would bring forth (fruits, rewards of) sons and daughters of God with eternal life. However, the Serpent deceived the Woman into thinking that she could be wiser by partaking of
the forbidden tree that was pleasant to the eyes – a delight, gratifying to the physical and sensual desires, lusty – as the tree was good for food to make one wise (discerning). (That tree might have looked good for food but it certainly was not the kind of food for the spiritual soul.)
Genesis 3:6 says that the tree was “pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise...” How could the eating of the forbidden tree make one wise? The word “wise” is defined as having the power of discernment and judgment. The use of this word carries a far reaching implication. Pagan religions, all of which came from Babylon, have the idea permeated among their followers that wisdom could come through the power of sexual involvement outside of the Divine Law of Man-Woman relation. Hence, the worship of sex in pagan religions which embodied prostitution and orgy. Did not the Apostle Paul say in Romans chapter 1 that men took to worshipping the creature rather than the Creator? Up to this day the lie of the Serpent that wisdom could be discovered in sexual experience still holds true for many promiscuous males and females, adults and teenagers alike.
The word “pleasant” (Hebrew: “taavah”) means “a longing”, by implication, “a delight, dainty, desire, greedy, lusting”. This word is tied directly to the word “food”, “desire” and “wise”. When Eve “saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise,...” it involved the cardinal sins of “the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” (1Jhn.2:16).
The Serpent intruded on Adam’s garden, his Woman (cf. Song 4:12,16; 5:1; 6:2), and sowed his ‘sperma’ in her, which fused with the Woman’s egg resulting in the birth of a hybrid — Cain, a perverted seed! Eve, in eating of the “Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil” in the midst of the garden, brought forth the fruit of Death from her womb.
“In the Midst of the Garden”
The judgment of God upon the Woman (Gen.3:16) should cause us to also understand that the sexual organ was the guilty member of the body in the act of sin. It was that part of the Woman, which God had cursed. Yahweh also increased the number of her conceptions. (A study of animals shows that the higher the animal species the lesser is the number of its conceptions. The Woman’s conception and sorrow had been GREATLY MULTIPLIED.) Since then every woman has her conception period at about every 28 days or 13 times a year. And coupled with each period, there is that great sorrow of physical and emotional tension. Truly, “every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward” (Heb.2:2b).
All these would have been avoided if Eve had partaken of the Divine “Tree of Life” in the midst of the garden instead of the perverted and pleasurable “Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil” which was in the midst of the same garden. The women’s sorrow and conception were multiplied as a result of the act of pleasurable sex Eve had with the Serpent. It was contrary to the Divine will and purpose of God.
It is true that “marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefied” (Heb.13:4). God created the man and woman physically different from, but complementary to, each other. They were created sexually different so that they could procreate by physical union. Like all species of plants and animals, where there are male and female, it was the intention of God that they bring forth “seeds after their kind” by physical union. Sexual union was intended that the two shall be one flesh — resulting in the birth of offspring (Gen.2:24). In the beginning when God joined the Woman to the Man in holy matrimony, procreation was His primary objective, not sexual pleasure. Adam and Eve were supposed to come together in sexual union only in the season of life to partake of that “Tree of Life”, which would bring forth sons and daughters of God that God desired. Because Eve hearkened to the whispers of the Serpent and was enchanted by the “Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil”, and “saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the tree thereof, and did eat”. She lusted for that knowledge from what she saw (understood) concerning it; not knowing that she was being deceived, she gave her desire to the Serpent and she fornicated with him.
After the Fall, human beings have become what they are today — lovers of pleasure! Have you ever seen animals coming together just for sexual pleasure? They copulate only for the sole purpose of propagating their species. But look at human beings today. It is often said that they behave more like animals. That’s an ugly understatement.
The phrase: “thy desire shall be to thy husband”, certainly alludes to the fact that Eve must have earlier subjected her desire to someone else. It could not be plainer that Eve had first subjected her desire to the Serpent when she “saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat,...” (Gen.3:6).
The apostle Paul, in his teaching concerning the state of virginity of the Church, made mention of the seduction of Eve by the Serpent when he said, “For I am jealous over you with godly jealously: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled (Greek: exapatao not apatao; that is, thoroughly seduced) Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ” (2Cor.11:2-3).
Yes, Adam’s wife was thoroughly deceived and seduced by the Serpent! Even now, those who are born of the Spirit of God, must submit themselves to their husbands, as unto the Lord, for the man is the head of the woman, even as Christ is the Head of His Church (Eph.5:22-24). Those wives who despise and disobey their husbands, and are domineering, are violating a divine law of God.
The Two SeedsRegarding Genesis 3:15, modern theologians may maintain that the Woman does not have any seed and that it is biologically impossible for the Woman to have any seed. Yes, it is a scientific fact that a woman does not have any seed. However, the “seed” (in Genesis 3:15) refers to that seed which the Woman had been impregnated with by Adam as opposed to the seed implanted in her by the Serpent. Because Eve came forth from Adam’s side, she was thus a part of Adam. Therefore that which was Adam’s seed was rightfully also Eve’s seed, which was Abel. Cain, who was not of Adam, was not her seed in any way. Hence, Eve was only able to say that she had “gotten (not begotten) a man from the Lord” (Gen.4:1). Cain was the seed of the Serpent.
IdentificationEve was a part of Adam because she was taken out of Adam. They were to be “one flesh” as husband and wife. But before Adam could copulate with Eve, the Devil had caused her to fornicate with the Serpent. Eve broke God’s divine commandment when she used her sexual organ for pleasure in her fornication with the Serpent. Being defiled, Eve was no longer suitable to be Adam’s wife for she had joined herself as “one” with the Serpent. She had sinned and committed iniquity. Therefore Adam would be defiled if he was to take her back. Adam knew that, and he also understood that he would lose Eve forever when God pass judgment upon her; meaning, he would lose his mate, who was bone of his bones and flesh of his flesh. When that happened he would have no mate to spend his life with except the animals, birds, and other creatures for companionship. What then was Adam to do? Simply, he would have to do what His Heavenly Father expected him to do. Like our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, Adam had to “redeem” his Wife. In order to “redeem” Eve, Adam had to identify with her fallen state while she was yet in her sin (and “the wages of sin is death” – Rom.6:23). Even though Eve was defiled, Adam had to join himself to her, who was a part of him. By such an act, Adam committed adultery (Lev.20:10; Prov.6:32). And adultery is fornication.
Adam partook of the same forbidden “Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil” that Eve partook(Gen.3:6). However, “Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression” (1Tim.2:14). [Note: Some may argue that Eve was actually Adam’s wife. In a way, she was but she was not truly Adam’s wife as she had not joined herself to Adam. Consider Joseph and Mary — why Joseph wanted to put her away privately (Matt.1:18-19). Consider Israel whom God had chosen — she backslid and committed adultery, and God put her away (Eze.16:26; Jer.3:8).]
Let me emphasize again. The Woman was deceived not into fornication per se but the partaking (eating) of the “Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil”, which she then gave it to the Man. So, what was it that Adam ate? By identifying with her sin, Adam ate of the same that Eve ate — perverted knowledge. But the reality of it was Adam had taken the blame for his Wife. [Note: Jesus Christ, the Second Man, the Last Adam was the antitype of the First Man, First Adam, when He came to identify with us. For “while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom.5:8). He came “in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh” (Rom.2:3). “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin” (Heb.4:5 cf. Isa.53:5). Jesus Christ took our sins upon Himself.]
When Adam and his wife had partaken of the “Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil”, sin was imputed upon them and the result was DEATH. Since they chose this forbidden tree of perverted knowledge, they had to reap its result and drink of the bitter cup. Access to the Divine “Tree of Life” (the Perfect Law of God) which governed the perfect purpose of the relation of life in the Divine Plan of God was no longer available to them. God had It kept away (Gen.3:22-24), but brought It forth about 4000 years later in the Person of Jesus Christ. Christ Jesus is the very Personification of the Divine Life and Purpose of God — the Way, the Truth, and the Life. He is the True Wisdom (1Cor.1:24 cf. Prov.3:13,18,19). Whosoever eats (partakes) of Him shall have Eternal Life (Jhn.6:47-58). Without this relationship to Him as the “Tree of Life” and the Word of Life, there is no Eternal Life.
DeathThere is a vast difference between animals and man. Man has a ‘spiritual’ soul but animals do not. The animals were created directly from the dust of the earth, whereas Adam was first created a spirit, which was the image of God, before he was put into a body of dust, which was after the likeness of the theophany of God (Gen.1:26, 27; 2:7). In hybrid animals, their “death” is physical (physical sterility — unfruitful, dried up). They cannot reproduce their kinds; their seeds are dead. As for man, God is more concerned with his precious soul than his body of earth. So, when “death” came upon Man, it was a spiritual death (spiritual sterility — unfruitful, dried up). All souls are spiritually dead. It takes the Holy Spirit of God and His Word to make man fruitful by quickening him to “life” that he might bring forth spiritual fruits of the Spirit of Life (Jhn.6:63; 1Pet.3:18). Did not Jesus (in John 3:5-6) say, “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit”?
Geneticist, Gregor Mendel states that “every individual is the sum total of the characteristics, recessive or dominant, in its two immediate progenitors. There is nothing in any individual that was not in the father or mother of that person, and everything that was in the father and mother is in the offspring.”
Being a hybrid of the Serpent and the Woman, Cain inherited a part of Eve’s nature — the nature of the Spirit of God which was in Adam. Remember that Adam and Eve, who were created in the image and likeness of God, had sin imputed upon them after the Fall. The image and likeness of God in them were thus stained by sin, so to speak. Hence, Seth (who was a substitute for Abel) and all his descendants could only bear the image and likeness of Adam (Gen.5:3). However, Cain, being a hybrid, did not bear the image and likeness of Adam, who was a son of God. He was a mongrel with a marred (or damaged) image and likeness of Mankind. Falling short of that glorious image of God means spiritual death. A few generations later, when Adam’s descendants intermingled with the descendants of Cain, the stained image and likeness of God became badly marred. Thenceforth, Mankind became part and parcel of the animal kingdom.
HybridThe fruit of disobedience, the partaking of the “Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil”, was the conception of Cain. Cain was a hybrid in a world where all living things were pure breeds. He was a discrepancy who disrupted the order of God. He was the seed of the Serpent
(Gen.3:15), born out of fornication (Jhn.8:41), and the “son” of the Wicked One — Satan (1Jhn.3:12). He was a part of Satan’s plan to destroy the Plan of God.
That the seed of the Serpent could fuse with the egg of the woman seems very far-fetched to most people. However, just look at what man have done with some of the animals. They have produced a liger, a cross between a lion and a tigress; a zedonk, a hybrid between a zebra and a she-ass. The most common hybrid that we know is the mule, which is a mixture of the donkey and the mare. And all these hybrids are sterile; fruitless. Their seeds are dead.
Scientists have tried to commingle beast and man but without success. Beast and man cannot intermingle and reproduce. Nevertheless, the chemical affinity between them proves their close relationship, and the intermingling between an animal (Serpent) and a woman (Eve) did take place in the Garden of Eden. But God had completely destroyed that pattern of the Serpent, and no other beast can commingle with man again.
The Serpent was the highest of all the animals and was the last to be created before Adam. Of all the animals, it was the only species that could talk! If the Serpent does exist today he certainly would still be able to talk. Some may argue that he was able to talk because he was possessed by Satan just like the demon-possessed man at Gadarenes (Luk.8:26-33), or just like the ass which God used to speak to Balaam (Num.22:28-30). However, note that it was the Serpent who beguiled Eve; it was not Satan. Hence, it was not Satan in the Serpent speaking but the Serpent himself. Moreover, who did God judge — Satan or the Serpent?
Being the last of the animals created before Adam, the Serpent was ranked next to man, and he looked very much like a man. We can actually say that he is the ‘missing link’ between the animals and the human race. The Bible tells us that all things, including the Serpent, that God had created were good, very good indeed. Although he looked like a man and could talk and communicate like one, the Serpent was not created in the image and likeness of God as Adam was. The Serpent did not have a spiritual soul for he was of the animal kingdom. [Note: Adam was created a full grown man with perfect intellect. He must have possessed a certain prophetic revelation to name the Serpent as such, for that name has been associated with the evil one (Satan) throughout the Bible, which was written later after the Fall. The name “Serpent” has become synonymous with the name “Satan”, since Satan had complete control over the Serpent and his reasoning power; that was why he was so persuasive that Eve succumbed to his seduction.]
Willingly, WillfullyIt goes without saying that the human race could not come into existence without the Woman, not just any woman, but the one who was taken out of the Man, Adam. The Woman sinned. Since the wages of sin is death, it is obvious that Adam had to do what was right in his capacity to redeem his Wife. Being in the image of God, Adam knew to do right. In him was the attribute of a saviour. He opted to stand in the gap as a mediator between the Creator-Judge and Eve because he loved his Wife. To buy her back, Adam had to identify with her sin and face God’s judgment on her behalf. For that he brought death to Mankind.
The Man, a direct creation of God, could not be deceived. He knew judgment awaited the Woman that God gave him, and death was certain. Not doing anything meant he would be the only man on Earth for all eternity, with the animals on the land, in the air and in the sea for companions. However, Adam knew what he had to do to “save” his Woman from her sin. Being a son of God, created in God’s very image, Adam knew he had to act according to God’s utterance (Gen.2:18) and the prophetic words that he himself had uttered (Gen.2:23-24). And he willingly did so. (Obviously, Adam was not without a revelation that his action would bring a condemnation on the human race.) He identified with the fallen state of the Woman who fell for the deception of the Serpent. Deception, whether by self or by another, is a deadly tool that always leads to transgression against God. Eve had committed iniquity and she was in the transgression. Adam was willing to buy her back by taking her sin upon himself. Adam’s action was not a willful act of disobedience that was rebelling against God. Rather, his action was his willingness (a willing and willful act) to take the sin of his Wife upon himself. Adam had revelation to his purposeful act.
Type – AntitypeNow, Apostle Paul said that Adam was “a type of Him who was to come”. Adam redeemed his Wife back to himself by identifying himself with her transgression. Remember, Adam had no former lust and knew no sin. Similarly, Jesus Christ, the last Adam, identified Himself with His fallen Bride and became sin for her that she might become the righteousness of God in Him. However, in identifying Himself with fallen man, the redemptive act of the last Adam (Jesus Christ) brought LIFE back to man. With the Water and the Blood that flowed from the side of Jesus Christ at Calvary, God made a Bride for Him. Read Romans 5:12-21; 1 Corinthians 15:21,22,45. Amen! (Type and antitype — nothing could be any clearer!) We are reconciled to the Living “Tree of Life”, not a fruit tree but the Living and Wise God!
Jesus Christ was the antitype (in reverse) of Adam. What Adam did willingly for his beloved was destructive; what Jesus did willingly for His Beloved was saving, giving life back to us who believe in Him. Jesus identified with our passion and took our transgressions and iniquities upon Calvary. Exactly right. If Jesus Christ did not willingly come to take our sins and lay down His life for us, we would have no life (Joh.10:14-18). Jesus was willing to be judged just to save us — His Bride, who has gone astray. The Word also says that “He was numbered with the transgressors” (Isa.53:12 cf. Luk.22:37). God would not have Jesus numbered with the transgressors if “transgression” was not involved. Though “numbered with the transgressors”, Christ was not one per se. “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2Cor.5:21). No wonder it pained the Father to see the vileness that was put on His Son. (Read Isaiah 1:13; Habukkuk 1:13.)
Adam willingly chose to stand in the gap between God and the Woman, his bride, to be a “saviour”. Adam did right, he did good, without iniquity, but transgression was made. Hence, death was imputed upon Adam or else God is not righteous as Judge. And so, “in Adam all die” (1Cor.15:22). Yes, there was no iniquity in his action when compared to that of Abraham (Gen.20:2), Isaac (Gen.26:7), Jacob (Gen.27:32), and those who do not the Will of God (Matt.7:21-23).
Like Adam who chose to save his Woman, he was numbered with Eve. Jesus chose to do the same for His Woman, the chosen ones who would make up His Church, He was numbered with us. Both Adam and Jesus identified with their wife. Both took sin upon themselves. Both “transgressed”. But, the first Adam brought death, and the last Adam brought life by taking death upon Himself.
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