After all these things had happened, there was one who thought himself above Him who made all things. This was one who was called Lucifer, that son of the morning and who is now that accursed dragon. This dragon sought to rebel against The Great One along with a third of all the angels in Heaven, but Michael the archangel and his angels fought the dragon, and the dragon was not able to prevail. And this dragon was cast out of Heaven and is now called the Devil, Satan, the deceiver who deceives all the world. He was thrown down to Earth like a bolt of lighting, he and his angels, now fallen.
And following these things, there was a great voice in Heaven which called out, “Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death. Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the Earth and of the Sea! For the Devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.”
When the dragon came to understand that he had been cast out of Heaven, he sought to persecute the woman who would bring forth a child to rule all nations with an iron rod. Though, he could not slay the woman, he would war with the remnant of her seed, those who follow the will of the one and only True God and who will carry His testimony; the testimony of that Lamb. That dragon would deceive the nations and lead many astray, beginning with yet another woman, that woman which had been made for Adam: Eve.
Satan grasped hold of a serpent, for it was more subtle, more cunning than any other beast of the field which God Jehovah had made. And the serpent came unto Eve and asked her, “Has God [truly] said, ‘Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?’” To which Eve replied “we may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: 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.’”
The serpent saw his opportunity saying, “Ye shall not surely die: 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.” In this way, the servant sought to lower God in the eyes of the woman, to make her doubt His Word. And though her husband was with her, when she took of the fruit and gave unto him, he still ate of the fruit. So it was that the woman was deceived and the man rebelled. For the man knew the command of God concerning the tree better than the woman. Yet, he still ate. And when they both had eaten of the fruit, their eyes opened to their sin, and they were innocent no more. It was then that they saw their nakedness and sought to cover themselves and make simple clothes of sewn leaves.
During the cool of the day, they heard the voice of Jehovah God in the garden and tried to hide, for they were ashamed of their nakedness and afraid of the consequences of their sins. And Jehovah God, knowing what had occurred, still called out to Adam asking, “Where art thou?” When Adam heard this, he knew that he was found and responded unto Him, “I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.” God heard this and offered an opportunity to Adam, to take responsibility for himself and that which he had been appointed over. He asked Adam, “Who told the that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?” But Adam, utilizing his free will in a saddening manner placed the blame on Eve, the woman who was made as his ideal companion, made of his very own flesh: “The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.” Disappointed, though unsurprised, He turned to Eve saying, “What is this that thou hast done?” Once again he offered an opportunity and once again, it was rejected. “The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.”
Finally addressing the serpent, the creature which Satan had laid his hands on and had not resisted, God said “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: 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.” Though none knew it but God and possibly that accursed Devil, in that time God had spoken of the future. A great and terrifying event for all caught unaware when the True King, in His flesh, would be crowned not only with thorns, but with glory in His saving of all who would serve Him.
Turning to the woman once again, 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.” And to Adam, He said, Because thou has hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree 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; Thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; 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 are, and unto dust shalt thou return.” With this, man was cursed with pain of labor if he was to eat and woman was cursed with pain of childbirth if she were to bring forth children. Even still, for the two of them, Jehovah God made coats of skins, clothing them, showing them mercy despite their trespasses against Him.
And He addressed His angels, saying “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…” Finishing His address with action, Jehovah God sent Adam out of the garden, along with his wife, Eve, so that he may till the ground for food; that same ground which he had been made from. And God placed Cherubims at the east of the garden alongside a fiery blade which turned in every direction to guard the way to the tree of life. And so is His Word.
1All quotes are taken from the KJV Bible unless otherwise specified. The section from which these quotes arise will be noted by the chapter names unless otherwise specified.
