EXISTENCE - WHY It seems Adam and Eve had it all. In all of creation they, alone, were made in God’s image. Everything should have been perfect. They lived in a Garden where their every need was taken care of. I can imagine them walking through the Garden on a cool morning with the dew on the grass wetting their toes as they talked to God, who was there in person. It was like a cloudless sky, perfection personified, but storm clouds were forming on the horizon, for there was, in particular, one being in creation that wasn’t happy at all. The serpent lurked. Waiting for an opening. Have you ever wondered why Satan hated humanity or how a speaking serpent could have beguiled Eve. I don’t know about you, but a talking serpent would have caused me to jet away as fast as my two bare feet could have moved me. As to why Satan showed an incredible amount of animosity to Adam and Eve, I’ve done a great deal of research and I am fairly sure I have it figured out. Am I 100 % sure? I’m not. But I have found no other reason that comes anywhere near what I am about to propose. Lucifer ranked higher than any other angel in all of heaven. He was also the most beautiful being ever created. Imagine when he realized God’s plan for Adam and Eve. Imagine how he felt when he realized the gift God gave them that caused them, unlike any other creature, to be made “in God’s image”. Suddenly Satan’s status as the epitome of perfection, concerning creation, was eclipsed. And this creature that had displaced him was made of nothing but soil. Yet this sack of soil contained a portion of God, himself. I have read from a non-canonical gospel (I put little faith it such) in which Satan says, point blank, that Adam and Eve’s creation caused him to fall from grace. Satan also claims in this gospel that this was why he beguiled Eve. Verses found in both Isaiah and Ezekiel say pride caused his fall. It’s easy to imagine Satan’s feelings and pride being hurt when suddenly a creature, not too unlike all other flesh and blood creatures, when compared to God Almighty, was given a blessing no other in creation had ever been blessed with. Because of this gift these new creatures, made of soil, became true children of God, because they physically possessed the Holy Ghost. Satan, because he can be in only one place at a time, wasn’t always in God’s presence. Adam and Eve’s sack of flesh carried God wherever they went, so they were always in God’s immediate presence. Satan couldn’t stomach this reality; therefore he rebelled against God and his plan for humanity. After his fall he immediately formed a plan to undo what God had done. The most effective way to do this also would punish the two he held responsible, Adam and Eve. Also, since he couldn’t directly punish God, he could do so very effectively by corrupting God’s only children at that time, Adam and Eve. So, Satan had a plan. The only thing he needed was opportunity. Genesis 3 begins by saying the serpent was subtler than any other beast that God had created. We all know that the serpent was, in reality, Satan. Why he would appear as a talking serpent had always perplexed me. I’ve always thought it was merely a metaphor. But exhaustive research has led me to another conclusion, for a talking serpent doesn’t seem very crafty. Also, it didn’t seem such would be capable of enticing someone who’d walked with God, as his child. Furthermore, when you consider the penalty for disobedience was spiritual suicide, an ordinary talking serpent didn’t seem to be a good candidate for such a monumental task. In Genesis 3 Satan is said to appear before Eve in the form of a talking Serpent. Desiring to dig a bit deeper into the matter, I Googled the Hebrew to English translation of the word “serpent”. What I found was amazing. What’s more amazing is that, when cross-referenced, the conclusion I came to was supported by more than one verse. I don’t put much faith in any biblical argument not supported by cross-referencing and the more supporting verses the better. The Hebrew word for for serpent is nachash. Nachash can function as a noun, a verb, or an adjective. As a noun is means a snake or a serpent. As a verb it means to practice divination, enchantments, or interpret omens. When used as an adjective “nachash” means “shining”. The Hebrew word used as an adjective in Genesis 3 was the adjective form of “nachash”, but it had “ha” (meaning the) before it. Ha-nachash, then, means “the shining one” in Genesis 3. Therefore, Satan didn’t appear to Eve as your everyday talking serpent. No, he appeared as a beautiful shining being whose very appearance would have influenced Eve’s attitude towards him. Far from being repulsed by a serpent, she was most likely fascinated by and enamored with this brilliant creature. That Satan would and could appear in this form in the Garden is supported by other verses of scripture. One is Isaiah 14:12: How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! The word Lucifer is Latin in origin. According to Strong’s Concordance it means “shining one” or “morning star”. Another is Ezekiel 28:13&14: 13) Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. 14) Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. I can imagine how Lucifer must have shined decked out in precious and semiprecious jewels. This verse tells how he actually appeared in the Garden, for it mentions Eden. Jesus also speaks of Satan and his luminous appearance when he tells his disciples in Luke 10:18: “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.” Paul also makes clear that Satan is able to transform his appearance when it suites him. He gives this warning in 2nd Corinthians 11:14: And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. All of this makes the likelihood of Satan’s appearing as a beautiful, shining creature all the more plausible. Yet his appearance alone couldn’t possibly sway Eve in and of itself. No, he had to offer something that appeared extremely desirable – desirable enough to risk suffering the penalty of death should she do it. So what exactly could he offer her that would, in her mind, trump what God, as her Father, had already given her? Again we must consider a particular Hebrew word. That word is found in Genesis 3:5. That word is elohim. Elohim is a word that the Hebrew language borrowed from the Canaanites. Since the Canaanites believed in many Gods, by default, elohim was plural. But when, in Hebrew, it is used with a singular verb or adjective, it is singular as in “God”. Let’s look at Genesis 3:5 and see what it says. This is the KJV translation, which I use, because it’s in public domain. Genesis 3:5: 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. As seen in this verse elohim is used twice. One, the first Elhim, is singular, which makes it “God”, with a capitol “G”. The second elohim, however, is plural and this makes it “god” with a small “g”. Some of the more contemporary translations, however, capitalize the “G” in the second case, though exhaustive research has led me to conclude this is incorrect. This is a shame, for it makes all the difference in the world. Reading it the way it is presented the King James Version makes crystal clear just what Satan offered her. After lying and assuring her she would not die, he assured her that if she switched allegiance by believing him, rather than God, he would give her knowledge that would make her like unto him. She, he told her, would become this radiant being with great power and knowledge, although the knowledge was both secretive and forbidden. Such he has used throughout history, for this is what has kept the ancient mystery religions alive and well right up until today. Today’s mystery religions are called secrete societies, but they worship the same “god” with a little “g”. Google “Freemasons”, do a bit of research, and you will find that, unknown by the lower degreed Masons, they openly worship Lucifer. It’s the same lie repackaged throughout mankind’s history. And the Freemasons aren’t the only secrete society, and they do, sometimes unknowingly, all work towards the same end. The promise of knowledge, power, and eternal life is seductive. In other words they want to have the same thing promised to Eve so many years ago. It was a lie then and it’s a lie now. Some things never change. She believed the lie and, in doing so, she disbelieved God. That, in and of itself, was the original sin, for in doing this she switched her allegiance. Trust is an integral ingredient in any loving relationship. When Adam followed suite, they, by believing Satan, broke the trust they’d had in their relationship with God, for in believing such, they had to also believe God was a liar. Sin is anathema to God, thus their separation from God resulted in immediate spiritual death. But the moment trust was buried, hope sprouted, for God’s will is incontrovertible.
Posted on: Mon, 08 Dec 2014 18:56:08 +0000