Ready to have your world rocked? Hang on to your hats…
If I haven’t lost you on the whole End Times discussion thus far in this blog, I might lose a few of you here with this one. I’ve come to learn that quite simply, most in this world are way to busy to allow themselves time to think and consider information that strays too far from the common narrative. Even some will entertain new thought, and then search until the first post against this thought comes up, and then they stop and form an opinion. The challenge that I see is that God’s adversary (satan) is both the author of the common understandings of our time, and he’s the guy keeping us so busy that we haven’t the time to spend to consider other truths. I heard it said once that Satan is 99.9% truth and .01% lies. So I hope you can take a moment to join me on this alternate journey. Please remember as you consider, that satan is working against YOU understanding fully.
I will be presenting information to you that will challenge some very fundamental understanding that we have all been taught, literally, from the beginning. It will require that you put aside much of the common knowledge that we’ve lived with for so long on this subject. If you do, and you give this new information a chance, I think you, as I have, will discover an amazing bible secret that has been hidden (by Satan) for millennia – and this secret will explain SO MUCH as to what is not right in our world today. In fact, the more I sit with it, the more understanding I have, and the more I find myself saying “OK now THAT makes sense!” Not that things in God’s world need to make sense (to us,) but when they do, I find often is like God giving us a huge neon sign of understanding.
First some background. In the book of Daniel, the prophet whom the book was name after was being shown visions of the time of the end (the times we now live in) by an Angel of the Lord. Revealed to Daniel were many things to write about – prophetic things that are happening right now almost daily in the world in which we live. in Daniel 12:4, the angel said:
Dan 12:4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.
The angel was instructing Daniel not share what he had just been shown until the “times of the end.” And that those times would be indicated by “many running to and fro” and “knowledge being increased. I believe this has two levels of meaning: a) at the physical level, people are running to and fro around the globe like no other time in history, and knowledge is growing exponentially. However I also believe this to mean that people are “running to and fro” through the Word of God, seeking for their “kingdom” knowledge to increase. I believe we are seeing these things happen now like never before. The implication is easy to draw – if Daniel was told to “seal” the books “until the time of the end” that then implies that an unsealing will take place. I think we are seeing this happen right in front of us. God is revealing, to regular folk like you and I (not necessarily big name theologians) many new biblical interpretations, and understandings (aka “knowledge shall increase.“) Now, I’m not saying the Bible has “Changed” – please don’t hear that – but I do believe that God is allowing new understandings that shed new light on old knowledge, adding clarity, and answering questions. And He’s doing so through his most humble servants.
What I am about to share with you is new light on old understandings. And if you are one of those that tend to hold on to knowledge even in the face of new information, you will likely struggle with this. If you are like me, and you are always challenging and reinventing your existing knowledge, you will likely have one of the biggest “ah-hah” moments of your Christian walk in the next few minutes. I’ve prayed that you, the reader, will be in that latter category.
Let me start with a question.
What happened in the Garden of Eden?
No, I mean what REALLY happened?
What happened such that mankind for 6000 years has been cast out of the Garden of Eden, and as such has been unable to “walk in the garden” and commune with our creator ever since that time? The common knowledge that we have been taught (since Sunday school for some of us) was that Eve ate an apple from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, a tree that God himself forbid the partaking of.
Simply stated: Eve, mother of all mankind, made a bad produce choice and disregarded a directive from her creator, resulting in our loving, gracious creator banishing us from his direct presence and the ability to commune directly with Him for approximately 6000 years. I’m not sure about you, but the more I think of that, the more I have a hard time reconciling that action with the “loving” and “gracious” part. It seems, throughout the bible God’s punishment usually fits the crime – and this one seems unblanced.
I wonder if there’s more to the story?
Let’s go to Scripture:
Before even Eve was spoken into existence by God, Adam had been given the following command:
Gen 2:15-17 – 15 And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
So essentially, partake of this fruit and really bad things will happen. Now enters God’s crowning creation, Eve, having since been created from Adam’s very side. Eve comes into the scene where she encounters the Serpent (widely known to be either Satan or another being acting on his behalf.) The serpent proceeds to converse with her. But first, there’s this that the bible says about the serpent:
Gen 3:1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made
According to Strongs, the original Hebrew for “subtle” is:
Notice the word “Cunning” (usually in a bad sense.)
And we all know the rest of the story, where the serpent proceeds to discuss the Knowledge of the Tree of Good and Evil with Eve. The serpent questions God’s consequence for eating of the tree, to which Eve replies:
Gen 3:2-6 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. 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.
Consider if you will some of the different uses of the Hebrew word for “touch:”
Notice that “to lie with a woman” early in the definition. Also note that “eat” has many figurative uses as well as literal uses.
Succumbing to the cunning words of the serpent and his insistence that death is not really a consequence, Eve disobeys the only limitation that we are aware of that existed in the garden at that time. This can’t be good.
Note: To keep this article from getting any longer than it already is, I enter into this conversation with two assumptions, that can be supported well with research: 1) Trees often refer to beings in the bible, and 2) We are not 100% sure if Satan inhabited the serpent, became the serpent, or simply directed the serpent, but it’s highly likely one of those points is true, and will work for our discussio
The scripture goes on to record what happens when God confronts Adam (who also partook of the “tree”) after the two of them had both partaken. Before we proceed with that, let’s make a note of Adam and Eve’s condition in the garden prior to partaking of the fruit:
Gen 2:25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed. (emphasis added)
And then after partaking of the tree:
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.
So what happened? Eve, then followed by Adam both disobeyed God’s command, and in that process became ashamed of their bodies, and what’s more, they covered their private parts with fig leaves as a result of that shame (there’s more here likely, in that they were also at this time clothed with flesh giving up their glorified bodies that we will soon have again, but that’s for another article.)
Here’s my first question… If the eating of the fruit (done through the mouth) was the method used to sin, then wouldn’t they be ashamed of the part of their bodies that participated in the offending sin? In other words, wouldn’t they place fig leaves coverings over their mouths, where they supposedly partook of the fruit?
Hmmn… Is it remotely possible that we are not getting the full story? The book of Genesis is not an extremely detailed book as some of the other books are. Could it be that something more than the eating of fruit took place? Let’s read on to the part where God confronted Adam and Eve, and Adam shares that he hid from God because he was naked:
Gen 3:11-13 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? 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.
Take a look in verse 13 – Eve states that the serpent “beguiled” her. Strongs Hebrew tells us that one of the meanings of beguiled is “to seduce.”
OK so just “go there” with me for a minute… If the Serpent “seduced” Eve in a way that our modern 21st century minds would consider seduction, could this be why they covered their private parts with fig leaves? Is it possible that the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil was fornication? Without mincing words, is it possible that the sin of the garden was Eve having sexual relations with the Serpent (fornication,) and then sharing this newfound experience with Adam?
But WAIT! You say… Seduced by a snake?
When we hear “serpent”, we think snake – a cre ature that slithers along the ground. Anatomically, there’s a few things that clearly would not add up, let’s just say – are you with me?
I totally get it. However we then have to ask ourselves why does God dole out this consequence:
Gen 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:
The implication here is that before God handed out the punishment, the serpent did NOT crawl on it’s belly. Now, this could turn into another complete topic, but for the sake of simplicity, let’s just say there’s a lot of information that lends itself to the Serpent having at once been a biped, the most intelligent of the animals.
(Gen 3:1 again) just below man, but still an animal.
Have I lost you yet?
Please hang on with me – there is so much more supporting this idea, and there are very many well researched articles and books that have been written on the topic – it’s just not a very popular opinion, as most people cannot allow their ideas to stray too far away from the common knowledge. This short article can barely scratch the surface -but let’s touch on some of the finer points.
Consider this:
Trees in the bible are often indicators people or families
The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil was likely referring to the serpent, and Satan either being behind or in control of the serpent in some way.
Fruit is often used to refer to offspring
Offspring was the result of this event – both Cain and Abel were born
Adam and Eve were created as sinless beings in paradise (foreshadowing what it will be like when we are re-united with our creator at the close of the church age, btw) and they knew only perfection. In fact, they had no knowledge of sin, and thus were able to commune directly with God. I think it’s safe to say that they could have sinned, they just had no knowledge of sin, until the serpent (Satan) caused eve to question God. It is my opinion that When Eve shared with Adam, he knew it was wrong, but he also knew that death (or the end of the life they knew) would come, and he could not imagine being without Eve. So in order to remain with her, he also partook – but this is speculation on my part. At that point they both became aware of good and evil, and the rest as they say, is history. And when you start from current day, and look back at history, I think you will see as I have that the consequences of that original sin still plague us today – not just because of the fall, but specifically results of how they fell.
Just let your mind consider this for a moment. That would mean that Cain’s father was the Serpent, and Abel’s father was Adam. Apply THAT knowledge to the known lineage throughout history, and you will find that it makes tremendous sense – lineage of Cain is wrought with the “fruit” of evil – and the bible tells us we shall know them by their fruit. Yes, I know that Cain and Abel were twins – but remember, Eve partook of the knowledge of the tree of good and evil (satan/serpent), and then she shared that “tree” with Adam. So how does one have twins from two separate fathers? Follow the link and you will learn about Superfecundation twins. Not at all uncommon.
Need more? Check out this tidbit: When God was handing out punishment, He said:
Gen 3:14-15 -1 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: 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.
God tells eve that her two children will have enmity (hostility/hatred) between them. And there’s yet another clue that I think we’ve overlooked.
Strongs says this about Enmity:
Enmity = hostility & hatred. Take a look throughout both the old testament and the new testament of the bible, and see if you don’t see this occurring between cain and able, and their “seed” through the years.
This is a lot to take in, isn’t it?
And there is SO MUCH MORE, such as:
- The bible tells us that the Nephilim are the offspring of angels and human women. Wonder where that idea came to them from? Could it have been from Satan himself, as the example he set through the serpent?
- Why was God always commanding Israel to not “mix seed” in so many places throughout the bible? Could it be that the evil part of our flesh today is literally the seed of satan within us? Think about that one for a while.
- Is it possible that it is through this original sin, lust and fornication became central issues in society today?
- Just follow Cain’s lineage. Can it be traced to the Pharisees and Sadducees? So then did the seed of Satan actually take Jesus’ life?
If you take a step back in context – you will see that it has always been the intent of Satan to contaminate the lineage of God’s creation with his own defiled seed. He started in the garden, hoping since the very beginning to corrupt and prevent Genesis 3:15 from happening:
Gen 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.
Surely satan thought he had this one locked up for good. And then came the virgin birth, that involved NO corrupted seed of any human male father. Could this be part of why Jesus was completely sinless? God wins, yet again.
OK one more for you to ponder. In the 1st Century, Aramaic had become the primary language spoken by the Jews, and Hebrew was mostly relegated to temple ceremonies. Because new generations came along that did not speak and understand Hebrew, they could not understand the scrolls in Synagogue. Thus the “Targums” became common – they were Aramaic paraphrased “story form” of the Torah – so that new generations could understand the Word. They predate the KJV bu hundreds of years, and were used for teaching by the temple scholars.
Take a look at how it presents Genesis 4:1:
We know from many common translations that “knew” means to know very intimately. Combine that with “desiring” the angel (Satan) and that her offspring was “of an angel of the Lord” (again, satan, the serpent.)
So… (you ask) – If this is true, why did God allow us to misinterpret things for so many years? My opinion goes back to the beginning of this article and Daniel 12:4 – “knowledge increasing.” So how did the message get watered down? Do a study on the lineage of the scribes, and you just might get your answer. Not only were they fleshly humans prone to error, but some make the case that they were of questionable lineage.
And then my favorite part – this has totally shifted my view of Grace forever. As I unpacked this study, I sensed the father reminding me that our sinful flesh was not His original intent for us – and that our battle of the flesh is really and truly an internal and spiritual battle of good and evil OF THE FLESH– a result of our lineage. Sure, we need to unpack things like “how did that lineage make it past the flood,” but trust me – entire articles can be written on that that easily convince. The concept still remains very strong.
Remember – Paul tells us:
1Co 13:12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.
Due to the fall into the flesh, in our fallen state we don’t have the capacity to see 100% clearly our own true reality, and our creator. But this passage reminds us that we will soon, when we will “know” our creator just as deeply as he”knows” us. Wow, that still gives me chills.
In closing, I would like to point out that in my opinion, this incredible information has nothing to do with salvation – and everything to do with better understanding our position in His kingdom. You don’t have to accept this, but my heart says that for those of us who are seeking, it’s there for the taking. Remember that:
Pro 25:2It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter.
If you do not know Christ, perhaps this changes everything for you. You now know that God’s adversary seduced Eve, causing the biggest upset in the history of civilization. Consider then that God sent His one and only son into the flesh to “save” you from everything evil in eternity – and it all started back at that one fateful day in God’s once perfect garden. And all you have to do is believe in Him and seek Him with your heart.
Have an amazingly blessed day!
PS- I have since become aware of some early writings called the “Targums.” If I understand correctly, the early Torah was in Hebrew. After the Jewish diaspora, the people began to adopt the language of their locale, and Hebrew died out, remaining only as a “temple” language – and upcoming generations could not understand. So Rabbi’s would create Targums, their rewording of the Torah in current language (Aramaic) of the time. While not “scholarly” translations, they are some very early written copy of the books, predating many of the “scholarly” translations.
Take a look at Genesis Chapter 4 verse 1 from the “Targum Jonathan” – it is quite supportive of the notion that the fall was more than a bad produce choice.
