The Fall
2024-03-23
Introduction
God created the entire world without any sin or death. On the contrary, He created everything perfectly, calling the world “good” six times. On the seventh time, He called it “very good” (Genesis 1:31). The question is, what happened? The Scriptures tell us exactly what happened.
There have been centuries of death, famine, disease, danger, war, catastrophe, suffering, homelessness, pain, and sorrow. Think of the cruel dictators who tortured people for anyone who was different ideologically or ethnically. How can these be “very good”?
We are told there are supposed millions of years’ worth of killing and dying that preceded us. We are told that death and tragedy has always been a part of the history of the universe. However, we read a different account when we read the Bible. Death and evil entered the world because of humanity’s rebellion against God. Death and evil are alien forces in God’s perfect universe.
The sad fact is that this terrible mess could have been avoided. The first man was told that if he rebelled against God’s commandment, he would die. He disobeyed, and death became reality. Let us look at the account.
Reviewing the Creation Narrative and Life in Eden
Recall that God is good and cannot sin. He cannot and would not create a world riddled with evil. The world He created was very good. He placed the man He created into a garden of paradise called Eden. The man, Adam, could eat of any fruit he wanted to, and as much as he wanted. The only exception was the tree of knowledge of good and evil; Adam could not eat from that tree. If he did eat, he would most certainly die. Death did not exist in the human experience; it was a consequence for disobedience to God’s commandment. This sort of rebellion is called sin. Sin did not exist in God’s created order. The universe was flawless at its conception and earliest time.
Let me reiterate that for you. Death was not something that always existed. Death was a consequence for sin and rebellion against God.
Adam’s wife Eve was created after the commandment concerning the trees was given. Being entrusted with God’s commandment, the man was supposed to tell his wife about it. We soon find out that some knowledge transfer happened, but information was corrupted along the way somewhere.
The rest of this post in the subsequent paragraphs will discuss the implications of Genesis 3. This is not a comprehensive study of the passage. For more details, see a technical study of the chapter here.
Questioning, Changing, and Negating the Word of God
Consider Genesis 3:1-5. The beginning of the end was when the serpent, who was controlled by Satan, challenged God’s Word and authority to Eve.
This is the first time God’s Word was ever questioned. This probably took Eve by surprise. Satan’s choice to approach Eve was a calculated choice. Adam received the command directly from God, and Eve received it from her husband. The devil was counting on a transcription error somewhere.
Eve’s response shows that she did not have the command completely accurate. She undermined God’s provision to freely eat of the other trees, and she also undermined the consequences of eating of the tree of knowledge, which was certain death.
Satan knew the correct command, quoting it correctly, but with the word “not,” negating the true command.
Satan made it seem that God was holding back a way to divinity from his people, challenging God’s goodness.
The Moment Humankind Fell
Consider Genesis 3:6-13. As everyone knows, Eve ate from the tree and gave the fruit to Adam. The effects were instantaneous. They immediately felt shame and tried to cover up. They knew good but could only do evil. The presence of God, who is only good and perfectly holy, caused them to run in fear. When confronted, they passed the blame to each other.
This picture depicts the rest of human history. Sin placed a wedge between God and humankind. What was once an intimate friendship became enmity and fear. The world now flees from God. “And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die” (Exodus 20:19). “And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?” (Revelation 6:15-17). Even the greatest of men run in fear and hide at the thought of seeing God. This is because the sinner certainly will be destroyed when God confronts them face to face.
The Effects of Sin on Humanity and the World
Consider Genesis 3:14-21. God pronounced judgment on the world after the confession of the man and the woman. The first time we see any “curse” in Scripture is with the serpent. Previously, we only saw God’s blessing; now we see cursing. The curse extended to the ground. The working of the soil was now a grievous chore and contrary to the work of the man. Thistles and other harmful plants would impede the necessary farming to sustain life.
We see the advent of pain. Pain was never a part of God’s “very good” world. Now we see extreme pain when women give birth. Whenever in the Bible we see a reference to grievous pain, a woman in childbirth is given as a metaphor. However, this is not the only pain we see. Pain was now a part of human existence. Whether it be injury or disease or sickness, pain is everywhere in our society. Pain was also involved when farming the land.
We see that marriage relationships were no longer in harmony. Women and men would struggle in marriage and depart from their roles. This also typifies struggles between anybody when relating to other people; people fight and quarrel and hurt each other. Adam’s sin is the source of all broken relationships.
Just as God promised, people would die because of their sin. They were already spiritually dead. Just as a branch is cut from a tree, it may look alive, but it is dead, because its source of life is cut off from it. It will slowly wither away and go back into the ground. Likewise, the body would slowly die over a long time until the last breath was taken. We also see death of an animal for its skins; this is the first physical death in the Scriptures.
God gave them hope in that One would come who would defeat Satan and his works. This “Seed” of the woman would also be harmed by Satan. He would reverse all the work of sin and Satan. Adam believed the promise, evident by naming his wife Eve, the mother of all the living. With the advent of death, they had hope of life because of God’s promise. God pictured the work of this Son by the killing of an animal for its skins. The innocent animal died to cover the shame of Adam and Eve.
Humanity Evicted from Paradise
Consider Genesis 3:22-24. God thrust Adam and Eve out from the Garden because of their sin. They were sent away from the tree of life, which somehow imparted life to them. They now had to till the ground; the Garden that provided all their needs was now guarded by angels with a flaming sword that kept people from reentering. The path back to life from death was guarded; the way back to life was not revealed in Adam’s lifetime. Every son and daughter of Adam has since been born outside the garden. Sin, death, and other symptoms of a fallen humankind continued with every one of their descendants.
Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come. (Romans 5:12-14)
Subsequent chapters show of the fruit of sin and death. The pronouncements of God in Genesis 3:14-21 were becoming evident. One of Adam’s sons killed his brother, becoming the first murderer. That murderer started his own civilization that prided themselves on being independent from the Lord. They defended their right of vengeance on those who did them wrong, causing violence to increase and an endless cycle of reciprocity. One changed the pattern of marriage by marrying two wives.
A prophet preached against them, “And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him” (Jude 1:14-15). They did not listen, and God eventually judged the whole world with the flood, because they rejected the hope God gave them while they were yet in Eden.
The tactics of Satan also continue. The Word of God is constantly questioned, undermined, and denied even up to today.
Other Effects of the Fall
We previously discussed how curse, pain, marriage disharmony and deviation, toil against land that now bore weeds and thistles, and violence became a part of the world. These were not a part of God’s creation. These are an alien force that have invaded God’s world and corrupted it. These are all symptoms of sin and Satan in the world.
Do you see how Genesis 3 explains the world we now live in? It is not that God made a faulty world; it is that God’s creatures, endowed with free will, rebelled against God, and by their sin completely marred the world. Satan has usurped the power of humans over the world. Because of this, the world is filled with evil and is lawless.
To see more explicitly how life was like before the fall of humanity, we can infer a few things from the future restored world, which will be like Eden. Consider Isaiah 11:6-10. The enmity that we see within the animal kingdom was not always the case; it came about because of sin.
We know from Genesis 1:29-30, that the world was vegetarian before the fall. “And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so” (Genesis 1:29-30).
The violence and carnage in the animal kingdom were not known before the fall. Nobody ate meat, neither man nor beast. These things have all happened since the fall.
The entire animal kingdom still feels the pain of the fall. “For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now” (Romans 8:20-22). They fight over limited resources. Weaker animals die off; how many animals have become extinct?
Some animals either developed the ability to be poisonous and venomous, or their venom became poisonous after the fall. Who knows how it happened? However, we know that many animals have become dangerous. There was a time when people could touch snakes that are now poisonous, and in the coming restoration, it will be that way again.
Moreover, though death has affected humanity and the animal kingdom, everything in the universe decays over time. “Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands. They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed: But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end” (Psalm 102:25-27). The universe, in its current state, will one day be gone. The “waxing old” shows that the universe is winding down. We know that everyday things also wear out and break. Houses deteriorate and fall down. Things stop working, and either need repairs or need to be thrown away. Nothing in this world lasts forever.
Conclusion
The results of humankind’s sin are comprehensive in their effect. Since man was the pinnacle of God’s creation, when they were marred by their own choice to rebel, everything in the entire universe was affected.
This explains why the once “very good” world is the way that it is. It explains death, cruelty, disease, war, natural catastrophes, thistles and thorns, pain, and every other horror we witness.
The hope in all this is the promised Savior, the seed of the woman, who would come and destroy the work of the devil. The good news is that He came already. His name is Jesus. He died for the sin of the world and rose from the dead. He will appear a second time to remove those who believe in Him from the earth before He destroys this wicked place.