SALVATION
Lesson Two: What the Fall Was
 
After submitting the previous summary, you should have a better idea of what God meant 
when He blessed Adam and Eve and told them to fill the earth and subdue it.  You should 
have a good grasp of what God intended when He gave them the rule over the living 
creatures that He created.  

"God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth 
and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living 
creature that moves on the ground." (Gen.1:28) 

Subdue in this context would mean to soften, moderate or temper as in meaning to make 
use of and enjoy what He had given them. Rule in this context would mean to control, 
direct and to dominate over the creatures He had created for their pleasure. 

We know this to be true because God said:  "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the 
face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for 
food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that 
move on the ground--everything that has the breath of life in it--I give every green plant 
for food." 
(Gen.1:29) 

"The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take 
care of it...." (Gen.2:15) 

It was all a gift from the hand of God.  He said every tree that has fruit is yours for food 
and that man was to work and take care of what God had entrusted to his care. This 
would also include the care of the creatures as well as one another as they began to be 
fruitful and multiply.  In understanding this, to subdue and rule was meant to subdue and 
rule with love, justice and mercy in the manner that we were created in His likeness and 
in His image. 

This does not mean to subdue and rule as our own sovereign gods as some have taught. In 
fact, the idea of trying to be gods was exactly the very thing that the fall was all about.  
This was what the sin was that caused God to drive man from the garden. 

Now that we've made this statement, we need to put this together to understand the 
following commonly asked questions.

1. What was the purpose of God placing the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the 
garden?

2.Why did God allow Satan to tempt man that lead to the fall?

3. What is the specific sin that was passed on to all mankind from which man needs to be 
saved?

4.What are the specific sins that Adam and Eve committed?

5.Why did God drive man from the garden if the fall was a result of the temptation of 
Satan?

6.Why could God not have just forgiven Adam and Eve and have let things continue on 
as they were?

7. For what purpose did God create man in the first place?

8.How can all of this fit with a God who is love, and is just and merciful when all of this 
does not appear to be loving, just and merciful?

You may have some of your own questions that could be added to this list but perhaps as 
we continue the study, they will be answered as well. 

First we will just answer with some common sense answers that sometimes come up 
when the fall of man is discussed or studied. 

One wrong belief is that the sin Adam and Eve committed was sexual in nature. This can 
be dismissed from the onset because it was God who created male and female and gave 
the woman to the man. The very first thing God instructed them to do was to be fruitful 
and multiply BEFORE the fall.  If it were a sin to do this, then why would God instruct 
them to engage in sinful behavior that would result in their fall? It defies logic to teach 
that the original sin was sexual in nature because this would be saying that it was God 
who created the sin that He would then later punish them for engaging in as per His 
blessings. 
 
As to why they may not have had children before the fall, it is more than likely that God 
closed the womb of Eve for His purposes for things to come to pass in His timing.  This 
explanation is consistent with other passages in the Bible. Just because Eve did not 
conceive until after the fall certainly does not suggest that they did not enjoy each other 
as man and wife before the fall. In fact, it would be very unlikely that they would not 
have enjoyed each other sexually before the fall for the very fact that God blessed them 
and instructed them to be fruitful and multiply. I don't think it needs to be explained what 
is required in order to multiply, and they certainly understood what was required by 
observation of the animal kingdom. Not at any time in the Bible is sexuality between a 
husband and wife even hinted at as being a sin. For the reasons just stated, any teaching 
that suggests that the original sin was sexual in nature can be firmly and confidently 
rejected.

Another false teaching that sometimes comes up is what is called the Serpent Seed 
Doctrine. This doctrine teaches that Eve had sex with the serpent then later with Adam. 
(There are variations on this teaching, but this will give you the general idea of this 
teaching.) Cain was the offspring of the Serpent and all of his decedents are predestined 
for hell. Abel was the offspring of Adam and all his decedents are predestined for heaven. 
(Many use this doctrine for racist purposes in suggesting that Jews and blacks in 
particular are decedents of Cain. Of course, the decedents of Able are Caucasians for the 
most part.) In this false teaching, the fall was also sexual in nature but it was not the sex 
act itself that was the sin, but it was the sex act with the Serpent that was the sin and 
resulted in the fall. In either case, both are wrong because sexuality had no connection to 
the fall of man in any way, shape or form. 

One more false belief that needs to be covered before we go on is the suggestion that God 
is the originator of sin. This is reasoned out by saying that God created Lucifer who 
sinned and then God allowed Lucifer to cause man to sin.  Therefore God is evil and 
sinful.

Of course, this false belief does not take into account each individual's free will that God 
gave to both man and angel. To say we do not have a free will is to then say that man had 
no choice but to sin, which would mean that God cannot send man to hell because of that 
reason. It is reasoned out that man is innocent because God is the originator of sin, and 
therefore, God cannot judge or condemn man because He would be judging and 
condemning Himself.  (Notice, this thinking brings God down to the level of man and 
places God on trial for His "sins." This places man in the position of being God and is a 
challenge to the sovereignty of God.  It questions both His goodness and wisdom.) 

Others then will say that because God did give man a free will, they are innocent because 
God created them that way.  Yet this is still shifting the blame back onto God. It is 
reasoned that if God did not give man a free will to sin, then man would not have sinned 
and therefore, God cannot send man to hell for something that He allowed. (Notice again 
that this is another form of bringing God down to man's level and lifting man up to 
godhood.  It places God on trial for His "sins" and is challenging God's sovereignty, 
goodness and wisdom.) 

This view is believed for the purpose of painting God as not being loving, just or merciful 
and excuses man of guilt for their own sin.  The bottom line is that man is blameless and 
God is guilty. 

With these explanations, let us go to where the fall of man is recorded beginning with the 
tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 

"Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man 
he had formed. And the LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground--trees 
that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree 
of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil." (Gen.2:8-9)  

The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care 
of it. And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the 
garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when 
you eat of it you will surely die." (Gen.2:15-17) 

Just for the mere fact that God placed a forbidden tree of the knowledge of good and evil 
indicates that there was something that Adam did not have knowledge of and God did not 
want Adam to have this knowledge. In fact, to have this knowledge was so severe that 
God said he would die if he obtained this knowledge. Then to complicate this further, 
after Adam and Eve's disobedience and having gained this knowledge, God said "The 
man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil." (Gen.3:22) 

(Just a quick side note:  If man were created as gods and the fall was the fall from 
godhood, then God should have been delighted when they realized their godhood through 
their disobedience in gaining this knowledge. However, we don't see God rewarding 
them but we see that He drove them from the garden as a result of their disobedience in 
gaining this knowledge, and death did result.)

It order to make any sense out of this, we need to understand just exactly what this 
knowledge of good and evil was.  Some have explained this to mean that in order for man 
to have a free will, he had to have the knowledge of evil in order to know good so, after 
the fall, he now had a free will to chose between good and evil. Generally this is to mean 
to have the ability to choose between sinning and not sinning. However, this explanation 
does not completely fit because man already had the knowledge of good since he was 
sinless before the fall. With this in mind, then why would the word "good" be included in 
with the word "evil" that God forbid man to have knowledge of? 

This knowledge is the knowledge that God already had.  It was not until after the fall that 
man now shared this same knowledge, and it is only in this sense that God said, "Man has 
now become as one of Us."  Now if this knowledge were the knowledge of sin, then why 
would God banish Adam and Eve from the garden and carry out His pronouncement of 
death for obtaining the same knowledge that He possessed? Surely having this knowledge 
is not evil because if it were, then the skeptics would be correct in saying that God is evil 
for passing judgment on something that He Himself possessed.  This would show that He 
could not be loving, just and merciful.

With the explanations given up to this point, none of this makes sense if we are still 
looking at the fall as having the knowledge of good and evil (some sort of sins such as 
drunkenness, stealing, murder and so forth).  However, the confusion can be cleared up if 
we do not view the knowledge of good and evil as a sin but rather as having the 
knowledge of someone who is evil and someone who is good. Even this explanation still 
does not answer the question of: "Why would this knowledge have been worthy of 
banishment and subsequent death when it is the same knowledge that God possesses?" 

The only answer that can be given to this question would be that it would require more 
than just having this knowledge but rather it would require man to experience this 
knowledge by becoming like the other person. It is this knowledge that God already was 
aware of.  He already had the knowledge of the outcome for man to become like this 
person who is evil.  Man was created in the image and likeness of God but he was also a 
free-willed being just as Lucifer was a free-willed being, who was created sinless in the 
day that he was created. 

The key here is that both were a creation of God and were not created as gods. So with 
this lengthy explanation, let us go on to study some scriptures in order to get a complete 
picture of the fall of man. To set the stage, let's first look at what caused the fall of 
Lucifer and how that was passed onto man.

In this passage in Ezekiel, scholars have long held that the king of Tyre was a person that 
God used to draw a parallel between him and Lucifer. It was Lucifer who was in Eden 
and was the anointed guardian cherub (no human king could have done that). As you read 
through these verses in Ezekiel, you can distinguish what did occur to the king of Tyre 
and what will occur to Lucifer. You can also draw the parallel between how both were 
given great beauty and wisdom and what caused the fall of both the king of Tyre and 
Lucifer.

(Ezekiel 28:11-19) The word of the LORD came to me:  "Son of man, take up a lament 
concerning the king of Tyre and say to him: `This is what the Sovereign LORD says:" 
`You were the model of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. 

You were in Eden,  the garden of God; every precious stone adorned you: ruby, topaz and 
emerald, chrysolite, onyx and jasper, sapphire, turquoise and beryl. Your settings and 
mountings 
were made of gold; on the day you were created they were prepared.

You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You were on the holy 
mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones.

You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was 
found in you.

Through your widespread trade you were filled with violence,  and you sinned. So I 
drove you in disgrace from the mount of God, and I expelled you, O guardian cherub, 
from among the fiery stones.

Your heart became proud on account of your beauty,  and you corrupted your wisdom 
because of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth; I made a spectacle of you before 
kings.

By your many sins and dishonest trade you have desecrated your sanctuaries. So I made a 
fire come out from you, and it consumed you, and I reduced you to ashes on the ground 
in the sight of all who were watching.

All the nations who knew you are appalled at you; you have come to a horrible end and 
will be no more.' "

Let us now look at Isaiah 14:12-14. 

"How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star (Lucifer), son of the dawn! You have 
been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! 

You said in your heart, "I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of 
God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred 
mountain. 

I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High."

After closely reading the above scriptures, make a list of what the various things were 
that caused Lucifer to fall and keep them handy as a reference to look over as we go on to 
the next portion of the study.

"Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had 
made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, `You must not eat from any tree in the 
garden'?" (Gen.3:1)

Notice the first thing Satan said to the woman. "Did God really say you must not eat from 
any tree in the garden?" At first glance, this does not sound all that bad but when we 
think it through, what Satan did was first to question God's sovereignty and then he 
began to plant a seed of doubt into the mind of Eve so that she would also question God's 
sovereignty. Satan knew God did not say that they could not eat of any tree in the garden.  
He asked this question for the purpose of beginning a dialog with Eve knowing that she 
would respond with a correction. However, her response was not entirely correct.

"The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God 
did say, `You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you 
must not touch it, or you will die.' " (vs.2-3)

God did not say you must not touch it.  He said, "You must not eat of the fruit," so here 
we have Eve adding to what God said.  Satan wanted her to focus on God saying they 
would die so he could continue baiting her. 

"You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. "For God knows that when you 
eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." 
(Vs.4-5)

Again we see Satan challenging God's sovereign authority and then suggests that God is 
keeping something from her. This not only question God's authority, but it begins to 
cause Eve to question God's goodness and His very character. We see in the following 
verses that Satan was successful with his deception.

"When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the 
eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some 
to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were 
opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made 
coverings for themselves." (Vs.6-7)

ASSIGNMENT:

At this time, take the list that you made earlier in describing the various things that 
caused the fall of Lucifer and see if any of those things apply to Adam and Eve.  Write a 
short summary explaining your answers. 

After having done this, read Gen.3:8-13 and write a short summary on the following 
questions.

1. What do you believe it was that their eyes were opened to that caused them to realize 
their nakedness and what would that mean?

2. What is the significance of them covering themselves with fig leaves?

3. What is the progression of the sins?  Describe what the sins are and what would be 
motivating them to be responding as they had. 

4. How does this all fit into how man was created in the beginning?  What does this 
suggest what the fall was and how man has now become?

At this time, write a summary on these questions and submit your answers. You may 
answer one question at a time or submit it as one overall summary. You may have to 
review what you have studied up to this point to enable you to write a fully 
comprehensive summary. 

Remember, try your best to answer the questions on your own.  After giving it your best 
try, you can contact us for further guidance if you are still stuck on a point.

Submit your assignment to oamoam@hotmail.com and put Lesson 4b in the subject line.  
If you are submitting these answers separately, please indicate which question you are 
answering.

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