The Old Testament Review

This is part 1 of 6 of the third chapter of my book, Biblical Glasses.

Without going into much detail, I want to briefly explain the Biblical timeline of the 6000-year young earth. It all started in 4113 B.C. with Adam. (I use this date based on my own calculations; see Appendix A. Biblical scholars, considering complete Biblical genealogies from Adam to Christ, date the beginning between 4200–3700 B.C. Some young earth scholars grant that the genealogies, if incomplete, allow the earth to be a maximum of 10,000 years old.)

As Adam named some of the animals on the sixth day of creation, he probably realized there were none like him. Perhaps Adam was lonely, because God said: “It is not good for man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him” (Genesis 2:18). So God created Eve by taking one of Adam’s ribs; Adam called her woman, because she came from man.

Which came first, the male or the female? Creationists answer this question quite easily: The male! People often ask, “Why did God take Adam’s rib to make Eve? Why didn’t He just make her from the dust of the ground, like He did with Adam?” God used part of Adam, because He wanted to show that their marriage relationship was based on being one flesh. Adam and Eve were married, which is how we get the idea of marriage today. God did not create Eve by using Adam’s foot; He did not want her to follow behind Adam. God did not create Eve by using Adam’s head; He did not want her to be Adam’s boss. God used Adam’s rib, because He wanted Eve to be by Adam’s side as his lifelong companion.

After the six day creation, everything was very good. There was no sin, no evil, and no death. Sometime later, Satan, disguised as a serpent, approached Eve and tempted her with a piece of fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. God had previously told them that the sin of disobeying Him, which included eating the fruit from this particular tree, would bring about the consequence of death. God gave man free will, so man could choose to love and obey Him; but man does not choose to love and obey Him, rather man sins by disobeying Him. Adam and Eve ate the fruit, thereby disobeying God, and became aware of their nakedness. As they fell for Satan’s lie, sin entered the world; death would be the punishment.

Who is Satan? Where did he come from? Why was that tree there to begin with? All this could have been avoided, right? Did God know Adam and Eve would sin?

The Bible does not go into tremendous detail on Satan’s origin. We know he was one of God’s angels. His name was Lucifer, which means “star of the morning.” He gathered supporters among the angels and attempted a coup against God. The Bible presents Satan’s goal: To be “like the Most High” (Isaiah 14:14). Satan wanted God’s job. God said no and banished him and a third of the angels from heaven. They were allowed to wander on the earth.

The Bible says: “Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). The father of lies, Satan is supernatural, powerful, sneaky, and evil. He is the adversary of God. He knows God’s Word very well and still denies it. He knows Jesus is the Son of God but does not accept Him as Lord. He tries to stop us from knowing God the way God wants us to know Him. Perhaps Satan’s greatest trick so far is getting people to believe the lie of evolution! Predestined to lose the war with God, Satan still fights to win as many battles as he can, messing up the lives of humans.

When was Satan cast out from God’s presence? Since God created everything, including the angels, and everything was very good, scholars believe Satan rebelled against God sometime after creation was complete. Perhaps within the first hundred years of the world’s existence, Satan was banished from heaven. God probably spent time with Adam in the Garden of Eden before there was sin. Once Satan caused the first sin, the relationship between God and mankind was severely damaged. God’s perfect nature does not allow for transgression.

Recall our earlier discussion: Truth cannot tolerate error. God is truth; He cannot tolerate sin. In the Bible, the prophet Habakkuk says to God, “Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; You cannot tolerate wrong” (Habakkuk 1:13). Humans must be perfect and blameless, seen by God as righteous, to enter into His presence. So after Adam and Eve sinned, God, out of love and mercy, killed an animal (probably a lamb) to clothe and shield Adam and Eve from their shame (nakedness). It was the first death on the earth! It was also a symbol of the perfect sacrifice that Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, would become to atone for our sin.

God forgave Adam for his sin, but their relationship was not restored; the consequence of sin was still in effect. In fact, we experience the consequences of sin everyday, and ultimately we will physically die because of it. The Bible says: “Man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).
The consequences of sin are compounded as sins mount up. Hearts are hardened to God’s will as tolerance of sinful behavior continues. The effects of sin include:

- Separation from God
- Physical death
- Spiritual death
- Decay/deterioration (Second Law of Thermodynamics)
- Disease/corruption
- Physical, emotional, and spiritual pain and suffering
- Sweat (a stench to the nostrils of God—see Genesis 3:19; Ezekiel 44:18)
- Sadness (robbed joy)
- Stress/worry/fear (lack of peace)
- Selfishness/evil desires
- Quenching the fire of the Holy Spirit

Why was the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil in the Garden of Eden to begin with? I speculate that the Tree of Knowledge represents man’s choice, disobeying God by going his own way, over the alternative option of obeying God, represented by the Tree of Life. Adam and Eve were given the opportunity to choose God’s way or their own, and they chose their own, just as we do today.

Could this have been avoided? Some say yes; others say no. As we will see in a moment, God is all-knowing, so He knew Adam and Eve would eat the forbidden fruit. Perhaps God, for His glory, allowed man to choose sin over righteousness in order to provide an awesome way for man to be forgiven, redeemed, and reconciled by grace through faith in the atoning, perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ. We sin today, because we were first sinners; we are not sinners, because we first sinned. Sin can always be avoided by obeying God, but the ability to obey God comes only from His Holy Spirit dwelling within us as Lord. The Bible says: “God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Did God know this would happen? Yes! He is omniscient. Knowing something will occur in advance does not necessitate causing it to occur. I know at 10:00 A.M. it will be 11:00 A.M. in one hour, but I do not cause it to be 11:00 A.M. We may wonder how an all-knowing God could subject His creation to sin. But, had He prevented our choice, would we still be human? Would we be mere robots if God made our choices for us? Detailed answers to these and other questions must be saved for another occasion; in the meantime, the good news is that God, for His glory, had a plan to overcome our sinful nature (see 1 Peter 1:20). All the effects of sin listed above will be wiped away when God restores all creation to perfection for eternity.

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Additional Note: I have, since writing on this, come to a much better understanding of God's willingness and purpose for evil in His creation. The last paragraph above contains some things with which I now disagree. I'll elaborate in a later post down the road.