Echoes of Eden

For many, the biblical story of God’s judgment on Adam and Eve in Eden must sound like an overreaction of epic proportions. After all, what’s the big deal with eating fruit? Even if God really said not to, what’s the big deal?

The devil here is quite literally in the details. Go back and look at the temptation that came to Eve again, and how she reacted to it:

“The serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not surely die! For God knows that in the day you eat from it [the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil] your eyes will be open, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’ When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.” – Genesis 3:4-6

Here are the key elements in this passage: “You will be like God, knowing good and evil,” and “the woman…saw that the tree was desirable to make one wise.”

In these few words, we have the real downfall of the Adamic race. Prior to this time, Adam and Eve were dependent upon God to show them what was right and what was wrong. The temptation they responded to was to become as wise of God, to know good and evil so that they might judge for themselves. In so doing, they cast off the authority of God and became their own authorities.

Beyond this, they also sought to cast off the consequences of their rebellion. God had told Adam, “On the day you eat of the tree, you will surely die,” but the serpent assured Eve that this was not so. Some have been confused by God’s statement because Adam lived on for many more years after he fell, but if you examine the underlying Hebrew and how the same terminology is used elsewhere in scripture, it becomes apparent that God meant that Adam’s death would become certain on the day that he ate from the tree. Prior to that time, Adam had access to the Tree of Life, and as long as he had access to it he could live indefinitely. But after this incident, God cast Adam and Eve out of the garden, denying them access to the Tree of Life and thereby ensuring their ultimate deaths.

By choosing to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, they not were not only rebelling against God but asserting that they could escape the consequences of their rebellion. Doubtless, they thought they could keep going back to eat from the Tree of Life and go on forever, making their own decisions and benefitting from God’s provision on their own terms.

The refusal to acknowledge any authority beyond oneself, even principles of conscience, is at the core of every form of evil in the world, including man’s own inhumanity to man. In this way, the first sin of man has become the defining sin of mankind. The rebellion of Eden echoes down to the present time. The New Testament tells us that the last era of human history will be characterized by lawlessness, a wholesale casting off of authorities and limitations beyond the satisfaction of one’s own desires. As a result, Christ said that “the love of most will grow cold” (Matthew 24:12). A person who is totally absorbed in himself has the capacity for the most astonishing forms of cruelty and indifference.

The New Testament also tells us that the rebels of the last days will think they can go on getting by with it forever, enjoying the all things that God has provided while they spit in his face. They will think that they can escape the consequences God has declared against them simply because he hasn’t moved against them yet. And so they act like nothing is wrong.

“For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away, so will the coming of the Son of Man be.” – Matthew 24:37-39

“Know this first of all that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, and saying, ‘Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of the creation’…

“But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.” – II Peter 3:3-4, 8-9

Just as Adam’s ultimate death became certain when he rebelled, so death is also certain for this lawless, self-absorbed final generation, but God has not acted yet because he is giving everyone a chance to turn from their rebellion and be reconciled to him through Christ. Christ is able to perform this because he reversed the fall of Adam through his obedience to God, consistently setting aside his own will in favor of the Father’s will. In the Garden of Eden, Adam effectively said, “My will be done.” In the Garden of Gethsemane, Christ said to the Father, “Your will be done.” For this reason, scripture refers to Christ as “the last Adam” (I Corinthians 15:50), and all who are in him are reconciled to God through him, for God has imputed his righteousness to them (II Corinthians 5:21). There is a beautiful symmetry here. Whereas death became certain for Adam on the day he rebelled, life becomes certain for us when we are reconciled.

“Because I live, you will live also.” – John 14:19

“I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die.” – John 11:25

* All scripture references are from the NASB.

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The Mad and Fickle Mob

“But to what shall I compare this generation? They are like children in the marketplace, who call out to the other children and say, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’ For John [the Baptist] came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon!’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Behold a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.” – Matthew 11:16-20

Every revolutionary movement claims to throw off the yoke of some oppression, to break the bonds of some expected conformity that stifles freedom in one way or another. Yet, for all their lofty talk, I find that most such movements have very exacting standards of conformity. Those who would dialogue with them must agree to their definitions or there can be no ‘real’ dialogue. Those who would try to accommodate them must agree to their demands entirely or there can be no ‘real’ accommodation.

They are most merciless of all within their own ranks. Dissent from the prevailing group opinion is sacrilege, treason—not merely to the group itself but to the higher ideal it supposedly represents. While they speak of freedom, they demand the most exacting standards of obedience. If they say, “March!” you had better ask “How far?” If they say, “Jump!” you had better ask “How high?”

Mobs are fickle by nature, and as prone to devouring their own as anything else that gets in their way, if not more so. This is the unfortunate lesson that awaits those currently stirring up agitation and grinning while it does the work they dare not do themselves. They’ve lit things on fire, and, fools that they are, they think it will burn only where and what they see fit. Because they have no regard for any history other than the one they envision, they’re unaware that the winds of revolution change frequently, and will, sooner or later, blow the fires they’ve lit back on themselves. Today’s saints may well be tomorrow’s heretics.

The point of what Jesus is saying in the text I quoted from Matthew 11 is that the mob is fickle and never satisfied. If they want to find fault with you, they will, and the standards by which they do so will change by the day—for the only real standard they have is the need for finding fault. Wisdom, on the other hand, does not bow to the mob. It’s not afraid of being called names or having its motives questioned. Truth is not afraid of lies. Lies, however, are always afraid of truth. In this way, wisdom is vindicated. It holds to truth and does not change because truth does not change. John and Jesus came preaching the same message with different ministry styles, yet the mob found fault with both them, demonstrating that it was chiefly the message they hated rather than the men.

If you want to see what a person or a movement is really made of, start agreeing with them and see what they do. They may have criticized you in the past for one thing or another, but if you get on-message with them, you’ll likely find that they will either excuse what they used to condemn as faults in you, or else they’ll portray those things as peculiar types of strength—“It takes all kinds, you know. This just demonstrates the diversity of our movement!” Pamper their egos and you’ll get even better results. In this way, you will see what they truly value.

If you want the praise of the mob, it’s easy enough to get. Just be prepared to change quickly, and often, and keep your real self hidden well out of sight.

* Scripture taken from the NASB.
** If you enjoyed this article and would like to support the author so that he can create more such content, you can donate via PayPal to rhawes73@gmail.com (or send an email to this address if you would like to donate some other way). Thank you for your support!

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