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The Human Fall

The Human Fall. The human condition. Goodness, joy. Conscience. People. Struggle. Evil mind. Evil, guilt.

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The Human Fall

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  1. The Human Fall

  2. The human condition Goodness, joy Conscience People Struggle Evil mind Evil, guilt

  3. “I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is in my flesh. I can will what is right but I cannot do it. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do.” Romans 7:15-19

  4. Hell on Earth

  5. The mystery of evil • If everything God created was good, where does evil come from? • If God is good, almighty and knows what is going on, why does He allow people to suffer?

  6. The story of Adam and Eve

  7. Biblical language Much of the Bible is written in metaphor and symbol. We need to understand how the people who wrote it understood it. E.g. A tree is a symbol for a person “For the vineyard of the Lord is the House of Israel, and the men of Judah are his pleasant planting . . .” Proverbs 11:30 “I am the vine, you are the branches.” John 15:5

  8. What was the serpent? Literal? Serpent Symbol? “Now the serpent was more subtle than any other wild creature that the Lord God had made.”Genesis 3:1

  9. Serpent = Devil = Angel Lucifer “And that great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world; he and his angels were thrown down with him.” Revelation 12:9

  10. God’s commandment “You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.” Genesis 2:16-17

  11. What was the fruit? Literal? Fruit Symbol? “Here and understand: not what goes into the mouth defiles a man, but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.” Matthew 15:10-11

  12. Fruit in the Old Testament “As an apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among young men. With great delight I sat in his shadow, and his fruit was sweet to my taste.” Song of Solomon 2:3-5

  13. “A garden locked is my sister, my bride, a garden locked, a fountain sealed. Your shoots are an orchard of pomegranates with all choicest fruits.” Song of Solomon 4:12-13

  14. “Let my beloved come to his garden, and eat its choicest fruits.”Song of Solomon 4:16 “Under the apple tree I awakened you. There your mother was in travail with you.”Song of Solomon 8:3

  15. Eating a metaphor for sex “And to him who is without sense she says, ‘Stolen water is sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.’ But he does not know that the dead are there, that her guests are in the depths of Sheol.” Proverbs 9:16-18

  16. “This is the way of the adulteress, she eats, and wipes her mouth and says, ‘I have done no wrong.’” Proverbs 30:20

  17. The meaning of the fruit Trees multiply through fruit People multiply through love The fruit represents sexual love

  18. The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil The tree could produce either good or evil fruit depending on whether love was God-centred or self-centred ‘To know’ a woman - a Biblical metaphor for sex

  19. When should the fruit be eaten? Mature and married Goodness God gave the commandment to protect Adam and Eve The fruit Suffering Immature and unmarried

  20. What should have happened? • Adam and Eve should have achieved individual maturity – the First Blessing • Then God would have blessed them in divine marriage – the Second Blessing • Then would have had children and established a happy family

  21. What did happen? • Adam and Eve had children – Cain and Abel • It was not a loving family – Cain murdered Abel • Adam and Eve did not have a happy marriage • Adam and Eve had a sexual relationship without being blessed by God in marriage • Adam and Eve did not fulfil the First Blessing before they had a sexual relationship

  22. What happened at the Fall?

  23. What was the sin of the angel? “Remember too the angels, how some of them were not content to keep the dominion given to them but abandoned their proper home; and God has reserved them for judgement on the great Day, . . . Remember Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbouring towns; like the angels, they committed fornication and followed unnatural lusts; . . .” Jude 6-7

  24. What was the sin of Lucifer? Lucifer committed fornication – illicit sexual relationship – with Eve

  25. What was the sin of Adam and Eve? Before the Fall:“And the man and his wife were both naked, and they were not ashamed.”Genesis 2:25 After the Fall:“Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves aprons.”Genesis 3:7  Adam and Eve had an illicit sexual relationship

  26. Other evidence that the Fall was an illicit sexual relationship • ‘Picking a fruit’ - euphemism for sexual love • God is love yet sexual love which is holy and wholesome is often thought of as shameful • Sexual immorality led to the downfall of great men and nations • Many social problems traced to broken homes

  27. Why did the fall take place?

  28. What should have happened? God God God Adam & Eve I Cor. 8:3 Adam & Eve Lucifer Lucifer Lucifer Immature Angels Angels Angels Universe Universe Universe

  29. Adam was a child, not yet having his understanding perfected. It was necessary that he should grow and so come to perfection. SaintIrenaeus (130-200)

  30. The motivation and process of the Fall

  31. Rebellion in heaven “How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low. You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; . . . I will make myself like the Most High.’”Isaiah 14:12-14

  32. Lucifer and Eve

  33. The Spiritual Fall God Eve Adam Lucifer Felt less love Wanted to experience love and become like God before time was ripe Wanted to rule humans

  34. Adam and Eve

  35. The Physical Fall God Eve Adam Lucifer Rid herself of dread and stand before God

  36. What were the consequences of the Fall?

  37. God’s heart was broken • God lost object of his love, the very purpose for which He had created the universe • Infinite love infinite grief, sorrow, hurt • God was betrayed by Lucifer whom He had trusted to take care of His children • God screaming at what happened to His children • God weeps at the way His world is

  38. “You shall say to them this word: ‘Let my eyes run down with tears night and day, and let them not cease, for the virgin daughter of my people is smitten with a great wound, with a very grievous blow. If I go into the field, behold, those slain by the sword! And if I enter the city, behold, the diseases of famine.’”Jeremiah 14:17-18

  39. “The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.”Genesis 6:5-6

  40. Satan Body Mind Sinful Person Loss of the First Blessing Conflict between spirit and flesh People born with original sin Object Subject Contradictory nature Good inclination vs evil inclination Addiction Greed Laziness Lust Dishonesty “You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires.” John 8:44

  41. Satan Adam Eve FallenFamily Society Nation World Loss of the Second Blessing “I will greatly multiply your pain in child-bearing; in pain you shall bring forth children, yet your desire shall be for your husband and he shall rule over you.” Genesis 3:16 Unfaithfulness Abuse Tyranny Violence

  42. Satan Person Creation Hell Loss of the Third Blessing “Cursed is the ground because of you; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth to you.” Genesis 3:17-19 Materialism Consumerism Environmental degradation

  43. How was the fall possible? • God wanted children not robots • God wanted relationships of love • Love has to be freely and spontaneously given • God gives His children freedom • With freedom comes the possibility of evil

  44. Why didn’t God prevent the Fall? • God gave the commandment • God respects us • The Parable of the Prodigal Son

  45. “Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth; for the Lord has spoken: ‘Sons have I reared and brought up, but they have rebelled against me. The ox knows its owner, and the ass its master’s crib; but Israel does not know, my people does not understand.’” Isaiah 1:2-3

  46. “The more I called them, the more they went from me; they kept sacrificing to Baals, and burning incense to idols. Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk, I took them up in my arms; but they did not know that I healed them. I led them with cords of compassion, with the bands of love, and I became to them as one who eases the yoke of their jaws, and I bent down to them and fed them.”Hosea 11:2-4

  47. Immorality the worst sin “Shun immorality. Every other sin which a man commits is outside the body; but the immoral man sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God?” I Corinthians 6:18-19

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