Genesis 3

(Genesis 3:1-24): This is the classic passage on the literal historical fall of man. The story of Adam and Eve is considered in certain circles to be an allegory, but I believe the record of the Garden of Eden is actual, and the events that took place there were real; so did Jesus and Paul. Like us, Adam and Eve were real people. Ironically, I do know of fake people who are real; they are not who or what they claim to be. And you know some, too?

It is evident that our adversary doesn’t want any connection traced back to him as being complicit in the fall of man as recorded in Genesis 3:14, 15; so, he convinces people not to take the biblical record as historical but metaphorical; that Adam and Eve, the serpent, the fruit, and the idea of original sin are all symbolic or simply a fairy tale of human origin. 

Satan’s fate is unalterably sealed by God for attempting to assert his will above the will of the Most High and dragging a third of the angelic host with him in his diabolical treachery against the Holy One who inhabits eternity. Did Lucifer, a created being, think that he could prevail against the Almighty? So why did he make the attempt? Perhaps his desire overruled reason as did Adam and Eve in wanting some more than was given to them? Lucifer’s status among the angels apparently was not enough; life in the Garden of Eden was not enough for Adam and Eve (Gen 3:22). 

When you seriously think about whatever motive drove them to rebellion, any disobedience to God is an act of irrationality when you consider the attributes of Yahweh! All three could be asked the same question, “What in the world were you thinking!? Did you really believe you could successfully succeed in your rebellion against the Creator!?”   

So many things changed with the fall of man. The effects of Adam’s failure are still rippling today and will not finally come to an end until the new heaven and the new earth where Yahweh invokes His leave no trace of human involvement.

Why does Satan ferociously hate humans that he is likened to a roaring lion that walks about, seeking whom he may devour? Why does the adversary possess such a ravenous lust for the destruction of souls? This may be because the man was made in God’s image, the pinnacle of His creation. Since Satan turned against God and man was created in His image, therefore, he vents his anger and hatred toward the man to steal, kill, and destroy by any means allowable. We can only speculate as to Satan’s exact motives concerning the sons and daughters of Adam.

There is a loose parallel between Cain and Satan in this regard to jealousy. As Cain was rejected because his works were evil so was Lucifer. Cain became jealous of Abel and murdered him, so Lucifer, created to be the most powerful of the angelic host, could have possibly been jealous of man because angels were to be subordinate to humans; Satan tempted man to sin bringing about his death. 

Satan couldn’t touch His all-powerful Creator, but he could reach the man created in God’s image if given the authority. The soul slayer has an insatiable hunger on taking as many humans as possible to the lake of fire with him by the day of judgment, stalking and tempting man to believe a lie rather than the truth, Has God indeed said... You will not surely die (Gen 3:1, 4), repeated at a minimum of as many times as there have been human births.

Satan is nothing more than a rogue angel, incredibly cunning and powerful, absolutely devoid of compassion, merciless, ruthless, a “cold-blooded” killer of man’s soul. To be clear, Satan is not the number one reason people go to Hell; unbelief is. 

Satan is alive and well on planet earth. Characterizing the fall of man as allegorical is simply a plot devised by the enemy to deny his existence and involvement while he and his minions continue to ravage the souls of men with the lie. “A literal devil is a myth; the real devil is the man.”

One day the pro-allegorical or fairy tale group will understand from an experiential standpoint that there is a literal lake of fire and brimstone because they are there! They also quickly realize that personal unbelief put them there, not someone else’s unbelief and that Satan is real and the enemy of God and man, the great betrayer. And one last thing among endless realizations, they are in this lake of fire and brimstone forever and ever: no reprieve, no appeal, no second chance of redemption out of this God-forsaken mess due to personal unbelief in the cure that would have kept them out of such a dreadful, desolate place of indescribable agony.

Thank you, LORD, that two-thirds of the heavenly host remained loyal to you. I rejoice, oh, sons of God, for your fidelity to Yahweh and your chosen desire to serve the sons of Adam rather than seeking to destroy them. It is comforting and refreshing that nothing enters the lives of believers unless Yahweh gives permission. <><