Genesis
The Fall
Lesson #2 for April 9, 2022
Scriptures: Genesis 3;2 Corinthians 11:3; Revelation 12:7-9; John 8:44; Romans 16:20; Hebrews 2:14; 1 Timothy 2:14-15.
Genesis 2:16-17: 16He said to him, “You may eat the fruit of any tree in the garden, 17except the tree that gives knowledge of what is good and what is bad. You must not eat the fruit of that tree; if you do, you will die the same day.”?American Bible Society. (1992). The Holy Bible: The Good News Translation* (2nd ed.,Genesis 2:16-17). New York: American Bible Society [abbreviated as Good News Bible].†‡
Revelation 12:7-10: 7 Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, who fought back with his angels; 8but the dragon was defeated, and he and his angels were not allowed to stay in heaven any longer. 9The huge dragon was thrown out—that ancient serpent, called the Devil, or Satan, that deceived the whole world. He was thrown down to earth, and all his angels with him.
10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven saying, “Now God’s salvation has come! Now God has shown his power as King! Now his Messiah has shown his authority! For the one who stood before our God and accused our brothers and sisters day and night has been thrown out of heaven.”?Good News Bible.*†
Genesis 3:1: Now the snake was the most cunning animal that the LORD God had made. The snake asked the woman, “Did God really tell you not to eat fruit from any tree in the garden?”?Good News Bible.*
In order to accomplish his work unperceived, Satan chose to employ as his medium the serpentSa disguise well adapted for his purpose of deception. The serpent was then one of the wisest and most beautiful creatures on the earth. It had wings, and while flying through the air presented an appearance of dazzling brightness, having the color and brilliancy of burnished gold. Resting in the rich-laden branches of the forbidden tree and regaling itself with the delicious fruit, it was an object to arrest the attention and delight the eye of the beholder. Thus in the garden of peace lurked the destroyer, watching for his prey.—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets* 53.4.†
Genesis 3:1: Now the snake was the most cunning animal that the LORD God had made. The snake asked the woman, “Did God really tell you not to eat fruit from any tree in the garden?”?Good News Bible.*
Genesis 3:2-5: 2 “We may eat the fruit of any tree in the garden,” the woman answered, 3 “except the tree in the middle of it. God told us not to eat the fruit of that tree or even touch it; if we do, we will die.”
4The snake replied, “That’s not true; you will not die. 5God said that, because he knows that when you eat it you will be like God and know what is good and what is bad.”?Good News Bible.*†
It is because humans have taken the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, because they disobeyed God, that they lost access to the tree of life and could not live forever, at least in this condition. This connection underlies a profound principle. Moral and spiritual choices have an impact on biological life, as Solomon instructed his son: “Do not forget my law, but let your heart keep my commands; for length of days and long life and peace they will add to you” (Prov. 3:1, 2, NKJV).?Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* for Friday April 8.§
Satan was not to follow them with continual temptations; he could have access to them only at the forbidden tree. Should they attempt to investigate its nature, they would be exposed to his wiles. They were admonished to give careful heed to the warning which God had sent them and to be content with the instruction which He had seen fit to impart.CEllen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets* 53.3.†
1 Timothy 2:14-15: 14And it was not Adam who was deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and broke God’s law. 15But a woman will be saved through having children, if she perseveres in faith and love and holiness, with modesty.?Good News Bible.*
2 Corinthians 11:3: I am afraid that your minds will be corrupted and that you will abandon your full and pure devotion to Christ—in the same way that Eve was deceived by the snake’s clever lies.?Good News Bible.*†
Adam blames the woman, saying that she gave him the fruit (some truth to this), and Eve blames the serpent, saying he deceived her (some truth to this, too). But in the end, they both were guilty.?Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* for Tuesday April 5.
Genesis 3:14-19: 14 Then the LORD God said to the snake, “You will be punished for this; you alone of all the animals must bear this curse: from now on you will crawl on your belly, and you will have to eat dust as long as you live. 15I will make you and the woman hate each other; her offspring and yours will always be enemies. Her offspring will crush your head, and you will bite her offspring’s heel.”
16 And he said to the woman, “I will increase your trouble in pregnancy and your pain in giving birth. In spite of this, you will still have desire for your husband, yet you will be subject to him.”
17 And he said to the man, “You listened to your wife and ate the fruit which I told you not to eat. Because of what you have done, the ground will be under a curse. You will have to work hard all your life to make it produce enough food for you. 18It will produce weeds and thorns, and you will have to eat wild plants. 19You will have to work hard and sweat to make the soil produce anything, until you go back to the soil from which you were formed. You were made from soil, and you will become soil again.”?Good News Bible.*†
These two temptations, those of being immortal and of being like God, are at the root of the idea of immortality in ancient Egyptian and Greek religions. The desire for immortality, which they believed was a divine attribute, obliged these people to seek divine status, as well, in order (they hoped) to acquire immortality. Surreptitiously, this way of thinking infiltrated Jewish-Christian cultures and has given birth to the belief in the immortality of the soul, which exists even today in many churches [resulting in the doctrine of eternally-burning hell as a “logical” result of the incorrect premise/assumption that one cannot die. Therefore, if s/he chooses the side of evil, s/he must be punished forever].?Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* for Monday, April 4.†‡
We reach here [inGenesis 3:14-15] a kind of “reversal” of Creation. While Creation led to life, the appreciation of good, and blessings, judgment leads to death, evil, and curses—but also to the hope and promise of salvation.?Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* for Wednesday, April 6.‡
The dragon (serpent), enraged (enmity); the seed (offspring); and the woman in Eden and the woman inRevelation 12:17. The battle (the great controversy) that moved to Eden, with the Fall, will continue to the end of time. However, the promise of Satan’s defeat already was given in Eden, in that his head will be crushed, a theme more explicitly revealed in Revelation, which depicts his final demise (Rev. 20:10). That is, right from the start, humanity was given hope that there will be a way out of the terrible mess that came from the knowledge of evil, a hope that we all can share in right now.?Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* for Wednesday, April 6.†§
Significantly, the first Messianic prophecy (Gen. 3:14, 15) is located exactly in the center of the structure of the chapter (A B C D C1 B1 A1):
C1. Gen. 3:16S19. God-Eve-Adam: Suffering
B1. Gen. 3:20, 21. Adam-Eve: Divine clothing
A1. Gen. 3:22S24. God alone: Prohibition to eat from the tree of life
The structure of the chapter highlights two main themes: the theme of temptation and the theme of salvation.?Adult Teachers Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* 26.†§ [Bold type is added except the bold type related to “D,” and that bold type is in the Bible study guide.]‡
Now, what is meant by the word seed? This word should neither be understood in a collective sense, referring to humanity or a people (Israel, for instance), nor in a particular sense, meaning a specific human individual. It is interesting to note that in the next line the “seed” has been replaced by the personal pronoun “he” (in Hebrew, hu’), which is the actual subject of the verb “bruise” (shuf). Thus, “he” receives a special emphasis in the structure of the paragraph and the syntax of the phrase: it appears as the exact center of the strophe [section] at the very moment when the poetic rhythm shifts from four beats to three.
This rhythmic shift indicates that this pronoun is the hinge of the passage. Moreover, “he” is the first word in the phrase, thus giving it emphasis. Out of the 103 passages in which the Hebrew pronoun hu’, “he,” is translated in the Septuagint,Genesis 3:15 is the only occurrence in which it does not agree with its immediate antecedent.
Indeed, the Greek form of the pronoun (autos) refers neither to the woman (it is not feminine), nor to the seed (it is not gender neutral). Rather, autos refers instead to a male individual. This syntactical irregularity shows us that the translators had in mind a specific person, a man in real history, the Messiah. This Messianic interpretation ofGenesis 3:15 is even attested by the Hebrew Scriptures. One of the most eloquent testimonies of this view is found in Psalm 110, where the words ofGenesis 3:15 reappear and are directly applied to the Davidic Messiah. The words of the psalm, “ ‘Till I make Your enemies’ ” (Ps. 110:1, NKJV), are indeed a verbal repetition of the first words of the Genesis promise “I will put enmity.”?Adult Teachers Sabbath School Bible Study Guide* 28.‡§
Genesis 3:24: Then at the east side of the garden he put living creatures and a flaming sword which turned in all directions. This was to keep anyone from coming near the tree that gives life.?Good News Bible.*†
Holy angels were sent to drive out the disobedient pair from the garden, while other angels guarded the way to the tree of life. Each one of these mighty angels had in his right hand a glittering sword.?SpiritualGifts 3:45.
Strong angels, with beams of light representing flaming swords turning in every direction, were placed as sentinels to guard the way of the tree of life from the approach of Satan and the guilty pair.?The Review and Herald, February 24, 1874 [par. 20].
It was Satan’s studied plan that Adam and Eve should disobey God, receive His frown, and then partake of the tree of life, that they might perpetuate a life of sin. But holy angels were sent to debar their way to the tree of life. Around these angels flashed beams of light on every side, which had the appearance of glittering swords.?The Spirit ofProphecy 1:44.?Ellen G. White, The Truth About Angels* 62.2-4.†‡ [Portions of this compilation in The Truth About Angels are from 3SG* 45.2; RH* February 24, 1874, par. 20; and 1SP* 44.2.]‡
Psalm 104:1-2: Praise the LORD, my soul!
O LORD, my God, how great you are!
You are clothed with majesty and glory;
2 you cover yourself with light.
You have spread out the heavens like a tent.?Good News Bible.*†
When God created Eve, He designed that she should possess neither inferiority nor superiority to the man, but that in all things she should be his equal. The holy pair were to have no interest independent of each other; and yet each had an individuality in thinking and acting. But after Eve’s sin, as she was first in the transgression, the Lord told her that Adam should rule over her. She was to be in subjection to her husband, and this was a part of the curse. In many cases the curse has made the lot of woman [sic] very grievous and her life a burden. The superiority which God has given man he has abused in many respects by exercising arbitrary power. Infinite wisdom devised the plan of redemption, which places the race on a second probation by giving them another trial.—Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church,* vol. 3, 484.1.†‡
©2022, Kenneth Hart, MD, MA, MPH. Permission is hereby granted for any noncommercial use of these materials. Free distribution of all or of a portion of this material such as to a Bible study class is encouraged. *Electronic version. †Bold type is added. ‡Text in brackets is added. §Italic type is in the source. ¶Compared with the first source, this source has punctuation and/or capitalization differences only. [email protected]
Last Modified: March 19, 2022
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