Every aspect of what is known as “The Human Condition” can be traced back to the Garden of Eden.  “The Human Condition” characterizes man’s existence as “never quite getting there.”  “There” is wherever each human being desires to be or believes he/she is supposed to be.  Philosopher Henry David Thoreau opined that man lives his life in a state of quiet desperation because he knows he has failed to live up to his own and other people’s expectations.  The question is, why does man always fall short of his goals?  Even those who are judged to be successful so often feel the need for more success.  Recall that the rich man Jesus dealt with will miss out on eternal life because he WOULD not kill the lust that consumed him.  He had it all, yet craved more.  His craving for more overruled his desire for eternal life.  This extremely wealthy man went away sad, but not sad enough to give up his quest for more, and more, and more, ad infinitum.

Both the Holy Scriptures and secular history confirm that man always wants that which he cannot have, and more of that which he has.  He is never satisfied, therefore he does indeed live a life of quiet desperation, knowing that he will never have EXACTLY what he wants, will never do EXACTLY what he wants to do, will never go EXACTLY where he wants to go.  “Being there” is always just a beyond his fingertips.  Man is never satisfied with what he has and does everything he can to attain more, better, etc.  This, within limits, is good.  The drive to do better and have better is commendable and brings about material improvement in the lives of all of us.

The problem with man is that he strives for the wrong things; his quest is for more and better, but only in the physical and material realm.  Unconverted or false converted man lacks the desire for more godliness in his life because he is not taught to strive for spiritual perfection. In fact, he is taught the opposite.  He is taught that imperfection is his fate.  Satan has convinced man, even church man, that to strive for holiness is futile, that God’s Words to the contrary are to be ignored.  As I have written several times, a local t.v. preacher said to his church and t.v. audience: “Don’t even try to be righteous, you’ll just make yourself sick.  You are nothing more than a society of sinners.”  The sea of nodding heads and smiling lips assured him that his next paycheck was on the way.  It is this kind of “truth” that has caused salvation seekers to embrace the soul-destroying messages of the Institutional Church.  The death-guaranteeing theology of Satan’s Catholic/Protestant religious empire has a history as long as history itself.

In Genesis 1:1 through 2:7 we find the written account of the Godhead creating everything in the universe, including man.  In 1:26 we listen in as God and the Word (Who would later come to earth as Jesus of Nazareth–Jn. 1:1-4) discuss the creation of one of Their own kind whom They would call “man” (Heb.-Adam).  They would create man in Their own image (physical form) and likeness (having the POTENTIAL to share Their spiritual character).  Man’s God-like physical form was given to him by fiat.  But man’s Creators could not GIVE to him their holiness because man, like the angels, had to have free moral agency.  Man was given the freedom to CHOOSE for himself either the holiness of his creators or the unholiness of Satan.  Just as some of the angels made the wrong choice and became fallen angels (devils), men could also make the wrong choice and become fallen humans.  The word “devil” means “enemy.”  Among human beings, the unholy  have outnumbered the holy many to one from early on.  At one time the entire population of the world, with the exception of 8 people, were so evil that God drowned every one of them in a world-wide flood.  How did man, who was created “very good” (1:31) and in the image and likeness of the Gods, turn out to be so very bad? (Gen. 6:5).  To answer this question we must Return To Eden.

In Genesis 2:8,9 the Lord, having made the earth habitable again, planted a garden in  the eastern part of Eden and placed in it the man He had created.  He then planted numerous trees in the garden, each of which was “PLEASANT TO THE SIGHT AND GOOD FOR FOOD.”  He then planted in the MIDDLE OF THE GARDEN the TREE OF LIFE and the TREE OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL (2:16,17).  God’s use of the word “also” relative to the two centrally located trees indicated that they were special.  Recall that the fruit of EVERY TREE in the garden was both ATTRACTIVE and TASTY.  From appearance and taste, there was no difference in the trees of the garden.  Keep that in mind.

In 2:16 we find the Lord God speaking to the man: “Of EVERY TREE of the garden you may freely EAT.  But of THE TREE OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL you may NOT EAT.  For in the day you EAT of IT, you will DIE.”  Note that God spoke those words to Adam only.  God then concluded that Adam (“man”) needed a companion.  Her name would be Eve, for she would become the mother of the human race.

In chapter 3 we are introduced to the “Serpent.”  We know from Scripture that this is the same Serpent that the Apostle John would see and write about 4000 years later in the Book of Revelation which prophesied the world’s fallen condition at the end of the age which would come some 2000 years after John’s vision.  We also know that this Serpent will give its power to the “Beast” and the “False Prophet” who, working together, will wreak destruction and death on sinning man just before the return of Jesus Christ to earth.  We also know that the Serpent of Revelation is also the Serpent of Eden who, along with his fallen angels, will have been cast down to earth for having gone to war with God.  In 3:1 we find the Serpent talking with Eve.  We pick up the narrative in mid-conversation.  Let us stop here and consider a few facts.  The Serpent spoke the same language as Eve because they conversed.  He resembled her in appearance for she did hesitate to be with him.   And THE SERPENT KNEW WHAT GOD HAD SAID ABOUT EATING OF THE TREES IN THE GARDEN.  Remember these three facts.  I contend that he (the Serpent) had spoken with Adam, had tried to deceive him into eating of the forbidden tree, but had failed.  Which, in my opinion, is why he had approached Eve, who had heard about the conversation from Adam.  Note that in his question to her the Serpent quoted God.  He asked: “… has God said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree in the garden?'”  Which was exactly what God had said to Adam as recorded in Genesis 2:16,17.  In Eve’s answer we learn of another element of God Law.  She told the Serpent that she and Adam were forbidden to even TOUCH the fruit of the forbidden tree on threat of death.  Read Touching: Satan’s Most Secretive Weapon of Mass Destruction.  Use “Touching” as your key word.  L.J.