John of AllFaith's
Biblical Questions
Biblical Answers

Genesis 3: Humanity Joins the Rebellion

1 Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, "Has God indeed said, "You shall not eat of every tree of the garden'?"
2 And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden;
3 but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, "You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die."'
4 Then the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die.
5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."
6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.
7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.
8 And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.
9 Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, "Where are you?"
10 So he said, "I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself."
11 And He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?"
12 Then the man said, "The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate."
13 And the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."
14 So the LORD God said to the serpent:

"Because you have done this,
You are cursed more than all cattle,
And more than every beast of the field;
On your belly you shall go,
And you shall eat dust
All the days of your life.
15 And I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her Seed;
He shall bruise your head,
And you shall bruise His heel."

16 To the woman He said:

"I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception;
In pain you shall bring forth children;
Your desire shall be for your husband,
And he shall rule over you."

17 Then to Adam He said, "Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, "You shall not eat of it':

"Cursed is the ground for your sake;
In toil you shall eat of it
All the days of your life.
Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you,
And you shall eat the herb of the field.
19 In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread
Till you return to the ground,
For out of it you were taken;
For dust you are,
And to dust you shall return."

20 And Adam called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.
21 Also for Adam and his wife the LORD God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.
22 Then the LORD God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever"-- 23 therefore the LORD God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. 24 So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.

And so it began.

There are many people today who believe the biblical creation account is a myth and that while such stories may make for good metaphor, we shouldn't take them literally, especially in light of modern scientific research and conjecture. There's a MAJOR problem with this idea, especially in the area of faith and prophecy. The historic events recorded in Genesis provide the foundation for the prophecies and for the faith of the world's three main religions. For instance, why does there need to be a Messiah? How did the world become a sinful place in need of one? Is human imperfection natural? Why do we grow old and die? Why doesn’t God just forgive us all and make the world a sinless place devoid of death and sorrow? For that matter, is there a God and if so, which deity claiment is it? Are there many gods, or just one? Why must there be an Anti-Christ? Can't we just skip that part? Why are the religions that sprang from Abraham (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) so deeply at odds with each other? Who has the right to control Israel and Jerusalem? What's so special about Jerusalem anyway! These and many other issues are explained in Genesis. Arguably then, Genesis is the most important book in the entire Bible and the most important portion of the Holy Torah or Pentateuch (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy)!

I'll discuss the benefits and dangers of modern scientific theory elsewhere. For now, I’ll simply point out that the biblical teaching is that when Adam and Eve joined in the Angelic Rebellion they fell away from their natural state of grace intended by the Heavenly King as described in the above verses. Although some of the teachings may strike us as too fantastic to be believed, they may seem like pre-scientific science fiction, the story of the Torah is of an planet that went 'went to Dark Side' to use a Star Wars annalogy. The Bible can therefore rightly be thought of as God's way of bringing these earthly rebels back into the Kingdom.

The decision of Adam and Eve to join the Angelic Rebellion placed the world and its power structures under the authority and direct influence of Lucifer, the head of the intergalactic rebellion again Kingdom. Since the begiining of the earth's involvement in the rebellion, Lucifer has sought to consolodate his power over the planet. The problem for him has been that there are certain laws that neither he nor the Heavenly King can violate.

Perhaps it sounds blasphemous to say that there are certain laws that even God cannot break but understand the reason. God created the universes and established natural laws and principles. Later, as we read in the Book of Job, the two kings, God and Lucifer, hammered out an agreement regarding the earth's inhabitants. It was clear that Adam and Eve, by their own free will, joined the Rebellion, but it was also true that certain of their decendants chose to be allies with the Heavenly Kingdom. As a result, it was determined that the inhabitants of the earth would be allowed to make up their own minds as to loyalty. In his attempt to consolodate his power Lucifer united humans into governments. Following the world flood Lucifer established four principle world governments to try and unite the people:

• Babylon
• Medo-Persia
• Greece
• Rome

From the Roman Empire ten nations united as Europe to rule the world. From these came the United States.

All of these governments ruled and contributed both beneficially and negatively to the Rebellion and the Kingdom. Lucifer could manipulate events and infuence people but they were free to choose their own way.

Just as Luficer chose to establish his will over the planet using these nations, God also had an earthly interest. He considered the peoples of the earth and chose the least significant of them all to be His representives. Like the other leaders, this people could choose to follow or reject His leadership. For his purposes, God selected a man from an unimpressive background known as Abram. God poured out His blessings on this man and he became rich and powerful. In time, when this man, still childless, was quite old and his wife was well past child bearing age, God revealed His intention to produce a holy people, a nation of priests through the man and his wife. It appears that god waited so long so there would no question that these people were the direct result of divine intervention.

Abram however lacked faith in the promises of God because of his age, moreover because of his wife's age, and so impregnated one of his wife's servants. This maid became pregnant and gave birth to a son. God however demonstrated that for this plan to work, human intervention must not be allowed to twart His intentions and soon the wife gave birth to a child.

I am of course referring to Abraham, his wife Sara and Hagar the maid. Sarah and Abraham's son Isaac later fathered twelve male children and a daughter named Dianna. From the twelve sons came the twelve tribes of Israel, the Jewish people. Through this line came many prophets and eventually Jesus, who is called the Christ and through whom the Christian religion was born. Hundreds of years after Jesus, decendant of Hagar's son Ishamael rose up and proclaimed himself to be a prophet. His led his followers on amazing military campaigns that at one point nearly conquered the earth but were beaten back by Christian forces to the Middle East. Today the followers of Prophet Muhammad are again on the march toward world conquest.

We see then, that the Rebellion is very much alive and active today. Lucifer, having failed to established his domain politically over the planet is preparing for his final move in this grand war. From among the ten nations of Europe Lucifer will soon bring forth a warrior king who will have learned from the previous failures of the four principle governments and seek to establish his throne over the entire planet. For a time, this leader will be successful according to the prophets. This king is the man Christians refer to as Antichrist and Muslims as the Dijal.

We'll return to this shortly. First...

Because of the influence of the Rebellion, human leaders have an ingrained bias against the things of the Kingdom. In the name of science, enlightenment, tolerance, and so on, human wisdom seeks to disprove the biblical teachings and promote the a one world religion and government of the coming Antichrist. To be sure, the vast majority of those involved in the sciences, the interfaith movement, and so on do not realize what they are doing. Such people are not, and for the most part would not, work to support der Furrer of the coming New World Order, but they know not what they do. As we draw closer to the culmination of this war both sides are intensifying their efforts.

Currently, the religion of Secular Humanism best reflects this coming belief system. The Interfaith Movement, although argueably a useful vehicle for the Novus Ordo Mundi (New World Order) is not as convinced of its role. Most people of this autocephalic movement are seeking unity and peace among the world's religions without denying their essential truths. The Secular Humanist Movement on the other hand teaches that from within humanity, through scientific research and aplication human reason, the truth can be known.

For clarity sake, I should explain two important terms: the Novus Ordo Seclorum referenced on the back of the US dollar bill referrs to a global society to be established upon Secular Humanist ideals. This word does not, as some suppose, translate as "New World Order" but as New Order of the Ages or New Secular Order. This is an important distinction because if speaks of the establishment of a kingdom that will never fall, a empire based upon Secular Humanist ideals of Scientific Rationalism. This is to be the Kingdom of the Anichrist. The phrase New World Order is the Novus Ordo Mundi and references the state of affairs leading up to the New Secular Age. Those promoting the New World Order will utilize anything they deem condusive to their goals, politics, wealth, religion... anything at all. In their minds, the New Secualar Order will be free of religious contamination however it will be this system that will be the seat of the Antichrist and his false prophet. What we are watching therefore is the establishment of the New World Order (or Novus Ordo Mundi) that will eventually give rise to the Antichrist and his Novus Ordo Seclorum.

So, first things first:

Its said that John 3:16 is "everyone's favorite verse." It certainly is very popular among Christians! Most people however don't seem to read the next verse: John 3:17, which says,

"For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world, through Him might be saved."

Sounds pretty clear to me and yet very few people seem to accept this important verse. Scripture clearly teaches that whatever God intends to happen will take place and this verse clearly says that Jesus came into the world with the intent to save it... It will be saved.

Isaiah 55:11:
So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

What did God originally intend? To understand this we must look to Genesis, the "Book of the Beginnings." It is clear that God intended for Adam and Eve to produce a race of free people to live on a Paradise Earth as full members of the Kingdom, to care for it and to maintain direct communion with the Creator (Gen. 2:8 and 3:8). What God intends will always come to pass!

Isaiah 55:11:
So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

God intended for Adam, Eve and their descendents to live on a paradise earth in communion with Him as subjects of the Kingdom. God intended for Jesus to save everyone on the planet and, through him, to fulfill God's original intent for the planet.

One more time:

Isaiah 55:11:
So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

It will be as God intended! How it will come to pass is the story revealed in the pages of the Bible.

So, how will it happen? That's a fairly long story, but it all begins here in Genesis.

Adam and Eve were given all they needed to fulfill God's intent. Lucifer, Son of the Morning, the most beautiful being in all of creation, had other plans however. Due to greed and arrogance he had previously rebelled against God's authority and taken a third of the holy angels with him. The prophet Isaiah described this event thusly:

14:1-15:
"How you are fallen from heaven,
O Lucifer, son of the morning!
How you are cut down to the ground,
You who weakened the nations!
For you have said in your heart:
"I will ascend into heaven,
I will exalt my throne above the stars of God;
I will also sit on the mount of the congregation
On the farthest sides of the north;
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds,
I will be like the Most High.'
Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol,
To the lowest depths of the Pit.

Lucifer said the same thing as Adam, Eve, and the Secular Humanists of today: I will become like God! I need no one greater than myself and my own inner abilities are enough! I need worship noone! I am my own god!

Adam and Eve thus joined the Rebellion and Paradise, for the time being, was lost. Some people want to blame Lucifer for our fallen state -- The Devil made me do it! -- but he is not to blame. While he seductively encouraged the couple to join the Rebellion, he did not, and indeed could not, force them to do so. The rebelled according to their own free will. Likewise, people sometimes like to blame Eve. Yet the Scripture makes it clear that the greater responsibility falls to Adam. Why? As we read the text we find that God did not directly tell Eve not to eat of the forbidden fruit, He told Adam not to. Adam passed the order on to Eve. Likewise, although Eve did eat before going to Adam with the fruit, we find no reaction from God until Adam also chose, by his own free will, to eat. Eve disobeyed Adam but Adam disobeyed God. This of course doesn't let anyone off the hook!

The truth of this point is the thron in Satan's side. Try as he might, he cannot force us to rebel against God. The prophecies do not dictate how we must act. They do not condemn us to rebellion, to the acceptance of Antichrist etc. They merely offer foreknowledge of the choices we will make, offering a heads-up to those who choose to remain loyal to the Kiingdom. This is why, when we point out that the GPS tracking implants commonly being inserted into pets and livestock now is almost certainly the technology the Antichrist will utililze in the Mark of the Beast, it doesn't slow the acceptance of such technologies at all. Even knowing what we are doing, still we continue on!

At the heart of Lucifer's Rebellion was this accusation:

Job 1:6-12:

Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them.
And the LORD said to Satan, "From where do you come?" So Satan answered the LORD and said, "From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it."
Then the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?"
So Satan answered the LORD and said, "Does Job fear God for nothing?
Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.
But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!"
And the LORD said to Satan, "Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person." So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.

Job (Jœb) is almost certainly the oldest book in the biblical cannon. No one knows its author and no one can accurate date it nor place it geographically. I don't want to get into this too deeply here, but there is a biblical theory that says there were at least two seperate creations of the earth. The previous earth was utterly destroyed due to the Rebellion, a detruction far more thorough than the deluge of Noah's time. According to some, the Book of Job belongs to that earlier earth and records the stategies and conditions negotiated by which this contest would be settled using the current incarnation of the planet and its inhabitants. Whether this is an accurate understadning or not has no direct bearing on this study however but is worth pointing out.

Along with describing Job’s experiences, this book also records the charge that enticed humanity to join the Rebellion in the first place.

The Charge: Mankind will not accept God’s authority without some clear pay off for doing so. We will accept Lucifer’s authority rather than Gods as long our hedonistic desires are satisfied.

And yet Job did not do as the Enemy expected! It is always our choice to join the Rebellion or be true to the Heavenly King. As a loyal citizen of the Kingdom Job said (Job 13:15-19):

Though He [God] slay me, yet will I trust Him.
Even so, I will defend my own ways before Him.
He also shall be my salvation,
For a hypocrite could not come before Him.
Listen carefully to my speech,
And to my declaration with your ears.
See now, I have prepared my case,
I know that I shall be vindicated.
Who is he who will contend with me?
If now I hold my tongue, I perish.

In this "celestial court case" we call life this is the central issue:

Will we submit to the authority of God's kingdom or Satan's? As in the old Bob Dylan song,:

"You're gonna serve somebody.
It might be the Devil, or it might the Lord,
But your gonna serve somebody..."

Will we be loyal to God's Kingdom no matter what or must we, as Satan insisted, be paid off? God's position is that as our Creator He knows and desires what is best for us. When we obey Him we are blessed and our lives are better even when our material situation is not. Through obediance to Him only do we experience real freedom. Lucifer's position is that everyone wants to be "like God," controlling their own destinies and pursuing their individualist ways without reliance on God. This is what Lucifer alleged in the Garden to Eve: "Is it true that God said you can't eat from the trees?" he asked Eve, as though God was withholding something good from them.

No, it wasn't true! God said they COULD eat from any tree they desired, except one. Nothing good was being withheld from them! They simply needed to demonstrate their loyalty to God’s authority.

Jesus said that "if the Son shall make you free you shall be free indeed!" BUT what is freedom? It is not without its price! Nothing worth having is. Everyone is under the authority of someone. Under whose authority will the world place itself? Under whose authority will you place yourself?

During Jesus' time on the mountain, Satan approached and made him an offer that for most of us would be very hard to resist:

Matthew 4:

1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
2 And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry.
3 Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, "If You are the Son of God...
8 ...Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.
9 And he said to Him, "All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me."
10 Then Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan! For it is written, "You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve."

It’s important to note that Jesus didn't answer, "What! Those kingdoms belong to God! You can't give them to me! Who do you think you are?" Rather, he replied, "Away with you! Or Get thee behind me! Only God is to be worshipped!"

This is because Satan was correct! All the governments, power structures and riches of this world and the actual authority overseeing them do indeed belong to Lucifer. Every single kingdom and nation on earth... except Israel! Some will argue that Jesus won the keys to kingdom and hence everything is now under his authority. And yet we read:

1 Corinthians 2:5-7

... that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing.
But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory...

True, Jesus holds the keys, however the 'court' has not yet made its ruling nor passed its sentence in this case! Satan still maintains the authority granted him by Adam and Eve when they joined the Rebellion as God allowed (see also Ephesians 6:11-13). Lucifer's power is "coming to naught," but its not there yet. While it is true that "Greater is He who is within us than he who is in the world," he who is in the world is still very powerful!

In this ages old court case, God chose to give these powers to him, with certain restrictions as we find in the Book of Job (1:12 for instance). In this court case the decision of allegiance must be ours alone. Neither God nor Satan will force our hand. The world system however remains under Lucifer's dominion (Eph 1:2,3) for the time being and our 'natural' inclination is to give into Satan’s temptations and rebel against God's authority.

Let's back up a bit now so as get a better understanding of what has been lost. In this way we will better understand what is being restored.

This earth was created as a physical plane of existence, but it was very different from the world of today. Originally, all of creation was at peace, animals and humans, plants and jinn. It didn't rain in those days (in fact it didn't rain until the global flood), it didn't need to. Eden was a paradise beyond comprehension and none of its inhabitants lacked for anything (Gen 2:4-7). God had man's needs and best interests at heart in all that He did and life was sublime. Humanity was the center of the earthly life, the caretakers of God's creation, and Adam and Eve could freely commune with God and the creation in ways that we can not begin to concieve today. The earth was created for our joy as obediant citizens of the multiversal Kingdom of God. The Humanist view today that considers humans to be merely another species of biological life denies this fundamental principle, and yet Genesis is clear that we are the jewel of the planet and that we are intended to be the caretakers of an global garden paradise. We are responsible for our management of the planet and for the well being of its inhabitants. This is a very weighty responsibility!

Genesis 2:25 tells us that that the first couple were "naked and were not ashamed." What does this mean? When God created humanity and the rest of creation, He declared it good. Why should something as "good" and natural as our bodies make us ashamed in the first place? Why does this verse specifically say they were not ashamed to be nude? I submit that there is a very good reason!

The next verse goes into the temptation of Eve, which we have already discussed. Note however what happened next:

Genesis 3:6-11

So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.
Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.
And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.
Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, "Where are you?"
So he said, "I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself."
And He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?"

'Who told you were naked?' Sort of obvious you may think, but think again! There are all kinds of nakedness! There is the nakedness of guilt over our sins: being naked before God, the nakedness of putting on a false face, erotic nakedness, lewd nakedness, pure natural nakedness and other types. On the surface, the text seems to saying that they were not wearing clothing and were ashamed by the fact. Indeed, God Himself made clothing for them from the skins of animals. In this, we see the first animal sacrifices. Animals were killed so the two Rebels might be clothed. The blood of these animals and the feel of their dead skin on the bodies of the two Rebels doubtless provided a vivid example of the seriousness of Adam's and Eve's decision to join the Rebellion. Shortly after this, the couple was expelled from the Garden. The Garden continued to exist until it was destroyed by the global flood and humans were barred from re-entering it by spiritual guards with flaming swords.

Many historic cultures have considered nudity obsene to some degree. To the Puritans for instance showing so much as a lower leg could result in expulsion from the community and possibly even death. Most of the simplier, more nature-based cultures like those in native New Guini, Africa, the pre-colonial Americas, pre-colonial Hawaii, India, and so forth had no such concerns until they were indoctrinated into so-called modesty by Christian missionaries and Western imperialists. Likewise the ancient Greeks and Romans were not ashamed of their bodies. The original Olympics and other games were normally conducted in the nude and nudity was common throughout the cultures.

It seems reasonable to say that who believe they have been freed from their sins by Jesus should embrace nudity as evidence of their purity. If Adam and Eve covered themseves due to to sin, then Christians should undercover themselves. Such of course is the exact opposite of what Christians have historically done.

Genesis 3:12-15

12 And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.
13 And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
14 And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:
15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

Notice that this acknowledgement of their "nakedness" is immediately followed by God's judgment against the three beings involved in the Garden Rebellion... and on their descendents. Also included in this is the first biblical prophecy, in verse 15: the Antichrist and the Messiah would one day come to settle this mater once and for all! Two human beings, Adam and Eve, brought the world into the Rebellion and two human beings, the Messiah (Seed of the woman) and Dijal (Seed of Lucifer) would determine the outcome of earth's participation in it. Lucifer's seed, would manage to bruise the heel of the other, he would be powerful and for a time cripple the seed of the woman. The seed of the woman however would prove successfu and in the end of the contest will crush the head of the other. Again, the playing out of this contest is the history of the planet earth.

What was lost may be seen in this realization of their "nakedness." Understanding what had happened to them and what the cataclysmic results would be, "Adam called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living" (3:20). "The living" are her mortal children yet to be born and their generations.

And so:

Genesis 3:21-23

Also for Adam and his wife the LORD God made tunics of skin, and clothed them. Then the LORD God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever"--
therefore the LORD God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken.

Note the increase of the physical relationship and the negative connotations now added to it. Having been cast out of the Garden they would now have to work the cursed soil by the sweat of their brows for their food, childbirth would become painful and uncertain... so many physical curses now existed that would hamper their enjoyment of the planet.

This is very different from the blessed state they had known before.

Note too that these various curses consisted of the withholding of protections and blessings rather than abject curses being placed on them. "They have become like Us..." They are now self-sufficient. They don't need God anymore! OK, lets see how they do without Our help and protection then!

Of all these curses, the most devastating is this "nakedness." Again:

Genesis 3: 21:

Also for Adam and his wife the LORD God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.

The nakedness which Adam and Eve realized was a physical nakedness with profound spiritual implications; it was an actual changing of their physical beings. They became mortal, human in the same sense that we are, with blood pumping through their veins and the certainty of eventual death looming always before them, just as God had warned:

Genesis 2:17

... 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 surely die."

And die they did! Upon disobeying God’s command they died as eternal perfect beings and become something infinately less. Their very nature was changed, contaminated by the sin nature that now raged within them. We know they were already physical beings from the text, and yet it's clear that they immediately realized that their physical existence had been altered. Of this, they were ashamed and so hid themselves. It makes no sense other wise. Why would they be embarrassed of their nakedness? God created them and knew their forms quite well.

There are those who teach they had previously been disembodied spirits prior to the Fall, however that can't be as there are too many references to their physical activities. What they were, were physical beings whose bodies were different from our own.

We see this type of body elsewhere in Scripture, such as during the transfiguration of Jesus:

Matthew 17:1-7

Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light.
And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him.
Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, let us make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah."
While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!"
And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid.
But Jesus came and touched them and said, "Arise, and do not be afraid."
When they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.

Jesus' body, and it appears those of Moses and Elijah as well, had been changed, purified, and yet they were still physical human beings. Notice the description of these men, then read this passage:

Luke 24:38-40:

And He said to them, "Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts?
Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have."
When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet.

The resurrected Jesus had a physical body of flesh and bone, but no mention is made of his having blood. That this is the case with our natural, pre-fall, state is implied in the following passage:

Genesis 2:22,23:

Then the rib which the LORD God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man.
And Adam said:

"This is now bone of my bones
And flesh of my flesh;
She shall be called Woman,
Because she was taken out of Man."

Eve, created from Adam's rib, was "bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh." Why not blood of his blood? Because he had none! We are so used to thinking in terms of our experiences that we make certain assumptions, such as that blood is required to sustain human life. In our fallen condition this is clearly the case, but not in the eternal state God intends for us!

Leviticus 17:10-12:

"And whatever man of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell among you, who eats any blood, I will set My face against that person who eats blood, and will cut him off from among his people.
For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.'
Therefore I said to the children of Israel, "No one among you shall eat blood, nor shall any stranger who dwells among you eat blood.'

Blood is the fluid that empowers and drives fallen flesh. Before the Fall however Adam's flesh was perfect. In that pure condition things work differently! We are told concerning life in the future Kingdom that:

"...as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him" (I Cor. 2:9).

In the same way, in the Kingdom lost, we can scarcely conceive what life was like! There is no biblical reference to pre-fall Adam or Eve having blood. There is no reference to post-resurrection Jesus having blood, in fact the oppostie is stated. We do know however that mortal life is contained within the blood and hence sacred, not to be consumed.

1 Corinthians 15:48-50:

As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the man from heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.

We also will be changed!

:

1 Corinthians 15:51-53

Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed -
- in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
- For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

How will our present corrupted bodies "put on" incorruption? We will remove "this body of sin and death" and put on the same type of bodies found before the Fall! The new bodies will still be physical, but they will have no blood and no sin nature. They will be incorruptible:

1 Corinthians 15:41-43

There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differs from another star in glory.
So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption.
It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power.

Notice that the glories mentioned here are all of physical bodies. Our transfigured bodies will still be physical, but they will have another, far greater "glory," a glory that we cannot presently conceive (I Cor. 2:9).

God did not intend us to be spiritual beings like the angels! His intent was for physically pure beings to dwell on the physically pure earth, to care for it and to live in communion with Him for eternity future. We're not going to spend eternity sitting on clouds and playing harps! We were never intended for such.

Isaiah 55:10-12

As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
You will go out in joy
and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and hills
will burst into song before you,
and all the trees of the field
will clap their hands.

Those who teach that the physical world is 'dirty' somehow and that we need to be 'spiritual,' 'separate' from this earth and its cares are out of harmony with the teachings of the Word! Note how God uses the natural process of the earth to illustrate His Will! Furthermore, note again that what God intends will come to pass. God intended us to live in an earthly Paradise and we will!

Hence, I submit, that when God covered Adam and Eve's "nakedness" with a "tunic of skin" He was imbuing them with a different kind of physical frame, one without the divine nature and with blood and the other bodily fluids of mortality. Hence we read:

Psalm 82:5-7:

They do not know, nor do they understand;
They walk about in darkness;
All the foundations of the earth are unstable.

I said, "You are gods,
And all of you are children of the Most High.
But you shall die like men,
And fall like one of the princes."

By our human nature, as intended by God, our bodies are god-like. Again, "god-like," we are not God and shall never be! There is only One God from eternity past to eternity furture! My son shares the genetic traits of his mother and I and yet he is a unique individual. Similarly, in our eternal natural states we share the "genetic" traits of our Heavenly Parent. This corruptible mortal body is temporary. In our natural state we won't experience decay, ageing, disease etc. However due to the Fall, we do not understand our true natures. Remember Genesis 3:20: "Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil;" and yet ironically, a result of our rebellious quest for independent knowledge is that we know nothing of our true nature! We walk about in darkness and the earth and everything on it is, as a result, cursed! We live fall and die like mortal beings rather than living as children of the Immortal Most High God. Like Esau, we have forsaken our birthrights for nothing, a pot of stew!

Blood, our "pot of stew," is the life of fallen nature and is completely alien to our real natural state.

By His mercy, God cast Adam and Eve out of the Garden before the could eat of the tree and thereby live forever in their condition. Had He not done this, the human race would have been eternally condemned to live in sinful flesh, growing older and more decripit without the release of death. Being cast out we were given pardon while the Plan of Restoration was actuated. In the future, once we are restored to our natural forms, we will 'eat of this tree' and thence live forever as God intended (Rev.22:1-5). The Court Case will be settled, the War concluded.

God has a Plan to restore what has been lost! This Plan has been in effect since the very foundations of this earth:

Matthew 13:34,35:

All these things Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables; and without a parable He did not speak to them, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying:

"I will open My mouth in parables;
I will utter things kept secret from the foundation of the world."

The Plan of Restoration is being brought to fruition gradually through a series of dispensations or periods of revealing. The revealing of this dispensational out flowing of the Plan began taking shape with God speaking to a single man, Noah (and entering into the first universal covenant of restoration to the Noahides).

Remember that the choice of allegiances in this struggle is ours to make. A covenant is an agreement between two or more parties. Throughout the Torah, Tanack, and New Testament we find covenants being formulated. What I’m calling the Plan of Restoration is the summation of all of these, the goal being the universal restoration of Eden, the New Heaven and the New Earth. This Plan was formulated in the Mind of God before time began. It includes a final conflict in which the "seed of the serpent" and "the seed of the woman" will do battle, as introduced at Genesis 3:15 and confirmed at John 3:17.

This Noahide Covenant places seven requirements or Laws on mankind (Genesis chapter 9). Noahides agree to:

1. WORSHIP GOD. Do not worship anything except God Himself.
2. RESPECT GOD and praise Him. Do not curse Him or anyone in His name.
3. RESPECT HUMAN LIFE. Do not commit murder, suicide, or abortion (infanticide)
. 4. RESPECT THE FAMILY. Do not participate in sexual immorality thereby polluting the blood -lines.
5. RESPECT OTHERS' RIGHTS AND PROPERTY. Do not steal, cheat, or kidnap.
6. RESPECT ALL CREATURES. Do not eat the flesh of any animal while it is still alive.
7. PURSUE JUSTICE. Establish courts of law to enforce the Seven Noahide Commandments.

These seven Laws laid the foundation for God’s dealings with the human race and for the final consummation of the Plan. In exchange, God promised to never again destroy the Earth with a flood and to continue the working out of the Plan and Restoration to eventually restore what has been lost. These Laws, unlike the Law of Moses, were given to all of humanity, all of Noah's descendents.

The revealing of the Plan flowed onward through Noah's immediate family, then to his descendent Abraham, then it followed the course of his intended son Isaac, from whom came Prophet Moses and Judaism and later, Prophet Jesus who is called the Christ and Christianity, which was based on his teachings. As we careen toward the end of the age, as revealed by Jesus to John, the Church is falling away (Rev. 3:14-20) and:

"Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne" (Rev. 3:20,21)

The door is open to everyone! Come to the feast as a citizen of the Kingdom of God!

The flow of the Plan gradually made its way to and through the world empires of Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and the Roman Empire and finally, as we read in this section of Scripture:

Mark 16:14-18:

Later He [Jesus] appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen.
And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.
He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.
And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues;
they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover."

The heart of the Plan flies in the face of Lucifer's allegation that our hedonistic desires will keep us from submitting to God's love. Throughout history people have sought and received the blessings of God and submitted to His divine authority. How did they do this?

The writer of Hebrews explains that from the beginning there has only been one way to achieve God’s approval. The God-accepted acts and sacrifices performed by those who lived before the Messiah came, like those of the people who came after him, were accepted solely because, like Abraham's sacrifices, they were performed in faith: "By faith Abraham, when he was old..." and so on (Hebrews chapter 10). The key to being accepted by God has always been faith and a willingness to submit to God's authority:

"Wherewith shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old?
Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? (Micah 6:6-8)

This, Lucifer says, we will not do!

Elsewhere, Paul explains that God "overlooked" the erroneous teachings and beliefs of the Gentiles because they did the best they could with the Light they had received (Acts 17:30). It's amazing how similar the various religions are! Most of them speak of the flood and other biblically recorded events and doctrines, although according to their cultures and rememberances. Most share similar moral standards and requirements and most even embrace or show a movement towards monotheism and the essential requirement of submission to God's will. Paul calls such Gentiles to the teachings of Jesus now.

Among the Hindus (the followers of the Sanatana Dharma) for instance are the Vaisnavas. Many of these people believe that above the many demigods or lesser divinities is a single being whom call Maha-Vishnu or Paramatma who is supreme over all. Others call this One God the Ek Devata. Many believe that the highest yoga or 'system for linking' with this Being is bhakti or devotion and obedience to God's will. Paul’s teaching that, "Whatever you do in word or in deed, do all to the glory of God" is perfectly consistent with this teaching of bhakti yoga (or vice versa).

I’m not suggesting here that religious systems such as Vaisnavism are equal to those of the Noahide/Abrahamic traditions. Paul is clear on this point. Now that higher knowledge is available, God requires everyone to embrace the greater Light. It is, nonetheless equally clear that God is far more merciful towards those who, to their best of their knowledge and the Light they have received, seek to submit with humility and sincerity to His authority than He is to those who hold the truth in disrepute. That is to say, to those who use the truth to further their own agendas and thereby push others away from God and interfere with the Plan of Restoration (compare Rev. 3:14-20). On the Day of Judgment I fully expect that many of us will be shocked to find who was doing the will of God and who wasn't! We are ALL God's children and the universal Parent loves us all, even as John 3:17 makes clear:

"For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved."

The vast majority of religious people today are following this revealed stream of Truth through Christianity or Judaism. Other religions continue to exist of course, but none are on the same scale nor have the same impact on the world as those in the Noahide-Abrahamic stream of Faith. The Islamic stream is discussed elsewhere

History has therefore been the gradual revelation of God's Plan of Restoration to the Earth. The God of Noah, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is "become" the God of the Universes and one day, prophecy assures us, all of creation will be submitted to the righteous governance of the coming Messiah so that in time (as it is outside it) God will once again be all and in all. Then will the authority of Lucifer over this earth be taken away and the blessings of Faith will shine forth for all to see.

1 Corinthians 15:

24 Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.
25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
27 For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him.
28 And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.

Hence, the entire message of the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, is, to my mind, a huge court case and the working out of God's Plan of Restoration.

Lucifer and a third of the angels charged that humans would never willingly love and serve God. We see the fallacy of his accusation played out in the wonderful Book of Job ("Yea though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him!") and through the lives of those whose lives are, even today, fully committed to the King and is His Kingdom. To the carnal mind, if I may use that term, it looks as though Lucifer was correct, as though his charges have been vindicated by human history! People don’t, for the most, willingly seek and serve God. Most of us are mainly focused on our own needs and desires. This is probably truer today than ever before in history! Faith in God is at an all time low. And yet there have always been large numbers of people, Jews, Christians and others, who have tried their best to live lives submitted to God.

As discussed above, it is evident that Lucifer still holds much power, else how could he have offered Jesus all the kingdoms of the world? As the ruler of this world therefore he has largely been obeyed. Humanity has largely followed his leading. With the establishment of the Nation of Israel the end of his reign is finally approaching however and millions now living may very well see this come to pass!

Since Adam and Eve were granted the freedom of choice and chose to join the Rebellion against God, Scripture has been clear, its prophecies confirm that Lucifer's reign will notbe allowed to continue indefinitely. Two thousand years ago even Jesus himself did not know when the Plan would be finalized!

Matthew 24:35-37:

Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.
"But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.
But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.

Two thousand years ago, when Jesus walked the Earth, no one could predict when the various prophetic events would take place nor when the Plan would successfully restore the global Paradise, not even Jesus knew. This knowledge was in the Mind of God however, and through the various prophets there were indications given that would give warning that time was at hand.

Jesus clearly states here that while he at the time did not know the timing of these events, it would be like the days of Noah. At that time there was a herald predicting the coming event. Someone knew. Noah and his family knew and they warned the people.

Today there are many "Noahs" arising from within Judaism, Christianity and elsewhere warning the world that, based on the signs of the times, there is solid reason to believe the time is fast approaching. These signs are discussed elsewhere on this site under various headings.

Noah and Abraham both found favor in God's eyes and Holy One entered into covenant with them and their descendants. Although humanity has violated the terms of these various agreements many times, God never has and never will. What God purposeses always comes to be.

A single, very specific event is going to occur that will cause God to directly intervene in human affairs. When this event occurs, Lucifer's reign over the Earth will end and God's Name will be vindicated. Even Jesus could not say when this event would occur, but in his role as prophet, he gave a number of signs that would herald the event.

The Event that will change the World forever:

Matthew 24:15-22:

"Therefore when you see the "abomination of desolation,' spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place" (whoever reads, let him understand),
"then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.
Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house.
And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes.
But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days!
And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath.
For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.
And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened.

I discuss the details of this and related prophecies elsewhere. For our present purposes, the question in these verses is this:

Who are the elect?

The elect of God are, as they have always been, the Jews.

The rightful home of the Jews is Eretz Israel. God gave this Holy Land to Abraham and to Israel and it will be the flashpoint for the culmination of the Plan of Restoration. Israel, Jerusalem more specifically, has always been the focal point of world history and God's dealings with us, to one degree or another. Since various prophecies were so amazingly fulfilled in 1948 and Israel was restored as a nation, we've been living in the period discussed in Matthew 24 and similar passages. Again, this is discussed in more detail elsewhere on the domain. Yet prophecy clearly details how many times the Jews will lose their homeland and regain it. Based on these clear Scriptures we know for a certainty that Israel can never again be destroyed, until they are dispersed by the Anti-Christ, a remnant of the Jerusalem Jews will flee to Petra (Revelation 12:6), and the Messiah, to save these Jews, will establish the Jewish people forever in their ancestral home, never again to be ruled over by Gentile powers.

As the conflicts continue to escalate in the Middle East, Lucifer, the Prince of this World, will eventually bring his own "messiah" to the throne of a global kingdom. This man will be the Anti-Christ or Dijal. I discuss the identity and activities of this Beast elsewhere. This global ruler will be none other than "the seed of the serpent" predicted at Genesis 3:15 who will make war against "the seed of the woman," the true Messiah.

His persecution of the Elect will become so fierce that without divine intervention the Jews would be utterly destroyed. We saw but a glimpse of this with the Nazi wrought Shoah, but as hellish as that experience doubtless was, it was only a foretaste of what is coming upon the world. This coming persecution will lead to the full revelation of the true Messiah as King of kings and Lord of lords. He will come for one reason: to save Israel. All other kingdoms exists under the authority of Lucifer and he can do with them pretty much as he wills, acording to the terms of the agreement, but Israel are the people God and neither Lucifer nor the combined might of the entire world will be allowed to destroy them! This divine intervention will herald the beginning of the thousand year messianic reign on earth and the soon fulfillment of the Plan.

When the Elect are on the verge of extinction it will be time for the "closing arguments" to conclude and the world(s) to see the righteous wrath of God as He moves to defend His chosen people. The Messiah will defeat the Dijal, vanquish his enemies and establish the thousand-year kingdom as foretold by the various prophets. Through this millennium long reign, the differences between Lucifer’s philosophy and God's will become crystal clear to everyone. At the end of this period, humanity will decide which side to align with, God’s or Lucifer's.

During the millennial kingdom the Jewish people will be restored to Jerusalem and granted a global kingdom, headquartered in Jerusalem and led by the Messiah (which is what the Jews of Jesus' day expected of the Messiah and why, in large part, they rejected him). Prophecy says at

Zechariah 8:22-23:

… many peoples and powerful nations will come to Jerusalem to seek the Lord Almighty and to entreat him."
This is what the Lord Almighty says: "In those days ten men from all languages and nations will take firm hold of one Jew by the hem of his robe and say, 'Let us go with you, because we have heard that God is with you.' "

During the thousand year reign of Messiah it will be apparent to everyone who has mankind's best interests at heart, God or Lucifer, and so as a result "every knee will [willingly] bow and every tongue will [willingly] confess the truth, that the God of Abraham is the righteous and true Judge, the Lord and Master of the universes and His Messiah will reign supreme over the Earth.

During this period almost everyone will choose God, but a few will still side with the Enemy, and so at the end of the thousand years a small rebellion will break out, led by Lucifer. However the Messiah, by the authority of God and with the consent of the governed, will vanquish his foes (Revelations 20:7-10).

The millennial kingdom will be awesome beyond anything we can currently imagine and during this period the people of the Earth will create a new world under the leadership of the Holy Spirit and the King that will far surpass any human civilization that has ever come before it. Before we start thinking too highly of our accomplishments however:

Revelation 21:1-5:

Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea.
Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.
And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away."
Then He who sat on the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new." And He said to me, "Write, for these words are true and faithful."

This, the most glorious society in human history, a global empire showing manifesting amazing human creativity and ingenuity, will be as the Stone Age compared with what God has planned for us! Into this New Earth, under the dominion of the New Heaven, we will go and live forever in the global Eden intended by God for us from before the beginning of time. God will be victorious and the multiverse will be blessed because of it!

Our long lost natures will be restored as we find ourselves living beyond eternity and transcending anything any of us have ever conceived of as possible, living joyously in the New Earth. Then will be realized the promise of Scripture that: "eye has not seen nor has ear heard neither has it entered into the hearts of man the things that God has prepared for those who love him (which will be everyone as promised in John 3:15).

Its difficult to understand how, once the final rebellion is put down, even those who have taken part in it will find (and accept) the forgiveness and love of God, yet God's Will is that the WORLD and everything in it will be submitted to the Messiah, and Lucifer's charge will be completely and utterly discredited for ever. Thus it was intended by God from before the beginning and thus it will be realized. Amen.

Thus will the curse be lifted from the earth and its inhabitants.

I Corinthians 15:35-58:

But someone will say, "How are the dead raised up? And with what body do they come?"
Foolish one, what you sow is not made alive unless it dies.
And what you sow, you do not sow that body that shall be, but mere grain--perhaps wheat or some other grain.
But God gives it a body as He pleases, and to each seed its own body.
All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of animals, another of fish, and another of birds.
There are also celestial bodies and terrestrial bodies; but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.
There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differs from another star in glory.
So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption.
It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power.
It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
And so it is written, "The first man Adam became a living being." The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.
However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual.
The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven.
As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly.
And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man.
Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption.
Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed--
in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory."

"O Death, where is your sting?
O Hades, where is your victory?"

The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law.
But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

And Paradise lost will become Paradise Restored.

Go to: Part Two: The Prophesied One


Thanks for investing your time with us!
May God bless you as you continue Reaching for the One



You are visitor number...



Who cares, I'm glad YOU'RE here!

	AllFaith.com Home Page
	AllFaith.com's Christianty Pages
	Sign John of AllFaith's Guestbook
	John Not-the-Apostle's Humor Section
	Contact John of AllFaith

On the Lighter Side
Visit The Not-so Sacred Book of John Not The Apostle