Erin,” King began as he pulled his Bible toward him, “would you read for us Genesis 3:1 - 5?”

Erin smiled. “I’d love to, David.” She looked at her Bible open before her. “‘Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden, but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die; for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.’”

“So, my brothers and sisters,” King replied as he made eye contact with every one at the table, “we come to it, don’t we? The Temptation of Man. We leave behind us on our journey along Route 66 a paradise, which God created, and now come to a place where we see how Man falls into sin. We see a relationship with a loving Creator broken. Now, we will be going through a lot of scripture to support our findings today, and I am only referring to these first five verses to begin with. I am certain we will be here for a little while. There is much to learn about the Temptation of Man, and there are several things alone in this chapter we will look at more closely. Some of those things are in this passage.” He put his hands together. “Shall we begin?”

“Absolutely!” Fuller agreed.

“Coitenly!” Fronk exclaimed, imitating Curly of the Three Stooges. “Nyuck, nyuck!”

King nodded. “Excellent. Now…the first thing we must take note of in this passage should be quite clear to us, for it is mentioned in the very first part of this passage.”

Staci sat up. “Well, that has to be the serpent.”

“You are correct. The Fall of Man was effected by the seductions of the serpent.”

“The Devil,” Barrington replied.

King nodded. “Yes, my brother. The material serpent was the instrument of a higher agent, Satan…or the Devil as you have said, to whom the sacred writers apply from this incident the reproachful name of the dragon, that old serpent.” He paused. “‘And he laid hold on the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.’ 1”

“Nice,” Lenox said with a nod. “I just love how prophecy gets thrown into our studies as we go along.”

“I assure you, there will be even more where that came from.”

Shiva held up his Bible proudly. “As long as it comes from this book, brother, then that’s all right with me.”

“Marc, I would like you to look up John 8:44. Staci, would you look up II Corinthians 11:3?”

Staci nodded, eagerly turning through the pages of her Bible in search for the verse.

“There is also I John 3:8...”

“I’ll take it,” Lenox declared.

King smiled. “…I Timothy 2:14...”

Barrington held up a hand. “I’ll take that one.”

“…And finally, Revelation 20:2.”

Fuller smiled. “Allow me.”

“Allowed, of course.” He turned to Shiva. “Marc…?”

Shiva nodded and read John 8:44. “‘Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own, for he is a liar and the father of it.’” He set his Bible down on the table before him. “The father of all liars.”

“Indeed,” King agreed with a nod. “And we clearly see evidence of these lies of the Devil in the opening verses of the third chapter in Genesis. Satan, through the serpent, is twisting what God says into a lie. He attempts here to get Eve to doubt God. He will do anything he can to make you believe something that isn’t true. Our only defense against him is God’s Word. It is the reason why we must study it, and meditate upon it. ‘Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against Thee. 2’ ‘Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 3’” He turned his head. “Staci…?”

Staci read II Corinthians 11:3. “‘But I fear lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.’”

“I really do like this verse.” King leaned forward. “The Corinthians were facing false apostles who were misleading them with the truth. Paul warned them not to listen to the lies for they were lies of subtlety. Lies of the Devil. Again, I say to you that Satan is crafty and will do anything to get people to stray away from the truth. He does not want anyone to come to Jesus.”

“I like this verse, David,” Lenox said. He then read I John 3:8. “‘He that committeth sin is of the devil, for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.’” He looked up. “Talk about a major victory. If this verse doesn’t encourage a believer to keep on going forward for the Lord, I don’t know what else will. Jesus has already won the victory. It’s only a matter of time before the Devil is thrown into the Lake of Fire.” He held up a hand. “Of course, I realize I’m getting ahead of the study, but this verse is just awesome. The Devil has lost, and so have all of his followers. It’s sad to know there are people out there who are going to follow a lie.”

“What was your verse, my brother?” King asked Barrington.

“I Timothy 2:14,” Barrington answered, “which says…‘And Adam was not deceived; but the woman, being deceived, was in the transgression.’ I’m sure this doesn’t erase the fact that Adam also partook of the forbidden fruit, because even though Eve listened to the Devil and disobeyed God, Adam soon followed.”

Erin smiled at him. “Yeah…you covered that up nicely.” She winked to show she was teasing.

King shook his head. “But that is the truth, Erin. Sin cannot be covered for God knows all and He sees all. No one can hide their sin from God even though many have tried. I think all of us have tried at one point in our lives. We’ve all done things we’re not proud of. We’ve done things we wish we could take back, but the only thing we can do is take our sins, and confess them to God who is faithful and just, and who will take those sins away from us. God is just a mighty, wonderful God who loves us deeply. We should praise Him for the things He has done for us.”

The group took a moment to sing songs of praises to the Creator and King of Kings.

After the singing, King said, “You have another verse for us, don’t you, Darren?”

Fuller read Revelation 20:2. “‘And he laid hold on the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.’”

Barrington raised a triumphant fist. “Prophecy!”

“This is like eating a really good meal,” Lenox said with a nod. “There’s nothing like it. And you just want to gobble the whole thing up. That just fills me completely and yet…I still want more.”

“I thought it would be discouraging to study about the Devil,” Staci replied. “But it isn’t because through God’s Word, we see how easily he is defeated.”

Fronk rubbed his hands together. “Yeah, and pretty soon, we’ll all see the Son of God kicking the Devil right in the old fork head.”

Erin looked at him, puzzled. “What are you talking about?”

“The old karate kick from the Lord.” Fronk tapped his forehead. “Right here.”

“Jesus doesn’t kick Satan.”

King couldn’t resist letting out a chuckle. “I know what he is talking about, Erin. We’ll get into that soon, but I assure you…it is a verse that is prophetical. It is also a picture and I can see where Crazy Man is getting the image of our Lord giving the Devil a Bruce Li kick to the head. Make no mistake, however…it is only a picture that shows to us how Jesus Christ defeats Satan by going to the cross for us.” He put his hands together. “But now as we get back to our study, let us consider the subtlety of the serpent. Serpents are proverbial for wisdom. ‘Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves. Be ye therefore wise as serpents and harmless as doves. 4’ But in creation, these serpents were at first probably far superior in beauty as compared to what they are in their present state.”

Erin nodded. “I’ve heard that before.”

“Does that have anything to do with the Devil choosing to enter into a serpent?” Staci wanted to know. “I mean…well, what else could he have entered? There was only Adam, Eve…and all of the animals God created.”

“Wow,” Shiva said, regarding Staci. “That is one good question, Doc. That does make one wonder why a serpent was used by Satan.”

“But it really isn’t even mentioned why a serpent was used,” Barrington pointed out.

King shrugged. “Perhaps it doesn’t matter. All we must consider is that the serpent was used and that God did allow for it to happen. This, of course, was a trial of sorts…one that Adam and Eve failed.”

Fuller shook his head. “It’s a sad thing for something so good to be questioned, isn’t it? God created everything and then…He wanted to see what Adam and Eve would do with it. I think He had to test them…to see if they would truly love Him enough to obey Him. We don’t always have that love, do we? In walks the Devil and he makes Eve doubt what God has told her.”

King nodded. “Satan also tried that on Jesus, but Jesus succeeded in revealing the lies of the Devil and refuting them with God’s Word. ‘And when the tempter came to Him, he said, If Thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But He answered and said, It is written: Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. 5’” He paused. “Do you see what we have here? Just a couple of things to note…We have the serpent who is more subtle, and we also have the woman, Eve. And we have the serpent questioning, ‘Yea, hath God said?’ So the serpent is more subtle, and he says to the woman, Eve, Has God really said this?”

“Why did the serpent…or the Devil, I mean…” Staci paused to gather her thoughts. “Why did Satan choose to attack Eve and not Adam?”

King held up a finger. “Ah, Staci…How do you know to ask such wonderful questions?”

“Well…because they’re just questions I have on my mind…soooo, I ask them.”

“Well, my sister, I do have an answer for you. Eve was the object of attack from Satan because he was aware of her frailty. He knew that she had only been on the world for a shorter time than Adam and had limited knowledge of the animals on the world. Adam would have been hard to convince to fall into direct disobedience with God because of his knowledge. That isn’t to say he couldn’t fall but only that he was stronger. Do you understand what I mean?”

Staci nodded. “I think so.”

Erin looked at King. “The Bible does say that the woman is the weaker vessel, doesn’t it?”

He nodded. “The first part of I Peter 3:7 does say, ‘Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with your wives with understanding, giving honor unto the wife as unto the weaker vessel…’ So the Devil attacked Eve because she was vulnerable and because she was alone. She was unfortified by the presence and counsel of her husband. Now, let us look at what the Devil did. We have mentioned it already a few times today.”

Fronk snapped his fingers. “He made Eve doubt God’s Word.”

“That’s exactly right. And how does he do this…?”

“Right off the bat,” Shiva began, “he says to Eve, has God said…? Eve was told something by God that was clear and right to the point. There should have been no question about it, but then, the old serpent comes along and asks Eve if she really heard what God was saying at all. So she begins to wonder.”

Fuller agreed with a nod. “It’s like the Devil said to Eve, Hey, is it really true that God has restricted you from taking of the fruit in this delightful place? That doesn’t sound like someone who is good and kind. Surely there has to be some mistake.”

“He insinuated a doubt,” King began, “as to her sense of the divine will and appeared as an angel of light. ‘And no marvel, for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. 6’ He offered to lead her to the true interpretation.”

Erin shook her head. “But it wasn’t true at all.”

“No, it wasn’t.”

Lenox paused in thought. “It seems to me that that it was evidently from her regarding him as specially sent on an errand, that, instead of being startled by the reptile's speaking, she received him as a heavenly messenger.”

Barrington nodded. “Yeah. Bottom line…she was deceived.”

“Now let’s look at what Eve’s response was,” King replied. “She tells the serpent that God had said ‘Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.' What did God really say?”

Everyone began to flip through their Bibles…just going back to the previous chapter. Barrington got there first. “Genesis 2:17 says, ‘but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it. For in the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die.’”

“What is the difference in those two statements?”

“Eve added that God told them not to touch it,” Shiva replied. “God said not to eat from it, but she added the part about touching it.”

“She added to it.” King nodded. “Why did she do that? In her answer, she told the serpent that God allowed them to go to all of the trees with the exception of one, declaring there was no doubt of the prohibition or penalty of this one tree. There may be reason to think she had received a harmful impression of this tree because she used the words, ‘lest ye die’, and God used the words, ‘Ye shall surely die.’ She spoke as if the tree had been forbidden because of some poisonous quality of its fruit. Possibly. Food for thought. At any rate, the tempter became bolder in his assertions, which brings us to the doubting. He says to Eve that, ‘Ye shall not surely die.’ He proceeded not only to assure her of perfect impunity, but promised great benefits from partaking of it.”

Lenox shrugged. “So it all sounded like one of those deals you just can’t pass up.”

“Precisely, my brother. He told her lies, which she believed. With the doubts he gave her, she began to give in and wanted to be on the very same level with God as he appeared to be. So with the temptation came the fall.”

Barrington read Genesis 3:6 - 7. “‘And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof and ate, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he ate. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves things to gird about.’”

“‘And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food…’” King repeated. “Her imagination and feelings were completely won over, but the fall of Eve was soon followed by the fall of Adam. The history of every temptation, and every sin, is the same. First there is the outward object of attraction followed by the inward commotion of the mind. Then, there is the increase and triumph of passionate desire. But it all ends in the degradation, slavery, and ruin of the soul. ‘Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin; and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. 7’ And… ‘For all that is in the world -- the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life -- is not of the Father, but is of the world. 8’”

“And man has fallen,” Shiva replied softly. He snapped his fingers. “Just like that.”

Fronk narrowed his eyes. “Are you going to tell us how heavy that is?”

“Well…it is heavy. It’s quite a lot to think about, isn’t it?”

Fuller nodded. “Yes, it is. Because it was the actions of our first parents that plunged all of mankind into spiritual darkness. What they did affected all of us. And it still affects us today.”

“There are consequences for every act,” Erin added.

“All because of a piece of fruit,” Staci commented.

King held up a finger. “Not necessarily, Staci. It wasn’t the fruit that was the cause of sin. Because from man’s perspective, Adam’s sin does not seem to be a very great sin. All he did was take a bite of some fruit. The sin, however, becomes serious in that the fruit was from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, of which God said that he was not to eat under penalty of death.”

“The sin was disobedience,” Barrington replied. “Adam and Eve disobeyed God.”

King nodded. “Up to this time, Adam was morally innocent. When he sinned, he by nature became a sinner, and as such, he died. He died spiritually, immediately, and he began to die physically. Adam was the first man ever to live on the face of the earth. From Adam and Eve came every other human being who ever has lived upon the face of the earth. So Adam is the ‘federal head’ from whom every other man comes from. Like begets like. Apples begets apples. Dogs beget dogs.”

Staci nodded. “Human beings beget human beings.”

“Right. But now…since Adam become a sinner before Eve conceived a child, every human being descended from him is a sinner just like him except for our Lord, Jesus Christ. Because of Adam’s sin, death entered into the human race. Romans 5:12 - 14. So every human needs to have the new life only Jesus can give.” He paused. “So, with the Temptation follows the Fall, and after the Fall comes…”

“The Judgment,” Lenox replied.

“Would you be kind enough to read the next passage, my brother?”

And Lenox read…

Lenox read Genesis 3:8 - 14. “‘And they heard the voice 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 amongst the trees of the garden. And the LORD God called unto Adam and said unto him, Where art thou? And he said, I heard Thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself. And He said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? And the man said, The woman whom Thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate. 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 ate. 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.’”

King held up a hand. “Now…I will stop you here because there is much to cover here. We will soon discover that this passage of scripture will take us right into the Covenant God made with Adam. However, this is about judgment. For something has occurred here. Does anyone know what that is?”

Erin nodded. “They heard the voice of the Lord God in the garden.”

King agreed. “Yes. The divine Being - God - appeared in the garden. But what did Adam and Eve do?”

“They hid,” Fronk replied. “They were ashamed and loaded with guilt because of what they had done.”

Staci smiled wryly. “Like David used to do when I caught him doing something he shouldn’t be doing. He would run and try to hide because he knew he was going to have to have time out.”

“Well, this is quite some time out,” Shiva said, leaning back. “Nothing tops getting timed out by God.”

Fuller set his coffee cup down on the table before him. “Adam and Eve were unique in this one thing, though. We know we’re sinners. We know our parents were sinners before us. But…Adam and Eve’s parent was just God. And God never sins, nor allows it in His presence. When they sinned, feelings to which they had been strangers to, disordered their minds and led them to shun God whose approach they used to welcome.”

“How foolish to think of eluding His notice,” King said, “when He sees everything.”

Barrington had done his own research while the Bible Study continued around him. Something had caught his attention and he found it in the Psalms, so he read it out loud. “‘O LORD, Thou hast searched me and known me. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising; Thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word on my tongue, but lo, O LORD, Thou knowest it altogether. Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid Thine hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it. Whither shall I go from Thy Spirit? Or whither shall I flee from Thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, Thou art there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, Thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there shall Thy hand lead me, and Thy right hand shall hold me. If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me, even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not from Thee, but the night shineth as the day; the darkness and the light are both alike to Thee.’ 9”

“Amen, brother!” King exclaimed. “You have got that right on the mark. Michael, when you read the passage to us, did you notice a trend?”

Lenox nodded. “Yeah. I noticed the Blame Game. Adam blamed God. Eve blamed the serpent. Neither one of them wanted to take responsibility for themselves.”

Staci frowned. “How do you know Adam blamed God for it?”

“Because he says to God, the woman you gave me…As if it was God’s fault because of what He gave to Adam.”

“Kinda like Bear giving you a hammer,” Fronk began, “and you use it, but while you’re hammering away, you bang your thumb. Then, you blame Bear because he’s the one who gave you the hammer.”

Lenox shook his head. “I wouldn’t blame Al for that.”

Fronk looked at him knowingly. “Don’t you see? Denial can be an ugly thing.”

King grinned. “At any rate, gentlemen…ladies…let’s go further into this study by looking at the judgments and the Adamic Covenant.”

“I believe we need to break this up into several sections,” King began as he referred to his notes. “We will see the judgments God gave to the woman, to the man, and to the serpent. Then, we will see how God provided a way to come back to Him.” He passed out five cards, which had passages of scripture from Genesis 3. He gave one to Fuller, Fronk, Shiva, Erin, and Staci. “Each of you read what you have beginning with verse 14.”

“Okay…looks like I’m first,” Fuller began.

King held up a hand. “Wait, my brother. I do have additional cards. Do you all recall what we did in the first two chapters…? How we looked at the comparisons between the Created World and the Eternal World?”

“Oh, I remember,” Staci said with a nod.

“Of course, you do, you silly doctor, you!” Fronk exclaimed. “That is because it was just so recent!” He held his hands up as if in supplication. “How can any of us possibly forget?”

She just looked at him.

King smiled wryly. “At any rate, there are an additional 8 comparisons, which we will find in Genesis chapter 3 and chapter 6. These verses will be compared with verses found in Revelation chapters 5, 20, 21, and 22.” He held up some index cards. “I will assign you these cards, and when we come to the verses in Genesis, we will begin our comparisons. Just like last time.” He passed out the cards. “Now…our first verse will be Genesis 3:15. So, Darren, when you read your verses, we will also do the comparisons.”

Fuller nodded. “Alright.” He looked at his card. “This should prove interesting.” He paused, then read Genesis 3:14 - 15. “‘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: 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.’”

Fronk pointed at him. “Sounds to me like Jesus gives the Devil an old karate kick to the head. Boot to the head!”

King grinned. “We will get into that, my brother. Be patient.”

“Patience--”

“Is a virtue,” Erin interrupted, “which you do not possess.”

Fronk looked at her.

“Now…” King began, “having read Genesis 3:15, Darren, you have also begun this next part of our study on comparisons. The last time, the comparisons were on the Created World and the Eternal World. This time, the 8 comparisons we have are on the Cursed World and the Redeemed World.”

Barrington nodded thoughtfully. “Oh, this is going to be good. No matter how you look at it, it all comes down to the Lord Jesus Christ because He alone can redeem a cursed world.”

King nodded. “That’s exactly correct. Now we will talk briefly about two of those comparisons now. Darren just read to us Genesis 3:15. Who has the compared verses to Genesis 3:15?”

The group looked through their cards.

“I’ve got one of them,” Shiva said, holding up his card. “Revelation 20:10.”

“Anyone else?” King paused. Then, he looked at his own cards. “Ah, yes. I have the other one. Now…I shall read what I have, which is Revelation 5:9 and 10.” He read the verses out loud. “‘And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.’” He looked at the others. “So in comparison of the Cursed World to the Redeemed World, what do we have?”

There was a pause as the others thought about it.

“Well, in the Cursed World,” Lenox began, “Genesis 3:15 promised a Redeemer. In the verses you read from Revelation, that redemption through the Redeemer has been accomplished.”

King nodded. “Yes…and then…Marc? What is your comparison?”

Shiva read Revelation 20:10. “‘And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.’” He looked up from his Bible. “So the comparison, then, is this…In the Cursed World, the Devil is in opposition, and in this Redeemed World of which I cannot wait to see Satan is banished.”

“Halleluiah!” Staci exclaimed. “I can’t wait to see that world either!”

“Amen to that,” Barrington agreed.

King smiled. “So with our first two comparisons out of the way, let us continue. Who has the next part of the passage Darren started?”

Erin raised her hand. “I do.”

King nodded encouragingly. “Please continue…”

Erin read Genesis 3:16. “‘Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.’”

“That one is hard,” Staci said softly. “My ex-husband was a brute. The only good from him was David.” She looked at the others. “Sorry…Just some bad memories come to me from that verse. I know it’s the Bible, but it’s one of those things that is so hard to understand because the man I married at the time was not a man of God by any means. He gave me more sorrow than when David was born. If it wasn’t for David, I’d probably still be with Ron, living in fear.”

Lenox narrowed his eyes. “I have yet to meet this man.”

“God gave you David, Staci,” King replied. “He also gave you His Word, which you now live by. Divorce is not my area of expertise, but there were cases in the Bible where it was acceptable. Ron apparently did not allow you to have self-worth. But you belong to God. You are His child and He loves you. You have worth. Regardless of how he made you feel and what he used to tell you, God says you have worth because of Christ who lives within you. That’s what counts!”

“Amen, brother,” Barrington agreed.

“Staci, you are capable. With the Holy Spirit living inside of you, you have the power to accomplish whatever God calls you to do. I have to say God gave David to you so that you would one day be strong enough to say enough and leave a situation God was not in. God led you right where you are today.”

Staci’s eyes filled with tears. “Thank you, David.”

“Oh, no, Staci. Do not thank me. It is God who receives the thanks.”

Staci took a deep breath and smiled hesitantly as she wiped at her eyes. “Sorry.”

“No apology is necessary.”

Lenox put his arm around Staci for support.

Staci cleared her throat. “I have, uhm…the next portion here…and I really hope it doesn‘t cause me to remember something else from my past.” She read Genesis 3:17 - 19. “‘And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.’”

King smiled. “The judgment to woman, and the judgment to man. Not only have we come to the judgment to woman and man, but we are also at our third and fourth comparisons. Staci read verses 17 and 19. Let‘s deal with 17 first.”

Lenox held up a card. “Well, David, I have Revelation 21:4, which says, ‘And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.’ I can see where this is going.”

Staci nodded. “So can I.”

Lenox smiled at her. “Then, go ahead.”

“The Cursed World, if I’m seeing this right, had continuous sorrow on a daily basis. But in the Redeemed World, there is absolutely no sorrow at all. And I think that is so wonderful! I really don’t like to be full of sorrow, but down here, it is so easy to fall into it and just…just wallow in self pity.”

“Just for a little time further, my sister,” King encouraged. “We’ll get there. What is the next comparison?”

Barrington held up a card. “Revelation 22:3 says, ‘And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him…’ This, to me, is another no brainer, as the saying goes.”

Lenox shook his head. “I hate that terminology. It’s like that ungodly Hyundai commercials back in the day. Do you remember those? How un-American and unchristian they were? The so-called big Duh events.”

Fronk nodded his head. “Oh, yeah. Just don’t ever buy a Hyundai.”

“Oh, no problem there. That never happened.”

Staci frowned. “Why are you complaining against Hyundai?”

Barrington laughed. “Michael believes that Hyundai is completely Anti-American because their ads seemed to call Americans stupid if they didn’t buy their vehicles. He also calls them Anti-Christian because one of their Big Duh Event ads had the choir worshipping a Hyundai rather than the Creator.”

Fuller snorted. “Sounds like a very good reason not to get a Hyundai to me.”

King held up a hand. “Before we continue to get off this subject…Al, what is the comparison you found?”

Barrington nodded. “Right…Anyway, in the Cursed World, according to verse 17 that Staci read to us, the ground is cursed. But in the Redeemed World, that curse is no more.”

“Amen. Before Michael gets a chance to go on about Hyundai, let’s continue with our study. What of the comparison to Genesis 3:19, which Staci read to us?”

“I can give the comparison, David,” Erin replied. “The fifth comparison is found in Revelation 21:4. I really love this comparison because this is just a huge victory for all who place their trust in Christ. Albert already read the verse, but I can give the comparison. In the Cursed World, there is death. Mortal man returns to the dust. But in the Redeemed world, there is no more death.”

“Amen to that, sister,” Shiva replied with a smile. “If that isn’t heavy, I don’t know what is. Because if you really give that a lot of thought, you can just see the stone being rolled away and Jesus rising victoriously from death, defeating it once and for all.”

Lenox grinned. “You’re both right. That is Victory with a capital V.”

King agreed with a nod. Then he referred to his notes. "Now…who is next?”

Shiva raised a hand. “I am. I have Genesis 3:20 and 21, which says, ‘And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living. Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.’”

Fronk looked at King. “I know how you are with being one of those sticklers of time, my good man, so I shall just jump right in here and conclude the third chapter of Genesis by reading verses 22 through 24.” He loudly cleared his throat. “‘And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.’” He paused. “Now that chapter certainly does end with a feeling of finality to it, doesn’t it?”

“Yes,” King agreed, “but it is only the beginning.” He paused. “This is going to be quite extensive. But before we continue, William has just read to us Genesis 3:24. Two more of our comparisons are found in this verse. What are they?”

Fuller cleared his throat. “I can answer both of them, but will only respond with one of them so I can give someone else a chance to answer.”

Lenox grinned. “Why, thank you. That is so kind of you, since I also have one of those responses.”

“Then, let me just start by giving Revelation 21:9. ‘And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife.’ The comparison is this…the Cherubim is guarding the Garden of Eden in the Cursed World.”

Fronk slapped his hands onto the table loudly, causing everyone to jump. Then, he exclaimed, “And in the Redeemed World, my friends, the angels are inviting! There is no need to guard anything! Wahoo!!”

Fuller looked at him.

Fronk swallowed. “Sorry, Skipper. You were just a tad bit too slow with your, ah, response.”

Lenox chuckled. “Yeah, Todd. Be quick. Listen to this response from Revelation 22:14. ‘Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.’ That being said, in the Cursed World, man is kept from the tree of life. But in the Redeemed World--”

Fronk again smacked the table with a resounding thud.

Erin jumped. “Will you stop that?”

But Fronk exclaimed, “-- There will be access to the tree of life for all!”

“Not so quick as you thought,” Barrington replied with a chuckle, “are you, Michael?”

Lenox just looked at him.

King tried not to smile. “With only one more comparison to go, let’s move on until we come to chapter 6. Now…We come to the Adamic Covenant, and have just read about the judgments God has given to the man, the woman, and the serpent. Now this covenant with Adam is the second general or universal covenant we find.”

“What was the first?” Staci asked. “I know we went over it somewhere…I just can’t find it in my notes.”

“It was the Edenic Covenant,” Barrington told her.

“Thank you.”

King paused. “The Adamic Covenant could be called the covenant with mankind, for it sets forth the conditions which will hold sway until the curse is lifted. We can find scripture that supports this…Michael, please take Isaiah 11:6 - 10, and, Al, please read Romans 8:18 - 23.”

Lenox found his place in Isaiah and read 11:6 - 10. “‘The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea. And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.’”

Barrington grinned. “That’s also prophecy on how the world will be one day.” Then, he read, Romans 8:18 - 23. “‘For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.’”

Lenox nodded. “Again, prophecy. This is all going to happen, and soon.”

“Soon for God,” Fronk pointed out. “We all know how impatient we are. God, however, does not see time as we do. So soon for Him is like right now…and right now…and even right at this very second…and this one, too. But for us, it’s ‘Man, I want my cake and I mean like right now!’”

“Are you done?” Erin asked. “Have you taken your medication? You’re starting to freak me out.”

Fronk folded his hands before him. “I’m done…for now.” He nodded to King. “Tell us, my brother, about this covenant. The Adamic Covenant.” He grinned. “Erin’s getting a little impatient.”

Erin shot him a look.

King grinned, knowing the two were just teasing each other. “Well, if you can behave, I’ll go on with the study.” He paused. “Alright, the Adamic Covenant. According to this covenant, there are conditions which prevail, and we’re going to go over them. There are nine such conditions. The first one is this…The serpent, the tool used by Satan to effect the fall of man, is cursed. The curse not only affects the instrument, the serpent, but also the indwelling energizer, Satan.”

Fronk raised his eyebrows. “Does that mean the energizer bunny is possessed by a battery?”

Fuller looked at him. “William…”

“Sorry.”

“I would like to know what happens to the serpent,” Staci said.

King smiled at her. “That is where we are getting to. Great physical changes took place in the serpent. What do you think happened to it?”

“Well, apparently it was once upright because God’s curse caused it to crawl on its belly.”

“It is said that it was the most desirable animal of the animal creation, but now it is the most loathsome. The sight or even thought of a snake should be an effective reminder of the devastating effects of sin.”

“Snakes.” Fuller shuddered. “I hate snakes.”

“Okay, Indy,” Fronk replied, rolling his eyes.

“Passing the first condition,” King continued, “we come to the second, which is… Satan is judged. He will enjoy limited success, but ultimately he will be judged, as we have read from verse 15 of Genesis 3. That leads us into the third condition.”

Lenox nodded. “The third condition has to do with prophecy, doesn’t it? It’s the first prophecy recorded in the Bible of the coming of the Messiah.”

King nodded. “It is.” He then said, “The fourth condition is that there will be a multiplication of conception, necessitated by the introduction of death into the human race.”

“Does that mean some kind of baby boom?” Erin asked.

“The world does seem to become quite overpopulated, doesn’t it?” He paused. “Condition five is that there will be pain in childbirth, and going along with that is the sixth condition. The woman is made subject unto her husband.” He looked at Staci. “We spoke of this earlier. What other conditions are there? I mentioned six of them and should have given you all a chance to tell me what you think.”

Fuller leaned back in his chair. “The ground becomes cursed as well, and it brings forth weeds among the food, which man must eat for his existence. That is number seven, but eight follows right along with it. Physical changes take place in man. He will perspire when he works. He will now have to work all of his long life.” He paused. “In retrospect, life truly isn’t as long as we would like to think. As William mentioned earlier, time is different in God’s eyes. It doesn’t pass the same for us as it does for Him.”

Fronk blinked. “Wow…I had a point?”

“Do you know the ninth condition?”

“Sure, I do.”

“Then, let us all in on what it is.”

Fronk nodded. “Why, coitenly! Nyuck, nyuck.” He paused. “Man dies spiritually.”

Shiva chuckled. “He is paying attention, Todd.”

Fuller just grinned.

King spoke up before Fronk could respond. “Nicely done, William. You are absolutely correct about the ninth condition. In sinning, man dies spiritually, and ultimately will die physically. His flesh will decay until it returns to dust from which it was originally taken.” He sat forward, placing his hands together as he regarded the group before him. “Now, we are almost done with Genesis 3. There are just two points for us to cover and then, we shall move into Genesis 4. We are going to look at two verses from Genesis 3 very closely. Genesis 3:19...and then Genesis 3:15.”

Fronk clapped his hands. “Oh, goody! Boot to the head!”

King held up a hand. “Down, William. Easy.” He paused. “Now we just went over the conditions of the Adamic Covenant. To conclude chapter 3, let’s talk about the first prophecy recorded in the Bible.”

King smiled at Fronk. “My brother, please read Genesis 3:15.”

Fronk sat up straight and rubbed his hands together. “Boot to the head!” he exclaimed. Then, he read Genesis 3:15. “‘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.’”

“Try to picture what may very well have been the single worst moment in the history of the human race.” King paused for affect. “Adam and his wife, Eve, standing outside the gorgeous Garden of Eden. Banished. An angel with a flaming sword guaranteed they would never again experience the intimate walks and talks with God, the thornless ground, or the delicious fruit from the tree of life. Forever gone were the blissful feelings of joy and security they had felt in the Garden of Eden. In their place, Adam and Eve felt only nagging, haunting emotions of guilt, fear, and shame.”

“Sounds like paradise lost,” Fuller commented.

“Indeed. But why?”

“Because by a single act of rebellion against God, Adam and Eve had declared their independence. They had done more than merely eat a piece of forbidden fruit. At a deeper level, they had defied the clear-cut command of their Maker.” Fuller paused to look at each of the Gatherers in the study group. “They had listened to the seductive voice of the tempter and succumbed to their own pride. They had overtly challenged the right of the Almighty God to guide and direct their lives, exercising authority and power over their own lives.”

Shiva nodded in agreement. “That’s good, brother. The consequences of what they had done were catastrophic. Because of their actions, we are a cursed race. We have death, sorrow, and a life of pain and regret.”

“But at some point,” Staci began, “Adam and Eve must have taken one last look at Eden, then turned away. Were they quiet? Who spoke first? Did they blame each other? Or did they fall into each other’s arms, weeping because of what they had done?”

“Oh, I’m sure they must have had some reflection on what they did,” Barrington said. “How can you not? They must have been burdened with guilt. They must have realized what they had lost.”

“Well,” King began, “let us suppose there was quite a bit of reflection on their part. As they reflect on the terrible, final moments in the Garden, they must have thought of the sorrow in God’s voice when He had called out, ‘Where are you?’ And the puzzling curse on the serpent must have kept running through their minds. According to God, the serpent would inflict yet more pain and suffering on the human race, but in the end he would be crushed by the Seed of Eve. It was a small ray of hope, a glimmer of a promise that Paradise would not remain lost forever, a promise of a Deliverer and Savior - fulfilled in Jesus Christ.”

Fuller smiled. “‘Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator. Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one. Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law. But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe. But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. 10”

“And God’s people said…” King replied with a smile.

The group resounded with a heartfelt “Amen!”

Lenox said, “Maybe they also recalled the gentle way the Lord had graciously provided them with clothes just before their departure. Now that is quite a hint at God’s love. A glimpse of His mercy. I thank Him for His mercy, because He was merciful to me.”

Staci smiled at him. “I think it must have become clear to them that the loss in Eden was as much God’s as theirs.”

Barrington agreed. “The more they reflected, the more they must have become convinced that God wanted to restore them to Himself. The long wait for God’s promised salvation had begun…right there in Genesis 3.”

King leaned forward. “Today, unlike Adam and Eve, we don’t have to wait. The day of salvation is already here. ‘(For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.) 11’ Jesus has already come to save us from our sins. If you believe in Him, you can be reconciled to your Creator today and can look forward to living with Him in Paradise. ‘For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 12’ ‘He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.’ 13”

1 - Revelation 20:2
2 - Psalm 119:11
3 - James 4:7
4 - Matthew 10:16
5 - Matthew 4:3 - 4
6 - II Corinthians 11:14
7 - James 1:15
8 - I John 2:16
9 - Psalms 139
10 - Galations 3:16, 19 - 26
11 - II Corinthians 6:2
12 - John 3:16
13 - Revelation 2:7