When Man Fell, the Rest of the World Fell Also
Man fell and so did Creation with Him.
It wasn't just man that fell into the curse of sin. All of Creation was affected. This includes the earth itself and the rest of all living things. Start with the creation of man:
Genesis 1:26
26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
Adam was the President and CEO of the world:
Adam (with his wife) was the President and CEO of creation and the Garden of Eden. Since he was in charge of everything, he could be compared with the responsibility that a President and/or CEO has when in charge of a company today (Creation Company LLC?).
The man was given charge and the command was given how to manage:
Genesis 2:15-17
15 Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 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.”
Here follows the account of his mishandling of the Creation Company LLC:
Genesis 3:1-13
The Fall
Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” 4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when 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, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.
8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” 11 He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” 12 The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
When did sin start?
Romans 5:12-14
Death in Adam, Life in Christ
12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned— 13 for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. 14 Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.
When a President/CEO in charge of a company today is to blame for its downfall, that officer in charge is usually ousted:
Genesis 3:22-24
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.
Let us remember that God, in Genesis 1, previously declared the creation as very good (perfect) at day six:
Genesis 1:31
31 Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
Adam wasn't off the hook yet. He was already scheduled to die and was kicked out of the Garden of Eden. The process of dying (and entropy) started for both he and Eve as soon as they had disobeyed. Now follows more problems.
Adam lost all his perks, stocks, retirement and insurance benefits and had to join the work force.
Seriously, the curses were applied to the ground along with the rest of a once perfect creation (or very good – tov m’od in Hebrew):
Genesis 3:16-19
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.
18 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.”
The following verses tell us that the once perfect creation was corrupted by the fall of man:
Romans 8:19-22
19 For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; 21 because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now.
If you have been following what happened to Adam and Eve up to this point, it should become obvious that Adam once had the “whole world in his hands” as well as the perfect Garden of Eden (the whole world was perfect). Look at the following verses:
Matthew 16:26
26 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?
Mark 8:36
36 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?
Luke 9:25
25 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost?
It is interesting what Jesus said in those three previous passages about gaining the whole world and losing the soul in the process. Adam had gained (was given) the whole world and blew it through disobedience. These verses are used as an illustration of man’s will. Each of us wants to become our own god in the sense of total control of our own circumstances and lives. We want to silence God, our Creator, in the process. That is the real reason for the disobedience of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden in the first place. That was the fall of man and all of creation fell with them.
The Gospel in the Garden
We are told that Adam’s and Eve’s sins were forgiven.
We strongly believe it is possible that Adam and Eve didn't lose their souls and should have understood the redemption offered in Genesis 3:15 when God was talking to Satan:
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.”
God provided the first animal sacrifice and sin covering for both Adam and Eve.
According to the following verse, this is the first mention of the death of an animal:
Genesis 3:21
21 Also for Adam and his wife the Lord God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.
Sure, the skins provided a cover for their nakedness but there is more to it than just to cover their nakedness. This is the symbolic act of God sacrificing an innocent animal where blood was shed and placing the skin over the naked human body to hide the shame of sin. Jesus will be the sacrificial offering on the cross with His own blood shed some 4000 years later.
Note that Eve still recognized God as the creator:
Genesis 4:1
4 Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, and said, “I have acquired a man from the Lord.”
Many have tried to conquer the world since the fall of man:
How many have tried to conquer the world through violent and subversive means since the fall of man? Those who have attempted a total conquest of the world always have lost and are suffering eternal consequences. Remember, Adam was given total dominion over all of God’s Perfect Creation. Also he didn't try to start a war to take it back (leave that to Satan).
Many would think that those who want to conquer the whole world should go to hell, and is it very possible that all if not most have gone to hell. There is nothing in the scriptures that indicate a person goes to hell for bad things they have done in life. This would include the atrocities of all the dictators who have caused war, destruction, holocausts and genocide. Going to hell is not conditioned on our bad works or good works. Our salvation and eternal destinies are conditioned on the fact of the Sacrifice of Jesus on the cross and our acceptance and belief of it. We receive salvation when we repent of our sins and repentance means to turn away from sin. Through confession of and turning away from our sins, we have to receive a new nature and become a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). Our sins are forgiven when we are redeemed by the Blood of Jesus on the Cross. Each of us needs to turn over our lives to Him through faith and then we will receive eternal salvation.
You cannot earn or work your way to Heaven:
Ephesians 2:8-9
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
What usually happens to all those world conquerors?
As to those who attempt to conquer the entire world, they most likely never repent and put their trust into the Lord Jesus. Let us explore a scenario. Suppose that a person tries to be a world conqueror and somehow decided to suddenly accept Jesus as Savior. The evidence we would observe is that we would see a change in that person through a turning away from his or her sinful activities. That person would have to repent of all sins, ask for forgiveness and then believe in and accept Jesus. The eternal consequences for world conquerors who repent should be in the form of loss of rewards while in Heaven – not the loss of their souls where they would spend eternity in hell. That is incredible to believe that those who have committed atrocities while on earth have the same chance as anyone else, but that is how it is stated in the Bible.
Understand that once we receive Jesus as our savior, our names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life never to be taken out. This does not mean we will stop sinning. That will occur only when we are in the Presence of the Lord.
The following verses from Jesus Himself show the simplicity of the Gospel:
John 3:16-17
For God So Loved the World
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
John 5:24
24 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.
The only thing keeping a person out of hell when they die is for that person to simply accept Jesus through faith and repentance of sins into their lives. That’s all! The Gospel is not based on what we do to gain acceptance or entrance into Heaven!
This verse reveals what happens to those who did not accept Jesus as Savior:
Matthew 25:41
41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
The eternal fire from Matthew 25:41 is the lake of fire:
Revelation 20:15
15 And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
Now read on for the good stuff.
Now how about the promise of our future in Christ?
God is in control of the world today and has been since creation. A couple of verses from Revelation that describe the end time reveal that God will still have total control of the entire world and that we will share in His rule:
Revelation 22:1-5
The River of Life
And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. 2 In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3 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. 4 They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. 5 There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever.
This verse that follows refers to the Millennium Kingdom of one thousand years after the Tribulation Period:
Revelation 20:6
6 Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.
A message to all who would like to conquer the world (this is the same message to all - not just dictators):
Become a Christian and a believer through faith in Jesus Christ, repent of all wrongdoing, cease from all sin, go to Heaven with Him, and then inherit God’s Creation in an absolutely Perfect World Forever just like it was originally created in Genesis!
No one need conquer the world - just wait to inherit it in Heaven!
Are you listening out there?
Matthew 25:34
34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
Final Note:
Matthew 25:34 says the kingdom is prepared from the foundation of the world. That was part of God’s plan of creation also!
It wasn't just man that fell into the curse of sin. All of Creation was affected. This includes the earth itself and the rest of all living things. Start with the creation of man:
Genesis 1:26
26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
Adam was the President and CEO of the world:
Adam (with his wife) was the President and CEO of creation and the Garden of Eden. Since he was in charge of everything, he could be compared with the responsibility that a President and/or CEO has when in charge of a company today (Creation Company LLC?).
The man was given charge and the command was given how to manage:
Genesis 2:15-17
15 Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 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.”
Here follows the account of his mishandling of the Creation Company LLC:
Genesis 3:1-13
The Fall
Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” 4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when 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, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.
8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” 11 He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” 12 The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
When did sin start?
Romans 5:12-14
Death in Adam, Life in Christ
12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned— 13 for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. 14 Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.
When a President/CEO in charge of a company today is to blame for its downfall, that officer in charge is usually ousted:
Genesis 3:22-24
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.
Let us remember that God, in Genesis 1, previously declared the creation as very good (perfect) at day six:
Genesis 1:31
31 Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
Adam wasn't off the hook yet. He was already scheduled to die and was kicked out of the Garden of Eden. The process of dying (and entropy) started for both he and Eve as soon as they had disobeyed. Now follows more problems.
Adam lost all his perks, stocks, retirement and insurance benefits and had to join the work force.
Seriously, the curses were applied to the ground along with the rest of a once perfect creation (or very good – tov m’od in Hebrew):
Genesis 3:16-19
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.
18 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.”
The following verses tell us that the once perfect creation was corrupted by the fall of man:
Romans 8:19-22
19 For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; 21 because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now.
If you have been following what happened to Adam and Eve up to this point, it should become obvious that Adam once had the “whole world in his hands” as well as the perfect Garden of Eden (the whole world was perfect). Look at the following verses:
Matthew 16:26
26 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?
Mark 8:36
36 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?
Luke 9:25
25 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost?
It is interesting what Jesus said in those three previous passages about gaining the whole world and losing the soul in the process. Adam had gained (was given) the whole world and blew it through disobedience. These verses are used as an illustration of man’s will. Each of us wants to become our own god in the sense of total control of our own circumstances and lives. We want to silence God, our Creator, in the process. That is the real reason for the disobedience of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden in the first place. That was the fall of man and all of creation fell with them.
The Gospel in the Garden
We are told that Adam’s and Eve’s sins were forgiven.
We strongly believe it is possible that Adam and Eve didn't lose their souls and should have understood the redemption offered in Genesis 3:15 when God was talking to Satan:
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.”
God provided the first animal sacrifice and sin covering for both Adam and Eve.
According to the following verse, this is the first mention of the death of an animal:
Genesis 3:21
21 Also for Adam and his wife the Lord God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.
Sure, the skins provided a cover for their nakedness but there is more to it than just to cover their nakedness. This is the symbolic act of God sacrificing an innocent animal where blood was shed and placing the skin over the naked human body to hide the shame of sin. Jesus will be the sacrificial offering on the cross with His own blood shed some 4000 years later.
Note that Eve still recognized God as the creator:
Genesis 4:1
4 Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, and said, “I have acquired a man from the Lord.”
Many have tried to conquer the world since the fall of man:
How many have tried to conquer the world through violent and subversive means since the fall of man? Those who have attempted a total conquest of the world always have lost and are suffering eternal consequences. Remember, Adam was given total dominion over all of God’s Perfect Creation. Also he didn't try to start a war to take it back (leave that to Satan).
Many would think that those who want to conquer the whole world should go to hell, and is it very possible that all if not most have gone to hell. There is nothing in the scriptures that indicate a person goes to hell for bad things they have done in life. This would include the atrocities of all the dictators who have caused war, destruction, holocausts and genocide. Going to hell is not conditioned on our bad works or good works. Our salvation and eternal destinies are conditioned on the fact of the Sacrifice of Jesus on the cross and our acceptance and belief of it. We receive salvation when we repent of our sins and repentance means to turn away from sin. Through confession of and turning away from our sins, we have to receive a new nature and become a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). Our sins are forgiven when we are redeemed by the Blood of Jesus on the Cross. Each of us needs to turn over our lives to Him through faith and then we will receive eternal salvation.
You cannot earn or work your way to Heaven:
Ephesians 2:8-9
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
What usually happens to all those world conquerors?
As to those who attempt to conquer the entire world, they most likely never repent and put their trust into the Lord Jesus. Let us explore a scenario. Suppose that a person tries to be a world conqueror and somehow decided to suddenly accept Jesus as Savior. The evidence we would observe is that we would see a change in that person through a turning away from his or her sinful activities. That person would have to repent of all sins, ask for forgiveness and then believe in and accept Jesus. The eternal consequences for world conquerors who repent should be in the form of loss of rewards while in Heaven – not the loss of their souls where they would spend eternity in hell. That is incredible to believe that those who have committed atrocities while on earth have the same chance as anyone else, but that is how it is stated in the Bible.
Understand that once we receive Jesus as our savior, our names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life never to be taken out. This does not mean we will stop sinning. That will occur only when we are in the Presence of the Lord.
The following verses from Jesus Himself show the simplicity of the Gospel:
John 3:16-17
For God So Loved the World
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
John 5:24
24 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.
The only thing keeping a person out of hell when they die is for that person to simply accept Jesus through faith and repentance of sins into their lives. That’s all! The Gospel is not based on what we do to gain acceptance or entrance into Heaven!
This verse reveals what happens to those who did not accept Jesus as Savior:
Matthew 25:41
41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
The eternal fire from Matthew 25:41 is the lake of fire:
Revelation 20:15
15 And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
Now read on for the good stuff.
Now how about the promise of our future in Christ?
God is in control of the world today and has been since creation. A couple of verses from Revelation that describe the end time reveal that God will still have total control of the entire world and that we will share in His rule:
Revelation 22:1-5
The River of Life
And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. 2 In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3 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. 4 They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. 5 There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever.
This verse that follows refers to the Millennium Kingdom of one thousand years after the Tribulation Period:
Revelation 20:6
6 Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.
A message to all who would like to conquer the world (this is the same message to all - not just dictators):
Become a Christian and a believer through faith in Jesus Christ, repent of all wrongdoing, cease from all sin, go to Heaven with Him, and then inherit God’s Creation in an absolutely Perfect World Forever just like it was originally created in Genesis!
No one need conquer the world - just wait to inherit it in Heaven!
Are you listening out there?
Matthew 25:34
34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
Final Note:
Matthew 25:34 says the kingdom is prepared from the foundation of the world. That was part of God’s plan of creation also!