Buchart Gardens in Victoria, British Columbia
Why Follow the Devil out of the Garden?
I am using the word “follow” to mean to “follow the way of the Devil.” I am presenting this metaphorically to present my thoughts on the matter. That doesn't mean that any of the characters I am presenting physically followed Satan out of the Garden of Eden or that he left first.
How did it all start?
The world was originally created perfect and that meant that man was originally perfect (Genesis 1&2). Man failed to pass God’s test of obedience when He took of the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (Genesis 3). Eve was deceived by the Serpent (the Devil) and ate of the fruit and gave it to her husband Adam and he ate also
(see 2 Corinthians 11:3 and Romans 5:12). Now man was to die and not live forever on this earth – not so perfect anymore!
In Genesis 3 – “How many committed sin in the Garden of Eden?”
We have three characters in the Garden of Eden who committed sin; the Devil (the Serpent), Eve and then Adam in that order. According to Genesis 3:22-24 man was expelled from the Garden to never return (while on earth). Satan a.k.a. the Devil was defeated in the Garden (Genesis 3:14-15). He was to roam the earth (Job 1:6-7) and deceive mankind (Revelation 12:9).
God provided salvation to Adam and Eve in the form of the death of an innocent animal (or animals). God covered the sins of Adam and Eve by using the animal skins to clothe them. There was no other death until God killed the first animal(s) – never – not until sin entered the world – not before! This covering of sin is called the Gospel in the Garden. It is called the first offering through shed blood. Offerings were to be given up to God by the Jews throughout Old Testament Biblical history and these were in the form of a burnt offering using an innocent animal. Read about Noah and his burnt offering in Genesis 8:20-22. This sin offering finally culminated in the sacrifice Jesus Christ made of Himself on the Cross and His Spilt Blood and this is the last sacrifice ever needed (Hebrews 10:10). Interestingly, there is a Church in St. Petersburg, Russia sometimes called “The Church of Our Savior on Spilled Blood” or “Church on Spilt Blood.” The real name is “Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ.” I was there and saw it.
To sum it up Jesus is to destroy Satan in the end (Revelation 20:10) and we who will abide with Him will be winners!
What about the descendants of Adam and Eve?
When we explore Genesis 4, we discover that Eve bore Cain, their first child. She also gave birth to a second son named Abel. Both Cain and Abel brought offerings to God. Abel, a shepherd (Animal Husbandry) gave from his flocks and Cain, a farmer (Agriculturalist), brought the fruit of the ground. God rejected Cain’s offering and accepted Abel’s. Cain and Abel apparently may have gotten into a serious argument and Cain killed Abel (the first recorded murder). Cain killed his brother in a fit of jealous prideful rage. It would appear that Adam and Eve had trained their first two sons in the practice of giving offerings to God and it would also appear that both Cain and Abel had knowledge of why they needed to make an offering. Cain must have disregarded the proper kind of offering by giving from the cursed ground instead of an innocent animal (see Genesis 3:17-19 for the ground being originally cursed after Adam's part of his sin). It would appear that Cain's heart was not right because of what he did by ultimately killing his brother. Abel understood the real reason for his offering.
Now what do we have? at this point we see that Adam’s, Eve’s and Abel’s sins were forgiven and we should expect to see them in Heaven one day. Hebrews 11:4 tells us that Abel was acceptable to God. But what happened to Cain? 1 John 3:12 tells us that Cain was of the evil one (Devil). All if not most of his descendants should have also perished in the Global Flood (Genesis 6-9). See the genealogy of Cain recorded in Genesis 4:17-24 and you will discover how evil his line was. Jude 1:3-16 mentions that false teachers follow the way of Cain (verse 11). The Scriptures also indicate that Cain must have gone to eternal punishment after his death. In Genesis 4:16 Cain was separated from his Creator God.
Adam and Eve had a third son that replaced their loss of Abel. His name was Seth and he not only was a physical replacement for their lost child, he also replaced the lost righteous lineage that should have been Abel’s to start with (Genesis 4:25-26).
Which of the descendants of Adam and Eve “Followed the Devil” out of the Garden?
At this point, we have only looked at Adam and Eve and their first three children. The total that “Followed the Devil” including the parents is one out of five. Only Cain their first was lost when he “Followed the Devil out of the Garden.” That sounds like a reasonable percentage for Adam and Eve (if you don’t cringe and feel sorrow over the eternal loss of Cain). Eighty percent not lost sounds good (why not 100%?), but was it always that way from that time on? Not hardly! You have to study the rest of what Scripture reveals to obtain a feeling of how many became lost over the recorded time frame of the Bible, especially before the Global Flood. See my articles posted on this website called “The Account of the Fall of Man” and “When Man Fell, the Rest of the World Fell Also.” If you have studied World History in school it should be apparent how much evil, injustice and rebellion against God and his fellowmen man has committed. Many (I would think most) have totally ignored the Scriptures and have gone their own way. That’s why we have whole lost civilizations, especially after the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11). Refer to my other website www.knowyourtrueorigins.com for discussions on the Tower of Babel. So it looks like this 80% success figure that Adam and Eve initially experienced early on in their family has not held up very well since the beginning (they had other sons and daughters). When you read the words of Jesus in Matthew 7:13-14 you get the immediate impression that the percentage of those lost is high (very high).
** The discussion of Adam, Eve, Abel and Seth having their sins forgiven and covered by an animal sacrifice doesn't mean they suddenly and magically stopped sinning and returned to physical perfection. They were under the curse of physical death and so are we today. That has to be made perfectly clear! That means they accepted the offering that God gave and were pardoned. Throughout history all have had the same chance to accept forgiveness and pardon for sins and to live for the hope of spending eternity in Heaven. We are looking to spend eternity with the Son of God, Jesus Christ, and that includes all believers from all history. Today we have to accept that same sacrifice offering except that it is through Jesus Christ and that He finished it on the Cross (no more animal sacrifices). He is the final perfect sacrifice for mankind. All those that lived before Jesus came to earth around 2000 years ago were looking forward to a Savior of mankind and we are looking backward to the Savior. I hope you read the Gospel in the Garden reference I gave you.**
What is The “Way of the Devil”?
Those that “Follow the Way of the Devil” are basically copying what he did in tempting Adam and Eve to sin against themselves, against God and the rest of God’s Perfect Creation. The first thing Lucifer (the Devil’s name before he sinned) did was to rebel against God and fill himself with iniquity and pride. He attempted to ascend to God’s Throne and take over everything (Isaiah 14:12-17). We like to put ourselves on our own thrones. We have the sin of iniquity and pride also (Psalm 51:5).
The Devil was with Adam and Eve in the Garden to start with (Ezekiel 28:11-19). Next he questioned God’s Word (Genesis 3:1); he proceeded to tell Eve a lie (Genesis 3:4); he misquoted God’s Word again by deceiving Eve with a false promise (Genesis 3:5). Eve decided she wanted to be her own god and wanted her husband to follow her. Adam decided he loved his wife more than God and followed her in sin. Now remember, we have our own wills to commit sin so don’t blame the Devil for everything. You really can’t say “The Devil Made Me Do It!”
The Devil’s mission in life is to destroy and corrupt all of God’s Creation. He is the father of lies and the author of sin and the accuser. He will try everything he can to get us to “Follow the Way of the Devil.” The very name Satan (another name for the Devil) means “Adversary.” The name Devil means “Backbiter”. He wants us to ignore God – especially Jesus Christ. He wants to get as many as he can to go to hell. He is going there along with his host of demons (Revelation 20:10). You don’t need to “Follow the Devil!”
Have you “Followed the Devil out of the Garden?” According to Isaiah 53:6, we all have!
There is Good News!
The following verses show The Way so you don’t have to “Follow the Devil out of the Garden”:
John 3:16-18
Romans 3:23
Romans 6:23
Romans 5:6-11
Romans 10:9-10
Ephesians 2:8-9
John 5:24
I Peter 1:21
2 Corinthians 5:17
P.S. The entire Scripture is replete with the Gospel Message!
How did it all start?
The world was originally created perfect and that meant that man was originally perfect (Genesis 1&2). Man failed to pass God’s test of obedience when He took of the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (Genesis 3). Eve was deceived by the Serpent (the Devil) and ate of the fruit and gave it to her husband Adam and he ate also
(see 2 Corinthians 11:3 and Romans 5:12). Now man was to die and not live forever on this earth – not so perfect anymore!
In Genesis 3 – “How many committed sin in the Garden of Eden?”
We have three characters in the Garden of Eden who committed sin; the Devil (the Serpent), Eve and then Adam in that order. According to Genesis 3:22-24 man was expelled from the Garden to never return (while on earth). Satan a.k.a. the Devil was defeated in the Garden (Genesis 3:14-15). He was to roam the earth (Job 1:6-7) and deceive mankind (Revelation 12:9).
God provided salvation to Adam and Eve in the form of the death of an innocent animal (or animals). God covered the sins of Adam and Eve by using the animal skins to clothe them. There was no other death until God killed the first animal(s) – never – not until sin entered the world – not before! This covering of sin is called the Gospel in the Garden. It is called the first offering through shed blood. Offerings were to be given up to God by the Jews throughout Old Testament Biblical history and these were in the form of a burnt offering using an innocent animal. Read about Noah and his burnt offering in Genesis 8:20-22. This sin offering finally culminated in the sacrifice Jesus Christ made of Himself on the Cross and His Spilt Blood and this is the last sacrifice ever needed (Hebrews 10:10). Interestingly, there is a Church in St. Petersburg, Russia sometimes called “The Church of Our Savior on Spilled Blood” or “Church on Spilt Blood.” The real name is “Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ.” I was there and saw it.
To sum it up Jesus is to destroy Satan in the end (Revelation 20:10) and we who will abide with Him will be winners!
What about the descendants of Adam and Eve?
When we explore Genesis 4, we discover that Eve bore Cain, their first child. She also gave birth to a second son named Abel. Both Cain and Abel brought offerings to God. Abel, a shepherd (Animal Husbandry) gave from his flocks and Cain, a farmer (Agriculturalist), brought the fruit of the ground. God rejected Cain’s offering and accepted Abel’s. Cain and Abel apparently may have gotten into a serious argument and Cain killed Abel (the first recorded murder). Cain killed his brother in a fit of jealous prideful rage. It would appear that Adam and Eve had trained their first two sons in the practice of giving offerings to God and it would also appear that both Cain and Abel had knowledge of why they needed to make an offering. Cain must have disregarded the proper kind of offering by giving from the cursed ground instead of an innocent animal (see Genesis 3:17-19 for the ground being originally cursed after Adam's part of his sin). It would appear that Cain's heart was not right because of what he did by ultimately killing his brother. Abel understood the real reason for his offering.
Now what do we have? at this point we see that Adam’s, Eve’s and Abel’s sins were forgiven and we should expect to see them in Heaven one day. Hebrews 11:4 tells us that Abel was acceptable to God. But what happened to Cain? 1 John 3:12 tells us that Cain was of the evil one (Devil). All if not most of his descendants should have also perished in the Global Flood (Genesis 6-9). See the genealogy of Cain recorded in Genesis 4:17-24 and you will discover how evil his line was. Jude 1:3-16 mentions that false teachers follow the way of Cain (verse 11). The Scriptures also indicate that Cain must have gone to eternal punishment after his death. In Genesis 4:16 Cain was separated from his Creator God.
Adam and Eve had a third son that replaced their loss of Abel. His name was Seth and he not only was a physical replacement for their lost child, he also replaced the lost righteous lineage that should have been Abel’s to start with (Genesis 4:25-26).
Which of the descendants of Adam and Eve “Followed the Devil” out of the Garden?
At this point, we have only looked at Adam and Eve and their first three children. The total that “Followed the Devil” including the parents is one out of five. Only Cain their first was lost when he “Followed the Devil out of the Garden.” That sounds like a reasonable percentage for Adam and Eve (if you don’t cringe and feel sorrow over the eternal loss of Cain). Eighty percent not lost sounds good (why not 100%?), but was it always that way from that time on? Not hardly! You have to study the rest of what Scripture reveals to obtain a feeling of how many became lost over the recorded time frame of the Bible, especially before the Global Flood. See my articles posted on this website called “The Account of the Fall of Man” and “When Man Fell, the Rest of the World Fell Also.” If you have studied World History in school it should be apparent how much evil, injustice and rebellion against God and his fellowmen man has committed. Many (I would think most) have totally ignored the Scriptures and have gone their own way. That’s why we have whole lost civilizations, especially after the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11). Refer to my other website www.knowyourtrueorigins.com for discussions on the Tower of Babel. So it looks like this 80% success figure that Adam and Eve initially experienced early on in their family has not held up very well since the beginning (they had other sons and daughters). When you read the words of Jesus in Matthew 7:13-14 you get the immediate impression that the percentage of those lost is high (very high).
** The discussion of Adam, Eve, Abel and Seth having their sins forgiven and covered by an animal sacrifice doesn't mean they suddenly and magically stopped sinning and returned to physical perfection. They were under the curse of physical death and so are we today. That has to be made perfectly clear! That means they accepted the offering that God gave and were pardoned. Throughout history all have had the same chance to accept forgiveness and pardon for sins and to live for the hope of spending eternity in Heaven. We are looking to spend eternity with the Son of God, Jesus Christ, and that includes all believers from all history. Today we have to accept that same sacrifice offering except that it is through Jesus Christ and that He finished it on the Cross (no more animal sacrifices). He is the final perfect sacrifice for mankind. All those that lived before Jesus came to earth around 2000 years ago were looking forward to a Savior of mankind and we are looking backward to the Savior. I hope you read the Gospel in the Garden reference I gave you.**
What is The “Way of the Devil”?
Those that “Follow the Way of the Devil” are basically copying what he did in tempting Adam and Eve to sin against themselves, against God and the rest of God’s Perfect Creation. The first thing Lucifer (the Devil’s name before he sinned) did was to rebel against God and fill himself with iniquity and pride. He attempted to ascend to God’s Throne and take over everything (Isaiah 14:12-17). We like to put ourselves on our own thrones. We have the sin of iniquity and pride also (Psalm 51:5).
The Devil was with Adam and Eve in the Garden to start with (Ezekiel 28:11-19). Next he questioned God’s Word (Genesis 3:1); he proceeded to tell Eve a lie (Genesis 3:4); he misquoted God’s Word again by deceiving Eve with a false promise (Genesis 3:5). Eve decided she wanted to be her own god and wanted her husband to follow her. Adam decided he loved his wife more than God and followed her in sin. Now remember, we have our own wills to commit sin so don’t blame the Devil for everything. You really can’t say “The Devil Made Me Do It!”
The Devil’s mission in life is to destroy and corrupt all of God’s Creation. He is the father of lies and the author of sin and the accuser. He will try everything he can to get us to “Follow the Way of the Devil.” The very name Satan (another name for the Devil) means “Adversary.” The name Devil means “Backbiter”. He wants us to ignore God – especially Jesus Christ. He wants to get as many as he can to go to hell. He is going there along with his host of demons (Revelation 20:10). You don’t need to “Follow the Devil!”
Have you “Followed the Devil out of the Garden?” According to Isaiah 53:6, we all have!
There is Good News!
The following verses show The Way so you don’t have to “Follow the Devil out of the Garden”:
John 3:16-18
Romans 3:23
Romans 6:23
Romans 5:6-11
Romans 10:9-10
Ephesians 2:8-9
John 5:24
I Peter 1:21
2 Corinthians 5:17
P.S. The entire Scripture is replete with the Gospel Message!