This question has two parts. First part: “Did God know that Satan would rise and Adam and Eve would sin?” The answer lies in the Bible's teaching about the knowledge of God. We know from the Holy Scriptures that God is omniscient, He knows everything. Job 37:16; Psalm 139:2–4; 146:5; Proverbs 5:21; Isaiah 46:9–10 and 1 John 3:19–20 leave no doubt that God's knowledge is infinite and He knows everything that has happened in the past, is happening now, and will happen in the future.

Looking at some of superlatives in these verses - “His knowledge is perfect”, “You see all my thoughts from afar”, “he knows everything”, it becomes obvious that God not only knows more than we do - His knowledge is immensely great. He knows everything in totality. Isaiah 46:10 says that He not only knows everything, but He is also in control of everything. How else could He make known to us what will happen in the future and declare that His plans will come to pass? So God knew Adam and Eve were going to sin? Did He know that Lucifer would rebel against Him and become Satan? Yes, definitely! Were they beyond His control at any time? Absolutely not. If God's knowledge is not perfect, then there is a flaw in His nature. And any flaw in the nature of God means that He cannot be God, for God’s very essence requires the perfection of all His qualities. So the answer to the first question, by definition, must be “yes.”

Let's move on to the second part of the question: “Why did God create Satan and Adam and Eve, knowing in advance that they would sin?” This question is a little more difficult because we are asking a “why” question that the Bible generally does not answer fully. Despite this, we can gain limited understanding if we look at some Bible verses. To begin with, we have already seen that God is omniscient and nothing can happen outside of His knowledge. So if God knew that Satan would rise and fall from heaven, and that Adam and Eve would sin, but created them anyway, that must mean that the fall of mankind was part of God's sovereign plan all along. Any other answer doesn't make sense given what we said above.

We must be careful here to note that Adam and Eve's fall into sin does not mean that God is the author of sin or that He tempted Adam and Eve to sin (James 1:13). The Fall served the purposes of God's overall plan for creation and humanity. Again, this is the only possible answer, since in any other case the fall of humanity would never have happened.

If we consider what some theologians call the "meta-narrative" (or overarching storyline) of Scripture, we see that bible stories can be roughly divided into three main sections: 1) heaven (Genesis 1–2); 2) paradise lost (Genesis 3–Revelation 20) and 3) paradise restored (Revelation 21–22). So far, most of the story has been devoted to the transition from paradise lost to paradise restored. A cross is placed at the center of this storyline. The cross was planned from the beginning (Acts 2:23). It was foreseen and foreordained that Christ should go to the cross and give His soul as a ransom for many (Matthew 20:28) - chosen by Divine foreknowledge and predestined to be His people (Ephesians 1:4-5).

By carefully reading the Scriptures and taking into account what has been said above, we come to the following conclusions:

1. The rise of Satan and the fall of mankind were foreseen and ordained by God.2. Those who were to become God's people—the elect—were foreseen and predestined by God.3. The crucifixion of Christ as an atonement for the people of God was foreseen and ordained by God.

Thus, we are faced with the following questions: Why did God create humanity, knowing about its fall? Why create humanity knowing that only a few will be “saved”? Why deliberately send Jesus to die for people who also deliberately fell into sin? From a human point of view this makes no sense. If story line moves from paradise to paradise lost to paradise restored, then why not just go straight to paradise restored and avoid the whole paradise lost cycle in between?

The only conclusion we can come to from the above statements is this: God's purpose is to create a world in which His glory can be fully revealed. Glorifying God is the main purpose of creation. In fact, this is the main objective everything that He does. The universe was created to see the glory of God (Psalm 18:1), and the wrath of God is directed toward those who fail to glorify Him (Romans 1:23). Our sin robs us of the glory of God (Romans 3:23), but in the new heavens and new earth the glory of God will shine upon them (Revelation 21:23). The glory of God is revealed when His attributes are perfectly demonstrated, and part of this is the story of redemption.

This is best demonstrated in Romans 9:19–24. Wrath and mercy reflect the riches of God's glory, and neither can be obtained without the fall of mankind. Thus, all these actions - the fall, election, redemption, purification - serve to glorify God. When man fell into sin, God's mercy was immediately demonstrated in that He did not kill them on the spot. God's patience and forbearance were also demonstrated as humanity fell deeper into sin before the flood. God's justice and wrath were demonstrated in His judgments during the flood, and His mercy and grace in saving Noah and his family. God's wrath and justice will be demonstrated in the future when He finally defeats Satan (Revelation 20:7–10).

The ultimate demonstration of God's glory took place on the cross, where His wrath, justice, and mercy met. The righteous judgment of all sin took place on the cross, and God's grace was demonstrated in that His wrath for sin was poured out on His Son, Jesus, and not on us. God's love and grace demonstrated in those He saved (John 3:16; Ephesians 2:8–9). Ultimately, God will be glorified when His chosen people worship Him for eternity with the angels, and the wicked will glorify God when His justice and righteousness are finally vindicated by the eternal punishment of all unrepentant sinners (Philippians 2:11). None of this could have happened without the rise of Satan and the fall of Adam and Eve.

The classic objection to this position is that God's foreknowledge and the predestination of man's fall are detrimental to his freedom. In other words, if God created humanity with full knowledge of the coming Fall, how can man be responsible for his sins? The best answer to this question can be found in the Westminster Confession of Faith (WFC), Chapter III:

“God before the ages, according to His purpose in highest degree wise and holy will has established the order of what will happen. At the same time, God is not the author of sin, there is no violence over the will of creation, freedom or the probability of secondary causes are not eliminated, but, on the contrary, are established” (WFC, III.1, translated by Evgeniy Kashirsky, RCM).

Essentially, it says that God predetermines future events in such a way as not to violate our freedom and the action of secondary causes (for example, the laws of nature). Theologians call this “coherence.” The sovereign will of God flows parallel to our free choice in such a way that our free choice always results in fulfillment God's will(by “free choice” we mean that our choice is not forced by external factors).

Summarize. God knew that Satan would rise and Adam and Eve would sin in the Garden of Eden. With this knowledge, God nevertheless created Lucifer, Adam and Eve, because by creating them and allowing them to fall, He was carrying out His sovereign plan for the manifestation of His glory in its fullness. Even though the fall was predetermined, our freedom to make decisions is not impaired because our free choice is the means by which God's will is carried out.

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What exactly did Adam and Eve do, since the Lord kicked them out of Paradise, and moreover, that for some reason we are all paying for their actions? What are we talking about here, what forbidden fruit is this, what kind of tree of knowledge is this, why was this tree placed next to Adam and Eve and at the same time forbidden to approach it? What happened in paradise? And how does this relate to our lives, to the lives of our loved ones and friends? Why does our fate depend on an act not committed by us, and committed a very, very long time ago?

What happened in paradise? The most terrible thing that could happen between loving beings who trust each other happened there. In the Garden of Eden, something happened that, some time later, would be repeated in the Garden of Gethsemane, when Judas brought there a crowd of armed guards looking for Jesus. Simply put, there was a betrayal in paradise.

Adam and Eve betrayed their Creator when they believed the slander against Him and decided to live solely according to their own will.

A man learned to betray those closest to him when he accused his wife of his own sin.

The man betrayed himself. After all, “to betray” literally means to convey. And man transferred himself from the good will of the God who created him to the evil will of his killer - the devil.

This is what happened in heaven. Now let’s try to find out in more detail how this all happened and why it turned out to be connected with the lives of each of us.

You can't imagine!

God created man and placed him in the place most favorable for his life. That is, to the beautiful Garden of Eden, which is also commonly called paradise. Today we can only make various assumptions and conjectures about what the Garden of Eden was like. But you can safely bet that any of these guesses will turn out to be incorrect. Why?

But because the person himself was different then - pure, joyful, not knowing worries and worries, open to the world, greeting this world with the happy and powerful smile of its ruler. The reason here is simple: Adam and Eve had not yet erased God from their lives, they were in close communication with Him and received from God such knowledge, consolation and gifts that we have no idea about today.

We, today, as has already been said, can only fantasize about heaven. Moreover, with effort, squeezing these fantasies through the narrow gaps between gloomy thoughts about the falling exchange rate of the ruble, grievances against the mother-in-law, worries about buying winter tires for the car, the upcoming Unified State Exam for the eldest son and a thousand other unpleasant thoughts that simultaneously torment anyone modern man every day from morning to night. That meager stuffing of fantasies that comes out of this mental meat grinder will be our current ideas about paradise.

Of course, the Garden of Eden was beautiful. But life with God can turn out to be paradise for a person even in the middle of a waterless desert overgrown with camel thorn bushes. And life without God and the Garden of Eden instantly turns into ordinary thickets of grass, bushes and trees. Only by understanding this can one understand everything else that happened in paradise with the first people.

In creation God's man occupied a unique position. The fact is that God created the spiritual world and the material world. The first was inhabited by angels - disembodied spirits (some of which subsequently fell away from God and became demons). The second is all the inhabitants of the Earth who have a body. Man turned out to be a kind of bridge between these two worlds. He was created as a spiritual being, but at the same time had a material body. True, this body was not at all the same as we know it today. This is how the saint describes it: “That body was not so mortal and perishable. But just as a golden statue shines brightly, just emerging from the crucible, so that body was free from all corruption, it was neither burdened by work, nor exhausted by sweat, nor tormented by worries, nor besieged by sorrow, and no such suffering depressed it. " And the saint speaks about the even more amazing capabilities of the body of primordial man: “...Clad in such a body, with such sense organs, man was capable of sensual vision of spirits, to the category of which he belonged with his soul, was capable of communicating with them, of that vision of God and communication with God, which are akin to holy spirits. The holy body of man did not serve as an obstacle to this, did not separate man from the world of spirits.”

Capable of communicating with God, man could proclaim the will of God to the entire material world, over which he received enormous power from God. And at the same time, only he alone could stand on behalf of this world before its Creator.

Man was created as a king or, more precisely, a vicegerent of God on Earth. Having settled him in a beautiful garden, God gave him a commandment - to preserve and cultivate this garden. Combined with the blessing, be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, this meant that over time, man had to make the whole world a Garden of Eden.

To do this, he received the broadest powers and opportunities. The whole world happily obeyed him. Wild animals could not harm him, pathogens could not cause illness in him, fire could not burn, water could not drown, the earth could not swallow him in its abysses.

And this almost sovereign ruler of the world received only one prohibition from God: “And the Lord God commanded man, saying: Of every tree of the garden thou shalt eat, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil thou shalt not eat of it, for on the day on which If you eat of it, you will die” ().

It was this only prohibition that man violated in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve, who had everything, decided that in order to be completely happy they still had to do something that was impossible.

The sandbox is mined

But why did God plant such a dangerous tree in paradise? Just hang a sign on him with a skull and crossbones: “Don’t interfere - he’ll kill you.” What a strange idea - in the middle of wonderful place on the planet to take and hang deadly fruits on the branches? As if a modern architect were planning kindergarten suddenly, for some reason, he designed a small minefield on the playground, and the teacher would then say: “Children, you can play everywhere - on the slide, on the merry-go-round, and in the sandbox. But don’t even think about coming here, otherwise there will be a big bang-badabum and a lot of trouble for all of us.”

Here it is immediately necessary to clarify: the prohibition on eating the fruits of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil did not mean at all that a person without these fruits knew nothing about good and evil. Otherwise, what was the point of giving him such a commandment?

Chrysostom writes: “Only those who by nature do not have reason do not know good and evil, and Adam had great wisdom and could recognize both. That he was filled with spiritual wisdom, see its discovery. “God brought,” it is said, the animals to him, “to see what he would call them, and so that whatever a man calls every living soul, that would be its name” (). Think of the wisdom of the one who could give names to the various breeds of cattle, reptiles and birds. God himself accepted this naming of names so much that he did not change them and even after the Fall did not want to abolish the names of animals. It is said: Whatever a man calls every living soul, that is its name... So, he who knew so much, did you really, tell me, not know what was good and what was evil? What will this be consistent with?”

Adam and Eve - why do we pay for the sin of Adam and Eve?

So, the tree was not a source of knowledge about good and evil. And its fruits were not poisonous either, otherwise God would have turned out to be like the alternatively gifted architect of a kindergarten already mentioned here. And it was called that for one simple reason: a person had ideas about good and evil, but only theoretical ones. He knew that good was in obedience and trust in the God who created him, and evil was in violating His commands. However, in practice, he could know what good is only by fulfilling the commandment and not touching the forbidden fruits. After all, even today, any of us understands: knowing about good and doing good is very much not the same thing. Just like knowing about evil and not doing evil. And in order to translate your knowledge about good and evil into a practical plane, you need to make some effort. For example, in a situation where close person he said something offensive to you in the heat of the moment, it would certainly be good to remain silent in response, wait until he cools down, and only then calmly and lovingly find out what made him so angry. And the evil in this situation, just as certainly, would be to say all sorts of nasty things to him in response and quarrel for long painful hours, or even days. Each of us knows about this. But, alas, it is not always possible to use this knowledge in a real conflict.

The tree of the knowledge of good and evil is named so in the Bible because it was an opportunity for the first people to experimentally demonstrate their desire for good and aversion from evil.

But man (Adam and Eve) was not created as a robot, rigidly programmed for only good. God gave him freedom of choice, and the tree of knowledge became for the first people exactly the point where this choice could be put into practice. Without it, the Garden of Eden, and indeed the entire beautiful world created by God, would have turned out to be just a golden cage for man. ideal conditions content. And the essence of God’s prohibition boiled down to a caring warning addressed to people who were free in their decision, as if they were being told: “You may not listen to Me and do it your own way. But know that such disobedience is death for you, who were created by Me from the dust of the earth. Behold, I also leave open to you the path of evil, on which inevitable destruction awaits you. But this is not why I created you. Strengthen yourself in goodness through the renunciation of evil. This will be your knowledge of both.”

But - alas! - people did not heed this warning and decided to learn evil through the rejection of good.

We are not to blame!

The Bible goes on to describe the events in the Garden of Eden as follows: “The serpent was more cunning than all the beasts of the field that the Lord God had created. And the serpent said to the woman: Did God truly say: You shall not eat from any tree in the garden? And the woman said to the serpent: We can eat fruit from the trees, only from the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, God said, do not eat it or touch it, lest you die. And the serpent said to the woman: No, you will not die, but God knows that on the day that you eat of them, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like gods, knowing good and evil. And the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes and desirable because it gave knowledge; and she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave it to her husband, and he ate” ().

The serpent here refers to Satan - the head of the angels who fell away from God and turned into demons. One of the most powerful and beautiful spirits, he decided that he did not need God and turned into Satan - the irreconcilable enemy of God and His entire creation. But Satan, of course, could not cope with God. And therefore he directed all his hatred at the crown of God’s creation - at man.

In the Bible, Satan is called the father of lies and a murderer. We can see both in the passage from Genesis quoted above. Satan created a false story that made God look like an envious deceiver afraid of human competition. Both Adam and Eve, who had already received so many gifts and blessings from God, who knew Him, communicated with Him and were convinced from the experience of this communication that He was good, suddenly believed this dirty lie. And they decided to taste the fruits from the forbidden tree in order to become “like the gods.”

But instead, they just discovered that they were naked, and began to urgently build themselves primitive clothes from tree leaves. And when they heard God’s voice calling them, they were afraid and began to hide between the trees of paradise from the One who planted this paradise for them.

Traitors are always afraid of meeting those they betrayed. And what the first people did was a real betrayal towards God. Satan subtly hinted to them that by eating the forbidden fruits, they could become like God, become equal to their Creator. Which means living without Him. And people believed this lie. They believed Satan and stopped believing God.

This terrible change-up consisted major tragedy what happened in paradise. People refused to obey God and voluntarily gave themselves over to the devil.

Adam and Eve - why do we pay for the sin of Adam and Eve?

God forgave them for this first betrayal and gave them a chance to return to Himself, but Adam and Eve did not want to take advantage of it. The wife began to justify herself by saying that the snake had seduced her. And Adam completely blamed his wife and... God, who gave him such a “wrong” companion, for his crime of the commandments. Here it is, the last conversation of people with God in paradise: “...didn’t you eat from the tree from which I forbade you to eat? Adam said: The wife whom You gave me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate. And the Lord God said to the woman: Why have you done this? The wife said: the serpent deceived me, and I ate” ().

So the first man betrayed God, his wife and himself in paradise. Created to reign over the material world, he turned into a pitiful creature, hiding in the bushes from his Creator and reproaching Him for the wife ... which You gave me. This is what made him so poisoned by the lies he received from Satan. Once fulfilled the will God's enemy, man himself became an enemy of God.

The saint writes: “The falling away from God was accomplished completely with disgust by a certain and hostile rebellion against Him. That is why God retreated from such criminals - and the living union was interrupted. God is everywhere and contains everything, but He enters into free creatures when they surrender themselves to Him. When they are contained within themselves, then He does not violate their autocracy, but, preserving and containing them, does not enter inside. So our ancestors were left alone. If they had repented sooner, perhaps God would have returned to them, but they persisted, and despite obvious accusations, neither Adam nor Eve admitted that they were guilty.”

All in Adam

That's all, actually. Having betrayed God, Adam and Eve fell away from the source of their life. And they began to slowly die. Thus, a branch broken off from its native trunk still remains green for some time in the roadside dust, but its further fate is predetermined and inevitable. The beautiful human body, shining with the beauty and power of God being with it, immediately turned into a miserable body, subject to disease and the threats of the elements, when God departed from it. And paradise itself - the meeting place of man and God on earth - became for man a place of fear and torment. Now, having heard the voice of his Creator, he, overcome with horror, rushed around the Garden of Eden in search of shelter. To leave such a person in heaven would be senseless cruelty.

Thus, according to the word of the Bible, man found himself expelled from paradise and became a vulnerable, mortal being subject to Satan. This was the beginning human history. All these terrible changes in human nature, associated with the falling away of the first people from God, were inherited by their descendants, and therefore by us, and our friends, and all contemporaries.

Why did this happen? Because man was designed to be constantly with God and in God. This is not some additional bonus to our existence, but its most important basis, the foundation. With God, man is the immortal king of the universe. Without God - a mortal being, a blind tool of the devil.

A series of births and deaths did not bring a person closer to God. On the contrary, each generation, living in spiritual darkness, accepted more and more new shades of evil and betrayal, the seeds of which were sown by sinners back in paradise. Macarius the Great writes: “... Just as Adam, who violated the commandment, accepted the leaven of evil passions in himself, so those born from him, and the entire race of Adam, by succession, became partakers of this leaven. And with gradual success and growth, they already multiplied in people sinful passions, that they prostrated themselves to adultery, lewdness, idolatry, murder and other absurd deeds, until all humanity was soured with vices.”

This, in a nutshell, is the connection between what happened in paradise to the forefathers of mankind and how we are forced to live today.

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Chapter 2.
The first revolt in the universe (the emergence of evil)

This question is reflected in several books of the Bible: the book of the prophet Isaiah (chap. 14, 12-14), Ezekiel (chap. 28, 14-17), Revelation of John the Theologian (chap. 12, 7-9).

Before Adam and Eve sinned (as described in the third chapter of the book of Genesis), a third part of the angels had already risen in heaven.

This rebellion against God was led by one of the cherubim named Lucifer, which means “light-bringer.” He was subsequently called Satan ("adversary") or the devil ("slanderer").

As already mentioned, angels are heavenly beings who occupy more high position than the inhabitants of the earth or the inhabitants of other worlds. Like everything in the Universe, they were created for the mutual service of love. Like people, they could be happy provided they freely and consciously obeyed the law of God: However, some angels abused their freedom, became proud, began to envy God and disobey Him.

God the Father and the Only Begotten Son Jesus Christ lovingly admonished Lucifer and his followers, but they did not submit. And then, for the good of the Universe, the third part of the angels was removed from heaven.

The question arises: why did God not destroy Satan and his supporters at the very beginning of the rebellion?

If God had done this right away, then among the inhabitants of heaven there would have been doubt about the justice of the Creator. Therefore, evil had to be revealed so that everyone could see what breaking God's law leads to. Only after a certain historical time has passed will God put an end to the development of evil on our planet and in the Universe.

Sin of Adam and Eve

The rebel angels tried to tempt the inhabitants of heaven, but “the other inhabitants of the Universe did not fall” (Is. 26:18).

The only world they managed to penetrate is, unfortunately, our Earth. The Bible says that the devil deceived Eve with cunning and deceit, appearing to her in the form of a talking serpent. He invited her to violate the only requirement given by God - to pick the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and eat it.

God had the right to test people's faithfulness before giving them eternal life.

The devil promised that Eve would not die if she picked the forbidden fruit, but would be like God, knowing good and evil. This was a deception and a temptation at the same time. Eve obeyed the voice of the tempter and ate of the fruit and offered it to Adam. This is how the fall of people occurred.

At first glance, Eve's act seems innocent. But if you delve into its essence, it becomes clear that this was a violation of the great principle of trust in God. The first disobedience severed the connection between God and man and gave rise to further disobedience and resistance to His will.

The Lord pronounced judgment on the first people and Satan. Adam and Eve could no longer live forever; from now on they were subject to death.

Earth, animal and vegetable world also had to undergo changes due to the Fall of people.

But the Creator did not leave humanity without hope. He prophesied that the seed of the woman would bruise the head of the serpent.

The "seed of the woman" is one of the future descendants of the human family who will deal a crushing blow to the serpent (Satan). God's love found a way of salvation for people. At a certain time in world history, the Son God's Jesus Christ will take on human flesh and be born on earth, like each of us. He will glorify God with His holy life, and then He will die for the sin of Adam and Eve and for the sins of all mankind. Satan will be exposed as a murderer, and people will have the opportunity of salvation and forgiveness, subject to faith and repentance.

This prophecy was fulfilled at the beginning of our era, that is, almost two thousand years ago.

Note 2. It is very important to know that death means the cessation of both a person’s physical existence and his consciousness. Death is the complete cessation of all life processes. Satan instilled in people the false doctrine of the “immortality of the soul.” It presupposes the life of the soul after the death of the body and its relocation either to heaven or to hell. This teaching is inherent in all pagan religions, and many Christians profess it. The Bible tells us: “The living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing, and there is no reward for them, because the memory of them is forgotten” (Ezek. 18:4). According to Holy Scripture, only God is immortal. Dead people will be resurrected at the Second Coming of Christ at the end of world history.

Earth is the arena of the universe

Our planet has become an arena in which the struggle between good and evil continues, the struggle that began in heaven. The outcome of this struggle is of great importance for the Universe. And therefore, every person living on earth must know the essence of this struggle in order to take the right position and not perish along with the devil and his accomplices.

To win it, you need to turn to Christ with faith, repent of your sins and ask God for the strength to keep His holy law. God's law is an expression of His love and justice. It is set out in ten short commandments, which God Himself wrote for people on two stone tablets (See Exodus 20).

Christ, who died for each of us, awaits the return to Him of every son or daughter of the Earth. “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden,” He tells us, “and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).

God has endowed every thinking being with free will: we can either agree or disagree with Him, independently decide for or against. Without this right we would be nothing but slaves. But God wants us to believe in Him voluntarily and consciously, so that through this faith we receive His strength, peace and joy. He wants us to have hope in our lives. He cleanses our soul from evil and sin.

Today on earth every person is tested for eternal life which God will give to all who believe and love

It is on the day when Christ comes a second time to put an end to evil on our planet forever and establish His eternal Kingdom.

Before the flood

After the Fall, Adam and Eve were forced to leave the Garden of Eden. They no longer had access to the tree of life and had to die after a certain time.

Degeneration and death were the natural consequences of disobedience. However, even in these conditions that changed for the worse, balance was maintained in the animal and plant world. Some animals began to lead a predatory lifestyle, destroying sick herbivores and eating carrion.

Before the flood, the climate was moderate, without sharp weather fluctuations. People lived much longer than our contemporaries. They were beautiful, majestic, endowed with great abilities. “These are strong people, glorious people of old” (Gen. 6:4).

They built, farmed, ate, drank, got married, and did not think about the higher purpose of life. Disobedience to God, pride and intemperance became the cause of the moral decay of the first civilization on earth. Holy Bible says: “And the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually. And the Lord repented that he had created man on earth, and was grieved in His heart” (Genesis 6:5-6)...

Only very few realized how destructive the loss of faith in God was. They sought Him, worshiped Him and tried to maintain moral purity in the midst of general decay.

Noah loved God and led a righteous life. He and his family were warned that retribution for human sins was approaching, that a deluge would come to the earth and the wicked would perish. Noah was tasked with building a huge ark and calling the people to repentance.

The construction of the ark continued for one hundred and twenty years. and throughout this time, Noah repeatedly called on people to leave their sinful lifestyle and warned of the impending disaster. In response, he heard only mockery and ridicule.

Flood

When the ark was ready, God commanded Noah to place all kinds of animals and birds in it in pairs so that they would be saved from the waters of the flood. Then Noah and his wife and his three sons and their wives entered there, and the angel of the Lord closed the door behind them. They were in the ark for seven days before the flood began. People laughed at them - This was a test of the faith of Noah and His family.

In the seventh chapter of the book of Genesis, verses 11-12 it says: “In the six hundredth year of the life of Noah, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened; and the rain fell on the earth for forty days and forty nights.” We can imagine the despair and horror that gripped the careless and arrogant inhabitants of the Earth when dark clouds clouded the sky and the first large drops of rain turned into downpour. People tried to escape in the trees, on the tops of mountains, but soon the most high mountains covered with the waters of the flood. The ark alone withstood the boundless water elements.

This is how the antediluvian world, the first civilization of our planet, perished.

Application 3. Scientists have discovered that in the most ancient traditions of all peoples of the world there is a vague memory of the flood. For example, when studying the ethnography of the American Indians, it was found that the legend of the flood was preserved among 105 tribes. Similar information was found in the records of the ancient Babylonians, Assyrians and many other peoples. Archeology also confirms the flood story (see Keram K.V. “Gods, Tombs, Scientists”).

There is no need to describe in detail the events of chapters 7 and 8 of Genesis.

The main point the Bible makes in these chapters is that current state the world is in many ways reminiscent of its moral state before the flood. This is one of the signs of the end of the world. “For as in the days before the feast they ate, they drank, they married, they gave in marriage... and thought not until the flood came and destroyed them all, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man” (Matt. 24:38-39 ).

Great is God's patience! For almost 16 centuries the antediluvian world existed, neglecting the possibility of repentance and salvation. And now, there is a limit to lawlessness. But God did not feel joy in punishing people. The Holy Scripture says that He was grieved in His heart, seeing how great the corruption of people was on earth, and that every creature had perverted its way.

For the sake of the lives of subsequent generations, the family of righteous Noah was saved. She remained in the ark until the end of the flood, and when the ark stopped at the top of the Ararat Mountains, Noah and his descendants went south to the region of the Shinar Valley (modern Iraq).

The names of Adam and Eve are known not only to adults, but also to children. Christians undoubtedly believe in the existence of these individuals, but there are people who consider their story a fairy tale, adhering to Darwin's theory. There is a lot of information associated with the first people, which is partially confirmed by scientists.

Adam and Eve - myth or reality

People who trust the Bible have no doubt that Adam and Eve were the first inhabitants of Paradise and the entire human race came from them. Much research has been done to disprove or prove this theory. Several arguments are given to prove whether Adam and Eve existed:

1. During his earthly life, Jesus Christ referred to these two personalities in his speeches.
2. Scientists have found a gene in humans that is responsible for life, and according to the theory, it can be turned on, but for unknown reasons, as if on purpose, someone “blocked” it. Any attempts to remove the blocks were unsuccessful. The cells of the body are able to renew themselves up to a certain period, and then the body ages. Believers justify this by saying that Adam and Eve passed on their sin to people, and they, as we know, lost the source of eternal life.
3. Evidence of existence also includes the fact that the Bible states: God created man from the elements of the earth, and scientists have proven that almost the entire periodic table is present in the body.
4. Famous geneticist Georgia Pardon proved the existence of the first people on earth using mitochondrial DNA. Experiments have shown that the foremother Eve lived in biblical times.
5. As for the information that the first woman was created from the rib of Adam, this can be compared with the miracle of our time - cloning.

How did Adam and Eve appear?

The Bible and other sources indicate that the Lord created Adam and Eve in His own image on the sixth day of the creation of the world. For the male incarnation, the dust of the earth was used, and then God endowed him with a soul. Adam was settled in the Garden of Eden, where he was allowed to eat whatever he wanted, but not the fruits of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. His tasks included cultivating the soil, maintaining the garden, and he also had to give names to all animals and birds. When describing how God created Adam and Eve, it is worth noting that woman was created as a helper from the rib of man.

What did Adam and Eve look like?

Since there are no pictures in the Bible, it is impossible to imagine exactly what the first people looked like, so each believer draws his own images in his imagination. There is an assumption that Adam, as a likeness of the Lord, was similar to the Savior Jesus Christ. The first people Adam and Eve became the central figures of many works, where the man is represented as strong and muscular, and the woman is beautiful and with appetizing curves. Geneticists have constructed the appearance of the first sinner and believe that she was black.

Adam's first wife before Eve

Numerous studies have led scientists to information that Eve is not the first woman on earth. Together with Adam, a woman was created to realize God’s plan that people should live in love. The first woman of Adam before Eve was named Lilith, she had strong character, so she considered herself equal to her husband. As a result of this behavior, the Lord decided to expel her from Paradise. As a result, she became a companion with whom she ended up in Hell.

The clergy deny this information, but it is known that the Old and New Testament were rewritten several times, so references to could have been removed from the text. IN different sources There are different descriptions of the image of this woman. More often she is presented as sexy and very beautiful with appetizing curves. In ancient sources she is described as a terrible demon.

What sin did Adam and Eve commit?

There are many rumors about this topic, which gives rise to numerous versions. Many are sure that the reason for the exile is the intimacy between Adam and Eve, but in fact the Lord created them so that they would multiply and fill the earth and this version is not valid. Another ridiculous version indicates that they simply ate an apple that was forbidden.

The story of Adam and Eve tells that at the creation of man, God ordered not to eat the forbidden fruit. Under the influence of the serpent, who was the embodiment of Satan, Eve violated the order of the Lord and she and Adam ate fruit from the tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil. At this moment, the fall of Adam and Eve occurred, but after that they did not realize their guilt and for disobedience they were forever expelled from Paradise and deprived of the opportunity to live forever.

Adam and Eve - expulsion from Paradise

The first thing sinners felt after eating the forbidden fruit was shame for their nakedness. Before the exile, the Lord made clothes for them and sent them to Earth so that they could cultivate the soil to obtain food. Eve (all women) received her punishments, and the first concerned the painful childbirth, and the second concerned the various conflicts that would arise in the relationship between a man and a woman. When Adam and Eve were expelled from Paradise, the Lord placed a Cherub with a fiery sword at the entrance to the Garden of Eden so that he would not give anyone else the opportunity to get to the tree of life.

Children of Adam and Eve

There is no exact information about the descendants of the first people on Earth, but it is reliably known that they had three sons; nothing is known about the number of daughters. The Bible says that girls were born. If you are interested in what the names of the children of Adam and Eve were, then the first sons were , and the third was Seth. Tragic story the first two characters talk about fratricide. According to the Bible, the children of Adam and Eve gave birth to offspring - it is known that Noah is a relative of Seth.

How long did Adam and Eve live?

According to known information, Adam lived for more than 900 years, but many researchers doubt this and it is assumed that in those days the chronology was different and, according to modern standards, a month was equal to a year. It turns out that the first man died at about 75 years old. The life of Adam and Eve is described in the Bible, but there is no information there about how long the first woman lived, although the apocryphal “Life of Adam and Eve” says that she died six days before the death of her husband.

Adam and Eve in Islam

In this religion, Adam and Havva are considered the first people on Earth. The description of the first sin is identical to the version described in the Bible. For Muslims, Adam is the first in a chain of prophets that ends with Muhammad. It is worth noting that the name of the first woman is not mentioned in the Koran and she is simply called “the wife.” Adam and Eve in Islam have great importance, since the human race came from them.

Adam and Eve in Judaism

The plot concerning the expulsion of the first people from Paradise in Christianity and Judaism coincides, but the Jews do not agree with the imposition of the first sin on all humanity. They believe that the offense committed by Adam and Eve concerns only them, and that it is not the fault of other people. The legend of Adam and Eve serves as an example that every person can make a mistake. Judaism describes that people are born sinless and throughout their lives they face the choice of whether to be righteous or sinners.

To understand who Adam and Eve are, it is worth paying attention to the famous teaching that emerged from Judaism - Kabbalah. In it, the actions of the first man are treated differently. Adherents of the Kabbalistic movement are confident that God first created Adam Kadmon and he is his spiritual projection. All people have a spiritual connection with him, therefore they have general ideas and needs. The goal of every person on earth is the desire to achieve harmonious unity and merge into one whole.

THE SIN OF ADAM AND EVE

The rebel angels tried to tempt the celestials, but “the other inhabitants of the Universe did not fall”(Isa. 26:18).

The only world they managed to penetrate is, unfortunately, our Earth. The Bible says that the devil deceived Eve with cunning and deceit, appearing to her in the form of a talking serpent. He invited her to violate the only requirement given by God - to pick the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and eat it.

God had the right to test people's faithfulness before giving them eternal life.

The devil promised that Eve would not die if she picked the forbidden fruit, but would be like God, knowing good and evil. This was a deception and a temptation at the same time. Eve obeyed the voice of the tempter and ate of the fruit and offered it to Adam. This is how the fall of people occurred.

At first glance, Eve's act seems innocent. But if you delve into its essence, it becomes clear that this was a violation of the great principle of trust in God. The first disobedience severed the connection between God and man and gave rise to further disobedience and resistance to His will.

The Lord pronounced judgment on the first people and Satan. Adam and Eve could no longer live forever; from now on they were subject to death.

The earth, animal and plant world also had to undergo changes in connection with the Fall of people.

But the Creator did not leave humanity without hope. He made a prophecy that The seed of the woman will bruise the head of the serpent.

The "seed of the woman" is one of the future descendants of the human family who will deal a crushing blow to the serpent (Satan). God's love found a way of salvation for people. At a certain time in world history, the Son of God Jesus Christ will take human flesh and be born on earth, like each of us. He will glorify God with His holy life, and then He will die for the sin of Adam and Eve and for the sins of all mankind. Satan will be exposed as a murderer, and people will have the opportunity of salvation and forgiveness, subject to faith and repentance.

This prophecy was fulfilled at the beginning of our era, that is, almost two thousand years ago.

Note 2. It is very important to know that death means the cessation of both a person’s physical existence and his consciousness. Death is the complete cessation of all life processes. Satan instilled in people the false doctrine of the “immortality of the soul.” It presupposes the life of the soul after the death of the body and its relocation either to heaven or to hell. This teaching is inherent in all pagan religions, and many Christians profess it. The Bible tells us: “The living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing, and there is no reward for them, because the memory of them is forgotten” (Ezek. 18:4). According to Holy Scripture, only God is immortal. Dead people will be resurrected at the Second Coming of Christ at the end of world history.