The creation

To understand the end of the Bible, you must understand the beginning of the Bible. Did you know that the tree of life that we see in the story of the Fall, or the sign of Cain, are both seen again in the book of Revelation?

The poem

In ancient mythologies, creation was often the byproduct of a battle between the gods and came out of chaos.

But creation in the Bible is written as a poem (the refrain is “God saw and it was good, and it was evening and morning, the … day”), as a work of art.

It was intended and designed. In the first three days the houses of creation (light, water, earth), in the next three their inhabitants (sun/moon/stars, fish, land and air animals) and finally the summary of the rest, the Shabbat.

And all was well. Man and woman, as God’s representatives (made in God’s image), were placed as rulers over everything. Man and woman are both created equally as representatives of God.

The drama

The next part is a drama that unfolds from the creation story. While the poem describes the building structure, the drama describes the intention and begins with man and Eden.

Man had all freedom except one thing: he was not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Man had everything: a task to cultivate and protect the garden, creative ownership (he could give animals names and thus identity), an intimate relationship with God, but one thing was missing: the one thing that God does not call good.

God lives in relationship and is defined by it (God is love and love only makes sense in relationship), but man was alone. So God looked for a counterpart, but did not find any, so he created the woman out of him. The man was amazed and called her “wow-man”, but God called her “helper”, which is best translated as “life-saver”. And that is where the fall begins. All she needed was a tipping stone and the shape of a serpent.

The tipping stone

The serpent approached the woman (not the man) and challenged her about the tree of knowledge of good and evil. As we can see, the woman was very careful not to violate the commandment to eat from it. To make sure that never happened, she created another commandment for herself as the guardian (or the man): do not touch it.

The devil could challenge this, and the new commandment did not help, because the fruit was nice to look at, and she ate it.

And she gave it to the man. Well, she didn’t have to go looking for him because he was there all the time and he was quiet. This is a very challenging thought because male means “to remember”. So if he is to be good at anything, it is to remember what God said and who he is.

But they both fail. The result is shame, which makes them hide from God and blame each other. Shame has broken all relationships.

God’s recovery plan

God could have exposed them, but he chose not to. He plays naive and asks: Adam, where are you? The perfect opportunity for Adam to come out of his shame and share with God.

Adam only points out the symptoms of his shame. He hid because he was naked. He had been naked before and there was no shame.So God asked more directly: Have you eaten of the tree of which you should not eat?

Adam does not confess, but blames everyone but himself: The woman YOU gave me. In fact, he blames God and the woman he admires so much.

The woman only admits that she ate from the tree, but not to give it to the man.

The consequence

God judges the serpent without any mitigating conditions. The woman is promised to bring forth the savior who will destroy the serpent.

The man’s judgment shows where the problem was: Because you listened to the voice of the woman!

The woman was a dream come true that he received from God. But instead of bringing him closer to God, he replaced God with God’s gift.

He obeyed the word of the woman, not the word of God. The fruit was only there to show the problem that was already there: The man did not lead the woman to God, but waited for her leadership, which was not given to her, so she was led by the serpent — a creature over which the man had dominion.

The unthinkable

They have to leave the garden, but first their shame is covered with animal skins. And this is the overwhelming thought, because animal skins don’t grow on trees. God had to damage His own creation and let animals die to cover the shame of man. These animals died instead of man and woman, and wearing these clothes should make them never forget that.

A new beginning

After they left the garden, Eve became pregnant and made a significant statement: I have had a child with the Lord. Well, it was obviously Adam’s, but the name Cain (treasure) shows her thinking behind it. Perhaps Cain was her return ticket to the Garden, as he could be the savior who destroys the serpent. This becomes even more obvious when she names the second born Abel (nothing).

The explosion

It was hard for Cain to be the one on whom all expectation rested, and also for Abel to be the one on whom nothing was expected. They both suffered from the loss their parents imposed on them, but it also made them compare themselves to each other.

One day they made a sacrifice, Cain from the grain and Abel from the sheep, and God accepted Abel’s, but not Cain’s, and he became furious.

What was the problem?

Cain did not understand the reason, but Abel may have done this on purpose in remembrance of what God did in Eden.

Cain was angry and here God immediately steps in and warns Cain. Sin in this situation is not described as a wrongdoing, but as an intention with a purpose.

But Cain does not listen and kills his brother. When Cain is confronted, he repents and feels unable to bear the consequences, so God places a sign of protection on him.

The scandal

Cain’s descendants continue to grow and find refuge in cities and innovations. In the seventh generation after Adam comes Lamech who shows his true face.

• He is the first who is reported to have two wives and he mocks God’s sign on his ancestor Cain.
• He has already killed someone, God’s sign was to avoid further killing.
• Lamech’s consequences will be much greater than God’s consequences, is he greater than God?

But they are also a laughing stock.

• He does not tell this to the whole world, but only has the courage to boast in front of his wife.
• And who exactly will avenge Lamech when he is killed? His wives?