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Chapter 4 |
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Lucifer and His Fall
Later, Lucifer decided to be equal to God (Isaiah 14:12-14). Because of this, God probably took away all of his heavenly authority. Lucifer then fell from heaven (Isaiah 14:12) and was brought down to hell (Isaiah 14:15). Luke 10:18 says that Satan fell from heaven. Many believe that Lucifer is Satan, also referred to as the Devil (Revelation 12:9). I think Satan is mad at God for taking away his heavenly authority. Satan now wants to destroy the lives of everyone on Earth (1 Peter 5:8), so that they will not be able to access all the benefits that God has provided that can be received now and in eternity. Adam and Eve On Day 6, God created Adam from the dust of the ground (Genesis 1:26,27 and 2:6) and breathed into him the breath of life. In the Garden of Eden, there were two special trees, the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil -- the fruit was pleasant to look at and was good for food (Genesis 2:9). God commanded Adam not to eat of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil (Genesis 2:16,17). Adam didn't have a companion and God knew that it was not good for Adam to be alone (Genesis 2:18). This being the case, God put Adam into a deep sleep. God then took one of Adam's ribs and made Eve (Genesis 2:21-25). Adam and Eve Sinned Eve was aware of the command that God gave to Adam about the fruit of the certain tree (Genesis 3:2,3). The Serpent, which is Satan or Lucifer (Revelation 12:9), started to talk to Eve to destroy her and Adam. Satan talked to Eve to make her question -- make her doubt -- what God said not to do, which was to not eat of the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:4-5). Satan persuaded Eve that she wouldn't die if she ate of the fruit of that particular tree. He persuaded her that God would not do what He said He would. She decided to eat of the forbidden fruit. During or after she ate the fruit, she said something to Adam and he listened to what she said (Genesis 3:17). Adam ate the fruit (Genesis 3:6), but he could have obeyed God by refusing to eat the forbidden fruit. Both Adam and Eve disobeyed God's command -- they both sinned. This is how sin polluted the human race. Sin caused Adam and Eve to break the awesome relationship they had with God. Sin occurs when we do something God doesn't want us to do or when we don't do what God wants us to do. The Bible explains many of God's commands. His commands are not just the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17), which include commands about only worshipping God, about not stealing and about not killing people. God's commands are summarized in Matthew 22:38 and 39. The main thing that we are to do is to Love God with our whole being. The other important thing that we need to do is to love others as we love ourselves. When we don't love God and others, we sin. Adam and Eve were now stained with the sinful nature. After considering the definitions of the word nature from the Webster’s College Dictionary (Second edition) (Random House, 1997), the word nature can mean a particular quality of something. So the phrase sinful nature can mean a particular quality to want to sin. Adam and Eve’s descendants -- including you and me -- also inherit this sinful nature (Romans 5:12). [If you, I or anyone else was in Adam or Eve’s place, disobedience would probably still have occurred.] Because of Eve's disobedience, it seems that women’s suffering will be greatly multiplied during childbearing (Genesis 3:16). Because of Adam's disobedience, the ground will have weeds and the vegetation will need to be tended (Genesis 3:18-19). The disobedience of Adam and Eve caused God to put them out of the Garden of Eden. God also put cherubims to guard the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:24). This was to prevent Adam, Eve and any other human being from eating the fruit of the Tree of Life. (If anyone had eaten of the Tree of Life in their sinful condition, it may have been that it would be impossible to kill them even though they were in a sinful condition.) (I am not aware of any verse in the Bible that explains what happened to the Garden of Eden. God may have moved it to heaven. It seems that one of the trees of the Garden of Eden, The Tree of Life, will be moved to the midst of the paradise of God or is already there (Revelation 2:7).) Sin and Its Consequences If Adam and Eve didn’t sin, they would have lived as they were forever. But because they sinned, all their descendants -- everyone in the human race -- are born with the sinful nature. Even today, every person sins (Romans 3:23). Romans 2:12-16 says that people sin even if they don’t have laws written on paper -- they have it written on their hearts. Adam was disobedient to God. Because we are descendants of Adam, we are “children of disobedience” and God’s wrath is directed towards us (Romans 5:12-19; Ephesians 5:5,6) -- we are sentenced [condemned] to eternal torment in the Lake of Fire (John 3:36; Revelation 20:15). Because God is holy and because we have disobeyed God’s commands, He has every right to release His wrath on us. The consequence of the sins, which we commit, is death (Romans 6:23). Below are four major aspects related to death for those who do not believe in Jesus. (Chapter 6, “How to Have Real Meaning in Life,” explains what believing in Jesus is about.) |
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| · | For those who do not believe in Jesus, they may be human beings who are breathing, but they don't have the life of God flowing in them. (Ephesians 4:18) |
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Physical death is death of the body. When this occurs, the rest of the person (many believe to be the spirit and soul) is separated from the body. (Some people (who believe the Bible) believe that the spirit and the soul are the same thing, but others (who believe in the Bible) believe they are not the same thing. Refer to the article, "What, Exactly, is Saved When One is Born Again?" by Lance B. Johnson. Come and See Ministries. ( www.comeandsee.org/SAVING/Cpart2.html (accessed June 1, 2009)).) |
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After physical death, the person (many believe to be the spirit and soul) who does not believe in Jesus will temporarily reside in Hades (one of a few places that the Bible refers to as Hell) (Luke 16:19-31). |
| · | At a later time, some believe that Hades and everyone in it will be thrown into the Lake of Fire (refer to the note in the next paragraph) (another of a few places that the Bible refers to as Hell), where there is eternal torment (Revelation 20:14,15). |
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(I believe that the Greek word Gehenna (or Geenna) is referring to the Lake of Fire. This Greek word is translated in the King James Version of the Bible as Hell as in Matthew 23:29-33.) As you can see, the ultimate consequence of sin of those who do not believe in Jesus is horrible. (Please note that when those who do believe in Jesus physically die, they may have still committed sins, but they will still live with God in heaven. This is explained near the end of chapter 7, "Benefits and Responsibilities for Those Who Receive God's Gift of Eternal Life.") In the next chapter, we will see the solution to the sin problem that God provided so that we can have the awesome relationship with Him that Adam and Eve had before they disobeyed His command. |
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Meaning in Life in the Framework of Eternity |
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