One Man's Thoughts

When Adam and Eve lived in the Garden, Satan did not have nay authority over this earthly realm. We know this because there is not one mention of an adversary in Genesis chapters one and two. If he had held any power, one might think Moses would have put something about it at the beginning of the narrative. One might point out that chapter three is still near the beginning. But it is not really and here is why: chapter one and two describe creation, man and, by association, woman. If chapters one and two were mathematical formula, it would be all of Einstein’s theory of relativity along with Sir Issac Newton’s laws of physics. The beginning of chapter three is a mere grammatical symbol that we may call a period. Perhaps a semi colon. Not to mention, after all that transpired, Genesis 3:1 begins with the word ‘now.’ Look at a plethora of translations. Most start chapter three verse one starts with ‘now.’

If the reader thinkings this word is pomp and circumstance, I can assure you it is not. The words is not the ‘now’ found in Romans 8:1, which states, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” It strikes me in this sense: ‘look at the marvelous way in which our God began all life upon the earthly realm, and how humanity came to behold Him and His glory! Oh…now, a sidenote.’ Imagine what Moses must have been thinking while writing this: Oh, I suppose I must tear myself away from the majestic God and explain something so far beneath us that we now have to—grudgingly, consider it.’ To try and explain it another way, the reader can be sure that Moses was not saying, ‘now for the climax of the performance—the serpent.’ Genesis 3:1 is not the main event, if you will. It is hardly worth mentioning.

Why do I hold this view and how is it related to our discussion about badness/sin in the world? The reason why I am taking so much time on this is because a lot of people would say sin entered the world and made everything bad because of the serpent, because of Satan. I welcome you to hold onto that thought while we delve a little deeper into this current word play.

If we believe what II Timothy 3:16 says, that “all scripture is God breathed, and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,’ then the method by which the Holy Spirit inspired Moses to begin His story is of crucial importance. Below are how three translations begin chapters one through three of Genesis:

Genesis 1:1

*In the beginning God – NASB

*In the beginning God – NIV

*In the beginning God – NLT

Genesis 2:1

*And so the heavens – NASB

*Thus the heavens – NIV

*So the creation of the heavens – NLT

Genesis 3:1

*Now the serpent – NASB

*Now the serpent – NIV

*The serpent – NLT

What we can surmise from these short statements is that everything has its beginning in God. Next we see that God makes for Himself a habitation (and one for us as well if one reads further in Genesis 2:1). This is very important. During that time that God was making places to dwell in, there is no mention of Satan. This is deliberate. The reader may learn from other places in scripture, which I will not cite here as they do not correlate to this study, that somewhere in chapter one and perhaps part of two, the being we know of as Satan was still Lucifer, an archangel in the heavenly kingdom. Suffice it to say, he was in the process of falling in love with his own beauty.

Heaven is a spiritual realm. Earth was made as a physical kingdom within God’s spiritual realm. But such places need rulers or caretakers, if you will. It is a commonly held view that God rules all creation and that His throne is in heaven. We may take Isaiah 6:1-2 as a quick example: “I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. Seraphim were standing above Him…” But what of the earthly kingdom? Who was to rule that area? It can be easily assumed that God ruled from within this place as well, even if it is described as His footstool, (Isaiah 66:1).

It is here that we arrive at the crux of our discussion. Although God never abdicated His authority, He did say that Adam and Eve were to “be fruitful and multiply, and till the earth, and subdue it and rule over” it (Genesis 1:28). Scripture goes so far as having God say to them “behold, I have given you…to cultivate and tend it,” (Genesis 1:29 & 2:15). Mankind was given the stewardship of earth. It was not given to Lucifer/Satan. It also was not given to Christ, who was present (John 1:1). (Though I will allow for John 1:3). At some point Lucifer fell, becoming consumed by sinful lust and he waged war in the heavenly kingdom for the throne of God. Ultimately, having been defeated, he and a third of the angels who participated in his rebellion were sent out of the wholly spiritual realm and into the little physical kingdom—earth.

The point here is this: before Lucifer fell, and before the war for the throne and before (or during) the rebellious angels losing and being sent into the earth, it had been given into the stewardship of Adam and Eve. So what does the ‘now’ in Genesis 3:1 really signify? One possibility is it is not just saying ‘now that chapters one and two have ended,’ but is also stating ‘now that Adam and Eve had dominion of the earth and the rebellious ones had been sent down into their realm…’ While it is pure speculation as to whether or not this means that Satan and his angels were to be in submission not just to God but also to the caretakers of the earthly kingdom, it is clear that there would not have been any snake to tempt Eve if the battle in heaven had not already taken place.

Let us now look at Genesis 3:1 in its entirety:

“Now the serpent was more cunning that any animal of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, ‘has God really said, “you shall not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

Why would Satan have cause for deceiving Eve and by association, Adam? He just wanted to hurt or ‘get back’ at God after having lost the war? I do think there is a basis for that argument. Perhaps he saw how dear God held Mankind, and he wanted to corrupt these created beings of His. I think this is also a possibility. But the idea I would like to focus on and which I would like the reader to contemplate is that he was cast into a kingdom that already had the authority of a ruler or steward. If Satan could not have the heavenly realm, he would attempt to usurp the authority of the little kingdom that was meant to be his ‘place of holding’ until ultimate judgment for his actions could be fulfilled. Satan is a thief and comes to steal (John 10:10). If a ruler of a land is dethroned, the one doing the deed takes their place. This is what Satan did—take the authority of the current rulers of earth—Mankind, which was given to them by God. (If the reader is still unsure if this actually happened, I refer them to II Corinthians 4:4, John 12:31 and I John 5:19, to name a few).

So the fall of Adam and Eve. And it is here that we may truly dive into our question: Why is there badness/sin in the world today? The short answer is: because of us. War, famine, pestilence, murder, other things of a fallen nature, is because the stewards allowed themselves to start thinking they knew better than the King. When deception came (notice that sin did not enter into the world when Satan entered the Garden but only after we were deceived), it sounded like wisdom according to their own desires. They acted upon them when nudged by one that brought doubt to their misgivings about God. We are the reason Christ left heaven to die. We are the reason a new heaven and a new earth are necessary (Revelation 21:1).

We broke EVERYTHING by our negligence. Even nature has been in a continual state of digression from perfection, along with the human condition. By allowing it to fall into the hands of one who was already at war with God, we became rebellious just like he and his angels and entered into that same war, which ultimately would have the same punishment. This is why Christ had to come. He was the second Adam, as it were. This is why Satan was able to offer to Christ the kingdoms of the world if He would bow down and worship him (Matthew 4:8). Was Satan’s claim legitimate? Yes, it most certainly was. Back in the third chapter of Genesis we read about how his claim was legitimate. The thief and deceiver dethroned the stewards and thus the stewardship passed to the one who committed the act.

Jesus knew that creation was His Father’s. Satan may have stolen the limited authority under the King, but it was till the King who ruled all of creation—even the earth, within Satan’s grasp for a limited time. We Christian’s hold the view that Christ had to come and suffer the cross to renew our relationship with the Father, and this is indeed what occurred, praise be to God! What it also accomplished was Christ taking back the stewardship of the little kingdom for his Father. This world is no longer Satan’s, nor has it been given back to us—not without Christ. If we inherit the stewardship of the earth once more, it is only by accepting the Lord Jesus Christ. Just as He and the Father are one, so we are made one with Christ and everything the Father gives to the Son has now been given to use as well, by the enabling of the Holy Spirit (John 17:7).        

 That is why Christ’s sacrifice took the authority away from Hell and death, (Revelation 1:18). Jesus came and saved the human stewards, while the punishment for Satan and his angels’ rebellion still remains upon them, and will be carried out with swift justice in God’s time. Hell was never made for Humanity.

Sadly, the little kingdom remains broken. It is the duty of the Christian to try and heal what hurts we may—to right what wrongs have come down from our choices in the Garden, until that time when our Savior returns to make it all right again as it once was at the beginning of creation.