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Garden of Eden Bible Study

The story of the garden of Eden is one that many know. One thing that might be missing from the story of the garden of Eden, is what really happened in Eden on that day. I was told as a child that it had something to do with apples. Well, when I read it when I became older I found out that the word apple is not even in the story. Apples have nothing what so ever to do with what happened in the garden of Eden. I am going to try the best I can with this Bible study to explain to you what really did happen in the garden of Eden. Without knowing what really happened in the garden of Eden, we miss out on so much information that we need to better understand God's word. You may have never heard the story told like this before and it may come as a shock to you what really did happen. We as God's children must not be shocked at the truth of God's word. What you will read will be graphic at times but to tell you what really did happen that's the way it is. We can never let God's word be to graphic for us. If we do, then we are getting to self righteous for God and He does not like that. One other thing that we need to know is that God uses symbology in His word, as we shall see very soon.

Genesis 3:1-20

V1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

Here we have are first clue, the word serpent. Now we all know that snakes do not talk. This is not some special talking serpent but a name for a person. The place to find out who this person is, is the book of Revelation.

Revelation 12:9
V9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

So now we know who the serpent is, Satan. Yes Satan was in the garden of Eden. That can be found in Ezekiel 28:1-19 where it talks about Satan before and after his fall. We also see how Satan works by using lies and twisting God's word to suite his needs. We can read what God really said in Genesis 2:16-17

Genesis 2:16-17
V16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
V17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

Subtil means cunning (usually in a bad sense). Satan is very wise and cunning which is why we need God's help to make it in this world. Also keep in mind that God does not count days like we do.

II Peter 3:8
V8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

V2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
V3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.

We are not talking about real trees here but it is symbolic of people. Lets take a quick look at Jeremiah.

Jeremiah 17:7-8
V7 Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is.
V8 For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.

Tree means to fasten (or make firm), i.e. to close (the eyes). It also means the spine (as giving firmness to the body) backbone. So you see we are not really talking about a tree at all. We are talking about a person, Satan. He is the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Satan invented evil as he was the first one to sin which can be read in Ezekiel 28:14-15

Ezekiel 28:14-15
V14 Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.
V15 Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.

Touch means to touch, i.e. lay the hand upon (for any purpose; euphem., to lie with a woman). Adam and Eve were told not to touch the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in any way. As we found out that tree is really Satan we are talking about. Keep in mind that touch means to lie with a woman. That is a very important fact as we shall see very soon.

V4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:

Here is Satan lying again. He knows good and well what God really said to Adam and Eve. They to knew what God said but they didn't listen. This is one of Satan's best tricks, taking the word of God and twisting it to suite his needs. As you probably already know that is how Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness. Satan will use God's word but twist it just a little so it becomes untrue.

V5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

Up to this point Adam and Eve have not sinned, they did not know what evil was. But when they touch the tree of the knowledge of good and evil their eyes shall be opened and they shall know what evil is. At that point, they have sinned. Lets take a look Genesis 2:25 and we shall see that they are not ashamed to be naked because they did not sin yet.

Genesis 2:25
V25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

V6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

Here we have the first sin of mankind. As you can see the word apple is nowhere in that verse, or any where in this whole chapter for that matter. The sin that was committed has absolutely nothing to do with eating apples. Now remember, the tree that is being talked about here is Satan. What Eve did was have intercourse with Satan. That's what the sin was and later we shall see that Cain's father is not Adam but Satan himself. This may be new to you and also may be a shock to hear. But remember that we must not let the truth in God's word shock us. That is really what happened, Eve had intercourse with Satan. Adam also took part, how and in what way I'm not sure. Seeing that Satan is supernatural, he could have appeared as a woman to Adam, maybe not. The point is that he did have a roll in what happened and did what God told him not to do.

V7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

Remember in Genesis 2:25 they were both naked and not ashamed. Now they are because they have not listened to God and sinned. Other things to notice here are that they are in a fig grove, not being around apples. Also they took the fig leaves and made aprons to cover themselves. A apron does not go over your mouth but over your lower body. They covered the private parts because they were ashamed of the sin that was committed.

V8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.
V9 And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?
V10 And he said, I heard Thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.

Here we have them for the first time afraid to be close to God. They new what they did was wrong because God told them not to do it. Now they have sinned and don't want to be around God.

V11 And He said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?
V12 And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.

Adam is trying to lay the blame on Eve but he knows good and well that God told him not to do it.

V13 And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.

As we have learned already the serpent is Satan. So is the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Beguiled means to lead astray, i.e. (mentally) to delude, or (morally) to seduce. Satan by twisting God's word with his lies and the power he has by being supernatural seduced Eve. Satan is very crafty and as we read in Revelation 12:9 he is the one that deceived the world.

V14 And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:

This is God's way of letting Satan know He thinks he is the lowest form of life ever created.

V15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

God is still talking to Satan here. Enmity means to hate (as one of an opposite tribe or party); hence to be hostile. Seed means seed; figuratively, fruit, plant, sowing-time, posterity. This tells us that there will be hostility between Satan's children and Eve's children. Satan's child will grow up and become the first murderer. Satan's offspring in time will bruise Jesus Christ's heel when they nail Him to the cross. Eve will have two children, Cain and Abel but they do not both have the same father. Adam is Abel's father while Satan is Cain's father. Later when we take a look at Adam's genealogy we shall find that Cain is not mentioned. That's because Adam is not Cain's father, Satan is.

V16 Unto the woman He said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.

God's sentence to Eve was that her sorrow in child birth would be greatly multiplied. God did not give her a tummy ache for eating to many apples. God gave her more pain in having children for having committed the sin of having intercourse with Satan. Any women ever have a hard labor during child birth? Well you can thank Eve for that.

V17 And unto Adam He said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
V18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
V19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

Adam did the wrong thing by obeying what his wife wanted to do and not obeying what God wanted him to do. God should always come first in our life's. Next time you start to sweat at work trying to make money to put food on the table, you can thank Adam for that.

V20 And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.

Eve is the mother of all living because it is through her offspring that Jesus Christ will be born. It does not mean we are all descendants of Eve but through Christ we can have eternal life.

Lets continue are study in chapter 4.

Genesis 4:1-26

V1 And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD.
V2 And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.

Again means to add or augment (often adverbial, to continue to do a thing). Eve continued in labor and gave birth to Abel. Cain and Abel are fraternal twins, which means they came from two separate bags of water. They had separate conceptions. It is possible for fraternal twins to have different fathers, just like Cain and Abel did.

V3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD.
V4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:
V5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.

Wroth means to glow or grow warm; figuratively (usually) to blaze up, of anger, zeal, jealousy. God had respect for Abel's offering because he offered the best parts of the first of his flock to the Lord. Cain on the other hand did not offer the best or the first of what he had to the Lord. Cain did not love God enough to offer Him the best of what he had.

V6 And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?
V7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.

Cain fell short, he missed the mark by not offering the best he had to the Lord.

V8 And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.

Cain becomes the first murderer.

V9 And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper?

Now Cain is lying to God. Family members are to take care and look out for each other, not kill each other. Let's take a look at I John. Also notice in V12 it says Cain is from "that wicked one" meaning Satan was his father.

I John 3:10-12
V10 In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.
V11 For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.
V12 Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous.

V10 And He said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto Me from the ground.
V11 And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand;
V12 When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.

Cain's sentence for murdering his brother is handed down by God.

V13 And Cain said unto the LORD, My punishment is greater than I can bear.
V14 Behold, Thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from Thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me.

Here is Cain caring about his own life but he didn't care to much about his brothers.

V15 And the LORD said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the LORD set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.

Notice that God set a mark on Cain, that mark is very important, it is the beginning of the mark of the beast. It is also a spiritual mark. Cain's offspring in the Bible are called Kenites. Lets take a look at John 8:42-47 where Jesus is talking to some Kenites.

John 8:42-47
V42 Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love Me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of Myself, but He sent Me.
V43 Why do ye not understand My speech? even because ye cannot hear My word.
V44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
V45 And because I tell you the truth, ye believe Me not.
V46 Which of you convinceth Me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe Me?
V47 He that is of God heareth God's words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.

Kenites claim to be Jews but they are not as we shall read in Revelation.

Revelation 2:8-11
V8 And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the First and the Last, Which was dead, and is alive;
V9 I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.
V10 Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.
V11 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.

You can also read about the Kenites who claim to be Jews in Revelation 3:7-13 where it is talking about the church of Philadelphia. Out of the seven churches talked about in Revelation, Jesus only found the church of Smyrna and Philadelphia without any faults. One of the reasons being is that they know the truth about the Kenites, the sons of Cain. If your not in a church that teaches you about the Kenites or what really happened in the garden, it's time to find one that does. After all, why would you want to belong to a church system that Jesus finds faults with?

V16 And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden.

Lets skip down to verse 25.

V25 And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew.
V26 And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the LORD.

Here we read that Adam and Eve had another son, Seth. This way the generations leading up to the birth of Jesus stay pure.

In Genesis 5 we have the generations of Adam all the way to Noah and his sons. We are just going to look at a bit of it and you will see that Cain is not mentioned as a child of Adam.

Genesis 5:1-14

V1 This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made He him;
V2 Male and female created He them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.
V3 And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth:
V4 And the days of Adam after he had begotten Seth were eight hundred years: and he begat sons and daughters:
V5 And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died.
V6 And Seth lived an hundred and five years, and begat Enos:
V7 And Seth lived after he begat Enos eight hundred and seven years, and begat sons and daughters:
V8 And all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years: and he died.
V9 And Enos lived ninety years, and begat Cainan:
V10 And Enos lived after he begat Cainan eight hundred and fifteen years, and begat sons and daughters:
V11 And all the days of Enos were nine hundred and five years: and he died.
V12 And Cainan lived seventy years, and begat Mahalaleel:
V13 And Cainan lived after he begat Mahalaleel eight hundred and forty years, and begat sons and daughters:
V14 And all the days of Cainan were nine hundred and ten years: and he died.

As you read Cain is nowhere to be found in the seed line of Adam. Satan is Cain's father and through Cain and his offspring Satan has children on earth this very day.

I hope that you found this study helpful and that it gives you a better understanding of what really did happen in the garden of Eden. The fact the Adam is not Cain's father but that Satan is his father. That is information that we need to know in order to better understand the word of God. The fact that Satan has children on this earth today is one reason why there is so much evil going on in this world. We also have the beginning of the mark of the beast with Cain being marked by God. To learn more about this mark and the beast, take a look at our study on the mark of the beast.

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posted 1-15-98