In the creation story ‘evil’ is not mentioned until Genesis 2:9
“Out of the ground the LORD God caused to grow every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” Genesis 2:9
It perplexed me why there was a tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the garden in the first place. The tree itself, of itself was not evil but good. However, we know that God gave Adam one command; not to eat its fruit.
He ate the fruit and sin and death came into the world. We sometimes don’t realize but there are other forces involved in this story. I am suggesting that Satan spoke through the snake. Perhaps even king David was enticed by Satan to number the people and the situation ended badly with God’s Angels holding a sword our ready to smite the people in Jerusalem:
“Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to count the people of Israel.” 1 Chronicles 21:1 (From the Christian Standard Bible. ‘Incited’ is a clearer translation than ‘moved’ from the NASB)
Satan even tried to use Peter:
“From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day. 22 Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You.” 23 But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.”” Matthew 16:21-23
We could also mention Judas who ended up taking his own life. In the workings of Satan, it should be no surprise that one of his tools is to infect the human mind and cause a lot of catastrophes. It ought to be no surprise for us that Satan used the snake to cause a seed of doubt.
Is this the origin of evil and sin?
For human beings this is indeed the origin for the human race, but Herman Bavinck contends that before this fall there was another Fall, the fall of the rebellious angels. The leader of these rebellious angels made his way into Eden with the sole intention of destroying the human race.
Evil spiritual forces love to see false teachers finding their way into the Church. Satan is mentioned twice in the following text:
“It is a trustworthy statement: if any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do. 2 An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not addicted to wine or pugnacious, but gentle, peaceable, free from the love of money. 4 He must be one who manages his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity 5 (but if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?), 6 and not a new convert, so that he will not become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil. 7 And he must have a good reputation with those outside the church, so that he will not fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.” 1 Timothy 3:1-7
This passage gives us clues on how the evil spiritual forces cause destruction.
Bavinck believes that the first Fall happened in heaven but obviously it happened after creation but before the Fall of Adam and Eve:
“On the other hand, it is certain that the fall of the angels preceded that of man. Sin did not break out first on earth, but in heaven, in the immediate vicinity of God, at the foot of His throne. The thought, the desire, the will to resist God first arose in the hearts of angels; perhaps pride was the first sin and thus the beginning and the principle of their fall. In 1 Tim. 3: 6 Paul advises not to immediately elect someone who has only been a member of the congregation for a short time, because then he becomes easily inflated and falls into the devil’s judgment. If, as the Cantonese note says, the judgment of the devil is meant, the judgment into which the devil fell when he exalted himself against God because of his wisdom, then we have a clue here that the devil’s sin began with self-exaltation and pride.” (From Magnalia Dei; Chapter on sin and death)
Reflection
Even if a person rejects the teachings of the Bible, it is a fact that there is rebellion and spiritual corruption in the world. We cannot escape it. The New Testament Apostles and our Lord believed in a literal Adam and Eve and hence I follow the same rule. For Christians sin and spiritual death (corruption) are objective facts. We all carry this baggage and that is why God had to become a man. As Irenaeus may say, through the Second Adam a close relationship with God through grace is open again to us(Recapitulation). By the Holy Spirit through the gift of grace and faith there is no dividing wall separating sinners from eternal separation from God. Next time we will consider what the new Testament says about Christ and the first Adam.
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