First Move of the Anti-Christ

PART ONE

There is nothing new under the sun. Eccl. 1:9c

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth…. And darkness was upon the face of the deep; … and God said, Let US make man … (Gen. 1 – ff)

Abundance! Overflowing, profuse, lavish abundance! Nothing was spared, not color, nor texture, nor size. With magnificent fullness and array, God created his earth, his universe.

I have known you since before the womb. The Author of life speaks, Come forth now from the ground! I command it so!

There is silence on the earth. The birds halt their singing, the crickets still their legs, and the locust has hushed his wings. Even the wind holds its breath. All earth awaits. The sands and the seas combine at the shoreline and swirl. In the middle of the swirl a mist forms, which hovers momentarily. The rising dust takes shape and form. The shadows lift. There stands along the waterways and shorelines, hundreds of humans. God has created a panoply of men and women. Some are brown in color; some yellow, some red and some are white. They have blonde hair, or black, or red, or brown. There are those with round, almond-shaped eyes, others are sloe-eyed. Some men are hairless, others not.

God has lavishly and richly supplied the earth with foliage, water, habitable beasts of every imaginable kind in copious number, and he has made man in his image, both male and female. He says to them, "Have dominion over everything that moves upon the earth. Be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth. Refill it again and again. Keep it full and plentiful. You have been made for one another, for I, Jehovah, have spoken it!

Subdue the earth, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens, and over every moving thing that moves upon the earth. Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for food: and to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the heavens, and to everything that creeps upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for food.

The male and female of God’s creation have received their direct orders from God, with few ‘special’ instructions. No orders are given to the newly created humans to refrain from eating of a particular tree. No boundaries are set. God has said they are to replenish the earth and to have dominion over it: ALL the animals, ALL the trees, ALL the earth! God recedes from his creation. God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the 6th day. Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. (Gen. 1:31 and Gen. 2:1)

Man did not sustain himself well. He was clumsy in his endeavors. His numbers dwindled. A few small gatherings of people managed to hold on, yet not many survive. They are not well organized. They are inept in their adaptability and progress. The hunters of God’s creation are crude in their mannerisms and hoggish in their desire to hunt. The small rock village of Ogg, located in the land of Nod, was just such a place. Located along the steep hillside of the Mesopotamian rim on the outside border of Cush, the tiny village housed its small population in caves. In one such cave was the abode of Kugor-Tubal.

Kugor-Tubal was a tall, thin, sparsely framed man of unusually astute character and depth of understanding, unlike so many who preferred to become oblivious of the great and mighty God who had created them. Kugor-Tubal sensed the urgency of man and his need of God. Man did not need another, lesser god, such as so many now stooped to worship. Man needed enlightenment. He needed truth that would establish the stories told by the ancient ones: Truth that explained why man buried food with his deceased and believed in an after-life. Truth for the reasons behind the chants, the sacrifices, and the altars man had erected.

It had recently come to his ears that in the land of Gormall, yet again a tribe of hunters was close to dying out. Surely this could not be happening again. Soon the animals would rule everything. This was in complete conflict with the words that had been spoken to the ancients so many hundreds of thousands of years ago. Kugor-Tubal thought deeply of the problems of his people. Unlike so many of God’s creatures that had succumbed to a myriad of natural disasters, Kugor-Tubal’s small band of people were still managing to survive. They barely eked out a living despite the bounty of the forest floor below them. Lately the animals had begun to sense man around them and were using greater caution to elude the crude arrows and slings constructed by them.

On one particular night, sleep escaped Kugor-Tubal, and he paced the floor restlessly. Even the over-sweet wine made from wild berries did not succor him to rest until very late in the night. Once asleep, he continued to toss with anxiety. Suddenly, he awoke with a start, having seen in his dreams a nightmarish scene. Lying there in the drench of his own sweat he considered the vision he had seen.

The earth shook with the stamping of hordes of feet. There was the clash of metal upon metal. There were blasts of bright light and loud blasting sounds in the air, and rain; torrents and torrents of water pouring from the skies. Horrifying screams rent the night and flames erupted all around. Confused, Kugor-Tubal shook his head to clear his thoughts, but the visions remained vivid before his tired and bloodshot eyes. Breathing seemed an impossible task, and his heart was seized with a powerful constriction.

PART TWO

THE CREATION OF ADAM

Once again God speaks from the firmament: …There is not a man to till the ground.. (Gen. 2: 5)

(Author’s note: The text just before this says that no shrub of the field and no plant of the field had yet sprung up for the Lord had not sent rain upon the earth. There was a time when the earth was watered by a mist or dew, and not by rain. (Gen. 2:6) To have cultivated plants, they required rain. Hence, a special man for a specific purpose.)

Man had dwindled in number. The hunt was arduous to man and he lacked the mobilization to unite with others of his kind for support and procreation. Accidents, natural disasters, and weather patterns had wreaked its havoc on the populace of mankind. Somewhere in the Near East, God sifted the sands of time and elements between his fingers. He sized up the boundaries in which he planned to place yet another man. But not any ordinary man this time. This man will be called the father of the universe, the savior of mankind. This man would be perfect, an example for men to follow. Adam would be a leader who would pose order and prosperity for mankind.

There is a mighty stirring of the wind and sea. Lightning splits the night sky. A mist rises from the ground and the dust takes on form. God brings his mouth down upon the still and silent form of the man he will call Adam, and God breaths into Adam the ‘breath of life’. The Hebrew is born; a special man for a specific purpose. God breathed into Adam’s nostrils the breath of life and Adam became a living soul.

God places Adam in Eden. The perfection of Eden is unknown in all the earth. The rivers bordering the land are the Pishon, which encompassed the whole land of Havilah, the Gihon, which encompassed the whole land of Cush, the Giddakel, or Tigress, which went in front of Assyria, and the Euphrates.

Adam. Come forth, for I must show you all that is yours. There is much you must accomplish here. God commands.

The eyelids fluttered slightly and then, dark, piercing eyes are suddenly alive in the skull of Adam. His breath is strong and vibrant and his body is lithe and agile. Adam stands in the presence of holiness and bends to his knees. Together, he and God walk the perimeters of the garden in which God has placed him. Conversation flows without interruption. God defines the area and Adam’s mission. Pride swells and takes root in the heart of Adam with the explanation to him of all he must do and all that he will oversee.

The animals are brought before Adam, which he skillfully and artfully names. God calls a meeting of the peoples of the earth. Adam finds this amusing and interesting. The skin textures and colors of those he meets intrigue him. The different clothing styles are new and provocative to his senses. Some wear elaborate skins, their bodies tattooed with deep shades of blue and black. Others are heavily adorned with jewels and beads, wearing little else. They are of different colors and sizes.

Adam seems to view this populace as less worthy than he, despite God’s reprimands. Adam’s arrogance and pride grows slowly as he awaits the convergence of all the peoples of the earth to him. God has watched closely Adam’s interchange with the men and women of the world.

And Jehovah God planted a garden eastward, in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. (Gen 2:8)

God places Adam in the middle of the garden and gives him orders to dress and keep it. And he gives Adam another task. God instructs Adam NOT to eat of a certain tree; the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

And Jehovah God commanded the man, saying, of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 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. (Gen. 2:16,17)

Adam actually treats the tree with nonchalance finding it easy to ignore it in his new environment. So much had to be learned and explored and established. There was no time for him to ponder the magnificent beauty of the tree or its elaborate bounty of succulent fruit. He had been made perfect in all his ways and now he awaits the entire world to be brought before him.

Kugor-Tubal had been summoned as all of mankind had been heralded to proceed to an area just outside of Eden where the river formed four heads. The first river, the Pishon, encompassed the land of Havilah were there was gold. and the gold of that land was good. Gen. 2:12

Adam has walked the borders of this river often, marveling at the great deposits of ore that were visible in the water. This was truly an abundant blessing and one with which God blessed Adam.

Adam was confident he could change even the hardest of hearts to admit their need of God. Mankind could be provoked through jealousy to turn to God to receive all the same blessings, seeing in the abundant life of the Hebrew that they, the Gentile, would be protected by this superior God, also. Thus it was that Adam contemplated this meeting with the tribes of man.

Adam watched the northerner coming toward him. He knew Stalise’s mood long before Stalise reached him. The small man’s hunched shoulders and fretted gate left in Adam no doubt that he was going to grumble once again about the long wait for the other tribes to convene on this spot.

Why must I still wait, brother? Surely you can give me whatever it is you called me here for, and I can be on my way. My brothers and family need me in the north land. Stalise wastes no time asserting his eagerness to leave.

This is of monument import, Stalise. Adam assures him for the third time this day. There is much I have to acquaint you with and explain to you. It is easier to do this with everyone here. My scouts from the southern plains have assured me that the last of the tribes will arrive before night falls again. It will be but one day you will be detained, but you will return with much knowledge. Knowledge that will help your dwindling number increase and begin to thrive again. Here! Come sit with me and enjoy with me the fruit of my vineyard.

Stalise sighed but accepted the bowl offered to him and sat next to Adam on the soft fern carpet. Adam studied the squat little man with his indigo-dyed face and rough manners. He was surprised to meet so small a man among the white-skinned races that God brought before him. So many others from the northern regions had been tall and fair-haired with broad shoulders, long sturdy limbs, and high foreheads.

Stalise sat before Adam unaware of Adam’s scrutiny, his own mind miles away. The trek had been long and arduous, made with only two of his best men to accompany him. Yet they had been among the first to arrive. Now he had been kept waiting for two days on the other tribes to assemble and the idleness bored him. By tomorrow’s sunset he determined he would leave with or without the promises Adam held forth. It was approaching a time of year in the northland when he must be tending to the gatherings for the colder time of year.

Adam’s arrogance irritated him. He felt this new leader among them to be too arrogant, too full of his own importance, and Stalise chaffed at the prolonged wait.

A flourish at the end of the eastern line of tents caused Stalise to stir from his musings. Adam was already on his feet and offered his hand to Stalise. Their eyes met briefly as they headed in the direction of the approaching group.

Kugor-Tubal rode tall upon the back of a painted gray horse. His long, thin legs dropped far below the belly of the sleek stallion. Kugor-Tubal’s eyes were alert to all that was happening, and particularly alert to the figure of Adam approaching him hurriedly with a shorter, thick man following in his wake. As Adam and Stalise approached the rider, others of the tribes of men fell in behind them, glad to see and greet the final group to converge upon the area. It was a friendly greeting with no wariness on any side.

Language was not a barrier to their meetings. The entire earth spoke, except dialectally, the same language. Welcome, neighbor. Adam hailed Kugor and introduced Stalise and other tribal leaders that were nearby. Introductions, in many instances, were necessary. God had assembled all men together here this day to acquaint them with Adam, and Adam to them.

Adam leapt atop a nearby boulder and caught the attention of the groups of men around him. There were many tribes and clans of the species of man, all summoned here by God. Some came willingly like Kugor-Tubal, but others had come under duress as had Stalise, and others still at the hardest of callings, as was the case with Mahn Sing Uuh. Each of the leaders would take back to his people news of this new face and selected leader appointed by God. They eyed this man with skepticism, speculation, and interest.

When Adam spoke, much of his warmth and strength of character became evident to the men and women of God’s creation. They felt a natural willingness to listen and learn from this man.

When the first rays of dawn appear, I will begin meeting with each of you individually to discuss our population, our growth, and our commerce. You must be named for recognition and shown the new ways in which you will flourish. For tonight, let us mingle and be merry, for tomorrow we will begin a new work, Adam addressed the groups of men and women.

All ate richly of the fruit and vegetables from the garden of God, and each offered his own delicious fare from his own lands, along with meats and fish, either freshly caught, or cured in advance for the long journey each had traversed. They drank sumptuously and to their fill, many falling asleep in a heap, drunk from the fill of sweet mead and wine.

Women, also, were among the groups, teasing and playing with the men as they worked and prepared their food as the men did much of the preliminary preparation. The women watched and cajoled, then began carefully attending the final making and serving of the meals. Adam watched their teasing and foreplay with interest and delight. He found his hands frequently fondling himself, feeling a deep sense of longing and loneliness inside him.

The women’s breasts, their hips, their smiles and laughter excited him, yet despite their enticement of him, he did not find himself attracted to them despite their comeliness or easy going manners. They were a breed apart from him, and Adam’s heart squeezed with longing.

The first rays of sunlight soaked up the fresh dew. Men shook themselves awake and began lining up to speak with Adam. Adam gave each man his undivided attention laying out guidelines and naming the races of each individual tribe. Eager to please this new master, all willingly paid him homage; they brought to him their daughters and sons to present as a helpmeet for him.

Adam acknowledged them in turn with kindness and respect, but he declined the taking of any. Something in Adam spurned the intrusion of these people upon him. They were not like him. They could not know him and respond to him, beautiful though they were; they brought no pleasure to his soul. Their eyes did not contain the same life he possessed. They breathed, but not the same breath of life, nor with the same soul, and Adam felt repulsed by them. Surely God did not expect him to take a helpmeet from animals such as these, he thought.

There was much wonderment in Adam, and his pride grew by leaps and bounds as he shouldered the weight of responsibility placed upon him by God. The garden was beautiful beyond description. In Eden, the garden of God was given to Adam to tend. The gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone. (Gen. 2:12),

Adam sensed how richly blessed he was by God. He sometimes swaggered in the knowledge that he was made perfect ‘in all his ways.’ Decisions were easy and made in fairness and truth. Few if any seemed to take offense to his condescending nature toward them. Those that might, kept it to themselves and carried on with a business as usual demeanor taking no slight in Adam’s actions and giving none.

Adam, himself was not aware of his negative tendencies. His prowess with commerce was strong, and he flourished in the eyes of his neighbors. So much so that they marveled at him and talked of him among themselves. Some made their homes closer to the Garden boundaries and silently envied his affluence. The women flirted and teased with him, but received no response and no invitation to advance their interests. Thus, he remained an enigma to them.

Adam petulantly retreated into himself as he watched the young men caress and fondle their women. His heart grew lonely and his loins ached to know the pleasures he observed. But he found no one with which to share his pleasures.

Several privileges had been given to Adam. He named the races and all the birds, the animals, the trees. Adam labeled all creation before him. Nor was the naming of God’s creation an exercise in futility. By allowing Adam this privilege, God established