=The Genesis Account= (Comparative Studies) PART 1 The Fall By William R. Lewis What is comparative studies?

Comparative studies is a branch of cultural studies in which different stories or history from other civilizations are examined and compared with one another to assess their relationship and development one from another to give insight and understanding to the whole. Since the Bible is directly and intimately related to many other Near Eastern Cultures and the myths/legends surrounding them, it is sometimes necessary to look into the ideas, concepts, and beliefs of Israels neighbors in order to better understand some of the more mysterious and profound stories contained in the Holy Scriptures themselves. Comparative studies offers a great deal of information to the ancient texts of the Bible that can and will shed light on many of these obscure passages of Scripture. Much of what may seem strange and mysterious to us today was well recognized and understood at the time period in which the Scriptures were written.

The fact that many of the Bible stories can be found in other Near Eastern texts and documents does not undermine the Bibles authenticity as the divinely inspired Word of God in the least. The question is, how are we to approach the Bible when attempting to understand and interpret it? Is it to be understood literally and as an accurate historical document of the Creation of the earth and mankind itself? Or is it in fact a collection of many different stories, some of which are very true and accurate, and some of which possess a more mythical and allegorical meaning designed to convey (or conceal?) a deeper, more profound reality not readily understood from just a literal interpretation? Indeed the Bible contains a wealth of symbolical and allegorical descriptions that have their immediate source deriving from Near Eastern mythology and legends. It is no secret among archaeologists and scholars that many of the stories contained within the Old Testament have their immediate source stemming from ancient civilizations such as Sumeria, Babylonia, Assyria, Egypt, Canaan, etc... However, when comparing the ancient Near Eastern versions with the ones in the Bible we must recognize that there are distinct differences between the Biblical accounts and the accounts as described by the surrounding territories that ancient Israel may have been influenced from. In the Hebrew accounts these stories are a purified and spiritualized form, either derived from or cognate with the others, and made to disclose some greater truth or revelation not present in the other descriptions. To most people the term myth means a story that is

not true; rather fantasy. However, to the ancients a myth was designed to convey truth: Myths established and enclose the area in which human actions and experiences can be oriented. The stories they tell about deities are supposed to bring to light the meaningful structure of reality. Myths are always set in the past, and they always refer to the present. What they relate about the past is supposed to shed light on the present. (Jan Assmann; Ancient Near Eastern Thought and the Old Testament, by John H. Walton, Published by Baker Academics, page #44) No one disputes that there are superficial similarities between the Genesis account of Creation and other ancient Near Eastern Creation myths. (Messianic Perspectives, by Dr. Gary Hedrick & Michael Hedrick #2011) Besides having points in common with several ancient Cosmogonies, Archaeologists are now agreed that Genesis chapters 1 and 2 have their immediate source in the beliefs concerning the beginning of the universe which were held by the Babylonians and the Assyrians. (A New Standard Bible Dictionary, by Funk & Wagnells Co. NY, 1936) But leaving aside all those issues, what of the data itself in Genesis? Do the early chapters of Genesis give evidence of having once been myth in

the phenomenological sense? It must be said that that evidence is very thin. As the chapters now stand, the key elements of myth are all conspicuously absent... Then why is it claimed that they do reflect a mythical outlook? It has been pointed out that in Genesis 1:1 the Hebrew permits the translation, When God began to create the heaven and the earth, the earth was without form and void. This is said to show that the Hebrews believed in preexistent chaos... A second argument says that the order of Creation is the same as that of the Babylonian Creation myth. E.A. Speiser puts it in this form: =ENUMA ELISH= Divine Spirit and cosmic matter are coexistent and coeternal Primeval chaos; time enveloped in darkness Light emanating from the gods The creation of the firmament The creation of the dry land The creation of the luminaries The creation of man The gods rest and celebrate

=GENESIS=

 Divine Spirit creates cosmic matter and exists independently of it Earth a desolate waste, with darkness covering the deep Light created The creation of the firmament The creation of the dry land The creation of the luminaries The creation of man God rests and sanctifies the seventh day

On the surface, the listing seems conclusive: the two understandings are identical. However, when one reads the two passages side by side, one will reach very different conclusions. (The Bible Among the Myths, by John N. Oswalt, Published by Zondervan 2009; pages 99, 100) For one thing Genesis deals with the mystery of the beginning of all things. God created a habitable world out of chaos. Thus, the universe was created in Gods purpose, even as it will end with the consummation of Gods purpose. Prevailing scientific theory proposes that the universe was created in a flash of Light. This big bang, or cosmic explosion, is believed to have occurred some 16 billion years ago. Some see parallels between this modern, scientific theory and the biblical account which opens with Gods command, Let there be Light. (Mysteries of the Bible, Readers Digest, 1988) Cosmogony; The story of the creation of the world is a

wealth of symbols. Every religion and every cultural level has its own theories and its own myths about the origins of the universe and the birth of the world. Existence suddenly springing out of nothingness, or the sudden appearance of the cosmos, cannot be susceptible to historical study because it was, by definition, unwitnessed. The only reality which can be grasped is the result of that creation, the creature and not the act of creation itself. If all birth is holy, how much more so absolute birth. Its description can only take the shape of a myth springing from human imagination, or a revelation by the Creator himself. However, these myths are forced by their mode of expression to set within a timeframe what, by the very nature of existence, escapes the bounds of time. They are compelled to force the superhuman into a human mold. They cannot fail to be deceptive and yet they are not devoid of meaning and of truth. They tell us about mankind and its conceptualization of the explosion of life... Some cosmogonies begin, not with nothingness, but with chaos. Earth, water, and darkness have preexisted from all eternity, but a power intervenes to produce order and light. The problem here is less one of origins than of the originating principle. More often than not this principle is identified with Breath, with the Spirit or with the Word. (Dictionary of Symbols; by Penguin Reference; 1996) If we as believers in Gods Word, the Bible, wish to get a true and deeper understanding then we must do three things;

1. We must first let go of any preconceived opinions that have been shaped or influenced by religious orthodox teaching. 2. If we are going to understand the ancient beliefs and concepts as contained within the writings of the Bible we must take them back to their beginnings using comparative studies and try to understand and see the world through their eyes at the time the Scriptures were written. 3. Most importantly, we must pray and ask God to teach us and give us understanding by allowing the Holy Spirit to guide us in all our thinking.

The Holy Spirit was the Author and guide to those who wrote the Bible even though the writers of Gods Holy writ may have inserted some of their own limited insight and personal convictions into the text as well. Even in the pulpit today a spirit filled pastor may share some of his own personal insights and opinions when delivering a sermon. However, the message and the clear Word of God will still come through loud and clear despite the pastors own personal input into the sermon because he is being lead by Gods Spirit of Truth: For the prophecy did not come in former times by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. (2 Peter 1:21) But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God! (1 Corinthians 2:10)

Seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. (Matthew 7:7)

Dr. Peck made a very interesting point when he said:

One of the things that religious people are guilty of is thinking they have God in their back pocket. But a fully mature person knows better. Reality, like God, is not something we can tie up in a nice neat intellectual little package and put in our briefcase and possess. Reality, like God, is not ours to possess. Reality, like God, possesses us. One of the confusing things about religion is that people go into it for different reasons. There are those who are attracted to religion in order to approach mystery, while there are others who are attracted to religion in order to escape from mystery.. .The spiritual journey is a quest for truth as much as science is a quest for truth. The fully mature person must be a truth seeker every bit as much as the scientist is a truth seeker, and perhaps even more. Because just as some people may go into religion in order to escape from mystery, so some people will go into science in order to escape from mystery. (Further Along The Road Less Traveled, by M. Scott Peck M.d. Touchstone Pub. 1993)

In this current work I will attempt to share an alternative view to the Biblical account of the Garden of Eden and the fall of Adam and Eve by looking at it from different perspectives, some of which are well known and some of which may seem strange to the average student of Gods Word not familiar with the many theoretical ideas and postulations. The most important episode of the Genesis account is of course the creation of man. The Hebrew word for man or mankind is Adamah or Adam, which can be translated to mean cultivated soil or red earth. The term Adam is naturally presented as representing the whole human race.

The Bible describes the Creation of man as being a subject of divine council (Genesis 1:26). And God said, let us make man in our image, after our likeness. In the ancient creation motifs of the Near East, the stories always describe the creation of man by a divine council of the gods. Many of these stories describe this divine council as being overshadowed by one Supreme deity or what we would call the all highest god. In the Bible this all highest god is Yahweh Almighty, the God of gods and the Self Existing One. This divine assembly, the elohim (gods) are what the Bible refers to as the Sons of God in several places of scripture; Job 38:4 Where was thou when I laid the foundations of the earth?... Job 38:7 When the morning stars sang together, and all the Sons of God shouted for joy?

The climax of Genesis 1 and the heart of its mystery comes in the description of the creation of Adam, the Hebrew term meaning human being or humanity. God had said, Let there be light. But now, God does not say, Let there be man. Instead he says, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. (Genesis 1:26) Every other act of creation had been a singular act a word spoken and carried out. Now it would appear that God is surrounded by others like himself. This passage has long

been a puzzle for interpreters of the Bible. The ancient Jewish philosopher, Philo, admitted that only God knows the reason for it, but argued that it reflected the mixed character of humanity, combining both good and evil. Early Christian interpreters thought of it as a reference to the presence of Christ at creation. The image of God surrounded by a heavenly Council is not uncommon in the Old Testament. The book of Job mentions the Sons of God presenting themselves before Yahweh (Job 1:16). Isaiah saw a vision of God surrounded by his seraphim. And I hear the voice of the Lord saying, whom shall I send, and who will go for us? (Isaiah 6:1-8). The prophet Micah saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing beside him on his right hand and on his left (1 KIngs 22:19). Modern ideas about these beings angels, seraphim, and the host of heaven are clouded by the elaboration of later ideas. However, the Bible itself does not go into detail about them. It may be that Genesis 1 refers to our image and our likeness in order to suggest a link between humanity and the whole realm of the divine. In a similar way Psalm 8 says that Yahweh made the human little less than Elohim, a word which interpreters have taken to mean either God himself or the angels... (Mysteries of the Bible, Readers Digest, 1988) Its interesting to remember that the rebellion of Lucifer (now Satan the Adversary) along with one

third of the, stars of heaven (angels) Revelation 12:3,4; must have occurred before the creation of mankind due to the fact that Satan was already a fallen creature when he made his crafty entrance into the Garden of Eden itself. However the Bible does not give us much information about the rebellion and fall of Lucifer other than what is mentioned in Isaiah 14:12-15 and Ezekiel 28:12-19. In both cases the overwhelming evidence is that the sin of Lucifer was pride: This designation, referred to Satan, is coupled with the epithet Son of the Morning and clearly signifies bright star (Isaiah 14:12-14), probably what we call the morning star. As a symbolical representation of the King of Babylon in his pride, splendor and fall, the passage goes beyond the Babylonian prince and invests Satan who, at the head of the present world system, is the real though invisible power behind the successive world rulers of Tyre, Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome. (Ungers Bible Dictionary, pg. 670) In Ezekiel 28:12-19 the writer once again goes behind the king of Tyre and invests Satan as the real entity being described. The entity being described in this passage is described as a being of surpassing and extraordinary beauty and wisdom, who had been in Eden the Garden of God, verse 13. This entity is described as the Anointed Cherub that covereth, who walked upon the Holy Mountain of God, and who was Perfect in all your ways from the day you were created, until iniquity was found in you. Since No King of Tyre or man answering these divine descriptions has yet, ever existed, this passage is taken to be a picture of Lucifer in the ancient past. Many cultures have

ancient myths describing cosmic battles that took place in Heaven a long time ago: How art thou fallen from heaven, 0 Lucifer, Son of the Morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou saidst in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. (Isaiah 14:12) And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, (RevelatIon 12:70) This war described in Revelation 12:7 will be the last great cosmic battle between Satan and God yet this war has continued since before mankind was even created. Isaiah 14:1214 has parallels to the Assyro Babylonian lighting god, Zu (the storm bird), sometimes known as the Fiery Flying Serpent: Zu cried; I will take the tablet of Destiny of the gods even I; and I will establish a throne and I will direct all the oracles of the gods; I will dispense commands, I will rule over the Spirits of Heaven! (The Womans Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets, by Barbara Walker; Harper Collins Pub. 1983) In the ancient Book of Dzyan there is a description of a great rebellion of the Sons of Heaven who were not in favor of creating their own images (humans) and it describes one third as refusing to obey the command:

#1 AT the fourth [round], the Sons are told to create their images, one third refuses to obey. The curse is pronounced. The older wheels rotated downward and upward. The Mothers spawn filled the whole. There were battles fought between the creators and destroyers, and battles fought for space; (Chariots of the Gods, by Erich Von Daniken). Could this one third be related to the one third spoken of in Revelation 12:3,4? Another description found in the Dead Sea Scrolls is the book known as The war between the children of Light and the children of Darkness, which draws a distinction between the elect, who from all eternity are predestined to belong to the divine army of Light and others whose true home is the Kingdom of Darkness. In consequences the entire history of mankind and the world is recognized as a pitched battle between the Sons of Light, and the Sons of Darkness. In Erich Von Danikens bestselling book Chariots of the Gods, he describes a Maori legend of the South Seas, where the legend describes a rebellion that broke out in heaven after Tane had arranged the stars. The legend names the rebels who were no longer willing to follow Tane, but Tone smote them with lightning, conquered the insurgents and threw them down to earth. Compare this with Luke 10:18: And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from , ,,

heaven Many ancient cultures, as we have just compared, have ancient myths describing cosmic battles that took place between the gods (divine beings) of the past. The similarities in the Bible cannot be easily dismissed by scholars or any sincere student of Gods Word. All myths have some basis in truth from which they originated. It is the duty of any truth seeker to examine all of the available evidence and then attempt to separate truth from error (a task which must be totally dependent on the revelation of Gods Holy Spirit and not on human reasoning alone). Its a little like panning for gold; one must sift through a lot of dirt before discovering the hidden nugget, or as in Matthew 13:44-46: Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field: that which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it. The fact that the myths of other ancient cultures have parallels to stories in the Bible does not shake my faith in Gods word one little bit. I know that there is a deeper, divine message hidden within the stories themselves and that the key to unlocking them is FAITH! Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1)

Faith is not determined by physical or scientifical evidence, therefore our faith is above and beyond the facts as perceived and interpreted by man: But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. (Hebrews 11:6)

It should be understood before we go on that Lucifer (now Satan) is the biggest mystery in symbolism and his true identity is a very closely guarded secret among those who belong to what is termed Secret Societies. There are some people who would accuse the Freemasons of worshipping Satan the devil. However this can be somewhat misleading due to the fact that when most people think of Satan and devil worship, they picture a dark and evil grotesque monster, and sinister rituals of animal or human sacrifice. For Freemasons this is far from the reality of who and what they worship. Freemasons worship a god (trinity) of knowledge, a god of Light. This trinity goes back to ancient Egypt and the trinity of Osiris, Isis, and Horus. Freemasons do not worship Satan the Adversary; they worship Lucifer the Light Bearer (see Ezekiel 28:12-17). This passage of Scripture reveals Lucifer as he was originally created, perfect in wisdom and beauty, a creature of Light and knowledge, of awesome appearance: And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. (2 Corinthians 11:14)

Freemasons do not worship evil; they worship knowledge itself! But please understand what I am about to say next: The worship of knowledge is Satanism in its most purest form.

This doesnt mean to imply that all Freemasons are knowingly worshipping Lucifer/Satan, because most Freemasons have no idea! It is the very elite and powerful Freemasons who hold the keys of true knowledge and who most certainly and knowingly do worship Satan! When understanding the symbols of the Serpent and the Dragon used to represent Satan in the Bible you need to remember that we are dealing with two sides of the same coin. On one side we have Satan the Adversary, and on the other side we have Lucifer the Angel of Light: SATAN; The Adversary. 1. In general, one who places himself in anothers way and thus opposes him. In this sense, the Hebrew word occurs in Numbers 22:22, 32; 1 Kings 11:25 (EVV Adversary), also in Psalm 109:6 (RV, Satan AV), but with a rather more specialized application as an accuser at law. As the proper name of one superhuman being it first occurs in Zechariah 3:1, where the article The Satan indicates its application to a definite person.

2. The full Biblical idea of Satan includes the notion of a superhuman personality, possessed of surpassing wisdom and malice, who accuses men of evil, tempts them to its performance, and becomes the instrument of their punishment for sin.

3. Historically, the conception of Satan emerges slowly. An intimation of the existence of a demon, or evil genius of the world, was to be found in the pre-exilic narrative of the fall of man (Genesis #3), in which the serpent (suggestive of the Babylonian Tiamat, the destroyer of the works of the gods) appears as the tempter of man to disobey Gods will.

4. He is consistent and persistent in his efforts to draw men away from God into destruction, (Ephesians 6:11-12). He succeeds in securing many in his toils, who are then called his children, (Acts 13:10 and John 8:44) or his synagogue (Revelation 2:9) or blended in his personality (John 6:70 and Mark 8:33). He is recognized as in control over a kingdom of evil spirits, situated in the circumambient atmosphere, and being in direct contact with, and influence over, human lives (Ephesians 2:2 The Prince of powers of the air 6:12). (A New Standard Bible Dictionary, by Funk & Wagnefls) On the other hand the Serpent and the Dragon are also recognized as symbols of Wisdom and Power by

the ancient world. The serpent was chosen as the head of the reptilian family. Serpent worship in some form has permeated nearly all parts of the World. The carved stone snakes of Central and South America; the hooded cobras of India; Python, the great snake of the Greeks; the sacred serpents of the Druids; the Midgard snake of Scandinavia; the Nagas of Burma, Siam, and Cambodia; the brazen serpent of the Jews; the mystic serpent of Orpheus; the Snakes at the oracle of Delphi twining themselves around the tripod upon which the Pythian priestess sat, the tripod itself being in the form of twisted serpents; the sacred serpents preserved in the Egyptian temples; the Uraeus coiled upon the foreheads of the Pharaohs and priests; - all these bear witness to the universal veneration in which the snake was held. In the ancient world of the Mysteries the serpent entwining a staff (Caduceus) was the symbol of the physician. The serpent-wound staff of Hermes remains the emblem of the medical profession. Among nearly all these ancient peoples the serpent was accepted as the symbol of wisdom or salvation. The serpent is true to the principle of wisdom, for it tempts man to the knowledge of self. Therefore the knowledge of self resulted from mans disobedience... (The Secret Teachings of All Ages, by Manly P. Hall, 1928). As a symbol of knowledge and power the Serpent or Dragon represents a form of salvation or immortality based on

w~qH~4eried GNOSTICISM (knowledge). It is knowledge based on ones own intellectual abilities and understanding of the hidden (occultic) powers of the universe and spiritual realities (such as reincarnation and the pre-existence of the soul). The serpent has long been a symbol of immortality and reincarnation because of its ability to shed its skin and reappear as it were in a new body. Satan or Lucifer is the personification behind the symbol: Although, as a general rule, Christianity has retained only the negative and accursed aspects of the serpent, Christian Scriptures for their part bear witness to the symbols dual aspect. Thus, in the book of Numbers, when the serpents sent by God caused the archetypal sanctuary, that is, a place where God dwells and where man should worship him. Many of the features of the garden may also be found in later sanctuaries, particularly the tabernacle or Jerusalem Temple. These parallels suggest that the garden itself is understood as a sort of sanctuary. The presence of God was the key to the garden and was understood by the author and audience as a given from the ancient woridview. His presence is seen as the fertile source of all life-giving waters... On this point, then the ancient world and the Biblical picture agree. When we see that creation as a whole was understood in the terms of a cosmic temple complex, it would be logical to understand the garden as the antechamber to the holy of holies. Eden probably would be the holy of holies,

and the garden adjoins it as the antechamber. In this regard it is of importance to note that the objects that were kept in the antechamber of the sanctuary are images intended to evoke the garden. The menorah is a symbol of the tree of life and the table for the bread of presence provided food for the priests. In conclusion, then, the garden is understood to be comparable to the antechamber of the holy of holies (Eden) in the cosmic temple complex. (Ancient Near Eastern Thought and the Old Testament, by John H. Walton; chapter 5, pages 124-125)

We must remember that the Garden of Eden represents Paradise (Gods Presence): He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith into the churches; to him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life which is in the midst of the paradise (Garden) of God. (Revelation 2:7, emphasis and italics are mine) deaths of many of the children of Israel, his chosen people were restored to life by the symbol of the serpent itself (Numbers 21:6-9). Although Christian theology made this incident a prefiguration of the Crucifixion, when Christ regenerated the world from the cross, the serpent more often in the medieval mind was Eves serpent, doomed to crawl upon his belly, and the cosmic dragon of the book of Revelation. There St. John does not controvert its antiquity, but announces it defeat. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world,

he was cast into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him (Revelation 12:9). From now on, the seducer becomes the creature of repulsion. None can dispute the existence of his knowledge and powers, but their origin can be called into question. They were regarded as the fruits of theft and, in the eyes of the Spirit, became unlawful. The serpents knowledge became dammable knowledge and the serpent within us was to give birth to vices which brought us death instead of life. (Dictionary of Symbols, by Penguin Reference, 1996) The Prophet Moses (Hebrew Mosheh) is traditionally accepted as being the author of Genesis. However it should be recognized that the book of Genesis contains a compilation of many ancient documents in addition to the commentary that Moses was able to weave into them. That being the case it is no accident that Moses was raised within the elite family and courts of the Pharaoh. As a result of this unusual relationship Moses was subsequently initiated and taught the ancient esoteric principles and philosophy of ancient Egypt. And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in word and deeds. ACTS 7; 22 Even the birth of Moses is very mysterious and has direct parallels to another ancient mysterious birth: THE BIRTH OF SARGON; Though Sargon ruled in the twenty-fourth century B.C., the earliest versions of this tale date only to the Neo-Assyrian period (900-600 B.C.). In the first person account Sargon recounts how he was born to a priestess who put him in a basket boat floating down the river. He was found and raised by a gardener. Attracting the favor of lshtar, he eventually was elevated to kingship... (Ancient Near Eastern Thought and the Old Testament, by John H.

Walton, Baker Pub.)

The name Moses is actually an Egyptian name that may be interpreted to mean Enlightened One. The Hebrew version Mosheh means To Draw Out because he was drawn out of the Nile River. The Nile River was recognized as the river of life to the Egyptians because without its life giving properties the land of Egypt would have been a barren wasteland. However the river as a flowing body of water also is symbolic of the River of Life in esoteric circles. In other words it represents spiritual enlightenment and immortality. As Moses (Mosheh) was drawn out of the secret doctrine he was a chosen representative of God from birth. When Moses wrote the Torah (the first five Books of Law) he concealed the deeper esoteric meanings of its contents within allegories and symbols designed to be understood by those who are lead by Gods Spirit alone as their guide: Indeed the Bible is a collection of paradoxical stories, and as befits a collection of paradoxes, it is itself paradoxical it is a mixture of legend, some of which is true and some of which is not true. It is a mixture of very accurate history and not so accurate history. It is a mixture of outdated rules and some pretty good rules. It is a mixture of myth and metaphors... How are we to interpret the Bible? Although they place such importance on it, the fundamentalists, in my experience, strangely misuse the Bible. Actually, the term Fundamentalists is a misnomer. The more

proper term is inerrantists, those who believe that the Bible is not only the divinely inspired word of God but the actual transcribed, unaltered word of God, and that it is subject to only one kind of literal interpretation, namely theirs. Such thinking, to my mind, only impoverishes the Bible. (Further Along the Road Less Traveled, by M. Scott Peck M.D., Touchstone Pub. 1993) Understanding the essence of esotericism is important in many areas of Biblical Theology and Philosophy that can shed light on many of the allegories and symbols contained in the Bible. The Garden of Eden and the fall of Adam and Eve have very profound implications when understood from an esoteric perspective. One thing is agreed upon by many sincere Christian Bible Scholars is that it is not to be understood from a strictly literal interpretation: Origin of Sin: The Fall The origin of sin in the world is traced to the first man. The account of temptation and sin of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, though not alluded to again in the Old Testament, was naturally interpreted as involving the corruption and fall of the whole human race (Romans 5:12 f.; 1 CorInthians 15:22). In the hands of the Apostle Paul, it received a careful elaboration, because it filled a special and logically legitimate place in his system of thought. The correspondence of the Fall to the redemptive work of Jesus Christ in respect to the extent of the influence of

each, to the number affected by each, to the place and relation of the mediator of each to the rest of mankind, and the consequences of each, were such that he must show them in their fullness of meaning and thus exalt Christ as a revelation of Gods wisdom, power, and grace. The Paradise narrative itself betrays a certain consciousness of the importance the affair occupied in the mind of Israel. The figure of the serpent suggests the monster Tiamat of Assyrian mythology, the great opponent of the gods and undoer of their work. This conception is so much like that of Satan in the subsequent history as portrayed both in the Old Testament and the New Testament that the reading of a satanic influence into the action of the serpent by the earlier Christian theology is not as unhistorical and unscientific as it was once supposed to be. This account of the Fall has thus all the appearance of aiming to show how sin entered into the world of mankind. It does not explain the emergence of sin in the universe as a whole. That must have been the work, not of a tempter, but of an original creator of an evil propensity. The account represents evil as already existing outside the earthly world and making its entrance there. The rassaoe, however, could never have been taken in the strictest literal sense. The essential element in it is not that the body of a snake was possessed for a time by an evil spirit, and spoke without the use of vocal organs, or that the first man and woman partook of the fruit of a mysterious tree, but that in some way, either crude and vague, or explicit and consciously present to the moral sense, the first human beings received the suggestion of a departure from the known good (the will of

God), and that they yielded and made this suggestion that law of their action! (A New Standard Bible Dictionary, by Funk & Wagnells Co., 1936). The Garden of Eden itself is a very mysterious place in Scripture: We must recognize that the Garden of Eden was not, strictly speaking, a garden for man, but was the garden of God (IsaIah 51:3 & Ezekiel 28:13). The Garden of Eden is not viewed by the author of Genesis simply as a piece of Mesopotamian farmland, but as an Paradise is the Sanskrit paradesha the all-highest place of God. It represents the first spiritual centre (in the east; verse 2:8) the birthplace of tradition. It represents, universally the home of the gods and immortality. It is the point where Heaven and Earth meet (the Star of David). In Genesis 2:8 it says that God planted this garden Eastward. The question we should ask is Why eastward? To answer that question we need to recognize what the East represents in the spiritual realms. To those belonging to secret societies the term the East has very specific and important connotations assigned to it. The east is often contrasted with the west as spirituality with materialism, with life and death, light and darkness, soul and body, etc.. The fact that the sun sets in the west has given rise to many correspondences. Journeys like those of Freemasons and Christian Rosenkreuz (Rose Crux) to the east are quests for enlightenment. The ancients compared life as a journey

following the path of the sun. As the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, so it is with life itself, only to be reborn again the next day, (thus the doctrine of reincarnation). When a person is selected and accepted into the brotherhood of the Freemasons he begins his journey as an Entered Apprentice and there follows many questions and answers. As a rite of passage there follows this very important dialogue: Q: From whence come you, and whither are you going (or traveling)?

A: From the West (darkness/ignorance), and travelling towards the East (light/knowledge). A: In search of Light (or Wisdom). Even in Scripture the east is given special consideration as the place of Light and Glory of God. Afterward he brought me to the gate, even the gate that looketh toward the East: And behold, the glory of the God of Israel come from the way of the East: and his voice was like a noise of many waters: and the earth shined with his glory. (Ezekiel 43:1,2; 44:1-3; 46:1-3, 12; 47:1-2)

Because of Adams sin he was expelled from the garden (Gods Presence) and sent westward to tend the soil from

which he had been fashioned, which signifies that he was cutoff from the source of light and life (truth) and sent into the World of darkness and death (materialism and ignorance), but with a promise; the promise of the coming Messiah whose future sacrifice would restore the relationship between God and man at the appointed time. But until then, mankind was destined to learn to trust God the hard way in a manner of speaking. The journey from the west to the east by the Freemasons and other schools of esotericism is a quest for that which was lost, immortality. In the Genesis account we have the allegorical scene of Adam and Eve as representatives of the whole human race (not forgetting that Adam also represents the Hebrew seed of all Israel) and the Garden of Eden (Gods divine presence) with two symbolic trees; one referred to as The Tree of Life (Gods will) and the other tree referred to as The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. In an attempt to understand this second tree we need to take this story back to the time it was written and see just exactly what this tree may have represented then? According to some of the worlds most respected Scholars and Theologians the Hebrew term being used here for Good and Evil represents Knowledge of All Things. And this would relate specifically to knowledge of the occult and esoteric doctrines (see footnotes for Genesis 2:15-16 in the Anchor Bible Commentary series). It is through the knowledge of the occult sciences that mankind desired to be like God or, a god (Genesis 3:5): It is almost ludicrous to attempt a brief treatment of

such a complex subject, but for the readers sake, I cannot avoid trying to point out at least the key issues in the discussion. As Genesis 1-3 show, good in the Bible is that which accords with the Creators purposes in creating, and evil is that which does not conform to that purpose. This in itself is an astonishing innovation. Thus, the knowledge of good and evil of Genesis 2-3 is the ability to define the purpose of ones existence for oneself. Truly that is to be like God, and the desire for such is at the heart of the human sinfulness. It is important, then, to recognize that the Hebrew word ra connotes much more than does the English word evil... (The Bible Among the Myths, by John N. Oswalt, Pub. by Zondervan; chapter #6 page 130, footnote 22).

The Tree of Knowledge represents the knowledge or awareness of oneself as a self-existing entity. The sin of Adam was his attempt to exercise his freewill apart from vital dependence upon the One who created and gave him breath (being). Adam symbolizes Sin, perversion of the spirit, misuse of freedom and rejection of all dependence upon God. Eve represents Desire, literally of the soul in man. On the spiritual plane she symbolizes the female element in the male, in the sense employed by Origen, that the inner man comprises soul and spirit since it is said that the spirit is male and the soul may be termed female (see Origen on Sermons on Genesis 4:15). Eve signifies human sensitivity and the irrational element in the individual. As the soul of Adam (rib), Eves desire

led to the disobedience of the Spirit in man. Man in his entire being sinned, since soul and spirit consented to sin. In this context the first step was taken by the soul (Eve/desire) and then ratified by the spirit (Adam/rational decision). Jewish thought provided the soul with two drives, one to higher things (heavenly) and one to lower things (earthly). It also conceived of a male principle (Nefesh) and a female principle (chajah), both called upon to transform themselves in order to be able to become a single spiritual principle, Ruach, spirit or breath. The Apostle Paul made distinguishes within the individual spirit as well; Pneuma = Spirit, Soul = psyche and Soma = body. If 1 Thessalonians 5:23 is compared with 1 Corinthians 15:44, it will be seen that it is the soul in man or the PYSCHE which vitalizes the human body while the spirit pneuma is that part of the individual which is exposed to a higher level of life and to the direct influences of the Holy Spirit. It is possession of a rational soul which distinguishes human beings from other creatures and gives them the title to be created in the image of God. When the Apostle Paul speaks of Gods Word, he compares it with A two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit (Hebrews 4:12). The symbolism of the Sun and Moon within Freemasonry represents the dual aspect of human nature. In the mystic tradition of Freemasonry the Sun symbolizes Masculinity & Spirit (Adam) and the Moon symbolizes Femininity &soul/psyche (Eve). The Moon or Soul has no light of its own

rather it takes the light of the Sun to give life and glory to the Moon which is designed to reflect the Suns glory. In the same manner of comparison the Soul without the Spirit is dead because the Soul was created in man to reflect the glory of God. With all of this being understood thus far we can now turn our attention to the mysterious and allegorical scene of the Fall of Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:1-24) and maybe get a glimpse into its deep and profound meaning. Lets consider the following issues: 1. The fact that they were given a commandment (or commandments), You shall not eat, you shall not even touch shows that they both had the capacity to distinguish between good (right) and evil (wrong) already, otherwise they could not have been held accountable for their actions so we are not dealing with an issue of good and evil on a strictly moral issue here, it has to be recognized as something greater, more profound.

2. The statements given by the serpent (who represents occultic knowledge or wisdom) shows us that there is much more being presented here than just knowledge of right and wrong, for the serpent says to the woman; A. You wont surely die (the lie) B. for God knows that this fruit (knowledge) will open your eyes (mind)

C. And you will be as God (or gods) knowing good and evil (all things) 3. The woman (the soul) saw that this fruit was good for food (enlightenment) and that it was pleasant to the eyes (the mind), and that it was fruit (knowledge) to make one wise (to illuminate). The soul (Eve) partook (submitted) to the desire to be like God and shared this desire with Adam (rational thought) and mankind in his total freewill and being consented to this desire to become like God (or a god), throwing off all dependence and seeing himself as a selfexisting entity and having his eyes opened to the spiritual and metaphysical levels of reality that govern and support the whole order of Creation both mundane and super-mundane. When this happened Adam and Eve (spirit and soul) became self-conscious by knowing all things concerning life and death. Please understand that we are being presented here with the same forbidden fruit that Satan still offers and teaches today in circles of Secret Societies, which is the concept of a universal god-consciousness and the immortality of the soul; You wont surely die; by implication that we are all gods, free to exist and develop according to our own intellectual capabilities. While it may be true that by partaking of the forbidden knowledge, Adam and Eves eyes were opened, and they did indeed become as gods in a

manner of speaking by having their minds enlightened (because Satan always mixes truth with lies in order to deceive), and God declares Himself that they have indeed become aware of themselves as selfexisting: Then the Lord God said, behold the man has become like one of us, to know good and evil (all things). (Genesis 3:22) The lie however was the statement given by the serpent that You wont surely die. God declares however in Ezekiel 18:4; Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.

The so called New Age Philosophy being taught today is not a new concept at all. Its the same old lie that Satan presented to our first parents all the way back in the Garden of Eden only cloaked in new terminology to fit the modern times. This new age doctrine teaches that Christconsciousness or god-consciousness is within everyone and that we are all gods in the making and that we possess immortality in and of ourselves. Some New Agers will point too Jesus statement in the Gospel of John 10:34; to support their claims: Jesus answered them, is it not written in your law, I said, you are gods?

Jesus was quoting from Psalm 82:6 when he spoke these words. However, we should not let this statement go to our heads in a manner of speaking because verse seven of Psalm 82 is the real clincher. The two verses put together are very clear: I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the Most High. But ye shall die like men; and fall like one of the princes. Because of Sin!!! It is important to understand that God in His great Wisdom has a divine plan in creating mankind, knowing full well that we would fall. But having known this from the beginning, He also prepared for mankind eventual redemption which is why it states in Revelation 13:8 that Jesus Christ was slain from the foundation of the world. In other words it was preordained that Messiah would suffer and die as a sacrifice for sin and be raised again as the firstborn from the dead even before mankind was created. God is in the process of creating a divine family through those of us who choose to repent and serve Him now. We are being adopted into His divine family as sons and daughters in Christ to replace those elohim/angels who rebelled against Him in the beginning. God is creating in and through us a perfect and holy priesthood of which Jesus Christ is the firstborn and our example (see 1 Peter 2:5; Romans 8:29; and

Colossians 1:15-18). Beloved, now are we the sons (and daughters) of God, and it does not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is...(1 John 3:2)

In Genesis 3:7, 21 it says; 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 Unto A dam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them.

In Freemasonry the leather apron is one of the most important Masonic garments. In the old guilds, the apron was symbolic of the work which made wearing of an apron necessary. In Masonic symbolism, the apron does in fact represent the symbol of the work that must be done in the everyday life of every individual Mason.

The work being referred to is that of which the Bible refers to as the Works of the Law or Works of righteousness. The Masonic apron should be white and spotless. By keeping it so. each individual Mason is able to achieve a degree of perfection to which all Freemasons aspire. The work that all Freemasons aspire to attain is recognized as the accumulation of knowledge that is to be found in what is

termed the seven liberal arts and sciences. Basically it is the knowledge of all things.. .This knowledge is represented in the symbolism of the fig tree Fig Tree Together with the Olive Tree and the Vine, the fig is one of the trees which are symbols of plenty. However, it, too has its negative aspect. When withered it becomes a Tree of Evil and, in Christian symbolism, stands for the Synagogue, which became barren through its failure to acknowledge the Messiah of the New Covenant... The fig tree symbolizes religious knowledge. In ancient Egypt it was given a significance in rites of initiation and the early Christian hermits ate figs by choice... When Jesus curses the fig tree in Matthew 21:19-21 and Mark 11:12 if., one ought, perhaps, to comment that he is cursing the knowledge which it contains or fails to contain. Jesus was also to say to Nathaniel (John 1:48): When thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee. Nathaniel was an intellectual. (Dictionary of Symbols, by Penguin Ref., 1996)

The reason God rejected the aprons made of fig leaves is because those aprons symbolized mans vain attempt to atone for his sin (shortcomings) by human efforts alone (Works of Righteousness) and the use of his own intellect and human reasoning rather than total acceptance and dependence on God. As a way of correcting Adam and Eve, and as a prophetic promise, God made them coats of skins

(complete coverings) which was to symbolize the future sacrifice of Jesus Christ as the LAMB OF GOD WHO TAKETH AWAY THE SIN OF THE WORLD. (John 1:29) So be it!!! Shalom