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All right, we're there in Genesis chapter number three, and if you would, I'd like you to just flip back to Genesis chapter one, Genesis chapter number one, and of course tonight we are continuing our Declaring Doctrine sermon series. We're studying doctrines on Sunday nights. It's a theological study. We're going through the major doctrines of the Bible, and we've been in this section on the doctrine of man. Last week we looked at the doctrine of creation, tonight we're going to look at the doctrine of the fall. Last week we looked at how God created the heaven and the earth. Today we're going to look at how we messed it up and how mankind ruined creation, and we'll talk about the fall of man. What I want to do when I've been announcing over the last several services is that I want to tell you the story of the fall of man. I want to tell you the story of Adam and Eve in a biblically sound way, but I want to give it to you in a way that you may have never heard of before. Maybe you've heard it from me before, and I want to fill in some gaps that maybe you haven't thought about before, because oftentimes when we look at these narratives in the Bible, God gives us a story, and he gives us what's needed for that story, but sometimes he doesn't fill in what's going on on the other side in the spiritual realm. You'll find this in the book of Revelation. When you read the book of Revelation, the book of Revelation is divided into two sections, chapters 1 through 11 take you through the first section of the book of Revelation, and it's all based off of the earthly, how things are seen on earth. And then you start over in chapter 12, and you get the same events, but you see them from a heavenly perspective, and in Genesis and in different books of the Bible, oftentimes we see the earthly perspective, but we don't see the heavenly perspective, and I want to fill that in for you tonight. I'm going to give you 10 statements that will walk us through the theology of the fall of man, and I want you to know this. I want you to learn this. My job as a pastor is not only to preach highly applicable sermons, which is the vast majority of sermons that I preach, like this morning, things that you can go home and do and apply, but my job is also to teach you the word of God, to teach you doctrine, and I want this to be the church that is filled with doers of the word, but I also want this to be filled with men and women who know what they believe and why they believe it. I want this to be the most educated church in the world, and that's what our attempt is. So I want to teach you the doctrine of the fall of man. I want to give you 10 statements that will walk us through this theology, and I would encourage you to write these down because, like you've heard me say in the past, as preachers, we don't preach to be heard. We preach to be applied, but we also preach to be repeated. You should teach this to your children. You should teach this to your grandchildren. You should teach this to a future convert and someone that you may be discipling, so I'd encourage you to write these things down. It helps you to not just hear it, but to write down notes and to take down notes for you to learn these things, 10 statements in regards to the theology of creation. The first statement is this, if you would write it down. Number one, when God created the heaven and the earth, if you remember, we saw the creation last week, and we looked at how God created the heaven and the earth. When God created the heaven and the earth, everything was perfect in it. When God created the heaven and the earth, and I'm using the word perfect using our modern definition for that, meaning there was no fault, there was no error, there was no corruption. Everything was as it should be. Everything was perfect. If you notice there in Genesis 1 and verse 31, at the end of the creation week, the Bible says this, and God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good, and the evening and the morning were the sixth day. The Bible tells us in Genesis chapter 1, it gives us an outline of the creation week, the six days that God created the heaven and the earth, and in chapter 2, we see the seventh day in which God rested. We also get a recap and a review of the creation week in chapter 2, and then in chapter 3, we see the fall of man. But what I want you to notice is that when God created everything, when God created the heaven and the earth, everything was perfect. It was good. The Bible says everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And I don't want to spend a lot of time on this, but let me just give this to you by the way. This is another reason why some of those things that we talked about last week, like the gap theory, the belief that there is a period of time between verses 1 and 2 of Genesis chapter 1 in which the devil fell from grace and there was this, you know, war in heaven and all these things. Those things obviously happened, but the fact that they would happen between, during that creation week, this is a proof against that because God would not have looked at creation on day 6 and said, you know, everything that he made was good if there had already been major sin and, you know, devils and things of that nature. So we get to the end of the creation week and what we know is this, it was good. Everything was as it should be. And God saw everything that he had made and behold, it was very good. So number one, when God created the heaven and the earth, everything was perfect in it. Number two, and I'd like you to go to the book of Ezekiel if you would with me. If you go towards the end of the Old Testament, you find those major prophets, those bigger books of the prophets. We have Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, tonight is going to be very much of a Bible study, so we'll be flipping back and forth. I hope that's why you came to study the Bible. Ezekiel chapter 28, here's the second statement. Satan sinned because we know Satan fell. We know Satan sinned. Satan sinned between his creation and his appearance in the garden of Eden. Ezekiel 28 verse 12, the Bible says this, Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus and say unto him. Now here we have Ezekiel prophesying about a man, the king of Tyrus, but he's actually, he's prophesying about that physical, literal man, but in the way that many of these prophecies are, there is a physical, immediate application, and then there is oftentimes another application, spiritual application. And here we have Ezekiel, he's preaching to the king of Tyrus, but he's really preaching about Satan, who is the one who's controlling the king of Tyrus. We know that the Bible teaches that the devils are the ones that control the politicians of our world. The Bible says, for we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. And this is what Ezekiel is talking about. He says, Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord God, thou sealest up the sum full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. Notice verse 13. You say, how do you know he's not talking about the king of Tyrus and he's talking about Satan? Here's how we know, verse 13, thou has been in Eden the garden of God. So this is not literally the king of Tyrus, but it is Satan who is controlling the king of Tyrus. And notice Ezekiel says to him, he says, thou has been in Eden the garden of God. Now when was Satan in Eden the garden of God? We know that. We just read that in Genesis 3. He appeared as a serpent to Eve. He says, thou has been in Eden the garden of God. Every precious stone was thy covering. The Sardis, Topaz, the diamond, the barrel, the onyx, the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, the carbuncle, and gold, the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in the, notice these words, in the day that thou was created. Why don't you notice that the Bible teaches that Satan is a created being. Satan was created by God. There was a day, the Bible says, if you look at the last part of verse 13, in the day that thou was created. Now what day was that? Well, the Bible tells us that in the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth. Now on the first day of creation, God created both the heaven and the earth. He spends the next five days creating within the earth and filling the earth. But the heaven was created on that first day. And Satan, who was a cherubim or an angelic being, would have been created in that first day of creation when God created everything. He says, in the day that thou was created. See, Satan was a created being, and we know that Satan had not yet fallen at the end of the creation week, because at the end of the creation week, God said it was all good. God looked at everything and said it was good. So we know that at that point, Satan had not yet fallen, but he was created in that week. And at the end of that week, God said that everything was very good. Now look at verse 14, Exodus 28, verse 14. He says, thou art the anointed cherub. That's how we know that Satan is an angelic being. Is the anointed cherub that covereth. And I have set thee so. Thou was upon the holy mountain of God. Thou has walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou was perfect. Notice that word perfect, meaning he was complete. He was exactly how God had created him. Thou was perfect in thy ways from the day that thou was created. Satan is a created being. The Mormons want to teach that Jesus and Satan were brothers. This is a lie. The Bible teaches, and we talked about it last week, that Jesus is the creator and Satan is a creation. The devil was created by God. Here the prophet tells us, thou was perfect in thy ways from the day that thou was created. Notice he was perfect. That matches what we read in Genesis 131 where God said that he saw all things that he had made and God said that they were all very good. He was perfect in thy ways from the day that thou was created. Notice till iniquity was found in thee. We know that Satan fell. We know that Satan rebelled against God. We know that in pride he lifted himself up and he said that I shall be like the most high. And here Ezekiel tells us that when he was created, he was perfect. He was the anointed cherub and he was perfect in all his ways. Till iniquity is found in thee, look at verse 16, by the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, notice these words, and thou hast sinned. Therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. So here's point number one. When we talk about the theology of the fall of man, we have to understand that when God created the heaven and the earth, everything was good, everything was perfect. Number two, Satan sinned, Satan fell, and Satan sinned or fell between the time of creation or the end of creation in Genesis chapter number one and the time that he appears in the garden, Genesis chapter number three. Now how much time went by between Genesis one and Genesis three, we don't know. The Bible does not tell us that. It could have been days, it could have been weeks, it could have been years, it could have been decades, I don't know. And you know, I don't know everything about the Bible, but I don't know that there's anything in the Bible that even hints towards telling us how much time went by, go to Matthew if you would, Matthew chapter 25, first book in the New Testament, Matthew 25. But here's what we do know, at the end of the creation week, God said it's all good. God said it's all perfect. Here's what we do know, Satan was a created being, so at the end of that creation week, when God said everything is good, Satan was included in that, so we know that the gap theory is not true, Satan did not fall between the creation of heaven and earth and when God began to fill the earth. We know that Satan made it through that creation week, and he was perfect in all his ways. And what we also know is that according to Ezekiel, he was perfect till iniquity was found in him, and Ezekiel mentions the fact that he was in the Garden of Eden. We know that the serpent was Satan. We know that in Revelation, the Bible calls him Satan. It calls him the great dragon, it calls him that old serpent. It refers to him being back in the Garden of Eden. So here's what we know, between the end of the creation, Genesis chapter 1, and his appearance in the Garden, Genesis chapter 3, Satan fell. Satan sinned, he rebelled against God, and he fell, as we would say, from grace. Look at Matthew 25. Here's the next thing we know. When Satan sinned, God prepared hell and condemned him to it for his sin. Do you know that God created hell not for us, but for the devil? Matthew 25 and verse 41, notice what the Bible says. Matthew 25 verse 41, the Bible says this, then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, depart from me, ye cursed into everlasting fire. Here we see God condemning people to hell. He says, depart from me, ye cursed into everlasting fire. But I want you to notice the little description, the little caveat that God tells us about this place with everlasting fire. He says, prepared for the devil and his angels. When God created hell, he did not create hell with an intention of sending mankind there. Hell was not created for mankind. The Bible says that God prepared this everlasting fire. He says, prepared for the devil and his angels. Now the Bible does not tell us specifically when hell was created. And I'm not going to stand up here and pretend like I have all the answers. I'll give you my opinion, and it is simply an opinion. But I don't believe that hell was created during the creation week. First of all, we don't see it described during the week of creation. But also, in my opinion, I don't know that there would be a need for hell because God gets to the end of the creation week and says everything is good. We're told in Matthew 25 41 that God created hell. It was prepared for the devil and his angels. It was prepared as a place of punishment for their sin. And it would make sense to me that God would create hell after Satan fell, after the fall of Satan. In between Genesis chapter 1 and Genesis chapter 3, we know that Satan fell, and we know that God created hell, and he prepared it for the devil and his angels. Now whether God, somebody could make the argument that God created hell in anticipation knowing that would happen, and I would not have an issue with that. Did God create earth with the capacity for hell? I don't have an issue with that either. But the point is this, hell was not created for you or for me. Hell very clearly, then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, depart from me, you cursed it into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. So when God created the heaven and the earth, everything was perfect in it. Satan sinned between his creation and his appearance in the garden of Eden. And when Satan sinned, God prepared hell and condemned him, condemned Satan and his devils to it between creation and his appearance in the garden of Eden. Go to the book of Deuteronomy if you would, Deuteronomy chapter 32. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy chapter 32. See we could just give you the Sunday school version of Adam and Eve, and I don't have a problem with that. There's lots to learn just from the passage and the text of Genesis chapter 3. But in order to really understand the fall of man, I believe you have to understand the context that leads us into the fall of man. We have to understand the other things that God tells us have taken place between creation and the fall of man, between creation and the story of the garden of Eden. Some things have happened within that space. How long that space was, I don't know. But we know this, Satan fell and hell was created for the devil and his angels. Here's statement number 4. Satan understood that God is just and God is truthful and God, we talked about this in our Esther series a few weeks ago, must stand by his word. Satan was condemned to hell. God created hell because Satan sinned and in fact God condemned Satan to hell. God may have expressed to Satan, the wages of sin is death and because you have sinned now you must die. Not just a physical death in the sense that you and I would think, but in the sense of the second death, the eternal punishment. Satan sinned and God condemned Satan to hell as a result of his sin and Satan understood that God is just and God is truthful and because God is just and because God is truthful, God must stand by his word. Deuteronomy 32, look at verse 3, Deuteronomy 32 and verse 3, because I will publish the name of the Lord, ascribe he greatness unto our God. He is the rock. By the way, notice here we're told that our God is the rock and in the New Testament we're told that the rock is the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are judgment. What does that mean? It means that all his ways are just. A God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he. See, God has no iniquity. God does not make inappropriate judgment calls. God is truth. God is just. God is justice in all his ways. Satan understood this. He understood that God is just. He understood that God is truth. He understood that God cannot, that God is not a man that he should lie. He understood that God must abide by his word. So Satan, go with me back to the book of Genesis, chapter number 1. Let me give you the fifth statement. I've got 10 of these. Number 1, when God created the heaven and the earth, everything was good. Number 2, Satan sinned between his creation and his appearance in Eden. Number 3, when Satan sinned, God prepared hell and condemned him to it for his sin. Number 4, Satan understood that God is just and truthful and must stand by his word. Number 5, Satan also knew that God's greatest and most loved creation was mankind. Mankind, men, human beings are not animals. This is what we're told by our society today, that we are animals. We talked about it last week. God created us differently than animals. When God created animals, he just spoke and they were. The Bible tells us in Genesis chapter 1 and verse 26, and God said, very different, very different from an animal, God said, let us make man in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion, let them have lordship, let them have rule over the fish of the sea and over the fowls of the air and over the cattle and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. Notice verse 27. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him, male and female created he them. And Satan knew something about mankind. Satan knew that God's greatest and most loved creation, the climax of creation was the creation of mankind. The only being that the Bible has ever said that they were created, that we were created in the image of God, that God himself breathed. You never read this about any other animal. The animals just came into being. The Bible says that God formed man from the dust of the earth and that God breathed into man the breath of life, that our life literally came from God and man became a living soul. We're created in the image of God. Satan understood that the greatest and most valued and the most loved creation of God was mankind. Satan also knew this, that God created man for his own fellowship and pleasure. We talked about it last week but let's look at it again. Notice there in Genesis chapter 3 and verse 8, this is after Adam and Eve have fallen but it's not yet been brought to light. Why don't you notice Genesis chapter 3 and verse 8, the Bible says this, and they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day. The way that this is written and worded, it's written as if this was not a surprise to them. In fact, this is maybe something they anticipated. It may be that God would come down and walk with Adam and Eve every evening and have a time of fellowship. This is where we get our famous hymn of walking in the garden with God. I personally believe that this is talking about the Lord Jesus Christ. That the second person of the Godhead came down and walked with Adam and they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day. Keep your finger right there. We're going to come back to it but go to the book of Colossians. We saw this last week but I want you to see it again. Colossians chapter 1 in the New Testament. You have Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, 1st, 2nd Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1st, 2nd Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Colossians chapter 1, Colossians chapter 1 and verse 16. You say, why do you think that it was Jesus Christ? Again, that's just an opinion. It could have been not literal that God was walking but just, you know, they heard the voice of God or whatever. The reason that I think it was the Lord Jesus Christ is because this is very intimate. The Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, coming to fellowship with Adam and Eve. Colossians chapter 1 and verse 16 says this, for by Him, Him there is referring to the Lord Jesus Christ in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. It says, for by Him were all things created that are in heaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created by Him, Jesus Christ, notice, and for Him. Why was mankind created? Who initiated the creation of mankind? The Bible seems to indicate that it was the Lord Jesus Christ. We obviously understand that there was unity in the Godhead, that there's unity in the Trinity and it was the will of all, but it was the Word of God, it was the Son of God, it was the second member of the Godhead that the Bible tells us created all things by Him all things consist. We were created by Him and for Him. Revelation 4-11, you don't have to turn there, it says this, thou are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power for thou has created all things and for thy pleasure they are and were created. Satan knew, Satan knew that the greatest and most prized creation, the greatest and most loved creation of God was mankind. And Satan knew that God created man for his own fellowship and pleasure. Go back to Genesis chapter 3, look at the verse again, verse 8, 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. This is something they had not done in the past. In the past there was no shame, there was no kill. They had never hid themselves from the presence of the Lord. In the past every time that the Lord God walked in the garden in the cool of the day, they embraced it. And the Lord God called unto Adam and said, where art thou? Why are you hiding? See Satan knew, Satan knew that God created man for his own fellowship and pleasure. So what did Satan do? Look at Genesis chapter 2. Satan, the Bible tells us that God created the heaven and the earth and when God created the heaven and the earth, everything was good. That's the first statement. The second statement, Satan sinned between his creation and his appearance in Eden. The third statement is that when Satan sinned, God prepared hell and condemned Satan to hell for his sin, Satan and the devil and his angels. Number four, Satan understood that God is just and truthful and that God must stand by his word. Statement number five, Satan also knew that God's greatest and most loved creation was mankind. Statement number six, Satan knew that God created man for his own fellowship and pleasure. So what does Satan do? Here's statement number seven, Satan tempted mankind to sin so that as a result they would die and be condemned to the same hell that he was condemned to. Genesis chapter 2, look at verse 15. And the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. And the Lord 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 shall not eat of it for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. God said you can have of any tree of the garden, they're all for you except one. We'll talk about this in a different sermon, but in a different sermon on a Sunday night we will deal with the doctrine of individual soul liberty, the free will of mankind. We see that God did not create robots. God put in the garden a tree that he said, don't touch it. And Adam and Eve had to choose to obey God in regards to that. Look at Genesis chapter 3 and verse 1. Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, yea have God said, you shall not eat of every tree of the fruit of the garden. Notice how he questions the word of God and later he alters the word of God. The woman said unto the serpent, we may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden, 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. Notice she understood the consequences. Verse 4. And the serpent said unto the woman, ye shall not surely die. For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as God's, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw, and by the way, when he said ye shall not surely die, that's a lie. First he questions the word of God, then he alters the word of God. First he questions the word of God, hath God said, then he changes the word of God. Ye shall not surely die. For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as God's, lower case G, knowing good and evil. The only part of them that became like God was the fact that they knew good and evil. Verse 6. And when the woman saw 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. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked, and they sowed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. Satan tempted mankind to sin, so that as a result man would die, and man would be condemned to the same death, to the same hell that he was condemned to. Here's statement number 8. Satan launched one of the greatest attacks against God. Throughout the Bible you'll notice that Satan had a series of great attacks against God. This was the first of that series. Actually, let me correct that. This was the second of that series. The first series we don't read about in the book of Genesis, but it was that first initial rising up against God, when he said, I will ascend up to the most high. I will be like the most high. Once Satan was fallen and sinned, his second great offensive was that of the Garden of Eden, where he attempted and succeeded to tempt man to sin. Another great offensive was the offense which we talked about during Easter, the attack to put the Son of God to death, and there'll be others, the Battle of Armageddon, the Battle of Gog and Magog, but Satan launched here a great attack against God, to force the hand of God. See, sometimes we don't really understand, or maybe we don't really think about the implications of this story. We think, oh, this is just a nice little story, you have Adam and Eve, and you have the serpent, and they sin, and this is how we learned it in Sunday School, and there's nothing wrong with that. But I want you to understand that this attack that Satan launched upon God was what I like to refer to as the great catch-22 of the ages. The definition of a catch-22 is a situation in which there is no good solution, or a possible resolution, because the way in which the factors of the solutions relate to each other. See, when Satan was able to get Eve to sin, tempt Eve to sin, the Bible says that she was deceived, she was beguiled, and she was tricked into sinning, and then Adam partook of it as well, and the Bible says that he was not deceived, but he was disobedient. When Satan got man to sin, he put God in this great catch-22, because there seemingly was no good answer. Either God would make an exception for mankind, his greatest creation, his most loved creation, his most prized creation, and choose to look the other way, and Satan would be able to say, you're not just, you're not equal, if you condemn me to hell for sin, then you must condemn them as well. Either Satan gets God to look the other way and sin as a result, which he knew would never happen, or Satan forces God to abide by his word, and to not only condemn the devil and his angels to a torment in hell, but to also condemn his greatest, most loved possession, mankind. We have this great catch-22 of the ages. All these verses could now be thrown in our faces, Romans 6-23, for the wages of sin is death. Not only applied to Satan, but applied to mankind. Wherefore as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned, and death and hell were cast into the lake of fire, this is the second death, and whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. These things would now not only apply to the devil and his angels, but they would apply to God's greatest creation, mankind. God was in a bind. There was a great catch-22, the catch-22 of the ages. There is no solution. God abides by his word and condemns his greatest, most loved creation, the creation he created for his own pleasure and fellowship. He condemns them to hell, or God sins against his own word, which is impossible. He would then cease to be God. Go to Genesis chapter number 3. Here's statement number 9. How does God respond to this? God's surprise response, I think, took Satan by surprise, and Adam. In Genesis chapter 3 and verse 10, the Bible says this, and he said, remember the Lord came and appeared. After the fall of man, the Lord came and appeared in the garden to walk, to be in fellowship with mankind. But that fellowship was now impossible because the Bible says that our sins have separated us from God. And he said, when God calls out to Adam and he says, where art thou? And he said, Adam says, I heard thy voice in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked and I hid myself. And he said, who told thee that thou was naked? Has thou eaten of the tree? Where have I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? And of course, Adam and Eve, the Bible tells us, they sowed leaves, fig leaves, and created aprons to try to cover their shame and their guilt. And that is a picture of works, a picture of us trying to cover our own guilt and shame. And God says, that will just not do. In verse 21, we find something that has never happened, that has never happened in creation up to this point. In fact, I believe this is the first time that this has ever seen, the first time Adam ever sees it, the first time Eve ever sees it. See, God told Adam and Eve, he said, the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die. And that was true. That day when they ate, their soul died, their spirit died. That's why the Bible says that our spirit must be quickened when we are saved. Their spirit died that day, and they began the process of dying physically. But up to this point, they had not seen any death. And when Adam and Eve show up and their fig leaves of righteousness, God says, that will just not do. And unto Adam also and to his wife, notice verse 21, did the Lord God make coats of skins and clothe them. Now we read that and we think, well, no big deal. He went to his closet, grabbed two jackets, and put them on him. What we're not told, what is assumed that we understand, is that in order for the Lord God to make coats of skins, it would mean that God had to go out and find an animal and grab an animal. And we're not told which animal, just like we're not told which fruit. People think that Eve ate an apple, and usually that's the way it's pictured, but the Bible doesn't really tell us which fruit. And the Bible doesn't tell us in this passage which animal, but we know that God took an animal. And I can only imagine how Adam and Eve, for the first time, never having seen God do this as God grabbed an animal and said, these aprons, these fig leaves, they just won't do. They won't be enough. You can't cover yourself. You can't cover your shame and your guilt. You cannot be covered based off your own work. You must be wrapped in somebody else's righteousness, as God takes an animal for the first time. We don't know how he did it, but if we assume that it was done similarly to how the priests are explained to have done it in the book of Leviticus and Exodus and Deuteronomy and that nature, then God would have slit the throat of that animal. And blood would have poured out from that animal. And for the first time ever, Adam would see what it means for something to die, to be sacrificed. And God would take the skin off that animal. And he would robe Adam and Eve in that coat. And the lesson would be this, that if God would be caught in a catch-22, if God would be caught in a great catch-22 of the ages, if God would be forced to send mankind to hell and punish mankind for their sins, and because of his word, he could not stop that. Because of his word, he could not deny that. Because of his word, he could not nullify that. If God had to take mankind and make man pay for their sins, then God would become man and die for mankind. That man might be robed in the righteousness of Christ. See, God's surprise response was to become a man, to redeem man, was to come to this earth to seek and to save that which was lost. John chapter 1, if you would, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John. John chapter 1. See, the story of Adam and Eve is more than just a story of a girl eating an apple. It is a story of God creating the heaven and the earth and all that in them is, and that God would look down at that creation and say that it was good and that God would create a climax within that creation called mankind that was created for his pleasure, for his fellowship, for his friendship. The most loved of that creation and that Satan would sin and as a result of his sin, hell would be created and that Satan would then wage war on God by attacking his most loved creation, mankind, and put God in a bind. If you send me to hell, you must send them to hell. If the wages of sin for me is death, then the wages for them must also be death. God would be forced to make a choice and Satan would force God, the hand of God to say, you must punish man's sin. God would say, you're right, there must be a sacrifice and I will become man to pay for their sin. This is why John the Baptist said in John 1.28, John 1.28, the Bible says this, these things were done in Beth-Bara, beyond Jordan where John was baptizing the next day. John seeth Jesus coming unto him and saith, behold the lamb of God, which taketh away the sins of the world. See, the Lord Jesus Christ came to this earth. The Bible says that God was manifest in the flesh. The Bible says the word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory as of the only begotten of the father, full of grace and truth. The Bible says that the Lord Jesus Christ, God in the flesh came down and John would say, behold the sacrifice of God, behold the lamb of God, behold the one who will die in your place, that you might be clothed in his righteousness. The Bible refers to Jesus as the last Adam, 1 Corinthians 15 if you would, you're there in John, Acts, Romans, 1 Corinthians, 1 Corinthians 15. You may have noticed that throughout the Bible, Adam takes the blunt of the blame for the fall of man, wherefore as by one man sin entered into the world. And some hard-headed guys might say, wait a minute, what about the woman, wasn't it by one woman? Part of that has to do with the authority structure, Adam was the authority, Adam was the one who must take responsibility and we understand that. But part of it also has to do with the fact that the Bible very clearly tells us that Eve was deceived. Now the Bible talks about, throughout the Old Testament, about the sins, the sacrifices for the sins of ignorance. The Bible does not give a pass to people when they sin simply out of ignorance. He may not deal with them as harshly, but God will hold you accountable for every sin, whether you knew it or not. In Romans we're told that every man will stand before God without excuse. However Eve sinned, the Bible says, because she was beguiled, she was deceived. Yet Adam sinned, the Bible says, because he was disobedient. See when Adam realized that Eve had sinned, he made a conscious choice, there was no beguiling, there was no deception, he understood what he was doing. Adam took a very romantic approach to the situation, a very Romeo and Juliet type approach to the situation and he thought, well if you're going to die, then I might as well die with you, stupid man. Because the Bible, because the Bible calls Jesus the second Adam. And what Jesus did, the Bible calls Jesus the last Adam. And what Jesus did, Jesus did not come to this earth and partake in our sin, Jesus came to this earth and reconciled us to God. And this is my opinion and I'll be very careful to tell you it's my opinion, but I believe that there might have been a chance for Adam to bring Eve to the Father, to bring Eve to the Lord and say, I'd like to reconcile this relationship. A sin of ignorance, still requiring sacrifice, but not as harshly. Adam chose to sin and as a result, the blame falls on him. But the Bible tells us, 1 Corinthians 15, 45, and so it is written, the first Adam was made a living soul, the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. The Bible refers to Jesus as the last Adam. The first Adam messed up, the last Adam fixed it. The first Adam took away our innocence, the last Adam gave us his righteousness. There's an epic portion of classic literature called Paradise Lost. Paradise Lost is an epic poem by the 17th century English poet, John Milton. The first version published in 1667 consisted of 10 books with over 10,000 lines of verse. The poem concerns the biblical story of the fall of man, the temptation of Adam and Eve by the fallen angel Satan and their expulsion from the Garden of Eden. It's called Paradise Lost because it's the story of how the first Adam lost paradise, which we know as the Garden of Eden. Here's statement number 10, Jesus, the second and last Adam, came so that the paradise that had been lost by the first Adam could be regained. Why don't you notice the Bible refers to heaven as paradise. Second Corinthians chapter 12, if you would, we're almost done. You're there in 1 Corinthians, flip over to 2 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians chapter 12 and verse 1 says this, it is not expedient for me, doubtless to glory, I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord. This is the apostle Paul speaking, he says, I knew a man. I believe Paul's talking about himself, he doesn't say that. He says, I knew a man in Christ about 14 years ago, whether in the body I cannot tell or whether out of the body I cannot tell. God knows, Paul says, you know, there was this man I knew 14 years ago and he had an outer body experience. Much in one caught up to the third heaven. If you remember, we learned from Genesis chapter 1 that the firmament is called the heaven. That's what we call the sky. Then there's the third heaven, which is where God resides, where the kingdom of God is, where the throne of God is. And then there's the second heaven, which is what's between the first heaven, the sky or the atmosphere, and the second heaven, what we call as heaven, the kingdom of God. And that would be what we call space, outer space. He says, I knew a man in Christ about 14 years ago, whether in the body I cannot tell or whether out of the body I cannot tell. God knows, such in one caught up to the third heaven. Talking about heaven, when we talk about, do you know for sure if you died today, would you go to heaven or hell? That's what he's referring to, the third heaven is where souls go when they die, where God resides. I knew such a man, where Jesus is building mansions for us right now. He says, I knew such a man, whether in the body or out of the body, I cannot tell. God knoweth, notice verse four, how that he was caught up into paradise. Notice in verse two, we're told he was caught up to the third heaven. In verse four, we're told that he was caught up into paradise and heard unspeakable words, which is not lawful for a man to utter. See, Paul used these terms interchangeably, heaven and paradise. Revelation 2, 7, it says this, you have to turn there. You go to Luke, if you would, Luke chapter 23. You go back at 1 Corinthians, Romans, Acts, John, Luke, while you turn there, Revelation 2, 7, it says this, he that hath an ear, let him hear what the spirit saith unto the churches. To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. Later we're told in the book that the trees, that the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, excuse me, the tree of life, that they are surrounding the throne of God. So these trees are in paradise, but they're also surrounding the throne of God. You say, why is that? Where's the throne of God? Heaven. Why is that? Because paradise is heaven, which is what we read in 2 Corinthians. He was caught up to the third heaven, he was caught up into paradise. Luke 23, 42, and he, the he there is referring to the thief on the cross. He said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou enters into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, verily, I say unto thee, today thou shalt be with me in paradise. You say, why did Jesus come? Jesus, the second and last Adam, came so that paradise, which had been lost by the first Adam, could be regained. Jesus came as a surprise answer. A couple weeks ago, or last week I should say, we talked during Easter of these famous stories in the Bible where God turns the tables. See, Satan brought this challenge to God. What are you going to do now, God? What are you going to do now? Because God created all that is in the universe, and it was all good. And Satan sinned, and God condemned him to hell as a result of his sin. God created hell, and he prepared it. Everlasting fire was prepared for the devil and his angels. And Satan knowing that God cannot go against his own word, that God is truth, and that God is just, and that God must abide by his own word, and Satan knowing that the greatest creation of God, the greatest climax, the most love, the most sought for creation was the creation of mankind, that God created for his own pleasure, for his own fellowship. Satan set his eyes and set his target upon man, tempted them to sin, caused them to sin, and forced the hand of God to bring punishment, the same punishment that was created for him on man. The great catch-22, I mean, you got to give it to Satan, it's a good plan. And God turns the tables. God turns the tables when he says, my son will become man. My son will come to this earth, live a righteous life, die, be sacrificed, be buried, that mankind might be clothed in his righteousness. And to prove that he was who he said he was, he'll resurrect him from the grave. Jesus, the second and last Adam came, so that paradise, which was lost, might be one. That's the story of Adam and Eve, with a few more thoughts and a few more details that you may have not considered in the past, but this is why we find ourselves where we find ourselves. This is why we do what we do. This is why we say when we go out soul winning, Brother Jeff just yesterday at the soul winning rally preached a sermon about we are engaged in spiritual warfare, because Satan wants to take as many people to hell with him as an attack on God. So would you join us as we fight the good fight of faith on behalf of our great captain, the Lord Jesus Christ. Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. Thank you, Lord, for your word. Thank you for the Bible, thank you for these details, and Lord, thank you for the great sacrifice. You could have said, let them go to hell, and you would have been right, and you would have been righteous, but you chose to sacrifice. You were caught in a great couch 22, and you turned the tables, and we thank you for that. The story of Adam and Eve is not just a fairy tale, it is a story of how we all received a sin nature, how we all became sinners, and how we all are deserving of hell. It is a story of what you did to save us. We thank you for that, and we love you. Thank you for sending your son to die on the cross as a payment for our sins, for resurrecting him to prove he was who he said he was. In the matchless name of Christ, we pray, amen.