The Human Fall
The Human Fall
- All people have an original mind which inclines them to reject evil and pursue goodness.
- Yet, even without our being aware of it, we are driven by evil forces to abandon the goodness which our original mind desires and to perform evil deeds which, in our innermost heart, we do not want to do.
- In Christianity, the master of these evil forces is known as Satan.
- We have been utterly unable to liquidate the forces of Satan because we have not understood Satan’s identity or how he came to exist.
- This explanation of the human Fall will clarify these issues.
- No one has known the root of sin.
- On the basis of the Bible, Christians have held to a vague belief that Adam and Eve’s eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was the root of sin.
- Some Christians believe that the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was the fruit of an actual tree.
- Many important parts of the Bible are in symbolism and metaphor.
- To learn what the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil represents, let us first investigate the tree of life, which stood next to the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
- The tree of life symbolizes a man who has fully realized the ideal of creation.
- It thus symbolizes perfected Adam.
- The tree of the knowledge of good and evil represents the ideal woman, perfected Eve.
- In the Bible we read that a serpent tempted Eve to commit sin.
- The serpent is an angel.
- From Jude 6-7 we can infer that the angel fell as a result of an illicit sexual relationship.
- From Gen 3:7, we can infern that Adam and Eve’s sexual parts were the instruments of their sinful deed.
- We can deduce that the illicit sexual relationship must have involved the angel and human beings.
- What does the fruit of this tree represent?
- It signifies the love of Eve.
- She bore evil children through her satanic love.
- Eve’s eating of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil denotes that she consummated a satanic love relationship with the angel which bound her in blood ties to him.
- The root of sin was not that the first human ancestors ate a fruit, but rather that they had an illicit sexual relationship with an angel, symbolized by a serpent.
- They could not multiply God’s good lineage but instead multiplied Satan’s evil lineage.
- Like all beings, angels were created by God. God created them prior to any other creation.
- God created angels to be His retainers, who would assist Him in creating and sustaining the universe.
- Because God created us human beings as His children and gave us dominion over all creation, we are meant to rule over the angels as well.
- God created human beings with two components: the spirit self and the physical self.
- The human Fall likewise took place in two dimensions: the spiritual and the physical.
- The fall which took place through the sexual relationship between the angel and Eve was the spiritual fall.
- While the fall which occurred through the sexual relationship between Eve and Adam was the physical fall.
- After the creation of human beings, Lucifer, feeling as though he were receiving less love than he deserved, wanted to grasp the same central position in human society as he enjoyed in the angelic world, as the channel of God’s love.
- This was why he seduced Eve, and this was the motivation of the spiritual fall.
- Lucifer, who left his proper position due to his excessive desire, and Eve, who wanted to open her eyes and become like God before the time was ripe.
- Formed a common base and began give and take action. The power of the unprincipled love generated by their give and take led them to consummate an illicit sexual relationship on the spiritual plane.
- Fallen Eve then seduced Adam with the hope that by uniting with him, her intended spouse, she could rid herself of the dread and once again stand before God.
- This was Eve’s motivation which led to the physical fall.
- Eve turned to Adam and tempted him, playing the same role as the Archangel had played when he had tempted her.
- Adam responded and formed a common base with Eve, and they began give and take action with each other.
- The power of the unprincipled love generated in their relationship induced Adam to abandon his original position and brought them together in an illicit physical relationship of sexual love.
- When the first human ancestors fell, they bound themselves in blood ties with Lucifer.
- They formed a four position foundation yoked to Satan, and thus all humanity became the children of Satan.
- Adam and Eve fell while they were still immature. Consequently, this world has come under Satan’s sovereignty.
- Adam and Eve fell while they were still immature, and they formed a four position foundation centering on Satan.
- Consequently, this world has come under Satan’s sovereignty.
- Hence, the Bible calls Satan “the ruler of this world” and “the god of this world” (John 12:31); (II Cor. 4:4).
- Accordingly, it is written, “the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. . . . We know that the whole creation has been groaning in travail together until now” (Rom. 8:19-22).
- These verses describe the agony of the creation under the domination of Satan as it longs for the appearance of unfallen people who have perfected their original nature; it yearns for the day when they will vanquish Satan and rule it in love.
- Satan cannot perpetrate his evil activity unless he first finds an object partner with whom he can form a common base and engage in give and take action.
- Satan’s object partners are evil spirits in the spirit world.
- The object partners to these evil spirits are the spirit selves of evil people on the earth.
- And the vehicles through which these evil spirit selves act are their physical selves.
- Accordingly, the power of Satan is conveyed through evil spirits and is manifested in the activities of earthly people.
- Sin is a violation of heavenly law.
- Which is committed when a person forms a common base with Satan.
- Thus setting a condition for give and take action with him.
- Sin can be classified into four kinds.
- The first is the original sin.
- This sin originated with the spiritual and physical fall of our first human ancestors. It is ingrained in our lineage and is the root of all sins.
- The second is hereditary sin.
- The third is collective sin.
- The fourth is individual sin.
- Eve inherited from the Archangel all the proclivities incidental to his transgression against God when he bound her in blood ties through their sexual relationship.
- Adam in turn acquired the same inclinations when Eve, assuming the role of the Archangel, bound him in blood ties through their sexual relationship.
- These proclivities have become the root cause of the fallen inclinations in all people.
- They are the primary characteristics of our fallen nature.
- The primary characteristics of the fallen nature can be divided broadly into four types.
- The first is failing to take God’s standpoint.
- The second is leaving one’s proper position.
- The third is reversing dominion.
- The fourth is multiplying the criminal act.
- What is the meaning of true freedom? In light of the Principle, three characteristics of freedom stand out.
- First, there is no freedom outside the Principle.
- Freedom requires both free will and the free actions pursuant to that will.
- Free will and free actions have the relationship of internal nature and external form, and perfect freedom is achieved when they are in harmony.
- Therefore, there cannot be any free action without free will, nor can free will be complete without free actions to accompany it.
- Second, there is no freedom without responsibility.
- Human beings, created according to the Principle, can reach perfection only by fulfilling their responsibility based on their free will.
- Accordingly, a person pursuing the purpose of creation as prompted by his free will ceaselessly strives to carry out his portion of responsibility.
- Third, there is no freedom without accomplishment.
- When human beings exercise freedom and carry out their responsibility, they strive to accomplish results which complete the purpose of creation and bring joy to God.
- Free will ceaselessly pursues concrete results through free actions.
- Therefore, it cannot be that freedom caused the human Fall.
- God, being omniscient and omnipotent, must have known about the deviant acts of the first human ancestors.
- Why, then, did God not intervene to prevent the Fall?
- God did not interfere: 1. In order to maintain the absoluteness and perfection of the principle of creation.
- 2. So that God Alone Be the Creator.
- 3. In order to make human beings the lords of creation.