The Discovery of Disobedience
He said, “I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.” Genesis 3:10 NASB
Was naked–The Genesis narrative tells us why we are filled with fears, regrets, anxieties and hope. It is ancient psychological diagnosis, complete with the appropriate prescription. But we will miss the depth analysis of human existence if we only read the story as the introduction of sin into the world. It’s not just a tale of temptation. Adam is us. That’s the point of the story. And Adam’s reply to God is our reply—once we get past the “corrected” translation.
Adam doesn’t say, “I was afraid because I was naked.” The Hebrew text is much more powerful. The verb (to fear) is a Gal vav-consecutive imperfect—a continuing action, not a completed, past event. Furthermore, “was naked” is an adjective, not a negated verb. And “I hid” is also a Nif’al vav-consecutive. The sense of the sentence is more like this: “Fearing because naked, I am hiding.” This is not a past sinful event and its consequences. This is a present state of being, an immediate awareness of risk. Adam’s psychological perspective has changed. But even this doesn’t capture some added nuances of the tense reversal of vav-consecutive constructions.
Tournier’s comment helps us see this truth:
“How many people have confessed to me that at certain moments in their lives they have been afraid of themselves, afraid of the forces at work within them, of their instincts, their desires, their feelings, and of the action of which they felt themselves capable! It seems, then, that if these forces had in fact been less powerful, those people would have been more ready to let them show themselves. Excessive reserve may be a sign of excessive ardor.”[1]
The Fall is a story of enemy identification. The serpent isn’t our ultimate enemy. He is only the messenger of possibility. The real enemy is something in us that desires self-determination, and the story of the Fall is the warning about what happens when we allow that possibility to become actual. In the end, Adam is afraid of himself. He has become the serpent; the one with a hidden agenda, the one who must hide from exposure. Naked is not a physical state of being. It is a psychological awareness. Suddenly we know that we are no longer open and transparent. We need to cover up in order to survive.
Does this mean that we are less than God’s intended design if we are unable to be fully transparent? Probably not. Even with God we discover that complete transparency is extremely difficult if not impossible. Adam’s choice has left us, not with a sinful nature, but with the fear of exposure and who among us is ready to be fully exposed? The Fall is ours, a legacy that instructs, warns and comforts. We are not alone in our nakedness nor are we alone in hiding. Return to the Garden is no longer possible. God provided covering because innocence was lost forever.
Topical Index: Fall, naked, Adam, transparency, Genesis 3:10
It is fascinating to me that sin hides from itself. Honesty is refreshing: even the blunt honesty that admits wrongdoing, but evil will never admit that it is evil, even when it knows perfectly well that it is. There must be something inherently shameful about being disconnected.
People who sin are, as as M. Scott Peck titles his book on this subject, “People Of The Lie”, and the first person they have to lie to to be able to keep on sinning is themselves. There is fiction between the ears for every aspect of sin: from what we tell ourselves as the ‘reason’ we are doing it, to what we tell others, to how we go about sin; all of it is based on lies. If we were ever completely truthful about it all, I think the very motivation to sin would disappear. Not for nothing did the Revelator describe those “outside the City” as “all liars”.
Sin lies to us and convinces us that we somehow cannot do life ‘straight’, and when we agree, we are supplied with an endless stream of ‘ways’ not of God – all of which are lies – to keep from doing so. And what are all the lies based on? I think they are all versions of excuses as to why love – connection – does not work, cannot work, is not working, will not work, did not work, etc. The lies are confirmation bias at its finest. And so we sin again, to justify the last sin, because we are stuck. Why are we stuck? Because the instant we believed any of the lies, we lost the ability to see the truth in that place (lie paradigm). This is the real reason we become “slaves to sin”. We no longer can see any other way to be.
I think we may, theoretically, have been able to stay out of the bushes at some point, but once we find ourselves in them, we lose the ability to get back out. Death by bush: by hiding from the truth. That’s us. Therefore, salvation consists of, basically, airlifting us back out from our pathetic bushes. Truth is a miracle that comes searching for us because we lost the ability to search for it when we lost the eyesight required to recognize it. Truth NEVER has hidden itself in a bush, y’all. There is no hidden knowledge: only hidden people; hiding so well they cannot even see themselves, much less what is good for them right in front of their faces. Yep, me too.
Reporting from the front lines – I do mean my bushes – until next time; this, I think, is me (will have to get back to you on that when I get more details).
“For one day in Your courtyards is better than a thousand elsewhere; I prefer to stand exposed at the threshold of my God’s house than to dwell securely in the tents of wickedness.” Psalm 84:11 Art Scroll Stone Edition.
Sounds simple and logical – why is it so difficult?
Thanks be to God through His/our Messiah and our Lord!
Man, I could sit all day and contemplate on this story and all the ramifications. Thank you Skip!
What sort of bugs me lately is having to relearn truth from things that I have been taught through the church. Fundamental. Separatists. We are right, you are not. We have the full gospel, you do not. What purpose does it serve other than to alienate and isolate! Truly not the heart of God! We are the body of Christ. The whole concept that Paul was talking about. What good is a beautiful car with no engine! It’s what’s under the hood that counts. I know this doesn’t seem to relate to TWOT and yet it does. Lately, because I am actively and somewhat aggressively seeking after truth ( The kingdom of God suffers violence and the violent take it by force ) I am finding that so much of what I have been taught is inaccurate or incomplete. The church has not taught us to think and question, in fact, almost the opposite. But those days are gone and that chapter is closed. So when you say, “that’s not what that means, because in the Hebrew it means …..” makes me take a second, third or fourth look ! So as truth gets spoken, my mind gets renewed and as a result of the renewal supposedly I am transformed or I should say, being transformed. As Paul says we are being changed from one degree of glory to another !
I thought about Hebrews 4:13 in regards to TWOT. Whether we acknowledge it or not we are naked and exposed to God. How can it not be since God is light ! Here I am 69 years old and I’m now beginning to feel like I’m waking up out of a stupor ! Been a lot of places, seen a lot of faces, there were times I didn’t know right from wrong but in every situation God gave me blessed consolation …. through it all, through it all, I’ve learned to trust in Jesus I’ve learned to trust in God. I’ve learned to depend upon his word ! Some of the words of a song by Andre Crouch.
I am so grateful that God connected me with TWOT! Thank you Skip! God knew exactly what I needed to progress in this walk with him. TWOT is like going to a spiritual gym and getting a work out! There are days you don’t want to go, there are days when you have an extended work out. There are times when you see no visible changes until suddenly you notice your development ! Pretty incredible picture of what’s happening ! Thank God for my heavenly Trainer!
You mentioned Andre Crouch. Years ago, and I do mean “years,” I was the youth leader in a West coast church. In those days, Andre was fairly new on the scene and I had him come to be the entertainment at a weekend youth retreat in the Wenatchee area. He brought his band. We had a great time. And he wrote one of his songs on the back of a paper plate while he was there. I forget which one now, but it ended up with a Grammy I think. Maybe it was “What’cha gonna’ do?” Anyway, you reminded of me sitting with him and his guys just talking and hanging out. Richard Sherman was one of the boys in the band. I remember that. Never met his sister but she played on one of Janis Joplin’s albums.
Cool…. thanks for sharing that
Skip, I have a question on a different subject entirely. Please read me out.
Luke 15:7-10 (NKJV)
7 I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.
10 Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
Could this possibly mean that believers in heaven, who could be in the presence of angels, are also participating in the joy of loved ones coming into the family of God? No commentary that I have in my software addresses this issue specifically. I would appreciate your input.
Thank you.
I don’t think the verse implies the presence of believers. The phrase can be read as joy among the spiritual beings (angels). We would have to import the concept of the existence of believers in heaven in order to read “in the presence” as if it implied beings other than angelic ones. I just wrote a piece about the implications of Genesis 3. I don’t think we find evidence for after-death conscious existence (e.g. in heaven) in the Torah, except in the idea of She’ol, which has a lot of its own questions. Heaven seems to be the realm of divine beings, not humans. Anyway, there is probably a lot more to investigate here, like why did the Torah’s view change by the time Yeshua was teaching?
Thank you–Shalom
‘I don’t think we find evidence for after-death conscious existence.’ Agree with you Skip 100 percent. A number of years after my mother passed away I wrote something to the effect that she was in heaven but in the back of my mind, there was doubt. Not sure when but I read a comment made by someone about how the criminal on the tree who believed certainly didn’t go straight to heaven otherwise he would have gotten there before Jesus. Through trying to understand the Book of Revelation after that (I was so troubled by the common ideas/beliefs), I came to believe that that is another one of those false ideas. When the thousand years are over, then there will be the resurrection of those who have fallen asleep. At least, that makes more sense based on other verses and what I think is true. Rest In Peace/RIP for a reason.
“When the thousand years are over, then there will be the resurrection of those who have fallen asleep.”
That’s partly true, but let’s double check that and modify this conclusion a bit, because there are two resurrections and some who have fallen asleep in Messiah will be raised in the first resurrection at the start of the thousand year reign of Messiah on the earth.
SOME WHO HAVE FALLEN ASLEEP IN MESSIAH, WILL BE RAISED IN THE FIRST RESURRECTION AT THE START OF THE MILLENNIAL REIGN.
The passage from Revelations (20:4-6) as it reads in The Scriptures 2009 version, helps us correctly interpret this passage by having inserted parentheses where the thought was added by the writer regarding those who will be raised in the second resurrection. We can see that in the passage below. Obviously, from this passage, we see that there is a second resurrection after the millennial reign in which the second death will possess authority over some, unlike for those in the first resurrection for whom the second death will have no authority. It seems though, the only distinction between those raised in the two different resurrections may be that those who are raised in the first resurrection are those to whom authority for judgment was given, for them to exercise it in Messiah toward those who remain alive upon the earth at Messiah’s second coming. These who will be raised in the first resurrection will be those who were beheaded because of the witness they bore to YHVH and the Word of Elohim, they didn’t worship the beast, nor his image, and they didn’t receive his mark upon their foreheads or upon their hands. They (and us, if we qualify) will be especially blessed and set-apart for they will be priests of Elohim and of Messiah and shall reign with Him a thousand years!
“And I saw thrones – and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them – and the lives of those who had been beheaded because of the witness they bore to יהושע and because of the Word of Elohim, and who did not worship the beast, nor his image, and did not receive his mark upon their foreheads or upon their hands. And they lived and reigned with Messiah for a thousand years (and the rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended) – this is the first resurrection. Blessed and set-apart is the one having part in the first resurrection. The second death possesses no authority over these, but they shall be priests of Elohim and of Messiah, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.” [Rev 20:4-6]
So, we could modify your conclusion to: When the thousand years (OF MESSIAH’S REIGN ON THE EARTH) are over, then there will be the (SECOND) resurrection of those who have fallen asleep (IN MESSIAH, AND WERE NOT RAISED IN THE FIRST RESURRECTION WITH THOSE WHO WERE BEHEADED BECAUSE OF THE WITNESS THEY BORE TO יהושע AND BECAUSE OF THE WORD OF ELOHIM, AND WHO DID NOT WORSHIP THE BEAST, NOR HIS IMAGE, AND DID NOT RECEIVE HIS MARK UPON THEIR FOREHEADS OR UPON THEIR HANDS).
As you have probably noted, verses from the Book of the Revelation to John are woefully absent among Today’s Word. There is a reason for that. Basically, I view this within the genre of apocalyptic literature (there is actually quite a lot) and as such, I find it virtually impossible for me to know what John was seeing or describing. Everything in apocalyptic literature is written so that the symbols fit many different times and people. That’s the point of this kind of writing. So, I will stay far away for now. No sense in speculating on any of it, as far as I am concerned. I’ll leave that to someone else. Thanks.
If you read verse 6 carefully you may notice that ONLY those in the first resurrection escape the second death (they are the only ones who are “blessed”). Would it not make more sense that the righteous rise the first time; the wicked the next? The righteous have already been judged before Messiah returns, or else they would not have been termed “righteous”, for it is only prior judgment that determines that. Then the righteous take part in the judgment of the second resurrection, of those who are doomed to the “second death”, as the verses indicate. You might say that this could be the ultimate peer jury! What better way to determine fairness than for everyone who is going to be around for eternity to help decide the cases of all those who are not?
Actually, I stand corrected and believe it is most likely that all those who are asleep in Yeshua Messiah will be raised in the first resurrection upon his second coming, at the beginning of his millennial reign.
I don’t agree with it happening the way you think it will happen Jerry and Lisa. I think it is a subject that needs to be studied very carefully to see what it really means. Skip’s comment about symbols fitting different times and people is important. The typical explanation in the Christian world is just off with little or nothing to really explain it. It causes fear.
I don’t believe that people will resurrected and then Jesus will be on the earth for 1000 years and then what? This is the typical timeline. It makes no sense. I am not saying I am right but I think the last one-thousand year period will be different than the way it’s been but I don’t believe that Jesus will be here physically as you do. We are already in that period. 6018.
I wish I had saved the article I read that explained the different ways Revelation could be interpreted. Made sense. Like it already happened from what I remember. Events in history. A man by the name of Burnie in Texas used to have a site with a lot of good articles. Well-written articles, like Skip’s. Like Rabbi David Fohrman’s. It was from his site. I went to his site when I was trying to understand the Book of Revelation. That’s not to say I agree with everything Skip says. Overall I do but it depends on the subject. I disagree with a lot of what Gabor Mate says for example.
Burnie used to be a Baptist pastor, then Messianic and now he is into Judaism. Doesn’t believe in Jesus anymore so the articles are gone. I might ask him if he still has them in his files. Still good articles. Like Jason Vandor who was also a super Christian before, I don’t think they could ever have truly believed in Jesus. It was a religion that they were part of.
Burnie’s brother is the one who opened his eyes to the truth about Satan. I read the first chapter of what he was putting together and it opened my eyes to the truth as well. It’s really difficult for
a lot of people to accept any idea that isn’t part of the ‘official story’. Happens with the Sabbath, the Law, the Trinity as well as other subjects like divorce and the relationship roles of husband and wife. All lies have a detrimental outcome and really cause people to ‘act’ like Christians which overall separates them from the real world. They find what I say difficult but have no difficulty accepting people like Bill Johnson and his Bethel church in California. Many of the people I know are caught up in the psychobabble taught there. They bring teams here. Some are interested in YWAM. Same thing in a way. I don’t care for their approach at all. A man by the name of Todd is another one and was in Japan a few months ago. Typical weird way of talking. People gravitate to people like him partly because they really want to see miracles and see people become believers. They are sincere but many Christians are very open to false teachers maybe because of all the false ideas they have in their heads!
You said the last thousand years will be different than the way it’s been, and then you say we are in that period. That, to me, makes no sense. Also, where are the symbols in the passages that we are talking about? I see none. So that also makes no sense to me. Additionally, making reference to other people and their teachings or to the ways of different Christians and their movements, etc. is, to me, irrelevant to the topic. But that’s ok that you disagree. No problem.
I think it’s a gradual change. Not like everything is going to change at a certain time on a certain day! Isn’t that is why many Jewish people reject Jesus? They say there is no peace and there would be peace if He was the Messiah.
I am not a scholar or a teacher of the Scriptures but I think I can recognize good teaching. I just don’t go along with what has been traditionally taught anymore. We can’t take Bible verses and just automatically think we know what they mean without any diligent questioning on our part. I think the last 8 years or so have been the most enlightening for me but I think starting to keep the Sabbath in April of 2005 was a big step towards greater understanding that made the biggest difference. I couldn’t repeat what Burnie wrote but if I can get it from him, I will see if what he wrote still seems to be good and if so, I will try to share it somehow. It was just one of many articles, etc that helped to answer questions I had.
Jeanette,
I’m sorry your area is infested with Bill Johnson disciples. I’m well aware of his teachings, having researched his doctrines from his own material and writing dozens of articles refuting them. I’m convinced he’s teaching a Christianized neo-gnostic/New Age theology, with a hyper-charismaticism that fuels the mix. He has roots in Word of Faith, which in turn has roots in E. W. Kenyon’s hybrid of New Thought/Positive Confession and Christian Science, etc. You can search what i’d written, if you like, at my site: notunlikelee dot wordpress dot com.
Yes, Craig. A group of people I have known for many years have been very involved with that church. Very nice, sincere people but they don’t see what’s wrong with what he is teaching. One couple moved to Redding just to go to his church. They have moved since but the contacts here still bring people to Japan. I will check out what you shared.
Unfortunately, the tentacles reach worldwide with this bunch. To have people you’ve known for years get duped into the teachings of one who is promoting “another Jesus” must be distressing.
To start your inquiry, you may want to try the one with the title that begins “Learning Etymology”–just put that into the search, and it will come up.
Oh so true! A very key point in this life long battle. A daily reminder… just look into a mirror. What do you see?
I think that any look into chapter 20 of the Book of Revelation with respect to an after-life should be read through John 5:24-25 (inaugurated eschatology) and 28-29 (fully realized eschatology). In the latter verse those who ‘did good’ will come out of their graves eis anastasin zōēs, to resurrection of life; those who ‘did evil’ eis anastasin kriseōs, to resurrection of judgment.