The Most Important Events in the World

God so loved Adam and Eve, whom He had created, that He planted a wonderful garden for them called Eden.

Many different plants grew in this paradise: tall trees like cedars, vegetables, fruit trees, and delightful flowers - all in their bright colours.

Lush grasses, dotted with blossoms, covered the garden. Butterflies flew happily through the air, and the birds sang above the treetops.

Everything was beautiful; nothing more lovely could be imagined! God gave this excellent paradise to Adam and Eve as a gift for them to live in.

In addition to all this, Adam and Eve had plenty of water. A wide river flowed through the middle of Paradise, watering the land. From this river, four smaller ones flowed, two of which are still known to us: the Tigris and the Euphrates. Adam and Eve were content with their life in Paradise, and God had given Adam the job of naming all the animals and birds under the sky.

God personally brought all the animals to Adam, so that he could name them. And Adam gave the animals beautiful names like lion,monkey,sheep,horse,giraffe,and elephant,as well as the other names we know today. He called the birds by the names we still use today too, like "sparrow,swallow, and nightingale.

Adam and Eve were happy. They did not get sick, and they felt no pain. They lived without fear or sorrow, for God Himself was with them. No man on earth was ever so fortunate as they. They lived in absolute happiness because God was always near them and cared for them like a father. They lacked nothing. God had allowed them to eat from the fruit of all trees, except one.

God commanded: Do not eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, because the day you eat from it you will die.

Adam and Eve loved to obey God. They felt happy and secure near Him. One day, however, the circumstances changed. During a walk in Paradise, they came upon the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. All of a sudden, Eve heard a whisper. Who was that, she wondered? This was neither the voice of God nor the voice of Adam.

Eve stood very still. Suddenly, she noticed a snake glaring at her slyly with its small, crafty eyes. It spoke to her and asked, Did God really command you not to eat of any fruit tree in the garden?

Eve did not understand the deceitful trick the snake was trying to play. She thought that she had to correct the snake and defend the word of God. So she answered: God allowed us to eat the fruit of all the trees in the garden except from the tree in the middle. He ordered us not to eat from this tree, or we will die.

Then the snake said: No, you will not die! On the contrary, your joy will increase, and you will be like God in His wisdom and knowledge of good and evil.

What a thrilling idea,thought Eve. She had the choice of obeying the word of her Creator or the devil who spoke to her through the snake. Until now, Eve did not know the difference between good and evil. She had known nothing but God's tender care. God loved Adam and Eve, and He had taken care of everything they needed. Doubt entered Eve's mind for the first time, as she questioned the kindness of God. Would God keep the knowledge of good and evil to Himself, withholding it from them? Eve let the snake's suggestion poison her heart. She did not understand that God wanted to protect her from the knowledge of evil, for she would become evil herself if she discovered it.

Then Eve looked at the forbidden tree. Its fruit looked enticing. Then she said to herself: Surely, the flavour must be delicious. But most importantly, it gives knowledge. She wanted to become like God - powerful, wise, and good.

Then she did what was forbidden; she picked the fruit and ate it. Then she brought it to her husband. Would he refuse it?

Adam ate the fruit without any resistance. Then a catastrophe happened. Adam and Eve had eaten of the forbidden fruit, and they knew both good and evil. Their sin separated them from God, and they knew immediately that the snake had deceived them.

They were shocked. They did not become like God, nor did they become happier. Instead, they became sad. Great fear came upon them. Troubles they had never known were suddenly revealed to them. Only one thing that the snake had said turned out to be true: Their eyes were opened.

Although it had not occurred to them before, they now realised that they were naked, and they were ashamed. They sewed large fig leaves together to cover themselves.

The first punishment for what Adam and Eve had done was shame. In addition to their shame, however, they now feared God. They had disobeyed God. Thus, their relationship with Him was severed. Their sin made it impossible for them to enjoy God's peace and care.

Then something unexpected happened: They heard the voice of God. Previously they were always very happy to see God when He visited them. Now fear filled their hearts, so they fled quickly to hide among the trees. They hoped God would not find them.

But God found them and called, Adam, where are you? Adam answered with a trembling voice, saying, I heard your voice in the garden and was afraid, for I was naked; so I hid.

God asked him: Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat from the forbidden tree?God exposed their sin and pointed to it. They had to account for their responsibility before God and to admit what they had done.

Adam answered in a cowardly manner, saying, The woman you gave me offered me the fruit of the forbidden tree, so I ate it.

So God then asked Eve, Why did you do this?Trembling with fear she pointed to the snake and said, "The snake lied to me, and so I ate. Neither Adam nor Eve admitted to having sinned. Adam accused Eve, and Eve blamed the snake. They not only wanted to shrug off their sin, but they grumbled against God.

Don't we do the same thing today? We blame God, other people, or circumstances, instead of admitting our own faults.

So what did God do? He grew angry at the snake and cursed it, saying: You will creep on your belly and eat dust all the days of your life. Forever all of Eve's descendants will dislike all of your descendants.

God's anger was strong, because the devil had used the snake to destroy the creatures that He had created and loved so dearly. Adam and Eve could no longer live in Paradise now that they had deceived Him. They had to leave.

Adam and Eve were not cursed by God as the snake had been, but God still punished them. He said to Eve: "You will give birth to children in pain. From now on, Adam will rule over you."

Then God said to Adam: "Because you listened to the voice of your wife, eating from the fruit I had forbidden you to eat, the earth shall be cursed because of you. Through painful work you will eat from it all the days of your life. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your bread until you die and return to the earth from which I created you."

What a different world! Before their fall into sin, Adam and Eve lived without hard work, and they ate the delicious fruits from the garden of Eden. Now Adam had to work hard to plow the ground, to sow the seeds, and to reap the harvest, in order to survive. After their fall, they lived in sin and would have to die one day, according to the judgment of God.

But God did not forsake Adam and Eve. He promised to send someone to carry the punishment for all the evils of mankind. He was speaking of Jesus Christ who would come to save the world from its sin through His death on a cross. Thus, He would save all who believe in Him. Christ, the victorious God, will finally crush Satan who will then have no more power to tempt mankind.

God was concerned for Adam and Eve, and He made them clothes from the skins of animals. This showed them that He had not cut off His relationship with them, and for this they were thankful. This first sacrifice of animals was the first symbol of the death of the Lord Jesus Christ who died for our sins, that we might live.

God sent Adam and Eve out of the garden of Eden and placed an angel with a drawn sword, sharp and gleaming, at its entrance. Now it would be impossible for them to get to the fruit of the Tree of Life, just as it is for us today. Now their lives would be hard, and they were sad to discover that they could no longer meet with God as before. Now they would have to sweat in the fields for food.

How sad and bleak life is, when separated from God and the hope of eternal life. But we don't have to remain separated from God as Adam and Eve did. God prepared a way to save us from our sins through Christ, the Lamb of God, who took the sins of the world upon Himself.

We all are born in sin, because of Adam and Eve's disobedience to God. We inherit sin from our parents and forefathers, the descendants of Adam and Eve.

We are no better than Adam and Eve, because we also live lives of disobedience to God. All of us are lost and without hope, because we cannot save ourselves. But we are in a better position than Adam and Eve were, because God has shown us clearly the way of salvation.

Let us accept the salvation of Jesus Christ, so that we can live with the hope of eternal life and union with God.