Bible Studies 12: Genesis 3 - That crafty snake

Welcome back to the blog Bible Studies class. I hope you spent the past week thinking about the concept of 'Adam and Eve' being the prototype of Jesus Christ and his living body Church. I hope you also read ahead and went into Genesis 3.

You can go ahead and bring up the reference materials on your computers, to Genesis 3 NIV and Bible Hub Interlinear, but let me say some more about the aspect of a "living Church."  I want you to see what I am talking about; and, as we are about to get into "the Fall from Grace," I want you to fully grasp how the story of "Adam and Eve" ("ish and ishshah") is a model of that.

According to Webster's Dictionary, the word "church" is defined primarily as [noun]: "a building for public and especially Christian worship; or, a body or organization of religious believers."  Because Genesis 2 did not say anything about buildings, and there was no 'public,' other than adam, ishshah, and the animals Yahweh elohim created, we can toss out the concept of "Church" being "a building for public worship."  It can be deemed "Christian," but only in the sense that "Christ" is the "tree of life," which is the immortality of the Son of God ... in both adam and Jesus [and others of divine character].  We can also rule out the use of the word "organization," from the second definition, leaving us with the awareness that a "Church" is "Christian worship" in "a body of religious believers."

The key word in all of that is "religious."  That is because on day six, when animal man and animal woman were created, God had not deemed that day as consecrated - set apart as holy.  The seventh day, when God did just that, He created the first priests of religion that would come to the world and teach about worship and faith in God, through [eventually] Jesus Christ.  Therefore, a "Church" is a reflection of "Adam and Eve," who fit the definition that would be given by Jesus: 

"Truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.  For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them." (Matthew 18:19-20)

Remembering (always) that Jesus only spoke what the Father said through him [indicated by the word "truly"], such that we can see the same in adam, due to both possessing the "tree of life in the midst" of their beings, "Adam and Eve" fit that definition.  They were "two on earth."  Everything done for them was done "by my Father in heaven" - Yahweh.  Because both ish and ishshah had divine DNA and were allowed to live in the paradise of eden, they were "in my name" as Sons of God, filled with the Holy Spirit.

Remember that the Spirit is masculine essence - not relative to human flesh sex organs - so all who possess the tree of life - living waters - eternal life immortality - are demigods [not demigoddesses], so all are Sons of Yahweh with whatever human flesh hangs from that inner core.

"Adam and Eve" were then "in the name of Jesus Christ," before God brought him into the world.  This is how John can write the truth, when he began his Gospel with the statement: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."  There, the Greek word "Logos" speaks "Word," but it symbolizes the DNA that is the "embodying idea, divine utterance, messenger, and that expressing the thoughts of the Father through the Spirit."  John said Jesus Christ existed in the beginning, thus as adam or ish.

Can you see that?  It is very important to grasp why God told Moses to write the Book of Genesis and set a foundation for all that would follow.  This is the basis and foundation upon which a "Church" is built.  The story of "Adam and Eve" is the story of the origin of religion that would become Jesus Christ ... Christianity.  Jesus Christ is the cornerstone upon which that "Church" is built.  Jesus Christ was not made of brick and mortar, nor of stone, as those things of earth have no soul and no Spirit.  Therefore, a true "Church" is human flesh with a soul married to Yahweh.  God becomes one's Father when one becomes God's Son reborn.

This means that a true priest of Yahweh (adam) is a body of flesh (the tree of knowledge of good and bad) filled with the Holy Spirit (tree of life - the Christ Spirit).  That means a true priest is an Apostle [or Saint] who was once a sinner, but became saved through marriage with Yahweh, being reborn as His Son [regardless of human gender].  That means a true priest of God is a "Church" of Christ AND a servant of Yahweh ... just like was adam and just like was Jesus and just like were all the Apostles and Saints from which Christianity grew.

This means you are the only way to become saved from mortality and death of a body of flesh, which means reincarnation, with a repeat of the same condition of death to face.  No building will bring you salvation.  No organization will bring you salvation.  No one posing as a priest, who is not filled with the Holy Spirit - thus not a Saint or Apostle reborn as the Son of God - will bring you salvation.  The only one who can bring you salvation is you having your soul married to Yahweh's Holy Spirit - the tree of life united with your soul - Christ resurrected in the flesh.

You must be reborn as adam, who was filled with the Spirit of Jesus Christ.  The story of "Adam and Eve" is the story of you, before you were born; just as it was the story of Jesus of Nazareth before he was born.  

Now, with that explanation stated, let's look at the first verse of Genesis 3.  The NIV translates them to state: "Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”'

Like most times, the NIV does not give the full story; so, let's look at the literal translations stated in the Interlinear version.  There we find stated:

"Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which had made Yahweh elohim.  And he said to ishshah  -  indeed has said elohim not  -   you shall eat of every tree in the garden  ?" 

Can you see the differences?  It should be obvious.

The NIV has taken the approach that elohim is "God," rather than "gods," and thereby as a stand-alone word (spoken by the serpent) does not refer to Yahweh, but only to the elohim - either  or ishshah.  Can you see that difference?

Good! Now look very close at the Hebrew words "‘ā·rūm," ("more cunning,") and "haś·śā·ḏeh," ("of the field,").  Notice how they include comma marks at the end of each word, which has not been translated into the literal English.  Can you see the comma marks?  

Good!  This means a correct literal translation says, "Now the serpent was  ,  more cunning of all beasts of the field  ,  which had made Yahweh elohim  ."  The comma marks separating the word segments apart are important to understand.

The first segment says, "Now the serpent was."  The same Hebrew words state, "And the serpent became."  I welcome you to explore how I came to those translations, but I hope you can see how it says the same thing, only differently.  That statement says, "the serpent was created."  Can you see that?  I hope that you can.

Once we realize a statement has been made about the creation of the serpent, the next segment of words (separated by a comma mark of separation in sequence) says, "more cunning of all the beasts of the field."  The Hebrew word "arum" means "crafty, shrewd, sensible," also "prudent," with another Hebrew source (other than Strong's) saying it means "cunning and deceitful."  The same Hebrew letters, when the vowel "u" (as "a-room") is replaced by an "o" (as "a-rom") [Hebrew has few vowels], the word changes to meaning "naked, nude."  Still, the assumption is all creatures in eden were "nude," so the snake is said to be without strength other than being "crafty."  That becomes the quality given to the serpent by Yahweh elohim, who created the serpent to live in paradise - a gift for adam to name.

Next, following a comma mark, we read: "which had made Yahweh elohim."  This confirms that the serpent was made with its only strong trait as being his wits.  According to the definition of "shrewd," the serpent was given "sharp powers of judgment," and was "astute."  As far as being "crafty," synonymous with "cunning," the serpent was "clever at achieving one's aims by indirect or deceitful methods." All of this means God and His elohim, when creating animals for adam to name and play with, purposefully made the serpent this way.  One must the assume that adam gave the serpent the name "nachash," which is the Hebrew word that bears that meaning "serpent."

From seeing this purposeful characteristic, one can presume the name "serpent" identified that creature as having the ability to trick one, such that today we provide a definition for "snake" that is "a treacherous or deceitful person."  Such a definition would not be applied to a creature today, as modern human beings do not have an ability to communicate with beasts.  However, adam was able to do this [remember the one language of telepathy we talked about] and found that the serpent trained him in how to solve the riddles posed by the sly snake and practice the same craftiness against it.  That would have prepared adam to be on guard about anything the serpent communicated, so he would not be tricked, which is also a sign that Yahweh spoke insight to adam, much like Jesus knew what tricks the Pharisees and Sadducees were up to.

On the other hand, knowing that ishshah had been brought to adam like another pet, she probably did not know about the dangers of listening to the serpent's suggestions, with forethought that the serpent's forte was deception.  Thus, we read, "And [the serpent] said to ishshah  -  indeed has said elohim not  -   you shall eat of every tree in the garden  ?"

This is three segments of words, with the first stating that the serpent and ishshah had the ability to communicate to one another.  Since the series ends with a question mark, it is best that the Hebrew word "amar" be translated as "asked," rather than "said."  This makes the first segment of words state, "And he asked of ishshah."

The core part of the question is then stated in the second segment of words, where we find Yahweh is missing.  Knowing that the serpent is "cunning" and "crafty," adept at deception, there is no possibility that the serpent's question would be poorly worded.  Thus, by asking (basically), "Did not adam say?  It is important to see adam as one of the elohim in human form, where adam in the flesh, with the Christ tree of life married to his soul breath of life, he is eternal and a demigod.  This means the question is not about what Yahweh said, but about what His Son said.  Can you see that?

Good!  This means that the question about what adam had said to ishshah was, "Can you not eat from every tree in the garden?"  In Genesis 2, Yahweh told adam [in Hebrew], "mik·kōl ‘êṣ-hag·gān ’ā·ḵōl tō·ḵêl" ["of every tree in the garden freely you may eat."]  Now, in Genesis 3, the serpent is asking [in Hebrew], "ṯō·ḵə·lū mik·kōl ‘êṣ-hag·gān" ["you may eat of every tree in the garden."] which is using the same words, with the exception of "’ā·ḵōl," meaning "freely."

Notice how the statement is suggestive to ishshah to not trust her memory of what she had been told?  This means the craftiness of the serpent was already in play, setting up the "woman" to possibly doubt her recall. 

Do you recall that the tree of life was stated to be "in the midst of the enclosure," with a comma mark separating that tree of living waters from the subsequent "tree of knowledge of good and bad"?  Do you recall that those were not real "trees" but the inner soul-Spirit covered by a body of self, which were joined within the womb?  Think now of the tree of life being metaphor for the first sapling of the vine of righteousness that would produce good fruit that was not the edible kind and the tree of knowledge of good and bad being the purpose of ministry given by God's first priests to the unknowing . 

For the serpent to even be able to ask such a question in the first place says the serpent was also told not to eat from the same trees.  It was not Yahweh that told the serpent, but adam who passed on that Commandment, which was given to him by the Father.  This shows 'Adam' acting as a priest in eden, becoming the prototype of Moses and Jesus.  Yahweh spoke to them directly, and through His Sons were the people given divine direction, with the need for faith in Yahweh to be the cornerstone the people would use to becoming filled with the Holy Spirit and likewise establishing a line of communication directly to the Godhead (Christ). 

This means the serpent had been given eternal life by adam, so it could dwell in eden, but it too had to obey the Commandments set by an elohim, rather than Yahweh himself.

Can you see this factor of the serpent being given immortality, as were all the beasts that dwelled in eden?  Can you see how none had any need to eat from the trees, as far as their survival was concerned.  However, simply because a tree produced fruit (nuts, berries, olives, whatever), all creatures were "freely" allowed to "taste the fruits of the earth" that was perfection and a paradise ... just to experience what delights were held to those given life in a divine world. 

This is where I want to end this class lesson.  Before 'Eve' responds the the serpent's question, I want you to ponder these elements of the serpent being in eden.  Ask yourselves, "Why would Yahweh elohim make an creature that was deceitful?"  Ponder why Yahweh would make His Son and give him eternal life, only to place a crafty serpent within his realm. 

See if you can see how adam was already pastoring a flock in a most divine place that was 'heaven on earth'.  See if you can see how 'Adam' was speaking for the Father as the Father was in him, just like Jesus.  See if you can grasp how 'Eve' and the snake were just like all the stories in the Holy Bible, where the followers of a holy leader [judge, prophet, king, etc.] always had a tendency to bellyache, moan and groan, and complain.

Next week we will pick up on ishshah's response to the cunning serpent.  Until then, prayers and devotion.