The Tree of Knowledge: Was Never What You Were Taught

What really happened at the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil?
In this episode we walk through Genesis 2–3 carefully. We look at the garden as the first sacred space (the original temple), why the tree was placed there, why Satan approached the woman first, Adam’s failure to guard what was entrusted to him, and what “knowing good and evil” actually meant. We also follow the thread forward to Christ as the true Guardian who succeeds where the first man was silent.
This is not a children’s Sunday school version of the story. It’s a close look at the text, the overlapping of the spiritual and physical realms, and the choice that still sits in front of us.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:18

Hey guys, real quick before we begin tonight, you guys know that I I've always said that I absolutely do not care whatsoever about telling people to like or or subscribe. And I'm and I'm still holding to that, but I have found that several of these of these latest videos are being what I call black shelved by the powers that be uh on this platform. It's extremely frustrating. Uh so what I what I what I want to ask you is that if you're led to, um please share these around if you think that it will be um a specific help to someone or a blessing to them that that you know um because uh it looks like there's there's going to be uh this is going to be the only way of around dealing with this issue here that I'm currently experience experiencing. And hopefully, hopefully these these vids will get these videos will get circulated that way. Um so with that being said, now let here we go. So let's paint, let's paint a picture and we'll start. Have you you sit you're sitting in a parking lot after work and you feel you feel kind of like something settle on your shoulders a little bit, and maybe it was like a conversation with your with your boss that went that went all to hill and and and left you kind of replaying every word that was exchanged, right? But in another situation, maybe it was a text from your wife or your husband or a boyfriend that it, you know, it hit you wrong, and now the the the drive home is longer than than it should be, than it normally would have been. And maybe the truck payment or the the car payment, whatever it is, is due and the money just ain't there. And you sit there with the key in the ignition and and you know that a decision is sitting in front of you. And you cannot ignore it. And I mean, you can push, I mean, we've done it all, all of us have done this. You can push it off one more day, or you can deal with it. And right there in the seat of the truck while the engine is still running, you're still you're sitting there and you're thinking about this over and over again. And and this kind of moment is ordinary, right? It happens to all of us, it happens to so many people every single day. So a choice it shows up there, like right there in the middle of life, of regular life, and it carries consequences that stretch further than the five minutes it takes to make it. And the Bible opens with a moment just like that. So, but it's not in a parking lot, it's not with a it's not with a truck payment, it's it's in a garden where the spiritual realm and the physical realm occupied the same ground. Okay. So keep the picture in your mind here. Genesis, in the book of Genesis, it doesn't, it doesn't describe uh like a far-off like spiritual dimension that's sealed away from from I don't know, like from dirt and trees and and human hands. It it it illustrates a place where God once walked, where He He where His counsel, His divine counsel operated, and where a man and a woman lived at the same time. And so the unseen and the seen shared the same space, okay? And decisions made with human hands touched both of these realms at one time. Angelic beings were visible a lot here, like a ton in this place. It was normative, and but much has changed since then. There were two trees in that garden. Like there is trees everywhere, but there were two main trees, right? And one was the tree of life, and the other was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And a a command was given here. A boundary was was marked, and a choice was placed in front of the first man and the first woman in the exact location where heaven and earth met, where it all coalesced. And that's where and that's where we're going to begin here. So the the story, how can I say, the story is not about like a mythical fruit or a children's Sunday school picture. It's about a decision made in a place where the spiritual realm and the physical realm were absolutely together. They were joined. Okay. We can't fathom this right now, but you will after this, that after this episode. And the same kind of pressure that you feel you felt in that parking lot after a hard day was present there in the garden as well. Only the consequences ran through both realms at the same time in the garden scene. And we're gonna what I want to do is walk through, like we did in the last episode, we're gonna walk through this whole thing. We're gonna walk through that decision carefully. And we're what we're gonna, we're gonna look at why the tree was even put there to begin with, and why Satan approached a woman first, and what Adam was supposed to do, yet he did not do, and how also how the garden itself functioned as a what we would call a sacred space, and what the consequences actually were, um, what they actually were according to the text itself. You know, you remember, you know how we do things, we we stays, we stay grounded in the scriptures as much as we can. And we will also see how Christ later steps, he steps into the role that Adam left unfulfilled, and how that same um, how that same junction point between the spiritual and the physical remains open in the world that we live in right now. Okay. So, so stay with me. The garden is not far from ordinary decisions of daily life as as we think, as most people would think. It's not different. It feels it feels detached, and I can promise you it's not. So Genesis chapter two takes us into the details of like how the garden, um, how the garden was was established and and how the first man was placed like inside of it. Okay. And the text in the scriptures, they say that God, it said it says this explicitly. It says God formed the man from the dust of the ground, and then he breathed into into his nostrils the breath of breath of life, right? You know the text. And so then the man became a living being. And then God, he um he subsequently planted a garden in Eden, and it was it was towards the east. And there he placed, and we can explain the east in a later episode, right? But like, but there he placed the man that he had formed out of the ground that God had made, uh, and he had made every tree grow that is pleasant to the to the eyes, or like it was beautiful, that's that's what it's saying, and it was good for food. And the tree of life was in the middle of this garden that God describes, and and so the tree of the knowledge of good and evil also was was there as well. And so as the picture continues, a river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, okay? And and from there it then divided and became became four rivers. And the the text gives the the names of these rivers and the lands that they watered. One river is associated with gold, uh pedallium, and I think it said onyx stone. And these these are not like just merely decorative details. They they locate the garden in a physical world of soil, water, trees, um, and named places. And and this was a real place. Um, and the garden was a real location on the earth, and and at the same time, it was the place where God himself was literally present and and he was doing things, he was active, walking with Adam, doing things, walking with Eve even. And God, so God took the man um in the Garden of Eden to work it and keep it. Like that was he that he was tasked tasked to do that. And that second word, keep, right, it it carries a very important meaning in the original language. And the Hebrew word is like, I think it's called Shemar, and and it means to like to um to guard something, uh to like watch over it and to protect and to and to preserve it. And so the man was not, he was not placed in the garden um only to like cultivate plants and and keep the ground productive. Like in the south, we would call that like a derogatory term. It would be like a sodbuster, but it's an old, that's an old term. Anyway, but he he was given Adam was given the opportunity to like guard the space itself. And the the assignment was both practical and it was it and it was very protective. Please remember that because it means something as we go on. Now he was to work the garden and he was to stand and what he was to stand watch over it. So then God gave, um, he gave him a command. He said, he said, essentially, he said, you may freely eat uh of of the garden, of every tree in the garden, but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat of that. Uh, because he's God said, if you do, the the day that you eat from that, that tree, you shall surely die. And so the order, the order of the text is very deliberate and and poignant. The the command is spoken to the man before the woman is formed, and that's often missed. And Genesis 2, I think it starts in verse 16. Uh it stands before Genesis 2, 18, obviously. The woman was not yet brought into existence when the boundary, when the boundary is marked and the warning is is given. Okay. The man hears the command, he hears it directly. He hears it directly from the Father, he hears it from God, right? He remember God's walking with him. He Adam receives the full freedom of every other tree and every single and the and the single restriction in the same moment. And he receives both while he is still alone. Okay. Now the garden itself is not like a sealed off, uh, I don't know, like a spiritual zone that has nothing to do with dirt and rivers and human hands and everything that Adam's doing. It is, it's it's it is also not a um a purely physical plot of land that has absolutely nothing to do with the presence of God Himself. Okay, the the text, it it it literally shows God walking in it with Adam and communing, enjoying time together. It shows him speaking face to face with the man. And later the the account will show other divine beings present in that same space. And the the spiritual realm and the physical realm occupy the same ground here. My goodness, this this this part of the text is so so big. Um decisions made with human hands in this place touch both both realms at one time. I'm gonna keep saying that, and you have to get this. You have to get that. The the work that the man is given is physical, yet the authority under which he works is spiritual. Okay. The the trees are physical, you see them, you touch them, that kind of a thing. Yet the command that's attached to one of them carries consequences that reach into the unseen realm. Okay. The man is given, Adam, he's given, he's given, like literally the garden. It's his. He has dominion over the garden. He's given the work to cultivate it and to work it, to grow things, you know, the whole the whole deal. He's given the responsibility to guard it as well. He is given one clear boundary, one, just just one. And he receives that boundary while he is still, he's still alone, he's still by himself. Okay. And this is again before the woman is formed from his side. Now, when the woman is later brought into the garden, she um she enters uh the same space that the man already occupies. And and she will live, she will live among the the same trees. I mean, she's she's gonna walk the same the same ground. Um and it is and she's going to walk the same ground where God has already spoken also. She will stand also under the same authority. Yet the original command was spoken to the man first, okay? And and the duty to guard the over like the overlapping space was placed on him first. And that that sequence shapes the events that he that that then follow. So the the setup at this at this point is complete and um it's deliberate, right? The whole the whole scene is set, the table is set. Now Adam just has to do what he's supposed to do. And a garden is planted by God on the whole earth, right? And and two specific trees standing in the middle of it. A man formed from the dust and given the breath of life, and a clear assignment to work the garden and to and to guard it. Okay. A single command spoken directly to him before the woman exists. I'm I'm being I'm being sort of repetitive, but it's for a purpose. Okay. And the entire scene taking place to a location is take it's taking place in a location where the unseen realm and the seen realm are already joined together. It didn't happen later. It's already there. And that is the ground on which everything that um that everything that follows will will stand and the overlapping space has been has been has been completely established. And the next the next movement in the account, it will, it will test what the man does with what he's supposed to be doing, with what with his responsibility that he's been given, and the pl and the place where where heaven and earth meet. Okay. Um the the garden in Eden is not only a physical place where the first man was was just given a work and a command. It it it's also it's also the first sacred space. The it's the original temple where God dwells, uh, he dwells with humanity and where the where the spiritual realm and the the physical realm meet in a um, how can I say, in a in a concentrated way. And later in in the scriptures, the temple, the temple in Jerusalem is described in in as it's described as the house of God and the place where His His presence is, where it's His presence is resting. Um it's the location where heaven and earth are joined for the people of Israel. Okay. Um the the patterns, the patterns and language used for that temple already appear in the in the garden account. And the garden is is the the prototype here. So God is present and active inside the garden. And the text shows him walking there and then speaking directly with the man. And this is the same, uh, the same reality later when that it's that's expressed when the glory of God fills the tabernacle and then and then the temple. And the garden is the place of God's presence on the earth. Okay, so the orientation of the garden is like it's toward it's toward the east. And when the man and the woman are later sent out, they leave, they have to leave toward the east. And so the cherubim are placed at at the east end of the garden to guard this this way. And ancient temples commonly play commonly like face the east. And the garden already carries that directional marker. So the cherubim, they appear in the garden account once the man and woman are expelled, and they stand with a flaming sword to guard the way uh to the tree of life. And the the the later tabernacle and temple, uh, cherubim are the guardians of the sacred space. They they are embroidered kind of on the the big curtain that the that separates the holy of holies um from the or from the holy place from the most holy place. And they're carved above the Ark of the Covenant as well. And and the same guardian figures that protect the um the presence of God in the temple first appear in the garden here. Okay, so the river that flows out of Eden and then divides into four rivers also carry temple uh symbolism. Uh, later, the in the prophetic visions of the temple, especially in the book of Ezekiel, uh, it includes water flowing out from the houses of God, from the house of God and bringing bringing life to the land. And the river, uh, the river in Eden is an earlier kind of expression of the same idea. Life giving water going out from the place of God's presence. And then precious materials are mentioned in connection with the land of the garden, like you had, like the remember I said earlier, the gold, pedallium, onyx stone. And so these these are the the same kinds of materials that will like later be used in the construction and the decoration of the temple and um and the um but the art the I'm sorry, but the garden is already associated with the wealth and beauty that mark this sacred space. And the assignment that's given to the main, um to uh that's given to the man also carries priestly overtones. He's placed in the garden to work it and to keep it. And the the Hebrew word that we talked about earlier, Shemar, to keep and to guard, is the same verb used for the duties of the priests and the Levites who were charged to guard the tabernacle and later the temple. And that's crazy, right? So the the man is given a role, and a role that involves uh both like cultivating the land and the protection of sacred space. And so all of these elements together, they they show that the the garden it functions as as the first temple, and it's a place where God dwells with the man that he has formed. Okay, it's the it's the location where the spiritual realm and the physical realm occupy the same ground in a very, very focused way. This is very purposeful. The man is not only a worker of the soil, that he he is also a guardian of the sacred space where heaven and earth meet, much like the cherubim. Okay, not quite like that, but sort of. Now the understanding of this shapes everything that follows in the account of this. The command about the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is is given inside sacred space, okay? And so, like the boundary that's marked in the place of God's presence, it's marked in the place of God's presence. And the the decision that will be made about that tree will take place in the original temple, where the consequences reach both the physical ground and the spiritual reality of life before God Himself. So when Satan enters and speaks, he is entering the sacred space where like when the when the man remains silent, he's he is failing to guard the temple and that he was charged to keep. And when the man and woman are kicked out, they they are sent out of the place of God's dwelling, and and the the the cherubim take up the role of guardians that the man left unfulfilled. Okay, you see that? So access to the tree of life is then blocked at the entrance of the temple. And the garden, um, the garden as the temple also explains why the overlapping of the spiritual and the physical realms are are so central to the story. Um, a temple is defined by by that overlap. And it is it's the place where God makes his presence known on the earth and where human life is lived in direct, in direct relation and walking with him. Okay, so the garden, the garden itself is the first expression of that. Okay, are you you see now? So, like that, that's the that's the setting in which the trees in which the tree stands. The command is the is given and the decision will be made. The first man has been placed inside the original sacred space. He's given the responsibility to to you know guard it and and told of one boundary that he must not cross. And the the temptation. Has been established and the rest of faithfulness will take place inside of it. And so the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, it stood inside the garden for a clear reason. And that reason is tied literally directly to the uh to the garden's identity as the first sacred space. The the man has been given complete free access here to every other tree. He could eat from each of them without restriction or penalty. And he had he had been given the work of the garden and the responsibility of guarding it as the original temple guardian, where God was present in the middle of that um in the middle of that freedom, in the middle of that freedom and responsibility. So God marked one boundary and attached a clear consequence to it. The command was direct to Adam. He said, You may eat freely from every tree of the garden, but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat from it. He said, God goes on to say, like if for in the day that you eat from it, you shall surely die. That boundary uh created the space where the man's loyalty to God it it could be shown through a choice that cost him something. Okay. Um the tree that was made from uh the tree that was made, it it made room for a genuine yes or a no. Um and and this is where heaven and earth had already met, and and it was inside the sacred space, and the man was given the opportunity to like to remain under the word that God had spoken or or or to reach beyond it. And the presence of the tree, it it turned the garden into a into the place where faithfulness could be demonstrated in action, okay, in real time. And the man was not he was not placed in the temple garden as as a like a passive resident. He wasn't just hanging out. He he was given like meaningful work, he was given uh meaningful authority as a uh guardian and meaningful uh freedom. And then God marked one tree and said and said, No, that he's that single restriction made the garden the location, the the location where man's allegiance and um it could be proven through a decision through a decision that carried consequences in both the spiritual realm and the and the and the physical realm at one time. The physical act of reaching for the fruit or refusing it would reveal whether he would stay under God's command or step outside the limit that had been set inside that that inside that sacred space. And this is this is consistent with the way that God later tests faithfulness in other parts of the scriptures with mankind in general and us. The man in the garden is given everything that he needs for life, uh for work, along with one clear restriction, so that his his response to God can be seen out in the open, right? It has to be proven in the test that takes place in the overlapping space itself. And so this the spiritual and the physical are already joined in the in the garden temple, and the decision about the tree will it will literally touch both of those realms. So the tree made a true response to God possible. The man lived in in sac in the sacred space with the opportunity to show whether he would remain under the command that he he was given, um, that he heard directly from God, or he would reach, he would reach past to something that had been placed outside of his authority. And that that boundary was the was the the literal condition that that allowed loyalty to be shown and demonstrated in a way that could be observed and measured. Okay. It was um, I don't know, it was like a it was a test of faithfulness that was set inside the first temple. This is this was huge, huge, huge. When the woman is later brought into the garden, you know, she she enters a space where the the boundary has all it already exists and the and the tree is already standing in the middle of the sacred space. Okay, the command, um, the command has already been given to the man who was charged to guard it. Okay, the the opportunity to prove allegiance or to cross the line is already present in the place where the spiritual realm and the physical realm meet. I have to keep saying that over and over again. You had it's just super important. So the stage is is is set for the decision that will follow, and the tree remains the focal point for that decision because God placed it there for the purpose for his purpose from the beginning. And the tree stood. It stood in the middle of the garden because the the garden itself was the first temple. And inside that temple, a genuine response to God required a boundary. Okay, that the man had been given the role of guardian and the freedom of of the sacred space. The the tree made it possible for him, uh for Adam to show by by by like what he did with that freedom that whether he would he would hold to the word of God or not. And that is why the tree of knowledge of good and evil was placed there. It wasn't just there for fun, it was his test. And so Satan entered the garden and spoke first to the woman. And the text shows um both the order of the approach and what it reveals about the roles that were already already assigned inside that sacred space. Okay. The the command about the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was spoken to Adam before the woman, um, before she even existed. And Genesis 2, I think it's verse 16 and 17, uh, it records God giving both the boundary and the consequences directly to the man. And the woman was formed afterwards. So she received, she received the instruction through Adam, and she heard it secondhand rather than from God's own mouth. That's what we know from the text. That sequence right there places the primary responsibility for the command on the man who first received it. Okay, and and and who had been given the duty that went with it to guard, right? Adam had already been given a clear assignment inside inside the garden temple. In Genesis 2, I think it was verse 15, it says that God took the man and placed him in the Garden of Eden to work it, to keep it, and the Hebrew word that's translated, remember what it was? It was Shamar. It means to guard, to watch over, and to protect. So Adam received the responsibility to watch over that sacred space and the family that would live inside of it, because the the spiritual realm, what is it? The spiritual realm and the physical realm already shared that same ground. Okay, this will all make sense. I know it's getting repetitive, but I did that on purpose. Um but the so Adam was responsible for the physical garden and for the temple reality of God's presence in that place. So when Satan arrived and began speaking to the woman, Adam was present, he was there. The text shows him standing there literally during this exchange and conversation. He remained silent while the conversation unfolded. And the one char the one who was charged to guard the garden temple and the family stayed quiet at the moment that the threat entered the sacred space and began its work. Okay. He heard the question. He heard the question that that twisted the original command. He heard the woman and the words that God had never spoken. He heard the promise, right? He heard the promise that their eyes would be opened and that they could be like the Elohim, the spiritual beings. Knowing good, they wouldn't be able to know good and evil. And he said, and Adam said nothing. The silence itself belongs to the account. And the man who had been um given the role of guardian of the first temple did not step forward to protect the boundary or the woman who stood inside of it. You see that you see the picture? That silence carries forward as a pattern. And the first man stood in the place of responsibility inside the sacred space, and um and he did not act to protect what had been entrusted to him. You see, the the over the overlapping realm was left unguarded at the critical moment that it that would it that it was needed in. The the command that he he received directly from God was was left undefended completely while the conversation continued. Adam didn't step in. The functional authority that I've always talked about, he it he that he carried as the one who heard the command first and was charged to keep the garden temple was not exercised at all. When especially when when it was when it was needed. So the garden scene follows a clear order, like the um the command came to Adam first, and the duty to guard the sacred space rested on him alone. And Satan approached the woman while Adam stood present and he was silent. And this the spiritual realm and the physical realm still occupying the same ground, and the decision that followed would touch both because the guardian of the garden temple, a sign that was assigned to that space, did not act when the when the threat first arrived. And that this is the setting in which the conversation between Satan and the woman takes takes place and it unfolds. So like the man who was given charge to keep the uh he was charged to keep the the temple um the temple uh uh in good order, he left it undefended. And the stage is now set for the the offer that will be made and for the choice that will be taken inside that overlapping space. And the conversation then begins in Genesis uh chapter three. So Satan, who was more cunning than any beast of the of the field that God had made, and and it says, and to the woman, um, he said, has God indeed said that you shall not eat from every tree of the garden? That's what Satan is asking uh Eve this. And he so Satan opens with a question that twists the original command. God had said that they could freely eat from every tree except one. Okay, Satan frames it as a total restriction, and then the woman she answers from the version that she received through Adam, and she says, We may eat, we may eat the fruit of uh of the trees of the garden, but of the fruit of the tree in which is in the middle of the garden, God said, You shall not eat it. He said, If you touch it, uh you'll you'll die. And so she adds the word, she adds the words, nor shall you touch it. Now those words were not in the command given to Adam. Um the the boundary has already been expanded in her hearing. Um the the original word from God has been has been altered, and that small change opens the door for the next movement in the in the exchange. So Satan replies, he says, You will not surely die. He says, For God knows that in the day that you eat of it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. And the the so that here here is the offer. So Satan, Satan already possessed the knowledge of good and evil, right? He and so did the rest of the divine council, the host of heaven. What God Himself possesses that knowledge in its perfect form. The the knowledge of good and evil is not a secret that only that only God holds. It's a like a judicial capacity that belongs to the council and the the ability to like discern, to judge, and to like decide what is good and what is evil. Like Satan, as a member of that council at one time, who is already who has already rebelled, knows exactly what the knowledge is, and he knows what it means to stand in the in the in the position of one of who judges. And that is why he can speak the words like you will be like God, knowing good and evil, as a statement that contains truth. He's not inventing a fantasy. He is taking a real a real capacity that the council already holds and then offering it to the man and the woman. And the twist is in in the way that he he presents it, right? He he he frames the knowledge as something desirable. He's being a salesman. He he did he's framing it as something that will that will elevate them, something that will bless them, something that will uh open their eyes in a positive way. He does not tell them what what it will cost. He does not tell them that receiving this knowledge outside of God's timing and outside of God's authority will hurt them and all of humanity after that. He he offers the truth of the knowledge while hiding the harm that becomes that or that comes while seeking it. And when the man and the woman eat, they do in fact become like God in a sense and and the counsel in this specific way. God himself, he later confirms in in I think uh Genesis 3.22 that that God says the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil, and the knowledge is absolutely there. Their eyes are then open to the categories of good and evil in a new way. And they now they now possess like a kind of judicial awareness that previously belonged only to the divine council. And but that knowledge, it hurts them. And before they ate, they lived in the sacred space without shame. They lived there with, I mean, I mean, they walked with God in his presence in the over, guess what, overlapping realm without fear. They're um their relationship with each other and with with um with God was whole. And and after they take this knowledge, the first, the first thing the text records is that they they know that they're naked, and shame then enters and they cover themselves and they hide from the presence of God when they hear him walking in the cool of the evening in the garden, right? The the knowledge that was so the knowledge that was supposed to elevate them, then it instead produces fear, it produces distance and self-protection. The the knowledge of good and evil when it when it's seized rather than received under authority, it brings a it brings a burden that they were not meant to carry or made to carry in that way. They now see good and evil, they um but they see it as those who have been stopped outside, who have stepped outside the protection of the one who defines those categories perfectly. Um the knowledge that that that the knowledge does not make them wise in the way that they had hoped. And it makes them aware of their of their exposure. It makes them aware of of the the fracture that they have introduced into the into the sacred overlapping space that we've talked about. It makes them aware of the judgment that now um it now hangs over the the choice that they have just made. And this is the this is the deep harm that the knowledge itself is, the knowledge itself is not evil, but God and the council possess it only. The harm comes from taking it into the wrong, into the wrong uh via the wrong terms at the wrong time and for the wrong purpose. They they reach for the position of judge while still living in as creatures who like um who need the protection and the provision of the judge. And the result is that knowledge then becomes like a source of of pain rather than a source of life. And it opens their eyes to like a um a reality that that that they're they're not equipped to hold, to bear a lot like by themselves. Like it introduces shame where there wasn't any, like fear, where there, where there was fellowship, it it um it introduces hiding where like where there they used to be walk, they used to walk in the open. And and Satan, Satan knew that the presence was like that God's presence was real, and he used it, he twisted it in front of them. And like the man and the woman receive exactly what was offered, and they become like the council in knowing good and they and and evil, and that that very knowledge becomes the thing that that wounds them and drives them into covering themselves and hiding from God. And the woman she sees she sees that the tree is good for food and it is pleasant to the eyes, and that it is desirable to make one wise. Um and she she takes of the fruit and she and she eats, and and she also gives to her husband, and and who is obviously with her, and and he obviously eats as well. So Adam is present the end during the whole time, and he hears the question that that twists the command. He he bears, he he hears the woman um add the the prohibition against touching, and he he hears the promise of opened eyes and and likeness to the Elohim, and he watches her eat and he and he remains standing there, and then he he then takes the fruit when it's offered to him. He still didn't say anything, right? So, like in that moment, a a speculative thought dialogue can be heard inside Adam, right? He he's listened to every single word, he's watched the woman eat and and remain there, excuse me, and he's and he's remaining there standing. And the immediate death that he was told about when um has has hasn't fallen yet, right? It went when she ate. And he the the reasoning begins to form. She ate and she lives. The one who spoke to her said our eyes would be opened and we would be like the Elohim, knowing good and evil. He's saying he's thinking, I was given this garden temple to work and to guard, yet here is a knowledge that belongs to the council itself. If I take it, I will no longer or I will no longer stand under the boundary alone. I will stand with the same capacity to judge, um, to judge that the Elohim possess. And then so the spiritual realm and the physical realm already meet in this sacred space. And then so, like taking this fruit means stepping fully into both. The the command, this is Adam thinking this, right? The command I heard directly from God is being set aside in favor of a higher position inside the temple that I was charged to keep. And I I cannot remain under the word that I was given, or I can reach, um, or I can reach for the authority that was reserved for the council. And the thought settles within him, and he reaches out and eats. So the he he thought, like he thought that because she had already eaten and nothing happened, that he could go ahead and eat, nothing was going to change, right? That that was his thought to me. That's that was his thought process. But the the timing is important here. Like the woman she ate first, yet the text records that the eyes of both of them were opened after Adam ate as well, right? The Adam he carried a functional authority in the garden temple. He was the one, he was the one who received the command directly from God, and he was the one that was placed there to work it and to keep it. Okay, the the one charged to guard the overlapping space where the spiritual realm and the physical realm already met. And because that authority rested on Adam alone, the full effect of the decision that he made became visible only when he participated, because he was guarding the temple or supposed to have been. Um the the sudden knowledge of their exposed condition and the um the turn toward covering themselves all register in the text at the moment the man with who had the functional authority uh joins the act. The woman had already eaten, but the eyes of both are opened when the one who held the primary responsibility and the direct command that. He had received steps across the boundary with her, eating from the tree was the concrete act of taking um that function, the trying to steal a judicial function, and that the the eyes opened to now a new kind of knowing, and the knowing that comes from having stepped into the role of judge rather than remaining under the judge, okay, under God. And the first temple, that act carried consequences. I mean, we know carried consequences that reached into both realms at one time after the man and the woman ate. And the text records God speaking again. He said in Genesis 3:20, I think, yeah, Genesis 3.22, he says that uh then the Lord God said, Behold, the man has become like one of us, uh, knowing good and evil. And now, lest he puts his hand out and takes also from the tree of life, and then he eats and live forever. And the so the plural in this language is deliberate, and God speaks of us in the garden temple, where the spiritual realm and the physical realm already occupy the same ground. And that it that would point to the presence of the divine council. The man who the man has stepped into a kind of knowing that belongs to God and the Elohim who who stand with him in that council. And that knowing is the capacity to discern and declare what is good and what is evil, like minimally, right? Like the judicial function that the council exercises alone. Satan had promised that their eyes would be open and that they would be like the Elohim, knowing good and evil. God now confirms that the man has in fact become like the Elohim. He has in that specific way. So the the knowledge has been has been has been taken, the authority to categorize and and judge has been seized and stolen inside the sacred space because that and because that has happened, God moves immediately to the tree of life. And the the text shows concern that the man might reach out and take from that tree as well and live forever in that current fallen condition. The tree of life is therefore guarded. And so cherubim and a and a flaming sword are placed to keep the way and access to everlasting life in the state of uh seized knowledge is closed. And so the sequence is sequence here is important because the man has taken the knowledge that belongs to the council, to God Himself. And God acknowledges that the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. And so then the the path to the tree of life is blocked, and that the the the seized the seized knowledge does not become an everlasting condition inside the overlapping space. Um the the spiritual realm and the physical realm remain joined in uh in the consequences, and the the decision that was made with human hands in the first temple now shapes both both man's present condition and and the boundary boundaries placed around the garden itself. Okay, so like the world essentially. So that the council's own function has been has been taken, right? And and the response from God matches the size of what was taken. And the guardian who failed to protect the sacred space has now stepped into a role that was never assigned or meant for him, even. And the way back to the tree of life is now played, is now closed by the very cherubim who take up the protective duty that the man left unfulfilled. And that's the turning point in the in the in the garden account. The knowledge has been has been seized and the sacred space has been compromised. And the immediate response to that is to is to prevent that that seized um knowledge from being locked in um in permanently um permanently through access to the tree of life. And the overlapping realm that once that that once held free fellowship with God is now marked by a by a barrier. And the the man who was charged to to literally keep it stands on the other side of that barrier. And he's standing there with the woman, and the consequences arrive in clear order. Like, and the the text names them one by one. And God speaks first to Satan and then to the woman and then to the man here. And the ground, the ground is it's cursed because the because of the man's decision. Yeah, like he in pain, he's going to eat from eat from that ground all the days of his life, and thorns and thistles will come up, and the and he will eat the plants of the field by the sweat of his face. Um, and that will be until he returns to the ground from which he was taken. And then the woman is told that her pain in childbearing will be multiplied, and that her desire for her desire will be for her husband. And while while while he rules over her, Satan is told that he will crawl on his belly and eat the dust of the earth all the days of his life, and and enmity will stand between him and the woman. And between his seed and her seed. And the sentence about crawling on the belly and eating dust carries a specific meaning. People get crossed up on this. So by the actions taken inside the garden temple, Satan is now permanently locked onto the earth. He is he is placed among the dirt creatures that he hates. He's placed among the dirt itself. And the one and the one who once stood in high esteem and above the rest of creation is now reduced to living and moving essentially on his belly of the dust in the dust. He wasn't a snake. The judgment binds him to the ground level of the physical realm, stripping away like his his his excuse me, his elevated position and that he had held for a long time and now confining him to the lowest space among the things of the earth. And the spiritual rebel is forced into permanent association with the dust of the ground, and who that he sought to rule through deception. See the irony here? Then comes the expulsion. So God drives the man out of the garden and of Eden to work the ground from which he was he was taken from. And the east of the garden he places a cherubim and a flaming sword that turns in every direction to guard the way to the tree of life. And the man and the woman are removed from the place where the where the spiritual realm and the physical realm had occupied the the same ground in a very, very focused way. And direct access to the original sacred space is now closed, and the first temple is now barred from it. They're locked out, locked out. Death comes when the man goes back to the dust. Life is so hard from what it used to be now. And the loss of the shared sacred space sits at the center of the judgment. They no longer walk in the location where God and his counsel, well mainly God, were present with them in the same realm. Okay, that's the biggest consequence here. And the the overlapping, the overlapping space that defined the garden as as temple is no longer open to them. Okay, you see, you see, are you seeing all this? I hope you do. Um the so like later on, um, there is a blanket of inherited guilt that um how can I say it it does like guilt does not describe a total inability that leaves people unable to respond to God. It records consequences, but that that fell on the man and the woman and the ground, and it and it and it shows them that the and it shows them sent out of the overlapping space while they remained accountable for the the life that they will now live outside of it. And that being kicked out closes the door on the original sacred space, yet it does not erase their ongoing responsibility, okay, of those who live beyond that door. That the cherubim stand now where the man was supposed to stand, and the guardians of the sacred space take up the role that the that the original guardian left behind that he he failed at. The way to the tree of life is protected, and the man who was charged to keep the garden temple now lives east of it, outside the place where heaven and earth had met for him. Okay, the the expulsion is the closing of the door on the original overlapping space, and the rest of the biblical story will move forward from that closed door. Yet uh the story will not leave the closed door as the final word. And and the silence of the the first man inside the garden temple does not stand as the as the the end of that story. And scripture moves forward from that failure uh to the arrival of the one who takes up the role. Adam left unfulfilled and brings it to completion. So Adam had been placed at the sacred space to work it and to keep it, right? And to guard it. And he was given the responsibility to guard the overlapping realm and where where the spiritual and the physical met. And when the threat entered and spoke, he remained silent. And the boundary was left undefeated or undefended, excuse me. And the woman was left without protection from the one charged to keep the garden. Um the the functional authority that he he that Adam carried was not exercised at the moment, um, at the moment that it was required. And the first temple was compromised from within because the guardian did not act decisively. Christ enters the same kind of conflict as the true guardian. He he does not remain silent, and he he confronts the rebellious powers that first appeared in the garden. The the same power that that sought to draw humanity into seizing the right to define good and bad and evil for themselves, essentially. I mean, like where Adam, where Adam stood and he stood present and did nothing, Christ now steps forward and engages the enemy directly. Uh Christ faces he faces the temptation to take authority on terms other than those give or than uh Adam did, given by God. And uh, yes, yes, yes. Um, but Christ refuses in the temptation. Sorry, I got mixed up there. But Christ refuses the temptation and he does where he does what he's supposed to do where Adam failed. Um the in the opening chapters of scripture, the second Adam takes up, well, it the second Adam, Jesus, takes up the guardianship that the first Adam abandoned, and he protects what was left unprotected. He defeats the one who had who had locked himself into the dust through the rebellion. And and he Christ reclaims what was lost when the sacred space was compromised. And the victory is not only personal, it reaches it reaches the relationship between the spiritual realm and the physical realm that was fractured in the garden. Um, I hope I hope I didn't mess that up. But it in the in the garden, the the way to the tree of life was closed and guarded the guarded by cherubim because the man who should have kept the space stepped outside of that authority. And Christ reopens what was closed through his death and resurrection. The barrier is removed for those who belong to him because he did and fulfilled what Adam was supposed to do. So access to life is restored now, and and not through seizing knowledge that was never assigned, right? But but through the obedience and the victory of the true guardian, Christ Himself. The the overlapping, the overlapping of the spiritual and the physical is not is not abandoned or left behind. It's recovered and it's brought to its intended purpose. And so the first man was charged to keep the temple and he failed. Now the second man keeps faith where the first did not, confronts the same enemy and restores the relationship that was broken. So the silence in the in the garden is answered by the by the active and um by the active obedience and the triumph of Christ. The the role of guardian is is finally fulfilled, and the way back into fellowship with God in the place where heaven and earth meet is opened again through him. And we we call that Christus victor. Okay, and it means that the victory belongs to Christ as the one who overcame the power that first disrupted the sacred space where Adam failed. Okay, he did not merely pay a penalty in a legal transaction, he entered the conflict, he defeated the the rebel who had reduced himself to the dust, and and he reasserted God's rightful authority over categories good and evil. I mean, that's just it, that is what it is. And the knowledge that was seized um is answered by the knowledge that remains under the authority of the true king. And so the temple, the temple that was compromised in is answered by the um by the living way. Christ opens, he opens up the presence of God, and the guardian, the guardian that failed to represent it is overcome by the guardian who succeeds. Does that make sense? And so the how can I say like this? So the second Adam is not an optional theme that's added later on, right? It's it's the direct continuation of the garden account, and the the sacred space was was left unguarded. And the the true guardian, he arrives, he comp he completes the work where Adam was supposed to, and he makes a new living way into the presence of God. And so the story that began with the silent man in the first temple finds finds his its resolution in the man who does not remain silent and who brings the victory that restores what was lost. Um I hope I didn't mess it up too much. I got confused a minute there between one and the other, but um the the the spiritual realm and the physical realm have have never been sealed, um, have never been sealed off from each other. Like decisions made with with human hands still reach into both. And the knowledge of good and evil that that was seized in the garden, it continues to be claimed by people who want the right um to set the categories for themselves. And the the pattern first seen inside the garden temple has not disappeared, right? So like a person stands in a in a world where the where the spiritual and the physical remain joined, and in that space, they they either submit the knowledge that uh submit knowledge that that they hold to God or they attempt to wield it as their own. And so they the the claim is is the same one that was spoken by Satan in the sacred space, the the the right to know good and evil as the one who judges rather than the one who lives under the judgment of God. Okay, the the claim appears whenever someone places personal preference above the clear word of God and then it and then expects that preference to carry authority. And it appears whenever a boundary that God has set is treated as a as a starting point for like a negotiation, it's it's not negotiable, right? It appears when a group of individuals they decide that what God has what God has called good can be treated as a as an optional thing, or that um or that what God has called evil can be redefined as acceptable. And in each case, the same movement is at work and it reaches and it reaches for the judicial function that belongs to God and his counsel, and doing so in a in a in a world that where where the where the two realms will still overlap, and the consequences of that reach still touch from the spiritual and the physical. So like the the the choices made in ordinary life carry effects that run deeper than the immediate moment itself. And the the overlapping space has not been removed. It's it only changed, it only changed in form since the expulsion from the fur from the first temple. But people still live it at that junction, and the the the decision about whose definition of good and evil um will will which one will rule is still there. And the the call is that the call is like that that the knowledge that you carry under the authority of the one who sets the categories is the same God who spoke the boundary in the garden, right? Is still the one who decides good and evil. And the the invitation here is to live inside that definition rather than reach for the right to rewrite it. And the um the the true guardian has already confronted the power that first made the offer and and defeated it. And the way back into that right relationship with God has been opened through him. Isn't that beautiful? So the proper response is to is to walk in the knowledge that remains under his word rather than the knowledge that seeks to stand above it. Um the garden, if I can say it real quick, the garden decision was not was not left behind in the first chapters of the scriptures. It continues, it continues at the junction where the spiritual realm and the physical realm meet in every ordinary way, and the same choice is still present. I always beat, I'm I'm beating that dead horse, but like the the the same God who calls for a response that remains, he's calling for a response that remains under his authority. And the the story that begins with two trees in a garden does not end, does not end with the them being kicked out. The tree of life appears again at the end of the scriptures in in the final chapters of Revelation. The tree stands once more. And it's it's remember, it has leaves of healing of the for the nations, and access to that is being is restored. I did that on the last episode of Satan's Little Season, and I talked about that. And there's no longer, it's no longer that tree is no longer guarded. And the the overlapping of the spiritual realm, the physical realm is brought to its intended completion and its fullness. And God dwells, He He now dwells with His people, and the the separation that began when the first temple was closed is absolutely healed now. And between the the the closed garden and the open tree, at the end, it runs the work of the true, it shows the work of the true guardian. And it is it is an absolutely beautiful thing. And the knowledge that was seized um is now answered by the knowledge that remains under the authority of God. And that that sacred space, the sacred space that was lost, is now recovered through the one who confronted the same rebellious power and defeated it, uh, and defeated it for good. And so the account of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, it stands at the at the beginning of the biblical story as the place where the choice was first set um in the overlapping realm. And the rest of scripture, it moves from that, it moves from that jump point, from that choice toward the final restoration of the tree of life, where we have access to that. And that and the two trees mark the the span of the entire narrative from the from the first sacred space that was compromised to the final dwelling of of God with with humanity, um, where the way is is open again and it's not closed. So um I want to say, like, I I think that's I hope I didn't chase any rabbits there, but I I was man, it was coming to me, it was coming to me, it was coming to me. And then it was like, I was like, what did I say? What did I say? I kept on getting. mixed up there but I hope I didn't I didn't I hope I didn't make anything unclear for you. But that that took that took a long time to get that ready and to study over it and to watch notes and um rewrite notes go over the notes and um well should I say this should I say that but uh hopefully it was clear and if it's not please send me a question you know text me or um or get on the telegram app and um and shoot me a it shoot me a question through there.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:25

So I hope you're doing well and I'll see you next time. May the Lord bless you may the Lord keep you may the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift up his calendar to you and reign in peace.