Dr Paul Allen

Adam and Eve Are Driven out of Eden by Gustave Dore. Picture portrayed over passage in Genesis. And he placed at the east of the Garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life (Gen. 3:24). (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) God’s goal in all of His creative and redemptive work is to bring glory to Himself ( Isa 43:7 ; c Eph 1:6 ,  12 ,  14 ) This is expressed in His creation mandate to Adam and Eve , in which He commissions man, as those uniquely made in His image, to rule over the earth in righteousness ( Gen 1:2 8) Man is to bring glory to God by their manifesting His presence as His vice-regent throughout all creation. But immediately Adam and Eve fail in their commission. The serpent deceives Eve, Adam eats of the forbidden tree, and in that moment the human race is catapulted into spiritual death and damnation ( Gen 3:1–7 ) The Seed of the Woman And just as immediately, God graciously promises that H...

English: The story of the Eden Garden. The temptation of Adam & Eve by the devil. Pedestal of the statue of Madonna with Child, western portal (of the Virgin), of Notre-Dame de Paris, France Français : L'histoire du Jardin d'Eden. Au premier plan la tentation d'Adam & Eve par le Diable. Base de la statue de la Vierge à l'Enfant, trumeau du portail de la Vierge, Façade ouest de Notre-Dame de Paris. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Though Christ may be alluded to in the creation story (along with the Holy Spirit, part of the “us” of Genesis 3:14-15 ), the first prophecy about him comes  shortly thereafter in Genesis 3:15 . After Adam and Eve’s rebellion, God doled  out punishments to those involved: first to the serpent , then to Eve and finally to Adam. When God told the serpent that he would “put enmity” between  the serpent and Eve, he was referring not only to their story but also to the  story of all of humankind—a story plagued by the evil one, Sa...

English: Cain and Abel (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) "But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD." ( Genesis 6:8 ) Genesis 3:15 clearly implies that Satan 's offspring and the woman's offspring will be at war until Satan is finally and fully crushed. Hence, we would expect to find accounts of battles between the two parties until the final blow is struck. Genesis 6:1-8 is one such account. "Sons of God " (their exact identity is unknown) were producing offspring with the daughters of men ( 6:1-2 ). Whatever these reproductive unions were, God was displeased with them: "My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years" ( 6:3 ). Both the word "striving" and the fact that God limited the existence of that generation to 120 years indicate His disapproval. Why would God have been angry? Shortly after these procreative acts, violence and wickedness were widespread ...

Masaccio, Brancacci Chapel, Adam and Eve, detail. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." ( Genesis 3:15 ) This famous verse--often cited as the first proclamation of the gospel--gave a silver lining of mercy to the curse that followed it. In Genesis 1:28 , God made childbearing a blessing. But in Genesis 3:16, He frustrated our enjoyment of it. Did God's blessings end here? No. First, consider the context for the promise of Genesis 3:15 . Prior to Chapter 3, God placed Adam and Eve in a location ( Eden ) literally meaning "delight" ( 2:8 )--He put them in a paradise! At the end of Chapter 3, God banished them from the paradise ( 3:23 ). In between these two events, Satan (in the form of a serpent) deceived Adam and Eve and ruled over them ( Genesis 3:1-7 ). What is the significance of God's promise of a future crushin...