At the beginning of creation God set the order. All things were created good.  God set the rules of the garden and they were very simple. The first humans could eat from any tree in the garden, except one. If they did, they would die. But, when the serpent intended to deceive, he first came to Eve to sow a seed of doubt.  The first recorded words that the devil spoke were:

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“Did God really say?"

Genesis 3:1

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The correct answer to this line of questioning is "Yes, God really did say."  That same answer is the correct response when the world tries to deconstruct God's clear teaching today.  But Adam and Eve failed, just like we all do.  Adam and Eve continued to indulge the words of the serpent and a prophecy that he revealed to them. To be sure this prophecy was not true. It was a lie, but it was an appealing lie which promised to 'enlighten' them. It drew them to the unique and alluring forbidden fruit. And here are the words he used to deceive them.  

“You will not surely die.

For God knows that in the day you eat of it, 

your eyes will be opened and 

you will be like God, 

knowing good and evil.”

Genesis 3:3-4

That pernicious lie is still loudly reverberating today in our current chaotic narratives. Let’s analyse that lie in light of our current cultural moments, mandates and emerging technologies.

You Shall Not Surely Die

The drive towards ‘immortality’ is throughout history.  Western culture in particular has sought to shield ourselves from the reality of death.  Previous societies have embarked on frontier voyages to find the ‘Fountain of Youth.  Eastern religions embracing reincarnation are adopted insomuch as they provide an alternative to considering that judgement may follow death. The western world has shipped our parents off to nursing homes so they can die away from our sight.  Our funerals clean up death and turn those moments into a celebration. Yet still humanity has not broken the prophecy of Hebrews 9:27 that men will die and face judgement.  Ecclesiastes 7:2 tells of the wisdom gained by visiting the house of mourning.

Your eyes will be opened

Technology is amazing.  Just as the invention of the printing press ended the dark ages and ushered in knowledge for the masses, so has the arrival on the internet brought about new levels of information by several orders of magnitude.  It has revolutionised knowledge, business and life for everyone across the globe.  The next frontier of this technology is bio-tech.   Whether it be wearables, implantables or injectables, the integration of technology with our bodies and their functions is huge.  Technology offers hope of defeating disease, holding back the infirmities and exploring the universe and multiverses.  

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But while we've obtained new technical knowledge, Biblical wisdom tells us that obtaining 'deity from within' (deism) is foolishness. God is not withholding secret mystical knowledge (Gnosticism) regarding salvation from sin and its effects.   The 21st century religion of pursuing immortality through technology is just a repackaging of the serpent's age-old lie. 

You will be like God

Culturally our movies have changed.  60-70 years ago our movies made heroes of western cowboys who stood up for justice in the face of their fragility. Today our movie heroes are superheroes who have morphed and transformed with new powers either through an animal encounter (spiderman, batman etc), or through embedded advanced technology (ironman etc). Culturally we are being primed to augment our bodies with enhancements. Make no mistake, life will eventually imitate art. 

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Progressivism says we can use technology to enable the new frontiers of evolution.  Supported by woke corporations, today's enlightened message says if you desire it, you can change your gender, identity, species, lifespan or anything you want.  If a threat to humanity emerges, like climate change, then as an advanced species you have it within yourself to change the weather. These are all acts reserved for gods. ‘After its kind’ is the drumbeat of God’s created order and we cannot create new species. To say this is to draw the ridicule of intellectual elites. However, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

Knowing ‘good and evil’

Knowing good and evil or rather ‘determining good and evil’ is the domain of the Creator. If one can redefine sin then, the spectre of death is removed. The law of sin and guilt will no longer exist and the necessity for salvation will have been negated.   Flipping the script to call good, evil and evil, good has been Satan's goal from day 1. By flipping this script, then the goodness of government as spoken of in Romans 13 (to reward the good and punish evil doers) becomes a tyrant to the faithful.  So Adam and Eve took the fruit and ate it. To be sure, this Ancient Lie deceived more that just Adam and Eve. Even though we have been told about the lie, and we have repeatedly seen successive civilisations fall for the lie.  We are once again succumbing to it.

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The Consequences of the Fall

Instantaneously, when Adam and Eve ate the fruit, they sinned by disobeying the word of the Lord.  As a result a curse was placed on Creation. For the serpent's deception, he received a curse included both immediate and eternal judgement. The immediate judgment is that he was cursed beyond all creation. The eternal judgement was the promise of Jesus Christ.

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And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; He will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”

Genesis 3:15

God forecast how Eve would have children, one of whom would be the Saviour of the world. Satan in his hubris would strike out at the Saviour, and in doing so, Jesus would crush Satan's head completely. The analogy is clear and the prophecy is fulfilled in the gospels. The Fall needs to be reversed before Paradise - new creation - can be restored.  This meant that a man would need to resist all temptation and live a sinless on behalf of all humanity. Many men have claimed to have tried to live a sinless life, but all have failed - all except Jesus. 

This curse of the fall then turned to both Eve and Adam.  For Eve, the curse meant she would have pain in childbirth and her desire would be for her husband. For Adam, the curse included that work - which previously was easy - would become tiresome. Eventually, both of their bodies would develop infirmities and they would die, returning to the dust of the ground. As their dependents, we too follow that pattern of working and dying - longing for the day when all pain and suffering is over.  

This is why death is not natural and was never God’s plan.  However, God in his mercy promised our fallen state would not be the end. He gave us insight into His larger plan for humanity. 

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Prior to their expulsion from the garden, the man and woman noticed they were naked. God in His kindness also gave them a sign of hope for their future. He took animals and killed them in order to make skins coverings for their clothes. This signified that the sacrificial shedding of blood was needed to cover sins. This commenced the ongoing process of blood sacrifices as a means to address our sin - which the nation of Israel practiced. Eventually, Jesus would sacrifice himself as the once for all sacrifice for all of humanity, thus ending the need for any more sacrifice.