Genesis, Angels, Adam and Eve
by Ulrich Utiger

Albrecht Dürer, Adam and Eve

Page description
Study about the chapters 2-3 of Genesis and what they tell us about the angels and their fall, good and evil, Adam and Eve, sexuality and family, the spiritual rebirth.

Contents of this page
The knowledge of good end evil
The revival of the angels
The life cycle of Adam and Eve
The spiritual rebirth

Short summary of the previous pages
In The First Account of Creation we can see that thanks to the multireference the first chapter of Genesis is compatible with modern science. The same interpretation by multireference is applied to the second account of creation, which shows that Genesis is also compatible with evolution and the theory of descent, because these theories are not against intelligent design, expect natural selection. On this page, the principle of multireference is applied to the rest of the second account of creation.

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THE ACCOUNT OF THE FLOOD

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THE EVOLUTION OF LIFE

Page 3

1.2. THE SECOND ACCOUNT OF CREATION

1.2.2. THE LIFE CYCLE OF THE ANGELS AND MAN

The knowledge of good end evil

The multireference also applies to dynamic events, namely to cycles composed of four phases. The phase of beginning is dominated by peace, the second by sin, the third by judgment and the fourth by revival, that is to say by the restitution of peace (see Introduction). Also remember that the term Adam represents both the angels and man (see Some apparent paradoxes of Genesis 2-3). The history of the angels is consequently described in the second account of creation, because it is the history of Adam. This cycle of the angels, which is an entire era at once, not only includes all the history of the physical world and humanity, it even began before this history (see The big bang and Summary of Salvation History). So the details given by this account have to be interpreted separately, firstly in agreement with the invisible world of the angels and secondly with man.

It is of course very difficult to describe a world we do not see and most of us have never seen. In addition, the account gives only hidden hints. It is nevertheless possible to extract the four phases from it, which is in fact the most important for us: since Genesis 2:5-25 describes peaceful events, we have to conclude that this passage describes the first phase of the angels. During this phase, all angels, even the future demons, still lived in perfect harmony with God in a spiritual paradise. At least in the beginning of their existence, for it is probable that the phase of sin did not occur abruptly but gradually because it was superposed with the phase of beginning, as well as with the phase of judgment. This interference of the phases is very important. We will be faced with it on several occasions describing the history of salvation.

The second phase is characterized by sin and is thereby described by the consumption of the forbidden fruit (Gen 3:1-6), which is comparable, for example, to the theft of an intellectual property or the consumption of a drug, because drugs change the manner to perceive the world and force an euphoric sensation. It therefore implies an individual choice of one's happiness and destiny. It also unmasks the snake as seducer. As for the angels, the consumption of the forbidden fruit was of purely psychological nature, a kind of aspiration to independence, for the desire to know good and evil is connected to the wish to set oneself up as the judge over good and evil. This choice of independence imperatively brought the angels in opposition to God, who alone is legitimate master over the knowledge of good and evil. The most extreme position in this aspiration to independence is held by Satan, who wishes to take the place of God.

Yet it is well known that sooner or later drugs lead up to disillusion and disaster, because drug addicts are disconnected psychologically from reality while physically remaining within reality, which can only turn out to be painful. This must have been similar in the world of the angels, for the pursuit of happiness independent from God sooner or later is revenged by disillusion and leads to a splitting between unrealizable ambitions and reality. It goes without saying that this auto-punishment constitutes the phase of judgment to which Genesis 3:7-24 refers and more particularly Genesis 3:24, which describes the expulsion out of the paradise.

The revival of the angels

To save the angels from this suffering, God created another world that should allow them to turn away from their fatal search for independence. This world was the material universe, which is inhabited by man and thanks to which the incarnation of God's Son and his sacrifice of the cross became possible. This is why the physical world was soaked in by death from the start announcing this sacrifice, but it was not cursed according to Gen 1:31. It is in this perspective that Rom 5:12 and 1 Cor 15:21 must be understood: it is not by the sin of the first humans that the whole world changed instantly, that herb eating lions (Gen 1:30) started to hunt antelopes according to young earth creationists. This does however not exclude that the first parents of humanity did commit an original sin and transmit it to all humans.

The salvation emanating from the sacrifice of the cross was offered to all angels, who all sinned1, and reopened the gate of paradise for those who accepted being saved, but opened the doors to hell for those who refused it. This universal offer of salvation is referred to by 1 Pet 3:19, which describes the descent of Christ into hell between the time of his dead and his resurrection. The salvation was therefore even offered to the fallen angels. But they did not accept it, which made their torment definitive. Their rejection was foreseeable, but it was necessary that salvation be universal in order that nobody is excusable following the principle evinced by Jn 15:22-24, which can be universalized and thereby also be applied to the angels as well as to all humans. This implies the possibility to humankind to receive redemption even after dead. So even those who ignored Christ for any reason in the present life can be saved.

Therefore, the phase of revival came with Christ's sacrifice. It is likely that this phase was preceded by an anticipated revival starting with the creation of the material universe, for we can suppose that the angels knew the plan of God to make himself human for the sake of everyone. In this perspective, a lot of them converted gradually in view of the future sacrifice of Jesus, which made their salvation definitive. This revival is therefore marked by different steps spreading over a very long period, which will only finish when the history of the present world ends.

Concerning the place where the revival of the angels is described in Genesis, things are more complex. The revival of Adam and Eve indeed occurred with their offspring, that is to say with the birth of Cain and Abel (Gen 4:1-2), as we are going to see. The revival of the angels, on the other hand, is not described by this passage: since their history includes the whole duration of the terrestrial world and humanity, the angels were present at the creation of the physical world, as well as at the time of the first humans and at Jesus' sacrifice. So the account also gives hints for the angels's presence regarding these events. The most evident hint is of course the speaking snake because it is an image of the devil, who is a fallen angel and who seduced Eve to eat the forbidden fruit. As for the revival, we have already seen that the creation of Adam also refers to the incarnation (see The incarnation prefigured by Adam). And the sleep of Adam, during which God removes a rib from him to form Eve (Gen 2:21-24), relates to the sacrifice of the cross , a theme we will return to further on in The new Eve. Since the sacrifice applies to the angels's redemption, it is therefore contained in this same passage.

So we know that Genesis 2:5-3:24 contains the beginning, sin and judgment phases. Then we know that the next phase of the revival phase is the beginning phase of a next cycle. Finally, we know that Genesis 2:5-3:24 refers to the angels, to the creation of the physical world and the first humans, and to the life of Jesus, that is to three different historic contexts. As for humanity, these three contexts are largely separated events. As for the angels however, these three context are continuous. This means that for the angels the revival phase of the first context passes to the beginning phase of the second context whose revival phase passes to the beginning phase of the third context. But since the angels only have one cycle with four phases, their revival in the second context is only a preliminary revival caused by the creation of the physical world.

And there are also the fallen angels that have to be taken into account: they have no revival because they decided to stay living in sin. This is why the sin and judgment phases of the second context only concerns them. In Genesis, this is expressed by the seduction of Eve by the snake and its punishment (Gen 3:14). In the third context then, the revival of the converted angels becomes complete with Jesus' sacrifice. So in spite of the three contexts linked to the angels, we find the four usual phases.

The life cycle of Adam and Eve

On a psychological level, the life of a human being experiences several highs and lows, which for each person are different. At a biological level, things happen more slowly and similarly to all people. In fact, we are going to see that in the normal case the entire human life follows the phases as we know them from Genesis. This is why they are described by the same passages: the first phase by 2:5-25, the second by 3:1-6, and the third by 3:7-24. The fourth phase, as mentioned above, is described by the offspring of Adam and Eve. So its beginning is related to 4:1-2. Thanks to the multireference of these phases, the account about Adam and Eve, who in a certain manner imposed their law to all humans, becomes very revealing.

We know that according to Genesis the first man was not really formed with dust but was born as a baby (see The theory of descent). So it is easy to imagine how the paradise of Adam and Eve was: this was of course the childhood, during which the boy is still free from work and the girl does not bring forth children in the pain yet (Gen 3:16-19). In this paradise they were naked and "felt no shame in each other’s presence" (Gen 2:25) as all little children do. This expresses their innocence and their transparency.

They then however disobey God’s commandment to not eat the fruit of knowledge (Gen 3:1-6), which equals to the phase of sin. We have seen that on the angel level this consumption means the aspiration to one's own laws, the wish to be one's own master, to consequently live independently of God and, in its most total form, to take the place of God. On the human level, this is expressed in an analogous manner because, during puberty, children mostly take a critical position in view of the moral principles, with which they were educated by their parents. This can go until the famous parents-child conflict, which reflects the one that separated the angels from God.

Then there is the awareness of their nudity, that is the discovery of their sexuality, to which Adam and Eve were not predestined as children. Ashamed, they try to hide their nudity by covering themselves with fig-leaves (Gen 3:7). On the pure biological level, this is expressed by the growth of the pubic hairs during puberty. On the psychological level, it is expressed by a non-admitted conscience of culpability, which leads to the loss of the childlike transparency and happiness. Finally, becoming adult, children separate themselves from their parents to found a new family, which implies for the son to have to work hard, since henceforth he has to feed his family, and for the girl the pain of pregnancy. At the end, both undergo the biological death preceded by aging (Gen 3:16-19). But by their own children, they become young again, which is their revival. This is very shortly the meaning of the four phases of man's life cycle.

The spiritual rebirth

By fathering within the woman a new human being, the man resembles God, who makes humans born again by his Spirit to eternally adopt them as his children (Jn 3:1-8; Gal 4:4-7). Man's resemblance to God is very revealing. On the one side, the man thus figuratively puts himself in the place of God, which leads to the phase of judgment. On the other side yet, it also causes his phase of revival because he participates in the renewal incarnated by his children. He is reborn by them in a figurative manner similar to the sole real spiritual rebirth introduced by Christ (Jn 3:1-8; also see The incarnation prefigured by Adam and The sense of the phase of apparition).

We will better understand this by taking into account the role of the woman: on the one side the man, according to the duality Creator / creation, resembles the image Creator by giving his reviving seed to the woman. On the other side the woman resembles thus the part creation by receiving a new breath of life by the children. This image can however be inverted, that is the man, by holding principally the image of the one who is putting himself in the place of God, is really the one who needs the revival that comes from his children. In this sense, the woman makes part of his revival by bringing it to him from the exterior by her children, because she is more united with her children than the man by carrying them first inside her and then by essentially educating them2. She is thereby nearer to the real spiritual rebirth that only came with Christ, which does not perform the revival from the exterior – that is to say by the children – but from the interior of the being needing the revival. In other words, the woman prefigures a person become again a child3. So through children the new parents live again the lost happiness of childhood, which helps them to reach heaven where only children, in the spiritual sense, can enter (Mt 18:1-4).

Let’s not forget, however, that this are only images. For the duality parents / children also corresponds to the duality Creator / creation, which means that both the man and the woman resemble God with the same consequences. And it goes without saying that one does not need to marry and make children to be saved.

NOTES

According to a rather current opinion, only the bad angels would have sinned, the good angels would always have been without fault. Thus, one tries to exclude any relation of the angels' fall with the redemption – that only would take place toward man – and thereby with the incarnation and the creation of the material world: by supposing that the good angels never sinned, they would effectively have had no need of redemption. As for the bad angels, they do no need it either because they cannot be saved in any event, their punishment being definitive and eternal. One however also believes that the fallen angels did not attract an eternal punishment from their first sin. God could therefore have considered the redemption of these angels while their sin remained relative. It is however precisely by the redemption, that is to say by refusing it, that the sin of the demons became absolute. This implies, still by supposing that the good angels never sinned and that they never needed the redemption, that this latter saved no angel and that God established it in vain, which is entirely inconceivable. So a part of the angels whose sin was relative must have converted themselves thanks to the merits of Christ. In addition, the Scriptures clearly indicate that all angels sinned, with the result that the redemption became necessary to save the celestial beings. The most important passage concerning this is Col 1:19-20: "For in him [Jesus Christ] God in all his fullness chose to dwell, and through him to reconcile all things to himself, making peace through the shedding of his blood on the cross – all things, whether on earth or in heaven". This plan of God to reconcile all beings with him consequently implies that not only man but also all angels sinned, whether the angels converted or those who remained in sin. This universal sin – prefigured by the original sin, which solely concerns man (Rom 3:19-23; 5:12) – is confirmed by Eph 1:7-10; 4:10; Heb 9:23-24; Job 4:17-19; 15:15-16.
The duality heaven / earth of the six levels (see figure 6) expresses Creator / creation. And since the man expresses Creator, or in other words masculine (this term is better adapted to the comparison that follows), and the woman creation, or better feminine, it is possible to transfer reciprocally the images expressed by the dualities masculine / feminine and heaven / earth of the six levels: various passages (Mk 2:19; Jn 3, 29; Eph 5:23; 2 Cor 11:2, etc.) indeed compare Christ to the Spouse (masculine) and the people of God to his bride (feminine). The duality masculine / feminine also seems to penetrate flora and fauna. Plants with their leaves, which are like long hair, and their inoffensive and silent character indeed are very feminine, as well as flowers, which with their colors and smells seduce insects to pollinate them. In fact, women often use perfume and make-up, seek to be beautiful and attractive. And they dress themselves colorfully and in a voluminous manner, especially in the past. Fashion, which applies much more to women than to men, changes following the four seasons, which are best perceptible through vegetation. And women release their salutary spirituality like plants exhaling their oxygen. In addition, the mean age of plants exceeds that of animals. In general, women effectively live longer than men. Animals on the other hand are often noisy and a cruel competition frequently reigns between them, with the result of losers and winners. They thus correspond rather to masculine. Men in turn do less like to be seen by their clothes and in this sense rather prefer to conceal themselves from looks, similar to animals that have often tendency to hide in the shade, in the earth or under leaves or elsewhere. In short, the whole creation seems to reflect the image man / woman. This is also why many languages attribute a gender (masculine and feminine) to nouns. It may be that in modern times these differences between man and woman have become less important by emancipation. However, because of the analogies with flora and fauna, the relationship between men and women calls to mind a kind of social and psychological ecosystem: if emancipation means that women become more and more like men, no doubt that this ecosystem is seriously threatened by the proliferation of a dominant "species"…
We can support this resemblance of the woman to an adult remaining or again becoming a child by other arguments: she has another physiognomy than the man with more rounded and less chiseled features, which rather resembles those of children. She has no beard and no puberty vocal change. She cries and shows her sentiments more easily in general, not as freely as children, but nevertheless more than the man. She is more fragile and sustained, in the normal case, by the man similar to children, etc.