– The Fall

Back to Creation of Woman

Back to Creation of Man

Back to Way Back Yonder

Life in the Garden of Eden was paradise. The beautiful towering trees and the abundance of fruit for food left nothing to be desired. All the animals lived in harmony with each other and had no fear of harm from the two human residents. And, of course, those two were the crowning achievement of the Lord’s creation. Their love for each other coupled with their laughter and innocence made all the difference in accomplishing God’s will on Earth. 

Adam was a shining example of manliness, and his robust exuberance was the talk of the angels who observed him. They marveled at what God had made and gave Him praise for it. Woman shone just as brightly and some even thought there were times when she eclipsed her husband. Adam thought so. He was eternally grateful to God for giving him someone like himself and he was deeply in love with her. She basked in her husband’s attention and loved him with all her heart. 

So, it was one sunny afternoon when they found themselves under the shade of the oak tree where they were created. This made it a special place and what made it even more so was this was where they first met. The two held each other and kissed as they shared the moment. 

On a nearby rock sat the angel Samyaza observing it all. He liked Adam but he really liked Woman. In fact, he was smitten with her. Of all the places he had ever been he had never seen anyone like her. He would spend days just watching her. Several times Gabriel had to come and remind him that there was work to be done. He would reluctantly leave but he always hurried to complete any assigned task so he could come back and watch the beautiful and alluring Woman. 

It was on this day that Lucifer decided to pay him a visit and to check on how “God’s rejection of him” was getting along. He swooped down from the sky and saw Samyaza sitting on the rock. Glancing over at Adam and Woman, he saw them kissing and caressing each other and he became queasy on his stomach. “How can you stand to watch that?” 

All Samyaza could do was sigh and reply, “She’s beautiful.”

Lucifer turned his nose up and sneered, “Who? Her?!? Give me a break. There’s gorillas who look better.”

Ignoring the criticism, Samyaza sighed again and declared, “Adam’s a lucky creature to have someone like her.”

Lucifer just shrugged and offered, “Well, if you like her that much why don’t you just go and take her?”

This got the angel’s attention. He looked at Lucifer in horror and retorted, “I could never do something like that! Why, she belongs to Adam.”

“Yeah? Well, in my humble opinion they deserve each other. Just two pieces of dirt.” 

Samyaza looked at his fellow angel and rolled his eyes. “Then you must not be looking. Look at her. Her skin is as smooth as a spider’s silk. Her hair is soft and flowing. Her voice is sweeter than any song a bird can sing. Her walk is enticing and when she looks at Adam you can see his heart just melts with love. You can see him tremble in anticipation of her touch.”

Lucifer wasn’t impressed. “Hmm…If you say so.”

Samyaza couldn’t help himself and sighed again. “I wonder what it would be like to be kissed by such a creature. To hold her in your arms and feel her breathing. To lay with her and to enjoy her.”

Patting him on the back Lucifer offered, “Well, if you’re not going to take her away from him maybe they’ll make more of them. Then you can pick from the litter.”

The thought of this perked Samyaza up and he turned to Lucifer and exclaimed, “You might have an idea there, Luce. Surely there will be many more of them. All I have to do is wait.”

“Yeah, you just need to wait. Or, hey, maybe you can ask the Lord and He may give you one.” 

Samyaza was liking what he was hearing. This could be the answer to his dreams. “You think He might?”

“Who knows? He seems to give everybody what they want, that is, everybody except me,” Lucifer replied with a slight bitterness in his tone.

With his confidence renewed Samyaza declared, “That’s a great idea, Luce. I’m going to ask Him.”

Lucifer smiled and said, “Well, Sam, old buddy, I hate to break up this love feast, but aren’t you and Adam supposed to be finishing up the naming thing he’s got going?”

“Oh, I about forgot.”

“You were preoccupied.”

“Yes, I was,” a somewhat embarrassed Samyaza said. 

Lucifer crossed his arms and offered, “Well, you two go on and I’ll look after beauty there for you.”

Jumping down from the rock Samyaza said “Thank you, Luce” and appeared before Adam and Woman. Smiling at her he said, “Adam, we need to go and finish the naming of the animals.”

The man looked dejected. He didn’t want to leave Woman, but he also wanted to do the Lord’s bidding. “Oh, okay.”

Woman hugged his neck and asked, “Will you be gone long?”

He kissed her and said, “Not if I can help it.”

Samyaza worked hard to hide his jealousy. “Come on, you lucky man, you.”

Adam kissed her again and said, “While I’m gone don’t you run off with anyone else.”

She looked at him with the most innocent eyes and sweetly asked, “Who else is there?”

Over by the rock the invisible Lucifer made a gagging sound and moaned, “Oh, I’m getting nauseous.” 

Grudgingly, Adam followed Samyaza as they left Woman and went to finish the work of naming the unnamed animals in the garden. As they were walking away the angel turned and gave a wave goodbye to Woman. She waved back.

Once they were out of sight Lucifer approached Woman and knelt down beside her. Without her seeing him he blew air over her right ear toward the tree of good and evil. She immediately looked its way and saw a large snake lying across one of the limbs. Curiosity caused her to get up and approach the tree.  

She was well aware of God’s warning. Adam had told her how the Lord had given them every tree to eat from except the tree of good and evil. It bore forbidden fruit. He was very serious when he related how God had said they would die if they ever touched the fruit. She had no intention of violating God’s law and she especially didn’t want to bring any harm to her husband. After watching the snake for awhile she decided to fix her and Adam something to eat when he got back. She knew he would be tired and hungry and he would be pleasantly surprised to find she had taken the time to prepare something for him. So, she started gathering fruit from a nearby tree, all the time being careful to not grab any from the forbidden tree. 

Lucifer smiled and walked over to where the snake was. “Hello, Mr. Snake,” he said. “It’s good to see you again.” The snake tried to slither away but Lucifer grabbed its head and ordered, “Talk to me.”

The snake flicked its tongue and asked, “What is-s-s it you want, angel?”

“Oh, I’ve got a little job for you,” Lucifer replied while he ignored the snake’s hissing and wiggling as it tried to break his grip on its head.

Lashing its tail back and forth the snake stated, “You do it yours-s-self, angel.”

Lucifer shook his head as he felt he was always surrounded by morons. Couldn’t the Lord have done a better job at creating some of these animals? “Look, I don’t have time for silly games. She won’t be alone forever.”

The snake was still squirming in an attempt to break free and asked, “Why s-s-should I help?”

This impressed Lucifer some. The snake had a little intestinal fortitude about him. Maybe he wasn’t a moron after all. “Hmm… That’s a good question,” he said before grabbing the snake’s swishing tail and with blinding speed tied it in a knot.

“Ouch!!!” cried the snake as he tried desperately to bite Lucifer’s hand. Of course, the angel was way too fast for him and he missed every time. 

“You want the rest of you knotted like that?” Lucifer asked as he grabbed the snake’s tongue and pulled it out to an agonizing distance.

“No, it hurts-s-s.” 

Letting go of his tongue and untying the knot, Lucifer commanded, “Then, you’ll talk to Woman for me.”

The snake rippled his muscles to undo the kinks and asked, “Why me?”

“Because she’ll believe you. You’re timid and cautious and you have a mystery about you. She’ll love that,” Lucifer explained.

The snake wasn’t convinced. “I’ve never talked to her before.”

Lucifer changed his mind. The snake was a moron. “So, she’s never talked to a snake before either. But believe me it’ll work. Get some of your buddies up here for support. But I want you to be the one to speak to her.”

The snake finally agreed. “If you s-s-say s-s-so, angel.”

“I s-s-say s-s-so s-s-snake,” Lucifer mocked. Then as an afterthought he asked, “Hey, how do you do that without spitting all over everything? Never mind, let’s get started before she leaves.” 

Giving a high pitch whistle, that could only be heard by the animals, Lucifer called four other snakes to join the one hanging on the tree of good and evil. When they had all assembled he touched the snake’s head again and let go of him. The snake wrapped itself around the limb and then held its head up high and called, “Woman.” 

At the sound of his voice, she looked around for the source. She was surprised by it as she was only used to the voices of Adam and the occasional angel who materialized and spoke to them. Looking around she asked, “Hello?”

The snake tried again. “Woman.”

With some trepidation she approached the tree and asked, “Is that you talking, snake?”

Lucifer smiled as the snake replied, “Yes-s-s, it is-s-s.”

She felt this was somewhat odd, but she didn’t question it because Adam had shown her many things that were unusual. Maybe this was just one thing he hadn’t got around to showing her. So, she asked, “What do you want?”

Flicking his tongue the snake inquired, “Is-s-s it really s-s-so that God s-s-said you mus-s-st not eat from every tree of the garden?” 

She liked this. Adam had been the one to show everything to her and she had never had the chance to teach anyone about the Lord’s ways and his commandments. This was her opportunity to do some good and share what she knew about God. She replied, “Of the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat, but as for eating the fruit of the tree that is here in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You must not eat from it, no, you must not touch it that you do not die’.” 

It felt good to share the words of the Lord. But she was caught totally off guard when the snake asserted, “You pos-s-sitively will not die. For God knows-s-s that in the very day of your eating from it your eyes-s-s are bound to be opened, and you are bound to be like God, knowing good and evil.” 

She wasn’t expecting this at all, and it shook her confidence. It was totally different from what she had been taught and believed. How could this be? Was it possible the snake knew something that had been withheld from her? How could she believe a lowly snake? On the other hand, who was she to question someone who was much older than her? All she could think of saying was, “That’s not what Adam told me.”

The snake hissed and then declared, “Look at it Woman. Look at it very clos-s-e. You will s-s-see I’m right. It is-s-s s-s-something to be des-s-sired.” 

She said “I don’t know” more to herself than anyone else. Knowing better, she still moved closer to the tree as what the snake had said intrigued her. Was it possible she could really become like God, knowing good and evil? If there was no chance of dying from touching the fruit, then what harm could come from examining it a little further? Why had Adam told her God said if they touched it they would die? Was it possible he had been misled, too? What should she do? She was cautious and scared of doing something displeasing to the Lord. The fruit did look good. The snake was right about that and, without her knowing, it started drawing her to it like steel to a magnet. 

Still invisible, Lucifer circled around to her back and whispered in her ear, “Yes, look at it.” She moved a little closer. 

He whispered again, “That’s it. Long for it.” 

--Good And Tasty

            Lucifer

♫ Ooo it looks so good, and

Ooo you know you should,

But you’re afraid to.

You’re afraid to,

Reach out and touch some.

You’re gonna be surprised,

How it’s gonna make you wise.

It’s the cream of the crop.

Once you start you won’t stop.

Cause it’s good and tasty.

Good and tasty.

Your time has come. ♫

            The Snakes

♫ It’s good—.♫

            Lucifer

♫ It’s tasty.

Won’t you have some? ♫

            The Snakes

♫ Good and tas-s-sty. Have s-s-some. ♫

            Lucifer

♫ Ooo you’re in the mood, and

Ooo it’s only food,

You know you want to,

Really want to,

Reach out and touch some.

You’re gonna be so glad.

It’s a taste you’ve never had.

It’s the cream of the crop.

You can eat ‘til you drop.

Cause it’s good and tasty.

Good and tasty.

Your time has come. ♫

            The Snakes

♫ It’s good—.♫

            Lucifer

♫ It’s tasty.

Won’t you have some? ♫

Despite her fears, Woman felt a tinge of excitement all over as her eyes were transfixed on the fruit. It really did look good to eat. How could something look so good and be so bad? All she had to do was take a little bite and she would become like God knowing good and evil. That’s what the snake had said. Maybe a little touch wouldn’t hurt. Her fingers trembled slightly as she reached for some hanging just above her head. She almost touched it, but then hesitating, quickly withdrew her hand. But, she couldn’t take her eyes off of it, and, slowly, her hand was drawn to it and she let her fingers caress it. She liked the way it felt. It felt good.

            The Snakes

♫ Good and tas-s-sty. Have s-s-some. ♫

            Lucifer

♫ Mmm…so good to chew, and 

Ooo it’s there for you.

You know you want to,

Really want to,

Reach out and take some. ♫

Wrapping her fingers around the fruit she easily pulled it from the tree and brought to her nose. She like the way it smelled. It smelled sweet. She liked the way it was round and firm. It felt powerful. Maybe the snake was right after all. She had touched it and hadn’t died.

            Lucifer

♫ You’re gonna be surprised,

How it’s gonna make you wise.

It’s the cream of the crop.

Once you start you won’t stop.

Cause it’s good and tasty.

Good and tasty.

The time has come. ♫

            The Snakes

♫ It’s good—.♫

            Lucifer

♫ It’s tasty.

Won’t you have some? ♫

            The Snakes

♫ Good and tas-s-sty. Have s-s-some. ♫

Bringing the fruit to her lips she paused and took another look at it. She liked the idea of being like God. The snake was right. She liked the fruit.

            Lucifer

♫ Ooo it feels so right, and

Mmm…please take a bite,

You know you want to,

Really want to,

Taste it and have some. ♫

Hesitating no more she bit into the fruit and started chewing a piece. It had a sweet and pleasant taste and she nodded her head with pleasure. Behind her Lucifer pumped his fist and cried, “Yes-s-s! Uh, I mean, yes!!”

            Lucifer

♫ You’re gonna be surprised,

How it’s gonna make you wise.

It’s the cream of the crop.

Once you start you won’t stop.

Cause it’s good and tasty.

Good and tasty.

Your time has come. ♫

            The Snakes

♫ It’s good—.♫

            Lucifer

♫ It’s tasty.

Mmm…Glad you had some. ♫

Woman swallowed the fruit and then took another bite. She turned to the snake and confessed, “It’s tasty. In fact, it’s quite delicious. But I don’t feel any different.”

The snake had started to crawl higher up the tree, mainly to get away from Lucifer, but turned, looked back and responded, “Give s-s-some to your hus-s-sband. Then you will become wis-s-se.” 

She thought about it for a moment and then declared, “Well, I might as well. I don’t see any harm in it. I mean, I didn’t die like Adam told me God said we would.”

The snake hissed and said, “I told you s-s-so.” 

She stayed around the tree of good and evil gathering more of its fruit. They might as well have it as a meal since there was no harm in eating it. Lucifer, having accomplished what he had wanted to do, raised his wings and flew off until he vanished from sight. He figured Woman could finish what had been started. 

A little while later she could see Adam coming as he and Samyaza had finally finished naming all the animals in the garden. He was looking for her and yelled, “I’m back. Where are you?” Woman thought his doting was so sweet and she just knew he would be pleased that she had uncovered the truth about the forbidden fruit. 

She called out to him, “I’m over here by the forbidden tree.” 

He came around a rock and stopped in his tracks when he saw her holding the fruit. Then his face turned to horror when he noticed one of them was half eaten. His heart was pounding when he asked, “What have you done?!?”

She came over to where he was standing and nonchalantly replied, “I’ve eaten from the tree.” 

Adam was stunned. How could this be? He had been very explicit in reciting God’s command to not eat from the tree and to not even touch its fruit. How could she be so disobedient to the Word of God? Did she have no fear of His wrath? He was a little afraid to be standing so close to her because if the Lord did strike her down, he didn’t want to get caught in the crossfire. He loved her but there were limits. 

Moving away from her a little bit, some out of shock and some out of fear, he cried, “What?!? Why?!? God said we would die!!”

She grabbed his arm and gave him a quick kiss. He almost fainted. She laughed, “Do I look dead to you? Did that kiss feel dead?” 

Adam didn’t know what to think. She did have a point. God had said they would die, and she definitely wasn’t dead. He found the whole matter totally perplexing. Everything the Lord had told him had been true, but now, Woman had violated His one and only negative command and what God had said would happen had not happened. All he could do was stutter, “No, but…”

“So, it must not be true,” she declared.  

He had to think. His mind needed clearing. This must be a dream. It couldn’t be happening. He gave the only defense he knew. “I don’t know about that. The Lord’s never been wrong before.”

“Well, He must be this time. Besides, it’s quite tasty and have you ever seen a better looking piece of fruit?” she asked as she held one up to his face. His mouth fell open with alarm at being so close to something that was so forbidden. He stammered, “If you say so.” 

She moved the fruit to his mouth and offered, “Here try some yourself.”

Trying to move his lips as little as possible in case she tried to stuff it in his mouth, he said, “I don’t think so.”

So, she took another bite of it. “Why not?” she asked as she chewed the piece. 

“I’m afraid,” he acknowledged.

She put her arms around his neck and kissed him again. “If God was going to do something, don’t you think He would have already done it?”

“Well, I don’t know…”

She interrupted him with another kiss. This one was long and tender, the type she knew he liked and always melted his heart. Besides, she knew with the kiss he would be able to taste the fruit on her lips and see that it was good.

Looking deep in his eyes she declared, “Look, I know God said we were not to eat the fruit, but I found out that if we do, we’ll become like God knowing good and evil.”

“Who told you that?”

“Oh, some little snake did,” she revealed. “Look, wouldn’t you want to be like God? I know I do.”

“I’m not sure…”

“Adam I love you,” she continued. “And I’m going to be like God. I want you to be with me. I want us to be gods together.”

“Well, …”

“Please,” she pleaded as she touched the fruit to his lips. “See, it doesn’t hurt.” 

Without taking his eyes off of hers he took a bite and chewed it. He was surprised at how good it tasted. “Mmm…it is good,” he said as she smiled at him. 

Off in the distance lightning flashed and a crack of thunder blasted and rumbled across the heavens. They both looked at the sky and then at each other. For the first time they saw each other in a way they never had before. They both yelled at the same time, “You’re naked!!” 

Adam’s face turned a bright red with embarrassment, and he crossed his hands in front of his genitals before crying, “Oh, this is embarrassing.” Woman couldn’t figure out where to put her hands to cover herself so she just yelled, “Will you quit looking at me like that!!” This made the man blush even more as he protested, “I’m not looking…I mean I’m trying not to.” This was almost too much for Woman. She had seen Adam naked all her life, but she had never really paid any attention to all the extra stuff he had between his legs. Now she couldn’t take her eyes off of it. He was having trouble focusing on anything but her chest except for glances down at what was between her legs. Finally, Woman put her hands on her hips and sternly ordered, “Do something, Adam. Don’t just stand there hanging out all over the place.” 

He looked around as if he was hoping someone would tell him what to do. Then he saw some bushes and pointed to them. “Over there are some fig trees. Come on. Let’s see what we can do with them.” They ran into the bushes and started to gather fig leaves to cover their nakedness. 

The air in the garden had become electric. Everyone and everything was agitated and was waiting on God to render justice for the committed transgression. The angels were at a lost. They had stood by helpless and watched as the human pair sinned against the Lord. Now all they could do was to fly overhead in a frantic and frenzied manner. In their confusion some of them collided with others causing them to tumble to the earth.   

Lucifer hardly noticed all the confusion as he flew past all the grief-stricken angels and landed near the tree of good and evil. He looked around trying to find the couple as he wanted to confirm that Woman had given Adam the fruit to eat. Not seeing them he started to leave when Gabriel dove in from above and landed beside him. 

Lucifer smiled and said, “Well, howdy Gabe. What’s happening?” Gabriel’s eyes were wide open with disbelief at what Lucifer had done and in fear of what God might do in retribution. He matter-of-factly said, “Don’t play innocent with me! You know what you did!!”

Lucifer protested “What??” as angels started swirling above his head in agitation. He looked at the ominous gathering and then back at Gabriel and asked again, “What??” 

--Damn You, Lucifer!

            The Angels

♫ Damn you! Damn you! Damn you, Lucifer!

You took the man and you made him your prey.

Damn you! Damn you! Damn you, Lucifer!

You took God’s love and you threw it away. ♫

            Lucifer

What?!? What did I do?!?

            Gabriel

♫ Don’t act so innocent, don’t even try.

We know what you did and we all know why. ♫

            Gabriel &The Angels

♫ Damn you! Damn you! Damn you, Lucifer!

You made the Woman think it’d be all right.

Damn you! Damn you! Damn you, Lucifer!

You care for yourself, you did it for spite. ♫

            Lucifer

♫ It’s not my fault I tell you,

Anyone can clearly see.

I’m innocent I tell you,

Why are you blaming me? ♫

            Gabriel

♫ There’s no need for acting, no need at all.

You thought you’re the best but now you will fall. ♫

            Gabriel &The Angels

♫ Damn you! Damn you! Damn you, Lucifer!

You’ve ruined everything by making them sin.

Damn you! Damn you! Damn you, Lucifer!

Pride was your fault and it will be your end. 

Damn you, Lucifer! Damn you! ♫

Before Lucifer or anyone else could react Michael darted down and grabbed him by the neck. He held him in the air and off his feet. Lucifer kicked his feet but the archangel held him firm. Looking into the dark angry eyes Lucifer simply said, “Michael.” Without flinching, the archangel growled, “I warned you!” Realizing he could never break free from his grip Lucifer protested, “It’s not my fault. I didn’t do anything He didn’t let me do.” 

Michael’s eyes grew colder. With his free hand he reached around Lucifer’s back and ripped his wings off and threw them on the ground. Lucifer grimaced from the sting of having them torn off in such a violent manner and asked, “Now was that really necessary?” 

All the angels had stopped in midair and were watching Michael as he held Lucifer off the ground. Most of them thought he was going to kill Lucifer, but instead, he raised his wings and flew upward carrying the rebellious angel with him. 

They continued their upward climb, and Lucifer became convinced he was being taken for a face-to-face confrontation with God, that is, if Michael didn’t kill him first. But, once they cleared the atmosphere, Michael came to a halt and turned back toward the Earth. He tightened his grip on Lucifer’s throat even more and snarled, “I wanted to destroy you, but He wouldn’t let me.”

Lucifer’s mind raced as he tried to figure out how to get away. He knew he had disobeyed God and tricked the human couple to sin, so what if Michael now decided to be disobedient too and go ahead and kill him? He swallowed hard and muttered, “That’s good of Him.” 

Barely able to control his anger Michael pulled his sword and pointed it at Lucifer’s nose. Instead of running him through he simply declared, “In His goodness He even shows mercy on scum like you.” Lucifer’s eyes were crossed as he concentrated on the tip of the sword just inches away. He finally looked up and flippantly asserted, “Well, Michael, I don’t see what all the fuss is about. You’re going to have to explain it to me.” 

The rumbling started deep in Michael’s bowels and forced its way up until it rushed out as he roared, “Go to hell!!!” The resulting shock wave circled the Earth as a sonic boom and frightened animals great and small. Even the angels in the Garden of Eden were shaken by the impact.  

With a loud grunt Michael reared back and flung Lucifer toward the ground. As he was falling he tried to stop but was unable to do so as he was thrown with such a powerful force, and besides, he no longer had any wings to help. All the angels watched with fascination as he fell head forward like a meteor until he hit the earth. The impact was in the middle of the garden. It caused an explosion heard for miles around and threw debris high into the sky. The crash did not stop him as he continued to plow face first through dirt and rock and make a hole deep into the earth. 

On the surface everyone could hear the crashing and smashing sounds coming from the hole. Two of the angels flew over and peered down into it but couldn’t see anything because of all the dirt and debris spewing everywhere. Finally, after what seemed like hours, the crashing sounds stopped as his descent ended. None of the angels moved and no one made a sound as they were stunned beyond belief at what they had witnessed. From deep in the hole Lucifer yelled at the top of his lungs but up on the surface he could barely be heard to say, “Hey!! It’s hot down here!” 

As the angels started to turn their attention back to Adam and Woman, they felt the presence of the Lord’s Voice coming through the garden. All bowed and prostrated themselves to their God. The force moved through the garden looking for the man and called out, “Adam.” Hiding among the fig trees the man was afraid to answer his Lord. So, God called out again, “Adam! Where are you?” Gabriel started to point toward the bushes near the fig trees and then decided it might be best not to get involved. 

Once again, the Voice of God rang out, “Adam! Where are you?” Reluctantly from the bushes Adam answered, “I am here.” God’s Voice moved toward the man and asked, “Why are you there amongst the trees? Why did you not answer me?” To which Adam replied, “Your voice I heard in the garden, but I was afraid because I was naked and so I hid myself.” 

The angels could almost detect sadness in God’s Voice as he asked, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree which I commanded you not to eat?” 

This emboldened Adam and he came out from hiding followed by Woman. Both of them had pasted fig leaves on their bodies to cover the most intimate areas. Adam wanted to explain to the Lord that it was not his fault he had disobeyed His command. Surely God would understand and spare his life. So, taking a deep breath, he confessed, “The Woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me some fruit from the tree and so I ate it.”  

Woman looked at him with disgust. If there had been buses back then she would have realized that he had just thrown her under one. The Lord’s Voice asked her, “Woman, what is this you have done?” 

That was it. She wasn’t going to take the blame for this. If Adam could blame it on her then she could just pass it right on down. “The serpent—it deceived me and so I ate.” 

“Serpent.”

“Yes-s-s?” replied the snake as he was curled around the trunk of the tree of good and evil. All listened intently as God meted out justice. “Because you have done this thing, you are the cursed one out of all the domestic animals and out of all the wild beasts of the field. Upon your belly you will go and dust is what you will eat all the days of your life. And I shall put enmity between you and the Woman and between your seed and her seed. He will bruise you in the head and you will bruise him in the heel.” 

The snake hissed and slithered away into a hole in the ground. God’s Voice turned its attention to Woman and said, “Woman.” She crossed her arms in indignation and asked, “Yes, Lord?”

The Lord replied, “I shall greatly increase the pain of your pregnancy. In birth pangs you will bring forth children and your craving will be for your husband as he will dominate you.”

Adam put his hand on her shoulder and declared, “From this day forward you will be called ‘Eve’.” She looked up at him like he was the most vile thing she had ever seen. Gone were the tenderness and the adoring eyes she used to have for him. Now, as far as she was concerned, he looked like someone who wanted to tell her what to do and control her life. She turned back to the Lord and sneered, “What about him? He’s not as innocent as he would want you to believe.” 

Adam jerked his head to look at her. He thought it was as if she had purposely stabbed him in the back, which was pretty much what she had done. The Lord’s Voice continued His denunciation, “Because you listened to your wife’s voice and took to eating from the tree concerning which I told you not to eat from, cursed is the ground on your account. In pain, you will eat its produce all the days of your life. And thorns and thistles it will grow for you, and you must eat the vegetation of the field. In the sweat of your face, you will eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken. For dust you are and to dust you will return.” 

The Lord’s Voice left the couple to never speak to them again in the garden. Adam shrugged his shoulders and whispered, “Well, that wasn’t as bad as I thought it’d be.” 

Suddenly, the angels Azazel and Uriel appeared before them with menacing looks on their faces. Uriel shouted, “Get out!”

“What do you mean?” Adam asked.

Azazel moved closer and declared, “You must leave the garden. “

Adam was stunned. “What do you mean? I don’t want to go.” Eve grabbed her husband’s arm and cried, “I don’t either.”

“You have no choice,” Uriel ordered. Appearing out of thin air was a rotating sword that levitated between the two angels. When Adam and Eve were about to get over their shock at seeing the sword it burst into flames. Along with the flaming sword there appeared animal skins and Azazel gave them to the couple. “Here are animal skins the Lord has made for you. Take them as coverings for yourself.” 

Eve started crying and buried her head in her husband’s chest. “Adam, what can we do?” she sobbed. Uriel stepped forward and declared again, “You must leave. Now!” The man protested one more time, “We don’t want to go.” 

The two angels started moving forward and as they did the flaming sword moved in unison with them. Whichever way the human couple would move the angels and the sword would block their way as they forced them to the gate of the Garden of Eden. When Adam made one last attempt to get around them and stay in the garden Uriel shouted, “Get out or die by the sword!” 

Finally, Adam and Eve turned and with dejected hearts walked out of the garden. Eve was crying bitterly and Adam tried to support her as she started to faint. After looking back at the angels guarding the gate he turned back toward the outside world and broke down weeping himself as his spirit had become troubled beyond relief. 

All the angels in the invisible realm were distraught by the turn of events. It seemed the universe had turned darker. The joy and jubilation they had when the humans were created had deteriorated into the sad realization that God’s commandment had been violated and He had punished them with expulsion from paradise. Many of them wondered if there could ever be redemption for the couple’s transgression. 

Once the couple had moved away and was out of sight the Lord’s Voice spoke to the two angels. “Here the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Faithfully guard this garden in order that he may not put his hand out and actually take the fruit from the tree of life and eat and live forever.” Uriel and Azazel bent to one knee and replied together, “Yes, my Lord.” 

All the while this was happening, Lucifer was making the long climb back up the hole he had dug with his head when Michael threw him to the ground from outer space. Reaching the top he peered out cautiously to make sure the archangel wasn’t waiting for him. Once he was convinced there was no danger he hopped out of the hole and took a look around. His body was no longer white but had turned crimson red, though his face was still white, and the top of his forehead had sprouted two tiny horns. He looked at his arms and the red color and declared, “Hmmph…Red? I like it.” Then he felt the horns on his head and yelled, “Hey!! I’m not a goat! They’re smelly!” 

He explored the garden looking for the human couple but only found the two angels guarding the gate with the flaming sword spinning between them. Seeing the sword he decided not to say anything and silently slipped away to the tree of good and evil. There was no one there. Even the snake was hiding in his hole. None of the angels would approach him and acted as if they didn’t see him. He looked toward the heavens and pouted, “Oh, so nobody’s going to talk to me?” Walking away he mumbled, “The way everybody’s acting you’d think they’re upset with me.” Then he stopped and shouted up at the heavens, “Hey! I’ve got feelings, too, you know!”

♪

Go to Outside the Garden

Back to Creation of Woman

Back to Creation of Man

Back to Way Back Yonder