The Battle Was Real

Sometime in the dateless past, long before God created Adam, God gave one of His angels control over this planet we call Earth. It was a gift for the most beautiful angel that God had created. But beauty usually has one basic problem … pride. Because of pride, this angel thought he was just like his creator, almighty God, but as he found out, (Ezekiel 28:13-17) he wasn't even close.

Satan had his world destroyed, (Isaiah 14:12-14) when he tried to overthrow God. No one knows for sure just what happened to him all those millions or billions of years while the earth (Genesis 1:1-2) lay dark and void. Was he kept here as a prisoner for what he tried to do? His once beautiful earth was now destroyed ... totally dark, without light, nothing was alive … nothing, not one thing on this cold frozen rock except him and his fallen angels. The earth was his prison.

As time went on, (just exactly how long is unknown) God remade this earth and this time (Genesis 1:28) He gave it to His newest creation, man. God even made a special garden for him to live in, but there was a catch. God let Satan, the previous owner of this world, have access to both man and the garden.

It didn't take long for this man named Adam to mess up along with Eve, the woman God gave him as a wife and helper. The battle was just about to begin. A battle Adam and Eve didn't even realize they were in.

Let's look at the players in the battle to be fought for control of the earth. We have man, in the garden with his wife walking daily with God. We also see Satan, like a predator, lurking around the edges of the garden, watching Eve and waiting for the right time to make his move, all the while wanting to get possession of his old property back, but not knowing how to accomplish the task.

We also don't know how long Satan watched Adam from afar, perhaps even a little fearful of him, because Adam was made in God's image and likeness … whatever that really means. I don't think we have a full and complete understanding of that.

So, perhaps the fallen angel Satan, as he watched Adam and Eve walking and talking with God in the garden, hearing laughter as they enjoyed each other's companionship, doing things together that he, Satan wanted to do, yet because of still having pride, envy, deceit, and sin in his heart, couldn't. Not with God anyway. With man maybe … but he had to find a way.

Now the Bible says that man is made ... "a little lower than the angels" (Hebrews 2:7) but at the time all this was taking place, I don't know if Satan realized that. I'm speaking of Adam's image and likeness, in that he is called ... "the son of God." (Luke 3:38)

Adam had not sinned yet, he was perfect, just like the second Adam would be, Jesus the Son of God. I believe the reason Satan would not enter the garden to talk with Eve, was out of fear. He not only didn't approach Adam himself, he sent another of God's creatures in to talk to Eve, the weaker of the two.

We have no idea how all that is recorded in the Bible about the fall of man happened, just that it did happen, and now we are paying the price for it. One thing I do know is that the serpent that carried out the work of the devil, lying to Eve, was not Satan in disguise as a serpent. If it was Satan, then God would not have cursed the serpent for something it had not been guilty of. Evidently Satan beguiled this creature just like he did Eve. Satan will use anyone, anywhere, anytime or anything he can to further his plans. We need to learn that.

God told Adam and Eve to be fruitful, multiply, and subdue the earth. He gave them dominion over all the fish, animals, birds, and plant life. They owned them, the earth was theirs and God (Genesis 1:28-31) approved it completely. But what they didn't know, which I alluded to earlier, was that Satan was watching, just waiting for his chance to steal, cheat, deceive, or take by force what God gave man to use. Even back then, the devil was the same as he is today … "the thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy." (John 10:10)

We have now come to the point in our story where ownership of this earth has now changed hands. I'm not even sure how or why this could happen, but it must have. All we need to do is look at what has happened to this world after man's sin brought death into the picture. Death came because God killed the first lamb to cover man's naked bodies, which is a picture or a type, a shadow to come of what God basically was going to do with His own Son, Jesus the Lamb of God, whose sacrificial blood on the cross took away our sin.

Sin also brought man's appointment with physical death, by being driven out of the garden away from the tree of life, (Genesis 3:22-24) as well as spiritual death from the fact that man as a whole is still seemingly dead to spiritual things, and by his own choice, stays separated from God.

It must be that when God cursed the ground, in reality the whole earth was cursed. It wasn't just to make it hard on man through toil and labor, but it was also done … to show man what sin has done to the earth … "For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now." (Romans 8:22)

The earth's curse shows us that ... "the god of this world" (2nd Corinthians 4:4) has brought nothing but misery in the form of sin, sickness, disease and death ... not only to man, but also to all of nature. Satan won the first battle with Adam and now has the title of ... "the god of this world."

That's what the battle was all about with Adam and Eve ... Satan wanted control of this earth once again. He even bragged about his ownership during the temptation of Christ, when Satan tells Jesus "… for it has been turned over to me." (Luke 4:6)

Rather than ownership, I would rather call it, temporary control. Satan doesn't own it, God does ... "The earth is the LORD'S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein." (Psalms 24:1)

What Satan is god over is the social system that man operates in. Lust, greed, power, pleasure, etc. Again, I don't know how all this worked out with spiritual laws, but it's all part of God's overall plan. He allowed it or it wouldn't have happened.

So now, what's God going to do about this mess? If it was God who left the fallen angel Satan here on earth to tempt Adam, and do battle with man ... doesn't that make it God's problem, not ours?

If man, unknowingly lost the control of this earth, or as some say ... sold it for a bite of the forbidden fruit ... then it was going to take another man to enter into the battle and take it back.

We find out who that will be when Abraham tells his son Isaac … "God will provide Himself a lamb" (Genesis 22:8) … to be the sacrifice, for sin.

John the Baptist, when he saw Jesus said … "Behold, The Lamb of God, Who takes away the sin of the world." (John 1:29)

Knowing that the first Adam would fail the test as well as all those that followed generations later; God sent Jesus, called ... "the last Adam" (1st Corinthians 15:45) to be the sinless sacrifice. Just exactly what Abraham told Isaac happened. God provided … Himself … as the Lamb when nothing else would do.

Man had failed the test. So now, God would become … "the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world." (Revelation 13:8)

The battle was real.



Comments welcome.