5. CREATION OF MAN. IN PARADISE. THE FALL. PROTO GOSPEL
Man was created to be the "lord of the world", on the 6th day, after animals. His creation was preceded by a pause - by the Pre-historical Council of the Holy Trinity: "Let Us create man..."
God originally wanted to give His creatures all the best, but His love did not involve imposing Himself, so all intelligent creatures were given the freedom to choose whether to be with God or not. Since God is the source of all good things, it is a choice between good and evil. As the experience of fallen angels has shown, what is given for free is often not appreciated: although they initially enjoyed the bliss, they did not like it. Freedom can develop self-conceit and pride, and this is incompatible with the nature of God, Who is Love. Taking this into account, at His Council, the Holy Trinity not only decided to create man, but also (as Church Fathers presume) determined the way of his salvation in case of his fall. That's why, on the icon (of the Council) of the Holy Trinity, the middle Angel - the Son of God - is placed, as it were, in a chalice formed by the figures of other Angels. He represents the Lamb, who should be sacrificed to atone for the sins of mankind.
The Bible goes on to say that man was created in the image of God, although at the Council it was about "image and likeness". Here, the "image" is the spirituality of human nature: intellect, free will, spiritual feelings. "Likeness" is the aspiration of these properties towards the good, i.e. to God. Man is not created as good as God, but is called to achieve this himself.
The verb "bara" (to create from nothing) is used here for the third time. It refers to the spiritual component of a person - a rational soul, because further it is said that man, i.e. his body, was formed of the earth, and he was called Adam (in Hebrew: "adamah"- clay). Note that the origin of proto-matter, life and mind is inexplicable for secular science - because they were created from nothing.
After Adam was created, instead of "Elohim" ("God" in plural) the words "Adonai Elohim" ("My Lord God" in plural) are used as God's names, all the verbs being still in singular. Initially, "YHWH" (Yahweh) was instead of "Adonai" but it was replaced by rabbis who feared to pronounce this name. This double name, repeatedly used only in this section of Genesis, emphasizes the fact that the transcendent omnipotent God of creation (Elohim) is the same personal merciful God (YHWH), Who cares for mankind. He will reveal Himself in the New Testament in the Person of the incarnate Son of God.
Thus, God communicates with His creatures as (or through) the 2nd Person of the Holy Trinity (John 14:9).
The Lord God placed Adam in paradise (best garden), blessing him to cultivate and keep it. Although the Earth changed after the Flood, we know that paradise was east of Palestine, near the Euphrates. This river retained its name, and possibly its location.
From Adam's rib, The Lord God created a helper for him-his wife Eve, and blessed them to multiply and fill the earth. People enjoyed in paradise, communing with The Lord God. They ate plants, including the fruits of the Tree of life for immortality. Only one thing, as a test, The Lord forbade them under the threat of death - to touch the Tree of knowledge of good and evil, since such knowledge (i. e. perception) was still premature.
The devil, wanting to annoy God, decided to destroy people. Having taken possession of the serpent, he persuaded Eve to try the forbidden fruit, lying that they would not die, but would be like gods. She ate and gave it to Adam, and he ate, ignoring the God's commandment. It was the original sin. Their minds got clouded. They saw that they were naked and tried to hide from The Lord God. When He wanted to persuade them to repent, they began to blame: Adam on Eve, and she on the serpent, hinting that The Lord God, as the Creator, was Himself to blame.
After that, The Lord makes a verdict: this world is deprived of God's blessing (cursed); the earth will give birth mostly to weeds, a man will have difficulty getting food, a woman will give birth to children with pain and must obey her husband, and the snake will grovel. But the main thing is that people were deprived of communion with God. This is a spiritual death, followed by a physical one: people were expelled from paradise and deprived of the fruits of the Tree of life. Since then, to get in communion with God, people must work for it, so that they would appreciate it.
In His verdict, however, the Lord said words which sounded encouraging: the seed of a woman will crush the serpent, that is, from a woman the Savior will be born, Who will crush the devil and his power, i.e. death. This promise of the future redemption is called the "Proto-gospel".
Информация по комментариям в разработке