Dmitry Sobol - Investigation. Adam and Eve. The First Human Beings

Chapter One. Foreword

The Bible story about the first human beings, Adam and Eve, had a lot of mystery, or even absurd, to it. Seems like they just came to live in that wonderful place… and there was a lying serpent, a deadly tree, the fall, loss of eternal life, banishment from the Garden of Eden and the beginning of earthly suffering. This book gives a comprehensive answer to this and other questions of the human condition, elucidating on life and death, as well as on the struggle between good and evil. I’m going to tell you right away that the mysterious snake of temptation wasn’t a supernatural being (the LORD God wouldn’t have allowed that). It was, as stated in the Bible, a common animal (Gen. 3:1). After studying the Bible for years, I came to firmly believe that any biblical event or verse can be explained by science (although it can be challenging to do).

If you interpret the Book of Genesis literally, it’s puzzling why Adam and Eve didn’t die after eating the poisoned fruit? The LORD told Adam, “but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” (Gen. 2:17). It’s all really simple: Adam ate of the fruit through his wife. Eve did not receive the Commandment, but it was her who, deceived by the serpent, took the fruit. Adam ate the fruit, but he did not pick it from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. That’s why Adam and Eve did not die. But the question that comes then is: what was the purpose of it all? Why did Adam and Eve, the first human beings, fell, taking the entire mankind with them? They could have had immortal and virtuous children, then grandchildren. Then, some of their descendants could have tasted the forbidden fruit. And after that, all of them could have witnessed that person die and knew what sin is from his or her tragic experience. It would be even better if there was no such tree of knowledge at all. In my years of studies I was able to prognosticate the history of mankind as it would have unfolded if there was no tree of knowledge or the serpent. People would have multiplied until they crowded the entire Earth. However, they would have been naked and unable to know good or evil (tell one from another). On the other hand, they would have lived eternally.

I found the truth about Adam and Eve’s fall … in the New Testament Parable of the Good Samaritan! But how is it related to the story of the first people’s fall? I founded my entire investigation on it, because it directly pertains to the … history of the entire mankind. It tells the story of a man who got attacked by robbers while traveling to Jericho on foot; he got beaten and stripped of all his possessions, including clothing. A priest and a Levite passed him, naked and helpless, by, but didn’t stop to help. But some Samaritan, a simple and poor man, took pity on him, bandaged his wounds, put the man on his own donkey and brought him to an inn (Luke 10:34). First of all, we have to remember that the city of Jericho is always associated in the Bible with a curse (Joshua 6:25). The man who traveled to Jericho in the parable stands for the entire mankind traveling to their curse and subsequent destruction. The robbers are the the serpent and other enemies of mankind that harm people. By robbing the traveler and beating him up, they prevented him from arriving in Jericho. So according to this logic, does it look like Adam and Eve’s fall was necessary to prevent the entire mankind from being cursed and perishing? Unfortunately, it does. The priest and the Levite passed the wounded man by, not giving him any help. The literal meaning of that is that no testament, church service or even the Scripture handed down through Moses could rid the mankind from sin or death. The good Samaritan who took pity on the traveler is Jesus Christ, Son of God, coming from a humble, poor family and taking up the burden of human sin. By conquering Death, He healed the wounds of people’s wickedness.

An atheist could ask: if Jesus Christ sacrificed Himself to atone for the sins of mankind and conquered Death, why do people die still, die in sin? The answer is: because they lack faith. Those who had it, could avoid death through their faith in Jesus Christ, even before He was born. That’s why Son of God had to die on a cross and then rise: to save those who believe in Him even from physical death, if possible. That’s how Son of God reunited with the mankind; not with all of it, but only with those who believe in Him, or at least are able to do so. That ability, however, is present in any person from birth; what matters is if he or she is able to develop it in our sinful and unfair world.

Chapter Two. Creation

There can be no contradictions between the Bible and science. Each word in the Holy Book is an absolute truth. The first book of the Old Testament tells us how our Universe came to be. If we interpret it correctly, we would get the full picture of the events unfolding billions of years ago. “In the beginning LORD God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep.” (Gen. 1:1-2) Here, “earth” in no way means our planet Earth. It means the matter of the entire Universe that had been initially in a special monolithic state. The monolithic state is a total absence of particles or any interactions between them. This ultra-dense state is typical for “black holes”, spherical space objects (if the relativity theory is correct, those are the places where space, matter and even time converge). Further in the Book of Genesis: “And LORD God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.” (Gen. 1:3). The matter of the entire Universe that was shaped as a sphere (the sphere’s diameter could theoretically be calculated) received a super-powerful impulse. That’s how light came to be and our Universe started expanding. Scientists call that event “the Big Bang”.

Our whole Universe was created out of love. Love can’t be bought or sold for money; it’s handed down from our Heavenly Father to unite people. The proper source of love is our own love for our fellow man. Then our love amplifies if it is mutual. If love is unrequited, it will come to naught. Any human ignorance is forgivable, except for the ignorance of love. Many people think there is no justice in the world. In truth, everything happens for a reason. To understand it, you need diamond-cutter’s precision and a full command of your knowledge. But why do men know so little? Because the greater the knowledge, the greater the responsibility. “But knowledge puffs up while love builds up,” as St. Paul wrote to Corinthians (1 Cor. 8:1). Love doesn’t give exact knowledge, but imbues one with clear understanding of the current circumstances and the state of affairs. For example, only those Pharisees and Sadducees who loved their neighbor even a little came to where St. John was baptizing people (Matthew 3:7). A person can internalize the teachings of Christ as much as he or she has love for his or her neighbor. That ability is inborn for every person. Someone who’s lost it because of their pride or sins, cannot hope to comprehend His word. For example, Scribes and Pharisees who didn’t love anyone, couldn’t accept His ministry. Christ’s teaching are maximalist, so not everyone can hope to become His disciple (quoted directly from the Gospel: Luke 14:26-27). But everyone can have faith in Him. If you want to just believe in the Son of God, do good, visit church whenever possible, anyone can do that. The church gates are open to all, regardless of their ethnicity or wealth.