CHAPTER ONE

AN AGE OF INNOCENCE

I fell impressed by God’s Spirit to try and teach my understanding of spiritual things to come. God gave us his word to reveal the things we need to know about now and even eternity if we, as individuals make a choice to pray and seek the answers we need to our spiritual future.

Ignorance, and the teaching thereof is the way Satan loves to keep people. That causes them to live in fear and doubt. As they stay in spiritual darkness, hidden from truth and therefore, they live their whole lives never understanding God’s plan for his people. This is not just the lost people of this world; many that are truly born-again believers also never come to an understanding of the plan of God for eternity.

I often say as I teach things of any spiritual nature that I’m just a vessel of God’s Holy Spirit. A vessel that doesn’t even claim to be perfect or to know it all. However, if within my teachings you can glean at least a desire to learn far beyond what I teach or, you even try to prove me wrong then God’s Spirit can use me in either case.

As I teach, you need to understand that I believe that God the Father has dealt with mankind in different ways ever since he created Adam and placed him in the Garden of Eden. I often use this verse of scripture to prove my point.

Hebrews 1:1-2

GOD, WHO AT SUNDRY TIMES AND IN DIVERS MANNERS SPAKE IN TIMES PAST UNTO THE FATHERS BY THE PROPHETS, (2) HATH IN THESE LAST DAYS SPOKEN UNTO US BY HIS SON, WHOM HE HATH APPOINTED HEIR OF ALL THINGS, BY WHOM ALSO HE MADE THE WORLDS;

Some of that fact is just simple common sense. For instance, and I say this often. When God placed Adam and Eve in the Garden with the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They, failed and had to leave that garden. With that point being made, we don’t worry about the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil today do we? That particular way that God dealt with man, came and went. That is, as far as any of us actually attempting to eat of the fruit of that tree. The very concept of that tree still exists today in a spiritual sense. As we grow physically and become tempted by sin, once we reach out and commit that sin it’s the very same as Eve taking that fruit and eating it.

I believe we could make the point here that the very fact that God placed a (God Consciousness) in man and the fact that he always offers grace in every different way that he deals with man possibly brought about the way that man learned of his righteousness once Adam and Eve left the garden.

Let’s try and relate what happened to Adam and Eve to our very own lives today. This is what God said to Adam right after the created him.

Genesis 2:16-17

AND THE LORD GOD COMMANDED THE MAN, SAYING, OF EVERY TREE OF THE GARDEN THOU MAYEST FREELY EAT: (17) BUT OF THE TREE OF THE KNOWLWDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL, THOU SHALT NOT EAT OF IT: FOR IN THE DAY THAT THOU EATEST THEREOF THOU SHALT SURELY DIE.

Now, let’s notice something here:

Genesis 2:9

AND OUT OF THE GROUND MADE THE LORD GOD TO GROW EVERY TREE THAT IS PLEASANT TO THE SIGHT, AND GOOD FOR FOOD; THE TREE OF LIFE ALSO IN THE MIDST OF THE GARDEN, AND THE TREE OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL.

We see here that they could also eat fruit off of the tree of life. Is there a point to be made about that? I believe it is and as we continue moving forward, we will see that tree again. Let’s point it out right now for one of those times.

Genesis 3:22-24

AND THE LORD GOD SAID, BEHOLD, THE MAN IS BECOME AS ONE OF US, TO KNOW GOOD AND EVIL: AND NOW, LEST HE PUT FORTH HIS HAND, AND TAKE ALSO OF THE TREE OF LIFE, AND EAT, AND LIVE FOREVER: (23) THEREFORE THE LORD GOD SENT HIM FORTH FROM THE GARDEN OF EDEN, TO TILL THE GROUND FROM WHENCE HE WAS TAKEN, (24) SO HE DROVE OUT THE MAN; AND HE PLACED AT THE EAST AT OF THE GARDEN OF EDEN CHERUBIMS, AND A FLAMING SWORD WHICH TURNED EVERY WAY, TO KEEP THE WAY OF THE TREE OF LIFE.

If you will notice in this verse; he doesn’t say (to keep them or men away from the (tree of life), he says (to keep the way) of the tree of life. What would (the way) of the tree of life be? The answer to that question can be found all through the sundry times and divers manners that God chose to deal with mankind, it has never changed. It all has to do with the condition of a person’s heart. It always has been. (The Way) of man placing his complete faith in the mercy and grace of God.

As we get into the place that Israel and the Church will live for eternity; I’d like to start by using this verse of scripture:

Romans 9:6

NOT AS THOUGH THE WORD OF GOD HATH TAKEN NONE EFFECT. FOR THEY ARE NOT ALL ISRAEL, WHICH ARE OF ISRAEL;

I pause here and consider just how deep we need to go here. The reality is that God chose this nation to be his people. In essence, his desire was for the people of this nation to all listen to God as he spoke to them and to direct every move they made and, by doing so they would at some point be in complete control of this world. God would allow his voice to be heard through this nation and because of their strength the world would be governed by the Spirit of God that directed them.

While there were some in Israel that were very willing to yield to that Spirit, the majority of Israel chose to live in fear, rejecting that voice. This is what the Apostle Paul meant by (they are not all Israel). In the mind of God, (Israel) was his Spirit moving and leading this world. If we go back to Adam and Eve and their acceptance of the blood sacrifice, we see the same picture. However, we also see that even though they sought to teach their children about the grace God had afforded them most of their children rejected the grace and chose to live their lives as they pleased.

We can see in (Genesis 3:21) that God killed an animal, shed blood to cover them both. We must understand that this blood sacrifice had to be accepted by them both. Do you understand that they both could have rejected it? But they didn’t. As we move forward, we will see that Eve truly had a burden for one of her children to understand and accept that same sacrifice.

Let’s make this point right now even if I have to repeat it again. We see that when Adam and Eve left the garden, they had two sons, Cain and Able. We see that Cain killed Abel, Abel being to son that truly had accepted the blood sacrifice and was seeking to honor God in his life. WE see that in (Genesis 4). Now, notice what Eve says a little later.

Genesis 4:25

AND ADAM KNEW HIS WIFE AGAIN; AND SHE BARE A SON, AND CALLED HIS NAME SETH: FOR GOD, SAID SHE, HATHAPPOINTED ME ANOTHER SEED INSTEAD OF ABEL, WHOM CAIN SLEW.

Can you see the passion for someone to carry their salvation story on to the future generations? In (Genesis 5) we see that Adam and Eve had many children. However, just like Cain most of them went the same way in their lives as he did.

Israel is the same way. As we read through scripture, we see the decline of God’s will as the people he had chosen moved forward. However, God made a promise to Abraham that his people would inherit the earth and, the fact that Israel was not obedient to God did not void that promise. I believe that many people fail to realize that God the Father has had a design for the world and its people even since the foundation of the world. It’s not like anything that has ever happened caught God the Father by surprise. At every turn, he knew exactly what people would do.

For instance: when God destroyed this world with water, Noah’s Ark and only eight people entered that Ark, God already knew that the sinfulness of man would take root again from those same eight people. When God made the promise to Abram in (Genesis 12) he already knew that Israel would be less than he desired for them to be and that he would set them aside that the Gentiles might come into his fold.

Look at this verse:

Ecclesiastes 1:4

ONE GENERATION PASSETH AWAY, AND ANOTHER GENERATION COMETH: BUT THE EARTH ABIDETH FOR EVER.

This verse is more pointed to Israel:

Luke 1:31-33

AND, BEHOLD, THOU SHALT CONCIEVE IN THY WOMB, AND BRING FORTH A SON, AND SHALT CALL HIS NAME JESUS. (32) HE SHALL BE GREAT, AND SHALL BE CALLED THE SON OF THE MOST HIGHEST: AND THE LORD GOD SHALL GIVE UNTO HIM THE THRONE OF HIS FATHER DAVID: (33) AND HE SHALL REIGN OVER THE HOUSE OF JACOB FOR EVER; AND OF HIS KINGDOM THERE SHALL BE NO END.

We see in these verses that this earth is a forever place. We also see that Jesus Christ’s is forever. What we fail to recognize often is that the Jewish people are earthly people. We see here that the house of Jacob is forever. It will be forever right here on this earth. And, the kingdom of Jesus Christ will have no end.

If you will study (Daniel 9) and (Romans chapters 9,10,11) you can see these things clearly if you will allow God’s Spirit to lead you as you study. I also like to point this out. Although the last book of the Old Testament is Malachi, the Old Testament didn’t actually end until Jesus Christ died on the Cross of Calvary. Look at this verse:

Matthew 27:51

AND, BEHOLD, THE VEIL OF THE TEMPLE WAS RENT IN TWAIN FROM TOP TO BOTTOM; AND THE EARTH DID QUAKE, AND THE ROCKS RENT;

Up until this point, the Nation of Israel still went to the temple to worship and only the high priest could go behind that veil. These things are easily seen in scripture. However, when Jesus Christ died on the cross it brought an end to what the Jews had always known. Something new was about to transpire.

It’s also important to understand this fact. God purposely blinded the spiritual understanding of this to Israel as a nation. As a nation they cannot see and will not understand the spiritual application of things until God opens their spiritual eyes at the time appointed. With that being said, any person, Jew or Gentile that desires to be born again can feel the convicting hand of God and become a member of the new formed (Church) the body of Jesus Christ. Now, it’s a whosoever will come to the saving grace of Jesus Christ.

Although we mentioned a few other things here we also see how the beginning and an end came to the Garden of Eden. We clearly see that God the Father started a dialogue with Adam and Eve and also ended the way he worked with those two people. If we wish; we can call this an introduction to the very way that God chose to work and speak to mankind. We see this in the first three chapters of Genesis. These three chapters are very rich in spiritual knowledge if anyone choses to try and dig all these things out. All I’m doing is simply making the point that God chose more than one way to speak to man over the course of God’s word. In every way we look into I’ll try and make the point that every person’s walk with God has to be a very individual personal relationship apart from any (what we call) law.

The very reason God gave this law we see in Genesis concerning the Knowledge of the tree of good and evil was to show that man is sinful by nature and to prove that he needs a savior far above all laws that even God can make. As we move forward, we will see this time and time again.

In the next chapter we’ll move from the time Adam and Eve left the garden up until Noah built the Ark.