Adam and Eve our beginnings

The beginning of the earth and mankind is certainly a story for us to know today for it counters all the philosophies and religions of our day. It is essential to know, because it is the foundation of all Christian teaching. If one does not believe in a literal Adam and Eve, a literal garden or a literal devil, they certainly cannot accept the fact of our being sinners in need of redemption. It is all based on what happened to the progenitors of the human race.

Those who do not believe that Moses wrote the Pentateuch disregard the evidence which influences their own view of the world and archaeology. Those who promote the idea that Moses could not be the author usually refuse to believe that there is a supernatural work of God in the world. That God cannot be the beginner or cause of all things. Thus, it would be foolish to believe all the historical information written about the creation of the world, the crossing of the Red Sea, God speaking to Moses, or even the historical evidence that Moses, a prophet of God, wrote the account in the first place is true. The whole idea is more of a story, a myth for a culture.

The evidence within the Pentateuch points to Mosaic authorship, since it clearly portrays Moses as the author of certain portions. “And Moses wrote all the words of the LORD” (Exodus 24:4) 

 “And the Lord said to Moses, ‘Write these words; in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel’” (Exodus 34:27, RSV). To these references many others could be added.

Not only does the internal evidence of the Scriptures make it clear that Moses wrote the Pentateuch, but other Old Testament books make Mosaic authorship clear. Joshua 8:32 refers to “the law of Moses, which he wrote.” Additional Old Testament references include I Kings 2:3, II Kings 14:6, and Joshua 23:6, which attribute to Moses the authorship of the Pentateuch.

Then we have testimony of the New Testament. The apostles said that “Moses wrote unto us” (Mark 12:19) as did the apostle Paul, who when speaking of a passage in the Pentateuch said, “Moses describeth” (Romans 10:5).

However, the issue as to the authorship of the first five books is once-and-for-all solved by the testimony of the God-man Jesus Christ. Jesus made it clear that Moses wrote these books (Mark 7:10; 10:3–5; 12:26; Luke 5:14; 16:29–31; 24:27, 44; John 7:19, 23).

 In John 5:45–47, Jesus states, “Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father; the one who accuses you is Moses, in whom you have set your hope. For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote of Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?” If Jesus is wrong then so is Moses wrong and there is no truth to be found in the Bible. If Moses is authentic as Jesus and the other inspired writers say, then so is the Genesis account. Then we are not dealing with a myth as evolutionists, humanists and skeptics say, but an accurate account of the history of earth.

Sin first originated in the heaven, it occurred before the fall of man as taught in Ez.28 and Isa.14. The once cherub over God’s throne became a fallen angel-prince. We don’t know exactly when this happened, he may have rebelled against God shortly after his creation, or it could have been millennia. This event in the world of the spirits/angels does not pinpoint the exact timing of the fall of Satan although it is readily accepted it occurred before the six days' of creation (though some put it in between the 6 days). The Genesis account by Moses does not give us the timing of when Satan came to man after his creation.  We don’t know how long Adam and eve were in the Garden before Satan proceeded to tempt Eve. It could have been as short as days or maybe years, although the shorter seems more feasible for Satan’s advantage to have the couple transgress the divine command, but we just don’t know. We do know that God pronounced it all good after He completed the 6 days of creating, it is was a perfect environment of harmony and peace. That is until Satan shows up in the garden as a serpent and delivers a message challenging what God has said.

Satan watched as God spoke the 10 commandments of creation, as he said, “let there be” which was repeated 10 times in the creation account. As God began to move over a planet that had no physical life he brought light to separate the darkness (possibly the judgment he brought previously on Satan.) this light most believe was His own glory that would be able to sustain the life he was to make next until he put the sun moon and stars in place. Then dry land was separated out of the waters that were already present and there was water below and above covering our atmosphere. The trees and flowers were made in abundance on the third day, then sun the moon were then made to give light to sustain the life and it was immediately present. He then made all the creatures, birds animals, and gave them the ability to reproduce just as they were made. But there was nothing that could have authority over what was already made, so God created man in His own image. A creation of a higher intelligence than the creatures He already made at the end of the 6^th day.

Here was a rival to Satan as God gave man dominion over the earth (Gen.1:28). The angels both good and evil were able to see how they were brought into existence. When God gave man dominion over the earth (specifically the Garden (Gen.2:15-16), it moved Satan to jealousy and his intention was to frustrate the will of God. It moved Satan to usurp the authority given to new and lesser creatures than himself.

God says he made man in His image and likeness. In Gen.1:26 we find both words image and likeness, In Gen.5:1 the word likeness is found. What does in his image mean. The words image and likeness are used interchangeably in the Scriptures. In Gen.9:6 the word image is used  in reference to a person, someone unique and having value, the penalty for murder in Gen.9:6 was on the basis that the victim was made in the image of God. By destroying ones life it was an assault upon God’s creation and what he put in charge of the other creations on earth.

Before we can understand how man was made we need to understand the creator of man to know what we were made to be like. Man is not in the exact physical image of God, because God does not have a body God is Spirit (Jn.4:24) he is invisible. When it states we were created in His image it does not mean that God is a physical being and that we are like Him in that manner. In Deut.4:12 the Israelites saw no form of God, and they were prohibited to make any image of Him because God is incorporeal, He has no body He exists as eternal spirit. The image and likeness man is made in is a moral spiritual likeness with limited qualities like our creator. We are able to think, create, communicate etc.

This is why evolution is such an attack on God, not just because it denies His existence and influence on the universe but because it denies that mankind has an intrinsic value, it reduces us to be no more valuable than any other creature. We are just products of chance.

Both man and woman were made in the image of God. If this meant God’s image is physical, God would be both male and female since man and women were both made in the image of God.   God does not have a literal body as we do, with reproductive organs and bodily functions as we   Taking terms in their solid literal sense can sometimes make no sense at all, especially when they are not intended to be interpreted that way. It means we have a spiritual nature like God in a finite way. Man was given an eternal Spirit which can live on after the physical body dies, in this way we are created in the spiritual likeness of God. 

Being made in someone’s image does not make them an exact duplicate. Paul preached the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. (2 Cor. 4:4), it is Christ alone who “is the express image of God (his person) (Heb.1) No prophet ever thought of themself as the express image of the invisible God, or that if you have seen them you have seen the father, they knew better.  There are too many today who are exalting mans nature to be something the Scripture says it is not.

The intent of making man from the ground and from the life of God was to reveal the qualities of the Giver of life, his creator. The physical functions of man are to express the spiritual nature the invisible functions given by God. So we are created in God’s moral likeness. We were given in some manner limited capabilities compared to God’s unlimited capabilities. As we can see with the eye, it is like God seeing all things. As we are able to hear in a certain sound range God is able to hear all things. As we are aware of our surroundings, God is aware of all that happens. We are able to think ahead and plan before we do anything. We have rational reasoning. As we had arms made it was liken to God who by his might stretches out his hand metaphorically speaking and forms things he desires. Throughout the Old Testament there is used what are called anthropomorphism to describe God in some function or characteristic. This is figurative language describing a certain characteristic of God, it is describing his divine actions from a human viewpoint. For example there are the Scriptures such as the eyes of the Lord go to and through upon the earth. There are mention of his ears, feet, mouth, fingers, arms, and hands (Ps.8:3). None of these should be taken in the solid literal sense that God has a physical form as a human creature, these are meant to communicate something of his being in His activity. 

God is a person, (a person meaning not human but having an identity, He is a being in his own category.) Therefore when man was created we too are a person; A person is identified as a self-conscious being, cognizant of its own existence, and the existence of others who also have a self-identity. The quality of being personal is that one has life and is aware of it.

God spoke His created things into existence but not man, being the last of his creatures made he personally fashioned him from the ground and breathed life into him. All the other creatures he made in abundance but He made only one human creature. Everything was prepared for man on earth before he arrived into existence. When God decided to make man He used no previous creation for an example, no animal or angel was used for an archetype. Man was not given the powers of the angels nor the freedom to move through the atmosphere as they can. He was created a little lower than the angels and as a creature was limited to earth and the natural laws such as the law of gravity. He was limited in his intelligence and power, though he had far greater capabilities than the other creatures. When Adam was created he was perfect creature of his species having no flaws.

God created the natural process that fashions our bones, veins, ligaments; knitting us together in the womb. We are dependent on God for both the physical and spiritual. Ps. 100:3 “It is he that made us not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.” Just like Adam who slept God made Eve from him, so ever since Adam every man (and woman) is dependent on his mother. So was set into place the creation order. 1 Cor. 11:8-9 “For man is not from woman, but woman from man. Nor was man created for the woman, but woman for the man.” This describes an ontological order, a creation ordinance of man over women. In creation, God made Adam first and then Eve was taken from his side to be his helper. Eve was made after Adam, not from the ground but from Adam himself.  “She shall be called woman, Isha, a she-man, differing from man in sex and certain qualities the woman was to be a perfect resemblance of the man being neither inferior no superior, she was made with the same nature as he was. She was made from a small part of Adam that he once had authority over: it cost Adam a part of his own body to have Eve. In Genesis 2:22,23, where we find reference to Adam calling the female 'woman'.  He says,”This is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh”, or the same substance, a blood relation, of the same body. “She shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.”

  It was a woman that was taken from the side of Adam to be a suitable mate, as Adam was made first. Women are called a “helper” to man, this is more than being an assistant, a “helper” (`ezer-help) meaning a co-worker. When it comes to women and the concept of submission in the Bible, it does not imply that she is inferior to man in any way, but she is ordained to have a different position in relation to man, each having distinct roles. Adam received her as his wife, and said, “This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” So because she was “taken out of man” (Genesis 2:23), the man has the preeminence as he was the source of the helper, therefore we have both the principle and the position that “The head of the woman is the man.” In the same manner the head of man is Christ the Son of God who was the creator of Adam first, then woman.

 He was created mature in mind and body and he was made with age, as was all of creation.

How did Adam become a human being. Gen.2:7 The Hebrew is nephesh chayah meaning living being. Nephesh does not mean a soul, as in a separate entity. The man that was formed from the ground became a breathing creature, having life. Because of the spirit breathed into him, he became alive. He had a unique personality all his own. Man then was made of two distinct parts physical and non- material, substantially made a tri-part being spirit, soul and body. Adam became a creature of two worlds, of earth by his natural body, of heaven by his spiritual nature.  The image of God was directly given to man by the breathe of God that gave him life. Gen. 2:7 “And breathed into his nostrils the breath of life”-literally, lives. Adam was endowed with the property of continuing life and nature to his offspring.

 After the fall Adam begot his first son Cain and other sons and daughters in his own image and likeness. All those who preceded from Adam afterwards received a deformed, marred image of God along with a preserved image of Adam in our nature. In a like manner Jesus had resurrected from death is the first resurrected glorified man and is able to be the giver of new life to man to restore the image of God in man. Being the last Adam, He succeeded where the first one failed.

We have intrinsic value. We are valuable to God no matter what we do because unlike any other creature we retain the image of God in us, though it is corrupted. This is why He can still love us and does not eliminate us.

Every person no matter what ethnicity or religion is to be respected in this manner because they are made in God's image and Christ died for them; but we don't have to agree with their religion but we can respect them and care for them as human beings.

The Holy Spirit was given again so that the true image that man was made in would be restored to its original spiritual intent. But we are still not like Adam, as we have a fallen nature along with the new nature, and our bodies have yet to be redeemed and they are not like the original state that Adam had without sins affect. We do not live over 900 years old. God made all humanity in the image of God and everyone has the potential to be redeemed through Jesus Christ and be restored. The process of being made holy and conformed to the image of Christ is by the Holy Spirit changes each of us into the image of Christ yet keeps our personalities and individuality.

1 Cor.15:45-49 “And so it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual. The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man.” This is why man must be born again to live forever in God’s kingdom. That there will be a resurrection and the body that is put in the earth will be made alive again and transformed to be suitable for heaven. Our new body will be like the saviors in His resurrection. Those who are living when He comes will not die but be transformed immediately into new bodies that will have sin eliminated and all the consequences from sin will have no affect on them.

 In God’s divine strategy who knows all things before they happen, man who became the lowest will be exalted the highest of all creatures even he angels. God had a contingency plan installed before the fall took place. That man who fell from his original estate will be exalted higher than the greatest angel there ever was (Satan) and will even be judge of the angels (fallen angels). This would be done by God Himself who descended into the world of man became like the original Adam before the fall and redeemed fallen mankind by his obedience. By keeping the law perfect and consequently dying on the cross for our sin God was able to redeem man back to his unfallen position, and even to a place that will be above from where Adam fell.

The test

In the garden Adam and Eve possessed what is called unconfirmed creature holiness, but it was not his possession for an eternal state yet.  Man was made in the image and likeness of God he was unmarred and had original righteousness. Man being the ruler over the earth and the other creatures was higher in intelligence and he alone had a relationship to his creator that no other creature enjoyed. But there was a need to be tested. So mankind was given the ability in our nature to choose. To sin or not to sin. God gave Adam specific instructions what he was and was not to do. So a simple test was given to see whether man will obey God or not.

He was also given dominion over the earth, specifically the garden (Gen.1:26; Ps.8:58; Heb.2:5-8) His responsibility was to cultivate (have dominion) to dress and keep the garden in the order it was made in (Gen.2:15). In this period before the fall the labor was easy the land yielded its crops easily. At this time he had in his state perfect fellowship with his creator, in the cool of the day, each afternoon God would come to the garden and speak with Adam. (Gen.3:8)

Man was first created alone, as one of a kind in his species, while the animals and creatures were created in numerous numbers of both male and female. In Gen. 2:18-22 by God bringing the beasts to Adam He gave him an opportunity to develop his intrinsic intellectual capacity, which constitutes a humans mind making him superior to the animal world. “Adam sees the animals, and thinks of what they are and how they look; and these thoughts formed into words. He is a creature gifted with the faculties both of reason and speech, able to give expression in the names that he gave them. Language is merely thoughts cast into articulate sounds or words for communication.  Job 35:11Who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth, And makes us wiser than the birds of heaven?” (Adam didn’t call the stars by name God did. He was limited to the rule over the garden section God gave him).

When Adam named all the animals and saw what they were none there for him. God saw there was none suitable for him (Gen.2:18). So God put him to sleep and did an operation on him taking from his side bone and flesh, making another like him. Adam was made from the ground formed into a body and God gave him life by breathing into him His spirit. Eve was taken from Adam and he called her (Isha) woman, at first as they were one. So having a wife is a natural thing in the order of God. After the fall the woman is then called Eve as she became the mother of all living. As we inherit our physical features from our line, our sinful nature is to be passed on too, this is attributed to the man not the woman. Gen 2:18-22 The woman was created, not of dust of the earth, but from a rib of Adam, because she was formed for an inseparable unity and fellowship of life with the man.

God put man in the garden to tend to it. “This was like a park (Gen 2:8) paradise, by which it is rendered in the Septuagint, gives the more precise idea of a spacious enclosure-an extensive park, like those in which Eastern monarchs enclosed their palaces, and which abound with every species of trees, flowers, and garden culture, enlivened besides by numbers of choice animals, which are kept there for pleasure.” (from Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary)

God had pointed to one tree in the garden to present a test for man and woman. He did allow them the freedom to choose as was done in heaven by Satan before.  God gave two commands to Adam and Eve to obey to prevent this from occurring. The commands God gave Adam were to be fruitful and multiply and keep the garden Gen. 1:28 and a do not command of not eating the fruit from the tree of knowledge Gen. 2:17. Two do’s, and one don’t commandment.

Eve is made after Adam and she too is instructed by God not to eat of the tree. The Bible makes it clear that she is aware of the commands instruction (Gen. 3:3). They can eat from all the different trees but one. There was no special property in this tree except that it was named as a test to train them to become mature in their obedience.

Man was on probation he needed to obey God, this centered mostly around the command thou shalt not eat of the tree of good and evil because when he eats it he will definitely die. This prohibition was given to Adam before Eve was taken from his side(Gen.2:16-17).

If Adam and Eve had passed the test it would have confirmed them in creature holiness, and his offspring would inherit a nature of holiness. (The angels had this occur in Lucifer’s rebellion. After one third rebelled they were confirmed in their decision never able to change back.) If Adam passed he would then have access to the tree of life and live forever as eternal life would have been given to him.  But a temptation to disobedience came from an outside influence. From one who already fell the same way in heaven, by disobedience, pride. This particular fallen angel comes and delivers information contrary to what God has already spoken.

When Adam failed the temptation from the source of the Devil through Eve, it confirmed him in his change of nature, unholiness. Sin entered into his nature and spread to the offspring of all people. Now disobedience comes from our nature that is fallen from its original state. The first man was potentially the race of all people, our natural headship. Being the natural headship of humanity his actions did not only affect him as the individual, but of the race. If he was the last of the race and fell, he would not involve any other in his descent. But being the first of a race when he fell before he had any offspring, the whole race has fallen. As Paul says “in Adam all sinned”, because of his choice it changed the whole character and condition of mankind throughout all time. Just as Paul said a little leaven leavens the whole lump. (Gen 2:25) Only one sin made us all sinners but only Adam became a sinner by sinning.  The sin nature affects the immaterial part of man, which consequently affects our outward actions.   Death is the consequence of sin.  This is the very reason why we need to be born again.  Our dead spirit needs to be regenerated (Rom. 8:1, Gal. 5:24) by the Spirit of God.  One is made alive spiritually to God and is able to have a vital relationship through Jesus Christ.  We need a new nature. 

Satan’s attack was on God himself as the kingdom of the earth was taken from Adams hand and Satan’s. Satan’s attack against man was fueled by his hatred toward God, not only by the hatred of the new human creatures that were placed in the garden, like a park and given dominion. His purpose was to divorce man from being in the will of God through disobedience to one command. Just as Satan had led the other angels to believe him and rebel, he would do the same for man.

God made the tree of life to grow in the midst of the garden, among all the other trees; by eating the fruit of this tree the immortality of Adam would had been secured. When Adam transgressed, he was expelled from this garden, and not permitted to eat of the tree of life; he became necessarily mortal, death came to him and all his offspring. He is then forbidden to eat of this tree he once enjoyed. This tree is secured and restored to man again in the true garden in heaven by the gospel -- the incarnation, death, and resurrection of Christ. In Rev.2:7 we see a parallel to this tree.    

The tree of life is representative of immortality, and a final state of blessedness. Whatever it is it was to make the life of man perpetual. We find the tree of life is in the ultimate paradise, heaven, where those who obeyed the gospel on earth will live.

What are the trees? “The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil”(Gen. 2:9). Both were smack dap in the middle of this Edenic paradise. These were two literal fruit trees that did not have any inherent special properties but were used by God for examples, so they are named.

Some think the fruit of the trees in the garden had certain healthful qualities, rich in vitamins and minerals that caused the effects spoken of. The tree of life would have excelled all the others, containing all the nutrients of such high quality and quantity. The tree of knowledge contained poison that was immediately intoxicating. While this concept seems to fit for the tree of knowledge of good and evil, that eating its fruit may have had a reverse effect by some poison as some surmise, it does not make sense that it would bring death spiritually, and from one time only. Also I imagine there was no tree (tree of life) that improves life so much that one can live eternally just by eating it. The curse began by disobedience and eating the forbidden trees fruit and it brought death; of course Christ changed it at the tree of death he died on. This is the reason Adam was kept from the tree of life after his test being completed, he would have been confirmed in his fallen sinful state forever. 

These trees were emblematic, symbols used for man's loyalty and obedience or disobedience. One of knowledge representing the law  (do not touch or you will die) the tree of life represented Christ and eternal life He   gives.  If they obeyed they would have had the privilege to continue to eat from it.  This one tree represented the rule of do not touch. Through breaking God’s law they learned the knowledge of good and evil.

The law-- forbidding to eat of the tree was now violated, it was still possible that Adam might partake of the other tree that he was already eating from; but now the sentence of death had been passed upon him it would bring him in a permanent condition, so he was forbidden to eat of the other tree 

Gen 3:23-24 “Then the LORD God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever"—23 therefore the LORD God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. 24 So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.” 

Well, what is the meaning of this mysterious phrase, “the knowledge of good and evil”?   It's talking about is experiential knowledge of good and evil in the sense of “good and evil consequences.” When Adam and Eve fell, they didn't receive the knowledge Satan promised. They did know that there was right and wrong by experience.

In other words, this was a tree of testing.  As long as they obeyed the commandment they would continue to “know good” (i.e., no death,   the   presence of God, no hardships things would continue as they were intended.).  But the day they disobeyed, they would “know evil” (in the sense of death, the loss of the presence of God, expulsion from the Garden, curses on them and on the earth, etc.)

Some say the fruit was sex that brought on the original sin. This came mostly through some Catholic theologians centuries past. If these are not interpreted as a literal trees or fruit, this would propose a big problem.  Than neither every herb that yields seed any other tree or fruit can be taken literally. God gave the trees fruit as food for man. There is no need to interpret it in an allegorical manner, or find some hidden meaning in all this, they were used in a simple test. The tree of knowledge was a representation to impose a restraint on man, it was there to keep him dependent on God.  What kind of fruit was it? It doesn’t matter, since the Bible makes no mention of it. So it must not have any real consequence for us today, this fruit may or may not still exist. What mattered was the consequence of disobeying and eating from the one tree God said not to eat from. While we are allowed to find the species of creature Satan used to cause the disobedience we are not allowed to find the fruit that God put a prohibition on.  

 (Gen 3:1-8) Satan did not approach them in the appearance of his true form of a celestial being, he came through a creature inferior to man. Adam and Eve had no concept of a foreign creature entering the garden to use another as a pawn so they were unguarded in this. But they could have no excuse for allowing a mere animal they were appointed to rule over to persuade them to break the command God gave.

What do we know of this creature? We do know that this creature was made by God and was pronounced good along with the rest of God’s creatures as they were made on the same day as Adam. It originally moved erect, because his punishment was to crawl on its belly (some think on all fours). Was the serpent endued with speech, and the gift of reason since he was carrying on a conversation disputing with Eve? Scripture states Adam had not found one animal comparable to himself or resembling himself, not one endowed with reason and speech like himself. 

One alternative explanation is that some or all the animals had the capability to speak. We do know that certain creatures are intelligent and can be taught to speak such as parrots. But snakes (if it was a snake and not some other type reptile) have no organs for speech, although they hiss. So this is a supernatural event from Satan that would be like channeling today. Satan could certainly speak through the serpent in the Garden, as he spoke through Peter to try and keep Jesus from the cross (Mt.16). Satan entered Judas and did his betrayal directly to Jesus as he faced him off in his arrest. 

Some believe the serpent is not a literal creature, but a figurative serpent; not an animal, but a spiritual being. This would make no sense since God cursed this creature to crawl on the ground. The great dragon, is identified with “the ancient serpent called the devil and Satan.” The word for dragon is Leviathan in Hebrew, it is used in the Greek Septuagint and in Rev.12. This makes it intriguing since the word dragon is what we now call dinosaurs. We know from the text that a spirit being was present and active, not just a mere animal that was a beast of the field. Satan was not permitted to have direct contact with man; he was limited in his deception. His way to deception was through the senses and in the way of speech. Just as God limited his attack on Job he did the same with Adam. For if he could he would have killed him, as Jesus said he was a lair and a murderer from the beginning (John 8:44), as he later instigated the death of Abel through his brother Cain.

(This is a literal event- literal tree literal people an a literal serpent. It is mentioned several times in the New Testament Rom. 5:21, 16:20; 1 Cor.15:21; 2 Cor.11:3-4; 1 Tim. 2:14). There is no way to know today exactly which creature this was, anymore than to know what the fruit of the forbidden tree was. There are various Serpents the asp, cobra, viper and many contain a poisonous bite that is life-threatening (Deut. 8:15), but it may not even a snake like we have today.

Gen.3:1-6 The Serpent said to Eve “Has God indeed said? You shall not eat of every tree of the garden” These are the first false words the woman ever heard, that were ever spoken. It’s not that much of a stretch to understand her innocence toward evil having no experience with it before this. The question that often comes up is how unusual was this? This creature is one that Adam would have been familiar with as he named all of them on the 6^th day. Eve could have often seen this creature walk and talk, and this is one explanation why she is not surprise when he confronts her in a language. 

The real serpent was heard by them through an inferior creature.  The voice Eve heard was more ancient than the recent creatures made.  The creature that Adam was to rule over was used to bring his ruin. Satan certainly used a vehicle that was suitable for his nature. I have always wondered why she did not think it strange that a creature was speaking to her. She was mesmerized by the light of this creature, the word Lucifer comes from the latin lux meaning light bearer the description of the son of the morning. Before his fall he bore the name of son of the morning an important star. After the fall, some believe Jesus took this title upon himself as the bright morning star; as he took the title of son of man on later in his incarnation and the last Adam. Many names unperfected by man are applied to Jesus as He fulfilled the roles and offices of prophet, priest and King perfectly.