Home | FaceBook | Twitter | Introduction | Address | Links | Library | Q & A | New Moon | Calendar | Psalms | Sing My Songs | Youth | Bulletin

Augustus Paul Andrew

The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil

Is This a Figurative Term for Sexual Intercourse?

On numerous occasions just as I have, you may have come across individuals who do not believe the Bible's report that the fall of the first man and woman while in the Garden of Eden was as a result of having eaten of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil as being literal.

      They assume that the fall of the first man and woman into sin, which the Bible reports is as a result of disobeying our Creator into eating from that tree He had instructed the man not to eat from, was as a result of indulging in sexual intercourse.

      But when we look into the Bible's given account of the creation of the first woman, we see that to had created the woman, it was a deep sleep that our Creator had cause to fall upon the man in order to had taken one of his ribs to form woman. Our Creator did that, sighting that the man should not be alone.

      "And Yahweh Elohim said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a help meet for him" (Genesis 2:18).

      Our Creator took this decision seeing that there was not found a helper suitable for the man after the man was through correctly naming all the animals that were being brought to him for naming. The name by which the man called each of the animals was exactly the name our Creator saw that they were to be called. However, as a helper suitable for the man, there was not found any after he was through naming all the animals that were being brought to him for naming.

      "And out of the ground Yahweh Elohim formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found a help meet for him" (Genesis 2:19-20).

 

That Role Merited One of Same Likeness

The male animals in and out of the waters each had a female companion after their own animal-kind. Since Yahweh blessed the animals, "...saying, Be fruitful, and multiply..." (Genesis 1:22), it is obvious that He did create the female gender as well as He would not have been able to command them to "...Be fruitful, and multiply..." hadn't He not also created the female. Each male had its female companion after its own species.

      But with the man, this was not so. The man was all alone where a being after his own human-kind was concerned. He did not have a companion after his own human-kind of the opposite sex as did the animals after their own animal-kind. And it was not in our Creator's mind that the relation that he foresaw should exist between man and one of his own human-kind, of the opposite sex, should exist between man and beast (Exodus 22:19; Leviticus 18:23; 20:15; Deuteronomy 27:21).

      Creating man in His image, after His likeness, He gave man to rule over the earth and all that is in it.

      "And Elohim said, Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth. So Elohim created man in His own image, in the image of Elohim created He him; male and female created He them" (Genesis 1:26-27).

      After creating the woman and bringing her to the man in matrimony, the Creator's blessing them in Genesis 1:28 were not only to "...Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth..."  We see in the remainder of this verse that Yahweh's invested power of ruler ship on the man, to SUBDUE THE EARTH, appears ALSO to had been ON THE WOMAN as it was to the BOTH OF THEM He spoke (as shown in the first part of this verse: "And Elohim blessed them, and Elohim said to them..."), saying, "...and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth."

      This level of existing power not being mentioned concerning the animals when He created them, before man, is evident that the animals were being created of a much lower level of existence.

      So sighting that the man should not be alone, whatever companion or helper it was that had to be placed alongside the man in his life had to be a creature that is as well suitable to assist the man in his role as ruler over the whole earth.

      By using the word them in Genesis 1:26 and 28, it is evident that our Creator had never meant for only the man to had been made in His image and likeness and to rule over all the earth. Other than only that one physical man to have existed had already been in the making.

      Our Creator therefore created for the man a companion from the man's own human body structure that He had previously created in His image and likeness. Genesis 2:21-22 explains to us exactly how our Creator went about doing just that.

      "And Yahweh Elohim caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which Yahweh Elohim had taken from man, made He a woman, and brought her to the man."

 

No Chance of a Pre-marital Intercourse

Just as He had brought the animals to the man to see what he would have called them, our Creator certainly did no different after creating the woman. He brought her to the man.

      We are not told if it was to see what he would have called her as was mentioned concerning the naming of the animals. But carrying on with the same procedure as when the animals were being brought to him "to see what he would call them," our Creator Himself tells us that "Adam 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" (Genesis 2:23).

      Since His purpose for making the woman was that the man should not be alone, bringing Adam the woman would not have been to see what he would have called her, although Adam still proclaimed how she shall be called, but was as his help meet according to the declaration that our Creator Himself made in verse 24 of Genesis chapter 2.

      "Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cling to his wife: and they shall be one flesh."

      Notice the middle part of verse 25: "And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed."

      It can most certainly be concluded from the statement made in the middle part of verse 25 that it was a MATRIMONIAL ceremony which took place in verses 22-24 between Adam and Eve with our Creator Himself being at the helm of it all as the father-giver and marriage officiator at that first marriage ceremony ever to take place in the history of mankind. Verse 23 was Adam's matrimonial acceptance of the woman which Yahweh created out of his rib and brought to him as his help meet in matrimony. It was at the same moment the woman was being brought to the man that they were both being joined together in matrimony. There was therefore no chance of the man and the woman being together at any one point in time prior to marriage or even of a chance where a sexual intercourse could have taken place between them prior to Yahweh joining them together in matrimony.

 

No Sign Even of Any Honey Moon

Taking Place in the Garden

In Genesis chapter 1, we read that "Elohim created man in His own image, in the image of Elohim created He him; male and female created He them" (verse 27).

      According to verse 31, it was on the sixth and final working day of the week that Yahweh made a review of what He had done throughout the six working days and saw that everything He had created and made was very good. This of course included the woman, marriage and marital sex that He had created to complete the life of physical man.

      "And Elohim saw everything that He had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day."

      By the time He joins them together in holy matrimony and blesses them saying, ".be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth." in verse 28, the events recorded in chapter 2, from verse 7 down to the last verse, had ALREADY taken place. This all happened on the self same sixth day of the week that He created the man and the woman into existence.

      How long after their wedding (on the selfsame sixth day?) did the serpent make his inroad is not only unclear, but is just not mentioned for our knowing. This however does not make it too difficult to see from the Scriptures that at the time the serpent made his appearing to the woman in the Garden that their Creator is no where within sight of their physical presence as He was when He had joined them together in matrimony. This would have been ample opportunity for them to have indulged in a first sexual encounter with each other in that they have been joined together in matrimony. But any evidence of such is not forthcoming from within the Sacred Scriptures proving that they ever had such an encounter in the garden, though being married.

      What actually I'm attempting to show is that, if the tree of the knowledge of good and evil the man and the woman ate from in defiance of our Creator that they were not to have eaten from, less they die, was sexual intercourse our Creator meant they were not to have indulged in less they die although they were one flesh in matrimony, there is just not one single existing iota of evidence forthcoming from Genesis chapters 1 and 2 proving such a claim or even where there was any sexual intercourse between them prior to the showing up of the serpent in chapter 3, IF to have indulged in sexual intercourse in the garden as husband and wife would have been an issue with their Creator against them.

 

It Was Not Until After

So we continue to read down into chapter 3 where we see that the serpent makes his uninvited and destructive entry into the history of mankind.

      His first undertaking as he makes his entry is to question the woman as to whether if they were being told not to eat of every tree in the garden.

      "Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which Yahweh Elohim had made. And he said to the woman, Yea, has Elohim said, You shall not eat of every tree of the garden?" -Verse 1.

      The woman makes it abundantly clear to the serpent that while they could eat from the trees in the garden, there is a restriction which if ignored, that death would be the result.

      "And the woman said to the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, Elohim has said, You shall not eat of it, neither shall you touch it, lest you die" (verses 2-3).

      It is at this point that the serpent puts his skills of subtlety to work into trying to have the woman believe that their Creator hid from them the opportunity of acquiring the power of knowing good and evil in commanding them not to eat of that tree.

      "And the serpent said to the woman, You shall not surely die: For Elohim does know that in the day you eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and you shall be as elohim, knowing good and evil" (verses 4-5).

      Eventually, the serpent's effort at getting the woman into seeing that tree on a different level proved successful as the woman of her own accord or free will now sees the tree is good for food.

      Believing the serpent, a creature, in place of the Creator who brought them into existence, she finds herself eating of the tree and in turn is the serpent's agent in getting her husband to eat of it as well.

      "And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also to her husband with her; and he did eat" (verse 6).

      Reading the remaining 18 verses of chapter 3, we see that it is not until verse 1 of chapter 4 it appears that the man and the woman is for their first time indulging in sexual intercourse with each other in the beauty and sanctity of matrimony. "And Adam knew (or had sexual intercourse with) Eve his wife..."

      The word "And" with which Genesis 4:1 opens, to me implies that it was not until AFTER all what had happened, was said and done from the time they were being created in Genesis 1:26 until the last verse of Genesis 3, AFTER their downfall in and being ejected from the garden, that they had sexual intercourse for the FIRST time with each other as husband and wife. Opening the verse with the word THEN instead of the word "And" would have brought this understanding across much clearer. For example, "THEN Adam knew (or had sexual intercourse with) Eve his wife..."

 

If It Was Sexual Intercourse

If sexual intercourse indeed is what brought about the downfall of man and from all showing that their eating from the forbidden tree was not sexual intercourse that they indulged in with each other at the time (if this is really what is believed to have caused the downfall of man), seeing that it was not until verse 1 of chapter 4 AFTER their downfall in and ejection from the garden that they indulged in sexual intercourse for their first time since being married, then between she and whom could that sexual intercourse have taken place thus resulting in the downfall of man and us all being born in sin (Psalm 51:5; Romans 3:23; 5:14; 1 Corinthians 15:21a)?

      Since the man and the woman were both married to each other, even if that they did have sexual intercourse with each other while in the Garden of Eden could not have merited an offence against them in the eyes of their Creator. How much less for their eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil to had been sexual intercourse that they allowed the serpent to make good at succumbing them to indulge in.

      So, could it have been between the serpent and the woman that sexual intercourse had taken place, since it is with the woman that the serpent interacted (Genesis 3:1-6; 1 Timothy 2:14)?

      And if indeed that sexual intercourse in any case is the cause of man's downfall and that it is an act of sexual intercourse that took place between the woman and the serpent supposedly what the Creator refers to as the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is indeed what brought about the downfall of mankind, then was it that the Creator was saying in parable to the man, what appears to had been said to the man even BEFORE woman was being created, that it was sexual intercourse he was not to indulge in with the serpent by commanding him not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil?

      Notice the part of Genesis 3:3 which reads: "in the midst of the garden." Are we to understand that the woman was saying to the serpent in that verse that the creating Elohim (Strong, Powerful, Mighty One(s) has said that there is not to be any sexual intercourse taking place "in the midst of the garden."? However, we've already seen that there is no evidence proving a sexual intercourse had taken place between the man and his wife anytime before the showing up of the serpent. So, was it at the showing up of the serpent, before the woman gave of that fruit to her husband, did that sexual intercourse take place between the serpent and the woman, IF at all sexual intercourse had ever taken place in the Garden of Eden?

      We are told as we've already seen above in verse 6 of Genesis chapter 3 that after the woman ate of that tree, she gave also to her husband from that same tree of the knowledge of good and evil from which she ate and had him jump on the same band wagon on which she was in having him eat from that same tree with her.

      If the woman's eating of that forbidden tree is sexual intercourse she had with the serpent, then it would mean that her sharing of the fruit with her husband is sexual intercourse she in turn had with her husband immediately after having had sexual intercourse with the serpent. This would imply that the man as well became a convict just as his wife because that he had sexual intercourse with her (although that they are husband and wife?) due to her having had sexual intercourse with the serpent.

 

Was the Serpent A Beast of The Field?

Going back to Genesis 3:1 already quoted above and commented on, let's revisit that passage of scripture where we are being told of the serpent's level of subtleness as superseding that of every other beast of the field that our Creator had created and as opening a conversation with the woman.

      "Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which Yahweh Elohim had made. And he said to the woman, Yea, has Elohim said, You shall not eat of every tree of the garden?"

      What? A serpent speaks? Isn't a serpent, as we all know it, suppose to be a reptile or a snake? A serpent, a reptile, a snake being suppose to be a beast of the field, what is it about this Genesis chapter 3 and verse 1 spoken of serpent that happens to be so different from the serpents created from the earth that we literally know, often come across with and see in Zoos?

      We also know serpents which are reptiles or snakes to be animals that creep on their belly.

      According to Genesis 1:24-25, creeping things were also among all the living beasts that were being created from the earth:

      "And Elohim said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after its kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after its kind: and it was so. And Elohim made the beast of the earth after its kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creeps upon the earth after its kind: and Elohim saw that it was good."

      But then, being referred to as a serpent, wouldn't it have been most likely that this creature was among the creeping things and other animals that were being created on the selfsame sixth day of the week that the man and the woman was being created?

      Sooner that the beasts of the earth including every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth of which serpents, male and female are a part, were being brought into existence, the order of sequence in the Genesis chapter 1 account of creation shows that the Creator's immediate next task was to have created two human beings in His image and likeness, in that, verses 26 and 27 accounting of the coming into existence of the first man and woman IMMEDIATELY follows verses 24 and 25 which accounts of the creation of every beast of the field after its kind and every thing that CREEPS upon the earth. So no doubt that every living beast including those that creep upon the face of the earth existed before the first man and woman. Could this have been the actual originality of the serpent which spoke to the woman in the Garden of Eden, having been brought into existence before mankind?

 

Who the Serpent Is

Perhaps thought of as a serpent that creeps on the ground as any other serpent in the field, Genesis 3 indicates otherwise. It is not until at that first high court hearing ever in the history of mankind here on earth which took place in the Garden of Eden over the eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil we learn that the serpent was not a creature that actually went upon its belly prior to that incident.

      "And Yahweh Elohim said to the woman, What is this that you have done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. And Yahweh Elohim said to the serpent, Because you have done this, you are cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon your belly shall you go, and dust shall you eat all the days of your life" (Genesis 3:13-14).

      Of course, we would have to take the statement concerning the serpent being made to creep or to go on its belly over that incident not in a literal sense, but as a figurative terminology meaning something else as the very One who had past this sentence back then on the serpent, revealed over three and a half thousand years later to His Apostle John who the serpent is.

      "And he laid hold on the dragon, that OLD serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years" (Revelation 20:2).

 

An Angelic, Spirit Being

Notice that the serpent is being referred to in Revelation 20:2 not only as being OLD, but as the DRAGON, which is the DEVIL, and SATAN.

      It is of this same serpent, described in the book of Revelation to the Apostle John as being old some three and a half thousand years after beguiling Eve in the garden, which is the Devil and Satan that, that same creating high court judge of the earth, said He beheld fall from heaven as lightning.

      "And He said to them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven" (Luke 10:18).

      The fall of this same serpent from heaven no doubt was after that war he waged and lost in heaven against Michael and his angels.

      "And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that OLD serpent, which deceives the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him" (Revelation 12:7-9).

      Since it is only Beings with an ANGELIC-SPIRIT, NON-physical body that can inhabit the heaven where our Creator abides, no doubt that this serpent is a Being that has an ANGELIC-SPIRIT, NON-physical body since he once had a place in the heavenly abode of our Creator. This serpent is a created ANGELIC-SPIRIT Being who once had his abode in the heavens with the other angels of like bodily form and STILL exist in that ANGELIC-SPIRIT bodily form though having been "cast out into the earth" ages ago.

      Being referred to as "that old serpent, which deceives the whole world," the word old here is being used in reference to the length of time the serpent, who is the Devil and Satan himself, that great dragon, has been in the work of deceiving mankind. This has been from since the first human Being he beguiled, tricked or deceived in the Garden of Eden over three and a half thousand years BEFORE the contents of the book of Revelation was being revealed to the Apostle John.

      But the originality of that OLD serpent, who, according to the book of Revelation, is none else than SATAN, the great DRAGON, which deceives the whole world, is NOT from as late as Genesis 1:24-25 when every beast of the field after its kind including every thing that creeps on the earth after their kinds were being created from the dust of the earth, but from earlier times BEFORE even this earth was created.

 

The Sons of Elohim

Reading the first few verses of Genesis chapter 6, it would appear that the sons of Elohim spoken of as having taken themselves wives from among the daughters of men were angels or spirit Beings. These spoken of sons of Elohim as well bore children with the daughters of men they took to themselves as wives.

      "And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them, That the sons of Elohim saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose" (verses 1-2).

      "There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of Elohim came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown" (verse 4).

      As a result of what these passages of Scripture would appear to be saying, it is the belief of some professing Bible practitioners that it was angels which came down from heaven and married the daughters of men, and made children with those women they married. This would mean that the children who resulted from these marriages and became mighty men of renown were the children of angels or spirit Beings.

      We saw earlier on that since Adam and Eve were already being married by the time the serpent made its appearing to the woman in the garden, their eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil obviously couldn't have been sexual intercourse they had with each other for which to had been convicted by the same Creator who provided them the marriage license to have had sexual intercourse and to bring forth children. We also did not find any evidence surfacing from the Scriptures proving of a sexual intercourse between them prior to the showing up of the serpent. It was not until after they were being ejected from the garden over their disobedience (Genesis 3:6-24), apparently, they would have had their first sexual intercourse which resulted in Cain coming into existence (Genesis 4:1).

      What is similar to the notion that the sons of Elohim in Genesis 6 were angels or spirit Beings that married women here on earth and made children with them, is the notion which claims that the woman's succumbing to the serpent in eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is sexual intercourse that she had with the serpent, an ANGELIC-SPIRIT Being.

      Added to that is the notion that Cain was the offspring of that SUPPOSED sexual intercourse between the serpent and the woman. This would mean that Cain was the son of a spirit being which the exact same notion is held concerning the mighty men of renowned as being the children of angelic-spirit Beings supposedly thought to whom the term sons of Elohim in Genesis 6 refers.

 

Marriage, Sex and Pro-Creation Not for Celestials

However, upon going through the Sacred Scriptures-the Word of Yahweh-"line upon line, line upon line, precept upon precept, precept upon precept; here a little, and there a little" (Isaiah 28:10, 13), the Bible student will find to have come from the mouth of the same One who created the angels, a clear detailing on whether the angels He created were created with the sexual nature of being given in marriage.

      To explain this, He exclaims that the human Beings to whom will be given a CELESTIAL, IMMORTAL, SPIRIT; NON-dying body into His eternal kingdom will be just like His father's ANGELS in heaven. The marital status of these human Beings to whom eternal life will be given at the first resurrection will be EQUALED to that of the ANGELS in heaven.

      "For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of Yahweh in heaven" (Matthew 22:30).

      "For when they shall rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage; but are as the angels which are in heaven" (Mark 12:25).

      "...The children of this world marry, and are given in marriage: But they which shall be counted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage: ...for they are equal to the angels..." (Luke 20:34-36).

      In light of what our Savior has been quoted in Matthew 22:30, Mark 12:25 and Luke 20:34-36 to have said as the Creating Elohim of mankind and ALL the angelic-spirit Beings that exist including the serpent and his spirit demons (Proverbs 8; John 1:1-3, 10; Colossians 1:16-17), may I stress here that it is ONLY "...The children (HUMAN beings) of this world who marry, and are given in marriage..." in THIS physical life ONLY.

      Taking the daughters of men as wives therefore could NOT have been by angelic-spirit Beings since they are NOT created with the sex nature that we humans have been created with to marry, give in marriage and bring forth children.

      This is therefore why the sons of Elohim spoken of in Genesis 6 COULDN'T therefore have been angelic-spirit Beings who married and bore children with the daughters of men; how much less for the woman's eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the garden to had been sexual intercourse that had taken place between the serpent-an ANGELIC-SPIRIT Being-and the woman. How much more the less even for Cain's coming into existence to have been as a result of that supposed sexual affair between the woman-a HUMAN Being, and the serpent-a SPIRIT Being. Such at all does NOT exist in and just CANNOT be proven from the heavenly-inspired Sacred Scriptures-the Holy Bible.

 

To Whom Is Glory Due?

According to Genesis 4:1, it was sexual intercourse between Adam, a HUMAN Being, and his wife Eve, again, a HUMAN Being, which appears to have been for their first time as husband and wife since being married that resulted in the woman getting pregnant and Cain being born; from TWO (2) HUMAN Beings. This is EXACTLY what we find written at that passage of Scripture when we read it:

      "And Adam (NOT the serpent) knew (or had sexual intercourse with) Eve his wife (angelic, celestial, spirit Beings CANNOT marry or be given in marriage); and she conceived, and bore Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from Yahweh."

      While it is not that she is saying her Creator had sexual intercourse with her in making the statement, "...I have gotten a man from Yahweh," which would have been in contravention to what the earlier part of the verse says, the fact is that even in this statement that she made reflects not even the slightest clue of she even attempting to say that she has gotten a man from the serpent.

      Notice other areas of Scripture in support of YAHWEH, the Creator of mankind, as being the One who actually does the forming in the womb from conception and bringing forth from the womb at birth:

      "Thus says Yahweh that made you, and formed you from the womb..." (Isaiah 44:2).

"Thus says Yahweh, your redeemer, and He that formed you from the womb, I am Yahweh that makes all things..." (Isaiah 44:24).

      "And now, says Yahweh that formed me from the womb to be His servant..." (Isaiah 49:5).

      "Then the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, Before I formed you in the belly I knew you; and before you came forth out of the womb I sanctified you..." (Jeremiah 1:5).

      By eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, Adam and Eve no doubt actually chose the way of death. But this however did not at all change Yahweh's already designed method as to how mankind was to have been multiplied on the earth.

      ".be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth." (Genesis 1:28) was exactly what He commanded them. It is obvious that the only way this could have been done was by way of marriage first and then sexual intercourse, between TWO (2) HUMAN Beings.

      Perusing the heavenly inspired Sacred Scriptures-the Holy Bible-quite carefully, we'll find that it is ONLY HUMAN Beings who have been created in the image and likeness of the creating Elohim of the universe. No record of any angelic-spirit being that was made including the serpent as having been created in that form, let alone with the sexual nature to marry or be given in marriage and pro-create children.

      "You shall not add to the word which I command you, neither shall you diminish anything from it, that you may keep the commandments of Yahweh your Elohim which I command you" (Deuteronomy 4:2).

      "What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: you shall not add thereto, nor diminish from it" (Deuteronomy 12:32).

      "Add you not to His words, lest He reprove you, and you be found a liar" (Proverbs 30:6).

      ".If any man shall add to these things, Elohim shall add to him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, Elohim shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book" (Revelation 22:18-19).

      Isn't it therefore adding to and/or taking away from Scripture and also an act of stealing from YAHWEH Elohim of creation the glory and honor belonging to Him by way of the notion and teaching that the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is a figurative term for sexual intercourse between the serpent and the woman resulting in the conception and birth of Cain?

      "If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of Yahweh; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which Yahweh gives: that Yahweh in all things may be glorified through Yahshua [the] Messiah, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen" (1 Peter 4:11).

 

Augustus Paul

25 Emergency Housing Scheme

Balisier Lane, Bath Estate, Roseau

Commonwealth of DOMINICA

Windward Islands, West Indies

(767) 245-8369/316-1525

Winter 2005/06 (5766)