Theme: Judgement (Part 1)
(Key verse: Genesis 3:14-15)
The book of Genesis gives us not only the truth of the creation of a physical world, but it uses these visible things to give us an understanding of the invisible things of God, for those with spiritual eyes and spiritual ears – those who can receive that. The physical world reflects the spiritual types of God’s works within us:
Rom 1:20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse.
Luk 17:20-21 And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: 21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.
God is busy working His one plan of salvation, even through this “evil experience / sore travail…in the earth” (Ecc 1:13). This is done in a way God alone decided, as no man was asked to give Him counsel or advice (Rom 11:33-36). Everyone in the first Adam will eventually humbly submit to His ways of doing things, when all will give an account to this effect (Phil 2:9-14; Rom 14:12). We actually start off by thinking that Adam was spiritually perfect and an eternal being. We are blind at that time also to believe that flesh is good, and that Adam and Eve (and all of us) were given a “free” will to make “independent” choices. But the scriptures are very clear on our initial earthy status – inside and outside (Rom 8:20; Jer 18:4a):
1Cor 15:50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.
Rom 8:5-6 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. 6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
We cannot accept these truths at first, but when God starts to open our eyes it becomes a humbling, painful, yet joyful process of judgement we must endure (Heb 12:11). The theme of judgement is foundational in this God-ordained process of creating humanity and all carnal-minded creatures in His perfect spiritual image.
Gen 1:26-27 And God said, Let us make [the Hebrew verb here is in the Qal IMPERFECT tense = it indicates a process or condition which is
incomplete] 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 creepeth upon the earth. 27 So God created [and yet again this Hebrew verb is in the Qal IMPERFECT tense = a process or condition which is incomplete] man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
Adam and Eve were ready to hear God’s judgement after they became aware of their NAKED condition:
Gen 3:15-19 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. 16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. 17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; 18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; 19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
Judgement is a wonderful and “strange work” of God “in the earth” (Ps 107:1-10; Isa 28:21), and few can see the benefits of this important part of God’s plan for His creation:
Isa 26:9 With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.
Earthy man do not know God’s righteousness and we have to learn it the hard way – even as Jesus learned through suffering:
Heb 5:7-8 Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared; 8 Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered.
Our earth (flesh) is a spiritual desolate place, and we only learn and appreciate this truth through God’s judgement:
Psa 46:8 Come, behold the works of the LORD, what desolations he hath made in the earth.
Chapter three of Genesis is packed with so much of what the natural man experiences in the earth, and its true spiritual applications form important foundations for our understanding of God’s hidden secrets. God indeed wrote everything in His book “before the foundation of the world” and through Jesus all will be judged to see what He has written in our own books (Gen 18:25; John 5:22; John 17:24; 1Pet 1:20; Rev 20:12; Col 1:15-17; Heb 1:2; Phil 1:8; Rev 1:1-3; Eph 1:11). Our old man (who is the spiritual dead) will be shown his own book only through God’s judgement!
Psa 139:16 (CEV) but with your own eyes you saw my body being formed. Even before I was born, you had written in your book everything I would do.
Rev 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
A few are shown their books now, and the rest will be shown later – but all will go through the same judgement of fire!
1Pe 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?
1Cor 3:13-15 Every man’s work [book] shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. 14 If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. 15 If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
But although God is causing every thought and action of His creatures, they still need to give an account of their own actions. Giving an account is included in the process of judgement. But the natural mind sees this accounting quite differently to what the Scriptures actually say, as the natural minds in Adam and Eve also demonstrated:
Gen 3:9-13 And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? 10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. 11 And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? 12 And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. 13 And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
Adam and Eve could not give a proper accounting why they did what they did. They simply saw the outward, and thought that God was also removed and ignorant of what is happening “in the earth”. We naturally believe that we were left to survive on our own with our own fabled “free” will and the “free” choices we must make in line with, or against, the will of God. But no-one can resist the will of God in anything they do – God wrote the script and we act precisely what He planned for us:
Rom 9:19 Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will?
Because the natural or carnal mind cannot see God’s hand in all things, he cannot give a proper accounting of what God has written in His book. That is why God has ordained that this accounting should only be done through a process of judgement, which will bring salvation to all (Jer 49:12).
Rom 3:23-24 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; 24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
The words “by His grace” is very important to note as this is the means by which salvation is brought to all at the appointed time. Look how grace works…
Tit 2:11-12 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared [Greek: “epiphainō”] to all men, 12 Teaching [Greek: “paideuō”] us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
God’s grace works through His wrath, which is poured out on all ungodliness and worldly lusts in “all [who] have sinned” and His wrath lasts for a limited period (Eph 2:2-3; Rev 15:8). The Greek word “paideuō” in Titus 2 verse 11 is explained in this verse:
Heb 12:6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth [“paideuō”], and scourgeth [flog] every son whom he receiveth.
How clear is that? One must be blinded and beguiled not to see the “simplicity” of Christ’s one mind on this (2Cor 11:3). We should know that judgement is a good thing for our spiritual development which teaches us about God and His righteousness. We receive His righteous mind, His clothing for us, through judgement “in the earth” only:
Isa 26:9 With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.
It is then significant to see that this judgement is also appointed for the serpent:
Gen 3:14-15 And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: 15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
One of God’s “wonderful works” is His creation of a “crooked serpent”. This means this snake was created with a deceptive carnal mind – this crokked serpent HAS a carnal (evil) mind which is THE SAME mind that was in Adam and Eve). He was made by God to go “to and fro in the earth” deceiving all with the same carnal mind in the first man Adam (Job 26:13; John 8:44; Job 1:7). From the “sum of God’s word” we know that this serpent (alias Satan, devil, leviathan, the dragon) was cursed and crooked from the hand of the Potter – “from the beginning” (Rev 12:9; John 8:44; Job 26:13):
Isa 27:1 In that day the LORD with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon [Hebrew: “tannı̂yn”] that is in the sea.
Gen 1:21 And God created great whales [Hebrew: “tannı̂yn”], and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
The “sea” and “waters” here refer to his spiritual condition and carnal activities. We are, like this serpent, in that same state of spiritual death which is also typified in Scripture with “dust of the ground” (Gen 2:7). We are dust and carnal and that is how the first Adam, and all in him, shares the same “menu” with the serpent (John 3:5-6; 1Cor 15:46; Rev 13):
Rom 8:6-8 For to be carnally [earthy/fleshly] minded is death; but to be spiritually [heavenly] minded is life and peace. 7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. 8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
“Upon thy belly shalt thou go” is not merely referring to a physical way of moving around for this serpent, but rather confirming his vain and lowly carnal condition of being earthy. Many miss this spiritual truth because they are deluded to focus on whether the serpent walked upright before. The Scriptures do not say that the serpent walked upright, because he was never spiritually perfect and righteous (“upright in heart”). Spiritually he was on his earthy belly all the time as he was “crooked” from the hand of the Potter (Rom 8:20). The spiritual application of God’s word has much more profit than the naturally puffed up opinions of men (1Cor 4:6):
Joh 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
The judgement on this serpent here in Genesis chapter 3 is the first indication in Scripture that this evil spirit being will be saved and given the righteous robes of Jesus Christ (Rev 19:11). This serpent and all others with the same mind as him should be seen for what they are – serpents. But all serpents will eventually dwell on the “holy mountain” of God – “seated in heavens”. This is what is meant with the bruising of his head…his carnal mind will be destroyed. This means that Satan and all evil spirits like him, including all in Adam, will have the spirit mind of Christ feeding on the “dust” of God – the holy spirit “menu” of God:
Isa 6:1-3 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. 2 Above it stood the seraphims [Hebrew: śârâph – a poisonous fiery serpent]: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. 3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.
Isa 65:25 The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent’s meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the LORD.
This is how the words “dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life” are fulfilled in the judgement of the serpent. He is the temper of all carnal thinkers. That this crooked serpent, and all other serpents (those with carnal minds) will have “dust” as meat around God’s throne, reveals to us the positive application of dust. All symbols God use in the Scriptures have both a negative (“corruption”) and positive (“incorruption”) application. What is also important to note about this dust in its positive application, is that the holy “dust” of God is the same as His brimstone which will bring spiritual healing to all – it all helps to “throughly purge his floor”. The dust turned to brimstone (sulphur) which is a positive when we know what these words meant in the original languages of Scripture:
Isa 34:9 KJV And the streams thereof shall be turned into pitch, and the dust thereof into brimstone [Hebrew: “gophrı̂yth”], and the land thereof shall become burning pitch.
Isa 34:9 ABP+ AndG2532 [shall be turnedG4762 G3588 her ravines]G5327 G1473 intoG1519 pitch;G4099. andG2532 G3588 her landG1093 G1473 intoG1519 sulphurG2303; andG2532 [will beG1510.8.3 G3588 her landG1093 G1473 inG1519 pitchG4099. burning]G2545
Rev 20:10 ABP+ AndG2532 theG3588 devil,G1228 the oneG3588 misleadingG4105 themG1473 was castG906 intoG1519 theG3588 lakeG3041 G3588 of fireG4442 andG2532 sulphur,G2303 whereG3699 theG3588 beastG2342 andG2532 theG3588 false prophet are.G5578 AndG2532 they shall be tormentedG928 dayG2250 andG2532 nightG3571 intoG1519 theG3588 eonsG165 of theG3588 eons.G165
Rev 20:10 KJV And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone [Greek: “theion”], where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented [Greek: “basanizō”] day and night for ever and ever [the eons of the eons].
Mat 3:11-12 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: 12 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.
The Hebrew word for brimstone is “gophrı̂yth” and is described as the breath or judgement of God:
Isa 30:33 For Tophet is ordained of old; yea, for the king it is prepared; he hath made it deep and large: the pile thereof is fire and much wood; the breath of the LORD, like a stream of brimstone, doth kindle it.
This links beautifully with the Greek word for brimstone which is “theion” and come from the base “theos” which means Godly. The Greek word “basanizō” refers to a test for purity of gold or silver – silver and gold are types of God’s Word. All this is saying is that God’s one and only spiritual fire brings spiritual purification in all He judges (Heb 12:29; 1Cor 3:13-15; Jer 5:14; Isa 66:):
Psa 12:6 The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.
God’s judgement makes it very clear that there is a separation between the serpent’s seed (carnal thinking patterns – John 8:44) and the seed of the woman (those with God’s righteous thinking – those with the mind of Christ). With this God confirms the impassable distinction between the darkness and the light:
Gen 1:1-3 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. 3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
The serpent’s seeds (his spirit / words / thoughts) operate in the deep pit of darkness in us – the carnal mind (bottomless pit) which is typified by the grave (“she’ôl” in Hebrew and “hadēs” in Greek). It is in the thoughts of the natural mind where all the “negatives” are develop which then manifest in words and actions “against the truth” (Psa 88:6; 1Cor 15:55). Thoughts / words are spirits – both the good incorruptible “seed” of Christ, and the evil corruptible “seed” of God’s adversary (Matt 13:3-9; Matt 13:24-30):
1Jn 4:1 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
1Jn 4:5 They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them.
Joh 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
1Pe 1:23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible
This seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman are both also reflected in the various genealogies we find throughout the Scriptures. This starts off with the genealogies of the two sons of Adam and Eve, Cain and Seth (Seth who was appointed by God as another seed “instead of Abel”). Also included are the genealogies of the two sons of Isaac (Esau and Jacob), and also the two sons of Abraham (Ishmael and Isaac):
Gal 4:22-23 For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. 23 But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise [of the spirit].
Gal 4:29 But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now.
This is how the serpent bruises the heel of the elect. The serpent or dragon will always persecute the seed of the woman in every generation – those who read, hear and keep the testimony of The “Seed”, Jesus Christ (Rev 1:1-3):
Rev 12:17 And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
It is only through God’s judgement, which happens at the coming of Christ in our lives, that we can see these two lines as they also appear right through Scripture.
2Th 2:1-4 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, 2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. 3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; 4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
Joh 1:9-13 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. 11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not. 12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: 13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
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