Reflections on Genesis

The book of Genesis is the first book of the Hebrew Bible, or, as it is more commonly called: The Old Testament. Genesis is also the first book of the five books of Moses, known to the Jewish people as the Torah. This first book of the Bible is appropriately titled Genesis, for its name has the meaning of "beginnings" or "origins," for it provides for us the story of the creation of the world and takes us back in time to the birth of human civilization. Believed to have been written by the holy prophet Moses, the book of Genesis takes us on a journey through a series of events transpiring over the course of a few thousand years. Beginning with the creation of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, the fall of mankind, the story of Noah and the great Flood, then down to the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and finishing off with the children of Israel settling in the land of Egypt, the book of Genesis has much to say about life during the most ancient of times. Apart from the stories of Biblical characters and all their drama, Genesis also presents a detailed genealogy of the people who populated the earth, going all the way back to the first man, Adam. The intent of this work is to present a concise overview of the history of our ancient ancestors and to also provide commentary on the intimate role that God played in the personal lives of the patriarchs and prophets of old, a saga that in turn would alter the course of human history and reveal to mankind the benevolence of our divine creator.

Now the account of the LORD God creating the entire world in just six days is found in the first chapter of Genesis. However, in Genesis chapter two, a more detailed description of the creation of Adam is given, and it is also here that we are introduced to the Garden of Eden for the first time. It would seem that the purpose of Genesis chapter two was intended to provide a recap of the events found in chapter one. Genesis chapter two also goes into much detail concerning the initial creation story while also incorporating additional elements of creation that are absent in chapter one. Thus, the entire Biblical creation story is laid out in two chapters, not just one. The reason for this may be that an overview of creation was intended to generally cover all of God's handiwork, while an additional chapter was needed to go into further detail concerning things of greater importance.

Following directly from the creation stories of Genesis chapters one and two, we come to the story of the serpent tempting Eve to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, beginning in chapter three. But as we read in chapter two, even before Eve was created, God instructed Adam not to eat of this particular tree, for God tells Adam that the day he eats of it, he will surely die. Since Eve was not present when the law of Eden was given to Adam, it must be assumed that Adam told Eve about God's law after the Lord brought forth the woman from the side of man. Now it is interesting to note that the serpent chose to tempt Eve and not Adam. It would seem that the devil was looking for a weak spot in order to get the man and woman to break God's law. If the serpent had come to Adam first, the man might not have listened. But through a deceptive dialog with the woman, the devil managed to get Eve to break the commandment by promising her that the fruit would give her wisdom and that she would become like God Himself, knowing both good and evil. The devil literally messed with the woman's mind, tricking her into doing something that was not in her best interest. But even worse to say of Eve was that instead of repenting for her sin, she gave the forbidden fruit to Adam, knowing full well that it was wrong. However, though Eve was deceived, Adam knew better. So instead of obeying God, Adam chose to listen to the woman, thus directly transgressing the law of his creator.

Concerning the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, it is traditionally believed that the forbidden fruit was an apple. Yet the Fathers of the Church have something else to say. Though the forbidden fruit is not directly identified in Genesis, a clue as to the type of tree Adam and Eve sinfully ate from is hinted at when they lost their innocence. For the Bible tells us that after Adam and Eve partook of the fruit, their eyes were opened and they knew that they were naked, and they went on to use fig leaves as a means to cover their nakedness. This points to the fig tree as being the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and not an apple tree, which is more broadly and commonly assumed. Another place in the scriptures that alludes to the fig tree being the forbidden fruit is taken from the New Testament. For in Matthew 21:19 it is written that Jesus, "...saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away." Could Jesus have cursed this fruitless fig tree in response for what happened in the Garden of Eden several millennia before His incarnation? It would seem that the Lord cursed the very thing that was instrumental in plunging the world into sin. Thus, the Lord cursing the fig tree may have served as a testimony of Christ's triumph over sin and death.

Returning to Adam and Eve, it is apparent that, through their disobedience, the Lord expelled the sinful couple from Paradise. Through their sin, death enters the world, something foreign to the very nature of the life-giving Spirit of God. No longer will man live in bliss and eat freely from the trees in the Garden of Eden. Now that sin and death have entered the world, the earth becomes cursed and brings forth thorns and thistles. Now man will be forced to eat bread by the sweat of his face. Paradise is lost, and pain and suffering will replace the joys of Eden. From here on, mankind will live in exile. But before Adam and Eve fell from grace, many wonder just how long the world's first couple lasted in the Garden before they were cast out. From the patristic texts, there are conflicting writings that teach that Adam and Eve were living in Paradise for as long as forty days or as short as six hours. Forty being the number of days Jesus was tempted in the wilderness, and six being the number of hours Christ hung upon the cross. Though it is not clearly defined in units of time, what can be safely interpreted is that the length of Adam and Eve's sojourn in Eden was indeed quite brief.

Continuing on our journey through Genesis, we now arrive at the famous story of Cain and Abel, as found in the fourth chapter of this Biblical book of beginnings. As part of the collective consciousness of Western culture, it is generally understood that God accepted Abel's offering and rejected Cain's sacrifice, leading Cain to rise up and kill his brother out of envy. However, what is generally misunderstood in this story is the significance of each of the brothers' sacrifices. As Genesis tells us: Abel was a keeper of sheep and offered a lamb, while Cain was a farmer and offered up crops or vegetables. This has led many believers to assume that God prefers meat offerings as opposed to grain offerings. Because of this misunderstanding, many feel that God treated Cain unfairly. But in reality, the reason why God rejected Cain's offering and accepted Abel's was because Abel offered up the best of his flock to the Lord, while Cain offered up an inferior quality of the produce that he possessed. So the two differing sacrifices had more to do with the offering of first fruits versus the offering up of leftovers.

The fact that Cain did not offer up a sacrifice of his choice crops unto the Lord reveals the darkened character and negative mentality of Cain. For Cain did not give the proper glory to God due to his sullen spiritual disposition. Furthermore, Cain was humiliated when he saw how God accepted his brother's sacrifice but rejected his. Cain was possessed with so much pride that he went to the extent of killing his own brother out of jealousy, for Cain could not bear the pain of his severely wounded ego. Even when God confronted Cain, questioning him about what had happened to Abel, Cain demonstrated how hardened his heart had become by disrespectfully replying to the Almighty, "Am I my brother's keeper?" As a result of Cain's fallen countenance and unrepentant heart, God cursed Cain from the earth, which received his brother's blood. For now, the ground would not yield to him the fruits of the earth as it used to. Cain told God how unbearable his punishment was, but the curse still stuck. So Cain went out from the presence of the LORD and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden. 

After Cain was driven out, the Bible tells us that he begot a son with his wife and named the child Enoch. Cain went on to build a city and named it Enoch after his son. It was at this time that the earth became split into two camps. A righteous bloodline and a wicked bloodline. For after the death of Abel, Adam and Eve would conceive another son, whom they named Seth. This Godly child would serve as a replacement for Abel, for it was at this time that men began to call upon the name of the LORD. Now, beginning with Seth, there would stem from him a series of ten righteous men who preserved a holy lineage while the rest of humanity became so corrupt that God decided to destroy the earth and all life upon it with a global flood. For the people in the antediluvian era became so depraved that God regretted that He had made man in the first place, but Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. So God would preserve humanity and all animal life on the ark that Noah built in order to survive the Flood. It was like God pressed the reset button and started all over again. After the waters subsided, God promised Noah that He would never again destroy the earth with a flood and declared that whenever he sees the rainbow in the clouds, he would remember the covenant that He established between man and all of creation.

In the years following the Great Flood, the Bible says that the whole earth was of one language and of one speech. And as they traveled together, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and dwelt there. It was also at this moment when the people decided to build a tower whose top might reach unto heaven and to make a name for themselves so that they wouldn't be scattered abroad throughout the face of all the earth. However, this act of defiance only kindled God's wrath once more. Wishing to put an end to the devices of the children of men, God came down and confused their languages and scattered them abroad throughout the face of all the earth, and the people ceased their building endeavors. Thus it is known as Babel, or the Tower of Babel, because there the Lord confounded the languages and scattered the people abroad upon the face of all the earth. These events concerning the Tower of Babel occur in the eleventh chapter of Genesis, and it is also midway through this chapter where the generations of Shem are recorded. Shem’s descendants are listed all the way down to Abram, who further on in Genesis will come to be known as the patriarch and prophet Abraham.

Now Abraham and his family originally hailed from Mesopotamia in the region of Haran but later moved to the land of Canaan, an area known today as the territories encompassing the modern state of Israel and parts of southern Lebanon. For the one true God spoke unto Abraham and instructed him to leave his father's house and travel to a land which the Lord would show him. For God promised that He would bless Abraham and make of him a great nation, and that through him all the families of the earth would be blessed. God also promised Abraham that one day his descendants would be as numerous as the stars of heaven. Abraham believed the Lord, and the Lord counted his faith unto righteousness. However, Abraham’s wife, Sarah was barren, and they had no children. So, out of a lack of faith, Sarah gave her Egyptian handmaid to Abraham in order that he might raise up seed with her. But later, the Lord promised that Sarah would conceive, and through this child, the future nation of Israel would be established. For the son of Abraham and Sarah was named Isaac and he went on to father Jacob who would be given the new name of Israel by God Himself. Israel fathered twelve sons who would become the twelve tribes of Israel.

The book of Genesis comes to a close with the patriarch Israel and his family settling in Egypt in an area known as the land of Goshen. For Israel's favorite son, Joseph, was previously sold into slavery by his jealous brothers. But through divine providence, the family was united once more, and through Joseph's spiritual gifts, he was able to save Egypt and all the surrounding lands from a severe famine that lasted for seven years. And when Israel was close to death, he gathered his sons together and prophesied over them, telling them of the things that would befall their descendants in the last days. Joseph too, would utter a prophecy concerning the fate of his brethren while he was dying. For Joseph said to his brothers, "...I die: and God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land unto the land which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. And Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones from hence. So Joseph died, being an hundred and ten years old: and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt" (Genesis 50:24-26).

Thus ends the amazing sacred historical history book Genesis. As an Orthodox Christian, I believe wholeheartedly in the truth of the stories told in Genesis. However, there are many skeptics out there who don't believe, with some members of the Church included in this trend of unbelief. Sadly, even some priests disbelieve in the genealogies of Genesis and, as a result don't give the body of Christ the proper support. For Jesus Himself spoke of Noah and the Flood, as well as Adam and Eve, and Christ even mentioned Abel. So it is clear that the testimony of Jesus Christ confirms the validity of Genesis as a true story. The fact that Christ confessed the reality of Genesis should give us Christians the inspiration to believe in the accounts of the Old Testament. For without the book of Genesis, there would be no book of Revelation. God's plan for the salvation of the world begins in the Old Testament book of Genesis and finds its fulfillment in the Gospel of the New Testament. Both the Old and New Testaments complement one another through the utterance of prophecies and the fulfillment of holy promises that indeed come to pass. The foreshadowing of things to come is also evident in Genesis, as are all the typologies that link the entire Biblical record together into one book of two parts. And this righteous record has stood the test of time and will continue to stand strong throughout the ages. For as Christ said, "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away" (Matthew 24:35).

Waiting for Jesus

 

For nearly 2,000 years now, devout Christians from all walks of life have been eagerly and anxiously awaiting the predicted second and glorious advent of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Although this final event in world history is looked upon by believers as a means to their salvation, the Day of the Lord will also be terrible and dreadful for unrepentant sinners. Even faithful Christians view this day with fear while at the same time hoping earnestly for the Lord's mercy. None of us will be able to avoid Judgment Day, and we will all be forced to give an account to Jesus as to how we lived our lives and how we spent the time granted to us while here on earth. The books will be opened, and we will all have to give an answer for every idle word spoken and every deed acted upon; we shall even be held accountable for all of our sinful thoughts. So, due to our sinful nature, it is understandable why we don't want to even think about Christ's second coming. We may even go to the extent of blocking out the reality of Judgment Day from our conscience by choosing not to believe in Jesus and the Bible altogether. But no matter how much we attempt to deceive ourselves, all of us will eventually have to face the music.

Now, during the years of His earthly ministry, Christ Himself made a promise to all of his disciples and followers, foretelling how He would indeed one day come back at the end of this present world's history in order to judge mankind and renew creation. And this prophecy, which Jesus uttered, dealing with His return and the end of the age, is recorded in the 24th chapter of the Gospel according to St. Matthew. Additionally, in the 4th chapter of the first Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Thessalonians, St. Paul reveals the nature of Christ's second coming and also touches upon the resurrection of the dead, a most awesome event that will occur simultaneously with the Lord's return when Christ comes back to judge both the living and the dead (1 Thessalonians 4:16–17). But the key book in all of the New Testament, which provides the most insight concerning the second coming of Jesus Christ, the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come, is none other than the book of Revelation, also known in Greek as the Apocalypse.

The book of Revelation goes into great prophetic detail by describing events that have already transpired in the ancient past and also speaks of things that have not yet happened but will truly find their fulfillment at some point in the near or distant future. The occurrences of this present age are also revealed, and in turn, many of these predictions have already come to pass, or more accurately, are currently and continuously being fulfilled. For the Fathers teach that after the loosening of the seven seals by Christ, as found written in Revelation chapter 6, the results or consequences of these broken seals have taken shape all throughout history and will continue to unfold until the end of time. Ever since this chain of events has taken place, due to the loosening of each seal, the events run their course until they are finished and then start once more, going all the way back from the beginning to when the seals were initially broken. And this theory, which teaches that the opening of the seven seals repeats itself in cycles now and all throughout the ages until the second coming of Christ, is appropriately titled the "cyclical theory."

However, it is not my intention to personally interpret the book of Revelation. For an ominous warning is given in the last few verses of Revelation that should make us all reconsider and resist the temptation to privately interpret this most mysterious and prophetic book. For concerning the prophecies of Revelation, it is written, "...If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto 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, God shall take away his part out of the book of life..." (Revelation 22:18–19). So, here we can clearly understand that interpreting the book of Revelation is quite a dangerous thing. For it is better to read and keep the words of this prophecy to ourselves, an action that will result in a blessing (according to Revelation 1:3), rather than making the grievous mistake of adding to or taking away from the meaning of these mysteries, which will only lead to perdition. Over the years, the private interpretation of the book of Revelation has resulted in a myriad of false doctrines and the creation of literally thousands of heretical Christian sects, all of which differ in their theology.

One such false and dangerous doctrine is that of the Rapture, a belief held by many Protestant Christian Evangelicals, which teaches that all true Christians will be taken up into Heaven prior to the Great Tribulation, also known as the seven-year era of the Antichrist. This type of thinking is fueled by the belief that God will not allow His people to suffer and go through the trials that non-believers will go through during the reign of the Antichrist. These Protestant denominations base their theology on a couple of New Testament scriptures, which they say points to the Lord's protection of his holy ones. The first scripture that they bank on for their end time deliverance is the quote from 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, which states that when the Lord returns to resurrect the dead, those Christians who are alive on the earth at that time will also be "caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air." The other scripture used to support the Rapture theory is taken from Revelation 3:10, which reads, "Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth."

Looking at these scriptures from a historical perspective, we can see that Christ, in Revelation chapter 3, was speaking to people living nearly 2,000 years ago and was not addressing people in the future who were not as yet born at the time when Christ made His promise to the Church of Philadelphia. Also, in 1 Thessalonians, Paul was simply making the point that when Christ returns, all those Christians alive at the moment of the Second Coming will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air at the end of time and not any time before that. Just as Christians were martyred in the early history of the Church and beyond, so too will Christians living towards the end of history suffer as well. If God allowed the Saints to be mercilessly tortured in the past, God will also allow His servants in the future and in the present times to go through trials and tribulations and even death for the sake of not denying Christ. For example, all of Christ's Apostles were killed except for St. John, so if Jesus allowed His closest friends to experience pain and suffering, what makes us wretched Christians in this sinful generation think that God will mystically deliver a people with so little faith and such great sin from passing through severe hardships?

The fact of the matter is that all people will have to endure the Tribulation, both Christians and non-Christians alike. Yes, we will all be given a clear choice: either deny Christ and take the mark of the beast or die. But the good news is, all of us who refuse to receive the mark, due to our love for Jesus, will be granted the crown of martyrdom and will live forever in the kingdom of heaven along with the prophets, the angels, all the Saints and especially with Christ Himself. The pain that we will feel will only last for a few moments, but afterwards we will receive an abundance of God's grace and experience divine bliss for all of eternity. Yet even though this trade-off is more than fair, many of us don't understand why God would allow the people He loves so much to go through so much suffering. Even Christ, the Son of God, while on the cross, asked God the Father why he had forsaken Him (Matthew 27:46). Though this truly is a mystery, it should not give any of us the excuse to write God off as being unjust or evil. For we know from reading the Bible that God is good, the devil is evil, and that mankind is sinful. And because of man's sin problem, all other problems in the world can be traced back to mankind's disobedience towards the Almighty.

So, on Judgment Day, every person who has ever lived will be resurrected and brought before the great white throne of the Lord Jesus Christ, and we will all be held responsible for our thoughts, words, and deeds. But before that day comes, it is best that we all prepare for this harsh and inevitable reality. Through our personal repentance and the struggle to cease sinning, God will forgive us and grant us much mercy. However, after we die, there won't be any time left for us to get our house in order. So, before we die, let us repent and seek the kingdom of heaven. For the more we devote ourselves to Christ, the more the Holy Spirit will draw near to us, and we will then begin to experience heaven in this life, even before we die. Conversely, through our disobedience to God and His commandments, our time on earth will become hell, and when we die, we will take our sins with us and suffer the horrors of hell eternally. I say this with pain and love for all of humanity, for though these words are somber, the blessings of heaven and the torturers of hell are a reality. Personally speaking, I am a great sinner, but I do have hope in the Lord's mercy as I go about my personal repentance. And what should give us all hope in regard to our salvation is a saying of the Fathers, which reveals to us that heaven is full of repentant sinners.

Concerning the Day of the Lord, scripture tells us that Jesus will come as a thief in the night, but blessed is the man who watches and takes the necessary precautions so that he will not be found unprotected (Revelation 16:15). Scripture also informs us that, on top of the resurrection of the dead and the final judgment, the entire universe will be transformed. For as it is written in 2 Peter 3:10, "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up." It is also interesting to note that in Genesis 3:17, God cursed the earth due to sin entering into creation at the beginning of time, but at the end of time, God will re-create this once fallen world and transform all of creation into something new and incorruptible (Revelation 21:1). For when Christ returns, the first heaven and the first earth will pass away, and there will be a new heaven and a new earth. The righteous will be given glorified bodies that will not be subject to decay, a body similar to that of the risen Jesus. For as it is written, "...when he [Jesus] shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is" (1 John 3:2).

God is love, and there is no unrighteousness in Him, so if we end up in a bad place, it will not be the Lord's fault, for the Lord cannot be wrong. Instead, it is due to sinful choices and an unrepentant lifestyle which will lead to one's downfall. It will be nobody's fault but our own if we are condemned to everlasting torment on the last day. Death will come to us all, but by patiently enduring all the trials of life through faith in Christ and by keeping the Lord's commandments, this in turn will attract the grace of God and keep us from falling by the wayside. God has given us free will to either resist temptation or fall into sin. The choice is ours, and what we reap is what we sow. For on the day of judgment, no lawyer on earth will be able to deliver us from the judge of judges. But the Orthodox Church has provided the remedy for man's sin problem through the sacraments, which have been handed down from the Fathers, who were given grace from the Apostles, who were personally ordained by Christ Himself. For through the gift of the Holy Spirit, no genuine believer can ever walk alone. In addition to the grace of God within us, we also have a cloud of witnesses in heaven who pray without ceasing for the salvation of the world. Therefore, let us begin to follow Christ so that we may be included in the sheepfold of the good shepherd. For the Lord comes quickly, even so, come, Lord Jesus.

References: 

Mitilinaios, A. Revelation: The Seven Seals, Vol. II. (Dunlap, CA: Zoe Press, 2014).

Zondervan. The Holy Bible, King James Version. (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2009).