Who was the snake in the garden with Adam and Eve?

That is an awesome question!!! Although the Book of Genesis never actually refers to the snake, or serpent, as Satan, we can determine who this serpent was (or rather who was controlling and speaking through this serpent) from other passages of the Bible.

In Ezekiel 28:13, it indicates that Satan was in the Garden of Eden. The only other people that were in the garden were God, Adam and Eve. The snake spoke to Eve and we know that no other animals spoke to Adam or Eve. So, someone was speaking through the snake. And since the Bible shows that there were only four people in the garden, it stands to reason that Satan had possessed the snake.

Next, we can see from Revelation 12:9, 12:15 and 20:2 that the serpent is called “the devil and Satan” not once, but three times! When we combine those passages with what the Apostle Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 11:3, the identification of the serpent in the Garden of Eden with Satan is unmistakable.

Also, in Genesis 3:14-15 we see God cursing the snake. And in that passage it says that God will put “enmity” (which is hatred and warfare) between the seeds (future generations) of the snake and the woman. This makes no sense if the snake were simply a physical animal.

Finally, although the snake wasn’t actually the devil, the devil was working through the snake and had assumed the snake’s identity. Remember, this is very close to the time of creation or the beginning of time. And it says in 1 John 3:8, “He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.” Here it shows that Satan was around near the beginning of time, which further supports that he was in the Garden of Eden.

Additional Scripture Citations:

“You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone adorned you: ruby, topaz and emerald … Your settings and mountings were made of gold; on the day you were created they were prepared.” Ezekiel 28:13

“The great dragon was hurled down – that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.” Revelation 12:9

“Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river, to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent.” Revelation 12:15

“He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.” Revelation 20:2

“But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 11:3

What fruit did Adam and Eve eat in the garden?

The Bible does not specifically say what kind of fruit it was other than it was from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Some have speculated it was an apple because the Latin word for apple is malus, which is similar to the word for evil. Yet others believe it was a fig because, they argue, apples don’t grow in that part of the world. We truly don’t know what kind of fruit it was. People have come to accept it as an apple because, in the English language, the word “apple” is etymologically (or the source word, root word) a generic term including all fruits, berries and nuts.

Why is Jesus waiting to come back?

Wow! That is a great question! The truth is because of His great mercy. Jesus is giving us all a chance to be rescued from our sin and to come to Him before He returns.

You see, when sin came into this world through the act of disobedience by Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden when they ate the forbidden fruit, it opened up the door for Satan to enter and create all sorts of chaos and to try and disrupt God’s unstoppable plan. Satan has tried so hard, and for a long time, to get us all to turn away from God by tempting us with all sorts of bad things! And, because God gave us all free will, we’ve made a mess of this world. The world is full of bad people, terrible situations and evil temptations.

The good news is that, in order for us to have eternal life with Jesus, we have to admit our sins, believe that Jesus is who He says He is and then choose to follow Him. We have to turn from all those bad things and bad people and accept Jesus’ gift of grace. If we don’t, we’re not going to enjoy the salvation that Jesus gives us and the eternal life He promises.

But, make no mistake. Jesus will someday come back and He will defeat Satan once and for all. But, He loves us and wants to give us every opportunity to come to repentance and to choose Him as our Savior before He does return. That’s why He is waiting.

When did unwholesome words come into the world? If Adam and Eve were Christians why did they come up with those words?

Awesome questions! Wow, you really like to stretch my brain, don’t you??? Well, the answer is that unwholesome words entered into this world when sin entered the world. Remember, “unwholesome words” just aren’t swear words. It’s anytime you say something that can be hurtful to others or that hurts the heart of God, such as taking His name in vain.

Look at what Ephesians 4:29 has to say about unwholesome words: “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” As Christians, we are supposed to speak in a way that helps people according to their needs not make them feel worse.

Let me try and give you a real life example. Let’s say you’re really good at a video game and a friend comes over and wants to play it. Let’s say that friend is absolutely terrible at the video game and keeps losing. The unwholesome way to speak to that friend would be to say, “Give me that controller! You stink!!! I’ve never seen someone play this game as badly as you just did!” That does nothing to build up your friend. You didn’t curse at him but you said he stunk. The Christ Follower would say, “It’s okay … it’s a hard game to play but I know, with practice, you’ll get better.”

Now, regarding the second part of your question, I don’t know what kind of words Adam and Even came up with but, if they did come up with bad words, it’s because of the sin that entered the world. I’m fairly certain they did not invent many of the curse words we hear so often today but because of their sin, that has been passed on throughout the ages we, human beings, have invented inappropriate and unwholesome words to say.

Remember what happened immediately after Adam and Eve bit into the apple? Their eyes were opened and they realized they were naked. (Genesis 3:7) Right then and there, sin entered into the world. Adam and Eve even hid from God because of what they had done. I can only imagine what they were saying to each other too; it was probably the first time unwholesome words were spoken in the Garden of Eden. I’m not saying Adam all of a sudden started cussing but I bet he looked right at Eve and said something like, “Boy, that sure was dumb … thanks a lot!” Again, not using cuss words but certainly not using words to build her up. Of course, we don’t know what was said but we do know that from that point, sin was in the world and it is that original sin that perpetuates unwholesome words today.

Why do people do evil things?

Quite simply, it’s because of sin. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God and took a bite of that apple, it let sin and evil into this world. But, I need to be clear on this too … God gave us all free will to either choose sin or to choose righteousness. Some people are just truly evil for whatever reasons. They’ve turned their backs on God and decided to live lives that we can’t even understand. We look at truly bad people and say, “Wow, I’m glad I’m not him!” The sad part is we all sin to some degree. Even though we don’t mean to be evil, we sometimes do things that hurt the heart of God. For example, lying to your parents or friends, being angry at someone and hoping something bad will happen to them, cheating on a test, or maybe stealing some candy when no one is looking. The Bible tells us specifically:

“There is no one righteous; not even one.” (Romans 3:10)

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23)

It seems hopeless, doesn’t it? But, guess what? Here’s the Good News: Jesus Christ came to this earth and died on the cross for our sins. Our belief in that death and resurrection and the gift of grace that Jesus gives us through faith is what saves us from eternal punishment! Now, you have to ask yourself, do I really believe that? I am here to tell you without hesitation or shame that, yes, I believe that.

The reason that belief is so important is because if you don’t believe it or you question your faith, then that’s when fear creeps in. You begin to question things, especially when bad things happen! I have had many kids ask me, “How could God kill all those people in Haiti during that earthquake?” or, “Why does God let little children die?” Because we can’t make sense of it, we begin to falter in our faith, not trusting that God has a reason for it.

And when we doubt God, we allow fear to override our faith. I truly believe that it’s Satan trying to deceive us and to discourage us from trusting God completely. Satan knows that if he can create doubt in your mind, that’s when the fear can creep in. Satan is a master liar. He will do everything he can to make you doubt God’s abilities or love for you; he will even twist God’s word! Remember what he said to Eve in the Garden of Eden? Satan came as a serpent and convinced Eve to take a bite of the apple by saying to her, “Did God really say not to eat from any tree in the garden?” (Genesis 3:1) Then that darn serpent said, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good from evil.” (Genesis 3:4-5)

He tricked Eve and sin came into the world. Once sin entered the world, it allowed doubt to also enter our minds. When we doubt God’s abilities or love for us, we get scared. It’s not because we don’t believe in God, it’s because Satan makes us doubt that God is who He says He is and that God couldn’t possibly do all those things.

But, remember this…it’s all about faith. Know in your heart that God is who He says He is. Know that God is good all the time and that He cannot sin. Know that God loves you and that He has plans for you…plans to prosper you and not to harm you; plans to give you a hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11)

How come Adam and Eve didn’t stand up to God?

That is an awesome question! Here’s the deal on that situation. It’s precisely because they knew who God was that they didn’t stand up to Him. Think about it…would you stand up to your own father? Probably not, right?

Well, Adam and Eve both knew exactly who God was and, even more importantly, they knew they had made a mistake. I guess it’s easy to stand up to someone if you know you’re right but, if you know you’re wrong that changes things doesn’t it?

Remember, God created the whole world and everything in it, including Adam and Eve. They knew of His power. God also provided everything they needed to survive too. In fact, God gave Adam the first job in the history of the world…do you know what it is? Take a look at Genesis 2:15, which reads, “The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.”

So, let’s review here: God created the Earth, God created Adam and Eve, and God gave Adam a job. They knew of His power, knowledge and abilities.

Then, God had a list of rules. Do you want to know how many rules were on that list? Just one! The only rule God gave was to not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Remember, up until this point there was no sin in the world so there really wasn’t a need for rules. BUT, once Adam and Eve took a bite of that apple that came from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, sin entered the world.

Adam and Eve blew it. They made a terrible mistake by giving in to the temptation of the serpent and they knew it. Because of that, they were banished from the Garden of Eden. And, to make sure they didn’t come back in, God placed a cherubim (a winged celestial being) with a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.

Hmmm…God is able to call upon a winged being with a flaming sword? I wonder what Adam and Eve thought about that. Do you think they were wondering how many more of those guys God had in reserve!

And, finally, to add insult to injury, God cursed both Adam and Eve! He made it so that women from that day forward would have tremendous pain during childbirth. He also made it so that while women would desire their husbands, the men would rule over them. God then cursed Adam and made it so that Adam would have to work very hard and struggle to get things to grow from the ground because God cursed the ground!

Now, knowing how powerful God is and seeing all that God had created, knowing that He had the power to curse you for eternity and also seeing that he had access to “bodyguards” with flaming swords…would you stand up to God? Ummm…I’ll pass on that! And, that’s what Adam and Eve did; they accepted their punishment and lived the rest of their lives struggling, not just physically, but also with the sin that entered the world.

We “inherited” that sin from Adam and Eve. But, we’re lucky because we have Jesus, who took the sins of the entire world and of the generations to come on His own shoulders when He died for us on that cross. He redeemed us. Do you know what that means? Let me give you an example: When your mom or dad has a coupon and they take it to the store and “redeem” it, they get something back for that coupon. It may be a lower price for the item or it may be that you get another item free for buying one. In the case of Jesus, you get eternal life in Heaven because Christ redeemed you with His life. All you have to do is admit your sins and ask for forgiveness, believe that Jesus was who He said He was and that He died on the cross for your sins, and then confess Him as your Savior. It’s as easy as A-B-C…admit, believe and confess!