eschatology, The Fall (Gen.3)

Mankind was given a free will with a choice to make.  Who knows if this was the first moment of temptation, but this was the moment Adam and Eve chose to give in to temptation...

(Genesis 3:1-7)  Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” 2 The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; 3 but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’” 4 The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die! 5 For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings.

God knows everything, so when He asked Adam and Eve the following questions, He already knew the answers!  Now that sin had been committed - which changed the place of perfection - God knew that part of the redemption process would have to be confession of sins...

(Genesis 3:8-13)  They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 Then the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 He said, “I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.” 11 And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” 12 The man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate.” 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” And the woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

Ah!  And so - the blame game begins!  Anyway, now that sin had been committed - which changed the place of perfection - there were going to be consequences...

(Genesis 3:14-19)  The Lord God said to the serpent,

“Because you have done this,
Cursed are you more than all cattle,
And more than every beast of the field;
On your belly you will go,
And dust you will eat
All the days of your life;
15 And I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her seed;
He shall bruise you on the head,
And you shall bruise him on the heel.”
16 To the woman He said,
“I will greatly multiply
Your pain in childbirth,
In pain you will bring forth children;
Yet your desire will be for your husband,
And he will rule over you.”

17 Then to Adam He said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat from it’;

Cursed is the ground because of you;
In toil you will eat of it
All the days of your life.
18 “Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you;
And you will eat the plants of the field;
19 By the sweat of your face
You will eat bread,
Till you return to the ground,
Because from it you were taken;
For you are dust,
And to dust you shall return.”

Now that sin had been committed - which changed the place of perfection - there was death.  There would be the physical suffering and death, but far worse was the spiritual death (our separation from God), because now all mankind would be born into sin.  God is holy, and there cannot have a relationship with sin.  But because God loves us so much, God wants us to be born again (reborn) into perfection - into holiness - and this can only be possible through Him.  Because there had to be death (blood shed), God knew that part of the redemption process would have to be - His death on the cross on our behalf to pay the price.  Where there is sin - there has to be death!  I'll copy-paste that bit of scripture again where this is prophesied (where God is speaking to the serpent/Satan)...

And I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her seed;
He shall bruise you on the head,
And you shall bruise him on the heel.”

It is critical to eschatology to understand that "her seed" will eventually lead to Jesus coming to earth to die on the cross (a bruise to the heel), but Jesus has the victory over death (a bruise to Satan's head).  In the years leading up to Jesus' work on the cross, God established the sacrificial system for the Israelites to practice - which was a constant reminder that where there is sin - there has to be death!  And even right here in this chapter, we see the first death of an animal.  Adam and Eve only tried to cover up their nakedness (their sin) with leaves.  After their talk with God, God gave them clothes made of leather...

(Genesis 3:20-24)  Now the man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all the living. 21 The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them.  22 Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might stretch out his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”— 23 therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to cultivate the ground from which he was taken. 24 So He drove the man out; and at the east of the garden of Eden He stationed the cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every direction to guard the way to the tree of life.

Today's take-away:  God saves, provides and protects!  And, we can never say that He doesn't give us choices.  He has given us ample choices and chances and time to make tons of mistakes by doing it Satan's way, the world's way, our way... and then there's the ultimate choice - doing things God's way.  wow!  Doing it God's way always works best!