Lucifer: In the Beginning
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mannyD on
3/7/2011 1:11:00 PM
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The sun was awake and burned brightly. The birds sung in sync up ahead. The breeze swayed the leaves in the trees with ease and warmth. The animals roamed freely, together. The rivers flowed soundly throughout the garden. The fruit hung healthily, without a bruise or blemish. Man breathed his first breath.
Adam awoke from his sleep. Or had he been sleeping? He couldn’t remember when he had been awake before this. He contemplated as he sat in an upright position. His thoughts didn’t last long. He was in awe of all that he saw around him. Wide eyed, smile from cheek to cheek, he took in what his eyes beheld. Then he looked down…and behold! the most beautiful of all that he saw, his body was different than the rest that he saw.
He flexed his arms, opened and closed his fingers, wiggled his toes, blinked multiple times at a rapid speed, jumped, ran, jumped again as he used his fingers to pull a fruit from off the tree nearest him. He ate, and oh the sensation of food sliding down his throat and into his stomach. The juice from the tasty fruit tingled in his mouth, awakening the taste buds on his tongue. He threw the remaining part of the fruit that he didn’t desire to eat to a nearby beast with sharp teeth and a lot of hair around its face. It devoured the fruit, and looked happy as Adam petted it and named it “lion,” then ran off once more.
He came upon a river, the clear water bouncing his reflection back at him. He was astonished to see that he had looked so handsome. Bending lower and cupping his hands together, he scooped up some water and drank of it. Very refreshing, it was.
He stood up straight, looked around, and echoed the same words his Father had said at the beginning of time, “It is good.”
***
“It is terrible!” Lucifer yelled. “Paradise….” He hissed. “There’s no flaw with that place at all.”
“Sorry sir, but I couldn’t help but overhear that there was a problem,” said one demon.
“Problem? Ha! Yeah right. I have everything I want. I have power. I have authority. I have dominion over my own kingdom. What could be better?”
“Sir, you heard the Man. Need I remind you that He said this time of ruling and experiencing the pleasures of evil will not last forever”
“Don’t remind me!” yelled Lucifer at his puny minion.
“Well, if you’re not happy, why don’t you find a way to bring that man here with you?”
“Adam? He’s the son of God, made from His own flesh. There’s no flaw with him, just as there is no flaw with his Father.”
“True, but there was no flaw with you, and now look. We were banished from his perfect dwelling…you and all of us thousands who followed you.”
Lucifer paced to and fro. “If he gave us free will, chances are he gave Adam free will. Just look at the way he runs from one place to another, plucking apples from trees and drinking of clear, clean water. God cannot be controlling him. He’s given Adam free will.”
The demon began to say something, but Lucifer quickly cut him off. “I got it! I’ll intoxicate the river with a clear, deadly substance. Once Adam drinks water from the river again, he will die.”
“Two problems with that, sir,” said the demon.
“Yes, yes, I know. God will not let me in, and man is eternal, just like his Father.”
“You know, I bet you could find a way to get into the garden.”
“What is this nonsense you speak of? No darkness is to enter into that garden.”
“Well, ask the Maker.”
“The Maker?” Lucifer hissed. “I’d rather not. I’m not speaking with Him.”
“Sir, put aside your pride and ask. Adam must be tempted.”
“Adam’s perfect! There’s no way he’d succumb to any of my tactics.”
“You doubt yourself, mighty Lucifer.”
Lucifer tapped the demon on the shoulder. “Look, look! What is happening in the garden?”
***
Adam was asleep, in a deep sleep, and God performed surgery on his body. He opened up his side and took out a rib. He rolled the rib in a ball of dirt, patted more dirt on top of that and yet more dirt, rolled it around in his hands for a while, and then, opening his hands a bit, blew into it.
He opened his hands and gently placed the human being he had formed on the ground near Adam. He looked down upon them and smiled. He then snapped his fingers, and they awoke.
Adam looked around, and wow! Another one of him! But this one was different. The curves on the body, the length of the hair, and the way the body seemed to be an add-on to his, rather than a reflection, as if together they made one piece of a whole. He hadn’t seen it before, but this is what he had been desiring – completion.
***
Lucifer was frustrated. “The joy on their faces! How ugly!”
“He made another one,” the demon said.
“Was six days not enough for God?” said Lucifer. “Obviously His ‘good creation’ isn’t good enough if He’s got to go back and add to it.”
“But what else does a creator do but create?”
“He should have thought about that before.”
“Hell was not a part of His original creation, but it’s here now. He makes accommodations.”
Lucifer thought for a while. He contemplated how he would pose his request to God to get into the garden. He was not happy that Adam lived in perfection. “You’re right, demon. Adam must be tempted.”
“His new friend, called
***
“…‘woman,’ – bone from my bone, and flesh from my flesh – taken from ‘man,’” Adam told her. “I love you.”
Eve gave him a jubilant hug. “I love you, Adam.”
He took her by the hand and walked with her all throughout the garden, showing her all the amazing animals, and asking her opinion of what he should name the remaining ones that haven’t been named yet. “What should I name this one?”
This animal was swinging high in the tree from branch to branch. It was hairy, except on its face and hands, and it had a tail.
“What about lion?” she suggested.
“Taken.”
“Elephant,” she attempted.
“That animal over there,” Adam said as he pointed to the elephant drinking water from the river through its trunk. Adam pondered some more in the silence that followed. “What about monkey? It’s seems to fit.”
“Yes! I love it. Monkey. Amazing.”
***
woman must be tempted as well,” said the demon.
Lucifer became wide eyed as he came upon an idea. “Demon, did you notice how Adam said that he loved the woman?”
“Yes sir.”
“If I can get her to listen to me and sin, then Adam will follow suit, because he loves her and will not let her die alone.”
“Yes, God did mention to Adam and the woman that they must not touch nor eat the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden. Once they do, sin shall enter the world at once. It’ll become a part of who they are, closer than second nature. It will influence all that they do and think, and soon they’ll die.”
“Exactly. And if I can talk Eve into eating of the tree, Adam will surely eat of the tree, and then they’ll both be here with all of us! But first I have to devise a plan to get into the garden.”
***
Lucifer walked up to the angle guarding the room which held the throne of God.
“You again,” said the angel. “Why are you here?”
“Relax and soften the grip on that sword of yours. I’m not here for trouble. I must…” Lucifer gulped. He didn’t want to admit what he had to say next. “I must speak with God.”
“Mercy is what you’re after?” said the angel.
“Ha! So that I could come back and be one of you again? Yeah right. If you must know, I’m enjoying my new home. You should come check it out. Just think. Instead of worshipping ‘God Almighty,’ you can be your own God. No one likes to take orders.”
“If you’re here to enroll me in your clique of rebellious fallen angels, I’m not buying. I love my LORD, and my allegiance is to Him only.”
“Okay,” said Lucifer. “I will bother you no longer about such matters, but on to more important matters. I must talk with God.”
“Wait here.”
The angel went into the throne room of God, closing the large, indestructible doors behind him. He came out, looked at Lucifer, who was looking surprisingly patient, and motioned for him to enter.
“Speak,” said the angel at Lucifer’s side.
“Oh God Almighty, Maker of all that is good, honorable, and worthy of praise, I bring to you an offer. This offer includes me entering into the Garden of Eden. The purpose being is to test your beloved humans to see if they truly desire to worship you, and not themselves.”
“My humans are sinless,” said God. “They love me.”
“Yes, that I understand. But perhaps they are being controlled by that love. Perhaps when they are tested and told to do something you told them not to do, they’ll go against your word. I can do that for you. I can test them.”
God looked at Lucifer questioningly, and then said to him, “You are not to harm them, nor destroy anything in the garden.”
Lucifer nodded in agreement and then left the LORD’s presence.
***
Adam and the woman were playing with some baby tigers when the desire for food came upon the woman. She left Adam momentarily while she went to a fruit-bearing tree just about fifty yards away. The branches were low, so she didn’t need the help of Adam to pull the fruit off. As she neared the tree, a snake, standing on its hind legs, appeared from behind the tree and, in a whisper, hissed to the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?”
She was taken aback just a little from the sudden appearance of the snake, but even more perplexed by the words that it had spoken. She looked at it intriguingly and said, “You are not like the rest of the animals I’ve seen. You speak.”
“Yes, but keep that a secret between you and I. I don’t want the other animals to get jealous.”
The woman nodded in agreement. “And of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden.”
“Why is it that you are eating fruit from this tree if you are in search of food? Do you not know that there is better tasting fruit over at that part of the garden?” Lucifer said, dipping his snake head toward the middle of the garden.
“That’s headed toward the middle of the garden. It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’”
“You won’t die!” Lucifer replied to the woman. “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.”
“That’s not what He said,” said the woman.
“Of course not. Why would God want you to know that you could be like him? He wants to keep all the glory to himself. You will never be treated like you should. You, a human, are God’s greatest creation. He favors and loves you over all he’s created. Don’t you think you deserve to be praised and glorified as well?”
“I don’t think my Father will be very pleased if I took from Him what is rightfully and totally His.”
“Of the vastness of God’s creation, He won’t be slightly bothered or less of a great God if you were to be worshipped as a minor god. You’ll have a piece of creation devoted to your glory.”
At first, the woman seemed uncertain, looked back at her husband who was rolling on the grass with three baby tigers and laughing, then said to Lucifer, “Let me invite my husband.”
“Hey now, don’t do that. It’s not a far walk. He’ll be in yelling distance. You can bring him a fruit or two.”
The woman was convinced. She followed the serpent to the Tree of Knowledge. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. Adam saw her near the tree in the middle of the garden from a ways away, got up from the grass, and walked toward her.
The woman took some of the fruit.
***
Looking on, the demon was well pleased by his master’s antics. “Hey look, fellow demons,” he said to the others. “Our leader is about to get the woman to eat of the tree in the middle of the garden, and her husband is heading over to her, bound to do the same.”
“Isn’t that the tree that’ll kill them?” said another demon.
“Yes, it is!”
“Our master is clever!” exclaimed a third demon.
The demons chanted in unison, “KILL HUMANITY!”
***
God looked on to what was transpiring in the garden. The angel guarding the door came in and said to Him, “LORD, will you not do something? Intercede for humanity!”
God replied, “I have given humanity free will. I will not control them. That is my decision.”
“What then, LORD? Will you leave them to die? They are your blessed children. Do not let Lucifer steal them from you.”
“They will choose to either love me or love this world. I love them more than anything, and because of that, I am giving them the freedom to choose.”
“Who will save them from Hell? They won’t live forever if they make this mistake.”
“Since the beginning of time, I’ve had a plan for this.”
The angel did not understand this statement, but his Son seemed to understand quite fully.
***
As soon as Adam reached her, she bit into it and swallowed.
“We were commanded not to eat of this tree,” said Adam, with a look of bewilderment.
“Oh love, it is delicious! Try some.” She then gave some to her husband, and he ate it, too. At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness.
Lucifer wore a crooked smile. “Everything is very good,” he hissed.
God found Adam and the woman. “Have you two eaten of the tree I commanded you not to eat of?”
Adam was quick to answer. “It was the woman’s fault!” He pointed at her, dropping the apple in his hand. “She handed me the apple from the forbidden tree after she had eaten of it first.”
“It was the serpent!” she retorted. “It deceived me.”
At once, God placed a curse on all three for all the ages to come. He banished the man and woman from the Garden of Eden so that they wouldn’t eat from the tree of life and live forever in their sin state. Then, He stationed a mighty angel in the garden to keep intruders out, and also placed a flaming sword that flashed back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.
***
“Boys,” Lucifer said to his minions in Hell, “I did it! Your clever master has spoiled ‘God Almighty’s’ wonderful plan.” A wave of applause resounded among the dwellers of the underworld.
Suddenly, Lucifer, looking troubled, turned from the crowd of cheering demons. A demon, seeing this, approached Lucifer. “Sir, what’s wrong?”
Lucifer shook his head. “It was too easy.” He was looking to the ground. “Something doesn’t seem right.” He looked up at the demon, stared into his eyes for a moment, and then said, “Tell the rest we’ve got a war ahead.” Lucifer, to the demons surprise, looked frightened. “We haven’t won anything yet.”
***
God looked over at his Son and said, “For now, the Spirit will be in action on earth, but get ready, my beloved, for the time is soon coming when I will send you into the world to be the ransom for many.” They looked upon creation, and God said, “My word will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.”
And so it was.
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This is an excellent story! It is an adaptation of, yet it stays true to, the Scriptures.
Could I share this story with others?
Have you ever thought about writing a sequel? An excellent one would be about the life, ministry, and death of our Lord Jesus.
J316
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5/28/2011 11:27:34 PM
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J316, Member of Delve into Jesus since 1/19/2010
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A very good piece for the modern reader, lots easier to understand than Milton's prose. I enjoyed it!
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5/3/2012 8:28:27 PM
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anonymous
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