APPLE OR APRICOT?

Over the years, we have heard it taught that an Apple or an Apricot was responsible for the fall of mankind. We were told of how Adam went out (probably to work), then the snake came to Eve and gave her the Apple which she ate and then kept some for Adam, which he ate when he returned. But then, is that what the Bible teaches us regarding the fall of man?

To properly begin, we must ask certain questions such as:

• Why would blood be required for the remission of sins (Hebrews 9:22 Hebrews 9:22 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission. )
• Why must it be the blood of God (if we agree from the previous chapter that Jesus is God) for the remission of sins ( Matthew 26:28 Matthew 26:28 For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. )
• Why did Adam and Eve sew fig leaves to cover their nakedness ( Genesis 3:7 Genesis 3:7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. ) instead of their mouths?
• Why did God curse the female sexual organ and greatly multiply the Woman’s conception ( Genesis 3:10 Genesis 3:10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. )
• Why are we sinners (even from birth) and why must we be born again ( John3:3 John3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. )
• Why was “The Woman” called “Mother of all Living” by Adam (Genesis 3:20 Genesis 3:20 And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living. ) yet Adam wasn’t addressed as “Father of all Living”.
• Why was Enoch called the seventh from Adam ( Jude:14 Jude:14 And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, )
• Was Adam that wicked one (1 John 3:12 1 John 3:12 Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous. )?
• Before the fall, if the serpent was a snake as we know snake to be today, what is the need for him to be yet cursed into a snake ( Genesis 3: 14-15 Genesis 3: 14-15 14 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. )
• What fruit is it that can open your eyes ( Genesis 3:7 Genesis 3:7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. )

To answer all these, we must understand certain bible terminologies which include  Tree, Garden, Midst, Eat, Fruit .

The Trees And The Commandment

8 And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.
9 And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

—Genesis 2:8-9; 16-17

If every tree was made good for food, why would God command Adam not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? This is a pointer therefore that the tree of knowledge of good and evil, as well as the tree of life, were not literal (natural) trees. As a matter of fact, they did not grow out of the ground ( Genesis 2:9b Genesis 2:9b the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. ).

Tree

The word “tree” in the bible is used to symbolize different things, amongst the list of things it symbolizes are few prominent ones

• Nation ( Luke 21:29 Luke 21:29 And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree, and all the trees; )
• Man ( Psalms 1:3 Psalms 1:3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. ; Mark 8:24 Mark 8:24 And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking. )
• King ( Daniel 4: 10,12 Daniel 4: 10,12 10 Thus were the visions of mine head in my bed; I saw, and behold a tree in the midst of the earth, and the height thereof was great.
  12 The leaves thereof were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all: the beasts of the field had shadow under it, and the fowls of the heaven dwelt in the boughs thereof, and all flesh was fed of it. )
• Wisdom ( Proverbs 3:18 Proverbs 3:18 She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her. )

Clearly, in Genesis 2:9 Genesis 2:9 And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. , there were two groups of trees, the ones that grew out of the ground (natural trees) and the ones in the midst of the garden. Therefore, not all trees in scriptures refers to mango, pawpaw etc.

Garden

The word “garden” in the bible also symbolizes different things.

• Soul ( Jeremiah 31:12 Jeremiah 31:12 Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness of the Lord, for wheat, and for wine, and for oil, and for the young of the flock and of the herd: and their soul shall be as a watered garden; and they shall not sorrow any more at all. )
• Shrine or Place of sacrifice ( Isaiah 65:3 Isaiah 65:3 A people that provoketh me to anger continually to my face; that sacrificeth in gardens, and burneth incense upon altars of brick; )
• The Human Body; Man or Woman ( Songs of Solomon 4:12 Songs of Solomon 4:12 A garden inclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed. ; Songs of Solomon 5:1 Songs of Solomon 5:1 I am come into my garden, my sister, my spouse: I have gathered my myrrh with my spice; I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk: eat, O friends; drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved. ; Songs of Solomon 6:2 Songs of Solomon 6:2 My beloved is gone down into his garden, to the beds of spices, to feed in the gardens, and to gather lilies. )
• Tabernacle ( Lamentations 2:6 Lamentations 2:6 And he hath violently taken away his tabernacle, as if it were of a garden: he hath destroyed his places of the assembly: the Lord hath caused the solemn feasts and sabbaths to be forgotten in Zion, and hath despised in the indignation of his anger the king and the priest. ).

The basic meaning of “garden” is  any place where a seed can be sown or planted . The Garden of Eden is indeed literal, but the garden mentioned in Genesis 2:9b Genesis 2:9b the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. is not.

Midst Of The Garden

The word “midst” refers to the (bisection) of the garden, pointing to a specific location in the garden.  The two trees in the midst of the garden are two laws which pertain to the midst of the human body (organ of reproduction). These two laws governed reproduction and were operational in their BODY.   The tree of life was the coming together at God’s time, solely for bringing forth children and not for pleasure while the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was the coming together under pleasure. God permitted pleasure after the fall. The tree of life is the law of life that brings life while the tree of knowledge of good and evil is the law of perverted knowledge which brings death ( Romans 8:1-2 Romans 8:1-2 1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. ). Remember, God, spoke in Genesis 1:11-12 Genesis 1:11-12 11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.
12 And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good. that every living thing was to bring forth after his kind (the law of reproduction).

Eat

The word “eat” in the Bible is beyond consuming food with the mouth. “To eat” means “to partake”. Even today, when an unconverted boy lays a girl, he comes out and says “I don chop am” (vernacular: “for I have eaten her“). 

Such is the way of an adulterous woman; she eateth, and wipeth her mouth, and saith, I have done no wickedness.

—Proverb 30:20

Other places where the word “eat” is used not in a literal sense are

• Psalms 127:2 Psalms 127:2 It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep. which speaks of working hard or sorrowing, stressing yourself to get a living
• Proverbs 1: 31 Proverbs 1: 31 Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices. which speaks of people bearing the consequences of their own way
• Jeremiah 15: 16 Jeremiah 15: 16 Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O Lord God of hosts. which speaks of studying thoroughly, receiving and understanding the word of God

Also, read Hosea 10: 13 Hosea 10: 13 Ye have plowed wickedness, ye have reaped iniquity; ye have eaten the fruit of lies: because thou didst trust in thy way, in the multitude of thy mighty men. and John 6: 56 John 6: 56 He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. .

Fruit

This does not always refer to mango, banana, palm fruit, etc. According to Scriptures, the word “fruit” can be used literally or symbolically.

• Fruit of the ground ( Deuteronomy 28:4 Deuteronomy 28:4 Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. )
• Fruit of the body ( Deuteronomy 28:4 Deuteronomy 28:4 Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. )
• Fruit of the womb ( Psalms 127:3 Psalms 127:3 Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord : and the fruit of the womb is his reward. ; Luke 1:42 Luke 1:42 And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. )
• Fruit of mouth ( Proverbs 18:20 Proverbs 18:20 A man's belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth; and with the increase of his lips shall he be filled. ; Proverbs 13:2 Proverbs 13:2 A man shall eat good by the fruit of his mouth: but the soul of the transgressors shall eat violence.)

Since the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was not literal, the fruit could not have been literal.

Who Was The Serpent?

1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

Genesis 3:1-5

To understand who or what the serpent was, we must look at his characteristics. Was he a snake before the fall as people have assumed? Why did it start crawling after the curse, after he facilitated the fall? ( Genesis 3:14 Genesis 3:14 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: ).

The Hebrew word translated “serpent” is “nachash” which means “To observe attentively, to divine (divinity) or use enchantment (spell)”. In one place, it means filthiness or fornication ( Ezekiel 16:30 Ezekiel 16:30 How weak is thine heart, saith the Lord God , seeing thou doest all these things, the work of an imperious whorish woman; )

The word “subtle” means wise, cunning, prudent.

We can see that the serpent possesses the following characteristics

• He was the head of all animals for wisdom and understanding ( Genesis 3:1 Genesis 3:1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? )
• He was upright or walked erect ( Genesis 3:14 Genesis 3:14 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: )
• He had the power of speech ( Genesis 3:1 Genesis 3:1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? )
• He had the power of reasoning ( Genesis 3:4-5 Genesis 3:4-5 4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
  5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. )

From the above, the serpent was clearly not a snake, and if he existed this day, he’d be able to talk. Scripture is also clear that he had this power of speech not because the devil possessed him, as it was the serpent that beguiled the woman and not Satan ( Genesis 3:13-14 Genesis 3:13-14 13 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:
14 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. ). Apostle Paul used the same word when addressing the Corinthians Church ( 2 Corinthians 11:3 2 Corinthians 11:3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. ). If the devil possessed the serpent and he started talking that fateful day, then he would have lost his plot because Eve would be startled and immediately look for Adam to tell him that the animals have started talking.

The serpent looked very much like Adam, he was created to be the servant of Adam ( Genesis 2:5 Genesis 2:5 And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground. ; Genesis 3:17-19 Genesis 3:17-19 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. ); Adam, before the fall was not tilling the ground because he was lord of the Earth. The serpent, however, was not created in the image and likeness of God and had no spiritual soul. Consider this, what happens when a male in the primate family e.g. chimpanzee sees a mature female woman? Even Hollywood made a movie portraying a gorilla who likes a female human. Yet so-called Christians, can’t see the subtle message being passed.

Putting The Pieces

The woman was given to Adam to reproduce himself. They were to come together at the appointed time and season of life ( Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
2 A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
3 A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
5 A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
6 A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
7 A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
8 A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace. ) to eat (partake) of the fruit of the tree of life which was in the midst of the garden in order to bring forth children of God with eternal life. We must understand that it wasn’t the day the serpent first came that the woman fell, it must have spanned a period and the more he came around and conversed with the woman, the more he had her spellbound for that fateful day. Did not Apostle James tell us the process of sin, when lust has conceived, it brings forth sin ( James 1:14-15 James 1:14-15 14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. ). If that is the strategy that was used on the Woman, then don’t expect a different strategy from the devil in your hour of temptation. Just look at the characteristics of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

—Genesis 3:6

This touches the lust Apostle Peter spoke of in 2 Peter 1:4 2 Peter 1:4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.   and that which Apostle John spoke of namely the lust of the flesh (good for food), the lust of the eyes (pleasant to the eyes) and the pride of life (desired to make one wise) ( 1 John 3:16 1 John 3:16 Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. )

Instead of eating of the tree of life in the midst of the garden at the appointed time, the Woman ate with the Serpent and her wisdom about Sex was explored and exposed; then by that wisdom, she persuaded and pushed her husband till he also ate with her.

One might say, but the Bible says, the Woman ate, then she gave her husband with her and he ate too. They try to emphasize that Adam was with her all through the period of the temptation, but we must let the Bible speak for itself.

And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.

—1 Timothy 2:14

Apostle Paul clearly tells us that Adam was not in the transgression, he wasn’t deceived. Adam couldn’t be deceived. If he was there present, the serpent could not have tried anything. Adam knowing fully what had happened between the serpent and the woman, came in to intercede (redeem) his wife. He had to identify with her in her sin and join himself to Eve. Remember, he hearkened unto the voice of his wife ( Genesis 3:17 Genesis 3:17 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; ). Before Adam could know his wife, the serpent already knew her and she was found with child. This was exactly what God did when he wanted to bring in Jesus into the world, a virgin was also found with a child. The woman (Eve) committed spiritual fornication first before the actual physical act. She omitted a portion of God’s word, added to God’s word and changed a portion of what God had said ( Genesis 3:2-3 Genesis 3:2-3 2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. ; Genesis 2:16-17 Genesis 2:16-17 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. ) which resulted in the physical act. She didn’t even know she was being deceived, she was lusting for knowledge by what the serpent had made her understand and she ended up fornicating with the serpent. Adam returned and he quickly understood from the woman’s behavior what had transpired, he quickly identified with her in her sin. Is this not true of our Adam, the last Adam, who identified with us in our sins and died for us. The just dying for the unjust ( 1 Peter 3:18 1 Peter 3:18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: ). Indeed it was by the first Adam disobedience ( Romans 5:19 Romans 5:19 For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. ) in that he identified with his bride to redeem her that sin reigns to every one born of the natural birth. Christ also, while we were yet sinners, died for us ( Romans 5:6, 8 Romans 5:6, 8 6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. ). This was how Adam and Eve ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Covering

And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

—Genesis 3:7

Why didn’t they cover their mouth but the reproductive organs which are the guilty part? If indeed there is any fruit that can open one’s eye to realize they are naked, I’d gladly cultivate it so that it will be given to the indecent men and women in the streets, beaches and swimming pools. Consider this, there is something about sex, that makes a young person feels as he has arrived.

The Woman’s Curse

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.

—Genesis 3:16

The first part of the punishment clearly reveals that the guilty member of the body was the sexual organ and God being a just God mete out righteous judgment. Once again if they ate a literal fruit, why didn’t God just curse their mouths? Originally, women were not supposed to ovulate twelve times a year. This was a result of the fall. The second part is a pointer to the fact that the woman’s desire was not 100 percent to her husband or that it was elsewhere with the serpent. Some may ask, why was Adam’s reproductive organ not cursed? Well, he knowingly, joined Eve in her sin.

Eve—Mother Of All Living

And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.

—Genesis 3:20

This is a powerful statement, yet many overlook it. After the punishments and everything, Adam being a prophet, knowing what had happened, quickly named his wife Eve, meaning mother of all living. Why didn’t he name her the day God brought her to him? Wasn’t he the one that named all the animals? Why wasn’t Adam called the father of all living?

Genealogies

And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,

—Jude 1:14

Read up the genealogies of Adam (Genesis 5) and that of Cain (Genesis 4). Why did they have separate genealogies? Also, if Enoch is the seventh from Adam, that means Cain is not a son of Adam. Genesis 5:3 Genesis 5:3 And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth: tells us that Adam had a son in his own image and likeness and called his name Seth. Cain was a product of fornication between the serpent and the woman.