" How could evil have been able to appear in the universe which was created by God, the subject of the absolute goodness? Many Christians have questioned this issue for long.

Why did Adam and Eve, born as the children of God, fall?

Why did Satan seduce them?

Why did man fall for Satan's temptation?

This chapter studies the motivation and process of the fall and finds ways to regain the original state of creation.

Let us first see on what position angel were created through the Bible!

Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth." (Gen. 1:26)

Bless the LORD, O you his angels, you mighty ones who do his word, hearkening to the voice of his word! Bless the LORD, all his hosts, his masters that do his will! Bless the LORD, all his works, in all places of his dominion. Bless the LORD, O my soul! (Psa. 103:20-22).

Praise him, all his angels, praise him, all his host! Praise him, sun and moon, praise him, all you shinging stars! Praise him, you highest heavens, and you waters above the heavens! Let them praise the name of the LORD, For he commanded and they were created. (Psa. 148:2-5)

For in him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or authorities--all things were created through him and for him. (Col. 1:16)

Then what could have been the mission of angels?

Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to serve, for the sake of those who are to obtain salvation? (Heb. 1:14)

The LORD said, "I will surely return to you in the spring, and Sarah your wife shall have a son." And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him. (Gen. 18:10)

But as he considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. (Matt. 1:20)

Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands. (Rev. 5:11)

"I Jesus have sent my angel to you with this testimony for the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright morning star." (Rev. 22:16)

Bless the LORD, all his works, in all places of his dominion. Bless the LORD, O my soul! (Psa. 103:22)

Here we can see that angels were created to honor and praise God, and to convey God's words.

Then what could have been the relationship between angel and man?

The Original Relationship and the Relationship after the Fall

And God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth." (Gen. 1:28)

Do you not know that we are to judge angels?... (I Cor. 6:3)

As angels were created as servants, men were supposed to dominate and judge angels.

However, what would be the position of angels after the fall?

In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the likeness of God. (II Cor. 4:4)

Now is the judgment of this world, now shall the ruler of this world be cast out. (John 12:31)

Because of the fall, man was fallen to a position which was lower than that of angels. Consequently, the absurd situation arose in which man now looks up to angels.

Now, let us see the process of the fall through verses in Genesis chapter 3.

When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and Jacob's thigh was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. (Gen. 32:25)

The LORD said, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?" (Gen. 18:17)

And they called to Lot, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may know them. (Gen. 19:5).

We now understands that man has five spiritual senses and that there could be spiritual fall as well as physical fall.

What would be, then, the spiritual fall?

"How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low! (Isa. 14:12)

 

"For the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the market place; and to them he said, 'You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.' So they went. Going out again about the sixth and the ninth hour, he did the same. And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing; and he said to them, 'Why do you stand here idle all day?' They said to him, 'Because no one hsd hired us.' He said to them, 'You go into the vineyard too.' And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, 'Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.' And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; and each of them also received a denarius. And on receiving it they grumbled at the householder, saying. 'These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.' But he repliedto one of them, 'Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what belongs to you, and go; I choose to give this last as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?' So the last will be first, and the first last. (Matt. 20:1-16)

 

In fact, Lucifer received the same amount of God's love as he had before the creation of man. But when he saw God's love toward Adam and Eve, he felt the relative decrease of love. So he tried to tempt Eve to submit to him, in order that he might enjoy the same position in human society that he did in the angelic world. This was the motivation of the spiritual fall.

Next, what would be the physical fall?

For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." (Gen. 3:5)

Eve who had the spiritual fall with Satan had her eyes opened and she realized that her true spouse was Adam. Then she seduced Adam and they had an illicit sexual relationship.

Then how could Adam and Eve's having a love relationship become sin?

We can see that God did not create man in a perfected state. We can infer this from man's fall. In other words, God gave man the portion of responsibility through which man can become an autonomous being. We had earlier learned that man's portion of responsibility was meant to be fulfilled through a certain stage of growth. Adam and Eve's having relationship became sin as she had it with Adam not when she could fully control love, but when she was still in immature stage. Besides, there was a hidden motivation in her who wanted to inherit her mistake to Adam. Adam also failed to lead her into a right direction. Thus the relationship between them resulted in physical fall.

As was seen, men came to be under the domain of Satan due to the fall, and have since multiplied themselves as sinful being throughout history. In conclusion, man's fall signifies spiritual death in which man's relationship of give and take is cut off. Thus sin came from the fall and is against the original order of creation by doing give and take action with Satan. Then what should the fallen man do in order to recover the original state? We can see that we have to meet the Messiah who is coming as the substance of Word.

We have told that man, without being able to fulfill his responsibility, succumbed to Satan's temptation instead and fell. Man, however, shall not remain as the fallen state forever. He has to recover the relationship with God by meeting the Messiah who is coming as the substance of God's love and word.