Adam and Eve were experiencing something they had not before then, had to be concerned about. "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." Do you mean to tell me they ate of this forbidden fruit with their eyes closed? Is that what you think? Was their eyes shut, like this? (Bro. Jackson closed his eyes) You know that is not what Moses meant, when he wrote those words. Well what does it mean, their eyes were opened? It means, their mentality was opened up to the feelings of guilt and condemnation. Why? Because they both knew what the Creator had told them; and they knew He was not just joking with them. In His eyes, they were both guilty; and they knew He would keep His word; so they became afraid to face Him. It was their spiritual eyes that were opened up; so that for the first time they realized they were naked. Saints, I have said many times, If eating apples from a plant life fruit tree will cause people to realize they are naked, then please let someone pass the apples. We are living among a naked, perverted, very sick society of people. This is the Laodicean Church Age, the age that literal church in Asia Minor typed, when Jesus gave the apostle John these words of warning for her; almost two thousand years ago. (Revelation 3:14) "And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; these things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; (That was Jesus speaking. Rev.1:18, identifies the ONE doing the speaking. Notice, "I am He that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.) I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. (In this lukewarm condition, spiritual blindness prevails over the mass of the human society.) So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. (That is what most people do with a sip of lukewarm coffee; because they either want it cold or hot. Tea is the same way, people either want it cold or hot; not lukewarm.) Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked." Adam and Eve were naked because the Creator placed them there like that, in total innocence; but this generation of people are like that because sin has blinded their spiritual senses; and everything looks alright to them. Fig leaves were not sufficient to cover Adam and Eve; after they realized they were naked; and neither will anything short of genuine repentance and total surrender to the Spirit of God cover the nakedness of this generation. Notice what Jesus prescribed for the Church at Laodicea. "I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, (genuine faith and trust in God) that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, (the revealed word of God is our clothing) and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eye salve, that thou mayest see." Our spiritual vision is only activated when we desire to walk in truth. If we search for the truth of God's word, He will without a doubt see that we find it. He has many ways to make truth accessible to a hungry soul; no matter where that person may be. We have had that confirmed to us through some of the letters we have received from people in foreign countries; telling about how they first got hold of the Contender paper we send out free of charge to all who request it. What some people see only as wrapping paper for their merchandise, turns out to be filled with what another hungry soul will feed off of, when it falls into their hands in some strange way. I am talking about the wrapper itself; not the merchandise it is wrapped around. Modern day religionists try to explain man's first sin by saying, Bro. Jackson, this is the way I believe it is. It was a fruit and God just chose that particular fruit to be the basis of the test. He had to use something to test them; so the fact they disobeyed God in eating it, caused God to impute the death sentence to them; and drive them from the garden. I will say again, It was His anointing presence they were driven from. The very fact that they realized they were naked, let God know that they had disobeyed His commandment; even if He had not known it already. "And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; (What did they do?) and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons." Where did they get the leaves? They did not get them off of the tree of knowledge. Neither did they get them from the tree of life. Why? Because those two trees were two laws; not plant life trees. I feel that we cannot stress that too much; seeing that this world of religion is so blind as to what actually happened. When they needed a covering for the organs they sinned with, they chose fig leaves and covered their loin section. That ought to tell anyone something; if they were not too blind to see it. The design of the fig leaves, no doubt made them the most logical material to use for their covering. They had no safety pins. There was no thread yet. Do not ask me what they used to sew them together. It was a crude way they made a covering; but that is what they used; and natural mankind until this very day, still uses crude methods trying to cover what only the blood of Jesus Christ can cover. To you critics, whoever you may be, listen to me; and answer my question. If they had eaten something with their mouth, that brought the knowledge of their nakedness, Why did they not put the fig leaves over their mouth? They made themselves aprons, and applied them over the portion of their body they realized they had used in disobeying God. What does that add up to? It adds up to the fact they have had an a sexual encounter strictly for pleasure; without the motive to bring about life, and carry out God's commission, which was, "Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth." Satan, knew how to use the serpent creature's intelligent makeup, to get him to seduce Adams wife; knowing that once the act was consummated He would have things going his way. His ultimate objective has always been to thwart the plan of God; ever since God cast him down from his original state. Once this pleasurable act was introduced to her, she went right to her husband and presented it to him. The act itself was not sinful; it was the fact they partook of it strictly for pleasure, rather than the purpose the Creator instructed them to use it for. If any of you still want to believe the death penalty was imputed to all of mankind because Adam and Eve ate some forbidden fruit with their mouth, then surely you must believe there is a plant life tree somewhere, that is the tree of life. If sin came by eating from plant life, then redemption will have to come by eating from plant life also. That is just common sense; if the tree of knowledge was plant life, the tree of life was too. However sin came to be imputed to the human race, if they are eventually to be redeemed, then there has to be an opposite of that. Just to show you how that plant life theory contradicts the whole setting, they took the leaves of plant life and made aprons to cover themselves; then where were they? Hiding. (Verse 8.) "And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden." It was evening time. It was the time God would come on the scene for fellowship with them. The sun was going down. That is why man has always wanted to go to church when the sun goes down. It all comes from that setting. That is the logical time to go. It seems that is when the Spirit of God wants to settle upon your spirit and mind and have fellowship, in the cool of the day. "And Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord." Why? Because they knew they had done wrong. They felt ashamed. That is just like a young girl that has been raised in a respectable home, taught by mother and dad how to keep herself clean in life and wait until that time in life when God would bring some nice young man along, and they become man and wife, before partaking of this act. Then along comes some smooth talking character and deceives her, and she realizes she has sold herself for a cheap moment of pleasure. She will go for days, feeling afraid and condemned. That is how Adam and Eve were in the garden. Both of them were ashamed for God to see them. Where did they hide? Among the trees of plant life. In the land of Eden, there were more trees than what we have in our drawing. This is just a drawing to illustrate a particular scene and make a point. As far as you could see, trees were growing out of the ground. What a beautiful place it must have been. So amidst the trees of plant life they hid, with the aprons of fig leaves covering their loins. No doubt they were trembling, as they heard the voice of God coming through the garden. "The Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?" God knew where they were; but He wanted Adam to give an account of himself. Here He came, calling for Adam; and Adam finally answered. Notice, "And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? (3:10) And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself." What an acknowledgement. I was afraid, because I was naked. How come he was suddenly aware of his nakedness? Was it because he had eaten an apple? I doubt it with all my heart. Nothing of plant life will cause anyone to feel like that. Watch. The Lord said unto him, "Who told thee that thou wast naked?" Brother I tell you, You need not ever think that God will not get these doctors of divinity together and judge them for teaching what they have, to unsuspecting souls. When He comes down the line, Why did you teach this? They will have to give an account to God; of why they sat over people with their theology. It is alright for them to say, Hail Mary, mother of God, blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus. Why do the Catholics say, fruit of thy womb? They are not talking about an apple from a plant life tree; when they say that. They are talking about a baby that has been conceived in a virgin womb, yet it is referred to as fruit. God says, "Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?" Adam said, (Just listen to him pass the buck.) "And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat." That is all he could say. What is he doing? He is passing the buck. "And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? (Now watch her pass the buck.) And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat." Adam blamed his wife, and his wife blamed the serpent. Now let us see what the serpent said. "And the Lord God said unto the serpent, (He did not even ask him a question. Listen.) Because thou hast done this, (God did not even give him a chance to pass the buck. This serpent could not even say, The devil made me do it. Think of it. I am sure if God would have gave him a chance, he could have said, The devil made me do it. We know the devil did make him do it; but God cut him off before he even attempted to speak in his own defense. While he could still talk and speak for himself, God cut him off.) 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." What a curse. This is not evolution. God took that creature that had vocal chords, a mental intelligence much like man, two arms, two legs, and so forth, and stripped him down to a crawling reptile, put him out there with that reptile family, never to be redeemed. That added another species to the reptile family. He did not start out in life as a snake; but in our terminology, that is what he is now. He was up here; (upright) standing next to Adam. There were to be a family of serpents upon earth, just as all other species of God's creation were to be. They were at the head of the animal kingdom; and endowed with the intelligence to communicate with mankind; in order to be servants. He is back there now; he and all the other serpents; never to be restored to their former estate as servants. We have already read the verse in Isaiah; that tells us he will still be eating dust in the Millennium; when everything else is to be restored. God did not make a fishing worm out of him. He did not make a cut worm out of him. He made him a reptile. Since that time, man has looked upon the whole reptile family as serpents. Why? Because they know that creature is out there somewhere; and he has had that title every since creation. To the critics and agnostics who think they know so much, I am going to read you something and ask a question. Before this serpent had lost his complete identity, and while that intelligence capability was still there, as God spoke to him, let us notice what the Creator said to him. "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." I am sure you will not need to go to a dictionary to find out; but I ask you, What is the dictionary definition of enmity? Does it not define it as an ill feeling? A dislike? I will put this feeling of dislike between thee and the woman. That is really what God said to him. Think of it, there he stood still capable of talking, but God did not give him an opportunity to speak. He shut him up. I will put enmity, a difference between thee and the woman. He is speaking exclusively of Eve, at the time. Where were they? They were still inside this beautiful paradise of Eden. "And between thy seed and her seed." While he was still standing here, God instilled in his intelligence that feeling of dislike toward the woman; and in her toward him. I will put a difference, an ill feeling, I will put a hatred between you and the woman. Do not tell me that ill feeling is there just simply because man does not like snakes. I have no desire to have a snake for a pet. I will shoot him, cut his head off, fight him with a stick, or whatever it takes. I despise the little creatures. However that is not the enmity God was talking about. As that poor little woman stood there trembling, in the presence of her Creator, faced with guilt and condemnation, she knew exactly what that creature had caused her to do; and she knew he was completely at fault. Can you not imagine how she must have hated him? Yes she hated him: and it was a hate she could never get rid of. Remember also, he was going to have a seed. Therefore, critics of this revelation I ask you, What was God talking about? Is God just saying I am going to put a difference between women and how they should look at snakes? He did not say to Adam, I am going to put enmity between you and the serpent. He said nothing at all about Adam himself having that kind of feeling toward the serpent. It is the woman, that bears seed of her kind. That seed is a little offspring, the result of a union like Eve had both with the serpent and with her husband. She is called, The mother of all human life. "It shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." That was a prophecy that pointed to the first advent of Christ; because at Calvary this was set in motion. In a natural way of illustration, down through the centuries of time, some reptiles, man has learned to stomp it with his foot. To kill a snake, you have to crush his head. Do not step on him in the middle. Do not step on his tail. The language of the prophecy, "Thou shalt bruise his head and it shall bruise his heel, means, there has definitely got to be a contact. The seed of the woman that was prophesied, was none other than Jesus Christ in His first advent. The bruising of the head of the serpent is how Jesus will deal with the serpent, the antichrist, in the end time. That is the hour we are coming to, brothers and sisters. It is true, Satan, the spirit behind it, is the cause of Jesus going to Calvary, but we can see His death constituted our salvation. He arose from that tomb where His dead body was placed, never to die again. He is alive forevermore; and He is going to strike that devil one last blow. It is just in front of us.

I want to bring another important thing to your attention. The Creator turned His attention back to the woman. Where were they then? They were still in the paradise of God. God's wonderful presence and glory overshadowed this beautiful environment; making it paradise. It was a little bit of heaven on earth. That is how God related Himself to earth in the beginning; to start His plan. However man had come to the time when the scene was going to change. Something had happened to mar God's beautiful plan; so the whole order of things had to be changed. To the woman, the Creator addressed His next word. Notice. "Unto the woman He (God) 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." The word sorrow used here, has to be understood properly. It had to pertain to something she would suffer mentally and emotionally, (a physical affect) as she entered into that time of life when she could conceive seed to bear children. I will greatly multiply. To multiply something, you have to have something to begin with. To multiply something, IS TO INCREASE IT; by adding to, doubling, tripling, and so forth. He not only multiplied her pain and suffering; He also multiplied her number of periods when conception could take place. When you look at all the other living creatures upon the face of the earth, the woman is the only female among them that has that period, or cycle every 28 days. The animal kingdom did not have their conception periods increased. They remained in that way, as the Creator had originally designed them. Conception is a word used often in medical terminology; but it was first used by the Creator Himself; to speak of the time when female species received seed to bring forth life of another creature after her own kind; whether animal or human. (Saints: I am trying my best to say these things as plain as possible; without sounding vulgar; so I ask you, Please bear with me.) This act of conception is a sacred thing, designed by the Creator Himself; as the only way for the redeemed planet to be repopulated. Every female creature has a responsibility delegated by the Creator; to do her part in helping to repopulate this planet. Every woman's body was designed, that at a certain time of life, when they reach a certain age, there is a certain law which begins to take affect in her body; which is now referred to as that monthly cycle. If she never had that monthly cycle, no woman would ever be able to have a child. You know what I am talking about. That is the divine Creator's way; and that is a law in every female animal that walks on God's green earth. I am not talking in a derogatory way; I am only speaking this in a simple way; so it can be easily understood; and no one will have to speculate on what I meant, when I am finished dealing with the subject. God has said to the woman, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception. What was God actually saying to her? She knew what He was saying; because all of this was put in their intellect while they were only spirit beings, without physical bodies. They had this knowledge; before they were ever put here in the earth, in physical bodies; where they would fulfill the purpose of God. They knew what it was all about; before they were ever put to the test; yet they failed the test. After they failed the test, God was setting in motion the next phase of His plan; so notice, as we continue. Now that they had the knowledge of this relationship strictly for pleasure, what was God going to do, in order to attain His ultimate goal? Which is, to have this planet populated with sons and daughters that love Him and desire to please Him. Instead of the woman being able to come to a certain time in the year, that she would come into that cycle when she would know that she could receive seed, (however often the Creator had designed it) that all had to be changed. The earth would still be repopulated by the same physical act; but it would be by the law of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, instead of by the law of the tree of life; which in reality is eternal life. The great difference, is the death sentence that reigns in every human being born into this world since the day God judged that first couple; which necessitates redemption in order for us to be able to have fellowship with our Heavenly Father. Under the law of the tree of life, when she would have come into that cycle that conception could take place she would have been fully aware of it; and in a godly, sacred way, would say to her husband, Now it is time that we should make love; to bring forth a little offspring for the Creator. I am glad I was raised on a farm, and allowed to study the animal life. It helps me greatly; as I study the Bible concerning this subject we are on. The woman, as a female creature, is the only female creature on earth that when she reaches a certain age in life, from a young child, she will start in that cycle, and it comes every month, every month, every month. It does so until she goes on into older womanhood. That is what God multiplied. What have they become to woman in a major sense? A lot of physical, nervous, psychological sufferings, many times bringing on ill effects. Look at women having to go to doctors today, to be doctored for all the nervous complexities of life. It all stems from that added burden placed upon womanhood as a result of Eve's disobedience of the Creator's instructions, or commandments. When God did that to Eve, it was a penalty added, because they, going against His word, had attained the knowledge that the sex act could be used for pleasure; any time a man and woman chose to do so. He did not forbid them to use the act for pleasure, once they attained this knowledge; He just added a penalty for their disobedience. To the serpent, God said, "BECAUSE THOU HAST DONE THIS," thus and so; and He went right ahead pronouncing the woman's penalty; when He finished with the serpent. He did not say to the woman, "BECAUSE THOU HAST DONE THIS;" but she knew her penalty was because of her part in that forbidden act. However when He turned His attention back to Adam, God left no question as to why he was being punished; for He said to him, (Genesis 3:17-19 "Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten (or partaken) 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; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; 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. That penalty imputed to Eve was not just to her; but to every female she and her descendants would ever give birth to. Every woman from then on, would bear that curse. I have raised horses, cows, sheep, hogs, and all such animals as you see on a farm; and I can assure you of this, They do not have a monthly cycle; like women do. Some time within the year, according to the way God established the reproductive law in their particular species, she comes into that cycle. Of course, because of the fact that we have domesticated the animal kingdom, we can control the coming together of the male and female of these; but go out into the wild; and watch the deer. The females stay together until a certain time of the year. The Creator designed it that way. When that certain time of the year comes, those female deer begin to feel this period coming into their body; and it is then, and then alone, that they begin to seek out a male. Up until that time, a male deer could walk through their midst, and they would virtually ignore him. That is why you do not see prostitutes in the deer family. Neither do you see prostitute cows. They do not have X-rated theaters; where they perform that sacred act to entertain each other; like degenerate mankind does. I am not saying those things to sound angry; nor to be a smart; I am merely making a point. Educated doctors of divinity have thrived for 2000 years, on their education. Yet they have not proved a thing with all their Hebrew and Greek; except that they can translate words. As far as explaining what God meant by those words, they have only displayed their total ignorance of spiritual truth.

When God placed that curse upon Eve's reproductive organs saying, "In sorrow thou shalt bring forth children," Oh what a tragic result that has had upon womanhood down through the ages. Did you know, When Jacob went back to Mesopotamia, and had to work 14 years for his two wives, Rachel and Leah, when finally in later years they came back into the land of promise, Rachel was giving birth to his last child; and died in the process; near Bethlehem. Rachel, the wife he dearly loved, died in childbirth. Outside of Bethlehem is a tomb, Rachel's tomb. It is a landmark today. She did not die of heart trouble. She died giving birth. You can see the results of that curse placed upon Eve, everywhere you go today. In sorrow, pain, agony, and many times right at death's door, womanhood brings forth offspring. Under the law of the tree of life, there would have been none of those complications women face in childbearing today. Yes, the curse is still upon womanhood today; and will be, until the Millennial rule of Jesus Christ and His redeemed bride; when restoration is completed. It is also still written in the Bible; that a woman's desire is to be to her husband. God has changed none of that yet. (Gen.3:16) "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." What is God saying? Regardless of how you may want to look at it, and regardless of how you think it sounds, I still have to say it this way, Since they have attained the knowledge of this relationship strictly for pleasure, from that time on, the duty of every wife is to please her husband in that pleasure relationship. That is God's divine law. I challenge any critics; to bring his or her bible, and prove me wrong. Where did that tree of knowledge go? It is in their minds. They were driven from that paradise realm; never again to know exactly when to partake of the act for the purpose of childbearing. If God had not driven them from that paradise realm of His presence, they would have still been able to bring forth children from the tree of life; even after they sinned. In other words, One tree (law) was for life; and the other was unto death. Eating from one tree would have kept them in the realm of divine knowledge; and eating from the other tree caused them to have to live the rest of their lives with only the knowledge of the natural. Instead of having divine wisdom and authority in the realm of the spirit, and access to the spirit world, they had to depend upon their five senses; and remain earthbound creatures. If you can follow my thought, my point is, As long as God allowed them to remain in paradise, they could have still brought forth children from the law of the tree of life; and those children would have had eternal life. God could not allow them to live in sin; and at the same time begat children with eternal life. No. He kept His word; "In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." That is why every man and woman from that day until now, has been born into this world, grown up in life, and as they reach adulthood, come together for marriage. That physical affair they live in, is strictly pleasure. No woman knows exactly when she can conceive; to bring a child into the world. I ask you, Why is medical science trying to make all kinds of modern means so that young women of our day can live like this and never have to worry about getting pregnant? It is because they do not know when they can; and they have not yet found any fool proof way of making sure. Again I ask you, Is the deer ignorant of when that law of life is present in her? No. She knows when she can. Is the cow ignorant of it? No. Is the horse ignorant of it? No. Woman, the handmaid of God, is the only female creature that does not know exactly when she can get pregnant. Because of that, man and woman in legal married relationship, are now living under that knowledge of the relationship for pleasure. Now the question many people ask is, Bro. Jackson: Is it wrong, out of the garden, to have sex for pleasure? No, that is the way life has to come forth. What has been done, cannot be undone. There is no way to blot out this knowledge of the pleasure of it; and return to God's original plan. I have been asked the question, Well what would the tree of life have been? If Eve would have said to the serpent, Look, I know what God said; and I know what He meant; and what He meant is right. You are wasting your time talking like that to me; so just get away from me, and forget about what you are trying to persuade me to do; that law of life would have functioned just as God had designed her for it to; and she could have gone to Adam for the sole purpose conceiving seed in that relationship; and they would have brought forth a little son or daughter that would have had eternal life; and they would all have continued to have access into the spirit realm. They would not have become earthbound creatures; depending completely upon their five senses. If some of these young girls in our day, that have gotten themselves into such a bad shape, would have stopped these sweet talking, handsome little characters from seducing them, they could have avoided a lot of heartache and trouble. Even if they had to take a club and knock them in the head to prevent it, they might not be so sorry today.

After cursing the serpent, and after cursing Eve's reproductive organs, God then turned to Adam. He did not curse Adam's physical body; but nevertheless he did not let him go without punishment. What did He do? He cursed the ground to make it burdensome to grow crops; and put Adam in the serpent's place, doing the manual labor. Here is what He said to him; found in verses 17-19. "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; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; 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. According to Isaiah 65:25, which says, "The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, (that has to be in the Millennium) and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the Lord," the serpent will remain a crawling reptile; even after everything else is restored. I am aware that we are repeating some of the details of this revelation concerning the two trees in the midst of the garden of Eden; but there are just certain places where certain things have to go; to make the whole picture come out right; even if you have already covered them in a prior illustration. Our main concern in presenting this message, is that people who really want to, can have an opportunity to get the whole picture put together properly. Concerning Adam's disobedience though, God did not curse his reproductive organs; He added sorrow to him in another way. Not only did he have to assume the serpent's farming duties, everything he tried to grow, was made harder for him than it was for the serpent; because the serpent did not have all those thorns and thistles to contend with. There was sorrow added to Adam in that curse; even though physically he remained unchanged. Like I have said, I am a farmer. I have had my dealings with cuckle burrs, smartweed, Johnson grass, and all the rest. All of that is pesky plant life stuff. You can plow a field a foot deep. You can work it down into a bed of dust. You can buy the best corn seed, oat seed, wheat seed, and plant it in beautiful straight rows; but before very long, here comes those pesky things God cursed the ground with. To do what? To choke out what you put there. A lot of you who are hearing my voice, know exactly what I am talking about. All of that has been here ever since God cursed the ground because of Adam's sin. For 6000 years man has had to toil and till the earth. Why? Because he does not have the serpent here to till it for him. You cannot send the horse out to the field, to plow the corn; you have to go with him. He will pull the plow; but he does not have the intelligence to know when to make the turn. If we still had that serpent creature up here at the head of the animal kingdom, it would be a different story. I hope what I am saying makes sense to all of you. Adam, who was the son of God, never would have had a callous on his hands; had sin never entered the picture. Adam would never have had to pull up a weed; nor move that first bit of soil himself; if he had just obeyed the voice of His Creator. The serpent would still be doing all of the manual labor. That is what God designed him for. Not only did Adam have to do all of the manual labor, God also said to him, You are going to sweat doing it. "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it was thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return." In their original state, there never would have been such a thing as lust among the human race. Neither would there have been any sickness, disease, crime nor sorrow. All of that is in the world today; because God's first son and daughter failed their free moral agency test; so do not ever get the idea that you stand above vulnerability when it comes to a question about whether a true child of God can be tempted or not. We will all be tempted; but we do not have to yield to the temptation. The Holy Ghost in us, gives us resources to resist every temptation; if we will just call upon those resources.

I have already read certain portions from an article published by Bold Truth Press Inc. in Denver Colorado; and I may read some more of it in a little while; because I want you to see just what ends spiritual ignorance can drive educated people to; when they try to combat a true revelation from the Spirit of God, with mere educated reasoning. As I stated earlier in the message, This article is dealing with opinions formed; concerning the ministry of Bro. William Branham, and another minister by the name of Sam Fife. I also have another article I may read some of; written by a Canadian, apostolic, Jesus Name, one God preacher. If the two of them were here together, while we are dealing with this subject, they would not be able to agree with each other; but they would both disagree with what we are teaching. Why? Because the other person is a Trinitarian, woman preacher. They each one have attacked the man whose ministry I was privileged to sit under. The only man I have ever heard, that could take you from Genesis 1:1, through Revelation 22:21, and make the whole Bible come alive to me. He made the Lord Jesus Christ stand head and shoulders above every other man mentioned in the Bible; because he had a genuine revelation of the Godhead; and total respect for the word of God. The trinity people did not like him; because he condemned their so-called revelation that God is three distinct person's, yet one in unity of purpose; and the one God people did not like him; because he spoke of the Father and the Son; when they believe Jesus is all there is of God. The man, H. Post, got my attention a few years back; when they published an article entitled "Branhamism, Fact or Fiction." I yet have a copy of it. He attacked three things taught by Bro. Branham; the doctrine of predestination, serpent seed, and the fact that he believed there should be a prophet to the Gentiles in these last days. Naturally based upon what they understand, they believe prophets only come to Jews. We compiled an open letter at that time; and sent it to this Mr. Post by a Brother who lives in Canada. He delivered it to him personally; so I know the man had an opportunity to respond; if he still felt that he had a point to make; but we never heard a word. I want to say to these two people, It is true, William Marrion Branham was not an educated man. I presume by looking at the work of these two writers, that they are educated people. Bro. Branham was not a man that had to rely upon education; nor intellectual speech. He constantly confessed that he did not rely upon these things; but delivered to this generation what was given to him by the Spirit of God. Therefore I say to you, Mr. Post: You belittle his language, and his usage of things pertaining to the revelation given to him; and you definitely attacked his teaching on the serpent seed, in the way he associated the two trees in the garden. Well Mr. Post, I am not going to say, as you did at the end of your tract, The conclusion of the whole matter is, any person who would believe this serpent seed doctrine would have to be under a strong delusion; to believe such a lie. I will just say, Mr. Post: I believe both of you are strictly, scripturally blind; just like the Pharisees were in the time of Christ. You jumped on Bro. Branham's usage of how the word trees occurs in Genesis 3. I am not an educated man either: but you will get an article somewhere, if we have to run you down and see that you get it; that I believe you ought to pay attention to. I have read yours thoroughly; and I am not going to throw it away. Therefore when we send ours to you, I ask you to read what I have to say, just as thoroughly; and if you have anything in you that can respond to truth, I trust that I will hear from you. I am not saying these things to be smart; just because you are not sitting in my church; but when you jumped on Bro. Branham's teaching like you did, it could return to you just like it did to well-known public minister of our day; when he did the same thing, about three and a half years ago. He jumped on the revelation of predestination; and said it was out of the pit. He also jumped on the one God and water baptism in the name of Jesus Christ revelation; and said William Branham went off on the deep end. He said the man started out right; but run off of the deep end; leaving it that in his last days he was just a man all washed up. Well, I ask you, Where is this man's ministry today? He is still walking under the condemnation of what the whole world read about him; and what they presented on T.V. about his "goings-on" in a hotel with certain types of women; and he will never live it down. It is a dangerous thing, to condemn a true revelation of God's word. Such a person's folly will surely return unto him in a measure only God Himself can meet out. You can attack Bro. Branham, because he is not here to defend himself; but when you attack the true revelation he taught, I will do my best as a human being and a Christian man; to defend that. I do not have to use his literal words; for I also see the picture he saw; and have my own words to express it. That is exactly what the apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ did. They did not just quote the words of Jesus, when they went out to minister. That is one benefit of having your own revelation of what you are talking about; you do not have to use the other person's exact words to express the same thing.

After God cursed the serpent, cursed the woman's reproductive organs, and then cursed the ground for Adam's punishment, what next? He made coats of skin to cover their nakedness; and then He drove them out of the paradise environment they had become accustomed to; and placed Cherubims with flaming swords between Him and them. Never again would they be able to enter into His divine presence at their own will. Let us read the scriptures dealing with this phase of their punishment now. (Gen. 3:21) "Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them. (I wonder what these animal rights people think about that. He did not just skin those animals and then turn them loose.) And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: (Who did He say that to? It had to be His angelic helpers.) and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. So He drove out the man; and He placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life." These few words, let us know that even after Adam and Eve sinned, they could have still repopulated the earth under the law of the tree of life; if God had not removed them from HIS divine presence. The Cherubims with flaming swords, were positioned between God and man; they were not guarding an entrance gate into a beautiful garden of flowers and trees. Was Adam and Eve still in Eden? They most certainly were. They were still looking at the same natural trees and plant life they were very familiar with; it was just not paradise anymore. Bible terminology does not spell everything out in full detailed pictures. You have to allow the Holy Spirit to help you read between the lines; if you are ever going to see a complete picture of some things.

Mr. Post jumped on what Bro. Branham said about the original sin, "The serpent beguiled Eve, and had a sex relation with her." To him, that sounded ridiculous. He used the words Bro. Branham used, that the serpent was just an animal, and endeavored by the use his intelligence, to prove to modern, 20th century, educated mankind, that this is a ridiculous way of twisting the scriptures. I will just say to him, Do not forget, certain things in the Bible are written in symbolic, pictorial language; that veils them from those who look at everything from the standpoint of natural reasoning. I will give you one instance you will not have to go back before the flood to verify. In Isaiah 40:3-5, you find that prophet speaking words of prophecy that literally, have not come to pass; but we know that from the spiritual standpoint, they were all pointing to the ministry of John the Baptist, as he preached preparing the heart's of people for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Notice the language here; as we read these three verses. "The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it." Notice how it speaks; that every valley shall be exalted. It said, Every valley. It also said, Every hill shall be brought low; and the crooked made straight. Brothers and sisters, if you take that literally, and look for the application of it in a natural, literal way, I would have to say to you, That is a prophecy that has never yet been fulfilled. I have been in the holy land. I have been to the place where John the Baptist preached. I want you to know, All those hills are still there. Every valley is still there. There may be a few changes in the terrain; because 2000 years of rain is naturally going to wash a few gullies deeper; and so forth; but none of those hills were touched by this prophecy. None of those valleys were touched by this prophecy. The crooked trails and paths of camels and horses are still there also. Not a one of them were touched. What is the language referring to then? It is talking about people, in a pictorial language. Why did the prophet not just come right out and explain it in plain words, by just saying, A man will stand in the wilderness preaching; and what he will say will cut down those who are exalted; and exalt many who have been lowly? God made sure certain things in His Word were written in a way that only a spiritual mind could understand. That is why certain things are written in pictorial language; so He can hide it from some, and reveal it to others. Mr. Post also attacked Bro. Branham's reference to the seed of the woman. He says in his tract, "Seed is never reckoned through the woman but always through the man." That is not what the Bible says. Let us go back and read Genesis 3:15. I am sure the Lord did not just make a mistake, when He worded it this way. God was in the process of cursing this serpent creature; and this is what He said to him. "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." God Himself referred to the woman's seed; so I am one that will not question that; and neither should anyone else who has proper respect for God's word. This serpent creature, as we have already brought out, was not a son of God. Adam was; but the serpent was no. However the fact that we have said he was not a son of God, does not mean that we believe he was just a dumb beast of the animal kingdom. He was just the opposite of that. He was a creature that physically stood so close to Adam in all of his makeup, he probably looked more human than a lot of what we see walking the streets today. He had a body that looked much like Adam's body. That is the creature the scientists of our day have been looking for. They know there is a missing link between man and the now present highest form of any creature in the animal kingdom; but they refuse to look for him in the Bible. Parrots have to be taught to talk; and that is usually in a very limited way; but I want to say, While that serpent was still an upright creature he could vocally communicate with Adam and Eve. He did not have to be taught to talk; God created him with that ability; so he could be a proper servant for Adam. He had the intelligence and necessary ability to vocally communicate. He could ask Adam what he wanted him to do; and he could understand and fully carry out his assignment. Therefore it is no strange thing that the Creator talked to him; and neither is it unthinkable that he (the serpent) had a sexual encounter with Eve. We naturally realize that other animals will not cross with human beings for reproduction; but God ordained it to be different in this case. Neither is dual conception such a remote possibility; for we have documented proof on record, of other women conceiving seed from two different individuals in a short period of time; and giving birth to what seemed to be twins. Therefore knowing of these other cases where dual conception took place, scriptural evidence is too obvious, for us to deny the fact that Cain and Abel could have been the offspring of just such a conception. That would mean that Cain was the seed of the serpent; and Abel was the son of Adam; and Eve was the mother of both of them. When God stripped the serpent of his arms and legs, and made him a crawling reptile, there was still an upright creature which was half animal and half human; and those attributes of his father, caused Cain to like to work with the soil. The bible says he became a tiller of the ground. On the other hand, Abel manifesting the attributes of his father Adam, became a keeper of sheep. Before the curse, Adam never had to perform manual labor. That was the serpent's responsibility. We will deal with this line of thought a little more thoroughly; after we finish with God's words to the serpent; and what He surely meant.

Again, I want to read what God said to the serpent. "I will put enmity between thee and the woman. (Those words were applicable at the moment of time the cursing and penalty was being dealt out. The woman Eve, would always hate that creature; no matter where she saw him. Eve, from his upright position, to his cursed state, always knew exactly which one he was, among the other reptiles. Wherever she would overtake that thing, that feeling of enmity toward it was always there. The next words though, are the words in question; but the eternal God is the One that spoke them.) and between thy seed and her seed." I wonder if Mr. Post has ever asked himself what this serpent's seed could be; and what God meant? Furthermore it does not say, Adam's seed; it says, her seed. What would her seed be? This we know for sure, Whatever the seed of this woman is, it shall bruise the head of the serpent. I do not believe there should be any doubt that this is talking about Christ, and His atonement work at Calvary. It will be finished at the second coming of Christ; when He brings an end to the antichrist, which is Satan's serpent seed in its final hour; if I may express it like that. I want you to know though, the antichrist will not be a snake; sitting on a throne somewhere. He is going to be a two legged, religious man. The world religions have been crying for the last 40 years, that Communism is the antichrist. Communism is caving in. All it is now, is a political ideology. It is anti-God; not antichrist. It is anti-God; but it could never be rightly called, antichrist. Scripturally, the word antichrist speaks of that which is contrary to the true teaching of Jesus Christ; and contrary to the true teaching about Jesus Christ. This seed of the woman, was to eventually bruise the serpent's head; and it bruise His heel. We have already brought that out; so let us look at another scripture that also speaks of the woman having a seed. Her seed, was the seed brought about by her own husband. You can try to prove that the seed always comes by the male, if you want to; but let us see what the Bible says about it. This was quite some time after Abel's death. Cain had already left, going eastward into the land of Nod; getting away from his past. Adam and Eve were left without a son; and here is what was written concerning this matter. In Genesis 4:25, we find these words, "And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew." Cain, which was not the true, God recognized seed of Eve, slew her true seed Abel, leaving her without a seed that God would honor. It is very strange, how this preacher insists that Cain himself was just as much the son of Adam as Abel was; when we have scriptures that make it so clear, that he was not acknowledged to be such. It was not Adam; but Eve that said, God hath appointed me (Eve) another seed instead of Abel. If what I see is not the way it was, then let someone please explain it to me. Cain was still alive. He was in the land of Nod. He was starting his own seed line; and once he left, Eve never did call him her seed. The closest she ever came to it, was in verse 1, of chapter 4, when she said "I have gotten a man from the Lord." That was not a strange statement; when you consider that all life comes from God; because He is the only source of life. Furthermore Eve did not know when she made that statement; what she learned later. After Abel appeared on the scene, and especially after she had an opportunity to watch them grow up, she certainly knew Cain was not a son of Adam. Saints we need to recognize and realize one important thing here. Cain had the attributes in him to become angry; and to commit murder. Adam's seed line never had any of those attributes; before they started intermarrying there in chapter 6. After they began to intermarry, those later generations could have been capable of anything; as was evidenced by the overall moral conditions that existed before the great flood of chapter 7. The book of Genesis is named after chapters 4 and chapter 5; because the word Genesis itself, means, history of the genes. The genes that flow through the reproductive organs of mankind, carry the law of God's creative, reproduction process. That is why everything brings forth of its own kind; if man will let nature take its ordained course. Two Laws Of Eden - Continued