Genesis 3 

 And the serpent said to Woman, “Did God really say, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” 2 And Woman said to the serpent, “We may eat 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 has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ” 4 Then the serpent said to Woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 So when Woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked....

 

 

 

 

What the serpent said still echoes, "Did God really say...?"

     

The Bible tells us about the Devil's fall from heaven.  In Luke 10:18, Jesus said, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven".  Revelation 12, starting at verse 7, also tells us about Satan and the corrupted angels falling or being thrown down from heaven.  And many Bible scholars agree that the evil earthly kings told about in Isaiah 14:11-15 and Ezekiel 28:11-19 are prophesying or testifying about Satan and his fall.  Just as the Lord's prophets and kings, like Moses, Isaiah and David, prophesy or testify about Christ, so too do evil men prophesy or testify about Satan.  And here we learn about how Satan was once the Anointed Cherub, according to God's divine order of the heavens.  But because of his pride he did not remain in his holy designation and desired in his heart to become like God. The bright angel's light dimmed when he conceived in his heart to rise above his appointed station and moved against God.  Because of that he was thrown down from heaven and extinguished.  Understanding these passages in Isaiah and Ezekiel as parallels gives us insight as to WHY there was a war in heaven. 

 

And, we clearly see in Revelation 12:3-9 that both the serpent and the dragon represent Satan, who was the great and sinful angel that was cast down, followed by his collapsing angels turned black, a third of heaven.  Just as the Devil moved against God and out of his angelic position in heaven, so too did man and woman move against God and out of their positions in Eden.  Adam failed to remain in his role as keeper of the garden and instead chose a passive position when the serpent trespassed.  The woman, his helper, contended with the serpent.  Adam disobeyed.  Woman was deceived, and she mediated between earth and the serpent.  Effeminacy and pride gave the cunning serpent his hungry audience and they ate.

  

 

Whose voice is it?

 

Progressives echo the serpent’s words, “did God really say…”, when they undermine what God tells us in the Bible.  They reinterpret scripture using what they claim are newly discovered cultural contexts or better meanings of certain words in the original languages.  It's laughable when modern scholars think they understand Koine Greek better than the early church that actually spoke Koine Greek.  Progressives also like to push the idea that certain scriptures were only for the people that lived during the writer's time and do not apply to us today, as if the words are not universal, timeless, and inspired by the Holy Spirit. Many are swayed by these modern teachings and because of that most Christians in the West are unwittingly progressive and do not follow certain scriptures, or they hold to alternative interpretations that better match their preferences and worldly cultural norms.  Challenges to the traditional interpretation of the scriptures ultimately come from Satan, as he slithers into the church and corrupts God's word and people, just like he did in the Garden of Eden. 

God’s call for the Ordination of Men

 

From the prophets of old, down to John to Baptist, and on to Jesus Christ Himself with his twelve disciples, as well as the Apostle Paul, the Bible is clear in its teaching that men have the duty to lead, and do so in accordance with God's will and word. The Old Testament, the Gospels, and the Letters of the New Testament all match up on what God expects from men in terms of headship. Concerning women being in charge, we do have the example of Deborah, the prophetess, in Judges 4 and 5. Egalitarians point to her as a Biblical example that shows that women can be leaders. However, if you read the story you see that this was during a time period when Israel was in a state of sin and worshiped foreign gods. Deborah's leadership was actually a by-product of the idolatry of Israel and a shame to Barak, the reluctant general of the army. In fact, the weak and idolatrous state of Western Christianity is comparable to the story of Deborah - to the shame of men who are afraid to boldly stand on God’s word in the face of a woke world.

The Bible does not teach the equality of the sexes the way the world understands it.  Nor does it teach that a woman should behave like a man.  In fact, the Bible elevates women and teaches that the life of a wife is more valuable than the life of a husband.   A husband is called to love his wife like Christ loves the church (Ephesians 5:25-33).  Remember that Christ died for His bride, the church.  A man should be willing to die for his wife.  Men are more expendable because women are the life bringers. This understanding expresses itself in ways that we often do not notice.  It is basic to our thinking that women, as well as children, get priority help in times of danger while the men are expected to sacrifice themselves if need be.  It is also expected that men are to  fight on the front line in wars.  A man shows that a woman is more valued by opening the door for her, a neglected practice that needs to come back. Christ opened the door into paradise for His bride, the church.  I am pointing to that every time I open the door for my wife.  

 

Also, consider this: Adam was made from the dirt, like the animals.  Then God breathed His spirit into him, elevating the man to a human.  It was out of the side of this higher substance that woman was made.  In a way, the old nursery rhyme is true - boys are made of snips, snails and puppy dog tails while girls are made of sugar and spice and everything nice.  

We are created as male and female in the image of God, and all that have faith and were baptized in Christ are children of God, with salvation assured no matter our earthly distinctions (Galatians 3:26-28).  NEVERTHELESS, even before angels fell and Eden was lost, different roles or identities were made for us, according to the Divine order, an order that shines forth from the heavens and lays itself out in all the earth.  Remaining in our male and female distinctions as we live, move, and have our being in God is true obedience and high worship, and to do otherwise is to deface God's image, to demons' delight.  Women's ordination is a disorder because men and women fall out of their God-given identities.  IT IS AN ECHO OF ANGELS FALLING AND EDEN LOST.  It is gender bending fully engaged when a woman dresses up like a man in the priestly robes and collar or assumes the position of a man as head of the church, going against sacred scriptures as they have been understood for thousands of years. 

 

Deuteronomy 22:5

The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the LORD thy God.

 

 

When a woman is the head of the church or worship service, she usurps the position of a man, just like Woman usurped the position of Adam as keeper of the garden. In doing so, she is wearing that which "pertaineth" to a man, literally if she is wearing priestly attire and figuratively if she is in the position of a man. This is most plainly seen if she leads in the Eucharist. It makes me think of Genesis 3:6, where it is written, "she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate". Like an inverted priest, instead of giving herself and her husband the bread of life, she gave them the bread of death.

Many proponents of women's ordination claim to oppose gay pride while bowing to feminist pride, but if they look with honest eyes they will see that when they opened the door for feminist pride, gay pride came in riding on her back.  If we cast aside all the scriptures about gender roles and claim that those were for a different time, we make the scriptures OPTIONAL, and establish the pattern for progressives to throw away scriptures against gay pride. 

In addition to what we see in the Old Testament, there are more than 10 passages in the New Testament that show us that the man should take the head position in family and church.

 

1 Corinthians 11:1-16, 1 Corinthians 14:31-38, 1 Timothy 2:11–15, 1 Timothy 3:1-7 , 1 Timothy 3:8-12, Titus 1:5-9, Titus 2:3-5, Ephesians 5:22-24, Colossians 3:18-20, 1 Peter 3: 1-6, as well as Matthew 19:4-6. 

 

 

Just like the 10 Commandments in the Old Testament formed a structure within which the Jews lived in community under God, these passages in the New Testament likewise form a structure within which Christians live in community in Christ.  Defined is the Divine order for church and family, and you have to understand them HOLISTICALLY, for the parts work together to form the whole.  

 

As many churches do, we could listen to liberal voices that dismantle each of these scriptures, piece by piece.  However, it is actually the voice of the serpent saying "did God really say?". Better it is to obey the scriptures and follow the example of Jesus Christ when He called forward leaders in the home and church. To suggest that this is wrong or that Jesus merely followed ill rules of ancient times is to count our Lord among sinners and discount His direct words and deeds.  

 

Again, consider this:  if all the scriptures that relate to gender roles are set aside, then the scriptures that deal with sexuality can likewise be set aside.  And that is how gay pride comes into the church riding on the back of feminist pride.

 

 

 

Final Thoughts 

The scriptures teach that Jesus Christ is our high priest and that He is the new Adam.  We see Adam as a priest because he mediated between earth and God.  We see this mediation when Adam named the animals, gave his body up for the creation of the woman, and walked with God in Eden during the cool of the day.  In these things, Adam was fulfilling the role of a priest.  But then, Adam failed in the keeping of the garden, and the woman unwittingly mediated between earth and the serpent.  It is is with this background that God calls men forward, to be keepers of the church and family.  
 

Against holy tradition, progressives claim many things in order to justify women preaching and having authority over men. There is a long list of examples where progressives stretch the scriptures beyond their original meanings and even heavily rely on sources outside of the Bible.   To refer to only a few:

1.  Mary Magdalene - The risen Christ first appeared to her and told her to tell His disciples.  Progressives suggest that this means women can preach.  Yet, the disciples did not believe her and thought the women's words were nonsense - should we make a doctrine of that?
2. Phoebe - In Romans 16:1, we read where Paul had her deliver a letter to the Romans.  NT Wright likes to explain that in Roman culture the one who delivered the letter would read it and explain it.  But that is Roman culture, not Christian culture as described by the New Testament.  If Phoebe read it, she covered her head in the assembly if she prophesied or prayed, and did not put herself in a position where she would be teaching or having authority over men, for this would go against other teachings of Paul and Peter.

Progressives have a big bag of such spurious examples, and they quickly throw them like stones at the teachings they find disagreeable.   I will not waste your time going through them all.  In the post 1960’s West, progressives have worked hard to scramble the traditional understanding of scriptures concerning gender roles and prefer a more woke version of the Gospel where women can be in charge and gay pride is accepted and celebrated. 

Collapsing Angels and Echoes from Eden

 

About the Art

 

I wanted the serpent to cause us to think of the dragon, and so we see the large and spiky scales.  The many colors in the serpent's eyes would have been attractive to Woman in the garden.  Something charmed her to talk to the intruder.  Also, the colors of the rainbow flag are certainly a symbol of rebellion against staying within our proper God-given distinctions, a nice fit for the fallen angel who revolted against the traditions and order of the heavens. Woman listens to the serpent and eats.  Her first name was "Woman", given to her before she was re-named Eve after the Fall.  

 

The fruit is also the color of the rainbow, as it also represents the same idea of disobedience and going against the created order.  Artistically, it is a more apt depiction of the forbidden fruit, more so than a common apple. 

 

In the picture of Adam, we see that he holds his hands the way we receive Holy Communion.  But he holds the bread of death rather than the "Bread of Life", representing an unholy communion with the serpent, sin and death.  Its unnatural light shines on his face, and its colors are once again the same symbol of rebellion and refusal to remain in the assigned identity.

 

The background depicts the fall of the Anointed Cherub and the third of the angels that fell with him.  The dark and collapsing angels can be seen within what looks like lightning, which is Satan himself falling from heaven.  The holy angels of light are not captured in the lightning and they are colored the colors of the rainbow.  But in this case, the colors are in the proper order.  Though to the naked eye they look white, the stars are actually colored many different beautiful colors.  For technical reasons, we cannot see green stars, but I depict them since I am showing the order of heaven.  Only outside of the holy order of heaven is the meaning of these colors distorted and inverted from good to bad by the devil, his demons, and the people that follow them.

Many thanks to my daughter Leela, who was my model for drawing Woman. Reno posed for me to draw Adam. And my wife was my reference for drawing the woman wearing the head covering. I drew the art with pencil and then scanned it into the computer so that I could paint the finer details with black and white digital painting, as well as paint the colored parts.