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Then God took a step toward the woman; Adam moved slightly to one side so as to not be a partial shield any longer. Eve fell to her knees with head down and arms clasped; she shook violently in a cold shiver fearing the worst. Surely her short lifespan had come to an end because of her foolish indulgence. These thoughts raced through her mind in a split second’s time. She didn’t have long to wait. “Eve,” the Creator’s tone was remarkably comforting as though He knew He would get no pleasure from what He was about to decree, “I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.” A sigh of relief seemed to emanate from the woman cringing in the dust as she realized God’s wrath, if such it was, had now shifted to her husband. To Adam God spoke, “Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat of it,’ Cursed is the groun

“Shhhh, Eve,” Adam cautioned, “what’s that?” “What’s what?” Eve’s rejoinder came back with a teeth-clenched hissing. She was terrified. “That sound – listen!” Adam continued. “There it is again!” This time Eve heard it and crouched a little lower in their hiding place. They were as far to one side of the garden as they could go. There seemed to be nothing worthwhile beyond this grove of trees and clump of bushes. “It sounds like footsteps,” she suggested. “But whose footsteps?” She knew, but was afraid to state the obvious. Adam wasn’t, “His. They must be the Creator’s. He’s coming for us,” he cringed as he said it. Eve stammered, “What’s going to happen now?” Adam tried to comfort her, “We’ll just have to wait and see; whatever comes, at least we’re together.” They edged closer to one another and joined hands. The sounds drew closer, then they stopped. “He must be looking for us, Eve,” Adam’s premise proved unfounded. He had found them. “Adam? Where ar

At the precise moment when Eve first bit into that piece of enticing fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, Jesus was just concluding his final solo in the praise service before the throne in the holy palace. The angel chorus had sounded particularly inspiring in their God-praising during the Day 7 celebration. The music, recitations by various angels, dramatic presentations by certain ensembles depicting the six days of creation, and in fact all aspects of the worship went precisely as planned. Allen couldn’t have been prouder. As the last note faded and Allen was about to thank and dismiss the choir and audience, the Father stood and solemnly raised a hand gazing in the direction of the Earth Overlook. Humbly expecting God to speak a word of appreciation as was always his custom on previous similar occasions or even to ask for an encore – for which the chorus always prepared, Allen waited patiently with a contented smile on his face. But no words came from t

At almost the same instant, they both realized that they were naked. They stared at each other in a stupor for several minutes. “Uh, Eve?” Adam was first to speak. “Y-Yes?” Eve stammered. “You don’t have any clothes on,” Adam suggested. “What are clothes?” Eve asked. “They’re what we put on our bodies to avoid the shame of our nakedness,” Adam enlightened. “Shame?” Is that what this new feeling is? I don’t much like it, Adam. It doesn’t feel good,” Eve summed it up for them both. “That’s right, Eve. I’m not quite sure how I know about that feeling we both have and that it is ‘shame’; but I do,” Adam reasoned. “We never needed any clothes until now, Adam. Why is that?” Eve inquired. “I suppose it’s because we ate of that fruit. It was forbidden by God. I think that Lucifer fellow duped you,” Adam accused. “Sorry, husband, but I was hungry and it looked so delicious,” Eve apologized. “I know. I ate it, too. I guess we’ll see what the consequen

“Hello. Who are you?” she asked tentatively. “My name is Lucifer. May I ask you a question, Eve?” he baited the trap. “I guess so; none of the other animals can talk and they certainly don’t have names except what Adam and I have given a few of the friendlier ones,” Eve rambled, still somewhat wary. “I’m not really a snake. I’m actually an angel, a messenger of God. In fact, I’m the one God chose to come to the Earth first and gather the handful of dirt that he used to make Adam,” Lucifer explained. “Oh. Well, then I’m glad to meet you, uh, Lucifer,” Eve greeted him hesitantly. “You said you had a question?” “Yes, Eve. Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” the serpent interrogated her. “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die,” Eve answered. “Eve, tell me, did you actually hear God say t

Palace Meanwhile, Lucifer had just made his hurried entrance into the front of the palace. He was red-faced and out of breath as he mingled with his mob for several minutes. One glare from him hushed the lips and quelled the questioning stares of his comrades. Just before the curtain was about to rise and just after God had been seated, he ushered his friends quietly out a side door. No one seemed to notice; no one except that upstart holier-than-thou angel Michael. Lucifer vowed to settle that score tomorrow. Eden The overlook was deserted. With his companions staring wide-eyed, Lucifer bid them wait at the rail; then he hopped over it and floated to Earth gracefully. Upon landing on the dry surface in Eden, he made his way to the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil in the center of the garden. To the amazement of his friends watching from above, Lucifer climbed the tree and sprawled on a large, lower branch. Immediately, he metamorphosized into the form of a sn

Lucifer took a roundabout path to the palace. Just as he was turning a corner at a fairly brisk clip, his thoughts occupied with the immediate future events, he ran smack into a shiny, metallic figure. His grunt was matched with a somewhat startled but sincere, “Excuse me!” from the other being. With a quick look up, Lucifer immediately, though barely, recognized the face and countenance of the Son of God. Standing mesmerized, Lucifer did not quite believe what his eyes were relaying to his brain. Jesus was dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. The angel’s first reaction was a feeling that h

Dawning of the seventh day since the creation sequence had begun found all the heavenly host assembled once again at the Earth Overlook. God had summoned them for a very special announcement. After all the spectacular events of the recent past, the angels had begun thinking of time by Earth standards and in terms they had been informed man would someday use. Quieting the crowd with an upraised hand, God spoke, “We are finished with the work of creation. Today, Day 7, will be a day of rest from all that work. From this time forth, the seventh day shall be a blessed and holy day for us in heaven as well as for mankind on the Earth.” Cheers went up from the crowd. Inquisitive looks adorned the faces of many, including the group that still surrounded Lucifer taking their position of choice as usual at some distance off to one side. This time God raised both hands and immediately the hallowed hush came again. He continued, “Allen and the angel choir have requested the privileg

Just then Adam seemed to be about to say his first words since naming the last animal and then uttering his amazed exclamation at the sight of the female. The crowd strained to hear. “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh;” he began, gazing adoringly into the eyes of the female whom God had brought to him, “she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.” Adam then put his arms around the woman and gave her a gentle hug and she became his wife. The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame. They weren’t cold, either. None of the heavenly host took any notice except Lucifer. “Vanity and shame,” he uttered under his breath. “What was that, Chief?” Anak asked. “Did you say something?” “Later, Anak, tomorrow,” Lucifer replied. “Just wait until tomorrow.” Regaining the attentiveness of the angels, God spoke once more, “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one fle

Lucifer’s attention returned to the events at hand as some astonished expressions issued from the angelic spectators near Jesus. The commotion in the multitude calmed down quickly. “What’s happening now?” Raphael asked, leaning over the railing. Jesus returned his attention to Eden and explained, “One of the tasks God was performing as he had the animals parade by Adam and be named was that of searching for a suitable helper and mate for man. Apparently none was found that met God’s standards. So now he is going to Plan B; that is to create a female for Adam. Watch!” As though hearing his son clearly, God looked up to the Earth Overlook and seemed to explain to the gathered angels “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” All stared mesmerized as God placed a hand on Adam’s head. The man slumped gently to the ground. “He’s fainted,” someone suggested. “God’s killed him,” came as an accusatory snort from Lucifer’s group.