Tree of knowledge of good and evil. Tree of knowledge of good and evil and moral freedom

Thousands of volumes have been written about the Bible, in which biblical texts have been deciphered, but so far the meaning of what has been written eludes us, remains closed to understanding and awareness. Let's think, why does she need a Bible published in many languages ​​in more than a trillion copies? That is, at least one copy for every inhabitant of the earth in 150 generations. Why, regardless of her death in fires, wars and under other external circumstances, she returns again and again. No wonder the word "library" means "collection of Bibles." Where is the answer to this phenomenon? Why is it still closed? Why are materialistic scientists so persistently arguing with its content? What is this - the Bible?

In fact, the Bible is the Constitution for mankind, the Instruction for each person and the reader of the universe. The Constitution, as the basic law of being, the Reader, as systematically explaining the essence of the current Divine laws and Instructions, using concrete examples and models, as a practical guide in being. Why, having everything at hand, we can not use it? The answer is simple. The philosophical terminology of eternal entities has three meanings: rational, spiritual and material. Using only the material meaning of eternal entities when reading the Bible leads us to a dead end, allowing us to know only the third part - the sector of truth. Meanwhile, the main meaning of the Teaching is a description of the invisible, secret for us spiritual world and the world of reason, although everyone knows very well about their existence: the world of feelings and sensations is the spiritual world; the world of thoughts and knowledge is the world of reason.

In many studies, we approach the study of phenomena and processes not from the beginning, but from the middle, studying not the essence, but the manifestation and consequence of individual entities. And therefore, in a world that has not known its beginning - the origin of the Earth, there are many conflicting theories, concepts, guesses that are far from the truth.

So, the first step to knowledge is a return to the beginning. The second step is understanding the meaning of the main biblical terms: God is the Creator and Creator of the Earth, and the process of His thinking is creation; creation - "action with knowledge", but with Divine knowledge - this is the process of forming the spiritual world; The Spirit of God is the true Divine thought, just as the only true sense of man is the sense of smell; another important term - Light - this name bears Wisdom, which, during the creation of the Earth and Heaven, fulfilled all the plans of the Lord; Another important term is life - the existence of the soul in the spiritual world, being - stay in the material world - or "business trip" from the spiritual world to the material world in order to become a creator and creator.

Once in the material world or being, you need to know the beginning of the origin of the Earth, Heaven, the living world and man. That is why the first book of the Bible is called Genesis.

"And the Lord God planted a paradise in Eden in the east, and placed the man there whom he had made. And out of the earth the Lord God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, and the tree of life in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil."

The Lord planted two trees in Paradise, the tree of life and the tree of good and evil, and gave the 1st commandment: "from every tree in the garden you will eat, but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil do not eat from it, for on the day that you eat from it, you will die." There was a living soul and life, but here death appears - a new concept: "to be moderate", as the commandments are fulfilled. Death is a concept of the spiritual world. Here God laid down the method of trial and error - the method of choosing a solution. With Him is definitely life, and the tree of good and evil is a piece (sector) of knowledge. "Taste" - took a piece of knowledge and became a piece (wormhole) - joined a piece of knowledge.

And then, the tree of life is the knowledge that gives a person eternal life and is a whole, and the tree of good and evil is a part of this knowledge - a piece (knowledge about the material world). If we receive knowledge from the tree of good and evil, then we will receive part of the knowledge.

The whole is the knowledge of the three worlds. The Lord is the teacher of knowledge from the tree of life, and the evil serpent from the tree of good and evil. Then, if we have received only a part of knowledge (knowledge about the material world), then we do not know the structure of the spiritual world and the world of reason. Knowing only the material world prevents us from knowing God and our relationship with Him. Since this is not a whole, but a part of knowledge, then there is a temptation and the appearance of knowing the whole piece by piece, as an illusion of knowing the whole.

Temptation - went astray from the good path: the knowledge of the whole. The temptation is great - to take an accelerated course that has only the name of a full course. Image: you can study at the university for 5 years, accumulating knowledge in the works, or buy a fake diploma.

Here lies the algorithm of temptation by a part of the whole and the method of trial and error. That's where he's coming from!

The Bible describes in detail the concepts - according to which a person, having made a free choice, can either achieve the image of God and live forever, having learned the knowledge from the Tree of Life (Fig. 19), or in fuss and false desire to aimlessly spend life in the material world, gaining the death of the soul, saturated with false knowledge from the tree of good and evil (Fig. 26). I immediately wanted to notice that the branches and roots of the tree of good and evil are of a negative nature, that is, the so-called good, there is no truth in this tree, because initially the evil serpent does not have complete true knowledge, it is his false idea of ​​good as a service , buying and selling in relationships, constant bargaining with the Lord, selfish goals and desires are reflected in the tree of good and evil. Conventionally, this tree can be called the tree of evil - the tree of flawed contradictory knowledge, personifying the evil serpent.

Branches of the tree of life

Each branch has five branches.

Faith - faith is the realization of what is expected (from the Lord) and confidence in the invisible (the Lord) (Apostle Paul). Faith receives, without faith nothing can be received (Gospel of Philip).

Filial relationship- faith in the Lord, the Heavenly Father, gives rise to a confident knowledge in the soul of a person that she is the son of her Father.

Prayer- the realization that the Heavenly Father is Great, and the son - the human soul is small, therefore, when turning to the Father with a question, it diminishes.

sacrifice- I wish Your Reason, gratitude of the human soul for grace, wealth, Word - Thought.

Receipt- obtaining three estates: material (house, money, harvest, success); spiritual (inspiration for creatures, love, pleasure, feeling of harmony with the world); reasonable (blessing in all matters of creation, protection from evil, misfortune, disease).

Immortal life- the acquisition of eternal life, fruitful for the soul and good fruits.

Love is the second most important human feeling, if faith receives from the Lord, then love distributes what it has received. "Love distributes, nothing can be given without love" (Gospel of Philip), otherwise it is violence or hypocrisy. It is with love that the Lord gives mankind everything: nature, seeds and everything that moves into food, shines with the Sun and pours rain, gave the Teaching and sends ideas to scientists, gives children and so on.

Gratitude- a feeling of the grace of God and a desire for reciprocal action.

Generosity- a feeling of joy of satisfaction from the commission of selfless good and good deeds.

Gracious- my face has become, a person who performs deeds and deeds similar to the deeds of the Lord, has become like the Father.

Dobrokhotny- a constant feeling of desire and need to selflessly do good and good.

Affectionate- to flatter, to speak sincerely and righteously pleasant, well-deserved, out of good intentions.

Wisdom is a concentrated amount of knowledge accumulated in the mind over many incarnations of the soul in the material world.

Unfortunately, modern man does not know how to use this huge store of knowledge about the essence of the structure of the world.

In the prayer "Our Father ..." we ask: "give us our daily bread (the wisdom of our mind) for this day (for this being)", but the Lord does not give, since they can be used in the area of ​​​​our destination, and we we don’t know him, we don’t know who we should be?

Thinking- the ability to communicate with the Lord, sending thoughts - questions and receiving thoughts from Him - sending answers or messages in order to act with this message or according to conscience.

prudence- the ability to see temptations, condemn them and make a righteous (correct) decision.

foresight- the ability in the process of thinking to request and receive a short-term or long-term forecast for the development of an undertaking or a proposed act.

Simplicity- a feeling of simplicity or genius of the Divine Thought as the main criterion. If the Thought is simple - from the Lord, complex, incomprehensible - it means not from the Lord, your own.

Maturity- The divine classification of people according to reason has five levels: infants, youths, youths, adults, mature. Only those who are mature in reason possess maximum wisdom.

Freedom - God is with you, freedom is possible only in the spiritual world and the world of the mind, it is useless to try to feel freedom in the material world, because there are restrictions all around: civil, prohibiting laws restricting activities, licenses, certificates, rules, norms, time limits, various complicating obligations, etc.

house building- awareness of the need to build a body - a house, soul and mind, the main owners of this house, and the need to give them the priority of the will in harmony with the will of the Lord.

incorruptibility- opposition to the seduction, and then the deception of the devilish essence, the inability to betray His Father in any situation.

conscientiousness- a state when any actions are taken in accordance with the received messages - thoughts from the Lord.

Strong- strong in mind, the evidence of a reasonable decision received from the Lord, acts as a force forcing other people to voluntarily submit to this force and implement this decision.

obedient- indisputably admitting the guilt committed during the incorrect fulfillment of the message sent by the Lord, at the first instruction, a hint from Him, by a negative result, but necessarily independently.

Joy - birth has become. The life cycle of nature and all living things is one year: winter, spring, summer and autumn. The life cycle of the spiritual life of a person in being is one day: sleep is winter, morning is spring, day is summer, evening is autumn, when a person should receive the fruit of the day.

Joy- this is the daily birth of the fruit - obtaining a result, albeit a small creation or creation, which are summed up in a great creative success.

Independence- the ability to make decisions independently, alone, only in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bits mission. The principle of unity of command is being implemented, when the Lord is the One Head. A person feels independence when the Lord stands behind him, and a person experiences fear at the thought of being left without the Lord.

harmony- a state when a person feels himself a part of the Lord, agrees and realizes Him, and not his goals and plans.

Honesty- a constant process of cleansing one's mind from vices and proving the purity of one's thoughts by deeds and the knowledge that the Lord compares deeds with intentions, reading them in the human mind.

Politeness- the ability to see in the spiritual world with the eyes of the mind - temptations, seductions and vicious souls of other people.

Frankness- the ability to submit to the open knowledge in the material world by the Lord, when the people around them say: he is lucky, more correctly: he is being led.

Bliss is the desire of a person to gain his divine capabilities in order to fulfill his main destiny - to rule on Earth.

trustworthiness- the ability of a person to become completely reliable for the Lord.

plausibility- a blessed person in front of other people has the appearance of a pure, honest, luminous person.

good manners- a person who has received divine education, mainly receiving food for his mind from the mouth of the Lord.

Benefactor- a person capable, knowledgeable, able to do good deeds.

Nobility- born of God, a human soul pure from vices, capable of good deeds.

The roots of the tree of life

In the "Epistle to Titus" the Holy Apostle Paul formulated seven virtues, seven moral principles of a moral society, Solomon called them seven pillars that Wisdom carved - these are the roots of the tree of life.

Silence- the ability to silently meet strange knowledge and begin the process of comprehending them.

Generosity- the ability to perceive new knowledge as long-awaited, because they increase the mind and exalt the feeling of the soul, bringing it closer to perfection.

cordiality- a joyful feeling that strange knowledge will allow the soul to give birth to new creations and creations.

Benevolence- this is a desire to gain one's divine capabilities, allowing one to become the ruler of the Earth, and to try to become similar to the Father by actions.

Compassion- uniting in suffering, feeling the suffering of unbelievers in order to help them come to God.

Condescension- the ability to show oneself lower than the suffering one, the readiness to "wash one's feet," for only such unbelievers open their souls, without which it is impossible to help him.

love of wisdom- love for wisdom, love for knowledge received from the mouth of God, which gives a feeling of the ripening of the fruits of creation within the mind.

purity of heart- the feeling of seeing temptations, the feeling of a divided vision of the manifestations of the desire of the body and soul, the feeling of the purity of the mind from vices.

Understanding- the feeling of recognizing the truth of knowledge brought to man and sent by the Lord.

law abiding- this is the state of a person when the Divine laws become for him above all civil laws, rules of decency, conventions of society, their violation becomes impossible under any circumstances.

Justice- a state when a person carries out judgment according to Divine laws, Divine truth, impartial, despite the clothes in the material world, but only at the prompt of the Lord, not recognizing false evidence.

Forgiveness- a manifestation of generosity, generosity is a beneficence synonymous with Divine mercy, similar to the forgiveness of the Lord, which comes not after serving the punishment, but after the realization of sin, error and repentance to tears, which, like the image of a mini flood, wash the soul from vice. Therefore, in the prayer "Our Father ..." such important attention is paid to forgiveness.

Sympathy- this is a state corresponding to the feeling of the Lord, where is good, where is evil, where is seduction and deceit, where is good deed, where is deceit and abomination.

Repentance- a deep understanding of Saturday, the seventh day of the week, when all the deeds committed in six days are independently illuminated, sins are independently revealed, they are corrected independently, the sacrifice of guilt is offered independently, the fifth part, and in all this, sincerely, to tears, confession is made to the Lord, for the Lord considers that only in this case a person will not commit a sin again.

worship- deep love and respect for your Father, when His Name really shines in a person’s mind, so as not to forget to ask Him for advice: which way to go at the next life crossroads; deep hope of receiving an inheritance of wisdom from the Heavenly Father.

Humility- this is a feeling of being in harmony with the threefold world of rational, spiritual and material, acceptance of the goals of the Divine world order, Divine control of the order in this world, refusal of one's own interference in this order, which leads to the creation of an order similar to the order in nature, instead of order in human society similar to Brownian motion.

Patience- "thorns to overcome." The Lord in our affairs performs the greatest amount of work Himself, assigning us the role of the ribbon-cutting completion of construction. So that we do not interfere with Him in the main work, He puts a thorn bush in front of us, which can be overcome with very slow movements - this is an image of patience. The ideal model of patience was demonstrated by Abraham in expecting the promised son from the barren Sarah.

diligence- the fulfillment by a person of the Divine messages without doubt, often contrary to the ambitious logic of the material world, which tries, but is not able to help predict its future, unlike the Lord, who plans everything for millennia ahead.

7. Root - holding the true word (adherence to the true word), in accordance with the Teaching, in order to denounce those who resist (Fig. 25).

Service- if the Lord revealed the essence of the Skill, then this is so that a person uses the essence of the Teaching for service, just as Jesus Christ carried the Teaching, having descended from Heaven, carried it with a human tongue so that the eyes of the soul - eyelids open and the ears of the soul hear the voice of the Lord, saving souls themselves from death.

Zeal- the act of the heart - the mind to admonish untrained people. In the material world, new knowledge must be read or heard and remembered, it takes a lot of time to read and listen. In the world of the mind, knowledge is transmitted by reasoning from the heart-mind directly to the heart-mind of another person, these knowledge are transmitted in images that carry a huge amount of information, an order of magnitude larger than a word.

preaching– The divine mission is to speak about the commandments and laws of the Lord and explain their meaning, explain the essence of "rewards" for their fulfillment or violation.

The roots of the tree of life nourish fruit-bearing branches, their description is found in various books of the Bible.

Branches of the tree of good and evil

The trunk of the tree of good and evil is pride, it has seven branches, each branch has five branches.

Pride (Fig. 26)- "mountains to give", which, according to a person, he acquired with his work, talent, cunning: mountains of money, mountains of popularity, mountains of knowledge. Pride and faith in the Lord are like communicating vessels: faith grows, pride decreases, and vice versa.

The evil serpent, the author of knowledge from the tree of good and evil, is not interested in a man, the son of God, reaching the image of God, that is, he would do good, but he is interested in the person reaching him, the serpent of the evil image, and doing evil. Therefore, the main task of the evil serpent, the devil, Satan is to instill pride in the mind of a person and to drown out faith in his Father as much as possible. The roots of the tree of good and evil are known, now the branches will bear fruit with deeds, and the fruits will nourish the roots with their juice.

1. Branch - greed (Fig. 27)- the desire of hell, in the word itself is the final for a person. Greed is the desire even with the eyes to appropriate everything, to save, not to allow the use of what is, to limit the use of oneself and loved ones, the highest pleasure of the greedy is to regularly count one's property.

love of money- love for the accumulation and collection of material values, for the sake of which all spiritual values ​​are sacrificed.

Greed- a passionate desire for hoarding, when the first place is the satisfaction of the desire to acquire, and then the very amount of accumulated.

Seduction and deceit- the basic principle of achieving power in human society and mastering someone else's property or property.

Seduction- they talk about a big deed, they promise mountains of gold, a bright future that can be obtained almost without difficulty, you just need to be patient a little, perhaps tighten the belt and so on.

Deception- when the power is received or it was possible to seize someone else's property, property, then it is said about the little of the promised that can be received, often the little turns into nothing.

abomination- "I know the measure", the act of an impudent person, dressing in the clothes of a benefactor who considers others stupid, idiots, driven by money-grubbing, offers a product, a service at a price ten times higher than the face value, believing that the buyer does not know the true price.

Corruption- acts of sowing in the minds of others a complete set of vices, their careful cultivation, nutrition, training, encouragement in order to raise students even more vicious than the teacher.

2. Branch of cruelty (Fig. 27)- an act of the ruler, extremely proud, the reverse side of the Divine plan to appoint a person as the ruler of the Earth, recognizing all people as their brothers and sisters. The cruel lord recognizes only his rightness, applies harsh measures to those who disagree, makes tough decisions, tough laws, but which do not apply to him and his team of admirers.

dire heart- the deeds of an immensely evil man, the best disciple of the evil serpent.

enmity- deeds that form the opponents of the human race, gloating and not embarrassed by this, even proud of their enmity.

deceit- acts like forging shackles, fetters, with sophisticated cunning and cunning, turning a free man into his slave.

Hatred- acts that excite impatience, desire for evil, disgust for others, not seeing the interests of others.

revenge- acts associated with paying evil for evil, evil for insult, evil for censure, evil for one's failures, unreasonable deeds, blaming the innocent for them.

3. Branch of jealousy (Fig. 27)- an act associated with the desire to achieve a certain high level that others have reached, but without having the abilities, talents for this, committing atrocities that undeservedly discredit these successful and talented people.

Suspicion- acts associated with disbelief in the reasonable actions of others, a sick imagination sees in any obvious circumstances a secret malicious intent that a suspicious person tries to reveal by any means and methods, but in all his affairs he himself has an evil intent.

grumpiness- an insane act that sows quarrel, discord, reaching physical violence.

Anguish- an act associated with physical torture, causing both bodily and spiritual suffering to people who are in slavish dependence on the tormentor.

contempt- an act associated with the disregard for the opinions or interests of other people, considering them insignificant, below any respect.

Treason- acts related to the violation of loyalty to the people, family, relatives, betrayal, revealing secrets to the enemy, familiarizing him with the strategy and tactics of building relationships for twenty or thirty pieces of silver.

4. Slavery branch (Fig. 28)- acts that lead to the enslavement of a free person with his subsequent exploitation and methodological restriction of his rights, up to their complete deprivation. The main goal is to make a person think about the need to find a job himself, to want to become a slave himself. A free man, when the Father is with him, but having become prodigal in relation to the Father, is immediately enslaved by the slave owners.

eloquent- a great slave owner in comparison with low slaves, giving instructions that are not negotiable, regardless of their reasonableness, the main thing is the benefit for the slave owner.

Biytsa- the deeds of a person who suppresses by violence his own opinion of a free person, protesting against unreason, stupidity, stupidity, turning him into a working animal.

Who loves the hustle- a gifted person, but who does not know his destiny and his talents, abilities and does not try to find ways to reveal them, voluntarily becomes a slave and spends all the time of being on meaningless work or also meaningless entertainment, does not know that the meaning of being is there in the spiritual world, unable to know his soul.

Useless- the deeds of an unreasonable person, helpless, not achieving profit, benefits, better than others lend themselves to enslavement.

Harassment, oppression- an act associated with complete restrictions on freedom of thought and action, complete subordination to the conditions of the slave owner.

5. Branch stupidity (Fig. 28)- an act of an unreasonable, dull, reckless person who does not think about the next step after the wrong step. A fool at all corners shouts about his stupidity (Solomon).

Craftiness- the deeds of a crooked, two-faced, malicious person with a completely vicious mind, hiding his stupidity.

Irresponsibility- the acts of an unreasonable person, leading the case to bankruptcy, loss, but who lays responsibility on others, he himself always evades responsibility. Responsibility will come after the return from being.

deceitfulness- an act similar to turning to the left from the direct path to the truth of the truth, the deceitful one goes to the left, sells the left product, defends the left and false interests, instead of the promised right ones; "Whoever lies, he steals" (Russian proverb).

Vanity- an act aimed at the greedy search for vain glory, badges of honor, titles for their imaginary, absent dignity.

Heresy- ugly rumors, differences in opinions of faith, rejection of the spiritual meaning of the Bible, leading to apostasy from the seam and from Christian teaching.

6. Branch of iniquity (Fig. 28)- the deeds of people who neglect and do not fulfill the Laws of God, conscience and the truth of truth.

Hypocrisy- an act that does not correspond to the Divine law, but corresponds to the opinion of a superior person, duplicity consists in covering up one's decision with a false interpretation of the law.

Perjury- a mortal sin on the charge of the right in committing a crime.

slander- deeds slandering, slandering honest people with slander.

Violence- an act forcibly forcing the fulfillment of false interpretations of the law, rules, instructions, requirements under pain of a threat to health and seizure of property and property in favor of the rapist.

Idolatry- worship of an imaginary deity, the main idol - a golden calf, material wealth, which after the end of life cannot be taken with you.

7. Branch of crime (Fig. 29)- an act of thought born in a vicious part of the mind of a person who has been trained by the evil serpent, the devil, Satan, the enemy of the Lord.

rancor- the actions of a person who collects information about unreasonable actions, statements, collecting compromising evidence, in order to then blackmail and subjugate another.

Corruption- acts of bribery of officials who, due to greed and acquisitiveness, trade their official rights, control, and rule of law.

Bloodlust- acts to satisfy greedy aspirations when taking possession of someone else's property, especially if this is accompanied by the shedding of the blood of the owner, gaining confidence and peace that the owner will not try to return the stolen property.

robbery- a predatory, robbery, bestial act accompanied by the appropriation of someone else's or property belonging to the whole family.

Perfidy- acts associated with deliberate destruction, brittle faith moving hesitantly towards God, convincing of the superiority of material values ​​over spiritual ones.

Tree of good and evil (Fig. 26) gives birth to the fruit - the death of the soul in the spiritual world, after a person, having completed his existence, must answer for every branch and shoot of the grown tree of good and evil in his mind.

The roots of the tree of good and evil

The composition of the seven roots of the tree of good and evil was listed by the Apostle Paul.

1. Root depravity (Fig. 30)- everything that is against truth and goodness (V.I. Dal); vice - an act, as a result of which fate or death of the soul appears in the spiritual world; the vicious deeds of a person are his farewell to the material and spiritual world, voluntary consent to resettlement in hell for eternal torment. N.V. Gogol in the story "Dead Souls" brought out the types of people and showed the image of their being, who doomed their souls to death after the end of life.

Lust- the manifestation and satisfaction of the desires of the body and the complete rejection of the intuitive prompts that stop the Lord and the inability to notice His signs, listen to the edifications of the messengers.

Fornication- wandering without the Lord on the path of life, spiritual and rational blindness, inability to see a swamp or an abyss in front of you.

fatherlessness- aggressive rejection of the Heavenly Father, to which He refuses intuitive prompts even in dangerous situations.

2. The root of adultery (Fig. 30)- corresponding to a crime against love, any combination of dissimilar principles: a disharmonious husband and wife, a mixture of two different breeds of cattle, two different types of seeds in one field, and so on.

Opening nudity- is considered one of the punishable sins, the discovery of the nakedness of a man or woman excites sexual lust, the desire to obtain sexual arousal, the essence of sexual intercourse is the combination of two seeds, male and female, for fruiting.

Temptation- a descent from the good or Divine path to perfection, the main goal of the devilish temptation.

Sodomy and lesbianism- deadly sins, qualified as an abomination before the Lord, is a useless shedding of the seed, the most valuable thing that the human body produces.

3. Root debauchery (Fig. 31)- a systematic, deliberate withdrawal from the Divine path of masses of people.

idle talk- justification of life concepts with a false use of the meaning of philosophical terms, with the substitution of true moral values, false, mythical.

Atheism- godlessness, a doctrine that forms hatred for the Lord, the Heavenly Father, while ungrateful use of everything that the peoples receive from Him: nature, bowels, food, materials, solar heat, rains, children, and so on. As it is said: an ox knows his master's manger, but a man does not recognize the Father of his soul.

Materialism- the bias of all branches of science towards the study of matter, the body, which serves as a case for the living world, stored and functioning in a case, therefore psychology and biology do not know their subjects of the soul and essence of the living, electrical engineering does not know where electricity comes from, all science does not know how the Earth and all living things happened. As it is said, including about materialism: they recognize the fruits, but do not recognize the tree or recognize the tree, but do not recognize the fruits (signs).

4. The root of disobedience (Fig. 31)- acts associated with the denial of one's true roots, acceptance and agreement with the absurd idea of ​​the origin of man from a monkey and at the same time the realization of one's huge intellectual differences from it, due to one's own achievements.

Arrogance- acts associated with a high self-imposed measure, assessment, in relation to the environment, associated with the position held, place. Jesus said in your world are elected according to their clothes (occupied places), in fact, everyone is elected according to their understanding.

outrage- deliberate acts to violate even civil, not to mention Divine, laws, rules, decency, agreements, turning into corruption, theft, bribery, expropriation, privatization (translated from Latin - capture) and so on.

conceit- actions carried out on the basis of one's own opinion and refusal to receive thoughts, opinions of one's Father. A person with conceit finds a solution only by trial and error, while in trials he loses resources, money, and time.

5. Root killing (Fig. 32)- the ultimate sin, which consists in violating the Divine plan. The Lord sent his son or daughter to Earth with a task to fulfill something, leads him to his fate, and now a killer appears, who puts his goals or the goals of the customer of the murder above the Divine ones. For this, the Lord determines the highest measure of punishment - sends to eternal torment in hell. The same awaits those who train murderers, promote murders on screens, in literature, inciting lust and devaluing souls created in the image and likeness of God.

wretchedness- deeds standing next to the deeds of Cain - the murderer of his brother and at the same time not recognizing his sins, when the Lord gave him such an opportunity, called repentance - recognizing his sin by Cain. Cain refused to acknowledge his sins.

Sadism- receiving satisfaction or pleasure from the cruel violence and torment of his victim.

Rampage- acts arbitrary, insane, associated with violence indiscriminately towards one's own or others.

6. The root of greed (Fig. 32)- passion for acquisition, greed for wealth, covetousness, accompanied by an illness to store wealth, leads at the end of life to madness due to the realization that it is impossible to take what has been accumulated.

Crime- a crime of divine and civil laws due to self-interest.

Eating sacrificial- an act of a person associated with a willingness to appropriate popular shrines, victims, including legislators who pass laws, taxing sacrifices.

Lust- making a leader, deeds aimed at obtaining power by any means: crimes, bribery, perjury. The desire for power is driven by greed.

7. Root of anger (Fig. 31)- Anger is a product of the vicious nest of evil in the mind.

Fear- an emerging feeling associated with the loss of authority, loss of power, perceived as the collapse of a career, family, life. Fear generates insane actions, rage, a feeling of omnipotence in the face of weakness that is obvious to others.

Madness- inadequate acts to the circumstances that have arisen, perceived by the person himself as the most reasonable, others perceive these acts as a mental illness.

Hopelessness- extraordinary actions aimed at returning the lost, when no advice, warnings, including the restriction of freedom, are accepted.

Why did God place the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the Garden of Eden? Can a person know good and evil without committing sin? Let's figure it out.

7 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul.

8 And the Lord God planted a paradise in Eden in the east, and placed there the man whom he had created.

9 And out of the ground the Lord God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, and the tree of life in the midst of the garden, and tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

15 And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden, to dress it and keep it.

16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, From every tree in the garden you shall eat

17 a from tree of the knowledge of good and evil Do not eat of it, for on the day you eat of it you will die the death.

The reader may wonder: why was it necessary to plant a tree with such deadly fruits in the Garden of Eden? And further - if eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is a sin, then how to know what is good and what is evil?

The misinterpretation of these verses has given rise to the misconception that knowledge is inextricably linked with sin, so it will be helpful to separate the two.

Methods of knowledge

Knowledge can be empirical or theoretical. Empirical knowledge involves the use of methods such as observation, experiment, measurement, and comparison. The methods of theoretical knowledge are as follows: analysis, synthesis, deduction, induction, classification, formalization, idealization, abstraction, modeling, analogy.

These days you can often hear questions like this: "If I don't try drugs, how will I know it's bad?" Here, as a method of cognition, a person chooses the method of experiment. It is interesting at the same time that no one in their right mind asks the question - “how do I know that it is dangerous to throw myself under a train until I throw myself at least once?”. Why, in the case of a train, do people prefer to use observation and comparison, analogy and modeling? Most likely, it seems to people that they will not survive the experiment with the train, while the lethality of drug experiments is not so obvious to them.

In the case of drugs, there is another reason why some people feel compelled to try it: the expected pleasure, new sensations, "expansion of consciousness" (this last one is in quotation marks, since clouding can hardly be seriously called an expansion).

However, even in ancient times, some intelligent (albeit cruel) people guessed that intoxication can be well known through observation (thus avoiding all the consequences of the experimental approach). Plutarch in his Comparative Lives (Lycurgus, 28) writes that the Spartans "forced the helots * to drink unmixed wine, and then brought them to common meals, to show the youth what intoxication is».

Knowledge of good and evil

How could it be

Let us return to the Garden of Eden, where the first people faced the question of what method of knowing good and evil they should choose. Could the experiment that ended in Adam and Eve's expulsion from the garden have been avoided? Undoubtedly.

Look what God said to man: “from every tree in the garden you will eat, but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil - do not eat from it, for on the day you eat from it you will die by death” (). Was it difficult to apply induction and synthesis? Adam and Eve could reason like this: “God made a certain rule and communicated it to us; to adhere to this rule is good, to break it is evil. Is there knowledge of good and evil here? Yes. Of course, Adam and Eve could have remained ignorant of all kinds of evil, but they would have the first criterion for distinguishing between good and evil: Is this action in accordance with the will of God?

As it was

What happened? Satan asked Eve the question: “Did God truly say: Do not eat from any tree in paradise?” (). Notice that Satan is trying to sow doubt: "Did God forbid eating the fruits of all trees?". Eve answered with dignity that she and Adam could eat the fruits of all trees, except for the fruits of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which are forbidden to be eaten on pain of death (). Satan uses his second weapon - an outright lie: “No, you will not die” (in other words: “God lied to you, and I tell the truth”), and continues: “but God knows that on the day you eat them, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like gods, knowing good and evil. Here is the bait that Satan offers to the simple-hearted Eve: "God hides hidden knowledge from you, but I am on your side and open your eyes **!" Eve looked at the fruits of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil with new eyes: the prohibition of God is forgotten; instead, the understanding that the fruits look quite edible, that they are pleasant to look at, and, finally, that they are very desirable to eat, because they provide an opportunity to gain knowledge (). What knowledge, Eve? What is the important knowledge that cannot be obtained without violating God's command?

It is not known what the mother of all living thought when she ate the forbidden fruit. It is not known what she was thinking, giving this fruit to Adam. It is known that after eating this fruit, the first people learned that they were naked (). This seems to be all they have learned so far.

Two knowledge

Here is the knowledge that could be obtained without violating God's commandment: “What God has commanded to be done is good; that what He forbade is evil.” Trite? Yes. And valuable. And vital.

This is the knowledge that people have gained by breaking the word of God: "We are naked." Fresh, non-trivial? Yes. And completely useless. Adam and Eve realized there was a problem, but didn't know how to solve it. To hide their nakedness, they made themselves aprons, i.e. belts (). The problem was not solved, because they remained naked in their belts, because belts are not clothes. As always, God solved the problem of mankind: He made Adam and Eve "clothes of leather, and clothed them" ().

Conclusion

Why did God place the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the Garden of Eden, commanding not to eat its fruit on pain of death? So that Adam and Eve, using logic, would begin to distinguish between good and evil. The first people could have learned this without breaking the commandment of God; no one condemned them to sin, no one pushed them to commit a very expensive mistake with far-reaching consequences.

So it was in ancient times, the same is true now: obtaining knowledge that is truly necessary for a person does not require sinning. And vice versa: by transgressing the will of God, a person does not receive anything of value - no important and useful knowledge.

*) Helots - in ancient Sparta, farmers who were in an intermediate position between serfs and slaves.

**) Many people still believe - repeating Eve's mistake - that God hid something important from them, and seek knowledge anywhere but the Bible. Such people will sooner or later realize that they were wrong. I pray to God that they realize their mistake while it's still possible to make things right.

© 2017 Nikolay Gudkovich.

Novice Michael (Mkrtchyan), Vysoko-Petrovsky Monastery

In the name of Christ we ask: be reconciled to God (2 Cor. 5:20)

Introduction

As is well known to all Christians, and not only Christians, God in Paradise commanded Adam and Eve not to eat the fruits from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, but our forefathers disobeyed and were eventually expelled from Paradise, which, in fact, began the earthly the history of mankind, full of labors, sorrows and troubles. However, in connection with these events, which are so crucial for all mankind, a number of rather important questions arise, a comprehensive consideration of which is vital even in our time. What was the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? Was it fatal for Adam and Eve to eat these fruits themselves? If so, why did the Lord plant a “poisonous” tree in Paradise? And if not, then why did He forbid Adam and Eve to eat fruit from this particular tree, and not from any other? Why did Eve, and after her, Adam, encroaching on the fruits, hoped to become “like gods”? Why did the eating of the fruit lead to such a strong violation of harmony with God that its consequences could not be eliminated by simple means? And most importantly: what vital lessons should we learn for ourselves from the history of the fall of our forefathers and their expulsion from paradise?

We will try to carefully understand, to the best of our ability to delve into the essence and find answers to the questions posed.

Adam and the types of knowledge of good and evil
Did God not want Adam and Eve to know good and evil, and therefore imposed a ban? This would be extremely strange. Indeed, in later times, when many more restrictions were imposed on people and when they were deprived of the insight that Adam possessed, He Himself more than once commanded His people to know good and evil. How could this knowledge be forbidden to Adam and Eve, who freely enjoyed all the benefits in paradise? And did Adam not know what is good and what is evil before eating the fruit? St. John Chrysostom indignantly rejects this point of view: “Many lovers of disputes dare to say that Adam, after already eating from the tree, received the ability to distinguish between good and evil. To think so would be extremely crazy.<…>How could the one who gave names and uttered such a wonderful prophecy about a wife not know what is good and what is bad? If we allow this (which will not happen!), then we will again blaspheme the Creator. How did He also give a commandment to those who did not know that crime (is) evil? This is not true; on the contrary, he clearly knew it. (John Chrysostom, St. Conversations on the Book of Genesis. Conversation XVI, 5 / John Chrysostom, St. Creations: In 12 vols. St. Petersburg, 1898. T. 4. Book 1. S. 134-135.)

“If we now know this, and not only we, but also the Scythians and barbarians, then all the more did man know this then, before the fall. Honored with such advantages as (creation) in the image and likeness, and other benefits, he could not be deprived of the main good. Only those who by nature do not have reason do not know good and evil, and Adam possessed great wisdom and could recognize both. (John Chrysostom, St. Eight Words on the Book of Genesis. Word VII / Ibid. T. 4. Book 2. S. 758) “So, who knew so much, tell me, didn’t he know what was good and what was evil? What will it be in line with? If he [Adam] did not know before eating from the tree what was good and what was evil, but learned after eating, then, therefore, sin was a teacher of wisdom for him, and the serpent was not a deceiver, but a useful adviser, making him a man from a beast. But let it not! It's not like that, no If he did not know what was good and what was evil, then how could he receive a commandment? Law is not given to those who do not know that crime is evil. And God gave (the law) and punished for the transgression [of the law]; He would not have done either if he had not first made Adam capable of knowing virtue and vice. Do you see how it is revealed to us from everywhere that it was not after eating from the tree that [Adam] knew good and evil, but he knew it before?” (Ibid., pp. 759-760) Note that this point of view is confirmed in the Holy Scriptures. The wise Sirach says: “The Lord created man from the earth.<…>He gave them sense, tongue and eyes, and ears and a heart to reason, filled them with discernment of mind and showed them good and evil"(Sir. 17: 1-6).

However, to avoid omissions, we will consider the issue in more detail. Knowledge is of three types: 1) through concepts, terms, words; 2) direct contemplation of the knowable; 3) on personal experience, that is, through personal involvement, or possession of the knowable, or even the interpenetration of the knower and the known. Let's agree that it's different to hear about happiness, it's different to see a happy person and communicate with him, and it's different to be happy yourself. It is another thing to know that honey exists, another thing to see honey, and another thing to taste honey and feel its sweetness.
Of course, Adam had a conceptual knowledge of good and evil. He certainly knew that there is good and evil, "good" and "bad", good and vile. But it is by no means necessary that he at the same time know in detail, for example, all the specific types of evil. There was no need for this. After all, unlike us, Adam was completely protected from the direct suggestion of bad thoughts, feelings and desires to him. He was like a baby, whom the father leads by the hand, protecting and protecting at the same time. We agree that such a baby does not need to know all the rules of the road for his safe movement. Similarly, Adam did not need to know the string of many commandments that we need, having the opportunity to move away from God in many ways. Thus, it cannot be ruled out that, with his knowledge of good and evil, Adam was simultaneously in some blissful ignorance, so that he had something to know even at the level of concepts. However, it is unlikely that the tree of the knowledge of good and evil gave exclusively or predominantly such knowledge. After all, the latter is not fraught with such a danger that such a strict prohibition and such a terrible warning (of imminent death) would be appropriate.
Was it possible for Adam to directly contemplate good and evil? First, let us note that when Adam gave names to animals, he did not do it in a random way, but contemplated the essence of each of them. So from the very beginning, his spiritual eye was open for contemplation. Therefore, one cannot judge him and his abilities, focusing on the vast majority of his descendants, who are in a state of spiritual blindness. Now specifically about the contemplation of good and evil. For a person who is pure in heart and free from sin, and this is exactly what Adam was before his fall, any knowledge of the good is useful, both conceptual and contemplative. Knowledge of evil, of course, is not all useful. Direct contemplation of it is fraught with many dangers. First, one who does not have the gift of discerning spirits can be deceived, mistake evil spirits for holy angels, “because Satan himself takes the form of an angel of light” (2 Cor. 11:14), and fall into delusion; secondly, one who does not have spiritual courage at the sight of gloomy demons from fear can be damaged by the mind; and, thirdly, contemplation may be followed by an even greater rapprochement, and a person who does not have the power of the Holy Spirit and the proper spiritual strength may be defeated and be enveloped in darkness, for "the devil walks like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour" ( 1 Peter 5:8). However, a man who is courageous and spiritually protected, i.e., abiding in God and contemplating everything in the Holy Spirit, can, as it were, contemplate evil from afar without harm to himself. After all, such contemplation does not defile either angels or holy ascetics. And God, being all-seeing, sees evil, but is not defiled by it. There is no reason to consider Adam before his fall less pure than the saints, or less courageous than the strong ascetics. Therefore, if all the potential danger of Adam falling away from God consisted in his lack of experience of contemplating evil and evil spirits, then it would not be difficult for God, as if holding him by the hand for safety, to give him such an experience, thereby forever eliminating the danger of apostasy from Him. But, obviously, the main danger of apostasy is not the desire to see evil. And what supervaluable could Adam hope to receive from such contemplation? Nothing. This means that there would be no motive for the sake of which he would go against the will of God, risking death. In addition, it is impossible not to pay attention to the fact that the tree was not called "the tree of the knowledge of evil", but "the tree of the knowledge of good and evil." And if in its title the understanding of the word “knowledge” as “contemplation” is taken as true, it follows that without eating its fruits, not only the contemplation of evil, but also good, was impossible. It turns out that Adam, before his fall, could not contemplate either God, or angels, or anything holy at all. But it is impossible to agree with this. Therefore, the word "knowledge" in the name of the tree does not mean "contemplation" in relation to good. Why should this word have a similar meaning in relation to evil? .. So if the fruits from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil were somehow connected with contemplation, then it was still not the main thing that these fruits gave.
Maybe the fruits from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil gave knowledge even closer than contemplation, in particular, knowledge of evil, i.e., coming into direct contact with evil, staying in it, filling it? All of the above, indeed, leads to falling away from God. But, as noted above, the tree was not called "the tree of the knowledge of evil", but "the tree of the knowledge of good and evil." Was it really impossible to contact not only with evil, but also with good without eating its fruits? What, then, could Adam have contacted before the fall? Only with that which is neither evil nor good? Hardly. In that case, how would he grow spiritually, strengthen himself in goodness? It is quite obvious that before the fall, Adam was in full contact with good, he was surrounded on all sides by good, and not eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was not at all an obstacle for him to grow in good, with which he could freely fill his soul. And if the word “knowledge” in the name of the tree in relation to good does not mean knowledge at the level of personal involvement, then why should it have such a meaning in relation to evil? commandments of God? Was he really not content with the fact that his soul was filled with goodness, and wanted to fill it with evil as well? This seems absurd. Adam, in his great wisdom, could not have had such a foolish desire. And we should not forget that Eve and Adam wanted to become "like gods"; and this does not involve being filled with evil, or being embraced by evil, or coming into contact with evil. After all, all of the above in no way likens a person to God.

Maybe Adam, having a purely speculative knowledge of evil, was not content with this and wanted to taste it? Perhaps there is a certain amount of truth in this, but just a part, because he still thirsted not for the knowledge of the taste of evil, but wanted to become "like gods, knowing good and evil." And what taste of evil would he hope to taste? And why would he need this taste? ..

Why did Eve and Adam, breaking the commandment, hope to become “like gods”?
Reading many Christian authors who expressed their views on the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, as well as on the tree of life, unfortunately, you involuntarily catch yourself thinking that not all of them properly understood that God not only loved Adam infinitely, but he was also infinitely generous to him. Accordingly, the two main trees in Paradise - the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil - were supposed to give the greatest gifts that a person can perceive. And the greatest gifts, of course, are not something human, but something divine. Therefore, for example, the current opinion that the fruits from the tree of life provided Adam simply with human immortality surprises and upsets. As if if he had not eaten the fruit of this tree, he would have died. It turns out that directly in Paradise itself there was a danger of death, and it could have overtaken Adam even if he had not sinned. In fact, the fruits from the tree of life gave incomparably more: they made a person a partaker of Divine life. In the Old Testament, Wisdom is called the tree of life: "She (Wisdom) is the tree of life for those who acquire it - and blessed are those who keep it!" (Prov. 3:18). But Christ is Wisdom Incarnate. And in the patristic tradition of the Orthodox Church, Christ is called the Tree of Life. There is an icon "Saved the Tree of Life". In the thanksgiving canon of the Mother of God, St. Joseph the Songwriter addressed the following words to the Blessed Virgin: “Rejoice, Lady of the Word, animated by Paradise, the Tree in the midst of the possessions of Life - the Lord, His sweetness revives those who partake and aphids bowed down by faith ... ". (Sung on Saturday of the 5th week of Great Lent at matins.)

True spiritual and heavenly life is inseparable from God the Son - eternal Life, and He gives it to those who are hungry for this life and approach Him with reverence. It was this spiritual life that Adam partook of, eating the fruit from the tree of life. Then he perceived this life in the paradise fruits of the tree; and now we perceive this heavenly life in the Eucharist, about which Christ himself said: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink His Blood, you will not have life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life” (John 6:53-54). Also, John the Theologian testifies: “For life has appeared, and we have seen and testify, and we proclaim to you this eternal life, which was with the Father and appeared to us” (1 John 1: 2).
So, the fruits from the tree of life did not give eternal human existence, because Adam had it without it before his fall, but they raised it to Life. Similarly, there is every reason to believe that the fruits from the second tree gave a knowledge of good and evil, not such as is given to man by God through conscience or commandment. Adam from the beginning knew good and evil as a man; and, eating the fruit of the tree, he hoped to get something more; judging by the fact that for the sake of this he went to the violation of the commandment given by God - something much more. This means that the fruits gave knowledge such as that of God Himself. And Adam wanted to know good and evil like God, in order to become "like the gods" himself. We agree that having only human knowledge, it is impossible to become "like the gods"; For this you need to gain knowledge of the Divine.
What is the difference between human and divine knowledge of good and evil? After all, it would seem that this is one and the same good, one and the same evil. It should be noted here that many sincere people, feeling in their souls the inviolability of the laws of morality, unconsciously think about truths that reflect good and evil, that is, delineate their boundaries, in the spirit of objective idealism, as if these are some ideas that exist in themselves. (According to the Platonic theory of ideas, the latter are not only eternal and unchanging, but also have an existence independent of anyone and anything.)

However, if you delve into it, it becomes obvious that these truths (boundaries) do not exist by themselves, but are the essence of God's establishment. So God is not only knows boundaries of good and evil, but Himself constitutes them. Man is left with the knowledge of these boundaries, already established and existing. That's the difference!
Now the next question: how Does God define these boundaries? How does He decide what is good and what is evil? What is God's criterion for good or evil? This criterion is He Himself. What God pleases, what corresponds to His goodness, wisdom and holiness, that is good in His eyes; and what is not pleasing to Him, what is contrary to His goodness, that is evil in His sight.
So, criterion good and evil for God is He Himself, unfailingly good, wise and holy; and He is author all higher laws and regulations, good, wise and holy. So Adam had to be content with the same criterion, and keep to these very institutions. But he wanted to know good and evil like God, that is, he wanted myself become for yourself the criterion of good and evil, and myself decide what is good and what is evil. Through this, he hoped to become like God in the fastest way.
So if Adam had a desire to taste evil, it could only have this meaning, that is, the desire to decide for himself whether it is evil or not evil at all, but good. Are there not many people who say: “Everything in life must be tried”, implying that they are going to try just what is forbidden? But why? To decide for themselves what is good and what is evil. And by what criteria are they going to decide it? There is only one criterion - they themselves. In fact, they seem to be saying: “What my soul loves is good for me, and what it does not love is evil. My life is my business." They might well add, “I don't really care what God likes or doesn't like. The main thing for me is what I like and what I don't. And the commandments of God are not a law for such people, and often not even a guideline. They easily fall into mortal sins, and if they like any of these sins, they often make it the rule of their own lives.
Thus, the goal of Eve and Adam was not the speculative knowledge of evil, not entering into close contact with it and not tasting it. The devil seduced them with the same thing through which he himself fell: the desire to become like God. God, as King in the Kingdom of Heaven, reserved for Himself the highest legislative power - the power to establish the boundaries of good and evil; people, like thieves and rebels, decided to appropriate the same power for themselves in order to become "like gods." Initially, God gave people complete freedom within the framework of goodness. However, this was not enough for them: they wanted to have the power to establish these limits themselves, and to do this not even together with God, but without God and independently of God.
It should be noted that God did not forbid Adam to become like Him. On the contrary, that is what he was created for and that is what he was called to do. He was created from the very beginning in the image and likeness of God. He had to keep the image, and increase in likeness. God is good, wise and holy, and He is the Creator of everything and the King in the Kingdom of Heaven. And Adam possessed blessedness, wisdom, and holiness. And besides, in accordance with the plan of God, he could and was called to grow more and more in perfection. This is the meaning of the commandments to cultivate and keep the Garden of Eden (Gen. 2:15) and to eat the fruit of every tree in the garden (Gen. 2:16) except one. Living in Paradise, among a great many different trees that give good fruits, Adam was free to use the latter, that is, he could freely choose any gifts and blessings, including those that bore fruit from the tree of life. Through this he could gradually grow in God and unite more closely with Him, becoming more and more like Him with and in Him. But our forefather decided to take a different, faster path. He desired to become like God without God (Rev. Justin Popovich writes: “By the fall, the Divine-human order of life was violated and rejected, and the devil-human order was accepted, for by the willful transgression of the commandment of God, the first people announced that they wished to achieve Divine perfection, to become “like the gods” not with the help of God, but with the help of the devil, which means bypassing God, without God, against God.” (Justin (Popovich), Rev. On Original Sin / Justin (Popovich), Rev. Orthodox Philosophy of Truth. Perm: PO "Panangia", 2003. S. 151),

without God, to know good and evil, to have the basis of the knowledge of good and evil not in God, but in oneself. (“Man, instead of receiving knowledge from above in pure gnosis, becomes for himself the criterion and measure of what good and what is evil” (Theognost (Pushkov), hierome. The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil: An Attempt to Differentiate Theologemes // Theological Reflections. 2005. No. 5. P. 85).

As a result, he fell away from God and fell into selfhood.

Violation of the commandment and spiritual death
God created man free, and did not bind him to Himself by force, as if by some kind of chain, just as now He does not save anyone by force. He clearly speaks about this through the prophet David: “Do not be like a horse, like a foolish hinny, whose jaws need to be bridle with a bridle and a bit, so that they obey you” (Ps. 31: 9). The union of God with man was a free union, a union of mutual love. But the freedom of man for that is freedom, which gives him not only the opportunity to live with God and in God, but also the opportunity to move away and even fall away from Him. To prevent this from happening, a commandment was given to him, for it is impossible that God, knowing that a person can fall away from Him, would not warn him and command him not to do what leads to falling away. A commandment is not so much a law, the crime of which is imputed as guilt, for which, in turn, a certain punishment is expected, but a warning, for the Lord said: “... on the day you eat from it, you will die a death” (Gen. 2 : 17), but did not say: "... on the day you eat from him, I will kill you." After all, many negative consequences came even before God pronounced His judgment on sinners Adam and Eve. St. Irenaeus of Lyon says this about it: “Separation from God is death, just as separation from light is darkness ... however, this does not mean that it was the light that imposed the punishment on the blind to remain in darkness.” (Irenaeus of Lyon, schmch. Against heresies. V, 27, 2. URL: http://azbyka.ru/otechnik/Irinej_Lionskij/vs_eres/5_27)

Before eating, there was only goodness and light in Adam and Eve, and after that, evil penetrated into their hearts and darkness enveloped them. “And the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked, and they sewed together fig leaves, and made themselves aprons” (Genesis 3:7). Prior to this, Adam and Eve were like pure and chaste babies. And now passions blossomed in them and all sorts of embarrassments began. So, in mind and heart, they almost immediately moved away from God. “And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in paradise in the cool of the day; And Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of paradise” (Genesis 3:8). From what happened, it is clear to what extent their minds were darkened if they tried to hide from the all-seeing God “between the trees of Paradise”. The omniscient Lord, fully knowing what happened, in His mercy gives Adam the opportunity to repent and asks: “Have you not eaten from the tree from which I forbade you to eat?” (Gen. 3:11) And what does our forefather Adam answer? He does not repent and does not even answer in simplicity of heart: “Yes, I ate,” but says: “The wife that You gave me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate” (Gen. 3: 12). He directly accuses his wife, and indirectly - God, for he does not simply say "the wife gave me, and I ate", but he specifically adds: "which You gave me." Alas, his heart was so darkened. So is every unrepentant sinner: whatever you ask him, everyone around is to blame, but not him. In the same vein, Eve also holds an answer to God: the serpent is to blame. eleven)

It should be noted that the nature of the responses of Adam and Eve, their self-justification and desire to shift the blame onto another, manifests the effect of the eaten fruit: they already judge good and evil not according to God, as they did before, but differently, in their own way, in their hearts distorting the true picture.
Let us note that up to this moment God has not pronounced His judgment on anyone, has not punished anyone, has not expelled anyone. But Adam and Eve, who previously dwelt in the Wisdom of God and in the Holy Spirit, already show themselves that now they are very far removed from both wisdom and holiness. So, it is clearly seen that it was not God who withdrew from people, being angry with them for their disobedience, but that people inwardly, that is, with their mind and heart, withdrew from God.
Death is of two kinds: spiritual and physical. Spiritual death is the falling away of the soul from God; bodily death is the separation of the soul from the body. (See: Gregory Palamas, St. Ksenia, all-honourable in nuns, about passions and virtues and about the fruits of smart doing, 4-5. URL: http://azbyka.ru/otechnik/prochee/dobrotoljubie_tom_5/18)

Death first befell Adam and Eve on the same day they ate from the forbidden tree, as the Lord said to Adam: “Do not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for on the day you eat from it you will die by death” (Gen. 2:17). And bodily death overtook them only a few centuries later, moreover, as a result of a completely different decree of God: “You will return to the ground from which you were taken, for dust you and to dust you will return” (Gen. 3: 19). Rev. Macarius the Great teaches: "We do not say that a person is completely lost, destroyed, died: he died for God, but lives by his own nature." (Instructions of St. Macarius the Great on the Christian life, selected from his conversations. II. The gloomy state of the fallen, 39 // Philokalia. Vol. 1. URL: http://www.hesychasm.ru/library/dobro/txt09.htm)

And the blessed Theophylact of Bulgaria claims that Adam, “although he was alive, nevertheless<…>died at the same time as he ate of the forbidden fruit. (Theophylact of Bulgaria, blessed. Interpretation of the Gospel of Luke. Ch. 20 / Theophylact of Bulgaria. Interpretations of the Gospel of Luke and John. M .: Sibirskaya Bell Bell, 2010. P. 137.)

St. Ignatius Brianchaninov, referring to St. Gregory Palamu, writes: “The soul of Adam died,” says St. Gregory Palamas, “by disobedience, having separated from God: for in his body he lived after that (after his fall) up to nine hundred and thirty years.” (St. Ignatius Brianchaninov. Word about a man. Ch 11: Fall of the primordial URL: http://azbyka.ru/otechnik/Ignatij_Brjanchaninov/slovo_o_cheloveke/11)

The only prohibition that God gave to Adam in Paradise was not to eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; and it was precisely by stepping over this prohibition and only through this that he could fall away from God. Indeed, if he considered good what God considers good, and considered evil what God considers evil, how could he fall away from Him? It should be borne in mind that before the fall, Adam was a whole being, therefore he could not have that state of internal split and contradiction that occurs in us when a person considers something good, but does the opposite, and about which St. Apostle Paul says: “The good that I want, I do not, but the evil that I do not want, I do” (Rom. 7:19). And while Adam considered good what really is such according to God, then he adhered to it. On the other hand, if he began to consider good not what God considers as such, and also evil not what God considers, then how could he not fall away from Him? ..
Adam fell into selfhood, began to live on his own, became a kind of completely autonomous world, no longer rooted in God. That this really was the case can be seen from the majority of his descendants: every “ordinary”, i.e., not born again person (cf. John 3: 3) is a completely autonomous world, with its own “truth” and its own “good ". Could Adam's mind, which became self-centered, at the same time remain rooted in God? No way. In the same way, his heart turned away from God. Could the Kingdom of Heaven be divided into itself, so that the good from God and the good from Adam existed in it? No. Therefore, Adam internally fell away from God, found himself outside of God. The body remained in Paradise for some time, and while he was there, the opportunity was open for him to repent and restore his condition. But that did not happen. And since the source of all true blessings is God, then Adam, having become a stranger to Him and being expelled from paradise, was deprived of those great heavenly treasures that he possessed as a child of God.

Tree of knowledge of good and evil and moral freedom
Why did God create the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, if the fruits from it brought death to people? Why planted it in Paradise? Really, even for the sake of freedom, He specially created this tree as a kind of door through which one can fall away from Him?.. Of course not. God didn't do anything wrong. The question is different. The Holy Fathers teach that for Adam the fruits from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil were deadly only for a time; and after he had reached sufficient maturity and perfection, God would have canceled this commandment, and then Adam could have eaten the fruits from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil without harm to himself, and even with benefit. (St. Gregory the Theologian unequivocally states that the tree of the knowledge of good and evil “was good for those who used it in good time, but not good for the simple yet immoderate in their desire, just as perfect food is not good for the weak and those requiring milk” (Gregory the Theologian , St. Word 45, for Holy Pascha / Creations like in the saints of our father Gregory the Theologian, Archbishop of Constantinople. St. Petersburg: P. P. Soikin, 1912. P. 666).)

This would have been possible only if Adam had grown so perfect, so filled with the grace of the Holy Spirit, so "merged" with it that he would become invariably holy, god-like, grace would become, as it were, an integral part of his being, as if it were his second nature. And then, having become a perfect vessel of God, he would always strive for good, for good, never, in anything and under no circumstances, would go against God, but would love Him with all his heart. And that this was not yet the case at the time of the fall of our forefathers, is clearly seen from how easily Eve preferred the words of the serpent to the words of God and believed that God deceived them and, out of envy, does not want people to become “like gods”, knowing good and evil; and how easily Adam chose to obey his wife rather than God. If Adam really became an eternal righteous man from becoming accustomed to good, from eating the fruit from the tree of life and being filled with grace, then he himself would not want or even be able to go against God, so God would be dear to him, and he to God. From a state where he could not have sinned (but could have sinned), he would have passed, like the angels who withstood during temptation, to a state where he could no longer sin. But first, he, like the Archangel Michael and the holy angels, had to resist the temptation that the Lord allowed. And only in the event that Adam, having been tested, would prove his trustworthiness for the Kingdom of Heaven, would ascend (gradually or, perhaps, immediately) to the proper height of perfection, then the Lord would cancel the prohibitive commandment given by Him, which partly restricts him freedom, for the sake of complete freedom, for the sake of complete bliss. And then he would be able to bear complete moral freedom without any harm to oneself, but with benefit, for freedom for those who rightly use it is a great blessing. And before that, the fruits from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil represented a mortal danger for him as giving him premature complete freedom. First, the fulfillment of the commandment, the habit of doing good, then freedom. After all, we also keep our children at first within certain limits, accustom them to certain rules, and when they get used to them, when these rules become a habit for them, which will become, as it were, their second nature, then we give them freedom. And if freedom comes first, then later... What happens next, we know well. To do this, it is enough to look at the modern “democratic” world: the gradual corruption of many millions of people and the multiplication of sin, the progressive moral degradation hidden behind a respectable facade. “A man of honor who is not wise, be venerated with foolish cattle and become like them” (Ps. 46:13). These are the fruits of premature freedom, the freedom of people who have not been strengthened in the fulfillment of the commandments, a perverted and mutilated freedom, turned into permissiveness. Paradise is forgotten, and mortal sin is the norm of life. Such is this false freedom, freedom from commandments, freedom from unity with God.

The freedom of the children of God and the "freedom" of self-will
There are two fundamentally different types of human freedom: freedom of the children of God and "freedom" of willfulness. The first is freedom in God; second - freedom from God. Under the conditions of our present earthly existence, they have various degrees and, in the limit, include, respectively, freedom from sin and "freedom" in sin. The first freedom is similar to the freedom of law-abiding citizens of a country ruled by a wise, kind and just ruler. Can these citizens be considered not free on the grounds that they love and honor the ruler, honor the law established by him and observe it? Hardly. The second freedom is similar to the freedom of criminals who do not honor the ruler, despite the fact that he is wise, kind and just, who do not respect the law and easily break it. But can they really be considered free? Again, hardly.
As the ancient Roman thinker Tacitus correctly notes, "only fools call self-will freedom." A person considers himself free on the grounds that he is guided by the principle “I do what I want”. However, every desire has its source. Natural desires flow from the very nature of man. Desires that are above natural, sublime, and holy have their source in Divine grace; having loved God with all the strength of his soul and having been able to achieve the closest union with Him, a person feels, thinks, desires and acts in unity with God, lives in a state of synergy with Him. "Cleave to the Lord, one spirit is with the Lord" (1 Cor. 6:17). But there are also desires that are inferior to nature, and their source is either the passion of the person himself, or an evil spirit. If you look closely, it becomes clear that many of "our" whims and lusts are in fact by no means ours, but are inspired from outside. A person takes what the demon suggests for his own thoughts and desires and fulfills them over and over again. So behind self-pleasing is often hiding the pleasing of a demon. And in fact, it turns out that a self-willed person is free only in the sense that he can freely serve his passions or fulfill the instigations of demons. But both are sins. And if a person is really free, why should he serve sin? And does he serve him freely? Or, rather, to the extent to which he is enslaved by him? The Lord places special emphasis on this moment: “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin” (John 8:34). The apostle Peter testifies to the foolishness and deceitfulness of those who call for the freedom of self-will: “Pronouncing puffed up idle talk, they entrap into carnal lusts and debauchery those who are barely behind those who are in error. They promise them freedom, being themselves slaves of corruption; for whoever is overcome by whom, that is his servant” (2 Pet. 2:18, 19). Blessed Augustine calls the freedom of fallen man "perverted" (perverse) and "servile". (Blessed Augustine. On the Trinity. XI, 8. URL: http://azbyka.ru/otechnik/Avrelij_Avgustin/o-troitse/2_3)

So, the freedom of the children of God is true and peaceful freedom, and the freedom of self-will is an illusory, false and non-peaceful freedom that keeps a person away from God and secretly or openly enslaves him to passions and vices. Therefore, freedom must be pursued wisely, not madly. The apostle James says: “Whoever looks into the perfect law, [the law] of freedom, and abides in it, he, being not a forgetful listener, but a doer of work, will be blessed in his action” (James 1: 25).

The Path of Salvation and True Freedom
The human soul cannot find true peace and bliss without God and outside of God. “Only in God does my soul rest” (Ps. 61:2). Rev. Macarius the Great says: “A meaningful and prudent soul, having bypassed all creatures, does not find rest anywhere but in the One Lord. And the Lord does not favor anyone, but only one person. (Philokalia. T. 1. Instructions of St. Macarius the Great. I. Bright primitive state, 4. URL: http://www.hesychasm.ru/library/dobro/txt08.htm)

Salvation in its deepest essence is nothing but a return to God and union with Him. In order to return to the state of unity with God, the obstacles to this must first be removed. And what can be a greater obstacle than the fact that a person makes himself the criterion of goodness and truth, makes himself an idol and, in fact, a self-proclaimed god? One is the true criterion of both goodness and truth - God; and those who seek other support make themselves vessels of evil and falsehood to the extent that they depart from Him. This is the path that leads to death. The path of salvation is the opposite of it. Hieromartyr Peter of Damascus writes: “After long labors and contritions, I found the following reasoning among the holy fathers: the beginning of all good and all evil is the mind given to man, and according to the mind is the will. The Beginning of Salvation: Let Man Leave His Wills and Minds and Create God's Wills and Minds. Before the law, in the law and in grace, many are found saved because they preferred the mind of God and His will over their own understanding and desires; and again, in all those times, many of the dead are found, because they preferred their own desires and understandings over God's. .: The Rule of Faith, 2009. S. 16-17).)

It is obvious that we are not talking here about the desires and understandings regarding all sorts of little things. We are talking about the most important, key issues. And such a question is, first of all, the question of good and evil; and all our other significant desires and understandings are connected with it. Therefore, there is only one way to God: to renounce your "goods" and "truths", and be filled with God's. Through which we fell away from God, only through this can we return to Him. And if we, being wholly full of our desires and understandings, live in our selfhood and the basis of our life is self-pleasing, behind which, as was said above, displeasing often lurks, then we are very far from God and our souls are not in harmony with the spirit of God.
The Apostle Paul writes: “So we are messengers on behalf of Christ, and it is as if God Himself exhorts through us; in the name of Christ we ask: be reconciled to God” (2 Cor. 5:20). How can a person enter into unity with God without first being reconciled to Him? No way. It is no coincidence that those approaching Holy Baptism first take an oath: "I renounce Satan, I unite myself with Christ." Let us note that we are not talking only about external recognition of the correctness and holiness of God's commandments and about intellectual agreement with them. Therefore, it is said precisely “I am united” to Christ, and not simply “I acknowledge” Christ. Harmony with the Spirit of God must gradually reach the very depths of the human soul, fully and completely reconciling his mind, heart and will with God. The Lord compares this process to the leavening of dough, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and put into three measures of meal until it was all leavened” (Matt. 13:33). Only in this way can a person again become trustworthy for the Kingdom of Heaven, become a vessel of God, in order to live in eternity in the closest unity with Him. Therefore, the Wisdom of God says: “Put me like a seal on your heart, like a ring on your hand” (Song 8:6), and indicates what is the blessed lot of a righteous soul and what is the degree of its unity with God in mutual love : “For love is strong as death” (Ibid.); at the same time, he warns against the opposite path and the bitter fate that follows it, saying: “Jealousy is fierce, like hell” (Ibid.).
The beginning of the path of salvation is somehow connected with some limitation of one's own freedom and self-compulsion (because of the need to renounce self-will and fulfill external commandments that have not yet become familiar and native) and fear. “The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord; a right mind in all who do [his commandments]” (Ps. 110:10). But as he progresses (if there really is such a place), a person gradually passes from the external to the internal. First, he is united with God by covenant and commandment, then by the Spirit and love. True freedom can only be a consequence of peace with God, love for Him and life in Him, a consequence of the acquisition of the Holy Spirit, for "where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom" (2 Cor. 3:17). The one who is established in the Spirit acts according to the grace that is in him, and the fulfillment of external commandments becomes a natural and joyful thing for him (although, of course, temptations occur not only until the last hour of a person’s life, but even after the separation of the soul from the body). Such a person lives according to God not out of fear, but out of love for Him. Therefore, about the end of this path, John the Theologian says: “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear, because there is torment in fear. He who fears is not perfect in love” (1 John 4:18). About the gradual ascent from the first state to the second writes St. Simeon the New Theologian: “To the extent that we are cleansed, we are raised from fear of God to love for Him.” (Simeon the New Theologian, Rev. One hundred practical and theological chapters. 6 / Our Reverend Father Simeon the New Theologian chapters theological, speculative and practical. M .: Zachatievsky Monastery, 1998. P. 19.)

From this we understand the full grace of the words of Christ: “Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest; take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls; for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).
Thus, we must renounce one freedom in order to gain another, incomparably better: we must renounce the freedom of self-will, deceitful and impure, in order to gain true and holy freedom, the freedom of the children of God.
How is it that when the mind, heart and will of a person are brought into the closest unity with God, and, it would seem, are maximally enslaved to Him, in reality it is then that a person achieves true freedom, feels its fullness and bliss? The one who has come into unity with God does not at all become a kind of puppet, completely controlled and moved from the outside, does not lose his natural will and energy. They stay. But a person thinks, feels and desires together with Him, synergistically. The energies of God give a person wisdom, bliss and strength. Of course, all this does not make it less free. On the contrary, remaining a finite being, he becomes a participant in the life of the infinite God, with all its treasures, including a participant in Divine freedom. He is free in God, free as a child of God and heir to the Kingdom of Heaven.

False freedom and the path of perdition
Man was originally created as a vessel. According to his high calling, he can be a vessel of God. However, if he lives away from God, then God does not dwell in him. And, as you know, “a holy place is never empty,” and he, being in darkness, becomes a vessel of evil spirits, passions and sin (See Matt. 12: 43-45). Alas, the person himself often does not realize this. And since like attracts like, he, looking for "freedom" and "understanding", as a rule, finds himself among the same as himself. And a community of similar people always creates a world corresponding to it with its own attributes and its own moral paradigm, its own understanding of what is “good” and what is “bad”. “The unfortunate sinner puts himself as a measure of his actions, he puts his subjective understanding of “what is good and what is evil” above Revelation and obedience to God, Who alone truly sees the whole essence of things, and not just their outwardly “attractive appearance” ” . (Theognost (Pushkov), hierome. The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. S. 84.)

Alas, for some time now this approach has become predominant in many countries that were previously Christian. And what are the results? The morals of people, having lost their unshakable foundation, are degrading step by step. What for many centuries was quite rightly treated as uncleanness and abomination, over the past few decades, at first began to be considered, although reprehensible, but requiring indulgence, then - tolerant, then - quite acceptable; and today it is already proposed to treat this as a variant of the norm, quite equal to other options. But the Lord clearly says: “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil, who consider darkness to be light, and light to be darkness, who consider bitter to be sweet, and sweet to be bitter! Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and prudent in their own eyes!” (Isaiah 5:20-21).
The madness of sinners comes to the point that, not wanting to be reconciled with the holiness of God, they want to reconcile God with their sinfulness. More precisely, they do not seek the will of God Himself, but try to convince themselves and others that He does not condemn and never condemned those sins that are so dear to their impure hearts. But there is no worse liar than the one who deceives himself, his conscience. God, “with whom there is no variation and no shadow of turning” (James 1:17), will not reverse any of His decrees regarding good and evil. And the fact that there is a decline in morals among people does not at all make the commandments of God something that should automatically adapt to these very morals. Christ himself testified to this: “Truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one jot or one tittle will pass from the law until everything is fulfilled” (Matthew 5:18). Sin is sin; and unenviable is the fate of stubborn sinners who have made sin and vice, as it were, their second nature. It doesn’t change anything at all that today it seems to thousands and millions of people living in their sins without repentance that they are “good”, and therefore they will be saved and go to Paradise. They are "good" only in their own eyes and in the eyes of others like themselves. But is their judgment just? Are they good for God? The Holy Apostle Paul clearly says: “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor malakia, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous men, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor predators - shall inherit the kingdom of God ”(1 Cor. 6: 9, 10).

Man and participation in the supreme power of God
The highest aspect of God's authority is to determine the boundaries of good and evil. According to God's plan, Adam, having reached maturity and perfection and confirmed his trustworthiness, could become a partaker of this power to a certain extent. We emphasize: I would not have acquired the same power as God has, but would have become a partaker of the power of God. This did not happen because of his fall; but in Christ those who are faithful to God to the end have become and will become partakers. Not in the sense of gaining power to establish some new commandments, but in a different way. Christ says: “Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 18:18). He, as King, invests His Apostles and bishops with apostolic succession with the power to “bind and loose.” This power, though inferior to God's legislative power, is adjacent to it. In addition, Christ, as Judge, will endow the saints with His judicial power: “Truly, I say to you that you who have followed Me, in the afterlife, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you will also sit on twelve thrones to judge the twelve tribes of Israel” (Matt. 19:28). The apostle Paul asks: “Do you not know that the saints will judge the world?” (1 Cor. 6: 2) Let's agree that the judicial power is a continuation of the legislative power, because the application of the law depends on the judge. In addition, the judge has the power to show mercy, and "mercy exalts itself over judgment" (James 2:13). So, God, having placed His Son as King over all creation, will make His faithful children partakers of His Royal power, for “if we died with Him, then we will live with Him; if we endure, then we will also reign with him” (2 Tim. 2:11,12).
The tree of life made man a partaker of divine life. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil also gave very great gifts - communion to a certain extent with Divine freedom and supreme power. All of the above, although it was supplied by means of created fruits, is itself not something created. These Divine blessings are uncreated and inseparable from God. You can become a partaker of them only in an incidental way: when God is in you, and you are in God. Therefore, both the devil and Eve and Adam, having dreamed of gaining something higher without God's good will, failed.

Theomachism today
The power to set boundaries between good and evil haunts many. Fools, filled with satanic pride and bitter envy, not being enlightened by the fate of the devil who fell from heaven, or Adam expelled from paradise, try to appropriate such power for themselves, and sometimes quite consciously. But this is actually impossible to achieve. They can only deceive themselves; and can also impose this deception on others. And no more. It is not a person who determines what is good and what is evil. And if instead of one madman there are a thousand, a million or even a billion madmen, it does not change anything.
Alas, today we are witnessing in various countries of the world, primarily in the so-called “developed” countries, not just the adoption of not quite wise, fair and good laws, and not even just a restructuring of value systems, but a deliberate distortion of the deepest orientations of a person. Evil and vice are presented in a beautiful and attractive wrapper, subtly promoted by public organizations and state institutions, planted among young people and even children. What for? What's happening? “The mystery of iniquity is already at work” (2 Thess. 2:7). The sons of disobedience have reached the point where they imagine themselves to be gods, fully capable of establishing what is good and what is evil. “Why do the peoples rage, and the tribes plot in vain? The kings of the earth rise up, and the princes confer together against the Lord and against His Anointed One. "Let us break their bands, and let us cast off their fetters." Whoever lives in heaven will laugh, the Lord will mock them” (Ps. 2:1-4). Theomachism is a hopeless and doomed thing. The apostle Paul warns: “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked. Whatever a man sows, that he will also reap” (Gal. 6:7).

Conclusion
So, the central questions of morality and morality are most directly related to the history of the fall of our forefathers. Alas, in our day, more than ever, those who swallow the same hook on which the evil one caught Adam and Eve have become more numerous. Therefore, today, more than ever, the same dilemma confronts people. At the forefront are the same questions. Who(or what) is the criterion of good and evil? Who based on this criterion establishes what is good and what is evil? God or people? Every thinking person must answer for himself, what he puts the basis of his life: a covenant with God, his subjective understanding of good and evil, or some kind of social contract. Everyone decides for himself whether to go through reconciliation with God to unity with Him, or, reveling in his own self-will, move away from God, risking forever remaining a stranger to Him.

List of sources and literature

Sources
1. Blessed Augustine. About the Trinity. URL: http://azbyka.ru/otechnik/Avrelij_Avgustin/o-troitse/
2. Gregory the Theologian, St. Word 45, on Holy Pascha / Creations like in the saints of our father Gregory the Theologian, Archbishop of Constantinople. SPb.: Ed. P. P. Soykina, 1912. S. 661-680.
3. Gregory Palamas, St. To the all-honourable Xenia in nuns, about passions and virtues and about the fruits of smart doing. URL: http://azbyka.ru/otechnik/prochee/dobrotoljubie_tom_5/18
4. John Chrysostom, St. Conversations on the Book of Genesis. Conversation XVI, 5 / John Chrysostom, St. Creations: In 12 volumes. St. Petersburg, 1898. T. 4. Book. 1-2. pp. 1–725.
5. John Chrysostom, St. Eight words for the book of Genesis / Ibid. T. 4. Book. 2. S. 726-775.
6. Irenaeus of Lyon, schmch. Against heresies. URL: http://azbyka.ru/otechnik/Irinej_Lionskij/vs_eres
7. Macarius the Great, St. Instructions of St. Macarius the Great on the Christian life, selected from his conversations // Philokalia. T. 1. URL: http://www.hesychasm.ru/library/dobro/index.htm
8. Simeon the New Theologian, Rev.. One Hundred Practical and Theological Chapters / Our Reverend Father Simeon the New Theologian Chapters are theological, speculative and practical. M.: Zachatievsky monastery, 1998. S. 15-66.
9. Peter Damaskin, Rev. Creations. M.: Rule of Faith, 2009. 416 p.
10.Theophylact of Bulgaria, blessed. Commentary on the Gospel of Luke. Ch. 20 / Theophylact of Bulgaria. Commentary on the Gospels of Luke and John. M.: Siberian bell bean, 2010. S. 5-166.

Literature
1. Ignatius Brianchaninov, St. A word about a person. URL: http://azbyka.ru/otechnik/Ignatij_Brjanchaninov/slovo_o_cheloveke/
2. Justin (Popovich), teacher. On Original Sin / Justin (Popovich), Rev. Orthodox philosophy of truth. Perm: PO "Panangia", 2003. S. 118-191.
3. Pushkov Feognost, Hierom. The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil: An Attempt to Differentiate Theologemes // Theological Reflections. 2005. No. 5. S. 75-90.
4. Solovyov Alexander, prot.. eldership. Semipalatinsk, 1900. 160 p.

Review (Study 4, Worship in Spirit and Truth)

Basic moments:
1. We are made up of spirit, soul and body.
2. Our soul has no direct connection with the outside world. Communication - either through the spirit or through the flesh
3. Three sources of thoughts: ours, from God and from demons
4. The ability to receive information from the spiritual world and use it practically - this is worship in the spirit.
5. Worship in truth - correctly interpret the Word of God, "impose" Scripture on thoughts and act on it, discern and weed out the lies of Satan.
6. We must always be able to interact with the spiritual world, receive spiritual information and "sift" it through the Scriptures.

Key Scripture:

Genesis 3:2 And the woman said to the serpent, We may eat the fruits of the trees, 3 only the fruits of the tree which is in the midst of paradise, God said, do not eat them or touch them, lest you die.

The tree of the knowledge of good and evil is one of the keys to understanding all of Scripture.

A first look at the term "Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil".

P. Polonsky in his book "Two stories of the creation of the world" (Chapter 7) writes:

“The story of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil is certainly one of the most enchanting in Creation history. We feel that the mystery of the Creation of man is hidden here, and that no explanations, no matter how deep and important they may be, cannot exhaust this mystery. Each step that advances us in understanding this history is important, although the road is long.

However, the one who perceives the Torah<Пятикнижие Моисеево>simply as "primitive ancient lore", there is no great difficulty in interpreting the story of the Tree of Knowledge. In the spirit of 18th century atheism (whose root, in this case, comes from Christian Gnostics), these people confidently explain that "the cruel Jewish God wanted to keep man in darkness and ignorance, did not want to let him know about good and evil, but for his disobedience deprived of privileged conditions of life in Paradise." Such an approach hits like a boomerang, first of all, at its adherents: after all, if we treat the Torah only as a primitive, then we simply won’t be able to learn anything from it, i.e., in the end, we will deprive ourselves of ourselves.

But, if we turn to the Torah with a desire to comprehend its wisdom, then we must proceed from the fact that God, as He is depicted, must be at least not more stupid or morally not worse than ourselves - but most likely, on the contrary, much smarter and better. And the same is to be expected of Adam and Eve. In other words, we assume in advance that God not only wishes good, wisdom and light to man, but also does everything to bring this about; and also that the actions of Adam and Eve are explained not by petty vanity or trivial mistakes, but by a really existing deep problem.

Everything that happened to Adam and Eve regarding the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil was PLANNED by God not for evil, but for the good of mankind. This we will further consider in detail in the second part of the teaching (Christian way of life, Discipleship).

Now we will get acquainted with the Biblical term: "Tree of the knowledge of good and evil."

Genesis 2:9 And out of the ground the Lord God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, and the tree of life in the midst of paradise, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

In the middle of paradise

In the Russian Bible, reading the text of Genesis 2:9, one can understand that the tree of life is in the center of paradise, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is not indicated. In fact, the original Hebrew has a completely different word order:

In Hebrew, writing words from right to left (Strong's Hebrew Lexicon):

;;;;; 6779 ;;;; 3068 ;;;;; 430 ;; 4480 ;;;;; 127 ;; 3605 ;; 6086 ;;;; 2530 ;;;;; 4758 ;;;; 2896 ;;;;; 3978 ;;; 6086 ;;;;; 2416 ;;;;8432 ;;; 1588 ;;; 6086
;;;; 1847 ;;; 2896 ;;;; 7451

Hebrew word order:

(Life), (tree), (food), (useful, pleasant), (appearance, appearance), (enjoy, desire, find pleasure), (tree), (any, all), (earth, soil), ( from, from, with, co), (God, el-o-heem-Elohim), (Existing; yeh-ho-vaw "- Yahweh), (grow), (evil, evil, bad), (good, good ), (knowledge, knowledge, skill), (tree), (garden, paradise), (middle, inside; (on) among),

Then from left to right for the Russian language:

In the midst of paradise, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was grown by the Lord (Yahweh) God (Elohim) from the soil every tree to enjoy the sight of useful food the tree of life.

Meaning from the original:

Gen.2:9 In the midst of paradise the tree of the knowledge of good and evil the Lord God made to grow, [and planted] in the soil every tree that brings delight in its appearance [and] useful for food, [and] the tree of life.

Compare with the Russian Bible:

Genesis 2:9 And out of the ground the Lord God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, and the tree of life in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Now it is clear that ONLY the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is in the center of paradise. Moreover, “grown” or “grown” can be understood as how he did something. For example, some object (or objects). ATTENTION, these objects (the tree of the knowledge of good and evil) are NOT PLANTED IN THE SOIL. And only trees intended for FOOD TOGETHER WITH THE TREE OF LIFE (the words are in the same group) are planted in the soil - this is exactly what is defined for food for people.

PLEASE NOTE that the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is NOT FOR FOOD. It is possible that something in particular can be used for food, but in general, it is not indicated that the fruits of this "tree" are suitable for human consumption. Most likely, this is not a tree, but just a symbol.

So, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is in the CENTER of the world created by God for people. Therefore, this term is CENTRAL in people's lives and understanding of all Scripture. This term contains the meaning of God's relationship with any person who has the right to choose. The completion of this topic will be presented in part 2 of the teaching (Lesson 4, Raising Humanity).

You will die death.
Genesis 2:
15 And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden, to dress it and keep it.
17 But from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil DO NOT EAT from it, for on the day you eat from it YOU WILL DIE.

The tree of the knowledge of good and evil is a symbolic Biblical term. But still, let's try to imagine this Tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Such a large one with green foliage and fruits, for example, red (evil) and green (good), hang in the green of the leaves.

Or, conversely, red (good) and green (evil)?

How will be correct?

And neither the first nor the second options are CORRECT!

Why?

Let us first take a close look and analyze what God the Creator of the Tree Himself said about this. First, we read the text, and then we will analyze it piece by piece:

5 but God knows that on the day you eat them, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like gods, knowing good and evil.
6 And the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasing to the eye and desirable, because it gives knowledge; and took its fruit and ate; and gave also to her husband, and he ate.
7 And the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked, and they sewed together fig leaves, and made themselves aprons.
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 among the trees of paradise.
10 He said, I heard your voice in paradise, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.
11 And he said, Who told you that you were naked? Have you not eaten from the tree from which I forbade you to eat?

The concept of the Tree of knowledge of good and evil in the original source.

Before you begin to study the Scriptures, you need to understand the meaning of the words not in the translation, but in the ORIGINAL SOURCE, as the people who received the REVELATION from the Holy Spirit and wrote the texts of the Bible understood these words. P. Polonsky covered this issue very well in his book “Two stories of the creation of the world”:

“The problem that we encountered in trying to comprehend the meaning of the Tree of Knowledge is actually connected with the fact that when reading the Torah<Пятикнижие Моисеево>IN TRANSLATION, it is impossible to understand this story at all. And so we should turn to the ORIGINAL and understand what the term "Daat" means, which is used in the expression "Etz HA-DAAT Tov ve-Ra" - "The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil."

In one of the previous chapters, we discussed two categories, two levels of cognition: "Hochma" (initial understanding, whole, as a single integral point-idea, as if at first glance); "Bina" (the development of this point - ideas into a detailed understanding, at the level of a structure built from many parts, an understanding of the mechanism of work). But in the Jewish "system of world psychoanalysis" (that is, the structural understanding of the soul of the world, the Kabbalistic system of "sefirot") there is another "cognitive" category that expresses the next third level of knowledge, which is called "Daat". This stage of cognition comes after the stages of "Hochma and Binah" and after the initial generalized idea of ​​understanding has already been revealed and detailed, after the thing, in general, has already been understood. Only after this "understanding" can one proceed to the implementation of "cognition" - "Daath", which means a personal, internal and even in some sense intimate connection of the cognizing subject with the object of cognition.

When cognizing at the level of "Daath", a person enters into a deep personal connection with the object, and this connection should not just be informational, external, intellectual, but it should be INTERNAL, affecting the very foundations of the personality and CHANGE this personality. At the same time, the object of cognition is included INSIDE the "intimate space" of the cognizing personality. It is no coincidence that the Torah tells us about the EATING of the fruit of the "Tree of Daat"<т.е. познание произошло не на уровне знаний, полученной информации, внешнего восприятия, а на уровне ВНУТРЕННЕЙ сущности человека, т.е. МЕНЯЕТСЯ его внутреннее состояние вследствие каких-то внешних ДЕЙСТВИЙ или работы. Люди что-то СДЕЛАЛИ, а не просто узнали о чем-то. Раз они что-то сделали, значит, у них изменился ОБРАЗ ЖИЗНИ, а не просто уровень знаний>.
That is why the word "Daat" is also used in Hebrew to denote intimate RELATIONSHIPS between a man and a woman.<т.е. ДЕЙСТВИЕ, а не просто знание>,
as in verse 4:1 - "And Adam knew Eve<Еву>wife," because this knowledge means creating a connection between them, and not just receiving formal information about each other. The transition to such an intimate level of knowledge in relation to Good and Evil occurred in a person after eating the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge<изменился образ жизни>.

… Even before eating the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge, a person had passions and inclinations, but they were, as it were, separated, at a certain distance from his own personality. These were the OUTSIDE attractions that attracted Adam and carried him away, but they were not originally a PART OF HIS INNER BEING. In the Torah, the passions and aspirations of a person at this level of external drives are personified in the Serpent, who persuaded Adam and Hava<Еву>eat fruit from the Tree of Knowledge. But in fact, who - both in antiquity and today - persuades a person to do this or that wrong deed? Are these not our own passions? This is what the Talmud says.<многотомный свод учений иудаизма>: "he is the Serpent, he is Yetzer ha-ra" (literally "passion for evil", passion for violating the Divine word).

Before eating the Fruit from the Tree of Knowledge, a person could separate his passions from his personality. How today, for example, we can separate and keep at a distance our personality from the information read in a book - although both are now within us. Before eating the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge, the Serpent was sitting OUTSIDE, and a person could discern what was coming from the Serpent and what was coming from within, from himself. That is, Adam could separate his personality from his own passions. After the Knowledge of Good and Evil, this separation becomes impossible. The very process of such knowledge - Daath - is identified in the Torah with eating, because as a result of it, Good and Evil from external information become an integral part of the human personality. Good and Evil cease to be something extraneous for Adam, they become part of his own "I"< т.е. частью души, значит, образ жизни включает в себя ДОБРО и ЗЛО.>.
And Adam received at the same time not at all knowledge of the type "the ability to distinguish between Good and Evil", but, on the contrary, the idea of ​​the inseparability of Good and Evil<т.е. один и тот же предмет может принести плод-ДОБРО, а при других условиях – плод-ЗЛО>.
After all, this Tree was not a tree separately of Good or separately of Evil. Good and Evil grow ON THE ONE tree and have a common root - and the fruit, in fact, combines them in itself, gives knowledge of both qualities in interconnection - for without understanding this connection, Good and Evil cannot be truly cognizable.

… In other words, nothing else happened than the GROWTH of the First Man. For a child, the world is black and white; growing up, a person replenishes it with shades of gray, a continuous gradation of transitions connecting both opposites.

… Thus, before eating the fruit, Adam already had an idea of ​​Good and Evil (i.e., he knew them at the level of Hochma); he also, especially with the advent of his wife, knew many details about Good and Evil (i.e., knew them at the level of Binah), but he still did not have a personal, intimate EXPERIENCE of their experience, his knowledge of Good and Evil wore, as it were theoretical character. And after eating the fruit, he felt that his very personality was inextricably linked with Good and Evil, and this meant that his knowledge of Good and Evil had moved to the LEVEL of Daath<на уровень ОТКРОВЕНИЯ>.

All of the above is necessary for ANY ordinary person to grow up.<т.е. это было во все эпохи, включая наше время>,
and Adam was also in dire need of all this, so that, advancing on the ladder of Knowledge, DRAWING CLOSER to God, for which, ultimately, he WAS CREATED. The problem was only how, having known the connection between Good and Evil, to be able to continue to SEE THE DIFFERENCE between them.

The tree of KNOWLEDGE of good and evil is not a fruit tree with fruits for nourishment - it is KNOWLEDGE at the level of REVELATIONS that bring a person closer to God in understanding the CONSEQUENCES of good and evil. People DID something, not just learned about something. This action changed their LIFESTYLE, not just their level of knowledge.

So, having dealt with the meaning of the translated words “the tree of the KNOWLEDGE of good and evil”, we proceed to a detailed analysis of the above passage of Scripture.

Genesis 3:4 And the serpent said to the woman, No, you will not die,
5 but God KNOWS that on the day you eat them, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like gods, KNOWING good and evil.

God knew what would happen to people if they enjoyed the fruits. He foresaw that this would happen, otherwise the Omnipresent God would not have allowed the spiritual death of the people he had just created. God didn't even put up a guard, as anyone who doesn't want to let their creation perish would do. So it was in His Plan, which He drew up and thought out BEFORE He created people!

P. Polonsky also wrote about this in his book “Two stories of the creation of the world”:

“Did God know what Adam would choose? Yes, of course, He knew; but at the same time man was FREE TO CHOOSE. If Adam had not eaten the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge prematurely, then the world would have developed in a completely different, more perfect way, and THIS OPPORTUNITY WAS really real.

Did God know that a person would still violate his order? Yes, He knew about it. But did God force man to do this, did He want just such a development of events? Far from it. God OFFERED man two options, and did not impose one of them on him. Adam was free to choose what he wanted - even though God KNEW IN ADVANCE what Adam would choose.

So, it would be completely wrong to say that God planned the fall of Adam, or that this fall was inevitable. God WANTS ADVANCE<духовного возрастания>rather than the fall of man; but in order for this advancement to have value, a person must feel responsible for his ACTIONS, and for this, a fall must be one of life's opportunities. And sometimes HUMAN ACTIONs lead to the fact that this opportunity is realized.

6 And the woman saw that the tree was good for food,

Translation of the word GOOD: kind, good, beautiful, beautiful, SUCCESSFUL, HAPPY, useful, pleasant, desirable.

A more precise semantic meaning of this phrase:

“And the wife saw that“ THIS ”creation of God, MOST MOST MOSTLY, can bring HAPPINESS and WELFARE, if“ THIS ”is used for yourself!”

It suddenly seemed to Eve that “THIS” was so beautiful, and besides, it could bring so much joy and happiness! She probably thought, “Oh, THIS is a real dream! That's what I was looking for and what I lack for a happy life!

And that it is PLEASANT to the eyes

Translation of the word PLEASANT: (STRONG) desire, desire; lust, whim.
Eve felt an irresistible attraction to use "THIS" object (or action) not yet known. The more she looked at THIS, the more uncontrollable LUSH flared up in her.

AND LOVELY

Translation of the word LOVELY: to wish; to enjoy, find pleasure; lust, lust after, crave.
And she peered more and more passionately into the alluring "THIS". Indescribable PASSION and a thirst for unsurpassed desire took possession of her.

Because it GIVES KNOWLEDGE,

Fruits give knowledge?
No, these are not fruits of a fruit tree. Eva felt that “It”, unknown to her until now, could show and teach her what EVIL and GOOD are, open the way to a tempting and unknown KNOWLEDGE!

Probably, this is how Eve got “hooked” by the snake, which has long known what SIN is and how it can affect people.

So, we are not talking about the fruits of the fruit tree. For some reason, people thought they were apples. But on the tree of KNOWLEDGE only FRUIT of KNOWLEDGE can grow. It clearly refers to some kind of ACTION that gives KNOWLEDGE about GOOD and EVIL, and maybe DOES evil or good.

And she took the fruits of it and ELA; and gave also to her husband, and he ate.
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.

And why did their eyes OPEN, perhaps to the relationship of a man and a woman, and perhaps to a relationship with God? And where did the SHAME come from, which they had not even THINKED about before? Before this event, they just DID NOT KNOW the inner state that gives shame! Therefore, first Eve, then Adam committed some FORBIDDEN ACTION, which we call SIN.

This action produced by Adam and Eve gave rise to FEAR and HORROR in them at the approach of God, which they had not had before this incident. Now they COULD NOT BE IN THE PRESENCE of God!!!

Something BROKEN in the RELATIONSHIP between God and primitive people. Now Adam and Eve have become DIFFERENT, not the same as they were immediately after their creation.

9 And the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, Where are you?
10 He said: I heard your voice in paradise, and I was AFRAID, because I was naked, and I hid myself.

ATTENTION! Why was Adam afraid that he was NAG? The most interesting thing is that he was not afraid of DEATH and not PUNISHMENT from God for the unfulfilled order that God gave him. The resulting self-condemnation and shame were greater than the fear of death!!!

Adam became NAKED, i.e. something was LOST, something disappeared in him immediately after the SIN action.

11 And he said, Who told you that you were NAG? DID YOU EAT FROM THE TREE I forbade you to eat from?

There is a clear connection here between the NUDITY of people and touching the fruits of the tree of KNOWLEDGE. God, of course, knew everything and UNDERSTANDED the state in which people were when they touched or performed some kind of forbidden action. After all, God is omnipresent and definitely saw how the serpent seduced Eve. But He honors and respects the CHOICE of people, tk. did not create them as puppets. God created people as PERSONS with the right to choose their own destiny.

God did not prevent the fall of Eve. Therefore, He KNEW that this would happen. For Him, this event "did not fall like snow on his head", was not some kind of surprise. God was ready for this and LONG AGO developed a PLAN FOR SALVATION of people (Gen.3:13-19)!

This forbidden ACTION of people HARMED AND CHANGED THEIR ESSENCE. We see that the condition of people became worse, they began to experience fear and COULD NOT be in the presence of God.

Feelings we know? Of course, they experienced the CONSEQUENCES of the EVIL committed by them or against them, after which their mood worsens, doubts, fears, shame, depression come. Often, minor fears bring real misfortune and it seems that everything, the end of everything has come.

True, we KNOW such a state of mind from the moment we began to realize ourselves? And we have gone through this more than once in our life on earth. This always happens when people with a conscience EXPERIENCE or DO evil!

Thus, the FIRST PEOPLE “ate” from the tree of the KNOWLEDGE of good and evil, which means they KNOW evil or committed it, experienced the ACTION of evil.

Not different fruits “grew” on the tree: FRUIT OF GOOD and FRUIT OF EVIL, but only fruits of ONE kind – these are the fruits of KNOWLEDGE.

Because the tree is ONE and the fruits on it can be either red (evil) or green (good), as it has been in the minds of many people. On ONE tree in natural conditions there can be fruits of only ONE species according to its kind:

Gen.1:11 ... a fruitful tree, bearing fruit according to its kind, in which is its seed on the earth ...
12 And the earth brought forth grass, grass yielding seed after its kind, and tree bearing fruit, in which is its seed, ACCORDING TO HIS KIND.

There cannot be bitter and sweet fruits on the same tree at the same time in natural conditions:

James 3:11 Does SWEET and BITTER [water] flow from ONE fountain?
12 My brethren, a fig tree cannot bear olives, or a vine of figs. Likewise, ONE fountain [cannot] pour out SALT AND SWEET water.

So, we see that both the fruits of good and the fruits of evil cannot grow on the same tree at the same time, which is CONTRADICTING, first of all, to God's law. On the tree of knowledge, only the fruits of KNOWLEDGE grow, and no others, just as a cherry can not be born on an apple tree!

The Bible does not explicitly tell us exactly what Adam and Eve did. But we know for sure that they did some ACTION that harmed people. And this "something" was created by God for people and was intended for good purposes, but if used IMPROPERLY, could harm people. About what God WARNED.

This is something that in some conditions brings good, in others - evil. Any thing designed to serve people has "two sides of the coin."

For example, one and the same knife can cut bread - this is GOOD, and it can also kill or injure a person - this is EVIL.

The Internet is a lot of Christian programs that bring good and POSITIVE, but there, if a person WANTS, you can immerse yourself in pornography and the like NEGATIVE.

Electricity, when properly used, is LIGHT, heat, energy in electrical appliances. If misused, not according to manufacturer's INSTRUCTIONS - FIRE, burns and death.

There is duality and CHOICE in everything. The same object in one use is good, in another it is evil, and this depends on the ACTIONS of specific people.

Perhaps the first people went beyond what was permitted and did evil instead of good, which God warned them about in advance.

In other words, they NEGLECTED the INSTRUCTIONS of the Creator, just as people now neglect the INSTRUCTION-Bible written for the life of people on earth. Someone fulfills it, and he will LIVE in the presence of God in the Kingdom of God, and someone will not, will be separated from the Kingdom of God, i.e. will be in hell and DEAD to God. This is the CHOICE of every person living on earth and in OUR TIME!

What time? In ours? Those. we now do every day the SAME AS Adam and Eve???

Yes, we all also KNOW good and evil in our lives, i.e. WE FEED on the fruits of the same Tree of KNOWLEDGE of good and evil! It is our CHOICE whether to sin or act according to the Bible, which is God's INSTRUCTION for our life.

This means that our internal state (our essence) does not differ COMPLETELY from the state of Adam and Eve immediately after the fall. We are still living in the CONSEQUENCES of the original fall.

What did BROKEN in the first people?

Let us pay attention to the fact that Adam was not worried about DEATH (earthly death in our understanding), but only about what he UNDERSTOOD and FELT, i.e. received knowledge of his NAKEDNESS and experienced FEAR in the presence of God.

ATTENTION! This is a key revelation that will help us better understand the Word of God recorded in the Bible. Pay close attention to the SCORE that God has placed! He directly linked Adam's NAKEDNESS with the fact that he used the fruits of the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil:

Gen.3:11 ... who told you that you are NAG? Have you not eaten from the tree...

God didn't ask, "Why are you hiding from Me, Adam?" Or didn't he say, "Why are you afraid of me, Adam?"

God pointed out the specific source: “who TOLD you that you were naked?”.
In other words:
Who SHOWED you that you were naked?
- who INDICATED to you that you are naked?
- who TEACHED you that you are naked?
- who gave you the KNOWLEDGE that you are naked?

Knowledge?!

That's right, the knowledge that Adam and Eve are "naked." An ACTION was taken that "opened the eyes" of Adam that he was naked! Who DID it to Adam, ie. performed a forbidden ACTION? Of course, Eve, because she RECOGNIZED sin and introduced Adam into it:

Genesis 3:12 Adam said, The wife that You gave me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate.

Where did Eve get this from? From the serpent, because he KNEW sin and brought Eve into it:

Gen.3:12 The woman said, The serpent deceived me, and I ate.

But where did the serpent find sin, how did he know it?

The Bible specifically says that the serpent is directly related to Satan, because. God, addressing the serpent, speaks words in accordance with the context of all Scripture (further events that will take place in the New Testament time):

Genesis 3:15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman<будущее время Нового Завета>,
and between your seed and between her seed; it will hit you in the head, and you will sting it in the heel.

We will talk in detail about the wife and her seed in session 7, “The Fundamental Foundations of the Firstfruits of the Doctrine.”

Now we will only note that the serpent may be a follower of Satan, and perhaps Satan and the serpent are one and the same person. The Bible does not give an exact indication, but in any case, the seduction of Eve came from Satan, who already knew sin and was exiled by God from Heaven to the heavens (spiritual prison) for this:

Ezekiel 28:15 You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, until AWARENESS was found in you.<преступления в духовном мире, которое установлено в соответствии с Конституцией Царства Божьего, т.е. грех>.
16 Because of the vastness of your trade, your INNER was filled with iniquity<в сатане, как и в Адаме, что-то сломалось ВНУТРИ, т.е. в духовной сути существа>,
and you SINNED<результат запрещенных ДЕЙСТВИЙ – это преступление в духовном мире или грех>;
and I cast you down as unclean from the mountain of God; I drove you out of the midst of the fiery stones, O covering cherub<Бог вынужден преступника в духовном мире исключить из чистого Божьего Царства>.

Thus, the source of the fall of people was Satan, and not God, who created everything for the good of people and gave instructions on how to use it all so as not to harm yourself. But Satan TEACHED or gave KNOWLEDGE to people how to use God's good creation for evil (violate God's instructions). And this action "revealed" the nakedness of people, which SEPARATED them from God.

Of course, without the participation of people this would not have happened. Therefore, people were charged with sin, complicity in some kind of spiritual crime, i.e. non-compliance with the requirements of God's Instruction (Constitution of the Kingdom of God). God was FORCED to separate people from the Kingdom of God, although he loved them very much. He did not want this, as this passage of Scripture is sometimes presented, that God allegedly planted this tree on purpose in order to mock people and “catch” them. Unfortunately, sin is the choice of people created by free personalities, and not of God.

Now a legitimate question arises: what died in Adam and separated him from the presence of God? God warned that if you sin, then you, Adam, will be NAKED. Nudity is NUDE, i.e. some "veil" has disappeared. It means that something SEPARATED from Adam, i.e. died:

Gen. 2:17 ... for on the day you eat of it, YOU WILL DIE.

It was “nakedness” that SEPARATED Adam and Eve from God, i.e. the consequences of sin, disobedience to God, and the Constitution of the Kingdom of God. By their actions, people have violated the Law of God, “broke” something, and the Constitution has ceased to “cover” and protect them as citizens of the Kingdom of God. This "veil" in the spiritual world is righteousness before the Law of God. The WHITE CLOTHES OF RIGHTEOUSNESS have disappeared from the people, and they have become "naked" before God.

Revelation 3:18 I advise you to buy from me gold purified by fire, that you may become rich, and WHITE CLOTHING to clothe yourself so that the shame of your NAKEDNESS is not seen, and anoint your eyes with eye ointment so that you can see.

Rev. 3:4 However, you have a few people in Sardis who have NOT defiled their garments, and will walk with Me in WHITE [clothes], for they are worthy.

Rev. 3:5 He who overcomes will put on WHITE garments; and I will not blot out his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels.

Without these clothes, it is IMPOSSIBLE to be in the presence of God and feel free and worthy to communicate with the RIGHTEOUS God. The absence of the robes of righteousness on the people CONDEMNED them, and therefore fear appeared, SHAME arose, and people began to hide from the sight of God.

Moreover, they became criminals in the spirit world. Adam and Eve lost the ability to be close to God. And all the DESCENDANTS of the first people, according to the kind of their parents, INHERITED this SEPARATION from God. We are all descendants of Adam:

Because of this, people still fear God and try to hide from Him, not to think about Him and not to believe in Him. Although deep inside, in the spirit of a person (in the subconscious, “sixth sense”, “information from space”, as many people call the human spirit), there is always the knowledge that God EXISTS, this knowledge is “invested” by God in the spirit of each person.

After the fall of Adam, ALL people cannot BE in the presence of God and LIVE in the Kingdom of God, because all people by lineage from Adam inherited the DEAD ability to be in the OBVIOUS PRESENCE of God. Therefore, from birth, ALL people are DEAD to God and CANNOT live in the Kingdom of God.

Now the Scriptures become clear, for example:

Eph.2:1 And you DEAD<не принадлежащих Богу, отделенных от Него>
according to your CRIMES and SINS<НЕ БОГ, а грех и преступление по Небесному Закону отделяет людей от Бога>,
2 in which you once lived, according to the CUSTOM OF THE WORLD<поступки людей по образу жизни, принятому в реальном мире, обычно ПРОТИВОРЕЧИТ Конституции Царства Божьего, что приводит людей к ПРЕСТУПЛЕНИЮ в духовном мире, делая их МЕРТВЫМИ для Бога>

Col.2:13 and you who were DEAD in SINS...

Matthew 8:22 But Jesus said to him, Follow me, and leave the DEAD<не принадлежащих Богу, отделенных от Него>
bury your dead.

Rev. 3:1 ... I know your works; you bear the name AS if you are alive, but you are DEAD<живя на земле, человек думает, что попадет в Царство Божье, но в духовном мире он ИМЕЕТ какой-то грех, поэтому не принадлежит Богу и уже отделен от Него>. …

1 Peter 4:6 For for this reason the gospel was also proclaimed to the DEAD<т.е. НЕВЕРУЮЩИМ и не знающим Бога проповедано>…

Luke 20:38 But God is not the [God] of the DEAD, but of the LIVE, for with Him all are LIVE<Все, кто рожден свыше и принадлежит Богу по Договору Крови и Усыновления – ЖИВОЙ для Него и может ЖИТЬ в Царстве Божьем, все остальные – МЕРТВЫЕ, и не могут ЖИТЬ в Царстве Божьем>.

Everything is extremely simple and clear when God reveals His Scripture through revelations from the Holy Spirit.

And we already know that ALL people have become SEPARATED or DEAD to God. What connects us to God?

God is a SPIRITUAL Being who lives in a SPIRITUAL world and His body is made of SPIRITUAL material:

John 4:24 God is spirit<духовное Существо>,
and those who worship Him must WORSHIP in spirit<т.е. ВЗАИМОДЕЙСТВОВАТЬ с Богом люди должны в ДУХОВНЫХ сферах или в ДУХОВНОМ мире> …

Consequently, our SPIRITUAL CONNECTION and the ability to LIVE with God, the ABILITY to live in His PRESENCE, which PREVIOUSLY was in the SPIRIT of Adam (the white robe of righteousness), and NOW, after the fall of Adam, ALL people DO NOT have this ability, was BROKEN. This is spiritual NAKEDNESS or emptiness - the ABSENCE of the white robe of righteousness (uncleanness before God).

The human spirit did not die, but was only defiled. A FULL connection with God was interrupted, which allowed to see Him, communicate with Him and LIVE in His presence. The spirit of people has become DEFECTIVE and unable to live in the Kingdom of God, where everywhere is the OBVIOUS presence of God.

The Bible says that there will ALWAYS be the OBVIOUS presence of God in Heaven:

Rev. 22:5 And the night will not be there<в Царстве Божьем>,
and they will not need a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God Illuminates THEM<в Царстве Божьем Бог будет вместо солнца ПОСТОЯННО освещать ВСЕХ людей, т.е. для КАЖДОГО будет всегда ЯВНОЕ присутствие Божье, способность к чему УБИЛ в Адаме первородный грех>;
and will reign<люди>till the end of time<вечно ЖИТЬ в Царстве Божьем и царствовать со Христом, т.к. станут Его "ЖЕНОЙ">.

In this light of God's RIGHTEOUSNESS (holiness), the UNCLEAN cannot be:

Rev.21:27 And NOTHING UNCLEAN will enter into it, and no one given over to abomination and lies, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life.

But after the victory of Christ on the cross of Calvary, all people on earth got the opportunity to RESTORATE the white robes of righteousness before God with the help of the Blood of Christ. And this is also the CHOICE of people: whether they choose life in the Kingdom of God with Christ, being born again, or reject Him, perishing in the lake of fire:

Rev. 7:14 I said to him, You know, sir. And he said to me, These are they who came out of the great tribulation; they washed their CLOTHES and WHITE their clothes with the blood of the Lamb.

Why did God allow original sin?

First, let's read the entire passage of Scripture Gen.2:8-22, and then examine in detail:

Genesis 2:8 And the Lord God planted a paradise in Eden in the east, and there he placed the man whom he had created.
9 And out of the ground the Lord God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food, and the tree of life in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. …
…
15 And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden, to dress it and keep it.
16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, From every tree in the garden you shall eat,
17 But do not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for on the day you eat from it you will die the death.
18 And the Lord God said, It is not good for the man to be alone; Let us make him a helper suitable for him.
19 From the ground the Lord God formed every living thing of the field and every bird of the air, and brought it to man to see what he would call them, and whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name.
20 And the man gave names to all the cattle, and to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for man there was not found a helper like him.
21 And the Lord God brought a deep sleep upon the man; and when he fell asleep, he took one of his ribs, and covered the place with flesh.
22 And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man formed a wife, and brought her to the man.

Note the context of this passage of Scripture. We are talking about the fact that God outlined the TERMS of DUTIES of a person and commanded him to PERFORM the assigned work. To fulfill a responsible assignment, God created a HELP for Adam, who is called to help Adam SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETE THE GOOD TASK.

In the context of all Scripture, the symbol "tree" denotes people, and the "fruit of the tree" is the consequences of already committed actions or the work of a person (blessing or cursing):

Matthew 3:7 And when John saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to him to be baptized, he said to them: You brood of vipers! who inspired you to flee from future wrath?
…
10 Already the ax lies at the root of the trees: every TREE that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire<Иоанн говорит фарисеям через символы, где «дерево» - это люди (фарисеи), «не приносящее доброго плода» - их совершенные недобрые дела, «секира» - это Конституция Царства Божьего, которую они нарушили, «при корне дерев лежит» - они (деревья) являются преступниками, поэтому в духовном мире, после физической смерти, Божий Закон или Конституция их осудит «срубит» и они (деревья) будут брошены в ад: «бросают в огонь»>.

Understanding the meaning of this symbolism, it is very easy to understand the meaning of the following Scriptures:

John 15:6 Whoever does not abide in me will be cast out like a BRANCH and wither; and such [branches] are collected and thrown into the fire, and they are burned.

Gen.49:22 Joseph is a branch of a fruitful [TREE]…

Jer.17:7 Blessed is the MAN who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is the Lord.
8 For he shall be like a TREE planted by the waters...

Dan.4:17 THE TREE that you saw… 19 IT IS YOU, the king, exalted and strengthened…

Ps.128:3 Your wife is like a fruitful VINE in your house...

Ps.91:13 THE RIGHTEOUS Blossoms like a PALM tree, rises like a CEDAR in Lebanon.
14 Planted in the house of the Lord, they bloom in the courts of our God;
15 They are fruitful even in old age, juicy and fresh...

Isaiah 3:10 Tell the righteous man what is good [for him], for he will EAT THE FRUIT OF his WORKS…

Matthew 7:15 Beware of FALSE PROPHETS...
17 So every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.
18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.
19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
20 Therefore by their FRUIT you shall know them.

Matt.12:25 But Jesus, knowing THEIR THOUGHT, said to them: ...
33 Or make the tree good and its fruit good; or recognize the tree as bad and its fruit as bad, for the WOOD is known by the FRUIT. …
35 A good man brings forth good out of a good treasure, but an evil man brings forth evil out of an evil treasure.

18 The fruit of righteousness is sown in peace among those who keep the peace.

Romans 6:21 What FRUIT did you have then? [Such deeds] of which you yourself are now ashamed ...

Romans 15:28 Having done this and faithfully delivered to them this fruit [of diligence]...

Gal.5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith, 23 meekness, temperance...

John 15:
5 I am the vine, and you are the BRANCHES; Whoever abides in Me and I in him bears much fruit...
6 Whoever does not abide in me will be cast out like a branch and wither; and such [branches] are collected and thrown into the fire, and they are burned.

2 Peter 1:8 ... you will not be left without success and FRUIT in the KNOWLEDGE of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Probably enough, because there are many similar Scriptures that use the symbols in question.

In the context of the entire Scripture, the symbolism of the words "tree" - people and "fruit of the tree" - the actions of people is clearly traced: GOOD or EVIL.

Genesis 3:4 And the serpent said to the woman, No, you will not die,
5 but God knows that on the day you eat them, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like gods, KNOWING good and evil.

Notice that the serpent didn't say that people would recognize the taste of the fruits of the fruit tree, be it apples or some other kind of fruit (but people reading the Bible still thought it was apples). The serpent specifically pointed out that people will know the MANIFESTATION of good and evil in THEIR EXPERIENCE, as well as the Creator-God (this is a way of life, as we talked about above).

And we see that God confirmed the words of the serpent, that people became like gods, KNOWING good and evil.

Gen.3:22 And the Lord God said, Behold, Adam has become like one of Us, KNOWING good and evil...

God created the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil not in order to drive people into a vicious and unhappy life in evil, but so that they, like God, not only had an idea of ​​good and evil, but lived these states and experienced themselves, gained personal EXPERIENCE. So that they not only understand the essence of evil, but could, under ANY conditions in the FUTURE LIFE in the Kingdom of Heaven, immediately “smell the smell” of evil. And so that not only the people themselves do not allow the slightest manifestation of evil, but also do not allow this in other inhabitants of the Kingdom of God.

! ANY THING OR METHOD (even in Heaven), when used correctly, brings GOOD, and when used forbidden or wrong, EVIL.
=========================================================

Now it is clear why this "tree" is planted in the center of paradise. This "tree" is a symbol DESIGNATING the CHOICE of people.

The "tree of knowledge of GOOD and EVIL" is still in the center of LIFE or the choice of all beings, not only on earth, but also in the Kingdom of God, i.e. IF YOU USE SOMETHING GOOD IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD NOT ACCORDING TO GOD'S INSTRUCTIONS, you can cause EVIL to yourself or others.

This is exactly what Satan did (early overshadowing cherub). He used POWER, POWER, given to him from God and intended FOR GOOD, for HIS DESIRES: "I will sit in the host of gods ...".

Satan disregarded God's INSTRUCTIONS to use the authority God gave him to SERVE THE RESIDENTS OF HEAVEN FOR THEIR GOOD, NOT HIMSELF. Satan sinned by displaying pride and exaltation instead of SERVING the inhabitants of Heaven. Thus, he, like Eve, TASTED THE FRUIT FROM "THE TREE OF KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL".

God wants people to understand the consequences of evil as well as God Himself. And, accordingly, they did not allow evil, in any of its manifestations in the Kingdom of God, thereby becoming true WORKERS AND HELPERS for God!

Having passed the earthly cycle of education on the topic “What is good and evil”, people will NEVER allow the emergence of evil in the Kingdom of God, because they knew it from the inside, when the consequences of evil were not just observed from the outside, but lived PERSONALLY. Thus, God will have RELIABLE WORKERS in God's future Works and Plans:

1 Corinthians 3:9 For we are laborers together with God...

Through this "study" and the EARTH EXAM will pass all those who will be a FOLLOWER with God Himself:

1 Peter 4:12 Beloved! fiery Temptation sent to you for the TEST, do not be alienated, as strange adventures for you ...

Because we must be as HOLY and not succumbing to any evil, like Christ:

Romans 11:
16 If the firstfruits is holy<Иисус Христос>, then the integer<"целое" - это Иисус Христос и Его Церковь>;
and if the root is holy<Иисус Христос>, then the branches<Его люди, рожденные свыше и достигшие Царства Божьего>.
…
30 Just as you once were disobedient to God<были неверующими и не рожденными свыше, поэтому и были непослушны Его заповедям), а ныне помилованы (но сейчас рождены свыше и помилованы>, …

God will test everyone before he ALLOWS responsible work in the Kingdom of God:

Romans 11:32 For God has shut EVERYONE into disobedience... that he might have mercy on EVERYONE

The will of God is for each person to eat the fruits of the Tree of good and evil, living among evil in the spiritual prison of the Celestial Empire, and experiencing both good and evil, to gain EXPERIENCE of the positive and negative consequences of their PERSONAL actions and the actions of people in relation to him. And also to affirm that any SIN is a DISCOUNT of God's instructions or Biblical commandments.

Jesus Christ brought PARTY to earth for ALL people so that they could receive this pardon through the acceptance of Christ and be released from the spiritual prison:

Roman 8:
18 For I think that the present TEMPORARY SUFFERINGS<жизнь на земле и познание добра и зла>
worth nothing in comparison with the glory that will be revealed in us<личный опыт в познании ПОСЛЕДСТВИЙ зла через земные СТРАДАНИЯ>.
19 For the creation waits with hope for the revelation of the sons of God<Все Божье творение ожидает, что рожденные свыше (сыны Божьи) ПОЗНАЮТ истину через откровения от Духа Святого и станут истинными СОТРУДНИКАМИ Бога в Его Делах>
…
21 that the creation itself will be RELEASED from its bondage to corruption<при допущении греха, поэтому все жители Небес ЖДУТ пока люди ВОЗРАСТУТ в этих откровениях, чтобы никто на Небесах не согрешил, как сатана>
into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.

ATTENTION! Here the future tense is indicated, i.e. the time when the WORKERS of God (children of God) in the FUTURE, living in the Kingdom of God, WILL NOT ALLOW the manifestation of evil in the Kingdom of God, which can lead the inhabitants of Heaven to EXCEPTION from God and imprisonment in a spiritual prison, as happened with Satan - “the creature will be FREED from slavery to decay"

Let's return to the message of Romans 11 (continuation, see above).

Romans 11:33 O abyss of riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How incomprehensible are His judgments and unsearchable are His WAYS!

In Romans 11:32 it was said that everyone will pass tests on earth and will be PARTY thanks to the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. And in Romans 11:33 it is explained that only a WISE God could develop such a WAY for mankind. Having led humanity along this path, God will receive for Himself employees who will LIKE Him to MANAGE the entire world created by God!

Let's return to the conversation between Eve and the serpent, where he said "you will not die" when you use the fruits of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. He told the truth, which was confirmed by God Himself, but added very little LIE, imperceptibly dissolved in God's truth. According to the context of the entire scripture, “death” is the separation of the human soul from God, and “life” is its approach to God and living together with Him.

Therefore, the serpent simply deceived Eve. This is the essence of all the false teachings of Satan, where in the "barrel of honey", i.e. Satan has mixed a very small “fly in the ointment” into the multitude of God's truths. A detail that is almost not noticeable at all, but in the end the whole “huge barrel” turns out - this is a FALSE teaching and because of this STILL people lose God and end up in hell. Adam and Eve tasted good and evil, but not in the way and way that God PREPARED for people.

Perhaps there was another way of knowing the consequences of good and evil, but people chose this one, on the “tip” of the father of lies (Satan).

Eve did this not according to the instructions of God, but according to the instructions of the serpent, having received EXECUTION from God, because used the FORBIDDEN method, which God FORBIDDEN, thereby bringing harm to herself and all descendants. Eve did not follow God's path of KNOWING good and evil that He had prepared, or perhaps the time had not come and THE CONDITIONS HAVE NOT BEEN RIPEN to fulfill God's instructions. Because of disobedience to God, and by the false TEACHING of the serpent, people have committed sin by inflicting spiritual Mutilation on themselves. And the upbringing of mankind by God, most likely, went according to another, far from God's scenario, although "eating" from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil WAS PLANNED by God, not God's desire for people to sin, but a PLANNED WAY to correct the consequences of sin (the consequences of "eating" ), because God KNEW that people would disobey God, violate His instructions, and sin.

Of course, God obviously knew what the choice of free people would be, and IN ADVANCE he developed and INCLUDED in His Plan the SALVATION of people, the restoration of their spiritual mutilation, long before the creation of the universe (which will be described in detail in part 2 of the teaching, in the section on the Creation of the world, i. to. this topic is beyond the scope of the initial course).

Now we understand why God separated people from himself. They nevertheless “died” for God (here we do not mean natural or earthly death, which cannot separate people from God, but is only a TRANSITION of the soul from the real world to the spiritual one, we are talking about spiritual death).

The soul is separated from God, i.e. “spiritually dead” even during the natural life of a person on earth as a result of “ACTIONS against the law of God” by the forefathers (Adam and Eve), who committed SIN. As a result, the spirit of the first people became crippled (defiled), and, consequently, of all descendants by HERITAGE:

Gen.5:3 Adam lived a hundred and thirty years and begot [a son] in his IMAGE, in his IMAGE, and called his name: Seth.

Any person by lineage from Adam is born with a crippled spirit and lives in a spiritual prison (under heaven).

Every person born on earth becomes a CRIMINAL according to the Constitution of the Kingdom of God from birth. Those. the place of REGISTRATION, the address of the RESIDENCE of the sinner's soul, from the very birth on earth in the spiritual world becomes hell (Heaven), where he ends up after leaving his body during natural death, because. becomes only a SPIRITUAL being, and can live without a physical body only in the spiritual world.

The human soul, having lost its physical body, appears in the spiritual world where its physical body was. But according to God's legislation, this sinful soul CANNOT live in the Kingdom of God, but remains according to the residence permit or citizenship in the Celestial Empire, where the demons drag her to hell with joy. In general, everything is clear and simple.

The offender must be separated from other souls, and then the Judgment of God and condemnation to eternal death (the second and real death, because it FOREVER separates the sinful soul of a person from God already in the spiritual world):

Rev.20:14 And death and hell were thrown into the lake of fire. This is DEATH SECOND.

Rev. 21:8 But the cowardly, and unbelieving, and abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, their fate is in the lake burning with fire and brimstone. This is DEATH SECOND.

ATTENTION!!! People learn personally on their EXPERIENCE what is evil and good, in order to know their consequences LIKE God!!! This is how we were created from the beginning: to be like Him.

With the help of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, we can distinguish between the operation of two spiritual laws:

1. Law of sin and DEATH
This evil.
Romans 8:6 The mind of the flesh is DEATH...
Such a way of life is called in the Bible "living according to the flesh" or "living according to the desire of the flesh."
2. The Law of the Spirit of LIFE
This is GOOD.
Romans 8:6 thinking SPIRITUAL - LIFE ...
This way of life is called in the Bible "living in the spirit" or "living according to the will of the spirit."

Roman 8:
1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not according to the FLESH, but according to the SPIRIT,
2 because the LAW OF THE SPIRIT OF LIFE in Christ Jesus has set me free from the LAW OF SIN AND DEATH.
…
5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the CARNISH, but those who live according to the Spirit, on the SPIRITUAL.
6 The CARNISH mind is DEATH, but the SPIRITUAL mind is LIFE and peace,
7 because the carnal mind is enmity against God<нарушение Божьих заповедей>;
for they do not obey the LAW of God, nor can they.
8 Therefore those who live according to the flesh CANNOT please God.
9 But you do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit, if only the Spirit of God lives in you. If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he [and] is not His<не рожденный свыше>.

Roman 7:
14 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, SOLD under sin<по родословию от Адама все люди отделены от Бога и Его Царства и живут в Поднебесье>.
15 For I do not understand what I am doing: because I do not what I want, but what I hate, I do.
…
18 For I know that the GOOD does not dwell in me, that is, in my flesh; because the DESIRE for good is in me<в духовной сущности человека: в ДУШЕ и ДУХЕ>,
but to do it, I don’t find it<в своей плоти>.
19 The good that I want I do not, but the evil that I do not want I do.
20 But if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.
21 So I find a law that when I want to do good, evil is present with me.
22 For according to the inward man I delight in the law of God<в духовной сущности человека: в ДУШЕ и ДУХЕ>;
23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and making me captive to the law of sin which is in my members.<в физической сущности человека: в ПЛОТИ>.
24 Poor man I am! who will deliver me from this body of death?

Important Scripture:

Isaiah 26:9 With my soul I yearned for Thee by night, and with my SPIRIT I will SEEK Thee in my INSIDE from early morning: for when Thy judgments [are made] on the earth, then those who dwell in the world LEARN THE TRUTH<живущие на земле>.

While LIVING ON EARTH, people learn NOT TO DO evil, knowing the actions and consequences of evil, but learn to do good UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. The constitution of the Kingdom of God is NOT TO DO EVIL.

10 If the wicked is shown mercy, he WILL NOT LEARN the truth<при жизни на земле>,
- will EVIL in the LAND OF RIGHT, and will not look at the greatness of the Lord<в Царстве Божьем>

The land of the righteous is the Kingdom of God, where ONLY the righteous will live.
If you do not teach people not to do evil on earth, then this person WILL BE EVIL in the Kingdom of God!!!

11 Lord! Thy hand was lifted HIGH, but they did not see it; those who hate Thy people will see and be ashamed; FIRE WILL BURN Thy enemies...

The hand that is "raised high" is the testimonies of people and the Scriptures about God. Those who have not seen the hand of God are unbelievers who have not believed in Him.
WEEDED OUT and thrown into the lake of fire after the White Throne Judgment will be all those (those who hate) who do evil to the born again, who belong to God (Your people).

Those. if a person has not learned to live by the laws of Heaven and they have not become his WAY OF LIFE, then he will not be able to live in the Kingdom of God!!! People MUST KNOW evil and go through TESTS on earth, so that those who cannot live in Heaven and obey God are WEEDED out and put away in the "garbage can" or "lake of fire", i.e. will receive the second death now in the spiritual world and FINAL.

This is the main plan of God - to create such beings who, thanks to the FRUIT of the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil, during earthly life will have a complete REVELATION or knowledge of how good works and how evil works, and who will NEVER apply the action of evil to others !! ! This is the WAY OF LIFE in Heaven in the Kingdom of God.

Every day we struggle with the manifestation of the law of sin and death, EXPERIENCE the law of evil and its consequences: bitterness, resentment, heartache, when the whole world seems to be against you, depression, anger, selfishness, cruelty, injustice, theft, misfortune and etc.

We also learn to manifest the law of the spirit of life and LEARN from our own EXPERIENCE its consequences: peace, joy, inspiring happiness, peacefulness, long-suffering, goodness, charity, compassion, unconditional love.

Our goal is to learn to produce only good while fighting evil:

Heb.12:4 You have not yet fought to the point of bloodshed, striving AGAINST SIN...

So, living on earth, people constantly FEED from the Tree of good and evil, LEARNING what EVIL and GOOD are.

This is the CHOICE of each person: whether to choose the Kingdom of God, following the Laws of Heaven and being born again (the choice of GOOD), or the lake of fire, following EVIL, rejecting the atoning death of Jesus Christ.

REMEMBER: God's purpose of using the fruits from the Tree of good and evil is to acquire a LIFESTYLE based on PERSONALLY lived experience, which gives KNOWLEDGE about the SYMPTOMS of the appearance of good or evil and about the CONSEQUENCES of an action NOT yet PERFECT (i.e. embryo and predict the CONSEQUENCES of an act (good or evil).

Previous: Session 4 Worship in Spirit and Truth

Next: Session 6. The Process of Spiritual Growth

Basic moments:
1. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil is the key to understanding the destiny of mankind in the Kingdom of God.
2. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil is at the center of paradise and at the center of the understanding of all Scripture.
3. The meaning of the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the original source.
4. God knew and foresaw the choice of people. He was ready for it.
5. This is not about the fruits of the fruit tree. It clearly refers to some kind of ACTION that gives KNOWLEDGE about GOOD and EVIL, and maybe DOES evil or good.
6. The task of man in the flesh is to cultivate and keep "trees", i.e. to do deeds (perform actions) that bring good to others.
7. The same object in one use is good, in another it is evil, and this depends on the actions of specific people.
8. Our goal is to practically study the consequences of good and evil from our own experience. Practice on earth and apply ONLY goodness in your life.
9. On the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, fruits grow not of different kinds (fruits of good and fruits of evil), but of one kind: the fruits of the KNOWLEDGE of good and evil.
10. People learn personally what evil and good are, in order to become like God, knowing what good and evil are from their experience, I form in myself the way of life of the Kingdom of God.
11. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil, not only on earth, but also in the Kingdom of God IN EVERY PERSON, is the use of the law of the spirit of life or the law of sin and death.
12. The main plan of God is to create beings who, through the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, will have a complete REVELATION or knowledge of how good works and how evil works, and who will NEVER apply the action of evil to others!!! This is a LIFESTYLE in heaven in the Kingdom of God.

Video sermon - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kY6Dp5eTcI4

Prayer for being born again:

Previous: Session 4 Worship in Spirit and Truth http://www.website/2014/12/22/257 ========================= =================================

You will talk about how the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is a revelation that BRINGS a person closer to GOD!!! This is a lie of the DEVIL!

The fruits from this tree did not bring Adam and Eve closer to God, but on the contrary, led them to exile. God drove them out of paradise not because they disobeyed Him, but because spiritually dead people have no place in the presence of God. Sin and God's holiness are incompatible things.

The tempting serpent is the spirit of Seduction. The devil said: "And you will become like GODS!" That's what seduced Eve. And the fruits of this tree seemed to her desired. Whose words are these: "Become like GODS"? Lucifer, who became proud, for which he was cast out of heaven. The original sin is arrogance.
Their world (the first people) was divided into good and evil, i.e. their outlook has become DUAL. And in fact, a person is now, although rational, but a mammalian animal: he has a soul and flesh. But the spiritual rebirth occurs only later - during repentance, when a person crucifies his pride.

And in general, I do not understand - why such difficulties? Everything is much easier here!

How can this biblical story happen in real life today?

For example, God gives each person a calling to a particular profession. Calling is a talent, God's spark. If you are destined to be a car mechanic and you go to study in this area, and dedicate your life to this profession, then you will find the joy of doing what you love, and success, and recognition, and moral satisfaction, and material well-being. That is, everything you need to be happy. This is what "paradise" is.
But the snake-tempter, seducing you, says: "Why do you need to be a car mechanic? It's not prestigious! Go to medicine. You will walk in a clean white coat, and not in dirty fuel oil; have a very good income. Moreover, the beloved sings: "You have connections in the medical school. You can use this chance!" And such an offer seems “desirable” to a person, and, having betrayed his destiny, he goes into medicine. And as a result: no honor, no money, no prestige. A person loses touch with himself (with God's beginning), he is torn apart by internal conflicts, he hates his job, and curses the day when he chose the wrong path. This is what "hell" is.

And everything that you, Oleg, write is speculation that has absolutely nothing to do with God's revelation.

The special month of September is coming to an end. What is its feature? First, it starts from the day of knowledge; secondly, as a rule, in September we celebrate the feast of the harvest, we thank God for the harvest that our fields, gardens, and vegetable gardens bring. Today we will try to combine these topics and talk about the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
In the Bible, trees of various kinds are repeatedly used as images for our edification. So, Jesus, as an example of a person who is not in a hurry to repent of his sins, cites a fig tree on which the owner cannot find fruit for the third year in a row (Luke 13:6-9). Elsewhere He tells us that every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree brings forth bad fruit (Mt. 7:17). But at the very beginning of the biblical narrative, we meet a special, unusual tree that played a fatal role in the history of the fall of man - the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. A beautiful, eye-pleasing and coveted planting, but the fruits from it are drawn to be assessed as thin, the consequences of their use turned out to be detrimental. So what kind of tree has grown in Paradise, and how should it be assessed - as "bad" or as "good"?
Let's start from afar and turn to the prohibition contained in the biblical Book of Leviticus:
Lev.19:23-25 « When you come to the land [which the Lord God will give you], and plant any fruit tree, consider its fruits as uncircumcised:three years should regard them as uncircumcised, should not eat them;
24 and in the fourth year all its fruits shall be consecrated for the feasts of the Lord;
25 In the fifth year you may eat of its fruit, and gather for yourselves all its produce»
This law is still observed by Orthodox Jews. A special holiday was even established - Tu Bishvat ("New Year of Trees"). In 2013, it was celebrated on January 25th. On this day, all fruit trees, as it were, celebrate their birthday and become a year older. Jews need to know the "age" of trees in order not to violate the said prohibition. On this day, it is also customary to plant seedlings of young trees, and there should be a lot of various fruits on the festive table.
Why did God institute this prohibition? Jewish teachers give several explanations for this. The most common of them are the following:
1) in the first three years, the fruits are filled with earthen juices, they contain substances that are harmful to the soul and body, and the Creator protects us from their influence by his prohibition. Subsequently, under the influence of sunlight, they become suitable for consumption;
2) this commandment protects a person from idolatry and witchcraft. In ancient times, when a tree was planted, sorcerers used to cast certain spells that they claimed would cause the tree to bear fruit quickly. When the fruits appeared, they were sacrificed to idols. To prevent the Jews from imitating idolaters, the Torah forbids the use of the fruits of the first three years;
3) this prohibition is given as a reminder of Adam's sin. Here is what one teacher says:
The Creator tells the people of Israel: “I forbade Adam to eat from the Tree that stood in the center of Gan Eden. But he did not wait and ate of its fruits before the time. If Adam had refrained from eating the forbidden fruit on the eve of Shabbat, then on Shabbat he would have been granted permission to eat this fruit. And then this Shabbat would announce the final Redemption. To atone for Adam's sin, you must all wait three years before eating the fruit of the tree."
It seems that these thoughts bring us closer to understanding what kind of tree grew in the middle of the Garden of Eden. Our explanation must come from the fact that God is good and merciful, and He never does anything that could harm a person.
Genesis 2:8-9 « And the Lord God planted a paradise in Eden in the east, and placed there the man whom he had created. And out of the ground the Lord God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, and the tree of life in the midst of paradise, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil»
In these words, God appears before us as a kind, caring gardener who lovingly creates a beautiful garden. He places in this garden a person with whom he wants to share the joy of being in such an amazing place. Is it possible to assume that God placed something in this garden that contains poison?
Based on the goodness of God, there are two possible explanations for what happened:
1) the tree of the knowledge of good and evil has not yet reached such a development that its fruits are useful to man; 2) man was not yet ready to eat from the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
The way events unfolded indirectly confirms both of these points.
To clarify this idea, we will try to answer two questions.
Question one. Did the devil get what he wanted when he forced Adam and Eve to eat the forbidden fruit?
What did he really want? He did not just want to break the idyll of the unity of man and God. He wanted to turn them against each other. He desired man's rebellion against God's world order. And the Serpent says: "You will how gods..." By the way, God also says something similar: I said: you are gods, and the sons of the Most High are all of you”(Ps. 81:6). What is the difference? In the word "how".
The purpose of God is to exalt man. He wants man to achieve perfection. Satan is a fallen angel. He is not a god. Does Satan need those who will be higher than himself? Even if we assume that he imagines himself a god - does he need competitors? It is clear that he did not plan to exalt man, but to shake and overthrow. After all, he always rebels against anyone who even slightly resembles God.
Thus, Satan offers man a counterfeit. He perceives the tree of the knowledge of good and evil as a magic tree, and tries to convince a person of this as well. Magic seeks domination, the origin of which is not important to it. Religion seeks a relationship with God based on mutual trust and love. In fact, the problems of Adam and Eve are not related to the fruit of the forbidden tree, but to their disobedience. By their choice, they separated themselves from God, the connection with the Creator was broken. Adam and Eve acted like teenagers who, at a certain stage of their development, suddenly lose confidence in their parents, begin to suspect them of something (they don’t love me, they hide something important from me).
Often what happened in Eden is perceived as a victory for Satan. Let tactical, not final, but victory. But did Satan really get what he wanted then?
Gen.3:6-10 « And the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasing to the eye and desirable, because it gives knowledge; and took its fruit and ate; and gave also to her husband, and he ate.
7 And the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked, and they sewed together fig leaves, and made themselves aprons.
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 among the trees of paradise.
9 And the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, Where are you?
10 He said, I heard your voice in paradise, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid»
What did Adam and Eve experience after eating the forbidden fruit? Shame and fear! Is this what Satan expected? No, he expected that a person would turn his haughty face to the Creator and speak boldly with Him. After all, he now became aware of what God had hidden from him! But, if we imagine that the serpent was sitting somewhere nearby in the bushes and watched how the conversation between Adam and Eve with God developed, then we can assume that he was biting his elbows from annoyance and anger, because his plan failed!
Shame and fear - this is what gives hope for correction. When a person loses the fear of God, he also loses his sense of shame. Shamelessness brings a person closer to demons.
It was the fact that Adam and Eve were afraid and ashamed after the fall that gave them a chance for salvation. The falling away of man from God was not absolute and final, unlike Satan, in whom neither the fear of God nor shame remained.
So we see that the devil didn't get what he expected. Yes, something terrible happened, the fall led to many terrible consequences, but the person did not die completely.
Question two. Did the person get what they wanted?
Let's look at the following words of the apostle Paul:
Heb.5:13-14 « Whoever feeds on milk is ignorant of the word of truth, because he is a child; solid food is characteristic perfect, whose senses have been accustomed by skill to distinguish between good and evil »
From these words it is clear that not every person is able to distinguish between good and evil. Only the perfect have such an ability, and even then - as a result of long learning: they are “accustomed by skill” to such a distinction.
However, knowing good and evil is an even higher level than distinguishing between good and evil. Only God has a complete knowledge of good and evil, He has a complete understanding of their nature and essence. He, by virtue of His omniscience and omnipotence, is able to distinguish between good and evil in an absolute degree, since He foresees the consequences of any act and event. Moreover, he can even turn evil into good. Remember how Joseph said to his brothers: behold, you intended evil against me; but God turned it into good» (Gen.50:20).
If a person really knew good and evil after eating the forbidden fruit, he would master good and evil in their entirety. But what happened instead? Some facets of the "knowledge" of good and evil that a person received, we find in the following places in the Bible:
Isaiah 5:20 « Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil, who revere darkness as light, and light as darkness, who consider bitter to be sweet, and sweet to be bitter!»
Man, due to his sinfulness and spiritual immaturity, tends to confuse good and evil, hence so many mistakes and worldly tragedies. Some out of ignorance, and others out of hardness of heart, persist in what is evil, mistaking it for good. Today, sodomites on all corners are shouting about their rights, not realizing that sin and vice have only one right - to receive punishment from God. There is only one way to get rid of punishment: by repenting of sin before God and leaving the sinful way of life.
Amos 5:14-15 « Look for good, not evil, so that you stay alive - and then the Lord God of hosts will be with you, as you say. Hate evil and love good, and restore justice at the gates; maybe the Lord God of hosts will have mercy on the remnant of Joseph»
A sinful person has an attraction to evil, he seeks it and even loves it. "Forbidden fruit is sweet" - so many justify their weakness before the power of sin.
Proverbs 17:13 « Whoever repays good with evil, evil will not depart from his house.»
A sinful person is inclined to repay evil for good. This is another result of eating the forbidden fruit.
So, man did not get what he expected when he violated God's prohibition.
From the above we can draw three conclusions:
1. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil was intended for man, for his good, but he tasted its fruits before the time appointed by God. We can say that in that situation, an immature person tasted an unripe fruit.
2. Satan cannot outsmart God. God is always a few steps ahead, and even if the devil succeeds in something vile, God is able to turn it into a saving one. The clearest example is the death of Jesus on the cross.
3. We should learn to wait patiently for God to bless us with His blessing. Often people ask God for something, and then, tired of waiting, they begin to fulfill their whims without permission. At the same time, they are deeply convinced that they are doing good. However, as a result, they get an "immature fruit", and even if they get what they want, they do not feel joy from it. Remember how Psalm 1 speaks of the blessed man? "And he will be like a tree planted by streams of water, which bears its fruit in its season » (Ps.1:3). There is a time for everything, and God should not be rushed. The most blessed men and women of God knew how to wait. Abraham had a son at almost 100 years old, Moses led the people out of Egypt at 80 years old. Elder Simeon took the baby Jesus in his arms at an advanced age. All these are images and examples for you and me. Of course, this does not mean that all of us will certainly wait for an answer to our innermost needs until old age. God does not give a person tests beyond his strength, and everyone has his own limit of these forces. However, patience is necessary for anyone who desires the very best of our loving Heavenly Father.