(289) – DRAGON 1

 

Jehovah declared: “I will pen my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings of old” (Ps. 78:2). And Jehovah used living people to make the enigmas, which constituted his particular treasure. These are his words about Israel, his people: “For their vine is of the vine of Sodom, of the fields of Gomorrah. Their grapes are grapes of gall, their clusters are bitter. Their wine is the poison of serpents, the cruel venom of asps. Isn’t this laid up in store with me, sealed up among my treasures?” (Deut. 32:32-34). It was sealed, because the fact would only happen in the future, 800 years later, in the time of Isaiah, who said to Israel, from Jehovah: “Hear the word of Jehovah, you rulers of Sodom! Listen to the law of our God, you people of Gomorrah! ‘What are the multitude of your sacrifices to me?’ says Jehovah. ‘I have had enough of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed animals. I don’t delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of male goats’” (Is. 1:10-11).

The first allegory or parable of Jehovah was the one of Adam and Eve. It begins like this: “Jehovah Elohim formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul” (Gen. 2:7). The first thing we should notice is that this man Adam was created from death, because dust, in Jehovah’s allegoric language, is death. In Psalm 22:15, we read: “My strength is dried up like a potsherd. My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. You have brought me into the dust of death”. And when Adam was condemned to death, Jehovah dictated the sentence, saying: “By the sweat of your face will you eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken. For you are dust, and to dust you shall return” (Gen. 3:19). Formed from the dust, Adam was created as a mortal being. The Psalmist say: “What is man, that you think of him? What is the son of man, that you care for him?” (Ps. 8:4). “I, even I, am he who comforts you: who are you, that you are afraid of man who shall die?” (Is. 51:12).

Adam, in the paradise of Eden, was not mortal. While eating of the tree of life he would live. The very moment that the tree of life was forbidden to him, he died, because he was mortal. The life was in the tree, not in Adam (Gen. 3:22-23).

Let us tell the story of Adam and Eve. In Gen. 2 the Hebrew words to designate god are Jehovah Elohim. Jehovah is the name agreed upon by the theologians to translate the Tetragrammaton. We say, “agreed upon” because the Tetragrammaton, that is, the four consonants that compose the Tetragrammaton do not have a translation. So, we have Jehovah, or Yahweh. The other Hebrew word is Elohim, which is translated gods, for it is in the plural. The singular would be El, or Elohe. Then, it is literally JEHOVAH GODS, for they were many. Let us relate the episode: “Jehovah God planted a garden eastward, in Eden, and there he put the man whom he had formed” It was a garden of delights, where Jehovah Elohim made the tree of life to grow in the middle of the Garden, and also the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gen. 2:9). It was the garden of Jehovah, where he came to walk in the afternoons. “A river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from there it was parted, and became four heads. The name of the first is Pishon: this is the one which flows through the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; and the gold of that land is good. There is aromatic resin and the onyx stone. The name of the second river is Gihon: the same river that flows through the whole land of Cush. The name of the third river is Hiddekel: this is the one which flows in front of Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates” (Gen. 2:10-14). What wonderful garden. Four large rivers with many rapids, waterfalls, rich land, flowery and perfumed. The scent of the flowers and fruit attracted and delighted the eyes and the senses. The garden was walled in. The waters of Pishon sparkled with nuggets of gold and precious stones. All the animals in the garden were tame. There were all kinds of birds that filled the air with melodies and colors (Gen. 2:19). When Adam saw that all the animals had their companion, he felt lonely (Gen. 2:20).

Jehovah brought Adam to a deep sleep in order to make his happiness complete. While he slept, he took one of his ribs and made a woman, and brought her to Adam (Gen. 2:21-22). Adam was amazed. The woman was beautiful, with her hair flowing in the breeze. Adam, fulfilled, said: “This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh. She will be called ‘woman,’ because she was taken out of Man” (Gen. 2:23). What bliss. It was heaven on earth. What else could one desire? The couple was completely innocent and pure. They did not know malice or knew the difference between good and evil. They were like two children who needed someone to care for them.

As we have said, Jehovah used to walk in the garden of delights in the warm afternoons (Gen. 3:8).

There was one flaw in that garden of delights. Jehovah Elohim, when he created the animals, also created the serpent, a venomous animal among all the other animals, and inside the garden. Another thing difficult to explain is that Jehovah Elohim went away from the garden and left these two children in the company of the serpent by themselves. It was a talking serpent and very astute. Taking advantage of the innocence of the couple, it convinced Eve to eat from the tree of science of good and evil that had been forbidden by Jehovah Elohim (Jehovah gods). The serpent convinced Eve to eat by saying that she would not die, but that she would become like Elohim. Eve, deceived, ate it and gave the forbidden fruit to her husband, and he also ate (Gen. 3:1-6). After they ate the forbidden fruit, Jehovah Elohim came to condemn them, and the condemnation of the woman was: “To the woman he said, ‘I will greatly multiply your pain in childbirth. In pain you will bring forth children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you’” (Gen. 3:16). To Adam, Jehovah Elohim said: “To Adam he said, ‘Because you have listened to your wife’s voice, and have eaten of the tree, of which I commanded you, saying, “You shall not eat of it,” cursed is the ground for your sake. In toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. Thorns also and thistles will it bring forth to you; and you will eat the herb of the field. By the sweat of your face will you eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken. For you are dust, and to dust you shall return’” (Gen. 3:17-19).

But what the serpent is? “The great dragon was thrown down, the old serpent, he who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. He was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him” (Rev. 12:9). Satan, the dragon, or the serpent, was created wicked and evil from the very beginning. We read this in John 8:44 and 1 John 3:8 and Gênesis 3:1-5.

Our question is: If no human father leaves his innocent and uninformed little children in the hands of a wicked criminal, how did Jehovah Elohim abandon Adam and Eve in the corrupt and deceiving hands of the dragon, that is, Satan, or the Serpent? He certainly wished the fall of Adam and Eve, for the serpent, rather, Satan, which is the dragon, was cunning and knew good and evil, the same way as Jehovah (Gen. 3:22). Adam and Eve were totally blind and defenseless, for they did not know either good or evil. They were cast into the mouth of the dragon on purpose, and they were condemned as guilty — something that does not seem fair. What is even worse than all of this is that all their offspring were also condemned (Rom. 5:12).

by Pastor Olavo Silveira Pereira

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