Week 4 Story: The Almost Fall of Mankind

Story: God made all the animals, the most beautiful being the serpent. The serpent was tall, mighty, and graceful, truly God’s most beautiful creation, even prettier than man himself. The serpent somewhat resembled man and the angles. He was smart, cunning, and had many great talents. The serpent’s mental abilities surpassed that of man and because of this it led him to turn against God and led to what could have been the downfall of Adam and Eve, and mankind.  Overtime, the serpent became envious of Adam and Eve because of their souls and their relationship with their creator, God. One day, while strolling through the bountiful Garden of Eden, the serpent spotted Eve. He said to her, “Such a glorious place and so many trees to eat from. There is a rumor that God has forbade you from eating from the tree behind you. Is this true?” Eve replied, “Indeed, it is. We can eat from any tree in the Garden except this one or we will be stricken by death even with the slightest touch of the tree.” With that the serpent forcefully rammed Eve into the tree; Eve began sobbing. The serpent angrily replied, “You are touching it now and yet you are not dead.” He then began shaking the tree until a single piece of fruit fell to the ground, he picked up and ate it. He said,” Look I ate of the fruit and yet, I am not dead.” In that instance, the ground began to shake and the once beautiful serpent turned into a slithering beast, damned to crawl on his belly for the rest of eternity. Eve, terrified of this great sight, ran seeking Adam. When she told Adam how the serpent tried to get her to eat from the tree and then made her touch it, Adam suggest they immediately seek God. They began praying to God to save them as Eve was forced to touch the tree and she did not want to die. God being all-knowing had already foreseen this happening, pleased that his child did not give into the temptation he replied, “Fear not my children, for you have just passed the first of many trials that face you. You did the right thing seeking me for the hideous act you just endured. As for the serpent, he is bound to eternal damnation as a beast of the ground. I will protect you from him and all others that try to turn you against me, only if you follow my will.” Adam and Eve agreed to the convent with God. They knew from that day forward if they obeyed God, nothing could harm them. You see the tree that the serpent tried to get Eve to eat from was the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. At this time, Adam and Eve only knew that serving God was the right thing to do and God had blessed them abundantly. If that day Eve would have given into the temptation the serpent laid before her, she would have caused the wrath of God to fall upon all mankind and even for generations to come.

(The serpent deceiving Eve. Web Source)

Bibliography: The Fall of Mankind from The Legends of the Jews by Louis Ginzberg (1909). Web Source.

Authors Note: The original story is the story of Adam and Eve. In the original story, the serpent did convince Eve to eat of the fruit. Eve then, out of her own selfishness, fooled Adam into eating the fruit as well, and then she fed it to the animals, so she would not be the only one to perish. After ingesting the fruit, Adam and Eve became aware of their nakedness and were embarrassed, so they sewed fig leaves to cover themselves. When they heard God walking in the Garden calling for them, they hid from him. This is where the story, of The Fall of Mankind Ends. I thought I could change this story completely by revealing the serpent for who he was, a monster. By doing this, it scared Eve enough for her to run to Adam and they sought God together instead of sinning against him. If this version of the story persisted, I cannot even imagine how wonderful the world would be today