The Divine Institution of Marriage was established as the basic building block of the human race. Before there were children or cities or nations, the perfect relationship was marriage. The man and the woman were complete with each other. The man represented life and the woman represented love. They bonded with perfect coalescence of spirit, soul, and body. Recreation wasn't badminton or tennis, hiking or fishing. It was sex - the most beautiful expression of love and intimacy ever created under the stars by the light of the moon. Before sex was for procreation, it was for love, recreation, and exhilarating happiness so that the angels came from billions of light years away just to watch the daily ritual. Incidentally, they still do. Angels are watching you.
The Garden was full of delicious fruit, which symbolized the genitals and sexuality. However, the fruit of one tree was forbidden. The Lord warned Adam and 'Ishah that they could eat of the fruit of all the trees of the Garden except the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; for the day they ate of it, they would die. Since the man and the woman were perfect, they could sin in no other way. They did not have old sin natures because there was no sin in the world. The animals without contamination from sin were docile and completely friendly. Even the serpents were beautiful and charming.
Satan in his genius decided to attack the first marriage to convince the man and the woman to sin. He started with the woman. Adam had already proven his willingness to obey God, and the woman, who was a responder, was the logical choice to persuade to sin. So Satan started working on the woman as she exhibited some signs of weakness. For example, she had not been listening carefully to some of the Bible lessons.
Prior to the fall, Adam was the ruler of the world. He was the authority over all creation, and that included the woman, who had no authority. One day as the woman was out with the animals - perhaps working on some advanced research in zoology - the serpent began to talk with her. The serpent was a beautiful creature and apparently 'Ishah's favorite; however, animals did not normally talk. They were not created with the ability to reason. She should have known something was wrong, but she was naive. The woman began to listen to the brilliant persuasion of Satan's lies; for Satan had indwelt the serpent.
So the scene was probably like this. Adam was lying in his hammock contemplating astronomy or some other scientific subject while his wife was having social intercourse with Satan.
Now the serpent was more crafty than any animal of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, "Is it really true that God has said, 'You shall not eat from any tree of the Garden'?" (Genesis 3:1)Eventually, Satan turned the conversation to the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.
Genesis 3:2-3The woman's reply indicated that she had become lax in Bible class. She left out the word, "freely," which is a grace word (Genesis 2:16). And the Lord had not said anything about touching the fruit. However, Satan lied to her.
2 Then the woman replied to the serpent, "From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; 3 but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat from it. Neither shall you touch it, lest you die.'"
The serpent said to the woman, "Not dying you will die!" (Genesis 3:4)Satan added a negative to the literal command of God. Satan said literally, "Not dying you will die!" This is either a crafty half truth in which Satan denies Spiritual death, or an out and out lie. The not in the Hebrew is connected to the word, "dying," which rejects Spiritual death because "dying" refers to Spiritual death and "shall die" refers to physical death. God had said, "for in the day that you eat from it, dying you will die!" "Dying you will die" is the Qal infinitive absolute plus the Qal imperfect of the Hebrew word muth, which means to die. Satan places a "not" in front of the phrase, which means he is saying that God's command is not really true. There is some ambiguity as to whether he meant the negative to go with the entire phrase or just the word, "dying." In either case, Satan presented himself as a higher authority than the Word of God and directly contradicted God. He is a known liar (John 8:44).
“For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:5, NAS)Satan promised the woman that she would be like God. This was the same as Satan's original ambition when he said, "I will be like the Most High" (Isaiah 14:14). Here he was promising the woman that she would be as smart as God. Since the woman was interested in furthering her academic prestige, she bought the whole stupid thing. And the amazing thing is that women in general haven't changed a bit. They buy some of the most absurd things. For example, they are often stupid about men.
When 'Ishah saw that the tree was good for food, that it was a delight to the eyes, and to be desired to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. (Genesis 3:6, NAS)So, never mind the Bible Doctrine. The devil said it was smart to eat the forbidden fruit. The fruit looked good, and tasted good. Verse 6 is the parallel of 1 John 2:16. Both verses break the Cosmic System down into three parts as it encounters the justice of the Holy Spirit - i.e. Cosmic, Political, and Ecumenical Babylon.
Because all that is in the Cosmic System: The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the arrogant pattern of life, is not from the Father but is from the Cosmic System. (1 John 2:16)From Genesis 3:6, "good for food" represents the counterattack of Ecumenical Babylon and corresponds to the "lust of the flesh." "A delight to the eyes" represents Political Babylon and corresponds to "the lust of the eyes." "To be desired to make one wise" is academic arrogance, which represents Cosmic Babylon, and corresponds to "the arrogant pattern of life."
After 'Ishah ate the forbidden fruit and died spiritually, she immediately became a cosmic evangelist and lured her husband into doing the same. The man was supposed to have the authority, but the woman with the power of the Cosmic System appealed to Adam with doctrines of demons. The woman's mind had already been sucked into the Cosmic System through mataiotes, the vacuum in the mind from absence of Bible Doctrine. The woman became a pawn of Satan and was now doing his bidding.
Adam at this point had just lost his mate to spiritual death. His own soul was undergoing Eclipse Testing. The Intimacy Room in Adam's soul where Right Woman should reside was full of darkness because she had died spiritually. He had life but no love and was undergoing major stress. In the crisis of his life, Adam chose to disobey God. He saw the woman in sin and knew what he was doing. Unlike the woman who was ignorant of Satan's ploy, Adam consciously chose to join the woman in sin. He ate the forbidden fruit and died also.
Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings. (Genesis 3:7, NAS)The marriage was broken because Adam had lost his authority and the woman had become the goddess of love under Satan's power. They had guilt and their genitals were the seat of their shame. The private means of sexual love became the public display of guilt. They were never ashamed of their nudity before they sinned. But with the guilt of having blown the first marriage, they wanted to hide their genitals. Note: The woman made only a bikini bottom (front) - not top or back.
All this shows that the marriage suffered. Satan had used the leverage of marriage to get them both to sin. Had he singled out Adam, it would not have worked. So they sewed fig leaves together to solve their problem. This was human good. It was not the divine solution. Man by his own efforts cannot solve his problems. The problem of a broken marriage cannot be solved with social engineering, operation fig leaves. The problem of the broken relationship with God must be solved before there can be harmonious rapport between people.
Principle: Spiritual Rapport must precede social rapport.Satan brought down the human race by an attack upon marriage in the Garden. He emerged the ruler of the world, and Adam lost the authority over all creation. Satan in his genius knew the vulnerability of the man and the woman in the marriage relationship. With this leverage, he brought down the human race and destroyed the perfect marriage in perfect environment. The amazing thing is that Satan has continued to do the same thing throughout human history.
To the woman He said,However, the last two lines of the Hebrew poetry explain the full extent of the attack on Marriage from the curse of women throughout history. The word, desire, is the Hebrew hq*WvT+ (teshuqah). It refers to the woman's lust to usurp the authority of the man throughout history. This word can be translated sexual desire, but not here. Sex has always been considered a blessing in Marriage. "For your husband, your desire" refers to the woman's desire to control the man and to take over his authority.
"I will greatly multiply your pain and your conception.
In pain you shall bring forth children;
Yet for your husband, your desire,
But he shall rule over you." (Genesis 3:16)
However, the Lord gave the authority to the man: "But he shall rule over you." The man was given all the authority in Marriage and the woman was given none. Later the woman would be given authority over children, but not here. In Marriage, the man has all the authority, and the woman has none. Does that mean she is a slave to the man? No, she has freedom, but only when she is under his authority. When the woman departs from the authority of the man, she becomes a slave to the Cosmic System of Satan.
The meaning of the last two lines of this verse is far reaching. Women lust to usurp the authority of their husbands just as did the woman in the Garden, although she was deceived and didn't understand what she was doing. The same thing has happened throughout history. When the woman begins to challenge the authority of her husband, she sins and goes into the Cosmic System where Satan is waiting to enslave her. As soon as a woman sins, she is vulnerable to demon influence. The scene of what happened in the Garden is played out daily in Marriages where frustrated females disrespect the authority of their husbands.
In the Garden, 'Ishah was the Queen of the world and Adam, her husband, was the King. What more could she want? Obviously, she wanted to be King. With only two people in the world, the woman was not content. She wanted to be the most high just like Satan. Satan opposes Marriage because it is a divine institution and when a woman disrespects her husband's authority, Satan will quickly help her out. Unfortunately, the devil's support comes with a price, which he will exact in due time. This explains the high divorce rate in the USA, which is the highest in history apart from the antediluvian civilization.
The Satanic attack upon marriage is shown in the illustration. So long as the husband and wife are in fellowship with God, they have freedom from the Cosmic System. However, when they choose to sin, they step into the devil's world where Satan and His demons are waiting to take them into their power. Without the protection of the Holy Spirit, the believer is at his mercy of Satan and his demons. Apart from limited protection from the Elect Angels and the Sovereign Design of God, Satan rules the world and those who enter his domain are his slaves.
Satan prowls around like a roaring lion waiting to devour the Christian who sins (1 Peter 5:8). Those who sin will be the devil's lunch. Demons are lurking in wait to enslave the Christian who sins. Whereas, the believer cannot be demon possessed, he or she can come under demon power and influence. The believer who sins will be the victim of the devil and his demons. The person doesn't have to be bad to be taken into the power of the devil and his demons. The Apostle Paul was attacked by a thorn demon. Prayer was no use against the attack.
The pattern was established in the Garden when Satan attacked the first marriage. He lured the woman into sin by his charming personality. 'Ishah was the most brilliant, knowledgeable, powerful woman who ever lived. She was perfect. However, she was no match for Satan's genius. If it could happen to 'Ishah, who had no old sin nature, it can happen to anyone. The only protection against the Cosmic System is obedience to the authority of God. The believer in fellowship with God through the Filling of the Holy Spirit residing in the Divine Dynasphere will be able to resist the lure of the Cosmic System.
Satan did not appear to the woman as an ugly monster with a pitch fork. He appeared in the disguise of a beautiful creature with a very beautiful voice. He didn't try to overpower the woman. He appealed to her intellect. Satan disguised himself as an angel of light. Satan knows what people want and offers them what they desire. However, he will exact his price when the person is helplessly enslaved. Satan's characteristics are god of war and goddess of love. Murder is associated with the god of war; while fornication is associated with the goddess of love. These sins and many others related to them symbolize the work of Satan. Murder eliminates one of the available mates in marriage, whereas fornication (or adultery) is a rejection of the divine institution of marriage.
Satan actively attacked the first marriage. He knew the way to get both the man and the woman to sin was to attack marriage. So he began to court the woman to lure her away from the authority of her Right Man. When the woman is willing to stay under the authority of her Right Man, Satan cannot get to her. However, as soon as she sins, she becomes the victim of the Cosmic System. Ever since the Garden the woman has lusted to usurp the authority of her husband. When the man and woman in marriage reside in the Divine Dynasphere under the authority of God, they are filled with the Holy Spirit in the Church Age, and they have freedom. However, Satan tempts believers to sin and thus enter the Cosmic System where they will be his lunch.
Principle: Demons are the enemies of marriage and are waiting to enslave Christians who sin.
In the Garden of Eden, man was perfect and God's Plan was perfect. The Plan worked remarkably well until Adam and 'Ishah (Eve) sinned and lost the rulership of the world to Satan. Man was booted out of the Garden. The authority of the man over the woman in Marriage was clearly established, and procreation was added to start the new divine institution of the Family for stability in society. Man was offered a Spiritual solution beginning with salvation to obtain freedom in the devil's world. Marriages of people with sin natures were full of problems that prevented attainment of the love and happiness that existed in the Garden.
After the Fall, God's Plan of grace included special provisions for Marriage to reclaim assets that had been lost. God's grace Plan for Marriage, Marriage Grace, can be divided into three phases:
Once the Right Man and Right Woman meet, the relationship will proceed based upon God's schedule. No amount of dating or socializing will alter God's predefined schedule. Nor will rejection by either party, stop the Plan of God from proceeding. When Right Man and Right Woman meet, they are stuck with each other until death parts them. That doesn't mean they have to get married immediately. The Attraction Phase is too early for marriage because the coalescence of souls in virtue love from the Compatibility Testing Phase is necessary for a good relationship.
Samson married in adolescence. He was probably no more than 13 when he married. His Right Woman was a Philistine of probably 12 or 13. They married in the Attraction Phase. After a steamy honeymoon of seven days, they hit Compatibility Testing and the marriage ended abruptly. Strong personal attraction, even with Right Man and Right Woman, cannot sustain a marriage. Virtue love from the soul is required for stability in marriage.
In contrast, the Attraction Phase of Ruth and Boaz is a great success story because Boaz was a mature believer when they met. This is what Paul recommended in 1 Corinthians 7. It is best to get to Spiritual Maturity before beginning marriage with its multitude of problems in this life. Time should be spent metabolizing Bible Doctrine in order to become a mature Right Man or Right Woman before getting married.
The Attraction Phase is a time to get acquainted and discover what God has planned. The personal love attraction in this phase will enable the relationship between Right Man and Right Woman to succeed if there has been enough spiritual growth to stabilize the relationship. The Problem Solving Devices that may be used during the Attraction Phase include:
In the Compatibility Testing Phase the Edification Complex of the Soul will be verified through stress testing and the Intimacy Room will constructed and furnished. In addition, the sexual fountain of youth will be provided. In order to qualify for these wonderful blessing, the believer with doctrine is delivered into suffering to demonstrate the problem and the Spiritual solution. Apart from Evidence Testing, Compatibility Testing is often the worst suffering in this life.
Abraham and his beautiful celebrity wife, Sara, had what appeared to be a successful marriage when they went down into Egypt due to a famine and God delivered them into Compatibility Testing. Pharaoh married Sara because she was a beautiful celebrity fit for a king. There is no indication that the marriage wasn't consummated. Sara dutifully obeyed Pharaoh as lord and master while she operated under strict obedience to divine authority. Abraham waited in his tent and suffered while Pharaoh lavished gifts upon him like livestock, servants, and belly dancers.
Sarah became one of the all time great examples of the faith because of her obedience in Compatibility Testing (1 Peter 3:1-6). Through her obedience she conquered the empire of Egypt through spiritual warfare (reference Sarah). Pharaoh was an unbeliever under the power of Satan in the Cosmic System. Pharaoh was a type, or symbol, of Satan. It was Satan who inspired the romantic attraction of Pharaoh to Sara. In the Compatibility Testing Phase, Satan was allowed to cross examine Sara and Abraham. He took Sara captive in Egypt, which is a type, or symbol, of the world. Sara was the victim of Satan's power and male dominance at the hand of Pharaoh.
God allowed the suffering of Sarah because He had greater blessing in store for her. She would bear a son who would be the firstborn of the Jewish race. However, before she could get pregnant, she had to learn to make love in fellowship with God and separated from the world. For the conception of Isaac, God would have none of a testimony like David's (Psalm 51:5). Bathshebah tried to teach this concept to Solomon in Psalm 31, but it went over his head.
The story of the Shulamite Woman in Song of Solomon is another example of Compatibility Testing (reference The Shulamite Woman). The Shulamite Woman had already found her Right Man (her Shepherd Lover). She was in the Attraction Phase and was planning to marry her Shepherd Lover when Solomon spotted her and negotiated a marriage contract with her father. Song of Solomon is the story of how Solomon wooed and married the Shulamite Woman. Solomon was the villain. He was a type of Satan just like Pharaoh. The Shulamite was not his Right Woman, but she had enough doctrine to qualify for Compatibility Testing. God allowed Solomon to take her into his harem as his favorite wife in order for her to receive Compatibility Testing. The love of the Shulamite Woman for her Shepherd Lover withstood everything Solomon and Satan could offer. She passed the test and went home to be with her Shepherd Lover.
Song of Solomon baffles theologians because the key to understanding it is Compatibility Testing. So great is the possibility of love in marriage that God tests it in the most strenuous way. Manufacturers know that good products require rigorous testing. Good testing exposes the products' shortcomings, idiosyncrasies, and failure modes. Good testing is not designed to mildly test the product but to break it. So when God orders up Compatibility Testing, he turns the believer over to the worst creature, Satan himself. The believer who is delivered into Compatibility Testing is literally taken captive by Satan just like the Shulamite Woman was taken captive by Solomon.
The Spiritual Warfare of Compatibility Testing is different from the stage of Spiritual Growth where the believer fights in ranks to oppose the advance of Satan. Compatibility Testing is an individual experience that affects only the Right Man and the Right Woman - not the other members of the congregation. Further, in Compatibility Testing, Satan and his demons have a right to cross examine the witness, which is the Church Age believer. Therefore, Satan is not exposed by the Plan of God on the Stage of Life in Compatibility Testing as he is in Spiritual Warfare. The reason is that the issue in Compatibility Testing is obedience to Bible Doctrine. Only implicit obedience in application of Bible Doctrine can produce the experiential sanctification required to pass Compatibility Testing.
In Compatibility Testing, Satan may take either the Right Man or the Right Woman captive. The captive can only be freed through experiential sanctification in the Right Man - Right Woman relationship. If only one (Right Man or Right Woman) has doctrine, then freedom depends upon the application of doctrine by that one. In the meantime, Satan and his demons enjoy having Christians for lunch. In the Appeal Trial, Satan attempts to prove that marriage won't work; so God allows him to cross examine in Compatibility Testing. There is no way to have a love relationship with a partner who is enslaved by Satan and his demons. Only the Lord can bless a marriage; and before He will do that, the Edification Complex of the Soul with the Intimacy Room must be thoroughly tested.
Compatibility Testing is undeserved suffering. It is nasty demon warfare under the master-mind of evil, Satan himself. Those who have been through Compatibility Testing will have the scars to prove it. In Compatibility Testing, the couple are quite often separated and Satan enslaves one or both. There must be no attempt to blame the problems during this phase on the opposite partner. The issues are spiritual and can only be solved by correct application of the Problem Solving Devices. Problem Solving Device number 9, sharing the Happiness of God, is useful in Compatibility Testing.
Just as Spiritual Rapport is the ultimate Spiritual Relationship with God, Spiritual Rapport in Marriage is the ultimate relationship with God, which produces harmonious rapport between the man and the woman. In Spiritual Rapport, the reality of angelic warfare will be revealed. The demons of the Compatibility Testing Phase will be revealed along with the the Elect Angels who support the believer. Nothing is ever understood until it is known spiritually. The Spiritual Rapport Phase is a new phase of the marriage relationship in which the truth will be understood and the blessings of God will prevail. The power of the Spiritual Life will transcend all earthly forces, and the Happiness and Love of God will sustain the marriage relationship. Nothing in this life will overcome the power of love in this Phase of the marriage relationship (SOS 8:6-7).
The believer in Spiritual Rapport recognizes a relationship with Sovereign God. The Right Man - Right Woman relationship are part of God's Sovereign Design. The Lord Jesus Christ is the Sovereign executor of Divine Design. He personally administers the Right Man - Right Woman relationship to fulfill the Sovereign Design of God. Marriage Culture, the most basic building block of society, is part of God's Sovereign Design. And the sanctity of holy matrimony based upon God's Sovereign Design will be defended by the Lord Jesus Christ, who is head of the Church and the Supreme Court of Heaven. Those who reject God's Sovereign Design in Marriage will be punished severely (Hebrews 13:4).
The Spiritual Warfare in Spiritual Rapport takes upon a more powerful dimension. Bible Doctrine based upon the Sovereign Design of God is fulfilled with a power beyond belief. Instead of being victimized by demons as the believer in Compatibility Testing and the Spiritual Warfare Phase of the Christian Life, the believer in Spiritual Rapport arises victorious to rule and reign with Christ. The impact of the believer in Spiritual Rapport is felt round the world as he fulfills his role as Ambassador for Christ.
The believer in Spiritual Rapport will come "to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge" (Ephesians 3:19). Occupation with Christ adds to strength in the Edification Complex of the Soul. A new powerful love will be poured into the cup in the soul during Spiritual Rapport. This love is like the ocean on a calm day. It is the most profound experience in this life. In addition to the love of Christ, a new, profound, powerfully exhilarating love for Right Man or Right Woman will be poured into the cup in the soul. The love that God will pour into the soul in Spiritual Rapport will be beyond the imagination.
Those in Spiritual Rapport will finally have the capacity to enjoy marriage without being victimized by the Cosmic System and to return to the Garden. Elect angels will support and demons will be exposed and resisted. The Doctrine of Sovereignty and the Problem Solving Device of Occupation with Christ will be used during the Spiritual Rapport Phase.
January 4, 1999 - Revised Sept. 23, 2013
Author: Larry Wood
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