The Fall of Man

The Fall of Man explains why sin and misery exist in the world today.
Every act of violence, every illness, every tragedy that happens can be traced back to that fateful encounter
between the first human beings and Satan.
Scripture Reference
Genesis 3; Romans 5:12-21; 1 Corinthians 15:21-22, 45-47; 2 Corinthians 11:3; 1 Timothy 2:13-14.
The Fall of Man: Bible Story Summary
God created Adam, the first man, and Eve, the first woman, and placed them in a perfect home, the Garden
of Eden. In fact, everything about Earth was perfect at that moment in time.

Food, in the form of fruit and vegetables, was plentiful and free for the taking. The garden God created was
spectacularly beautiful. Even the animals got along with one another, all of them eating plants at that early
stage.

God put two important trees in the garden: the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and
evil. Adam's duties were clear. God told him to tend the garden and not eat the fruit of those two trees, or he
would die. Adam passed that warning on to his wife.

Then Satan entered the garden, disguised as a serpent. He did what he is still doing today. He lied:

“You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes
will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:4-5, NIV)

Instead of believing God, Eve believed Satan. She ate the fruit and gave some to her husband to
eat. Scripture says "the eyes of both of them were opened." (Genesis 3:7, NIV) They realized they were
naked and made hasty coverings from fig leaves.

God invoked curses on Satan, Eve, and Adam. God could have destroyed Adam and Eve, but out of his
gracious love, he killed animals to make clothes for them to cover their newly-discovered nakedness. He
did, however, cast them out of the Garden of Eden.
From that time on, the Bible records a sad history of humanity disobeying God, but God had put his plan of
salvation in place before the foundation of the world. He responded to the Fall of Man with a Savior
and Redeemer, his Son Jesus Christ.
Points of Interest From the Fall of Man

The term "Fall of Man" is not used in the Bible. It is a theological expression for the descent from perfection
to sin. "Man" is a generic biblical word for the human race, including both men and women.

Adam's and Eve's disobedience to God was the first human sin. They forever ruined human nature, passing
on the desire to sin to every person born since.

God did not tempt Adam and Eve, nor did he create them as robot-like beings without free will. Out of love,
he gave them the right to choose, the same right he gives people today. God forces no one to follow him.

Some Bible scholars blame Adam for being a bad husband. When Satan tempted Eve, Adam was with her
(Genesis 3:6), but Adam did not remind her of God's warning and did nothing to stop her.

God's prophecy "he will crush your head and you will strike at his heel" (Genesis 3:15) is known as
the Protoevangelium, the first mention of the gospel in the Bible. It is a veiled reference to Satan's influence
in Jesus' crucifixion and death, and Christ's triumphant resurrection and the defeat of Satan.
Christianity teaches that human beings are unable to overcome their fallen nature on their own and
must turn to Christ as their Savior. The doctrine of grace states that salvation is a free gift from God and
cannot be earned, merely accepted through faith.
The contrast between the world before sin and the world today is frightening. Disease and suffering are
rampant. Wars are always going on somewhere, and closer to home, people treat one another
cruelly. Christ offered freedom from sin at his first coming and will close the "end times" at his second
coming.
https://www.learnreligions.com/the-fall-of-man-bible-story-700082

What is the fall of man? What happened at the fall of man?

There were two important events that took place prior to the fall of man. One of them was the
creation of the universe. God created the world and all within it, and He called it good
(Genesis 1:1–31). The other event was when Satan rebelled against God in heaven and was
cast out. The story of creation and the fall can be found in  Genesis 1—3.

Mankind was created in God's image  and was designed to live a life of fellowship with Him.
God fashioned Adam, the first man, from the earth: "then the LORD God formed the man of
dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a
living creature" (Genesis 2:7). He placed Adam "… in the garden of Eden to work it and keep
it" (Genesis 2:15) and told Adam he could eat from any tree in the garden except for one—the
tree of the knowledge of good and evil at the center of the garden. The consequence for doing
so would be to surely die (Genesis 2:16–17). After the creation of Adam, God said that it was
not good for man to be alone, so He created the first woman, Eve, from Adam's rib ( Genesis
2:18–25). God blessed them, told them to "be fruitful and multiply" and gave them dominion
over the earth (Genesis 1:28).

In Genesis 3, a new character, the serpent, is introduced. The serpent was described as:
"more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made" ( Genesis 3:1),
and he was Satan in disguise. Satan had already been thrown down from heaven because of
his rebellion towards God (Luke 10:18). The serpent spoke with Eve and hinted that God was
withholding from Adam and Eve by not letting them eat from the tree of the knowledge of good
and evil; he told her that if they ate the fruit from the tree that they would become like God
(Genesis 3:1–5). Eve ate the fruit from the tree and then gave some to Adam and he ate it, as
well (Genesis 3:6). At this moment, known as the fall of mankind, sin entered the world
(Romans 5:12).

Sin is the act of disobedience and rebellion against God. The introduction of sin into the world
by Adam and Eve caused the earth and all its inhabitants to be under sin's curse ( Genesis
3:14–19). Sin brought God's judgment on mankind, which has the punishment of eternal
death: "For the wages of sin is death" ( Romans 6:23). However, God made a way by which
humans could find a pardon for sin.

Adam and Eve's eating of the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil caused
them to realize their nakedness and experience shame for the first time. In the garden of
Eden, God killed an animal and used the skins to create a covering for Adam and Eve's
nakedness (Genesis 3:21). This act served as a picture of the ultimate redemption to come
when Jesus, the Perfect Lamb, was slain as the sacrifice for mankind's sins ( John
1:29; Revelation 13:8).

After the fall of man, God drove Adam and Eve out of the garden of Eden and placed the
cherubim as guard of the garden to ensure that they were never able to return ( Genesis 3:23–
24). Ever since, humanity has encountered pain, suffering, and toil in every aspect of their
lives—from the struggle of providing for a family and finding a home to experiencing pain in
childbirth. It is all a result of the curse God brought on the earth after the fall of man. This
event is referred to as the fall of man because the curse that Adam's sin brought on the world
did not just apply to him but to every human being who has ever and will ever live. Even in the
depths of Adam's despair over having forever compromised his unhindered fellowship with
God, man's original purpose, God promised that He would bring redemption through the seed
of the woman (Genesis 3:15).

While we still suffer under the curse that resulted as a consequence of the fall, we have the
hope of eternal salvation. We can experience the forgiveness of our sins by crying out to God
and putting our faith in Jesus Christ as the one true source of our redemption. Through Jesus,
we are reconciled with God (Romans 5:10–11; 2 Corinthians 5:18).

As we live on the earth where the consequences of the curse surround us, we "groan
inwardly" as we await the final redemption when Christ returns to earth ( Romans 8:22–23).
Christ is going to replace all things that have been tainted by sin ( Acts 3:21); He is going to
create a new heaven and a new earth: "For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth,
and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind" ( Isaiah 65:17; see also 2
Peter 3:12–13; Revelation 21:1). On this day, the effects of the curse will be fully obliterated
and sin will no longer have a place. Humanity will be fully redeemed and restored in every
way.