Page 139 - Foundations

of Me. This is the bread which came down out of heaven; not as the fathers ate, and died, he who eats
this bread shall live forever.” These things He said in the synagogue, as He taught in Capernaum.
Many therefore of His disciples, when they heard this said, “This is a difficult statement; who can
listen to it?” But Yahshua, conscious that His disciples grumbled at this, said to them, “Does this
cause you to stumble? What then if you should behold the Son of Man ascending where He was
before? It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you
are spirit and are life.”

If we fail to discern when a statement is intended to be understood literally, and when its meaning is
spiritual, we will err greatly. Have not the Roman Catholics greatly erred in their understanding of
the words above as they hold to the doctrine of transubstantiation? They believe that in the sacrament
of the Eucharist that the wafer and wine are more than a symbol of Christ, but become the real, living
flesh and blood of the Savior. This is how heresies are established. Men, failing to “rightly divide the
word of truth,” fall short of identifying accurately that which is spiritual speech, and that which is
literal.

One day all men will have an opportunity to meet their first forebears. The lives of Adam and Eve are
often viewed as some distant myth. Even those who recognize them as historical figures often see
only the brief account of their transgression in the garden. Yahweh did not demonize them. Quite the
contrary. He provided coverings for their nakedness, and He promised that a seed would come forth
from the woman who would one day crush the serpent’s head. Eve bore many more children than
Cain, Abel, and Seth, for we read in Genesis the following:

Genesis 5:4-5
Then the days of Adam after he became the father of Seth were eight hundred years, and he had other
sons and daughters. So all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years, and he died.

We are not provided any further Biblical account of the life of Adam and Eve, but we are given
glimpses of their character. When Eve bore her firstborn son Cain, she declared, “I have gotten a
manchild with the help of Yahweh.” Such a statement is insightful. There is no hint of Adam and Eve
being angry, bitter, or rebellious at the judgment that befell them when they sinned. Although Eve
surely knew great pain in childbirth, for that was part of the curse spoken upon her, she gave praise
to Yahweh for helping her to bring forth a man into the world. It seems quite reasonable that she
continued bearing children for hundreds of years, and had vast experience as a mother, a wife, and
a homemaker.

It is difficult to imagine what a man could accomplish, and learn, when his lifespan exceeds nine
centuries. I think the primitive ideas that many hold in their minds about Adam and his life and
attainments is quite deficient. I am sure we could all learn much from this man who experienced the
pristine creation before the fall, and knew so well the loss suffered when all things fell under the curse
of sin. We should guard against uttering reproaches, reviling, or slandering those to whom honor is
due.

It is difficult for many to comprehend, but we were “in Adam” when he sinned. The claim that we
would have acted differently if faced with the same temptation is unjustly made and indefensible. We