12:00 P.M.

The voice of an omnipotent God awoke the man. With a jolt, he awoke. Like any man who has found himself in a new place, this one became confused. He felt as if he had slept for as long as ever possible. Rubbing his eyes, a few specks of dust rolled off his face.

Looking above, a bright and glorious light shined down upon him. In fact, it was so bright that he had to shade his eyes. Trying to calculate, he reckoned that despite the light’s massive size he would never reach it today. That made him wonder how far it was away. Would it ever be possible to reach it? With the heat it gives, would it even be prudent to do so? So many questions filled the man’s mind over one great object. Then he thought about what else he could think about and study.

In the distance, the man saw a glorious green garden, which was far different than the dusty and filthy dirt place he found himself. It was filled with every kind of plant, from grasses to ferns to trees. The green plants made the man wish to come over. Immediately, he picked himself off the dusty ground and brushed himself off.

The roar of a wildcat startled him. As he observed the creature, the shock turned into something of admiration. He had never seen such a beautiful animal before. Wait, had he ever seen another animal before? There was no memory of anything he had done previously. The earliest thing he knew was the great and powerful voice that woke him up.

Who did wake him up? Surely nothing like the wildcat nearby could have the same voice. Suddenly, the man thought about turning around. When he did so, he was surprised to see someone standing behind him!

“I see that you are ready to do so much in this new world, Adam,” the person chuckled.

“Adam?” the man asked. “That is my name?”

“Yes, it is the name I gave you. I am the One who created you.”

“My Creator?” Upon realizing the greatness and majesty of the Creator, Adam knelt down humbly. “My Lord… and my God! Praise and honor to you! What do You wish for me to do?”

“Actually, I am here to welcome you as the master of this universe while I am the Lord over all.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means that everything that you see is for your benefit. It shall submit to you, not the other way. Come, I have prepared for you a garden to live in. I believe you have already seen it.”

The Lord guided Adam to the garden that Adam had just pondered over seconds ago. Leaving behind the dirt place he was formed in, Adam walked toward the incredible garden.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

1:00 P.M.

As they approached, Adam’s wonder expounded itself. It was far larger than he first imagined. Most fascinating to the man were the mighty trees. They toppled overhead, providing cooling shade from the light above. The trees were diverse, ranging from trees with soft leaves to those with sharp needles. Many of them produced fruits. One ripe fruit caught Adam’s attention. God noticed Adam’s wonder.

“Go and eat. That tree’s fruit is good for you,” God explained.

Without further word, Adam clutched the fruit and took a bite from it. Its juices filled Adam’s mouth and made him hungry for more. In a few moments, Adam had eaten the fruit to the core. Then Adam was concerned. Now that he was finished, what was he supposed to do with the core? He turned to his Creator.

“You may leave it,” God said. “The core will someday create a new tree to produce more fruits. Go and toss it.”

Slightly confused but obedient, Adam tossed the fruit on the ground. He looked back up in the tree and saw other animals sampling the fruits themselves. Some of the animals had fur on them but with no fur on their face. Others had feathers covering all over their body and beaks designed to bite into these fruits.

“I have made all these fruits for yours and their pleasure,” God explained. “Let us continue.”

Moving on, God guided Adam toward the center of the garden. They passed newer trees, rivers, and new animals. One of the animals, which amazed Adam, was a giant animal with a thick-skinned body. Its tail was like a cedar tree swaying in the breeze and its neck stretched a long distance to reach those branches too high for even the furry animals that Adam saw where he had eaten. The animal gave a deep, bellowing sound. This was an animal that Adam was determined to learn more about, but not right now. God seemed to have something even more amazing to show him.

When they reached the center, Adam’s amazement peaked. Two trees towered over the garden with branches high as the vault above and low enough for Adam to reach. These were the greatest plants he saw in this creation.

God explained to Adam what these two trees were. “These are the most significant trees in all of this creation. On the right side is the Tree of Life, which you may eat to your heart’s content. I tell you the truth, it will allow you to live happily in this land forever. But on the left, however, is the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”

The word ‘die’ was unfamiliar to Adam, but the sound of it made him quiver. Whatever death was, it must be avoided at all costs. Adam kept the words to heart. God and Adam continued to walk together as God explained everything.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

1:30 P.M.

But a serpent had crept in on the conversation. Helel, hiding in the trees, heard everything.

“A tree that can kill this new creation?” he asked himself. “And it contains the knowledge of good and evil? Surely the Creator is attempting to keep any opportunities to overthrow Him away. He is keeping the knowledge of evil from man.”

Although this was untrue, Helel continued to connive ways to lead man away. “Perhaps if I point out to the man exactly who the Creator is and why he should despise Him.”

Helel slithered behind the two. Finally, after another hour, God left man and charged him to name every animal there was. When God left the universe, Helel decided that this was his opportunity. Unseen to Adam, Helel whispered lies into his ears.

“Do you wish to know who God truly is? I can tell you just by the Tree of Knowledge. God does not want opponents. He wants control.”

The rebellious thoughts entering Adam’s mind ceased him. Confusion set in as Adam tried to make sense of what was occurring. As Helel kept lying, Adam felt more conflicted.

“No, how could God be so wrong? From what I know, He’s all good.”

“But that is the lie He’s playing on you. He wants you to obey Him.”

“But I love to obey Him. Whatever these thoughts are, I want them to go away!”

With the same force that ceased Helel when he tried to attack the Son, Helel was flung far away from Adam. Pain wrenched through Helel, as great as the pain he felt in Hell. When he crashed back to the ground, Helel was released. Observing that he was tossed far away, Helel was in shock. Did that man just defeat him with his mind? Or was it the power of God through Adam? For the first time, terror seized Helel.

“I’ve only seen that power once!” he whispered to himself. “Was Jupiter correct? Am I weaker than the man?” His temper flared. This was impossible! “No! I cannot allow anything to be more powerful than I!”

Suddenly, a light flashed and punched through Helel. The force, while not as extreme as the man’s, threw Helel back. Coughing in pain, Helel stood back up. In front of him stood Michael.

“How did you escape?” Michael interrogated. “And just what do you think you are doing tempting mankind?”

“If I told you, you would be more cautious than to believe that I was caged forever,” Helel retorted. “My plans are the same. Mankind will rebel against God.”

“Helel, give up this warmongering nonsense. It was proven in Heaven that not even you and your angels could defeat half of your size. If God does not grant you the victory, you have no possibility of winning. Just surrender.”

“And return to what? Torture in that fiery pit? You and Gabriel will soon be down there yourselves while I sit on the Creator’s throne.”

Helel was about to unsheathe his sword when suddenly a troop of angels reinforced Michael. The overwhelming number made Helel stagger backward. Even with all his strength, he had no possibility of defeating these loyal angels. Quickly, he made his escape out of the garden. Bearing westward, he made great distance between him and Michael.

Meanwhile, Michael sighed sorrowfully. He only wished that Helel would accept his defeat. Every second he spent fighting God was a second ensuring greater demise than he could ever imagine.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><>

7:00 P.M.

God observed closely as Adam named each creature. He watched with joy as Adam gave all sorts of creative names to each of the animals in the garden. Soon, the animals all dispersed when Adam finished. Despite this, God knew it that the world was not wholly finished.

“It is not good for man to be alone,” God observed. “I will make a helper suitable for him.”

God returned to Earth as Adam explored the Garden of Eden. The powerful presence of God made Adam immediately recognize that God was close by.

“My Lord, I can never thank you enough for your creation and the life you have given me,” Adam praised.

“I am not quite done with what I need to do,” God replied. “First, I will need you to fall asleep for a while.”

Hovering His hand over Adam, God caused the man to lie down unconscious. Then God opened up Adam’s side and removed a rib. Closing it up with flesh, God went away. He placed the rib on the ground and made dust form around it. Soon, a new creature was created, but looked much different than Adam. It was a creature of beauty and grace. God breathed life onto her.

“It is time to awaken,” God whispered.

With a jolt, the creature woke up. She was confused at first. Where was she? Why couldn’t she remember what happened before? To her surprise, she saw God.

“Who are you?” she asked.

“I am the One who created you,” God answered. “I am God.”

The creature knelt before God and repeated the words of Adam. God brought her to Adam, who was finally waking up. When Adam saw the new creature, he was enamored. He praised God for delivering such a helper to him. Knowing that God had used a rib to create this new creation, Adam knew the name for her.

“This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman’, because she was taken out of man.”

There in the garden they were joined into one flesh by God. God then left the two to be together. The love they felt, beyond all sensual feelings, grew as the moments passed. As night fell, they explored the Garden of Eden together.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

12:00 A.M.

While most of the world was sleeping, the serpent kept scheming. Helel considered his options. In his present state, Adam would never fall for his temptations. The only way he could tempt mankind to join him was to make him eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. But how? He could not simply force him to. This rested on Adam’s own choice.

Then a snake slithered by Helel as he pondered. That was when he had it. If he could not tempt man in his present form, then he could use something else to do so. He possessed the snake. Though it writhed trying to release itself, it was soon under the power of the devil. Helel made his way back to the Garden of Eden. He would not try again so soon, but he would bide his time to tempt Adam once again. The war was soon to take another twist.

~Jacob