TALES FROM EDEN: Day Two

Disclaimer: It should go without saying that these are by all means fictitious tales. I want to make this absolutely clear: This is not a new revelation from God. I am not dictating the Word of God. Please take everything I say here with great caution and perfect deference to the Bible. This is simply one man’s poor attempt at imagining what it would have been like to be Adam. I have tried to remain faithful to the Bible’s account and to not deviate from it.

Day 2
When I awoke in the morning, He was smiling down at me. The smile: the pleasure of my Father was then a delight to me. It was satisfying to know He was pleased with me.

“My Father,” I spoke, “You are better than all this world, and I am glad You have returned!”

“Son, I never truly left you alone. Not even the farthest heavens can contain Me,[1] and yet I dwell always with you, Adam. Someday you will need to know that truth.” There was a short moment of sadness in His face that I did not then understand. “Yet, even so, it is not good for you to be alone in this garden when I leave you.[2] –Come, there is work for you to do.”

He set me to the work of naming all the kinds of animals in the region.[3] They all came to me at the Lord’s direction. Birds, lions, camels, deer, serpents, rodents, goats, horses, swine, and many other animals. It was an enjoyable task. I grouped the animals into several main classes: birds, wild beasts, grazing animals, scurrying animals, and slithering, crawling, or hopping animals.[4] The lions were of the beasts, the goats were of the grazing animals, and the rodents were of the scurrying animals. Each animal was named using these five classes.[5] I named them according to their features and their sizes and their movements—a name befitting each one.

In all this naming, it became clear to me that none of them were anything like me.[6] So, I asked my Lord, “Am I the only one of my kind? Have not all of these animals mates? Why am I so different from these?”

“I have many things to teach you, Adam.[7] All things will become known to you in time. You alone of all creatures have been made in My Image and in My likeness.[8] You know Me because you are a living spirit.[9] You are an eternal spirit. You see these animals are different. They have no awareness of Me. They have not the understanding of self or reasoning or contemplation that you possess. You alone were made to walk with Me and to delight in Me. You are made for wonderment; they are made for you.[10] Yet, shortly you will have one like yourself, who is comparable to you.”[11] 

Then I inquired about the vision of the night, wondering at what it was and why I had seen it.

“I have revealed to you the First Day of My creation. You are being given the knowledge of the creation from the beginning, so that all may know of My work from the Ages of Old.”[12] 

The afternoon was sweet as I walked and talked with my Father and Lord regarding many things of which I cannot now all recount accurately. He spoke to me of the stars, of the earth, of the sky, and of the animals. He explained the circuits of the moon and the wind. He answered all my deep questions. He withheld no knowledge from me that related to the world. Much of Himself He revealed, also. Yet, the future He told me was not for me to know,[13] and which was something I contentedly accepted. He also told me that He wished for me to study the world and learn much on my own. I was designed to seek, to study, and to apprehend knowledge and understanding and wisdom. In honor of that, from that point on, I asked Him no more of my questions regarding the world, for I thought it best to heed His infinite wisdom and to seek to gain understanding by observing all things.

It happened again that the evening came, and I slept and had another great vision of Creation:

The earth, formless and barren,[14] was first in my vision. The Sea waters had become deep upon the earth, and the mist was still thick within the sky. Then, I heard the voice of God say, “Let there come to be an expanse in the middle of the waters, and let the expanse separate between the waters below and waters above.”[15] And so it was that the waters in the air collected and separated from the air. The mist cleared, and the waters below formed clouds above which rained down in an endless cycle.[16] So an expanse of clear air was formed between the Seas and the clouds.[17] The clouds lay thickly, high within the expanse. There was yet no sun or moon or stars seen above, neither were there any birds flying in the sky. Yet, even so, there was sufficient light brighter than the light of many moons.

Then God spoke and said, “This is the First Heaven.”[18]

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[1] 1 Kings 8:27

[2] Gen 2:18

[3] Gen 2:19

[4] Gen 1:20, 24

[5] Gen 2:20a

[6] Gen 2:20b

[7] Cf. 1 Cor 3:2; Heb 5:11

[8] Gen 1:26

[9] Gen 2:7; John 4:24

[10] Psalm 8:4-8; Gen 1:26

[11] Gen 2:18b

[12] Isaiah 37:26; 46:10; 2 Kings 19:25

[13] Acts 1:7; Deuteronomy 29:29

[14] Genesis 1:2

[15] Genesis 1:6

[16] Ecclesiastes 1:7; Job 36:27-28

[17] Genesis 1:7; Psalm 148:4

[18] Genesis 1:8