Fig leaves

Ge 3 “7And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.”  Adam and Eve, in whom we all fell, lost the glory of God as a result of their disobedience. The disciples Peter, James and John saw the Lord covered with the glory of God on the mountain of transfiguration. There his face shone like the sun,

and his garments became white as the light (Mt 17:1-13 ; Mc 9:2-13 ; Lc 9:28-36 ; 2P 1:16-18). Before the fall, Adam was the light of the world, and this light covered him with glory, distinguishing him from all other animals that were naked in the garden.

Speaking of man, we all know that from the zoological point of view man is a primate plantigrade and biped described as Homo sapiens-sapiens. But the Holy Bible states that if a man has not the Spirit of God in him, he is and remains a pure and simple animal. It distinguishes therefore the spiritual man and the natural man (I Co 2:14-15). Hence, zoologically speaking there were many anthropoids biped with physical likeness of man in the Garden of Eden, but to God man was the one in whose nostrils God had blown his breath of life so that he became a living soul. It's like at Pentecost, there were many churches in Jerusalem, some of which were closer to the truth than others, as we read Mk 12 « ³⁴And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. » But the Church of God was only the one that received power from on high when the Holy Spirit descended.

Similarly, when the Bridegroom returns to take His Bride home, we read in the Bible (Mt 25) about virgins, there will be many, all of whom can make this statement: I know not a man, so that on the natural plan they are not different. But the bridegroom himself says: Sg 6 “⁸There are threescore queens, and fourscore concubines, and virgins without number. ⁹My dove, my undefiled is but one; she is the only one of her mother, she is the choice one of her that bare her. The daughters saw her, and blessed her; yea, the queens and the concubines, and they praised her.”  This is the one that walks so perfectly that God finds pleasure in making her His tabernacle. The things of God and His ways of acting do not change, hence we can understand what happened from what is on now, or conversely understand what is going on if we have the understanding of what took place in the past. This is based on what Wisdom acknowledged: Ec 3 “¹⁴I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him. ¹⁵That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past.”

So Adam disobeying God's Word and got stripped of the glory that raised him above all the other animals of his order (order of primates), and went even lower. The Word of God was not sent to all primates, but only to man. He had a choice between obeying the Word and ruling, or disobeying and going lower. In fact, those to whom the word was sent, and who disobeyed is seedier than those who never heard any of these words: Jn 15 « ²²If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloak for their sin. »  But now, the word had been spoken to Adam, but he disobeyed, and his nakedness was taboo, unlike all other animals - whether those closer to, or further from man. And such is the condition of all men on earth who disobeyed God's way to follow each his way.

Nakedness, burdened conscience, guilt feeling, etc., man could not bear to remain in this condition because he was a child of God. The Spirit of God that He had breathed into his nostrils was saddened in him. Adam sought a solution; no matter it might be a substitute or sedative. In his immediate surroundings were fig leaves, and he used them to hide his nakedness. Adam could now if only pride himself that he was dressed in the knowledge that he was naked, he was more or less calm in his conscience knowing that he was in conflict with God, he could ever so little alleviate his guilt feeling knowing he needed a genuine reconciliation with his Maker.

Such is the condition of all men: they seek after fig leaves in terms of tranquilizers, sedatives or substitutes, but the real conflict with God remains. Jr 7 « ⁴Trust ye not in lying words, saying, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, are these. » Israel had turned the temple of the LORD in fig leaves because they would gather therein to do comfort themselves, while living in disobedience to the voice of the Lord. Once they were in the temple, they flattered themselves that everything was back in order.

And Israel went into high gear with the king Jeroboam by creating high places: 1kg 12 “³¹And he made an house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the sons of Levi. ³²And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in Judah, and he offered upon the altar. So did he in Bethel, sacrificing unto the calves that he had made: and he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made.”  Throughout the world, there is no such controversial being as man: he disobeys and denies God knowingly, but at the same time he does not accept to live without falsely priding himself that he worships God. And wanting to do so, he falls into the opposite, namely idolatry.

Jeroboam had the plan to get rid of God, while maintaining worship to soothe his conscience: this was the consecration of the priests or high places. Is this not exactly what we are experiencing today? You should know that the high-place (in Hebrew: BAMA) is a location on a hill, where the Canaanites celebrated their idolatrous worship. In other words the high places are churches or religions instead of obedience to the Word of God. People reject the word of God, they fall under the judgment by the same Word. But to ease their conscience and guilt feeling, they have dedicated high places’ priests, pastors, reverends that will tell them: do not worry; all is well because God is with you! They have created diverse churches so that each of them may choose one of his preference and according to his taste! Just exactly as the Scripture had predicted explicitly: 2Tm 4 “³For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; ⁴And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.”

But as the Bible says, for those who crave these high places are broken cisterns that can hold no water Jr 2 “¹³For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.” Those who choose these high places are ready to perish as they are being caressed, given that these religions or churches oppose the kingdom of God and prevent anyone who wants to enter, Mt 23: “13But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.” Adam who was the first to use them acknowledged that these fig leaves did not cover her nakedness sooth to say. They might be fair in the sight of the population of the Garden of Eden, but Adam knew he was still naked in the sight of God. Thus when he heard His voice, he went to hide even though he was supposedly dressed. Let him understand who can understand!

All men were born in this condition as it is written: Ro 3 “²³For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” We were all born in sin and deprived of the glory of God, in other words naked and needing to hide our nakedness. Everyone is aware, because everyone is looking for fig leaves to cover their nakedness. But as the Lord fashioned a sustainable clothing to Adam, He is likewise inviting us to procure of Him: Rv 3 “¹⁷Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: ¹⁸I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.”  Laodicea is a church, and her followers have turned it into fig leaves. They have wrapped themselves with heir church and say they are dressed whilst their nakedness is now appearing before God.

This is the condition of all those who put their trust in religion instead of seeking true reconciliation with God, which is to be found in no single religion or church, but only in Jesus Christ. Fig leaves, it is the religion of every man, such as man may choose one to himself. Then, when God shows his love by visiting a man to give him the skin of the lamb - which may only be available as a result of the sacrifice of the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world - a sustainable clothing to hide ever his nakedness, or if He shows him the source of living water welling up to eternal life, and the man declines, it becomes something else. In such a case it is not the religion of Adam anymore, because Adam did not respond to God's love that way: it is now the religion of Cain. Let us look into this in our next release.

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