by Michael G. Mickey

In Genesis, chapter 3, the scene is the Garden of Eden where Adam and Eve, deceived by Satan into eating the fruit of the one tree in the entire Garden they were prohibited from eating, the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, have fallen under the weight of their sin. Having been warned the punishment for breaking this rule would be death, Adam and Eve are frightened when they hear the footsteps of the Lord in the Garden.

Realizing their nakedness for the first time, stripped of their innocence by the deceptions of the serpent we call Satan, Adam and Eve, clothed in fig leaves they have sewn together to hide their nakedness, are seen hiding when the Lord, looking for them, calls to Adam.

Genesis 3:9: And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?

Genesis 3:10: And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.

Genesis 3:11: And He said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?

Genesis 3:12: And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.

Genesis 3:13: And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.

Satan, the serpent who torments mankind to this very day, having succeeded in leading mankind into rebellion against his Creator, is next given somewhat of a glimpse into the wrath He will incur in the prophetic future when the Lord turns His wrath against the form Satan used to appear before Eve in the Garden to deceive her - the serpent.

Genesis 3:14: And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:

In the next passage of Scripture, the Lord continues speaking, describing the battle all of mankind will be engaged in from that point forward to this very day - the battle between good and evil. As He does so, He also gives us the first glimpse into the battle which will take place beyond the Garden of Eden between our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and Satan.

Genesis 3:15: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

The battle between mankind and Satan

Genesis 3:15: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

The seed of the woman (the descendants of Eve/mankind) and the seed of the serpent (demons, wicked humanity prior to Christ's life on the earth, and all humanity not following Christ since His life, death and resurrection on earth) have been at war ever since! That should come as no surprise to anyone, but there's far more to the battle described in Genesis 3:15 than initially meets the eye.

Genesis 3:15 carries us through the corridors of time from the Garden of Eden into the prophetic future when Jesus Christ would personally go to battle against Satan on our behalf during His life on the earth!

The battle between Christ and Satan

Genesis 3:15: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

Genesis 3:15 looks into the future when Christ would come to the earth as the seed of the woman to stomp the head of the serpent, Satan. In stomping the serpent's head, however, Genesis 3:15 alludes to the fact Christ would Himself have to be wounded in order to do so. This is our first glimpse into the Gospel of Jesus Christ recorded in the New Testament, as recorded in the Old Testament!

Jesus Christ, the seed of a descendant of Eve, was born as an infant in human flesh. Later, as an adult, Christ would win the victory over Satan for all those who would accept Him as Lord and Savior when would He die on the cross of Calvary with his arms outstretched and His heels being bruised as He dug them into the cross to press His body upward to release the pressure from His diaphragm so He could both breathe and speak to those witnessing His crucifixion.

On the cross of Calvary, Jesus Christ stood in for you and I, paying the price required by divine justice - death - in order to reconcile all of us who would accept Him as Lord and Savior with God our Father.

Will you accept Christ?

A tremendous price was paid on your behalf when Christ died on the cross in fulfillment of the Bible's very first prophecy. If you've never accepted the risen Christ as your Lord and Savior, you're living under a death sentence initially proclaimed on all mankind in the Garden of Eden. Fortunately, because Christ was willing to allow His heel to be bruised on the cross of Calvary on your behalf, the sentence of death you're living under has been paid on your behalf already, but only if you're willing to accept Christ as the forgiver of your sins and the ruler of your life - your Savior! Want to know how you can become a Christian today? If so, click HERE.