The Last Adam

The Last Adam

by David Scott

According to Isa. 14 and Ezek. 28, the kingdom God created in heaven was corrupted by Lucifer's pride, which influenced untold numbers of angels to rebel with him. Because he corrupted his own character and destroyed the relationship God had with some of His heavenly creatures, Lucifer's name was changed to Satan (Adversary).

After an unspecified period of time elapsed, God created the earth and put man upon it. The account recorded in Genesis 1-3 reveals how Satan also corrupted God's earthly creation. Adam fell into sin by believing Satan's lies, which slandered God's character. I'm certain that Satan also used slander to entice the angels who followed him in his sedition.

Although the scriptures clearly teach that the fallen angels will not receive a second chance, God did provide a way to redeem fallen mankind. God sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to sacrifice Himself as a propitiation for our sins. Anyone, who repents and puts his faith in the Lord Jesus, will be forgiven and restored into fellowship with God.

It is significant that the Bible not only refers to Jesus as the Savior and the Messiah, but also as "the last Adam" (1 Cor. 15:45). Everything that was lost by the first Adam will be restored by Jesus Christ, the last Adam. Sin is being dealt with now in those who have repented and placed their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

The process of being cleansed from sin is called sanctification. The root word, sancti, means "saint" or "holy one." The suffix, fication, is used to denote a process. Thus, sanctification most literally means "saint processing" or "the process of making holy." The Bible teaches that this process is accomplished by the blood of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, and the Word (Heb. 9:13&14, Rom. 15:16, Eph. 5:26). All that God requires of us to make this process work is our faith and obedience.

Have you ever wondered why God determined that faith should be the basis for His plan of salvation and sanctification? It was the lack of faith that caused the fallen angels and the first Adam to follow Satan. When Satan's slander cast aspersions against God's character in heaven, the angels without faith joined in his rebellion. Satan also cast aspersions against God's character when he enticed Adam and Eve to believe his lies.

Thus, the problems in both heaven and earth are linked to faith. The angels who fell had insufficient faith in God's character. The angels, who did have faith in God, refused to follow the devil. The first Adam also fell because he had inadequate faith in God's character. Those of Adam's race, who repent and put their faith in Christ, are redeemed from sin and restored into God's family.

I am convinced that God realized He needed to do something to vindicate His character when Lucifer corrupted heaven with his lies. God created the earth and put man upon it as the first part of His plan to accomplish this. In His foreknowledge, God knew that Satan would corrupt this creation also. That is why the Bible refers to Jesus as "the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world."

During the next 4,000 years, God worked with a remnant who had faith in Him to set the stage for the lessons He wants to teach all of His creation both in heaven and on earth. When the promised Messiah finally came, He not only provided for man's forgiveness by becoming a sacrifice for sins, but also for eternal life by rising from the dead. God not only intends the church He established as a result of Christ's ministry to spread the gospel to the heathen, but also to teach angles and principalities about His wisdom and character (Eph. 3:10).

One of the most important lessons concerns His love. The fallen angels and the first Adam were influenced to question God's love by the devil's slander. So God demonstrated His love by sending His only begotten Son to die for our sins (John 3:16, Rom. 5:7&8). As a result, we love Him because He first loved us and the angels, who remained faithful to Him, have had their faith in His love confirmed.

By the time God has completed His plan on earth at the end of the millennium, His character will be so vindicated that there will never be another rebellion. No angel or man will ever be influenced to doubt His character again. Jesus Christ is called the last Adam because God foreknows that there will never be another need for another Adam. There will never be another fall. The faith in the angels and men, who survive this process, will never be shaken again.

There is so much evil on earth today in the midst of this process because God is also teaching us about Satan's character. By seeing the contrast between the one true God and the impostor god, man should choose to follow righteousness instead of wickedness. We can be restored to holiness by repentance and exercising our faith in the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Don't allow anything to influence you to question God's character and follow another path. Keep your eyes focused upon Jesus, the Author and Finisher of your faith.