the fall of Adam (mankind), was the Kingdom of Elohim on this earth. It was mankind in perfect harmony,
fellowship and communion with Elohim and with one another. As all servants of Elohim are tested, so was
Adam tested. In Gen 2: 16-17 we read,
(16) ―And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, ―Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat;
(17) but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you
shall surely die‖. (NKJV)
So Adam was commanded by Elohim to serve Him by guarding, protecting and being a watchman over the
things of the Kingdom of Eloah in Gan Eden. He was also commanded not to eat of the Tree of the
Knowledge of Good and Evil. This was his test. All of YHWH's servants must be tested as to whether or
not they will submit and obey the will of YHWH.
It is always the nature of HaSatan (Satan) to oppose YHWH and to try to deceive mankind to turn in rebellion
against YHWH. Thus did the serpent tempt the man and the woman to eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of
Good and Evil, thereby relinquishing the dominion given to them by YHWH and turning dominion of the
kingdom of this world, which had previously been in the perfect state of Gan Eden, over to HaSatan. In
Hebrew, HaSatan means "the adversary‖. As a result of this act of disobedience and rebellion, HaSatan is
the present ruler of the kingdom of this world—the kingdom of darkness. It is this adversary and this kingdom
of darkness which opposes YHWH and the Kingdom of Elohim.
In Isaiah 14:12, we see that HaSatan was previously known as Lucifer, or Qalal. Qalal in Hebrew means to
be clear, to shine or to be bright, indicating that he was anointed with the Shekinah of HaShem. He was
previously a son of light, a servant of HaShem among the angelic beings. However, we see in verse 12:
―How you are fallen from heaven, 0 Lucifer, son of the morning‖. His nature was transformed from light to
dark, from being an angelic servant of HaShem (as Qalal) to being the adversary of YHWH's servants
(HaSatan).
We also see in Gen 1:4 that Elohim created light and separated it from the darkness (note that this differs
from the creation of the lights in the firmament, which divide day and night (Gen 1:14-18). There are scholars
who believe that the light referred to in Gen 1:3-4 is the light of Messiah, the beginning of the Creation of
Elohim; and that the dark referred to is the fallen angel Lucifer. It is Messiah Y‘shua, the second Adam, who
will defeat the god of this world, HaSatan. Those who follow Messiah Y‘shua will be the sons of light and will
feed from the Tree of Life—the laws and principles of the Kingdom of YHWH. Those who follow the god of
this world will be the sons of darkness who feed from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and who
oppose YHWH's ways and laws. The final conflict of this age will be between the sons of light—those who
obey the Torah of YHWH and the principles of His Kingdom, and those who are sons of darkness and rebel
against YHWH's Kingdom and His Torah of truth.
The second Adam, Messiah Y‘shua, was tested just as was the first Adam—to see if he would submit in
obedience to the will of YHWH. The temptation which faces all of mankind is whether to submit to the
Kingdom of YHWH (the Tree of Life) or to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil—thereby
rebelling against YHWH and yielding to the kingdom of darkness. The Tree of Life is the Kingdom of YHWH
as found in His Torah. The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil is the kingdom of darkness. Each time
we eat from the Tree of Life and submit our will in obedience to the Torah of YHWH (His divine instructions
and principles), we are participating along with Messiah Y‘shua in restoring the Kingdom of YHWH to this
earth. Indeed, the renewed interest in the study of Torah among both Jew and Gentile is a very real
indicator that the coming of the Kingdom of YHWH on this earth is imminent.
Scripture plainly teaches us that we are not of this world (John 17:16). We are in this world but not of this
world, because when we walk in accordance with Elohim's ways and His laws we are not of this world, even
though we may be physically present in it. We belong to the Kingdom of YHWH. We are in covenant with the
Father because we are walking according to the Tree of Life (the Torah of YHWH). Most people recognise
the Torah as being the first five books of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.
This is accurate; but in a broader sense, all of Scripture is Torah and can be considered as an unfolding of
the foundational principles laid down in these first five books.
All of mankind is tested to reveal whether their hearts belong to YHWH's kingdom or to the kingdom of this
world. Even Messiah Y‘shua was tested. In Matt 4:8-10, HaSatan tempted Messiah with all that the kingdom
of this world could offer. We read in verses 8-9:
―(8) Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of
the world and their glory. (9) And he said to Him, ―All these things I will give You if You will fall down