Waneta Dawn

Also, although it takes us slightly off topic, I would like more discussion about Eve in I Tim 2:15. Although I agree this is not about a dead Eve, I do suspect Eve is included in the verse, and would like to know what you think. According to Hebrews 11 hall of faith, & other passages, which I won’t take the time to look up, people in the OT were saved by looking forward to Jesus. So although Eve is not listed in Hebrews 11, it is possible she was saved through looking forward to Jesus, and that she lived out her life in faith, etc. Because of his offering, it appears Abel was saved. Can we assume Adam and Eve also offered the “firstling of (their) flock and the fat thereof.”? We know Adam and Eve had coats of skins which God had made, which suggests that animals had already died/been killed or offered to God.

Jocelyn Andersen has suggested that Eve was saved via this route and that Adam was an abusive husband. God prophesied that Adam would rule over Eve, and that her turning would be to her husband. I take this to mean that she longed for him to be warm and loving like he was in the beginning, and that he ruled over her instead.

In Gen. 4:1 after Cain was born, Eve said, “I have gotten a man from the Lord.” Was this just a comment, an exclamation, perhaps aimed at regaining her husband’s love, or does this suggest Eve already knew that salvation would come through THE childbearing of a particular SON? (Note that God’s reaction to the offerings of Cain & Able suggest that they already knew what God wanted for an offering.) Does it suggest that she is already thinking Cain would be The Savior who would put things back to the way they were, bringing her forgiveness for sin, and get rid of the curse? Or does this suggest that she had no idea that a man’s seed is required to bring forth children, and thought this child was a miracle child from God?

As I consider this, I realize that comparing I Tim 2:15 with Eve’s story can actually add insight. Why would Paul bring up Eve, except that she was deceived, just like you said Cheyl about the woman in I Tim. A deceived person doesn’t get it. And the more they talk and defend themselves, the more they convince themselves they are right.

It is a detail Psychologists have discovered; a person tends to believe the words that come out of her/his own mouth–especially if they repeat them many times. A person can convince themselves that a lie is the truth, just by repeating it over and over. So when comps repeat the same stuff over and over, they convince themselves even stronger than before. Therefore, we need to speak to them in ways where they are not given prompts that cause them to insist on their view. (just a little info on the side.)

Paul recognized this truth in his day, and silenced the deceived woman, even telling her to not be in authority over her husband, that just like Eve, it would lead this woman to transgression. It could also lead her husband to sin, but both would be saved through Jesus if they continue on in faith.