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In the previous chapter we saw the process and issue of man’s first fall. Although the issue of man’s fall was pitiful, the Bible does not stop there. When there was no way out for man and he was despondent, God came in. When God comes in, there is a way out. Because of His love for man, God prepared a way of salvation to deal with man’s fall.
The first step in God’s dealing with man’s fall was to seek man. After the fall Adam and Eve felt ashamed and were afraid of God, and they “hid themselves from the presence of Jehovah God among the trees of the garden” (Gen. 3:8). However, God came to seek them. After the fall, in God’s first words to Adam, He asked, “Where are you?” (v. 9). What a great gospel! After man’s fall God’s first words to man were the gospel: “Where are you?” When we are in sin, corruption, or death, God comes to ask, “Where are you?” This shows that God is seeking man.
The second step in God’s dealing with man’s fall was to judge the serpent by cursing him (v. 14). This curse includes two things. First, God cursed the serpent, making him to go on his stomach. This means that the realm of the serpent’s activities would be limited; he would be allowed only to creep on the earth. According to this account, the serpent did not go on his stomach until he was cursed by God. This is symbolic and meaningful. After man fell because of Satan’s temptation, God cursed and judged Satan, limiting the realm of his activity to the earth. Those who understand spiritual warfare know that when we fall and become earthly and worldly, we enter the realm in which Satan works. However, when our spirit is uplifted, transcendent, and in the heavenly realm, Satan has no influence over us.
Second, God cursed the serpent so that he would eat dust all the days of his life (v. 14). This is another limitation because it limited the type of food that the serpent could eat. First Peter 5:8 says that Satan “walks about, seeking someone to devour.” The kind of person who is a target for Satan’s devouring is an earthy person. Those who are out of Adam are earthy, and such ones are the target of Satan’s devouring (1 Cor. 15:47). After Satan was cursed, God limited him to eating dust. In terms of spiritual symbolism, when we live by the life of the old creation, that is, by our flesh and our natural life, we are earthy, and we become food for Satan to devour. But when we are spiritual and heavenly, we are delivered from the realm of Satan’s devouring.
Although creeping on the earth and eating dust are limitations to Satan, they are also a dealing to man. Because man fell and became earthy, Satan is able to work in man and to devour man. However, God came to save man and to deal with man’s fall by limiting Satan to move only on the earth and to eat only dust as his food. When a person is saved, he is delivered from the earth to the heavenlies (Eph. 1:3) and out of dust to the spirit; that is, he is delivered out of the realm of Satan. God’s judgment upon Satan is also a way of dealing with man’s fall.
When God judged the serpent, He spoke a promise, saying, “I will put enmity / Between you and the woman / And between your seed and her seed; / He will bruise you on the head, / But you will bruise him on the heel” (Gen. 3:15). This important verse in the Bible includes four crucial phrases: I will put enmity between you and the woman; between your seed and her seed; he will bruise you on the head; and you will bruise him on the heel. These four phrases are very significant and present contrasts. The first contrast is between you and the woman, the second is between your seed and her seed, and the third is between he will bruise you on the head and you will bruise him on the heel.
After being damaged by the serpent, Adam and Eve saw their shame. When God came to seek them, they hated the serpent who had ensnared them, but they were also afraid that God would punish them. They thought that they would surely die after eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Hence, they must have been in fear and trembling, awaiting God’s punishment. This was the background of God’s giving them the promise. When God came, He first cursed and judged the serpent, but in this judgment God brought His promise and grace to man.
God said to the serpent, “I will put enmity / Between you and the woman / And between your seed and her seed; / He will bruise you on the head, / But you will bruise him on the heel” (v. 15). This word was pleasant to Eve’s ear. God had charged Adam and Eve not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for in the day that they ate of it they would surely die (2:17). Because they had eaten the fruit of the tree of knowledge, they were deserving of death. In this state of fear, God spoke of enmity between the seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman. The phrase her seed, “the seed of the woman,” conveys the light of life, the gospel of life. How could there be a seed if the woman died? For the woman to have a seed meant that the woman would not die. When Eve understood the meaning of God’s word, she might have praised Him, saying, “I will not die, because I will have a seed!”
God also said to the serpent that the seed of the woman would bruise him on the head. By this time Eve should have been clear that although she hated the serpent, she had no way to deal with him. However, she would have a seed who would bruise the serpent on the head. The vital part of a serpent is its head. When a serpent’s head is bruised, it is killed. Hence, Eve must have been very happy, because someone would come to bruise the serpent’s head. Nevertheless, the serpent would bruise the heel of the seed of the woman. Although this bruise would be painful, it would not be fatal. These four points speak of God’s promise to man. This promise was revealed in God’s word of judgment upon Satan.
Genesis 3:15 contains the first promise in the Bible. The content of this promise is rich and significant. It shows Satan’s work throughout the ages among the children of God, and it shows the Lord Jesus’ annulling of Satan’s work. This is the first promise regarding the Lord Jesus as the seed of the woman bruising the serpent’s head. Genesis 3:15 is the first promise in the Bible that refers to the Lord Jesus and His work on the cross. Therefore, this promise occupies a crucial place in the Bible. This fact has been acknowledged by Bible expositors throughout the ages. In order to expound this promise, we need to know the record of the entire Bible, because this promise encompasses everything from Genesis 3 to the end of Revelation.
Four persons are spoken of in the promise in Genesis 3:15. The first person in this verse, you, refers to Satan. Although God was talking to the serpent, Satan was in the serpent. The serpent was the incarnation of Satan. Hence, the serpent was Satan.
The second person in this verse, the woman, refers to a woman who has several layers of meaning. It is very clear that the woman refers to Eve. However, if we consider the entire Bible, we will realize that this woman refers to much more than just Eve. Some people say that this woman refers to Mary because the Lord Jesus was the seed of a woman and because He bruised the serpent’s head on the cross. Hence, they say that this woman must refer also to Mary, the mother of the Lord Jesus. Even though we acknowledge that this woman refers to Mary, “the woman” still refers to much more. This woman is a great, mysterious woman.
This woman includes not only Eve and Mary, because all those who have been created by God and who are of God are included in this woman. The Bible reveals that God is the unique man in the universe. He is the only man in the universe. Everyone who has been created by God and is of God, that is, all those who are redeemed by God, are the woman. This is the reason that the Old Testament refers to the children of Israel as the wife of God (Isa. 54:5; Jer. 3:1; Hosea 2:19). They were a woman before God. Furthermore, the New Testament speaks of all the saved ones being a virgin betrothed to Christ (2 Cor. 11:2). In the future the church, a composition of all the saved ones, will be the New Jerusalem, the wife of the Lamb (Rev. 21:9).
These examples show that God’s created and redeemed ones are in the position of a woman. Simply speaking, this woman is the aggregate of God’s redeemed ones throughout the ages. Therefore, I will put enmity between you and the woman means that there will be enmity between Satan and God’s redeemed ones. This matter is proved by history. History reveals that Satan is at enmity with whoever turns to God and receives God’s redemption. In the vision in Revelation 12 the serpent is called “the ancient serpent, he who is called the Devil and Satan” (v. 9). This is the serpent in Genesis 3. This ancient serpent stood before a woman (Rev. 12:4), being at enmity with her and opposing her as her adversary.
The woman in Revelation 12 is the woman in Genesis 3. The promise in Genesis is not fulfilled before Revelation 12. Therefore, the woman in Genesis 3 is the woman manifested in Revelation 12. This woman is not an individual woman; rather, she is a universal woman because she is clothed with the sun, the moon is underneath her feet, and a crown of twelve stars is on her head (v. 1). This woman is a great, universal woman. Everything about her is heavenly. The sun, the moon, and the twelve stars are all heavenly. Moreover, they are light-bearers; they are bright, without any darkness. This woman is extraordinary; the light-bearers in the universe are with her and are related to her.
To whom does this universal woman refer? There are only two places in the Bible that mention the sun, the moon, and the twelve stars together. One place is Revelation 12, and the other is Genesis 37. We must use Genesis 37 to interpret the sun, the moon, and the twelve stars in Revelation 12. According to Genesis 37:9, Joseph had a dream about the sun, the moon, and eleven stars. These light-bearers represent the entire household of Israel that had been redeemed by God. From the context we can clearly see that the sun refers to Jacob, Joseph’s father; the moon refers to Joseph’s mother; and eleven of the twelve stars refer to Joseph’s brothers. There are twelve stars including Joseph. This was Jacob’s entire household. The principle of the sun, the moon, and the twelve stars being together refers to the totality of God’s redeemed ones. Hence, this universal woman, who is clothed with the sun, who has the moon underneath her feet, and who has a crown of twelve stars on her head, refers to the totality of God’s redeemed ones.
In Revelation 21 the holy city, New Jerusalem, is referred to as a bride adorned for her husband, coming down out of heaven from God (v. 2). This city includes all those who have been saved throughout time. Collectively, these saved persons are a woman before God. This woman is heavenly, not earthly, and she is bright, not dark. Undoubtedly, the woman in chapter 12 is the predecessor of the bride in chapter 21. When the days are fulfilled, the woman in chapter 12 will be manifested as the bride in chapter 21. Hence, the universal woman in chapter 12 refers to the totality of those who have been redeemed by God throughout the ages.
The universal woman in chapter 12 is clothed with light-bearers. The sun is for the day, and the moon and the stars are for the night. According to the Bible, day and night symbolize the age of the New Testament and the age of the Old Testament, respectively. When Christ came to the earth, He was manifested as the rising sun (Luke 1:78). Therefore, the birth of the Lord Jesus was the coming of the day and marked the beginning of the New Testament age. Since the New Testament is the age of the day, the Old Testament should be the age of the night. Hence, the sun with which the woman is clothed refers to all those who are redeemed in the New Testament age. The moon underneath her feet and the twelve stars on her head refer to the redeemed ones in the Old Testament age.
The redeemed ones in the Old Testament are divided into two categories. One category is stars, which are scattered, and the other category is the moon, which is collective. If we consider the Old Testament, we will realize that this is exactly the case. The first period of the Old Testament was the period of the patriarchs, from Abraham to Joseph, who were stars. Twelve is the number of completeness. In the eyes of God, the patriarchs were stars in a dark night, drawing near to God. Therefore, they are in the front and upon the head. After the time of the patriarchs the nation of Israel was formed. This nation is a collective unit; hence, it is represented by the moon.
The woman in Revelation 12 has the stars on her head and the moon underneath her feet. Putting something on the head is to exalt it, but putting something underneath the feet is to lower it. The patriarchs, represented by the twelve stars, were living in the principle of grace. They were in the Old Testament age, but they lived in the grace of God, taking grace as their principle of living before God. The principle of grace is the highest principle. This is the reason that the patriarchs are exalted as stars. The New Testament age is also altogether in the principle of grace, which is indicated by the sun. Therefore, the woman is clothed with the sun.
The children of Israel became a collective unit from the time that the law was given at Mount Sinai. When the law was given, the children of Israel were no longer under grace but under the law (Exo. 19—20). The woman in Revelation 12 has the moon underneath her feet, signifying that the law should not be exalted. The twelve stars refer to the first group of redeemed people, the patriarchs, who lived under grace. The sun refers to the redeemed in the New Testament, who constitute the majority of this woman. Based on this light, we can interpret the vision in Revelation 12. The woman in this vision is the woman in God’s promise in Genesis 3:15, and Satan is at enmity with her.
The third person spoken of in 3:15, your seed, refers to the seed of the serpent, the seed of Satan. In Matthew 3:7 John the Baptist said to the Pharisees, “Offspring of vipers, who prompted you to flee from the coming wrath?” Offspring of vipers refers to the seed of vipers. The Lord Jesus said to the Jews, “You are of your father the devil” (John 8:44). The apostle John says, “He who practices sin is of the devil” (1 John 3:8). These verses reveal that those who offend God, reject Him, and commit sins are full of the nature and wickedness of the devil. As such, they are the seed of the devil.
In the broadest sense, the fourth person in Genesis 3:15, her seed, the seed of the woman, refers to a group of strong overcomers. Although not all who have been redeemed and saved by grace are strong, there is a group who are not only saved but also strong; they are able to stand on God’s side to deal with His enemy. The overcomers throughout the ages, such as Abel, Abraham, David, Daniel, and Isaiah, are faithful to God. They are not only God’s redeemed but also the strong ones among God’s people. They are the seed of the woman.
Moreover, the seed of the woman refers to the man-child in Revelation 12:5, which is the group of overcomers who are produced in the church. Revelation 12 presents a principle: the universal woman gives birth to a man-child, not a woman-child. This is significant. All of God’s people are female, but she gives birth to a man-child. The man-child symbolizes the strong overcomers. Before the man-child is born, he is inside the woman and is part of the woman. The man-child refers to those who are strong to overcome the world, Satan, and lusts and who are able to testify for God among His people. In the eyes of God, these ones are the seed of the woman. On the one hand, they are the seed of the woman; on the other hand, they are part of the woman.
The seed of the woman refers also to the Lord Jesus. Isaiah prophesied, “Behold, the virgin will conceive and will bear a son, and she will call his name Immanuel” (Isa. 7:14), referring to the Lord Jesus. He is the seed of the woman, and He also bruised the serpent’s head on the cross. Hence, the Lord Jesus is the true overcomer. He is the true seed of the woman.
The seed of the woman thus refers to the overcomers of God, who stand on God’s side, who are strong and powerful, and who stand for God among His redeemed people.
Having identified the four persons referred to in the promise, we can understand the significance of Genesis 3:15 as God’s first promise in the Bible. The first crucial point of the promise is that there would be “enmity between you and the woman.” You refers to the serpent who tempted, damaged, and deceived man. The serpent was the incarnation of Satan; hence, you refers to Satan. There will be enmity between Satan and the woman. This is the first aspect of the significance of God’s promise. Spiritually speaking, this aspect refers to the enmity between Satan and those who have been redeemed by God throughout the ages.
The second crucial point is that there would be enmity “between your seed and her seed.” Satan has a seed, which is great in number. There are two groups of people on the earth: one group is the seed of the devil, and the other is the seed of the woman. There is enmity between them.
There are also two aspects to this crucial point. First, throughout the ages all those who have followed Satan and are of Satan oppose and have had enmity toward the overcomers, who are of God. Those who do evil always have enmity against the overcomers of God, who rise up to testify for God. This enmity began in Genesis 4. Cain is the first type of the seed of Satan, because the New Testament clearly tells us that Cain was of the evil one (1 John 3:12). In contrast, Abel is the first type of the seed of the woman. Abel was not only the seed of the woman but also in the principle of a man. He was a top one, a strong one, among the redeemed ones.
Throughout the ages, starting with Abel, numerous people not only were redeemed to become part of the woman, but they also were part of the overcoming man-child. They stood firm in exceedingly great trials and temptations. They did not love their soul-life even unto death (Rev. 12:11). They did not care about persecution or being killed. They testified for God and stood on God’s side, putting the enemy to shame. They were overcomers. Today we are saved, and we should also ask ourselves, “Am I a weak one in the woman or part of the man-child who stands in a strong way?”
Second, the enmity “between your seed and her seed” applies to the Lord Jesus even more. As soon as He was born, those who were of the devil wanted to kill Him (Matt. 2:13-16); eventually, they crucified the Lord on the cross (27:20-26).
The third crucial point is that the seed of the woman would “bruise you on the head.” You here refers to Satan. This means that the seed of the woman would bruise Satan on his head. This particularly applies to the Lord Jesus. Through His death on the cross the Lord destroyed the devil, who has the might of death (Heb. 2:14), putting him to death.
In the promise of God in Genesis 3:15, the central point is the seed of the woman bruising the serpent on his head. This refers to Christ coming to destroy Satan. This is the greatest point in God’s judgment upon the serpent, Satan. God’s judgment on Satan speaks of Christ becoming a man in order to destroy Satan and deliver man from Satan. Therefore, this is the most crucial and central promise in the Bible. This is God’s first promise concerning Christ and His salvation, and this is also the first prophecy in plain words in the Bible concerning the Lord Jesus and His work.
The fourth crucial point is that the serpent would “bruise him on the heel.” Him refers to the seed of the woman. This means that Satan will bruise the heel of the woman’s seed. In the fulfillment of the type him refers to the Lord Jesus. When the Lord Jesus destroyed the devil on the cross, the devil bruised the heel of the Lord. This bruise on the heel occurred when Christ was wounded by His feet being nailed to the cross.
All the points in this promise are being and will be fulfilled throughout the ages gradually. First, this promise is fulfilled in all those who are of God. Indeed, since the time of this promise, there has been enmity between Satan and those who are of God. This will continue until the Lord comes back (Rev. 12:4, 13-17). Even after the millennial kingdom Satan will have one last struggle in this matter (20:7-10).
Second, this promise is fulfilled in the overcomers. Starting with Abel, there has been enmity between all those who follow Satan and the strong ones among those who are of God, and it will continue until the end of the age at the rapture of the overcomers (12:5).
Third, this promise was fulfilled in the Lord Jesus. As soon as the Lord Jesus was born, Herod and others who were of Satan had enmity against Him and wanted to kill Him (Matt. 2:13-16). The four Gospels also show that when the Lord Jesus was walking on the earth, those who were of Satan, whether Jews or Gentiles, also had enmity against Him. They persecuted and inflicted harm on Him until they eventually killed Him.
The Lord’s crucifixion fulfilled the second half of this promise. On the one hand, through His death He destroyed Satan, bruising the “serpent” on his head and putting him to death (Heb. 2:14; 1 John 3:8). On the other hand, Satan also bruised the Lord Jesus on the cross, causing Him to suffer the pangs of death (Psa. 22:12-17). All these were related to the fulfillment of God’s promise.
God’s speaking when He judged the serpent was not only a promise but also a prophecy. Although there are not many words in this promise, its contents are very broad because it speaks of Satan’s work throughout the ages, of the enmity between those who follow Satan and those who testify for God, of God’s dealing with Satan, and of the Lord Jesus becoming flesh to accomplish His work on the cross. Everything mentioned in the Bible regarding the struggle between God and Satan, from Genesis 3 to the end of Revelation, is related to this promise.
When Adam and Eve heard God’s promise, they must have felt much joy, because God’s word caused them to realize that God would deal with the serpent, whom they feared and hated, by putting him to death. Therefore, when Adam and Eve heard this word, they had a living hope. When they realized that they had sinned and thought that they would surely die, they were in fear and trembling, awaiting their death. Under these circumstances, however, they heard that Eve would give birth to a seed and that this seed would bruise and put to death the serpent who had damaged them. What a joyful gospel this was to them! They had a living hope. This is God’s first promise to man.
