Adam and Eve in the Garden

God placed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, where fruit was plentiful, animals were gentle, and they walked with God in the cool of the evening. It was paradise. God gave them one rule: do not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Every other tree was theirs to enjoy.

But a serpent came to Eve and whispered lies. He said the fruit would make them like God, that God was hiding something wonderful from them. Eve believed the serpent, took the fruit, and ate it. She gave some to Adam, and he ate too. Suddenly, they felt ashamed. They had disobeyed the God who loved them.

When God came to walk with them, they hid. God was deeply saddened. He had to send them out of the garden. But even then, His love never stopped — He made clothing for them and promised that one day, a Savior would come to fix what had broken. That Savior was Jesus. The Coptic Church teaches us that through Adam we fell, but through Christ the new Adam, we are raised up again.