THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE DISOBEDIENCE TO GOD’S LAW

The Disobedience to God's Laws and Its Consequences

  With man's disobedience to the Supreme Law, the unconscious limbic system seized his thoughts, affections, and behavior.

“For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.” (Romans 1:21-23).     

That altered state of consciousness was not pleasant to Adam. Still, on the contrary, very painful, and when that euphoria produced by that forbidden fruit ceased, Adam wanted to return to his Creator’s image. Still, no matter how hard he searched, even with tears, he couldn't find it." He had missed the signal and, as Nikola Tesla said, had lost the frequency, all contact with "the control tower," that Core in which we find knowledge, and wisdom, “The seventh sense of Executive Perception” – the NEOCORTEX.

The Tragic Consequence of God’s Law Transgression

“Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil (without the knowledge, the wisdom, the science to choose between the two). Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat and live forever—” therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. He drove out the man, and at the east of the Garden of Eden, he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the Tree of Life. (Genesis 3:22-24)

Cain Kills His Brother Abel 

Now Adam knew Eve, his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord.” And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a ground worker. Over time, Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel also brought the firstborn of his flock and their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, but he had no regard for Cain and his offering. So, Cain was furious, and his face fell. The Lord asked Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.” (4:1-7).

The Transgenerational Trauma

Transgenerational trauma is fundamentally defined as the transmission of the effect of a traumatic experience from an individual or group of individuals in one generation to one or more individuals in subsequent generations. A form of "legacy programs" through generations or transfers. It covers both the most direct intergenerational transmission and the generation-skipping transgenerational transmission. Having a greater predisposition in female offspring (Afifah Ridhuan et al., 2021).

Ever since Adam fell from the grace of God for disobeying His law, that death sentence hanged over his head like an inmate in a death row prison waiting for his execution. No matter how long it takes, that memory of his sentence is fixed in his limbic memory structure, the hippocampus.  “Though you wash yourself with lye and use much soap,  the stain of your guilt is still before me, declares the Lord God.” (Jeremiah 2:22). Those still living in darkness, like a stain, keep carrying it in their DNA genome. Those still seized by the limbic system of its past primitive and ancient emotions, of memories stored in the hippocampus, of sexual arousal from their unconscious impulses of the reptilian and primitive and ancient animal instincts, are still living in darkness.

With the guilt stain – Both eyes were opened, and they knew they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. (3:7).

 Hiding from the presence of the Lord –They heard the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the garden's trees. (3:8).

Living in fear all the time –  They heard the sound of the Lord in the Garden, and I was afraid. (3:10).

The trauma of guilt, hiding, and fear Adam suffered affected all generations after him. (Romans 5:17) says: ^“For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus.

The Punishment of Cain

Cain told the Lord, “My punishment is greater than I can bear. Behold, you have driven me today away from the ground, and from your face I shall be hidden. I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.” Then the Lord said to him, “Not so! If anyone kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.” And the Lord put a mark on Cain, lest any who found him should attack him. Then Cain went away from the presence of the Lord and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden. (4:13-15).

Living in Spiritual Darkness

Spiritual darkness is the state of a person living apart from God, his Creator. The Old Testament book of Isaiah, in prophesying of the Messiah, speaks of a deep spiritual darkness that enveloped the people: “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned” (Isaiah 9:2). This passage reappears in the New Testament, in (Matthew 4:16), to announce that those who have come to know the God of Israel through His Son Jesus Christ are the ones who have been delivered from spiritual darkness and now walk in  the light of God’s life.

The apostle John taught that God is light: “This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him. So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth” (1 John 1:5–6, NLT). And Jesus declared He is the world's light: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life” (John 8:12).

So, living in darkness means you are living, seized by the unconscious limbic system. The limbic system is a part of the brain that deals with three primary functions: These structures are known to be involved in the processing and regulating of emotions, the formation and storage of memories, sexual arousal, and learning.

There are two widely accepted structures of the limbic system: the hippocampus and the amygdala. There are differing opinions on which other structures are included in the system and which only interact closely with it.

The Hippocampus

The hippocampus is considered a part of the limbic system, a group of structures involved in processing and regulating emotions and memories. The hippocampus, which is most strongly associated with the formation of memories, is an early storage place for new long-term memories and is involved in the transition of these long-term memories to more permanent ones. When these primitive and ancient storage memories are activated, man starts behaving, seized by the unconscious limbic system.

Memory Formation

The hippocampus is vital in organizing and storing new memories, especially those that are declarative memories (e.g., memories relating to facts and events).

This area is also responsible for strengthening memories by connecting sensations and emotions to these memories. For instance, the hippocampus has links with and is approximate to, the amygdala, a structure associated with emotions, especially fear.

The amygdala can work with the hippocampus to associate emotions with new memories to strengthen them. If memory has an element of fear attached to it, it is more likely to be remembered.

The thalamus detects and transmits senses like sight, sound, taste, and touch. It organizes the information and sends it to the areas in the brain where a suitable response would be elicited. The thalamus also has a role in pain perception. So, any kind of pain, physical or emotional, is processed here.

Thus, spiritual darkness means not having fellowship with God through a relationship with Jesus Christ. The darkness of separation from God is overcome through Christ: “In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:4–5).

From the moment Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s Law, humans have lived in a fallen world. All people are born in a fallen state, separated from God. Until a person is reborn of God’s Spirit, he or she lives in spiritual darkness. It is living in darkness. Our little or no understanding of God’s ways destroys our spiritual sight, cloaking us in profound darkness:

“But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble” (Proverbs 4:19). Moses compares this state of disobedience to groping about like “a blind person in the dark” (Deuteronomy 28:29). One of Job’s friends speaks of those who are lost in spiritual darkness: “Darkness comes upon them in the daytime; at noon they grope as in the night” (Job 5:14).

Living in rebellion to God and His will is equivalent to living in spiritual darkness. When the Lord commissions Paul, He says, “I am sending you to the Gentiles to open their eyes, so they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God. Then they will receive forgiveness for their bad deeds and be given a place among God’s people, who are set apart by faith in me” (Acts 26:17–18, NLT).

After salvation, believers become spiritual beacons light of Christ: “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light” (Ephesians 5:8). Those who are in Jesus Christ have been rescued from the kingdom of darkness: “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son” (Colossians 1:13, ESV). Those who reject Jesus Christ face eternal separation from God in the “blackest darkness” (Jude 1:4–13).

God is Light

In Judaism, a person’s inner character and moral quality are understood to be reflected through the eyes. In Matthew 6:22–23, Jesus compares the moral condition of those seized by the limbic system brain to darkness: “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!” Jesus’ listeners would have understood that a healthy eyelet in light just as a healthy regenerated heart lets in spiritual light. But a sick or sinful eye (or heart) shuts out light, leaving the soul in spiritual darkness.

The apostle Paul describes those living in a fallen state before knowing Christ as possessing a darkened, closed mind and a hardened heart: “Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him” (Ephesians 4:18, NLT).

Unbelievers live in spiritual darkness because Satan, the god of this world, has blinded their minds. They cannot see the glorious light of the gospel: “Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God” (2 Corinthians 4:4, NLT).

Spiritual darkness refers to all that is in opposition to the light of God’s love in Christ. The good news that Jesus brings to this world is that His light—His life-giving Spirit—floods light and life into the spiritual darkness of the unbeliever's heart. The One who opened the eyes of the blind can also bring us out of spiritual darkness. No matter how deep the darkness, the light of God’s love and truth overcomes every obstacle that separates us from God.

“For anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore, it says, “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” (Ephesians 5:14-17).