Day 2751 – Theology Thursday – From Eden to New Jerusalem: The Pattern of Ascent, Fall, and Redemption

Welcome to Day 2751 of Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me. This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom – Theology Thursday – From Eden to New Jerusalem: The Pattern of Ascent, Fall, and Redemption Wisdom-Trek Podcast Script - Day 2751 Welcome to Wisdom-Trek with Gramps! I am Guthrie Chamberlain, and we are on Day 2751 of our Trek. The Purpose of Wisdom-Trek is to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, and to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before. Our current series of Theology Thursday lessons is written by theologian and teacher John Daniels. I have found that his lessons are short, easy to understand, doctrinally sound, and applicable to all who desire to learn more of God’s Word. John’s lessons can be found on his website theologyinfive.com. Today’s lesson is titled From Eden to New Jerusalem: The Pattern of Ascent, Fall, and Redemption. Throughout Scripture, a pattern emerges—one that contrasts the fall of those who grasp at divinity with the exaltation of those who receive it by grace through believing loyalty. From Eden to Hermon, Babel, and ultimately to the New Jerusalem, the Bible traces the path of human ambition, divine descent, and final restoration.

The first segment is: Eden: Seizing Divinity, Ending in Death

In the beginning, Adam and Eve were created in the image of God, placed in sacred space, and destined to reign with Him. Yet they were not content to reflect His glory. Tempted by the serpent, they reached for equality with God on their own terms: “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Genesis three verse 5 By attempting to grasp what had not been offered, they fell. Cast out of the garden, barred from the Tree of Life, and sentenced to die, their descent began not just physically but spiritually. They traded divine fellowship for exile and mortality.

The second segment is: Hermon: Divine Rebellion and the Corruption of Mankind

The next great rebellion came not from humans alone, but from the spiritual realm. According to 1 Enoch 6, the sons of God descended upon Mount Hermon and made a pact to defy God by taking human wives and producing the Nephilim. Their actions unleashed chaos and violence across the earth. This attempt to force a merger of heaven and earth on their own terms brought catastrophic consequences. God judged the Watchers, bound them in the Abyss, and destroyed their offspring in the Flood. Yet their spirits—demons—remained to corrupt mankind. The descent from Hermon marked not exaltation but divine exile, and it echoes the same pattern: those who attempt to seize divine authority fall into judgment.

The third segment is: Babel: Ascending in Pride, Scattered in Judgment

The next great act of rebellion came at Babel. Humanity, unified in language and purpose, sought to reach the heavens: “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves…” Genesis Eleven verse 4 Though the text says they were “one people,” this unity was likely driven by demonic influence—a renewed attempt to reopen the spiritual gateway severed at the Flood. Some modern theological reconstructions suggest the builders, influenced by demonic forces, may have sought to create a gateway that would allow the imprisoned Watchers to rise again and make war on Heaven itself. But the plan was doomed. God had already sentenced the Watchers to the Abyss, and no human or spiritual force could overturn that...