God created human beings with two components: the spirit self and the physical self. The human Fall likewise took place in two dimensions: the spiritual and the physical.
The fall which took place through the sexual relationship between the angel and Eve was the spiritual fall, while the fall which occurred through the sexual relationship between Eve and Adam was the physical fall.
How can an act of passionate love be consummated between an angel and a human being? All the emotions and sensations felt between a person and a spirit are exactly the same as those felt during contact between two earthly people. Undoubtedly, a sexual union between an angel and a person is possible.
We can understand this more clearly from the following evidence. There are reported cases of earthly people leading a married life with spirits. In the Bible we have the account of an angel who wrestled with Jacob and put his thigh out of joint (Gen. 32:25). Three angels visited Abraham’s family and ate a meal of veal, milk and curds (Gen. 18:8).
Moreover, two angels visited the house of Lot and ate the unleavened bread he served them. When the townspeople saw the angels, they were excited with lecherous desires for them and surrounded Lot’s house, shouting, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may know them” (Gen. 19:5).
The Spiritual Fall
God created the angelic world and assigned Lucifer (Isa. 14:12) to the position of archangel. Lucifer was the channel of God’s love to the angelic world, just as Abraham was the channel of God’s blessing to the Israelites.
In this position he virtually monopolized the love of God. However, after God created human beings as His children, He loved them many times more than He had ever loved Lucifer, whom He had created as His servant.
In truth, God’s love toward Lucifer did not change; it was the same before and after the creation of human beings. Yet when Lucifer saw that God loved Adam and Eve more than him, he felt as if there had been a decrease in the love he received from God. This situation is similar to that in the biblical parable of the laborers in the vineyard (Matt. 20:1-15).
Although the laborers who had worked since morning received a fair wage, when they saw that those who came later and worked less received just as much, they felt underpaid.
Lucifer, feeling as though he were receiving less love than he deserved, wanted to grasp the same central position in human society as he enjoyed in the angelic world, as the channel of God’s love. This was why he seduced Eve, and this was the motivation of the spiritual fall.
Everything in the universe is created to be governed by God through love. Thus, love is the source of life, the key to happiness, and the essence of the ideal to which all beings aspire. The more one receives love, the more beautiful one appears to others. When the angel, created as God’s servant, beheld Eve, the daughter of God, it was only natural that she looked beautiful in his eyes.
Moreover, when Lucifer saw that Eve was responding to his temptation, the angel felt the stimulation of her love to be deliciously enticing. At this point, Lucifer was seducing Eve with the mind to have her, regardless of the consequences.
Lucifer, who left his proper position due to his excessive desire, and Eve, who wanted to open her eyes and become like God (Gen. 3:5-6) before the time was ripe, formed a common base and began give and take action. The power of the unprincipled love generated by their give and take led them to consummate an illicit sexual relationship on the spiritual plane.
All beings are created based on the principle that when they become one in love, they exchange elements with each other. Accordingly, when Eve became one with Lucifer through love, she received certain elements from him.
First, she received feelings of dread arising from the pangs of a guilty conscience, stemming from her violation of the purpose of creation.
Second, she received from Lucifer the wisdom which enabled her to discern that her originally intended spouse was to be Adam, not the angel. Eve was in the position to receive wisdom from the Archangel because she was immature and her wisdom was not as seasoned as that of the Archangel, who was already in a state of angelic maturity.
The Physical Fall
Perfect Adam and Eve were supposed to have become an eternal husband and wife in God’s love. But Eve, who in her immaturity had engaged in the illicit relationship with the Archangel, joined with Adam as husband and wife. Thus, Adam fell when he, too, was still immature. This untimely conjugal relationship in satanic love between Adam and Eve constituted the physical fall.
As mentioned above, through the spiritual fall with the Archangel, Eve received feelings of dread arising from the pangs of a guilty conscience and a new wisdom that her originally intended spouse was not the Archangel but Adam. Eve then seduced Adam with the hope that by uniting with him, her intended spouse, she could rid herself of the dread and once again stand before God. This was Eve’s motivation, which led to the physical fall.
Once Eve had united with the Archangel through their illicit sexual relationship, she stood in the position of the Archangel with respect to Adam. Thus, Adam, who was still receiving God’s love, appeared very attractive to her. Seeing Adam as her only hope of returning to God, Eve turned to Adam and tempted him, playing the same role as the Archangel had played when he had tempted her. Adam responded and formed a common base with Eve, and they began give and take action with each other. The power of the unprincipled love generated in their relationship induced Adam to abandon his original position and brought them together in an illicit physical relationship of sexual love.
When Adam united in oneness with Eve, he inherited all the elements Eve had received from the Archangel. These elements in turn have been passed down to all subsequent generations without interruption.
What if Adam had reached perfection without having yielded to fallen Eve’s temptation?
The providence to restore Eve would have been relatively easy because, although she had fallen, Adam still would have remained intact as her perfect subject partner. Unfortunately, Adam also fell, and humanity has multiplied in sin to the present day, perpetuating the lineage of Satan.
Sun Myung Moon