The Primary Characteristics of the Fallen Nature

Eve inherited from the Archangel all the proclivities incidental to his transgression against God when he bound her in blood ties through their sexual relationship.

Adam, in turn, acquired the same inclinations when Eve, assuming the role of the Archangel, bound him in blood ties through their sexual relationship. These proclivities have become the root cause of the fallen inclinations in all people. They are the primary characteristics of our fallen nature.

The fundamental motivation that engendered these primary characteristics of the fallen nature lay in the envy the Archangel felt toward Adam, the beloved of God. How can there be anything such as envy and jealousy in an archangel, whom God created for a good purpose?

The Archangel was endowed with desire and intellect as a part of his original nature. Because the Archangel possessed an intellect, he could compare and discern that God’s love for human beings was greater than the love God gave to him. Because he also possessed desires, he had a natural yearning for God to love him more. This desire of the heart was naturally conducive to envy and jealousy. Envy is an inevitable byproduct of the original nature, like the shadow cast by an object in the light.

After human beings reach perfection, however, they will never be induced to fall because of incidental envy. They will know deep inside that the temporary gratification they might feel by attaining the object of their desire is not worth the agony of self-destruction that would ensue. Hence, they would never commit such crimes.

A world that has fulfilled the purpose of creation is a society built upon organic inter-relationships, much like the structure of the human body. Recognizing that the downfall of an individual would cause the whole to perish, society will keep its individual members from such self-destruction. In this ideal world, the envious desires that arise incidentally from the original nature will be channeled into spurring the progress of humanity. They will never cause people to fall.

The primary characteristics of the fallen nature can be divided broadly into four types. The first is failing to take God’s standpoint. A principal cause of the Archangel’s fall was his failure to love Adam with the same heart and perspective as God; instea,d he felt jealous of Adam. This led him to tempt Eve. An example of this characteristic of the fallen nature is when a courtier feels jealous of the king’s favorite instead of sincerely respecting him as one whom the king loves.

The second is leaving one’s proper position. Seeking more of God’s love, Lucifer desired to enjoy the same position of love in the human world as he had in the angelic world. This unrighteous desire caused him to leave his position and fall. People are induced by unrighteous desires to step beyond the bounds of what is right and overreach themselves because of this primary characteristic of the fallen nature.

The third is reversing dominion. The angel, who was supposed to come under the dominion of human beings, instead dominated Eve. Then Eve, who was supposed to come under the dominion of Adam, dominated him instead. This disruption of the proper order has borne bitter fruit. Human society is thrown out of order by people who leave their proper position and then reverse the order of dominion. These repeated occurrences are rooted in this primary characteristic of the fallen nature.

The fourth is multiplying the criminal act. After her fall, had Eve not repeated her sin by seducing Adam, Adam would have remained whole. The restoration of Eve alone would have been relatively easy.

However, Eve spread her sin to others by inducing Adam to fall. The proclivity of evil people to entangle others in an expanding web of crime stems from this primary characteristic of the fallen nature.