What Did Adam and Eve Wear Before Sin?
Adam and Eve wore robes of light reflecting the light of God’s glory. But when they sinned their eyes “were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons” (Genesis 3:7). Sin stripped them from the connection with God. They could no longer reflect His glory.
Moses had a similar experience when he looked at the back of the Lord. “Now it was so, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai (and the two tablets of the Testimony were in Moses’ hand when he came down from the mountain), that Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone while he talked with Him. So when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him” (Exodus 34:29-30). The radiant face of Moses was a reflection of the divine glory (2 Corinthians 3:7). While Moses only saw the Lord’s back parts, Adam and Eve spoke with Christ daily “in the cool of the day” (Genesis 3:8) face to face.
In the New Testament, at the transfiguration, we see divinity flashing through humanity. “and He (Jesus) was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light” (Matthew 17:2). This was the glory that Jesus had in heaven before He assumed the form of humanity (John 17:5), and is the glory with which He will return again to this earth (Matthew 25:31; 1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17).
Another experience is also recorded in Luke 24:4-5, when God’s glory radiated from the angels who announced Christ’s resurrection: “And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments: And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, why seek ye the living among the dead?”
It is clear that Adam and Eve wore robes of light but when they sinned, the robes disappeared and that is why they suddenly discovered they were naked. The good news is that when Jesus returns and bestows the gift of immortality upon His faithful children, they again will reflect this glory (Daniel 12:3).
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In His service,
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