The Second Adam

When we read the Scriptures there is much we miss. For two millennium Christians have pictured the site of the Christ's Crucifixion. We are told in the Gospels that it was called Golgotha, The Place of the Skull. When you visit the two sites in the Jerusalem: The Holy Sepulchre and The Garden Tomb you are confronted with a question. At the Garden Tomb is a plateau of rock that is in the shape of a skull. This is what many Western Believers have seen in films for many decades and thus appeals to what we think Golgotha looked like. However, the terminology surrounding the word Golgotha is important. It says in the Scriptures that it was "The Place of the Skull" (Matthew 27:33, Mark 15:22), not Skull Mountain or Skull Hill. This is significant because the writers of the Gospels were Jewish men and they were making a subtle reference to Adam's Skull. In the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve fell, God gives them a promise, that an offshoot of Adam's line will come and break the head of the serpent. This is foretelling of Jesus, and it is worth paying attention to the titles Son of Adam and The Second Adam.

The Messiah according to the Torah, Prophets, and Writings (The Old Testament) must be a Son of Adam. It also says that he will be the Second Adam who will restore paradise. Just as the first Adam brought Sin into the world, the Second Adam shall conquer sin and brings about its death. Golgotha is possibly not a rocky hill, but the place where Adam's Skull was kept. For Jesus to be crucified where Adam's Skull is lain is a fulfillment of prophecy and a fitting place for the Second Adam to reverse Sin's power.

When you enter the Holy Sepulchre, you are surprised by its darkness and when you go to Golgotha you are unconvinced, thanks to the films, that it is the true place Jesus was crucified. However, guides and priests in the Sepulchre will tell you that Golgotha really was just the place of Adam's Skull and the fact that The Sepulchre is a collection of crypts does make it fit the description of place that Adam's bones could have been contained.

In the end arguing about if Golgotha was a hill or Adam's Skull is missing the point. What is important is that Jesus Christ was the Second Adam and that he died for our sins. Jesus reversed the curse and offers us something better than paradise regained. Rather than restore us simply to Adam's pre-fallen state, where Adam walked with God, we become temples of God's Spirit and presence! In addition, we have been given a new power that Adam never had: to bind the devil and evil spirits by the power of Jesus' name! We also get a plethora of spiritual gifts that probably were not available to Adam. Yes, through Jesus Christ we have gained more than what was lost and any who open their hearts to Him shall find salvation.

One day, Jesus will return and this world be a Second Eden. Until then we can have Eden in our being and invite the Creator and Savior of the Universe into us! We can be closely connected to Christ and be transformed by his character. God is not an aloof being who requires a temple or church building to dwell in. He dwells in us! Christian Believers are his temples! (1 Corinthians 6:19). Do not let yourself be deceived by men who fear closeness with Christ and tell you that you must do works and atone for your sins before a distant deity. In contrast, Christ did it all and asks that you only admit your faults, have faith, and follow Him.