{"id":79241,"date":"2026-04-09T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bahaiteachings.org\/?p=79241"},"modified":"2026-04-02T03:14:46","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T10:14:46","slug":"was-adam-the-first-prophet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bahaiteachings.org\/was-adam-the-first-prophet\/","title":{"rendered":"Was Adam the First Prophet?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In his book Some Answered Questions<\/em>, Abdu\u2019l-Baha<\/a> offers a stunning explanation<\/a> of the story of Adam and Eve in Genesis \u2013 one that makes the myth meaningful and relevant at the same time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Part 7<\/a>, we took a close look at the explanation by Abdu\u2019l-Baha, \u201cAdam and Eve\u201d in Some Answered Questions<\/em>, and then cross-referenced to another impressive discourse, \u201cThe Rebukes Addressed by God to the Prophets,\u201d also in Some Answered Questions<\/em>, to show that God\u2019s \u201crebuke\u201d was \u201coutwardly addressed\u201d to the Prophet Adam, but was really \u201cinwardly intended for the followers [\u201cAdam\u201d in the plural] and not for the Messenger\u201d\u2014and that the Prophet Adam\u2019s outward \u201csin,\u201d relatively speaking, was a \u201cgood deed\u201c that \u201cproduced substantial results,\u201d which was the general awakening of humankind to the knowledge of \u201cgood and evil,\u201d which was the birth of human moral and ethical consciousness, given the Prophet Adam\u2019s role in \u201cProgressive Revelation\u201d as \u201cthat of the embryo.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RELATED: The Prophet Adam and Original Sin<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although Abdu\u2019l-Baha <\/a>encouraged everyone not to take the Biblical creation story literally, he expressed<\/a> his appreciation of the deeper meanings, which are profound: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The account of Adam and Eve, their eating from the tree, and their expulsion from Paradise are therefore symbols and divine mysteries. They have all-embracing meanings and marvellous interpretations, but only the intimates of the divine mysteries and the well-favoured of the all-sufficing Lord are aware of the true significance of these symbols.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Briefly, Abdu\u2019l-Baha <\/a>conveyed<\/a> the following interpretation of this highly allegorical narrative:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The meaning of the serpent is attachment to the material world. This attachment of the spirit to the material world led to the banishment of the self and spirit of Adam from the realm of freedom to the world of bondage and caused Him to turn from the kingdom of Divine Unity to the world of human existence. When once the self and spirit of Adam entered the material world, He departed from the paradise of freedom and descended into the realm of bondage. He had abided in the heights of sanctity and absolute goodness, and set foot thereafter in the world of good and evil.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Some overlap exists between Baha\u2019i and Catholic teachings on the concept of sin \u2013 the attachment to the human world. Baha\u2019is believe<\/a> sin was passed on as part and parcel of the human condition, which is really an inheritance from the animal aspects of our inherent nature:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Now consider how closely this interpretation conforms to reality: For when the spirit and the self of Adam became attached to the material world, they passed from the realm of freedom into the realm of bondage; this condition was perpetuated with each succeeding generation, and this attachment of spirit and self to the material world\u2014which is sin\u2014was inherited by His descendants. This attachment is the serpent which will forever be in the midst of, and at enmity with, the spirits of the descendants of Adam, for attachment to the world has become the cause of the bondage of the spirits. This bondage is that sin which has been transmitted from Adam to His descendants, for it has deprived men of recognizing their essential spirituality and attaining to exalted stations. <\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Christians believe that this is why Christ came to save our souls. But the Baha\u2019i teachings<\/a> say the salvation that Christ offered is not a \u201cvicarious atonement\u201d \u2014 as Catholic dogma, Protestant doctrine, and Orthodox teachings characterize it \u2014 but a salvation that transforms human nature, from material to spiritual:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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When the holy breaths of Christ and the sanctified lights of the Most Great Luminary were spread abroad, human realities\u2014that is, those souls who turned towards the Word of God and partook of His manifold grace\u2014were saved from this attachment and sin, were granted eternal life, were delivered from the chains of bondage, and entered the realm of freedom. They were purged of earthly vices and endowed with heavenly virtues. This is the meaning of Christ<\/strong>\u2019s words that I gave My blood for the life of the world. (Cf. John 6:51.) That is, I chose to bear all these trials, afflictions, and calamities, even the most great martyrdom, to attain this ultimate objective and to ensure the remission of sins\u2014that is, the detachment of spirits from the material world and their attraction to the divine realm\u2014that souls may arise who will be the very essence of guidance and the manifestations of the perfections of the Kingdom on high.<\/strong> <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Contrary to the Catholic teaching of \u201coriginal sin,\u201d Adam\u2019s primordial transgression \u2013 committed by humankind, but imputed to the prophet Adam in the Biblical creation story \u2013 did not carry with it eternal damnation for the entire human race, as Abdu\u2019l-Baha explained<\/a> in Some Answered Questions<\/em>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Note that if these words were taken literally, as imagined by the people of the Book (i.e., Jews and Christians), it would be sheer injustice and absolute tyranny. If Adam sinned in approaching the forbidden tree, what then was the sin of glorious Abraham, the Friend of God, and the error of Moses, Who conversed with God? What was the offence of Noah the Prophet and the transgression of truth-speaking Joseph? What was the fault of the Prophets of God and the failure of John the Chaste? Would divine justice have suffered these luminous Manifestations to endure, by reason of Adam<\/strong>\u2019s sin, the torment of hell until such time as Christ should come and by His sacrifice rescue them from the nethermost fire? Such a notion is beyond the pale of every rule and principle, and no rational person can ever accept it. <\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

I would venture to say that the name of the Prophet \u201cAdam\u201d (which simply means \u201cMan\u201d) is generic, because the same name, in its plural form, means \u201chumankind\u201d, as seen in this biblical verse: \u201cMale and female He created them, and He blessed them. And in the day they were created, He called them \u201cman.\u201d (Genesis 5:2, Berean Study Bible translation.) The very next verse, Genesis 5:3, goes on to say: \u201cWhen Adam was 130 years old, he had a son in his own likeness, after his own image; and he named him Seth.\u201d Note the shift from the plural to singular forms of word, \u201cAdam\u201d in these two consecutive verses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RELATED: Adam and the Age of Prophecy<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So I think of the Prophet \u201cAdam\u201d as \u201cthe Man\u201d in an archetypal sense. Through the mists of scriptural history, we see him only dimly, representationally, and paradigmatically.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The prophet Adam was seen as an ancient holy messenger in some early Christian circles. The Jewish Christians known as the Ebionites accounted Adam as one of the \u201cseven pillars of the world\u201d (which included Adam, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses) in The Clementine Homilies<\/em>, widely considered to be a Jewish-Christian text. As this passage from The Clementine Homilies<\/em> shows, Adam was thought of as one of a succession of prophets: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chapter XIII. Peter\u2019s Explanation of the Passage<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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\u2026 And Peter said: \u2026 \u201cThe statement also, \u2018to whomsoever the Son may wish to reveal Him,\u2019 is also correct; for He being the Son from the beginning, was alone appointed to give the revelation to those to whom He wishes to give it.  And thus the first man (protoplast) Adam must have heard of Him [Christ]; and Enoch, who pleased God, must have known Him; and Noah, the righteous one, must have become acquainted with Him; and Abraam His friend must have understood Him; and Isaac must have perceived Him; and Jacob, who wrestled with Him, must have believed in Him; and the revelation must have been given to all among the people who were worthy. \u2013 The Clementine Homilies<\/em>, Homily 18, Chapter 13 (Hom. 18.13), <\/strong>https:\/\/www.newadvent.org\/fathers\/080818.htm<\/strong><\/a> <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The metaphor of \u201cthe seven pillars of the world\u201d \u2013 based on Proverbs 9.1: \u201cWisdom hath builded her house, She hath hewn out her seven pillars<\/strong>\u201d \u2013 can also refer to the prophets and founders of the world\u2019s great Faiths. In the annals of religion, and in the Baha\u2019i scriptures, Adam is considered one of those great holy messengers. And further: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chapter XX. Christ the Only Prophet Has Appeared in Different Ages<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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\u201cBut give heed to my first discourse of the truth. If any one do not allow the man fashioned by the hands of God to have had the Holy Spirit of Christ, how is he not guilty of the greatest impiety in allowing another born of an impure stock to have it? But he would act most piously, if he should not allow to another to have it, but should say that he alone has it, who has changed his forms and his names from the beginning of the world, and so reappeared again and again in the world, until coming upon his own times, and being anointed with mercy for the works of God, he shall enjoy rest forever. His honour it is to bear rule and lordship over all things, in air, earth, and waters. But in addition to these, himself having made man, he had breath, the indescribable garment of the soul, that he might be able to be immortal.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Chapter XXI. The Eating of the Forbidden Fruit Denied<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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\u201cHe himself being the only true prophet, fittingly gave names to each animal, according to the merits of its nature, as having made it. For if he gave a name to any one, that was also the name of that which was made, being given by him who made it. How, then, had he still need to partake of a tree, that he might know what is good and what is evil, if he was commanded not to eat of it? But this senseless men believe, who think that a reasonless beast was more powerful than the God who made these things.\u201d \u2013 The Clementine Homilies<\/em>, Homily 3, Chapters 20\u201321 (Hom. 3.20\u201321), https:\/\/www.newadvent.org\/fathers\/080803.htm<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Here, this effort to exonerate the prophet Adam from committing what Catholic doctrine would later refer to as \u201coriginal sin\u201d is quite remarkable, especially considering that this argument exists \u201cin splendid isolation,\u201d as scholars say, and is \u201cunique,\u201d according to German scholar, Hans-Joachim Schoeps:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Concerning the True Prophet Adam, it is fancifully stated \u2026 that he had inhaled the breath of divinity and thus foreknew everything, and, as prophet, had predicted everything, all the more since he had been anointed with the oil of the Tree of Life. Even complete freedom from sin is affirmed for Adam on the assumption that otherwise the divine Spirit in him would have sinned (Rec. 3.20 f.). This is entirely unique in the literature of the ancient church and it contradicts what we find in the literature of Gnosticism. \u2026 [and] presents a view of history which transfers the Fall to the eighth generation of mankind and makes it the fall of the children of Seth. <\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Suffice it to say that a Baha\u2019i perspective on the Prophet Adam is not without precedent in early Christianity, as previously described, although not the mainstream positions as held in Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant doctrines. This should come as no surprise, as the Baha\u2019i Faith<\/a>, as a relatively new, independent world religion, not only presents new social principles suited to this day and age, but presents fresh perspectives on past religious issues that captured widespread attention in their heyday, and that continue to be believed\u2014and debated\u2014in our own time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In his book Some Answered Questions, Abdu\u2019l-Baha offers a stunning explanation of the story of Adam and Eve in Genesis \u2013 one that makes the myth meaningful and relevant at…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":69,"featured_media":79266,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[3006,3443],"series":[405],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bahaiteachings.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79241"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bahaiteachings.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bahaiteachings.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bahaiteachings.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/69"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bahaiteachings.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=79241"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/bahaiteachings.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79241\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":89174,"href":"https:\/\/bahaiteachings.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79241\/revisions\/89174"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bahaiteachings.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/79266"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bahaiteachings.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=79241"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bahaiteachings.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=79241"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bahaiteachings.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=79241"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bahaiteachings.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=79241"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}