Very early in the Bible Adam and Eve, the first humans, are described as eating the "forbidden fruit". Eve was first tempted by Satan, and then Adam followed. This fruit, which is not described in the Bible, was forbidden from them as a test of their obedience. Eating the fruit gave Adam and Eve knowledge and insight which they did not have before.
This event represented the fall of Adam and Eve, and their descendants, from a pure and sinless state. God "cursed the ground" because of this disobedience, and humans now had to work hard to grow food and survive. They were banished from the Garden of Eden. Humans inherited the sin nature, the proclivity to sin against God.
In the 1970s, the oldest human remains were found in Ethiopia, and it is known that humans certainly originated in Ethiopia. This oldest known human was named not Eve but Lucy because, as her remains were first noticed by the scientific expedition, the Beatles song "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds" was playing on a tape deck. But the title of the song was a euphemism for LSD, the illegal drug that was popular at the time.
So we have the irony that Eve made the mistake of eating the "forbidden fruit" but Lucy, the scientific counterpart of Eve, was named for an illegal drug.
But whatever happened to the "forbidden fruit"? What exactly was it? If humans inherited their sin nature by their ancestors eating the forbidden fruit, then shouldn't they also have inherited a strong attraction for the fruit itself? This fruit is often depicted as an apple, but the Bible has no information at all on what exactly it is.
I have noticed something interesting and I will let you form your own conclusions.
As it turns out, there is a plant with a fruit that originated around Ethiopia in the same area that humans are known to have originated. Coffee has spread in popularity across the world. We refer to coffee "beans" but it is not a bean, it is actually a fruit. The "beans" are the roasted seeds of the fruit.
Coffee only became popular in the Middle Ages. It was first associated with religion, keeping awake for rituals. There is a legend that coffee was discovered by how excited and energetic goats became after eating the berries.
The effect that this drink has had on the world is incalculable. It not only has stimulating physical and mental effects, it is also one of the most-traded commodities and the basis for the cafes that are so popular across the world. The word "café" means "coffee" and so many of the movements and new ideas that have shaped the world over the past few centuries have begun with discussions in cafes.
Could coffee be the descendant plant of the "forbidden fruit"? Although coffee has a stimulating mental and physical effect, it does not compare to the boost in cognizance that Adam and Eve got by eating the "forbidden fruit". But remember that the Book of Genesis, Chapter 3 Verse 17, described God "cursing the ground", following the disobedience of Adam and Eve, so that their blessed existence in the Garden of Eden would be over and they would have to work hard for a living.
But if coffee has the stimulating effect on humans that it does today, what must it have been like before God "cursed the ground"? It's stimulating effect must have been far, far greater.
As we have seen in the posting on this blog, "The End Of The World As We Know It", we are now in the "Last Days" of the world, before the Apocalypse and the Return of Jesus to set up His Millennial Kingdom on earth. Although it is not specified in the Bible at all, wouldn't it make perfect sense for the plant descended from the original "forbidden fruit" to gain great popularity across the world during the "Last Days"?
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