Introduction What is the essential identity of people who have surrendered to King Jesus of Nazareth, those who trust and obey Him? The overall story of the Bible is of God, the Supreme Spiritual Being, and His desire to create and love on people. He wanted a huge family that would spread throughout the whole Earth and rule over it as His viceroys. He created Eden to be a place of overlap between the heavenly realm (God space) where He reigned and the chaotic earthly realm where He formed Humanity. He wanted people to be heirs of God, viceroys of Heaven. Two Creation Stories The ancient Sumerians, Babylonians, and Egyptians had their own stories of how the Earth came to be, why humans were created, and why bad things happened. The ancient Hebrews told the story of the Supreme Spiritual Being who created the heavenly and earthly realms. At first, the Earth was a chaotic watery abyss, empty and waste without light. Over the first three days, the Creator separated the chaos into light from darkness, the waters above and below the sky, and the land from the seas. He covered the land with a jungle of vegetation. Over the next three days, the Creator made inhabitants for these realms. He made the sun, moon, and starry host to rule from the heavenlies. He created birds and other flying creatures to inhabit the sky between the upper and lower waters. He caused the oceans to teem with fish, sea creatures, and sea monsters (Laviathan). The land He stocked with wild animals, livestock, and creepy- crawlies. Finally, the Creator formed the dual- gender Humanity from the dust of the ground and breathed His breath/ wind/ Spirit (Ruach) into them. He told the human to spread throughout the rest of the Earth and to bring order into it. Humanity was made to rule over all the earthly creatures. In effect, all of Humanity are children of God and His viceroys on the earth. The second creation story depicts God placing the human in a mountaintop country of delight (Eden) in a garden where all needs were met. He split the human into man and woman and provided them with all the food they needed. They were supremely healthy. There was no need for protection against wild animals or other people. They had no flaws to hide. They were naked and unashamed.