The first point in the record of life in the Bible is man's creation, and the second point is man's fall (Gen. 3:1-6). When man fell, God came immediately to give man the promise of the seed of woman (v. 15). After Adam and Eve sinned, they were afraid of God (v. 10) and tried their best to cover themselves (v. 7). So God called to Adam and said, "Where are you?" (v. 9, NASB). This was the first sentence spoken by the creating God to the fallen man. Eventually, God found Adam and Eve and had a gospel visit with them. This was the first gospel visitation. According to this pattern set up by God, I would strongly encourage you to go to visit people with the gospel.
Immediately after man's fall, God came from the heavens to the earth to visit fallen man, and He began to preach the gospel to him. First, God questioned Adam concerning whether or not he had eaten of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (v. 11). Adam answered, "The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat" (v. 12). Adam blamed God for giving the woman to him. God did not rebuke Adam; instead, He turned to the woman and asked her what had happened. The woman responded, "The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat" (v. 13). Then God turned to the serpent and cursed him (vv. 14-15). Within the curse on the subtle one, a promise was implied. Genesis 3:15 says, "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." To bruise the head means to put to death. When He said that the seed of the woman would bruise the head of the serpent, God was saying, "Serpent, you have used the woman to spoil the man I have created. But I will use the woman to produce the seed that will bruise your head to put you to death."
The first item in the record of the Bible is God's creation, the second item is the fall of man, and the third item is God's anticipation of His redemption and salvation for fallen man. Immediately after the fall of man, God anticipated that He would bring in His redemption and salvation for man. When God said that the seed of woman would bruise the head of the serpent, Adam and Eve were happy. Adam might have turned to Eve and said, "Eve, this is very good! You will bring forth a seed which will bruise the head of that subtle one, the serpent." God's word concerning the seed of the woman was both a promise and a prophecy. All the promises are prophecies, but not all the prophecies are promises. The best prophecies are always promises. Zechariah, a book that is full of prophecies (9:1—14:21), proves this. All the top prophecies in Zechariah are also promises. Zechariah 13:1 says, "In that day there will be an opened fountain for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for impurity." This word is both a promise and a prophecy.
The anticipation of God's redemption and salvation lasted for four thousand years. The promise and prophecy concerning the seed of woman in Genesis 3:15 was given four thousand years before Christ. During those four thousand years, God did nothing to accomplish His redemption for man's salvation. Then, at the end of that period of anticipation, John the Baptist came out to announce to Israel the good news that Jehovah, the very God, was appearing to accomplish redemption for them (Isa. 40:3-5; cf. Luke 3:4-6). Eventually, that redemption would consummate in their salvation.
Adam and Eve, who had become fallen sinners, believed God's promise and prophecy that the seed of woman would come. So when Adam and Eve gave birth to their first son, Eve said, "I have gotten a man, the Lord" (Gen. 4:1, NASB margin). They named the child Cain, which means "acquired," because they thought that their first son was the fulfillment of the promise in Genesis 3:15. Cain, however, was not the seed of woman; he was the seed of the serpent. Adam and Eve were mistaken, because the seed of woman was the coming Christ.
Thirty-three hundred years from the time of Adam and Eve, the prophet Isaiah repeated the promise given to them by God. Isaiah 7:14 says, "Behold, the virgin will conceive and will bear a son, and she will call his name Immanuel." This prophecy was fully fulfilled in the first book of the New Testament, in Matthew 1:23. Jesus is the fulfillment of Immanuel, promised in Isaiah 7:14. He was a human boy, but His name was the Mighty God (Isa. 9:6). He is God with us.