"And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him" (Gen. 4:8). When we compare this verse with John 8:44, we learn that Cain was not the only murderer; Satan was the murderer as well. In that passage the Lord Jesus spoke of the Devil, saying, "He was a murderer from the beginning." Although Abel was slain by Cain, Satan committed murder in Cain's act of murder. Because Cain had rejected God's way and God's warning, he was caught by Satan, the murderer, and became a murderer with Satan. Hence, two murderers committed the same crime. By murdering his brother Cain became completely possessed by the Devil, for the Devil murdered Abel by Cain's hand and with his cooperation. Cain disdained his parents' preaching and he discarded God's warning. Thus, he, motivated by Satan, served God according to his own invention and eventually was totally possessed by Satan and became a murderer. That was the second fall of man.
The second fall of man began with man's invention of religion. It did not begin with stealing; it began with worshipping God according to the human concept. Worshipping God according to a manmade religion was not a rescue from the first fall, but a continuation of it. The second fall, which began with a self-made religion, was completed by an act of murder. Do you believe that it is possible for religious people to commit murder? If you read history you will discover that the Roman Catholic Church has killed more genuine Christians than the Roman Empire. Thousands of Christians were killed by the Roman Empire, and the Roman Catholic Church continued this persecution, killing even more genuine believers. If you attempt to be a pure and genuine Christian in Portugal or Spain, you will need to be careful, for the religious people there might attempt to take your life. Human religion is always like this: it begins by serving God and it ends by killing people. This exactly corresponds to the word of the Lord Jesus in John 16:2: "An hour is coming when everyone who kills you will think that he is offering service to God."
What was the first fall of man? The first fall of man was man's taking into himself something other than God. Man did not do anything evil; he simply absorbed into himself an element other than God. What was man's second fall? The second fall of man was the invention of religion which resulted in an act of murder. The second fall occurred because of man's presumption. Presumption means that man does not care for God's economy, for God's way, but that he only cares for his own desires and concepts. When man refused to follow God's way, inventing instead his own religion, he eventually became a murderer of God's people. That was the second fall of man.
It is very helpful to be clear about the fall, for, as a result, we can see more of God's salvation. I hope that no one reading this message will become a Cain. We all should be righteous Abels. Let us all be like Abel, believing the gospel, practicing the gospel, and living for the gospel.