Creation
Lesson Six - The Fall
by Patricia Dailey

Now the serpent was more subtle
than any beast of the field
which the LORD God had made.
And he said unto the woman,
Yea, hath God said,
Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
Genesis 3:1

Be sober, be vigilant;
because your adversary the devil,
as a roaring lion, walketh about,
seeking whom he may devour:
1 Peter 5:8

Though Adam and Eve were in a perfect and peaceful environment, the devil was at work to put a stop to their peace. He was out to deceive Eve, and bring about the fall of man into sin.

And the devil still devises all sorts of ways to trick the people of God. He is ever at work to deceive, and get people more deeply involved in things that will only lead them away from the Lord.

It’s up to each of us whether or not we want to do right or do wrong. Even though we know right from wrong - many choose to go the wrong way.

In the book of Genesis, we see that the devil came along to talk with Eve, persuading her to break the commandment of God. And the devil will talk to you.

Some don’t believe in the devil. They don’t believe he exists; or, if he does, they don't believe that he is any threat.  But there is a devil, and he will talk to you. He knows the Scriptures, and twists them around to deceive you. Yes, he knows the Word of God - after all, he was around when It was written.

He is the father of lies, and will twist things around to get you to believe his lies. Eve believed his lies. She didn’t believe what God had said. When the devil put his suggestion into her mind, she chose to believe his lie, instead of believing God!

And this is the way it is with many of God’s people. They are so quick to believe a lie, so quick to act on some lie - rather than stand firmly on what God has said.

We want to be sure that our lives are built on the truths of God’s Word, and not on some contradiction of the enemy.

Ye are of your father the devil,
and the lusts of your father ye will do.
He was a murderer from the beginning,
and abode not in the truth,
because there is no truth in him.
When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own:
for he is a liar, and the father of it.
John 8:44

The devil is the author of lies. He is an expert at deception, and ever works to get others to lie too. He plants ideas in the minds of those who will listen to his suggestions, bringing them into his net of lying and deception.
 

to lie: to make an untrue statement with intent to deceive;
to use words having more than one sense,
so as to seem to say one thing, but intend another;
to tell an untruth that is trivial

But the fearful, and unbelieving,
and the abominable, and murderers,
and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters,
and all liars,
shall have their part in the lake
which burneth with fire and brimstone:
which is the second death.
Revelation 21:8

There is no such thing as a white or a black lie. A lie is a lie! and ALL liars shall have their part in the lake of fire!

Have you ever lied when someone wanted you on the phone? You told somebody to say you weren’t home - even though you were home. You just didn’t feel like being bothered right then.

Another way you can be guilty of lying is when you tell someone that you intend to do something - when you really have no intention of doing it. You just want to get that person off your back.  Or, perhaps someone asked you where you were, or why you didn’t do what you said you would do - and you brushed it off by saying that something else came up, even though that wasn’t true.

You teach your children to lie when you cause them to believe an untruth is really true. For example, you tell them there is a Santa Claus - and later on in life, they find you lied to them!

Blessed are they that do his commandments,
that they may have right to the tree of life,
and may enter in through the gates into the city.
For without are dogs, and sorcerers,
and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters,
and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.
Revelation 22:14-15

We can see here how serious lying is in the eyes of the Lord. If you love a lie, you are in the same realm as one who makes up the lie! And you will not enter into the heavenly city - according to this Scripture!

Many love the lies about Santa Claus, the Easter bunny, the tooth fairy. These are some of the lies that children grow up with, carrying them over into the lives of their children.  But as Christians we should desire to lead our children into the ways of truth, rather than to fill their heads with a love for lies.

Not only will they open themselves up to be liars, but also when they hear of Jesus, they won’t consider Him as being any more real than they found Santa Claus out to be.

 Another realm of lying is exaggeration. People are so prone to do this to impress others. If they catch a two-pound fish, they want you to believe it was a ten- pound fish.

Cheating is another area of lying. Realize that if you got the answer from someone else’s paper, then you are lying. You are causing the teacher to believe that you knew the answer, when you didn’t. And if you have an assignment to do, and you have someone else do it for you, you’re lying when you pass it in as your work.

It is better to get into trouble for telling the truth, or to get a lower mark by being honest, than to lie. Listen, you’ll be blessed when you are honest in all things.

Ye shall not steal, neither deal falsely,
neither lie one to another.
Leviticus 19:11

This may be Old Testament - but God put it in His Word for our learning.  We are not to deal falsely.

We may be guilty of this by half doing a job - just doing the surface where it can be seen, while claiming we did it thoroughly.  The boss asks if we’re doing our job, and we say we are - yet the only thing we did was what the boss could see at first glance!

Children can be guilty of this too - covering up a lie, and then having to cover up that lie with another lie. Then, if they get caught in their lying, they lie again by saying they thought you meant something else.

If someone lies, and then lies to cover up that lie, and so on - somewhere along the line, they’ll get caught in their lies. They’ll slip up - and their lying will catch up with them.

Lie not one to another,
seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;
Colossians 3:9

Lying is part of your old, sinful nature. In John 17:17 Jesus said that you would be sanctified through the truth - not through lies.

Now, Eve chose to listen to the devil. He led her to believe that God surely didn’t mean what He said - that she surely wouldn’t die by eating the fruit - even though God said she would. And, though she lived after that day, she did die spiritually.

God cannot lie. What He has said, He intends to surely perform. Let’s not be deceived for one moment into believing that God won’t do what He has said He would do.

It may take years before something comes to pass that God has promised - yet it WILL come to pass, in His time.

It’s not enough to have what God has said in your mind. You need to also get it way down into your heart.

Eve carried on a conversation with the devil - but we shouldn’t do this. When the devil tempted Jesus, He didn’t reason with him. He merely quoted God’s Word (see Matthew 4).

We should also see that the devil contradicted the Word of God. This is the way he works every time. He contradicts what God has said - trying to cause you to wonder if God really meant what He said.

Listen, don’t doubt God’s Word for one moment. Put your faith and trust in what God has said. Know assuredly that He is not a liar.

You don’t find Satan rightly dividing the Word of Truth. He may quote the Scriptures, but he twists them to make you believe God didn’t mean it the way you thought He meant it.

Adam knew what God had said!  Yet he allowed himself to be persuaded to eat the forbidden fruit.  There are those women who know just how to lure their husbands to do wrong.

 Adam and Eve’s sin was plain rebellion against the commandment of God.

We have to be careful that we don’t consider Satan’s suggestions, and rebel against what God has said.

When we rebel we are committing a sin that is as serious as the sin of witchcraft.  And in Galatians 5:19-21 we read that those who are guilty of witchcraft cannot inherit the kingdom of God!

When a child reaches a certain age he often rebels against his parent’s authority: who are they to think they’re going to tell me what to do? I’m big enough to make my own decisions!

There is a generation today that seems to be living in constant rebellion.   But they’re not the only ones who rebel against authority. Realize that it’s not just the young who rebel.

In the church we find those who have this same attitude. They’re not about to have anyone preach to them that something in their life is wrong. If someone does, they rebel against it.

Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers.
For there is no power but of God:
the powers that be are ordained of God.
Whosoever therefore resisteth the power,
resisteth the ordinance of God:
and they that resist
shall receive to themselves damnation.
For rulers are not a terror to good works,
but to the evil.
Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power?
do that which is good,
and thou shalt have praise of the same:
For he is the minister of God to thee for good.
But if thou do that which is evil,
be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain:
for he is the minister of God,
a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.
Wherefore ye must needs be subject,
not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake.
Romans 13:1-5

Those in authority are people such as the mayor, the president, the pastor, the teacher, the police - anyone who has authority over some area of your life.

Today, in many classrooms, the teacher doesn’t have much sway. The students do just as they please. Years ago, though, the teacher bore rule - or else!

And the policeman is out there for your protection, for your good. Oh, there are some who may misuse their authority - after all, police are men like you and me, and are subject to sin. But generally the police look out for our good.  We are told to obey the laws of the land. You hear stories of the wild west - where there was no law-and-order at all.

Don’t be surprised if you suffer because you broke the law. You earned what you got! If you get a ticketed for driving 65 MPH in a 55 MPH zone, then that’s what you earned! Obey the traffic signs, and you won’t suffer for it.

For for this cause pay ye tribute also:
for they are God's ministers,
attending continually upon this very thing.
Render therefore to all their dues:
tribute to whom tribute is due;
custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear;
honour to whom honour.
Romans 13:6-7

As Christians, we have an obligation before God to obey the laws and ruler s of the land.  Jesus affirmed this principle in Matthew 22:21 - Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s.  Caesar was the head of the government, and Jesus exhorted His disciples, as citizens, to pay that which Caesar would require of them.

A lot of people try to beat the government, getting out of as much as they can possibly get out of: but Romans 13:6,7 tells us to give to whom it is due.

Love not the world,
neither the things that are in the world.
If any man love the world,
the love of the Father is not in him.
For all that is in the world,
the lust of the flesh,
and the lust of the eyes,
and the pride of life,
is not of the Father, but is of the world.
1 John 2:15-16
 

Eve was beguiled by the serpent’s crafty, cunning ways. The devil is so subtle. He succeeded in getting her to violate the only commandment the Lord had given!

We find the temptation before her is clearly expressed in 1 John.

The world is made up of these three things: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.

Eve was tempted by all three
The lust of the flesh: she saw the tree was good for food.
The lust of the eyes: it was pleasant to her eyes.
The pride of life: it was to be desired to make one wise.

We find these three things are prevalent in the world today. People are ever pursuing all that would benefit self.
When a child has stolen something, and the parents question him, he lies and says that someone gave it to him.
Many who solicit are not giving the money to the group for which they say they’re collecting it.
Many who collect financial assistance from the government are doing so through lying. They are cheating the government out of money.
A woman may live with a man, yet report separate addresses to collect welfare.
Others lie on their income tax forms, not reporting everything they made.

Recompense to no man evil for evil.
Provide things honest in the sight of all men.
Romans 12:17

For it is a shame even to speak of those things
which are done of them in secret.
Ephesians 5:12

Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed:
neither be thou confounded;
for thou shalt not be put to shame:
for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth,
and shalt not remember
the reproach of thy widowhood any more.
Isaiah 54:4

If you don’t want a person to know what he is trying to find out from you - just tell him the truth. Tell him you choose not to give out that information. You don’t have to lie to satisfy someone's curiosity. If he persists in asking, plainly him them that it’s none of his business!

Some try to find out what you were involved in before you were saved. Listen, that’s really none of their business! It’s not wise to relate your sinful past to others. Those things have been put under the blood.

Many times, when others find out what you were involved in, they will hold it against you. And they will tell others what you did!

The Word would tell us not to talk of those things which were done in darkness. Also, we are told that God will cause us to forget the shame of our past.

At times, we may find facts coming before us in our thoughts - but there is no need to condemn ourselves for something that is under the blood. We should rather rejoice at the reality of what God has brought us from, rejoicing at the reality of His mercy and grace in our lives to cleanse and change us.

Lie not one to another,
seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;
Colossians 3:9

Lying is part of the OLD man, part of the life you had when you were serving the father of lies.

If you say you never told a lie in your life - then you are lying! Every little child has told a lie or two to get out of trouble: and it continues on from there.

But, now that you are saved, you should have put that off and gone on in the truth.

And the LORD said,
Who shall persuade Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramothgilead?
And one said on this manner, and another said on that manner.
And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the LORD,
and said, I will persuade him.
And the LORD said unto him, Wherewith?
And he said, I will go forth,
and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.
And he said, Thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also: go forth, and do so.
Now therefore, behold,
the LORD hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets,
and the LORD hath spoken evil concerning thee.
1 Kings 22:20-23

But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession,
And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it,
and brought a certain part, and laid it, at the apostles' feet.
But Peter said,
Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost,
and to keep back part of the price of the land?
Whiles it remained, was it not thine own?
and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power?
why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart?
thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.
And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost:
and great fear came on all them that heard these things.
And the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him.
And it was about the space of three hours after,
when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in.
And Peter answered unto her,
Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much?
And she said, Yea, for so much.
Then Peter said unto her,
How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord?
behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door,
and shall carry thee out.
Then fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost:
and the young men came in, and found her dead, and,
carrying her forth, buried her by her husband.
Acts 5:1-10

If you persist in lying, a lying spirit can take control of you! Consider what happened to King Ahab and what happened to Ananias and Sapphira.

Ahab didn’t want to hear the godly prophet, the only prophet who prophesied the truth. He didn’t like to hear the truth. He wanted someone to tell him what he wanted to hear - even if it was a lie. This lying spirit caused Ahab to believe a lie, and he went out to the battle and was killed!

Ananias and Sapphira lied to the Holy Spirit.  Satan wanted to bring corruption into the early church. He found this couple would listen to his suggestion, and lie to the Holy Spirit.

Ananias and Sapphira wanted to lead Peter into believing that they received less than they did for the sale of their property - so they agreed to lie to him about the price.

There was nothing wrong with their keeping back part of the price. They didn’t have to give it all to the church. But they wanted Peter to believe that they were giving all.

And there are those today who will lie to the preacher. They don’t want to be embarrassed by admitting their sinful deeds. Instead of repenting of their sin, and getting straightened out with the Lord, they’d rather damn their soul.

Let’s be careful that the stories we relate are true. Sometimes we may hear a story and repeat it without first checking it out. Thus, we are advocating a lie by telling it as a truth.

We have seen clearly, in verse after verse, that liars will not go unpunished. In fact, they will perish in the lake of fire!  If you are a liar, don’t take it lightly. Repent, and start to be truthful in all things.

Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God;
every precious stone was thy covering,
the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper,
the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold:
the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee
in the day that thou wast created.
Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so:
thou wast upon the holy mountain of God;
thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.
Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created,
till iniquity was found in thee.
By the multitude of thy merchandise
they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned:
therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God:
and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.
Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty,
thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness:
I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings,
that they may behold thee.
Ezekiel 28:13-17

Lets look in the Scriptures for some of the names and facts about the devil. 

Satan was a beautiful cherub, dwelling in the presence of the Lord. But when his heart was lifted up because of his beauty, he was cast out of heaven.

It appears that Satan had something to do with music - the workmanship of his tabrets and pipes was prepared in him. No wonder he works through music to draw people further and further away from the Lord!

We find this in the music of our day - rock music etc. He has inspired such music, and works in and through it. Those who get carried away with this type of music can be taken over by an evil spirit.

Here, Satan is called Lucifer, son of the morning! Because he lifted up himself in pride, he fell from heaven. You wonder why anyone would want to lose such a place with God!

Here is where pride originates. Notice how he said in his heart, I, I, I. When you hear someone talking like that, you can know the devil is behind it.  Pride wants to be exalted. It wants to be seen and recognized.

And Satan wanted to exalt himself - above God! My, nobody is greater than God Almighty - always remember that.

When Satan fell from heaven, he took a third of the angels with him!  And, isn’t it so? Misery likes company. We see this when someone falls - he usually takes others with him. When someone who is lifted up by others backslides, his followers fall right with him.

Many have fallen because of a leader whom they admired. The leader fell, and his followers fell with him - because they were following that leader, rather than following Jesus.

We have to be careful that we don’t set anyone on a pedestal.

The tempter

(the devil is the adversary of your soul.  He is not out to do you good, but to devour you).

(Many times we allow the devil to have part in us - but our testimony ought to be that he has nothing in us).

And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation,
he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness
unto the judgment of the great day.
Jude 6

For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell,
and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;
2 Peter 2:4

God’s purpose was that we all come to repentance. It isn’t His intention for man to be cast into the lake of fire. This is why He sent His only begotten Son - that men can turn from their wicked ways, and be saved.

But hell has had to enlarge herself without measure, because so many have rejected God’s gift. They continue on in their own sinful way, refusing to turn and receive salvation.

And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are,
and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
Revelation 2:10

There was a certain rich man,
which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:
And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus,
which was laid at his gate, full of sores,
And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table:
moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.
And it came to pass, that the beggar died,
and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom:
the rich man also died, and was buried;
And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments,
and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus,
that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue;
for I am tormented in this flame.
But Abraham said, Son,
remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things,
and likewise Lazarus evil things:
but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.
Luke 16:19-25

There are those who make light of hell. They say they’ll be down there shoveling coal with their friends. But hell is an everlasting fire - a fire that doesn’t need to be fed coal to keep it going. It will burn on and on and on throughout eternity.

Listen, hell isn’t something to make light of. It is a place of torment and darkness.

Read the account of the rich man and Lazarus in the left column, taken from Luke 16:19-31. It tells us that the rich man lifted up his eyes in hell, being in torments!