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The
First Lie . . . Still Potent Today By
Wayne Dailey, | |
And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the
day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt
surely die. Genesis 2:
16, 17 |
| God wasn’t just suggesting that Adam not eat of the tree because
he might die if he did. He was giving
a commandment, letting Adam know that he would SURELY DIE if he disobeyed. There were many trees in the garden, and Adam and Eve could eat
from any of them, except for the tree of the knowledge of good and evil
– they were to leave that particular tree alone. I Corinthians 10:13a There hath no temptation taken you but
such as is common to man. The devil strives to tempt us to do evil and disobey God, to do
things that would cause us to lose out with God. The Lord gave me a vision where I suddenly found myself in total
darkness (though the room I was in had light). I couldn’t see a thing at first, when suddenly
as I looked up my eyes began to see something! I saw a figure of someone dressed in white. As I looked, this person began to fall end
over end. I had no idea what this meant,
but I took it home with me to seek God for the meaning. After several days of seeking the Lord, I began to understand what
He was showing me: II Corinthians 11:14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed
into an angel of light. This is what I had seen in that vision! That figure dressed in white was Satan, transformed
into an angel of light. I had seen him
fall from his first estate. This is where
it all began, with Satan being transformed into an angel of light. John 1:4, 5 In Him was life; and the life was the light
of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. John 1:9 That was the true Light, which lighteth
every man that cometh into the world . . . Here we find Jesus being introduced as the TRUE Light that lights
everyone who comes into the world. And,
in Matthew 5:14 He tells us that we believers are the
light of the world. How does the devil being transformed as an angel of light fit into
this? Jesus is said to be the TRUE light!
What type of light is the devil? HOW CAN THIS FATHER OF EVIL BE CALLED AN ANGEL OF LIGHT? There are many false religions in this world, encompassing millions
of souls. Who is the head of these false
religions? Who is being worshipped by them?
Satan transforming himself into an angel of light. Jesus is the author and finisher of the one and only TRUE faith
- Hebrews12:21. John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the
truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me. And, thus, the devil is the author of all false faiths or religions.
We find he is even at work within the Church, slipping in as an angel of
light in an attempt to destroy the flock. II Corinthians 11: 13 -15 For such are false apostles, deceitful
workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed
into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers
also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according
to their works. Paul was dealing with those false apostles who had transformed
themselves as being apostles of Christ. They
posed as apostles to gain a hearing, wanting the church to consider their words
as being words of authority and truth. And no marvel, since Satan has also transformed
himself into an angel of light! The devil works in and through vessels he finds he can use to accomplish
his subtle work. Today we find many angels
of light in the church. They preach the
Word, but they don’t live it. BACK IN THE GARDEN There was nobody around in the garden for Satan to use to deceive
Adam and Eve (as there were no other people on the face of the earth). Genesis 3: 1 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? We find Satan entering this subtle creature, and speaking through
it to Eve. Listen, if a snake ever talks
to you – watch out! Revelation 12:9 And the great dragon was cast out, that
old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he
was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. You may not realize it but the snake does talk to you – that old
serpent, the Devil! Hath God said? Hath God said what? Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
Now, why does he bring that up? We can clearly see here where Satan set himself to be an adversary
of God, moving about in a subtle fashion to accomplish his evil works. Remember, now, Satan was once an angel dwelling right in the midst
of heaven! Before his fall, he had stood
in the very presence of Almighty God. Luke 10:18 And He said unto them, I beheld Satan as
lightning fall from heaven. Can angels sin? Satan did!
and still does!! He fell from heaven through the sin of pride:
and we find him sinning in the garden, lying and causing Adam and Eve to fall. It’s his premeditated motive to destroy man, bringing him into
subjection to further his end. Remember, now, we’re dealing with an angel of light. We’re dealing with the father of all lies,
who, with his subtle tactics, has one motive in mind: the destruction of God’s
people. Adam and Eve were God’s people.
They were about to parent the entire human family. In view of this, we note that it was the devil’s
purpose to destroy the human family before it could get any larger. How does this affect Eve? What
was in her heart? How knowledgeable was
she? Genesis 3:2, 3 And the woman said unto the serpent, We
may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: but of the fruit of the tree
which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither
shall ye touch it, LEST YE DIE. Eve wasn’t ignorant of the commandment of God. She knew she wasn’t to so much as touch that
particular tree. Genesis 3:4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye
shall all not surely die! Ye shall not surely die! THIS MARKS THE POINT! This marks the point. This
marks the place. This marks the beginning
– the first lie ever told to man. John 8:44 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. We find Satan took God’s Word and twisted it to form his first
lie to man. He made it seem like God had
said it – yet it was a lie. This is the danger point to be on guard for – twisting the Scriptures,
and assuming what they say. Now, the devil said, Ye shall not surely die! But take another look at what God actually
had said: Genesis 2:16-17 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying,
Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: but of the tree of the knowledge
of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof
thou shalt surely die. God didn’t say, Ye shall not surely die! On the contrary, He said, Thou SHALT surely
die! That’s plain. But the devil came along and twisted God’s
words to deceive Eve. Remember, now, he’s an angel of light. Here he is somehow bringing light to Eve.
Yes, he was bringing light to Eve but it was a new light.
She was being enlightened from another source than the TRUE light. Heaven says you’re going to die!
And Satan came along to say, You won’t surely die! that’s not what will happen if you eat! That was a different message, a new message
– new light on what God had said; light with a different twist to it. He did this in such a subtle manner so she would grasp it as truth. We need to watch out for this in our own lives. John 8:44 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. The devil is very subtle, and he can slide things right by us as
being true, when it is really a lie. Yes,
he will deceive us, if we’re not watching. Genesis 3:5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat
thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good
and evil. God never told that to Adam and Eve! He merely let them know they would die in
the day they ate. He didn’t elaborate on
that fact one bit. The devil was twisting
things to make it look like it would be a good idea to eat of that tree (after
all, it would open their eyes)! There’s a lot of folks who are looking to get their eyes opened
(with no consideration as to what is true and what is false). They look into every new doctrine that comes
along, wanting something above what God has given them in His Word. That’s why there’s such a mess in the church world of our day –
such corruption, confusion, and false doctrines. There’s no confusion found in the Gospel. The confusion is when man listens to the 57
varieties of the Word, instead of checking things out with the Bible to see what
the Lord has actually said. The devil was very subtle in wanting Eve to get her mind and attention
on that particular tree, on that forbidden fruit: It’s not the way it sounded. If you eat, you won’t surely die! All that will happen is that your eyes will
be opened to know good and evil. My, then
you and Adam will be as gods! What was his purpose back there?
and what is his purpose today? What
is his goal? To destroy the John 10:10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal,
and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they
might have it more abundantly. Satan painted such an enticing picture for Eve: Genesis 3:6 And when the woman saw that the tree was
good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired
to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto
her husband with her; and he did eat. This brought about the fall of mankind! We should always pay very close attention to what God has said
in His Word. Too many have the attitude,
Don’t tell me! Others let it slip in one ear and right
out the other. I John 2:16 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. That’s clear enough!: ALL
that is in the world. THE THREE REALMS OF TEMPTATION ·
The
lust of the flesh: it looked good for food ·
The
lust of the eyes: pleasant to the eyes ·
The
pride of life: to be desired to make one wise These are the three realms of temptation that the carnal man is
ever falling into. ·
The
lust of the flesh: Not just his three square meals, but more
and more and more. He could be stuffed
to the gills, but if something looks like it tastes good, he wants it. ·
The
lust of the eyes: He may not need it, but when he sees it
he wants it. After all, he sees others
getting it, so he wants one, too! That’s
the carnal nature at work. When evil is presented to us in the form
of temptation, it’s always made to look really good. But after you get what looked good to you,
you find a price tag goes along with it. It’s like the fish that sees bait on the
end of the line. After he reaches out to eat that enticing bait he finds he is
hooked. The woman saw the tree was pleasant to
her eyes. She saw it. The devil magnified it to her eyes as she
stopped to look. He enticed her through
the lust of the eyes. ·
The
pride of life: Finally, it states that Eve saw it was
a tree to be desired to make one wise (the pride of life). She believed she would become wise by eating
that forbidden fruit. What did she need to be wise about? She was clean and pure, uncorrupted. She had never been defiled. This is the temptation that many young
people face today. They can hardly wait
to get away from home, and find out what the world’s attractions really taste
like (such as drugs, sex, alcohol etc). And when they finally do get out there,
they only find heartache and sorrow. The
devil deceived them with his enticements and his lies. We find Eve being affected by this very subtle temptation. She’s being drawn and enticed by the wicked
one. And she gave in! She couldn’t resist the offer. She took of the forbidden fruit and shared
it with her husband. What did God say? In
the day you eat thereof you shall surely die!
But it was too late now to worry about what God had said. The damage was done. They’d already eaten. After your foot is caught in a snare, it’s too late to escape.
And Adam and Eve were caught here in the snare of the enemy. Genesis 3:7 And the eyes of them both were opened,
and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made
themselves aprons. Their eyes were opened! That’s
just what the devil promised! But what
was the first thing they saw when their eyes were opened? This will show you just how naive they were of sin, how ignorant
they were of wrong doing: they saw they were both naked. They were so innocent and pure they had never
been aware of their nakedness before. Now
that their eyes were opened, they were ashamed of their nakedness.
They attempted to cover themselves with fig leaves, but that wasn’t sufficient. Genesis 3: 11 And He said, Who told thee that thou wast
naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof
I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? Genesis 3:21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the
Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them. What made the difference? What
happened? This is the point you have to understand. It isn’t a question of what made them self-conscious
of their nakedness. There is something
greater than that to consider. THE DEVIL HAD ACCOMPLISHED HIS PURPOSE! Romans 5: 12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into
the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have
sinned. Sin and death came into the world by ONE MAN. The devil hadn’t warned Eve that she’d be committing her first
sin when she ate. He wanted to deceive
her into falling. Not only was this Adam and Eve’s first sin – but it was their WORST
sin – in that it caused sin to fall upon all mankind. They sinned by disobeying God, and that one act of disobedience
brought the sinful nature into their once sinless lives. And, through sin, it also brought death –
just as God said it would. But did they really die? God
said they would die on the very day they ate.
Yet the Bible records that Adam didn’t die unto he was 930 years old!
He may have lived that long physically, but he was dead in sin from the
moment he took that bite. The devil couldn’t have picked a better time in history to have
brought this fall about. He knew if he
could get them to fall here, he’d gain total control over mankind through sin
and death. The entire human race has been affected by the sin these two committed
that day. Adam and Eve certainly never
considered all this would transpire just from a single act of disobedience.
But they allowed the angel of light to deceive them, and destroy them through
sin and death. That was the devil’s subtle purpose and intent: destroy them and,
thus, destroy all mankind! Satan bent God’s Word out of shape to deceive the mind of man,
to get him to believe that it was quite all right to go contrary to what God had
originally told him. Satan came along with a lie, that he might get man to think he
could make his state a little better. Yet, when we read the account of creation we find God saw that
what He had created was VERY GOOD. Adam and Eve had a good relationship with God before the fall.
He fellowshipped with them daily, walking and talking with them in the
garden. But the angel of light, in his subtle way,
sought to destroy that relationship. We
see how clever and deceptive he really was in causing them to fall. When God gave that commandment to Adam in the garden, He clearly
spelled out what the consequence of disobedience would be: DEATH! Not only did sin come into the world through Adam; but the consequences
of sin also came. Yes, death entered the world as the result of Adam’s sin – and
it passed upon all men. But that’s Old Testament! Listen, when you look into the New Testament, you find God hasn’t
changed this one bit: Romans 6:23a For the wages of sin IS DEATH! That’s what God told Adam would be the fruit of sin if he disobeyed
by eating of that tree. So we can see that sin is a serious thing. If you’re living in sin today then you’re
in serious shape: the wages of your sin is DEATH! BUT THE GIFT OF GOD…! Romans 6:23b . . . but the gift of God is eternal life
through Jesus Christ our Lord. It’s important to know where we stand, to have the assurance of
eternal life. If you’re standing under
the death penalty today, come to Jesus that you might have life. John 3: 16 For God so loved the world, that He gave
gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish,
but have everlasting life. |