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them to resist all the allurements of evil.
Satan is well aware that the weakest soul who abides in Christ
is more than a match for the hosts of darkness, and that, should
he reveal himself openly, he would be met and resisted. Therefore
he seeks to draw away the soldiers of the cross from their strong
fortification, while he lies in ambush with his forces, ready to destroy
all who venture upon his ground. No man is safe for a day or an hour
without prayer. Especially should we entreat the Lord for wisdom to
understand his word. Satan is an expert in quoting Scripture, placing
his own interpretation upon passages by which he hopes to cause
us to stumble. We should study the Bible with humility of heart,
never losing sight of our dependence upon God. While we must
constantly guard against the devices of Satan, we should pray in
faith continually, “Lead us not into temptation.”
Chapter 28—The First Great Deception
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With the earliest history of man, Satan began his efforts to de-
ceive our race. He who had incited rebellion in Heaven desired to
bring the whole creation to unite with him in his warfare against
the government of God. His envy and jealousy were excited as he
looked upon the beautiful home prepared for the happy, holy pair,
and he immediately laid his plans to cause their fall. Had he revealed
himself in his real character, he would have been repulsed at once,
for Adam and Eve had been warned against this dangerous foe; but
he worked in the dark, concealing his purpose, that he might more
effectually accomplish his object.
Employing as his medium the serpent, then a creature of fasci-
nating appearance, he addressed himself to Eve, “Hath God said,
Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” [Genesis 3:1.] Had Eve refrained from entering into argument with the tempter, she
would have been safe; but she ventured to parley with him, and fell
a victim to his wiles. It is thus that many are still overcome. They
doubt and argue concerning the requirements of God, and instead of
obeying the divine commands, they accept human theories, which
but disguise the devices of Satan.
“The woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the
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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. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall
not surely die; 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.” [Genesis 3:2-5.] Eve yielded to temptation, and through her influence Adam also was deceived. They accepted the words of
the serpent, that God did not mean what he said; they distrusted their
Creator, and imagined that he was restricting their liberty, and that
they might obtain great light and freedom by transgressing his law.
But what did Adam, after his sin, find to be the meaning of the
words, “In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die”?
235
236
The Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 4
Did he find them to mean, as Satan had led him to believe, that
he was to be ushered into a more exalted state of existence? Then
indeed there was great good to be gained by transgression, and Satan
was proved to be a benefactor of the race. But Adam did not so
understand the divine sentence. God declared that as a penalty for
his sin, man should return to the ground whence he was taken: “Dust
thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.” [Genesis 3:19.] The words of Satan, “Your eyes shall be opened,” proved to be true only in this
sense: After Adam and Eve had disobeyed God, their eyes were
opened to discern their folly; they did know evil, and they tasted the
bitter fruit of transgression.
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Immortality had been promised on condition of obedience to the
requirements of God. It was forfeited by disobedience, and Adam
became subject to death. He could not transmit to his posterity that
which he did not possess; and there would have been no hope for
the fallen race, had not God, by the sacrifice of his Son, brought
immortality within their reach. “The wages of sin is death; but the
gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” [Romans
6:23.] In no other way can it be obtained. But every man may come in possession of this priceless blessing if he will comply with the
conditions. All “who by patient continuance in well-doing seek for
glory and honor and immortality,” will receive eternal life. [Romans
2:7.]
The one who promised Adam life in disobedience was the great
deceiver. The first sermon ever preached upon the immortality of
the soul was preached by the serpent to Eve in Eden,—“Ye shall not
surely die;” and this declaration, resting solely upon the authority
of Satan, is echoed from the pulpits of Christendom, and received
by the majority of mankind as readily as it was received by our first
parents. The divine sentence, “The soul that si
[Ezekiel 18:20.] is made to mean, The soul that si
infatuation which renders men so credulous concerning the words
of Satan, and so unbelieving in regard to the words of God.
The fruit of the tree of life had the power to perpetuate life. Had
man after his fall been allowed free access to that tree, he would
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have lived forever, and thus sin would have been immortalized. But
a flaming sword was placed “to keep the way of the tree of life,”
First Great Deception
237
and not one of the family of Adam has been permitted to pass that
barrier and partake of the life-giving fruit. Therefore there is not an
immortal si
But after the fall, Satan bade his angels make a special effort
to foster the belief in man’s natural immortality; and when they
had induced the people to receive this error, they led them on to
conclude that the si
prince of darkness, working through his agents, represents God as
a revengeful tyrant, declaring that he plunges into hell all those
who do not please him, and causes them ever to feel his wrath; and
that while they suffer unutterable anguish, and writhe in the eternal
flames, their Creator looks down upon them with satisfaction.
Thus the arch-fiend clothes with his own attributes the Creator
and Benefactor of mankind. Cruelty is Satanic. God is love; and
all that he created was pure, holy, and lovely, until sin was brought
in by the first great rebel. Satan himself is the enemy who tempts
man to sin, and then destroys him if he can; and when he has made
sure of his victim, then he exults in the ruin he has wrought. If