33 . First Great Deception
With the earliest history of man , Satan began his efforts to deceive our race . He who had incited rebellion in heaven desired to bring the inhabitants of the earth to unite with him in his warfare against the government of God . Adam and Eve had been perfectly happy in obedience to the law of God , and this fact was a constant testimony against the claim which Satan had urged in heaven , that God ' s law was oppressive and opposed to the good of His creatures . And furthermore , Satan ' s envy was excited as he looked upon the beautiful home prepared for the sinless pair . He determined to cause their fall , that , having separated them from God and brought them under his own power , he might gain possession of the earth and here establish his kingdom in opposition to the Most High .
Had Satan 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 fascinating 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 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 ." Verses 2-5 . He declared that they would become like God , possessing greater wisdom than before and being capable of a higher state of existence . Eve yielded to temptation ; and through her influence , Adam was led into sin . 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 wisdom and exaltation 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 "? 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
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