And out of the ground the Lord God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. (Genesis 2:8-9) And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (Genesis 2:16-17) Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. (Genesis 3:1)
Before we go any further, we have to study about good and evil, and when they appeared on the earth; because after creation, God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. (Genesis 1:31) We studied about the "trees" of the Garden of Eden and the "serpent" before. (read THE GOSPEL: All "Trees" aren't the Same) The serpent was not a talking snake, but another name used to describe Satan, also known as the Devil; and the trees describe messengers of God. (Ezekiel 31)
First, we have to know what happened in heaven at some point after creation was complete. The scriptures often reference the hosts of heaven. This is usually a reference to angels. There was one particular angel we need to focus on. Thus says the Lord God: “You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering: the sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold. The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes was prepared for you on the day you were created. You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; you were on the holy mountain of God; you walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones. You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, till iniquity was found in you. (Ezekiel 28:12-15)
“By the abundance of your trading you became filled with violence within, and you sinned; therefore I cast you as a profane thing out of the mountain of God; and I destroyed you, O covering cherub, from the midst of the fiery stones. Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor; I cast you to the ground, I laid you before kings, that they might gaze at you. You defiled your sanctuaries by the multitude of your iniquities, by the iniquity of your trading; therefore I brought fire from your midst; it devoured you, and I turned you to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all who saw you. All who knew you among the peoples are astonished at you; you have become a horror, and shall be no more forever.” (Ezekiel 28:16-19)
The anointed and covering cherub, the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty that God is speaking about in these above verses is the serpent in the Garden of Eden, also known as Satan, the Devil or Lucifer. Jesus said, “I saw Satan fall from heaven like lightning." (Luke 10:18) “How you are fallen from heaven,O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’ Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, to the lowest depths of the Pit." (Isaiah 14:12-15)
Yes, God created everything, and everything was very good. But God also created everyone with free will, even the angels;so just because we were created good doesn't mean we will choose to do good. That's the case with Lucifer, when iniquity was found in him. Pride, jealousy and envy of God lead to his being cast out of the mountain of God and cast to the ground. So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. (Revelations 12:9) And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day;... (Jude 1:6)
Satan is beautiful, full of wisdom, nothing like the crazy looking man in a red suit with a pointed tail and a pitchfork. That too is a deception of his. For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. (II Corinthians 11:13-14) He more resembles the picture most people draw of Jesus, that's why Jesus warned, “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many." (Matthew 24:4-5; Mark 13:6) ...For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and, ‘The time has drawn near.’ Therefore do not go after them. (Luke 21:8)
Satan's beauty leads people to listen to him, because he appears trustworthy. His words are enticing, which leads many people to believe his lies; and he speaks just enough of the Word of God to appear authentic. For those who don't know the word of God, they are easily deceived. But for those of us who know the Word of God, we understand what Jesus said when he described Himself as the Shepherd and us as His sheep; "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. I and My Father are one.” (John 10:27-30)
Remember, the Lord God told Adam, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (Genesis 2:16-17) Eve had not been formed yet, so she had not heard the Lord God speak this commandment herself. However, Adam must have shared it with her at some point, because of how the serpent, Satan baits her with some of the Word of God, before he adds his twist to it.
And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’” Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:1-5)
So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. (Genesis 3:6-7)
What did Eve "eat", and then offer to Adam, and he "ate"? "You have eaten the fruit of lies,..." (Hosea 10:13) And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression. (I Timothy 2:14) "...the devil,... He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it." (John 8:44)
God promises us eternal life, through believing in and obeying His Word; but Satan promises the pleasures of this world, and they lead to shame, hiding, blaming others and eventually eternal separation from God. And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.” And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?” (Genesis 3:8-11)
Then the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.” And the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” (Genesis 3:12-13) Adam blamed Eve; Eve blamed Satan, and the Lord God would deal with all of them, which we all are still having the deal with the consequences of...
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