Satan wins...
Time, as we know it, had begun. Satan was now operating in the realm of human life on earth. His tactics, as shown in the Garden of Eden, were the very same that He uses against the children of God today.
First, note that Satan came first to the woman. In the Scriptures, woman is designated as "the weaker vessel" ( 1 Peter 3:7). This does not discredit her. It is part of the plan of God, revealing His wise, benevolent attitude toward the human race. But, in approaching the woman with this temptation, Satan showed not only his cunning, but also his dishonorable intent.
We must keep in mind that Satan is a spiritual being, with a spiritual body. He spoke through the serpent, using a creature which before the fall, must have been attractive and appealing. Because of the use of this creature, Satan acquired another uncomplimentary title, "that old serpent, the devil" ( Rev. 20:2 ). His first approach then, as now, was to discredit and question the Word of God ( Gen. 3:1 ). What, he insinuated was, "Is this really what God meant?" The woman's answer was definite, but her fatal fault was in not calling her husband, that they might face the temptation together.
Satan, having secured Eve's attention, pressed the attack by specifically, categorically, denying God's dictum. Blantly, boldly, Satan said to Eve, "Ye shall not surely die" ( Gen. 3:4 ). He was calling God a liar, and that should have been enough for the woman. She ought to have fled, to secure the support of Adam. But sadly enough, she stayed to listen.
The next thurst was a subtle one. Satan's strategy was to show that Adam and Eve were missing something desirable. They were being denied by God, who was, he insinuated, withholding what should be theirs. Satan told them their eyes would be opened if they would eat the forbidden fruit ( Gen. 3:5 ). In this was a dangerous half-truth. Their eyes were opened, but with what consequences!
All of Satan's reasoning was along the strongest line of temptation. Herein lay the very essence of sin, which is love of self. The woman touched, picked, and ate, then gave to her husband, who also ate of the forbidden fruit. The foul deed was done, and death passed upon the whole human race. Adam and Eve had disobeyed the will of God. Satan had won this round of the battle.
Time, as we know it, had begun. Satan was now operating in the realm of human life on earth. His tactics, as shown in the Garden of Eden, were the very same that He uses against the children of God today.
First, note that Satan came first to the woman. In the Scriptures, woman is designated as "the weaker vessel" ( 1 Peter 3:7). This does not discredit her. It is part of the plan of God, revealing His wise, benevolent attitude toward the human race. But, in approaching the woman with this temptation, Satan showed not only his cunning, but also his dishonorable intent.
We must keep in mind that Satan is a spiritual being, with a spiritual body. He spoke through the serpent, using a creature which before the fall, must have been attractive and appealing. Because of the use of this creature, Satan acquired another uncomplimentary title, "that old serpent, the devil" ( Rev. 20:2 ). His first approach then, as now, was to discredit and question the Word of God ( Gen. 3:1 ). What, he insinuated was, "Is this really what God meant?" The woman's answer was definite, but her fatal fault was in not calling her husband, that they might face the temptation together.
Satan, having secured Eve's attention, pressed the attack by specifically, categorically, denying God's dictum. Blantly, boldly, Satan said to Eve, "Ye shall not surely die" ( Gen. 3:4 ). He was calling God a liar, and that should have been enough for the woman. She ought to have fled, to secure the support of Adam. But sadly enough, she stayed to listen.
The next thurst was a subtle one. Satan's strategy was to show that Adam and Eve were missing something desirable. They were being denied by God, who was, he insinuated, withholding what should be theirs. Satan told them their eyes would be opened if they would eat the forbidden fruit ( Gen. 3:5 ). In this was a dangerous half-truth. Their eyes were opened, but with what consequences!
All of Satan's reasoning was along the strongest line of temptation. Herein lay the very essence of sin, which is love of self. The woman touched, picked, and ate, then gave to her husband, who also ate of the forbidden fruit. The foul deed was done, and death passed upon the whole human race. Adam and Eve had disobeyed the will of God. Satan had won this round of the battle.
In I Timothy 2:14, we read that " the woman being deceived was in transgression," but that the man was not deceived. Adam knew what he was doing. He entered the gate of sin with his eyes wide open. He deliberately sinned. Yet Eve was at fault as well...
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