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The Beginning of the End
But this is all a deception. They are starting down the road that leads
to degradation and death.
The Subtlety of Satan’s Appeal
Satan told the holy pair that they would gain by breaking the
law of God. Today many talk of the narrowness of those who obey
God’s commandments and claim that they themselves enjoy greater
liberty. What is this but an echo of the voice from Eden? “In the
day you eat of it”—transgress the divine requirement—“you will be
like God.” Satan did not let it appear that he had become an outcast
from heaven. He concealed his own misery in order to draw others
into the same position. So now the transgressors disguise their true
character. But they are on the side of Satan, trampling upon the law
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of God and leading others to eternal ruin.
Eve disbelieved the words of God, and this was what led to her
fall. In the judgment, people will not be condemned because they
conscientiously believed a lie but because they did not believe the
truth. We must set our hearts to know what is truth. Whatever
contradicts God’s Word comes from Satan.
The serpent plucked the fruit of the forbidden tree and placed
it in the hands of the half-reluctant Eve. Then he reminded her of
her own words, that God had forbidden them to touch it lest they
die. Seeing no evil results, Eve grew bolder. When she “saw that the
tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a
tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate.” As she
ate, she seemed to imagine herself entering upon a higher state of
existence.
And now, having herself disobeyed, she became Satan’s agent
to ruin her husband. In a state of strange, unnatural excitement, her
hands filled with the forbidden fruit, she looked for and found him.
Adam appeared astonished and alarmed. To the words of Eve he
replied that this must be the foe against whom they had been warned.
Now, as God had said, she must die. In answer she urged him, “Eat,”
repeating the words of the serpent that they would not surely die.
She felt no evidence of God’s displeasure but sensed a delicious,
exhilarating influence, thrilling every part of her body with new life.