Chapter 3—The First Great Deceptio
What is the great lie that has led to all the suffering and misery we see
in the world today? Who told that lie? And what is the hope that
promises to end this catastrophe of evil?
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 fur-
thermore, 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 Great Controversy, 531-550.
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