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The Truth About Angels
for in perfect obedience they were safe, and this fallen foe could have
access to them only at the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
Adam and Eve assured the angels that they should never transgress
the express command of God; for it was their highest pleasure to
do His will. The angels united with Adam and Eve in holy strains
of harmonious music; and as their songs pealed forth from blissful
Eden, Satan heard the sound of their strains of joyful adoration to the
Father and Son. And as Satan heard it, his envy, hatred, and malignity,
increased, and he expressed his anxiety to his followers to incite them
(Adam and Eve) to disobedience.—
The Spirit of Prophecy 1:34, 35
.
Satan Speaks to Eve Through a Serpent
In order to accomplish his work unperceived, Satan chose to em-
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ploy as his medium the serpent—a disguise well adapted for his pur-
pose of deception. The serpent was then one of the wisest and most
beautiful creatures on the earth. It had wings, and while flying through
the air presented an appearance of dazzling brightness, having the
color and brilliancy of burnished gold.—
Patriarchs and Prophets, 53
.
Eve went from the side of her husband, viewing the beautiful things
of nature in God’s creation, delighting her senses with the colors and
fragrance of the flowers and the beauty of the trees and shrubs. She
was thinking of the restriction God had laid upon them in regard to
the tree of knowledge. She was pleased with the beauties and bounties
which the Lord had furnished for the gratification of every want. All
these, said she, God has given us to enjoy. They are all ours; for God
has said, “Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat; but of
the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it.”
Eve had wandered near the forbidden tree, and her curiosity was
aroused to know how death could be concealed in the fruit of this fair
tree. She was surprised to hear her queries taken up and repeated by a
strange voice. “Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of
the garden?” Eve was not aware that she had revealed her thoughts
by conversing to herself aloud, therefore she was greatly astonished
to hear her queries repeated by a serpent.—
The Review and Herald,
February 24, 1874
.
With soft and pleasant words, and with musical voice, he [Satan]
addressed the wondering Eve. She was startled to hear a serpent
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