Satan’s Legacy
And the LORD said unto Satan, from whence come thou? And Satan answered the LORD and said: from going to and fro in the earth and from walking up and down in it. (Job 2:2)
It would be reasonable to say the world today is a very different place from the one known by our ancestors. Language, music, art and science would be unfamiliar to the point of incomprehension. The speed of change in the last century alone has essentially placed recent generations in a distant land, devoid of the technology and advantages we now enjoy.
Phrases unknown only a few decades ago are now commonplace. Ozone depletion, arctic thaw, peak oil and climate change, now a regular part of the conversation; in company with terrorism, conflict, famine, refugees, chemical agents and war-crimes. And closer to home, violent crime, cyber-bullying, suicide, infanticide, rape and sexual abuse spiral out of control. We face mounting environmental issues as our personal failings grow in all areas of society. And, while our progress is marked by amazing achievement it has equally plumbed the depths on a global scale.
In the semblance of religion, politics, state aggression and superstition, every race and belief has managed to kill neighbours and enemies; some more or less to extinction. But as history shows, it has always been this way. So-called peace is simply another nervous calm as rancor draws its next poisonous breath. It seems ‘getting rid of the others,’ in whatever guise it takes, is etched into our psyche; as few will reach the standard we set in ourselves or our country may establish in Law.
Where on Earth, did all this hatred come from?
Father of the Lie
Call him Satan, devil or the evil one; he is the architect of the world’s greatest deception an almost perfect con, which has been in the world since the dawn of our beginnings. Jesus has testified of him and of his influence in us all. So, we are going to look at the world as it is which may not be the one you think you might know. And in doing so, we may even discover what truth being stranger than fiction could actually mean.
Nevertheless, through envy of the devil came death into the world: and they that do hold of his side do find it. (Wis 2:24)
Jesus referred to Satan three times as the prince of this world. (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11) Starting with Eve, millions have been trapped by his wiles; he has done such an outstanding job that vast numbers are casualties of his defining work; the devil is a myth, the Bible mere fairytale, and God nothing more than a crutch for the weak.
Yet, Paul tells us Satan is an undeniable certainty that lives in our midst, the prince of the power of the air (Eph 2.2) and the god of this world. (2Cor 4:4) When writing to the Thessalonians he spoke of Satan’s power; wherefore we would have come unto you, even I Paul, once and again; but Satan hindered us. (1Th 2:18)
Mark revealed Satan as the prince of devils. John recorded that he is the accuser, for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. (Rev 12:10)
And as named by Jesus; Satan is the father of lies. When he speaks a lie, he speaks of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. (John 8:44)
We will now look at how and when that lie was born.
Eden and Adam
Church leaders are numbered among those who consider the Eden story a metaphor from which we can learn an agreeable code of living, in essence right from wrong. In April 2012, Australia’s Catholic Cardinal, George Pell, recently before the Australian Courts regarding his involvement in the Church’s abuse of young people, described the narrative of Adam and Eve as a sophisticated myth used to explain evil and suffering rather than a scientific truth.
Pell said, humans probably evolved from Neanderthals, but it was impossible to say exactly when there was a first human. Asked by ABC journalist, Tony Jones if he believed in the existence of an actual Garden of Eden with a real Adam and Eve the Cardinal said, it was not a matter of science rather a mythological account. It’s certainly not a scientific truth … it’s a religious story told for religious purposes. (ABC/Q&A April 10, 2012)
This openly contradicts Paul as all scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction… (2Ti 3:16) Pell also denies the teaching of Jesus and the Prophets. His skewed opinion opposes the Word of God he is charged to uphold. Luke, Paul and Jude all confirmed Adam as historical fact. Jesus spoke of his descendant, Noah. Yet the New Age Catholic Cardinal, who is certainly not isolated in his views, has chosen to discard the Word of God raising himself above the Prophets and the Saints.
For the most part, clergy promote the Holy Bible as a set of ideals in order to lead a good life, not the inspired Word of God that we might learn of His Kingdom. Peter independently confirmed the inspiration of the Scriptures when he taught:
Knowing this first that, no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man, but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. (2Peter 1:20-21)
Like Paul, Luke and Jude; Tobias, Sirach and Ezra also testified of Adam, and accordingly Eden. Adam’s genealogy is given first in the Book of Chronicles, later in Luke. He had a city named after him. (Joshua 3:16) Jesus also bears witness of Adam and Eve. Yet, scholars have debated the existence of Eden for centuries; countless volumes have been written with claims and counter-claims about its possible location, whether it existed at all. These would have us believe they know more than the LORD when in reality, they are trapped outside His knowledge.
The reason no one knows for certain where it was, is due to the Great Flood in the time of Noah; a cataclysmic event that impacted the entire planet. And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. (Genesis 6:5-6)
The Birth of Death
In the Garden, Eve was deceived by Satan when she tasted the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. She then encouraged Adam to join her. When they became aware of their grave mistake, they made rudimentary garments from fig leaves to cover their shame.
Both had become afflicted by guilt, despite the fact that earlier in Genesis we find; …they were both unclothed, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed. What caused this new awareness? Surely not by simply eating some fruit, as the LORD had given them …every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food… (Genesis 2:9). So we will look at these verses concerning the fall of Eve and Adam, and one thing you will discover, there was no apple!
But first, who was actually in the Garden? And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. (Genesis 2:8) So, after the 7th day when the LORD rested from all His work, including creating men: male and female, and then telling them to multiply and fill the Earth; God formed Adam from the dust of the ground and breathed into him reflective life. He then placed His new creation, alone in the Garden He had made for him.
And out of the ground, made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food: the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. (Genesis 2:9)
He told Adam he may take of every tree (including the tree of life) but not to take from the tree of knowledge of good and evil …for in the day that thou eat thereof thou shalt surely die. (Gen 2:17)
After Adam had named every fowl of the air and beast of the field, the LORD …caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam… and took Eve from his rib for a wife and companion. The next we see is the temptation of Eve by the Serpent. Before looking into this, we should take note of the two named trees in the Garden with Adam and Eve.
The first is the Tree of Life. To him that overcomes I will give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. (Rev 2:7) This is the Spirit of Jesus that came down to us in the form of Christ. The second is the tree of knowledge of good and evil. This is the express revelation of the will of God, a positive Law; the test of obedience where Satan resides. Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God… (Ezekiel 28:13) …thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire (Ezekiel 28:14) So, at the time of temptation, we find three of Spirit and two immortal beings.
Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, yea, hath God said, ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, we may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. (Genesis 3:1-5)
And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were bare; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. And they heard the voice 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. (Genesis 3: 6-7)
They hid; no longer seeing themselves as favored, but of appetites and desire. They put God aside in their craving to know what Satan had offered. It proved an empty disorder of spirit, the likes of which they had never known in their state of privilege. Eve and Adam had broken a bond of trust, now exposed to a fearful conscience; laid open to the contempt and reproach of Heaven and Earth.
And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, where art thou? And he said I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was unclothed; and I hid myself. And He said, who told thee that thou were without clothing? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou should not eat? And the man said, the woman whom thou gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. And the LORD God said unto the woman, what is this that thou have done? And the woman said, the serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
Immediately we see Satan’s seed at work in the passing of blame. Adam puts the blame on his wife and unstated upon God for giving him Eve; the woman whom thou gave me, she gave me of the tree… fast followed by Eve who blamed the Serpent … he beguiled me. Satan’s seed is now sown in men, and peace is taken from the Earth.
And the LORD God said unto the serpent, because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
Unto the woman He said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. And unto Adam He said, because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life.
Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it was thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. (Genesis 3 1-19)
The temptation of Eve and Adam sets the foundation of the Testaments. It is from this moment; Satan now takes his place in the affairs men. By their transgression, Adam and Eve opened the door to today’s world; the LORD’s judgement passed on them is seen in our lives of toil. By their simple act of disobedience, the LORD now sets in motion a pre-ordered chain of events ending in His willing sacrifice for the debt of sin now sown in the generations to come. Satan not only put Adam and Eve to the test, he drew a line only Jesus could cross, and inadvertently springs the trap for his own ruin. The war has begun: the Light and the darkness contend for the souls of men.
The Serpent’s Trick
Satan’s appeal to Eve began with the enquiry, has God said? The word of God being challenged by Satan, led Eve in her reply to omit the word ‘whole’ when saying we may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden. God actually said (2:16) of the whole of the trees. Eve then added the words …and do not even touch it. (3:3) God only said (2:17) …you shall not eat.
And then by changing a certainty into a contingency, Eve changed God’s words in (2:17) from …you shall surely die to, lest you die. (3:3) Satan immediately picks up on Eve’s adaptation and reverses the decree by simply adding the word, ‘not’ in a questioning manner. Ye shall not surely die? He now challenges Eve that if she takes from the tree as he suggests, she will become like God knowing all things. It proved the decisive and fatal hook.
The LORD had commanded them not to go near the tree of knowledge of good and evil, but they did. So, the first thing we see is a change in their relationship with God. An irresistible third party has entered the conversation and put their loyalty to trial. They failed. Their sin was unbelief. Its penalty was to see themselves, not as the wonder of God’s affection, but carnal things of senses and appetites. It was the same failing David saw in himself, so foolish was I, and ignorant: I was as a beast before thee. (Psalm 73:22)
Eve had imagined wisdom, anticipated knowledge and fell by self-deception. The LORD’S resolute protection of ‘thou shalt not’ was breached when she desired and consumed. Aware of her wrong-doing she then draws Adam into her weakness, becoming as a serpent towards her husband. It was not the act of eating, but defiance, and inside their error Satan had left the unforeseen. Death had entered in the blink of an eye. But not only death at the curb of time: sickness, anxiety and despair now become part of the human condition. And, in attempt to escape the pace of today’s living in a Godless culture; drugs, alcohol and Prozac becomes the standard for many.
Therefore, as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin; and so death passed unto all men, for that all sinned: for until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not assigned when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the likeness of Adam’s transgression… (Romans 5:12-14)
Neither Adam nor Eve took possession of their failure; Adam blamed Eve, Eve blamed the Serpent. Without asking for an explanation the LORD judged them all. He set one rule to keep them safe as He set Commandments to keep us safe. Adam and Eve rejected the LORD’S protection falling victim to Satan’s treachery. Through their offspring, they would send Satan’s Seed down through the ages; a seed of cynicism and arrogance the LORD knew would kill them. When, Jesus said of Satan for he is a liar; and the father of it, He was speaking of this moment.
The seed sown in Eden is in all men. Its properties are self-delusion, and doubt and skepticism in the Gospel of Christ. John records that Jesus revealed Satan was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. (John 8:44) So, it was at the very beginning Satan caused mistrust to exist bringing conflict and death to the world. Not only did he disconnect Adam and Eve’s immortal existence, he caused Cain to murder his brother Abel. The first death soon followed the first lie.
The Beguiling of Men
There has been much written and discussed about Adam, Eve and Eden, and much speculation about the events in the Garden. Some question by what means the Serpent seduced Eve, favouring another type of narrative over the truth of Scripture. Some seek an interpretation showing a material seduction, while others use the fall as a cautionary tale to instil the principle of right and wrong regardless of faith. And, there are those who would tear it down. Our seduction is trying to understand a spiritual deception by attempting to wrap it in a human frame holding an apple.
The traditional account of Eve being tricked into eating an apple is of course wrong. There is no depiction of the fruit they ate. John Milton’s epic Paradise Lost is the basis of this romantic ruse, which has beguiled so many over the years. Its legacy has planted visually and sub-consciously the image of a snake and an apple; the former a flawed idea, the latter pure invention about which there is not one word in the entire Bible.
Never was Satan so devious in securing universal acceptance for this traditional yet mistaken belief, which has succeeded in fixing our attention on a lie, while blinding us to the truth. We know who, what and why; the how is neither here nor there. This kind of thinking confuses the issue, and obscures the important announcement of redemption to come. What’s important is the result: that we fully understand its ramifications in our lives.
The use of Serpent is an identifier …that old serpent, which is the Devil and Satan… (Rev 20:2) it is also descriptive of Satan’s approach to Eve. The Hebrew for serpent is nachash, which means to whisper, mesmerize, shine, captivate, charm or bewitch. Satan, portrayed as a serpent, illustrates his behaviour towards Eve. But it no more means a snake than when Judah is called a lion’s whelp; Dan an adder or Benjamin a wolf; (Genesis 49) or when Herod Antipas was called a fox. The use of serpent is to squarely identify Satan as the tempter in Eden.
The Eden fall resulted in the LORD’S judgement upon Adam, Eve and Satan. We now work by the sweat of our brow, and in labour bring forth each generation: the serpent was thrown to the earth. How art thou cut down to the ground? (Isaiah 14:12) His bright jewels scattered to the winds, Satan is exposed for all to see … I cast you to show what you are! (Ezekiel 28:18)
The perpetual struggle between the Light of truth and the Dragon of deception was declared on this day; and the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceives the whole world: he was cast out into the earth… (Rev 12:9) And while just and fitting correction was metered out by the LORD, salvation was also at hand. I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head and thou shall bruise its heel. (Gen 3:15)
Now, here is some insight on the seed of the woman, and head and heel, from the wonderful 18th Century evangelist, John Wesley.
Notice is here given them of three things concerning Christ. (1) His incarnation, that he should be the seed of the woman. (2) His sufferings and death, pointed at in Satan’s bruising his heel, that is, his human nature. (3) His victory over Satan thereby. Satan had now trampled upon the woman, and insulted over her; but the seed of the woman should be raised up in the fullness of time to avenge her quarrel, and to trample upon him, to spoil him, to lead him captive and to triumph over him. (John Wesley 1703-1791: Notes on the Bible)
Satan’s most useful device is to have us think there is nothing wrong, nothing to be done. Jesus has shown us through His Gospel; Peter and Paul through their letters, the light and the life Satan will take should you not act …because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about seeking whom he may devour. (1Peter 5:8) He would prefer you are unaware and remain so, because the uninformed are his to take. Satan wants you blind to the truth; deaf to the Word of God, and dumb to the Name Jesus ever passing your lips. Therefore:
Flee from sin as from the face of a serpent: for if thou come to near it, it will bite thee. The teeth thereof are as the teeth of a lion, slaying the souls of men. (Sir 21:2)
In love and Peace, James
Note on head and heel:
There are many meanings given for head Ro’sh and heel Aqeb, often dependent upon a word preceding or following. In the context of Genesis 3:15 they are (a) to proclaim (or be given) sovereignty or power (Ro’sh); and (b) as seen in Romans 16:20, to trample underfoot through the Grace and authority of Christ.
Note on Cain as a bodily seed:
Those who believe Cain was the actual issue of Satan; that Eve was physically seduced by Satan and gave birth to Cain as the Devil’s offspring set out on a dangerous path. Some have come to this conclusion by interpreting John …not as Cain who was of that wicked one… after their own belief. (1John 3:12) However, the verse ends …because his works were evil and his brother’s righteous.
Even though such a view can be supported by other Scripture: And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the ground, and daughters were born unto them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all that they chose. (Genesis 6:1-2) This actually refers to the lines of Adam and Cain prior to the Flood.
However, this scripture also validates the creation of men: male and female (Genesis 1:27) prior to Adam from the Earth (Genesis 2:7) and Eve from his rib. It also bears out Cain’s plea with God for protection (Genesis 4:14) at the time of his expulsion from Eden. Yet, there is a major flaw in this line of reasoning. If there was a physical line of Cain all Scriptural evidence supporting such opinion is antediluvian, apart from John’s Gospel, which speaks of the spirit. Any theoretical lineage of Cain was destroyed when the LORD cleansed the Earth in the time of Noah. Accordingly, there can be no physical seed alive today, even though a lineage does exist in Satan’s spiritual seed in men;