April 6: THE OLDEST LIE ON EARTH

Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.” Genesis 3:4

We are not given the time span between Lucifer’s fall from heaven (Isaiah 14:12; Revelation 12:9) and his conversation with Eve in the Garden of Eden. Whatever that length of time, a calculated strategy was formed in his rebellion against God. Why is Satan’s first recorded lie in Scripture squarely set upon the subject of death? As we approach the last days of earth’s history, the answer comes into clearer focus.

The success of Satan’s last-day deceptions is dependent upon our misunderstanding of death. These deceptions involve convincing people that they have seen and conversed with loved ones, friends, or saintly leaders who have died. We are repeatedly warned in Scripture not to fall for even the most convincing illusions that the dead are not dead, the most recent of which states: For they are spirits of demons, performing signs… (Revelation 16:14a).

Let us take a moment and consider the beauty of trees and their fruit: …the LORD God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil… saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat…” (Genesis 2:9,16,17)

Later in Scripture we are taught that trees can symbolize individuals (see Psalm 1:3; Revelation 7:1,3). This symbolism sheds new light as we review previously read passages with spiritual eyes that have been more widely opened. The presence of the tree of life in the garden symbolizes the Lord Himself, for He is the Source and Sustainer of life. The serpent, representing Satan himself, had been confined to a single tree called the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. When Eve wandered toward that tree, she engaged in conversation with the chief rebel against God. It was her personal decision to accept scornful words that contradicted the plain instruction of the Creator. In that acceptance, she was emboldened to eat from the one tree that was off limits – not that its fruit was poison, per se – but belief in the words of the enemy had a poisonous effect upon her mind and led to acts that reflected a tragically misplaced loyalty; loyalty that had shifted away from the Source of truth.

BLESSED is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper. Psalm 1:1-3

note: The Bible tells us that those who die return to the dust, know nothing and possess no mental powers, are not involved in activities of any kind, do not live, wait in the grave, continue not, and do not rise until Jesus’s second coming when He returns to collect the saved (Genesis 3:19; Psalm 104:29; Ecclesiastes 9:5,6; Psalm 146:4; 2 Kings 20:1; Job 17:13; 14:1,2,12; 2 Peter 3:10; Matthew 24:31; John 5:28, 1 Corinthians 15:52; 1 Thessalonians 4:16).