June 4: PILLAR FOR MULTIPLE DECEPTIONS
Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; [except] of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” Genesis 2:15-17
The assignment to tend and keep the garden was a wholesome, enjoyable, and fulfilling occupation. “God appointed labor as a blessing to man, to occupy his mind, to strengthen his body, and to develop his faculties. In mental and physical activity, Adam found one of the highest pleasures of his holy existence.” (Patriarchs and Prophets by EGWhite, p.50)
Everything in nature is governed by fixed, natural laws. But of all the inhabitants of earth, man alone is held accountable to moral law. The single forbidden tree, the one exception in the midst of hundreds (perhaps even thousands) of trees, was a simple test of loyalty to God. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil (2:9) is thus called because temptation works to make something that is evil appear good, or harmless. To personally know… good and evil does not automatically assume the ability to discern between the two. This must be learned. The adversary’s prime goal was to influence Eve to be disloyal to God’s command, placing Adam in a position where he must choose between going along with Eve or obedience to God. Satan leapt at his first opportunity to deceive her about God’s character; his seemingly authoritative denial of death—“You won’t really die…” (3:4)—is a pillar for his huge collection of false teachings. In essence, he portrays God as a liar. Nearly the entire world cultivates the belief that dead people are alive (this is spiritualism). Satan’s lie about death is the beginning of a great, flooding river of deceptions. The belief that dead people are not dead is behind much confusion in the world.
Our first parents were created to live eternally. They had access to the tree of life before they sinned (see Genesis 2:9 and 3:22,24), but their blessed existence upon a perfect earth was interrupted by their own sin. God had said “…in the day that you eat of [the one tree that is off-limits] you shall surely die.” The Bible tell us: beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day (2 Peter 3:8). According to God’s eternal timetable, Adam and Eve did not live to the end of one day with God (see Genesis 5:5). The enemy of souls teaches that souls cannot die, but that is not Biblical (see Ezekiel 18:4,20). This false teaching diminishes the glory of the gospel message which centers on Christ, who died—not for any sin that He committed, but for our sins. He was really and truly dead, taking sin’s full penalty upon Himself (Romans 6:23). Satan’s teachings dull our appreciation of the essential need for character transformation and the promise of resurrection at Christ’s glorious return.
Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection from the dead, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming. 1 Corinthians 15:12-15a, 22-23