View source for But First, Back to Eden

It is true that Adam and Eve rebelled against the Love of the Thrice Holy God in the Garden of Eden,
but they were not the original rebels. That distinction belongs to Satan, "that Old Serpent" (Revelation
20:2), who was present in the Garden as an "angel of light" (2Corinthians 11:14), in serpent form, to
beguile Eve. "And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the
garden?" (Genesis 3:1). The giving of a Commandment to obey or transgress, is God's way of making
apparent to us our Love for Himself, i.e., "If ye Love Me, keep My Commandments" (John 14:15), or
our rebellion of heart, i.e., "whose heart departeth from the LORD" (Jeremiah 17:5). 

Though "sin is
the transgression of the Law" (1John 3:4), before the command is transgressed, God is already
rejected in heart, i.e., "Against Thee, Thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Thy sight" (Psalm
51:4), His Love is already spurned, i.e., "The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I
have loved thee with an Everlasting Love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee"  (Jeremiah 31:3), and conﬁdence in Him Who is the "Fountain of Living Waters" (2:13) is already
withdrawn. 

"16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou
mayest freely eat: 17 But of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for
in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die" (Genesis 2:16-17). When Eve responded to
the Serpent, she embellished the LORD God's command to abstain from eating of the Tree of the
Knowledge of Good and Evil. "2 And the woman said unto the Serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the
trees of the garden: 3 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" (Jer 3:2-3).

True to his title as the Father of Lies (John 8:44), the Serpent distorted the Truth for selﬁsh gain. "And
the Serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die" (Genesis 3:4). Then, Satan allured Eve with
the same proud lie that moved him to commit the Original Sin-- that he ought to receive the same
worship as the Creator. "I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High"
(Isaiah 14:14). This lie has been perpetuated to all generations of unrighteous men. 

"Who changed the
Truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed
for ever. Amen" (Romans 1:25). Knowing that man ought to worship the Creator and not the creation,
Satan seduced Eve with the lie that she would become like God, if she ate of the Tree of the
Knowledge of Good and Evil. "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 3:5).

The lie that "ye shall be as gods" (3:5) or "like God", and thereby, to receive the worship that would
be normally directed to the Almighty, has been the driving passion of Satan, and is the epitome of the
ambition of the Antichrist. "Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is
worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the Temple of God, shewing himself that he is God"
(2Thessalonians 2:4). In essence, Satan desires the worship that rightfully belongs to God. 

"I am the
LORD: that is My Name: and My glory will I not give to another, neither My praise to graven
images" (Isaiah 42:8). Satan's rebellion is a symptom of his hatred and distrust of the Living God.
"For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou
hast rejected the Word of the LORD, He hath also rejected thee" (1Samuel 15:23).


'''[[The Original Rebellion]]'''