is will; that they were moral agents, free to obey or disobey.
There was but one prohibition that God had seen fit to lay upon
them as yet. If they should transgress the will of God, they would
surely die. They told Adam and Eve that the most exalted angel,
next in order to Christ, refused obedience to the law of God which
he had ordained to govern heavenly beings; that this rebellion
had caused war in Heaven which resulted in the rebellious being
expelled therefrom, and every angel was driven out of Heaven
who united with him in questioning the authority of the great
Jehovah; and that
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this fallen foe was now an enemy to all that concerned the interest
of God and his dear Son.
They told them that Satan purposed to do them harm, and
it was necessary for them to be guarded, for they might come in
contact with the fallen foe; but he could not harm them while they
yielded obedience to God’s command; for, if necessary, every
angel from Heaven would come to their help rather than that he
should in any way do them harm. But if they disobeyed the
command of God, then Satan would have power to ever annoy,
perplex, and trouble, them. If they remained steadfast against the
first insinuations of Satan, they were as secure as the heavenly
angels. But if they yielded to the tempter, He who spared not
the exalted angels, would not spare them. They must suffer the
penalty of their transgression; for the law of God was as sacred
as himself, and he required implicit obedience from all in Heaven
and on earth.
The angels cautioned Eve not to separate from her husband
in her employment; for she might be brought in contact with this
fallen foe. If separated from each other, they would be in greater
danger than if both were together. The angels charged them to
closely follow the instructions God had given them in reference
to the tree of knowledge; for in perfect obedience they were safe,
and this fallen foe could then have no power to deceive them. God
would not permit Satan to follow the holy pair with continual
temptations. He 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
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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, and at
once bring down the wrath of God upon them, and change their
songs of praise to hatred, and curses to their Maker.
Satan assumes the form of a serpent, and enters Eden. The
serpent was a beautiful creature, with wings; and while flying
through the air, his appearance was bright, resembling burnished
gold. He did not go upon the ground, but went from place to
place through the air, and ate fruit like man. Satan entered into
the serpent, and took his position in the tree of knowledge, and
commenced leisurely eating of the fruit.
Eve, unconsciously at first, separated from her husband in
her employment. When she became aware of the fact, she felt
that there might be danger; but again she thought herself secure,
even if she did not remain close by the side of her husband. She
had wisdom and strength to know if evil came, and to meet it.
This the angels had cautioned her not to do. Eve found herself
gazing with mingled curiosity and admiration upon the fruit of
the forbidden tree. She saw it was very lovely, and was reasoning
with herself why God had so decidedly prohibited their eating or
touching it. Now was Satan’s opportunity. He addressed her as
though he was able to divine her thoughts: “Yea, hath God said,
Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” Thus,
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with soft and pleasant words, and with musical voice, he
addressed the wondering Eve. She was startled to hear a serpent
speak. He extolled her beauty and exceeding loveliness, which
was not displeasing to Eve. But she was amazed, for she knew
that to the serpent God had not given the power of speech.
Eve’s curiosity was aroused. Instead of fleeing from the spot,
she listened to hear a serpent talk. It did not occur to her mind
that it might be that fallen foe, using the serpent as a medium. It
was Satan that spoke, not the serpent. Eve was beguiled, flattered,
infatuated. Had she met a commanding personage, possessing a
form like the angels, and resembling them, she would have been
upon her guard. But that strange voice should have driven her
to her husband’s side to inquire of him why another should thus
freely address her. But she enters into a controversy with the
serpent. She answers his question, “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.” The serpent answers, “Ye shall not
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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.”
Satan would convey the idea that by eating of the forbidden
tree, they would receive a new and more noble kind of knowledge
than they had hitherto attained. This has been his special work
with great success ever since his fall, to lead men to pry into the
secrets of the Almighty, and not to be satisfied with what God has
revealed, and not careful to obey tha
