r His wise and just law. When Satan became fully convinced that
there was no possibility of his being reinstated in the favor of God, he
manifested his malice with increased hatred and fiery vehemence.
God knew that such determined rebellion would not remain inactive.
Satan would invent means to annoy the heavenly angels and show
contempt for His authority. As he could not gain admission within the
gates of heaven, he would wait just at the entrance, to taunt the angels
and seek contention with them as they went in and out. He would seek
to destroy the happiness of Adam and Eve. He would endeavor to incite
them to rebellion, knowing that this would cause grief in heaven.
The Plot Against the Human Family
His followers were seeking him, and he aroused himself and,
assuming a look of defiance, informed them of his plans to wrest from
God the noble Adam and his companion Eve. If he could in any way
beguile them to disobedience, God would make some provision whereby
they might be pardoned, and then himself and all the fallen angels would
be in a fair way to share with them of God’s mercy. If this should fail,
they could unite with Adam and Eve, for when
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once they should transgress the law of God they would be subjects of
God’s wrath, like themselves. Their transgression would place them, also,
in a state of rebellion, and they could unite with Adam and Eve, take
possession of Eden, and hold it as their home. And if they could gain
access to the tree of life in the midst of the garden, their strength would,
they thought, be equal to that of the holy angels, and even God Himself
could not expel them.
Satan held a consultation with his evil angels. They did not all readily
unite to engage in this hazardous and terrible work. He told them that
he would not entrust any one of them to accomplish this work, for he
thought that he alone had wisdom sufficient to carry forward so important
an enterprise. He wished them to consider the matter while he should
leave them and seek retirement, to mature his plans. He sought to impress
upon them that this was their last and only hope. If they failed here,
all prospect of regaining and controlling heaven, or any part of God’s
creation, was hopeless.
Satan went alone to mature plans that would most surely secure the
fall of Adam and Eve. He had fears that his purposes might be defeated.
And again, even if he should be successful in leading Adam and Eve to
disobey the commandment of God, and thus become transgressors of His
law, and no good come to himself, his own case would not be improved;
his guilt would only be increased.
He shuddered at the thought of plunging the holy, happy pair into
the misery and remorse he was himself enduring. He seemed in a state of
indecision: at one time firm and determined, then hesitating and wavering.
His angels were seeking him, their leader, to acquaint him with their
decision. They would unite
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with Satan in his plans, and with him bear the responsibility and share the
consequences.
Satan cast off his feelings of despair and weakness, and, as their
leader, fortified himself to brave out the matter and do all in his power
to defy the authority of God and His Son. He acquainted them with his
plans. If he should come boldly upon Adam and Eve and make complaints
of God’s own Son, they would not listen to him for a moment but would
be prepared for such an attack. Should he seek to intimidate them because
of his power, so recently an angel in high authority, he could accomplish
nothing. He decided that cunning and deceit would do what might, or
force, could not.
Adam and Eve Warned
God assembled the angelic host to take measures to avert the
threatened evil. It was decided in heaven’s council for angels to visit
Eden and warn Adam that he was in danger from the foe. Two angels sped
on their way to visit our first parents. The holy pair received them with
joyful innocence, expressing their grateful thanks to their Creator for thus
surrounding them with such a profusion of His bounty. Everything lovely
and attractive was theirs to enjoy, and everything seemed wisely adapted
to their wants; and that which they prized above all other blessings, was
the society of the Son of God and the heavenly angels, for they had much
to relate to them at every visit, of their new discoveries of the beauties
of nature in their lovely Eden home, and they had many questions to ask
relative to many things which they could but indistinctly comprehend.
The angels graciously and lovingly gave them the information they
desired. They also gave them the
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sad history of Satan’s rebellion and fall. They then distinctly informed
them that the tree of knowledge was placed in the garden to be a pledge
of their obedience and love to God; that the high and happy estate of
the holy angels was to be retained upon condition of obedience; that
they were similarly situated; that they could obey the law of God and be
inexpressibly happy, or disobey and lose their high estate and be plunged
into hopeless despair.
They told Adam and Eve that God would not compel them to
obey—that He had not removed from them power to go contrary to His
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 had united with him in questioning the authority of the great
Jehovah; and that 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
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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.
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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 ple
