The Ultimate Temptation

KEY VERSE: “The serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not 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.” —Genesis 3:4,5

SELECTED SCRIPTURE: Genesis 3:1-13

THE PERFECT LIFE that Adam and Eve enjoyed in the Garden of Eden came to an abrupt end. The Lord God had commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 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.”—Gen. 2:16,17

But the serpent beguiled Eve, using the words of our Key Text. We know that it was the Adversary, Satan, who used the serpent to tempt Eve. In Revelation 12:9 and 20:3, John spoke of him as “that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world.” Earlier, in his Gospel account, John had warned the Pharisees that they were of their “father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.”—John 8:44

Satan’s first lie was his contradiction of God’s words, “If thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die.” Satan told Eve, “Thou shalt not surely die.” Not only did Satan inform Eve that God had misled them by depriving them of the opportunity to eat the delicious fruit from the forbidden tree, but he also implied that God had ulterior motives for doing so. He intimated that the Lord wished to prevent Adam and Eve from becoming “wise” “like gods,” “knowing good and evil.”

Ever since that first lie was perpetrated, the majority of earth’s population seem to prefer it to the truth. The popular concept that man possesses an immortal soul is based upon Satan’s enormous untruth. The complete testimony of the Scriptures is clear and consistent in its expression that immortality is not an inherent quality possessed by man. The Apostle Paul wrote, “This mortal must put on immortality.” (I Cor. 15:53) In a very small proportion of cases—limited to just 144,001—immortality has been, or will be, bestowed for exceptional faithfulness evidenced against great odds and much duress. Our Lord Jesus was granted immortality upon his resurrection; and his faithful followers are also promised the same inexpressible reward upon their resurrection.—Rev. 14:1; II Pet. 1:4

The soul is not a separate entity, as many suppose. When man was created, “the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” It was the combination of the body formed from the elements of the ground and the breath of life, which constituted the living soul, or sentient being. The Scriptures are explicit in their agreement with Jehovah’s warning to Adam that if he sinned, he would die: “The soul that sinneth it shall die.” (Ezek. 18:4) Since Adam and Eve sinned, death has passed upon them and their descendants.

God was the one who set the punishment for disobedience, and who allowed the situation to develop whereby Eve could be deceived, leading Adam to disobey. But God also held out to them a ray of hope. He told Eve that her seed would eventually “bruise the serpent’s [Satan’s] head.” (Gen. 3:15) Many centuries later, in fulfillment of this promise, God sent his only begotten Son into the world to die as a ransom for Adam and all mankind. This release from the sentence of death will afford each one an entrance into Christ’s long-promised kingdom, and a new opportunity for life; that old serpent, Satan, the arch-enemy of God, will be destroyed.—I Cor. 15:25

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