Satan's Lies

Ye shall not surely die

Adam, Eve, and the Serpent

God issues instructions not to eat of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, but Satan tells a lie

Genesis 3:1-19

1) Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

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.

4) And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:

5) 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.

6) And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

7) And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

8) And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.

9) And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?

10) And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.

11) And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?

12) And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.

13) And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.

14) And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:

15) And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

16) Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.

17) And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;

18) Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;

19) In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

This is the very first example we are given in the bible where Satan deceives Eve, then Adam. The command was previously given in:

Genesis 2:16-17

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.

The Forumla:

If you notice, there is a formula written here that Satan follows:

Genesis 3

1- Ask a question ("Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?")

2- The direct command is provided ("And the woman said unto the serpent, 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 hat said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.")

3- The lie ("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.")

4- Human reasoning and lust sets in ("And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.")

5- Punishment (vs 14-19 "And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.")

1 Kings 31

1- Ask the question (vs 14-16 "And went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak: and he said unto him, Art thou the man of God that camest from Judah? And he said, I am. Then he said unto him, Come home with me, and eat bread. And he said, I may not return with thee, nor go in with thee: neither will I eat bread nor drink water with thee in this place:")

2- The direct comman was provided (vs 9 "For so was it charged me by the word of the LORD, saying, Eat no bread, nor drink water, nor turn again by the same way that thou camest.")

3-The lie (vs 18 "He said unto him, I am a prophet also as thou art; and an angel spake unto me by the word of the LORD, saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied unto him.")

4- Human reasoning and lust sets in ( vs 19 "So he went back with him, and did eat bread in his house, and drank water.")

5- Punishment (vs20-24 "And it came to pass, as they sat at the table, that the word of the LORD came unto the prophet that brought him back: And he cried unto the man of God that came from Judah, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Forasmuch as thou hast disobeyed the mouth of the LORD, and hast not kept the commandment which the LORD thy God commanded thee, But camest back, and hast eaten bread and drunk water in the place, of the which the LORD did say to thee, Eat no bread, and drink no water; thy carcase shall not come unto the sepulchre of thy fathers. And it came to pass, after he had eaten bread, and after he had drunk, that he saddled for him the ass, to wit, for the prophet whom he had brought back. And when he was gone, a lion met him by the way, and slew him: and his carcase was cast in the way, and the ass stood by it, the lion also stood by the carcase.")

The Man of God

Here is that same formula at work. God issues the command not to eat and drink, nor go back the same way he came in. The lie is told, and God holds the "man of God" to account:

1 Kings 31 1-33

1) And, behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the LORD unto Bethel: and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense.

2) And he cried against the altar in the word of the LORD, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith the LORD; Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men's bones shall be burnt upon thee.

3) And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign which the LORD hath spoken; Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out.

4) And it came to pass, when king Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God, which had cried against the altar in Bethel, that he put forth his hand from the altar, saying, Lay hold on him. And his hand, which he put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not pull it in again to him.

5) The altar also was rent, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the LORD.

6) And the king answered and said unto the man of God, Intreat now the face of the LORD thy God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored me again. And the man of God besought the LORD, and the king's hand was restored him again, and became as it was before.

7) And the king said unto the man of God, Come home with me, and refresh thyself, and I will give thee a reward.

8) And the man of God said unto the king, If thou wilt give me half thine house, I will not go in with thee, neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place:

9) For so was it charged me by the word of the LORD, saying, Eat no bread, nor drink water, nor turn again by the same way that thou camest.

10) So he went another way, and returned not by the way that he came to Bethel.

11) Now there dwelt an old prophet in Bethel; and his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel: the words which he had spoken unto the king, them they told also to their father.

12) And their father said unto them, What way went he? For his sons had seen what way the man of God went, which came from Judah.

13) And he said unto his sons, Saddle me the ass. So they saddled him the ass: and he rode thereon,

14) And went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak: and he said unto him, Art thou the man of God that camest from Judah? And he said, I am.

15) Then he said unto him, Come home with me, and eat bread.

16) And he said, I may not return with thee, nor go in with thee: neither will I eat bread nor drink water with thee in this place:

17) For it was said to me by the word of the LORD, Thou shalt eat no bread nor drink water there, nor turn again to go by the way that thou camest.

18) He said unto him, I am a prophet also as thou art; and an angel spake unto me by the word of the LORD, saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied unto him.

19) So he went back with him, and did eat bread in his house, and drank water.

20) And it came to pass, as they sat at the table, that the word of the LORD came unto the prophet that brought him back:

21) And he cried unto the man of God that came from Judah, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Forasmuch as thou hast disobeyed the mouth of the LORD, and hast not kept the commandment which the LORD thy God commanded thee,

22) But camest back, and hast eaten bread and drunk water in the place, of the which the LORD did say to thee, Eat no bread, and drink no water; thy carcase shall not come unto the sepulchre of thy fathers.

23) And it came to pass, after he had eaten bread, and after he had drunk, that he saddled for him the ass, to wit, for the prophet whom he had brought back.

24) And when he was gone, a lion met him by the way, and slew him: and his carcase was cast in the way, and the ass stood by it, the lion also stood by the carcase.

25) And, behold, men passed by, and saw the carcase cast in the way, and the lion standing by the carcase: and they came and told it in the city where the old prophet dwelt.

26) And when the prophet that brought him back from the way heard thereof, he said, It is the man of God, who was disobedient unto the word of the LORD: therefore the LORD hath delivered him unto the lion, which hath torn him, and slain him, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake unto him.

27) And he spake to his sons, saying, Saddle me the ass. And they saddled him.

28) And he went and found his carcase cast in the way, and the ass and the lion standing by the carcase: the lion had not eaten the carcase, nor torn the ass.

29) And the prophet took up the carcase of the man of God, and laid it upon the ass, and brought it back: and the old prophet came to the city, to mourn and to bury him.

30) And he laid his carcase in his own grave; and they mourned over him, saying, Alas, my brother!

31) And it came to pass, after he had buried him, that he spake to his sons, saying, When I am dead, then bury me in the sepulchre wherein the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones:

32) For the saying which he cried by the word of the LORD against the altar in Bethel, and against all the houses of the high places which are in the cities of Samaria, shall surely come to pass.

33) After this thing Jeroboam returned not from his evil way, but made again of the lowest of the people priests of the high places: whosoever would, he consecrated him, and he became one of the priests of the high places.

34) And this thing became sin unto the house of Jeroboam, even to cut it off, and to destroy it from off the face of the earth.

This formula that Satan uses works. He has deceived the whole world.

1 John 3:4

4) Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.

Revelation 12:9

9) And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

You can apply this formula to anything that a church doctrine tries to explain. Whether it be a Sunday from a Monday Pentecost, or whether or not we are to observe New Moons as a Sabbath, follow a Jewish postponement rule, an International Dateline change, it has to follow God's Laws, Statutes, and Judgments, and fall within God's command. That is the rule we are to follow. Don't fall for Satan's lie, or allow human reasoning and lust to make us fall like Eve and Adam did.

Deuteronomy 12:32

32) What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.

It could be said that, "Scripture never instructs us to use it as a pattern for evaluating disagreements." However, 2 Timothy 3:16-17 states:

16) All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

17) That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

If I read Genesis 3's example as a narrative, I can assume that because Adam and Eve were previously told that if they ate of the forbidden fruit they would die, that when Satan deceived them into believing they would not die, that this could be applied as a recognizable pattern one should avoid, if one wants to learn from history in order not to repeat it. The end result is found in Romans 6:23:

Romans 6:23

23) For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

The "Lie" that Satans uses to deceive the Elect is that they are NOT under God's laws, statutes, and judgments ("ye shall not surely die...) because they don't apply to you..." whereas Christ said, "If ye love me, keep my Commandments." The same person who gave the laws, statutes and judgments (God) also said this:

Matthew 5:17-19

17) Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.

18) For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

19) Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Human reasoning is dangerous? Jeremiah said this:

Jeremiah 17:9

9)The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

If we refuse to keep God's Commandments, Paul said, "the carnal mind is not subject to the law of God."

Romans 8:1-10

1) There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

2) For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

3) For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:

4) That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

5) For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.

6) For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

7) Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.

8) So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

9) But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

10) And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.