Genesis 3:2-5: “Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied. “It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’” “You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.”

Has Satan ever promised you a better life by tempting you? Why do you suppose Satan had to appear to Eve as a serpent and not himself? Satan is a fallen angel; he doesn’t have a physical body. Therefore, he uses vessels to carry out his evil deeds. The Bible warns us about the wisdom of the serpent so that we won’t fall prey to his deceptive ways when approached by him. Paul tells us that Satan will appear as an angel of light. Since there is no truth in Satan, then the “light” that he offers to his victims is false hope.

Paul also teaches in 1 Corinthians 11 that Eve was seduced by the serpent. There’s another meaning for the term “seduced”—it’s “cheat.” Satan promised Eve that she would be like God if she ate the forbidden fruit. This caused her to turn her heart from the Lord and His will. When Adam and Eve ate of the fruit of the tree of knowledge together, their eyes opened, and they knew they were naked. Instead of Satan’s lies producing “God-likeness “as he had promised it would, it robbed them of the blessings and of the relationship they previously had with God. Eve had been seduced—cheated.

Satan can’t seduce us, unless he first obtains our attention and cooperation. He accomplishes this through the spirit of offense, which works together with the spirit of seduction. First of all, Satan had to convince Eve that God was holding something back and had lied about the repercussions of eating from the tree of knowledge. After the serpent convinced Eve that God had rejected her and lied to her, she then turned her heart to see sin as a viable option to becoming blessed.

Whenever we take on a spirit of offense against God because life doesn’t go according to “our” plans, it will cause us to turn away from His Word and will. Once Satan has gotten us to turn from the Lord, we become prey for him to seduce through compromise in the hope of being blessed without having to obey God’s commands. The end result of obeying the spirit of seduction is bondage and loss of God’s blessing and liberty. The following Scriptures confirm that what I have written to you today is the truth:

Deuteronomy 30:15-20: Now listen! Today I am giving you a choice between life and death, between prosperity and disaster. For I command you this day to love the Lord your God and to keep His commands, decrees, and regulations by walking in His ways. If you do this, you will live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you and the land you are about to enter and occupy. “But if your heart turns away and you refuse to listen, and if you are drawn away to serve and worship other gods, then I warn you now that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live a long, good life in the land you are crossing the Jordan to occupy. “Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! You can make this choice by loving the Lord your God, obeying Him, and committing yourself firmly to Him. This is the key to your life. And if you love and obey the Lord, you will live long in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

Let’s compare the “God said” in  the above Scripture to Scripture found in the book of Genesis:

God said, “If your heart turns so that you do not hear.” Genesis account: Eve looked at the fruit and saw that it was good.

God said, “And are drawn away and worship other gods and serve them.” Genesis account: Eve ate the fruit and gave to her husband with her, and he did eat. They worshiped and served self and not God.

God said, “You shall surely perish.” Genesis account: And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew they were naked.

Satan promised them the world, but through seduction, he stripped them of their authority and their blessings from God.  —submitted by Pastor Asa Dockery, US