Shortly after Adam and Eve were created, Satan, observing this and their Eden home, contemplated introducing them into rebellion by leading them to break God’s explicit command.
“His followers were seeking him. He arose, assuming a look of defiance, and 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 he and all the fallen angels would share with them God’s mercy. If this should fail, they could unite with Adam and Eve; for when 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.” {1SP 30.4}
“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.” {1SP 31.1}
“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.” {1SP 31.2}
“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 will unite with Satan in his plans, and with him bear the responsibility, and share the consequences.” {1SP 32.1}
“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.” {1SP 32.2}
“Satan, with associate rebellious angels, having swerved from his allegiance to the Lord God, the only Potentate, was driven from Heaven, and the holy angels who became disloyal and untrue help him as he seeks to conform all things to his image and to infuse his own nature into individuals. Stimulated with hatred against God’s holy law, he approaches man, seeking to gain his attention that he may misrepresent and falsify God. His hellish plots would efface from our world the image of the Divine, and stamp his own hateful, apostate image on the human soul. He could not employ force, but [with] the attention and the will given to him, he can act upon minds. When Satan dissolved relationship with the universe, and the Son of God in particular, he became altogether selfish, and ceasing to be a universal good, he became a universal evil.” {Ms4-1891.5}
Heaven observed all of this and God decided to do something to save Adam and Eve, He would send them a warning and inform them about everything.
“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.” {1SP 32.3}
“The angels graciously and lovingly gave them the information they desired. They also gave them the 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.” {1SP 33.1}
Let us remember, God’s Law is the expression of His will, His word, the revelation of what God loves and doesn’t love, what He wills and what He doesn’t - and thus the expression of His character and authority.
“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 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.” {1SP 33.2}
After this, the angels warned Adam and Eve clearly and directly regarding the enemy’s plan to bring them also into sin:
“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.” {1SP 34.1}
What is important to notice here is that God’s word, the expression of His will, this is actually God’s Law, everything He says that is His will, this is what expresses what He is, what He loves and doesn’t love - and breaking His word, that is, His Law, is actually an attack on His authority and thus the greatest crime and treason. And that is why sin is exceedingly sinful.
“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.” {1SP 34.2}
“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 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.” {1SP 34.3}
The reason we read so thoroughly is precisely to notice some important details that will be important for our understanding in later studies, as well as for understanding the great controversy and the plan of salvation and the meaning of all of this.
“While they remained true to God, Adam and his companion were to bear rule over the earth. Unlimited control was given them over every living thing. The lion and the lamb sported peacefully around them or lay down together at their feet. The happy birds flitted about them without fear; and as their glad songs ascended to the praise of their Creator, Adam and Eve united with them in thanksgiving to the Father and the Son.” {PP 50.2}
After that, Eve first wandered away from Adam during her work, and approached the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
“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, 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.” {1SP 35.2}
Let us notice a few things here about how the fall into sin and transgression of God’s explicit command occurs:
- Eve first wandered away from her husband, for which she had been warned, and when she first felt that there was danger, she ignored it by convincing herself that she was wise enough to recognize evil and that she was actually safe. This was the first step.
- She gave place to indulge her curiosity when she observed the forbidden tree, and thus opened herself to open communication with the devil. It is necessary to control one’s curiosity about what God has forbidden, not questioning God’s wisdom, even when we don’t understand why He has forbidden something.
- When the devil speaks to us something directly contrary to God’s word, or something that questions God’s word, and presents his ideas above God’s commandments, we should immediately reject it and stop listening and not continue the conversation, and turn away from temptation. This is what Eve failed to do.
“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…” {1SP 36.1}
“Eve had wandered near the forbidden tree, and her curiosity was aroused to know how death could be concealed in the fruit of this fair tree. She was surprised to hear her queries taken up and repeated by a strange voice. “Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden.” Eve was not aware that she had revealed her thoughts by conversing to herself aloud; therefore, she was greatly astonished to hear her queries repeated by a serpent. She really thought the serpent had a knowledge of her thoughts, and that he must be very wise. She answered him, “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. And 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.” {RH February 24, 1874, par. 12}
“Here the father of lies made his assertion in direct contradiction to the expressed word of God. Satan assured Eve that she was created immortal, and that there was no possibility of her dying. He told her that God knew that if they ate of the tree of knowledge their understanding would be enlightened, expanded, and ennobled, making them equal with himself. And the serpent answered Eve, that the command of God forbidding them to eat of the tree of knowledge was given them to keep them in a state of subordination, that they should not obtain knowledge, which was power. He assured her that the fruit of this tree was desirable above every other tree in the garden to make one wise and exalt them equal with God. He has, said the serpent, refused you the fruit of the tree which is of all the trees the most desirable for its delicious flavor and exhilarating influence. Eve thought the discourse of the serpent very wise. She viewed the prohibition of God unjust. She looked with longing desire upon the tree laden with fruit which appeared very delicious. The serpent was eating it with apparent delight. She longed for this fruit above all the fruit of every variety which God had given her a perfect right to use.” {RH February 24, 1874, par. 13}
“Eve had overstated the words of God’s command. He had said to Adam and Eve, “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil thou shalt not eat of it; for in the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” In Eve’s controversy with the serpent, she added the clause, “Neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.” Here the subtlety of the serpent was seen. This statement of Eve gave him advantage, and he plucked the fruit, and placed it in her hand, and used her own words, “He hath said, ‘If ye touch it, ye shall die.’ You see no harm comes to you from touching the fruit, neither will you receive any harm by eating it.” Eve yielded to the lying sophistry of the devil in the form of a serpent. She ate the fruit, and realized no immediate harm. She then plucked the fruit for herself and for her husband. “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.” {RH February 24, 1874, par. 14}
Let us mention a few more things about how the fall continues:
- Continuing to talk about what God has explicitly forbidden leads to loss of reason, and man further becomes weak and unprotected because he has set aside God’s Word when he questioned it, and it was his shield.
- Eve added something more to God’s words, which the enemy readily used to lead her to look wrongly at God, as unjust. Adding creates a weak point.
- After the enemy described God to her as unjust and as One who hides something from them or doesn’t want them to have something that would elevate them even more, Eve didn’t even there refuse to further listen to perversions of the character of her good Father full of love whom she had known until now and had enjoyed hearing Him. She didn’t stop to think and remember what God is like and how she had actually known Him. Carelessly passing over knowledge and memory of God’s blessings and love brings man into a state of weakness and he becomes easy prey for the devil’s evil suggestions about God.
“Adam and Eve should have been perfectly satisfied with the knowledge of God in his created works, and by the instruction of the holy angels. But their curiosity was aroused to become acquainted with that of which God designed they should have no knowledge. It was for their happiness to be ignorant of sin. The high state of knowledge to which they thought to attain by eating of the forbidden fruit plunged them into the degradation of sin and guilt.” {RH February 24, 1874, par. 15}
The only new knowledge they gained was the knowledge of evil, sin and guilt, nothing else. They already had knowledge of good before this, and now they were deceived into gaining only the experience, that is, knowledge of evil.
All of this that was happening was being watched by all Heaven and the universe. They were very tense and very worried while all this was happening:
“With what intense interest the whole universe watched the conflict that was to decide the position of Adam and Eve. How attentively the angels listened to the words of Satan, the originator of sin, as he placed his own ideas above the commands of God, and sought to make of none effect the law of God through his deceptive reasoning! How anxiously they waited to see if the holy pair would be deluded by the tempter, and yield to his arts. They asked themselves, Will the holy pair transfer their faith and love from the Father and Son to Satan? Will they accept his falsehoods as truth? They knew that they might refrain from taking the fruit, and obey the positive injunction of God, or they might violate the express command of their Creator.” (Ellen G. White, Signs of the Times, 12th May 1890, ‘God’s requirements in grace, the same as in paradise’)
Let us remember, Adam and Eve were warned:
“Our first parents were not left without a warning of the danger that threatened them. Heavenly messengers opened to them the history of Satan’s fall and his plots for their destruction, unfolding more fully the nature of the divine government, which the prince of evil was trying to overthrow.” {Ms140-1903.4}
From the Father and Son they had every sign of love and goodness and had no external reason not to believe God and Christ. Therefore the enemy had to somehow try with distorted understanding to lead the holy pair to doubt God’s goodness and sincerity. Connected with this, he tried to lead Eve to speculation and doubt about God’s clear revelation of truth and His will. Here lie some very important lessons for us today because the same principles are repeated and revealed today:
“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 that which he has commanded. He would lead them to disobey God’s commands, and then make them believe that they are entering a wonderful field of knowledge. This is purely supposition, and a miserable deception. They fail to understand what God has revealed, and disregard his explicit commandments, and aspire after wisdom, independent of God, and seek to understand that which he has been pleased to withhold from mortals. They are elated with their ideas of progression, and charmed with their own vain philosophy; but grope in midnight darkness relative to true knowledge. They are ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.” {1SP 36.2}
Everything that goes directly contrary to explicit and clear words of God is vain philosophy from Satan. And we should not enter into suppositions about anything that God has not revealed. We should strictly hold to what Scripture reveals, and use only biblical terms and expressions to understand revealed truth and not fall into false theories about which Scripture actually reveals nothing.
Eve now goes to talk with Adam, after she has fallen:
“She related to him the wise discourse of the serpent, and wished to conduct him at once to the tree of knowledge. She told him she had eaten of the fruit, and instead of her feeling any sense of death, she realized a pleasing, exhilarating influence. As soon as Eve had disobeyed, she became a powerful medium through which to occasion the fall of her husband.” {1SP 38.1}
“I saw a sadness come over the countenance of Adam. He appeared afraid and astonished. A struggle appeared to be going on in his mind. He told Eve he was quite certain that this was the foe that they had been warned against; and if so, that she must die. She assured him she felt no ill effects, but rather a very pleasant influence, and entreated him to eat.” {1SP 39.1}
“Adam quite well understood that his companion had transgressed the only prohibition laid upon them as a test of their fidelity and love. Eve reasoned that the serpent said they should not surely die, and his words must be true, for she felt no signs of God’s displeasure, but a pleasant influence, as she imagined the angels felt. Adam regretted that Eve had left his side; but now the deed was done. He must be separated from her whose society he had loved so well. How could he have it thus? His love for Eve was strong. And in utter discouragement he resolved to share her fate. He reasoned that Eve was a part of himself; and if she must die, he would die with her; for he could not bear the thought of separation from her. He lacked faith in his merciful and benevolent Creator. He did not think that God, who had formed him out of the dust of the ground into a living, beautiful form, and had created Eve to be his companion, could supply her place. After all, might not the words of this wise serpent be correct? Eve was before him, just as lovely and beautiful, and apparently as innocent, as before this act of disobedience. She expressed greater, higher love for him than before her disobedience, as the effects of the fruit she had eaten. He saw in her no signs of death. She had told him of the happy influence of the fruit, of her ardent love for him, and he decided to brave the consequences. He seized the fruit and quickly ate it, and, like Eve, felt not immediately its ill effects.” {1SP 39.2}
In Scripture it says:
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.
Here are some very important lessons for us regarding sin. When someone close to us sins, because we are emotionally connected to that person, it is a greater temptation for us to sin with that person, but we don’t have to do this. God should be first and above all and everything, and He is the one we should listen to and follow, showing that we love Him more than all and everything, and that we will not be turned away from faithfulness to Him even if we remain alone.
We should also remember that God knows everything and knows our needs and will not leave us alone and that He will be with us and provide everything we need. We should not make anyone our idol.
Let us keep in mind that those who often express some unusually strong love and faithfulness to us, while at the same time breaking God’s commandments, actually don’t have real deep love because they don’t love God and are not aware of what they are doing and under whose influence they are, and that they are deceiving themselves having sick imagination and sick feelings through sin, and we should not be deceived or seduced by them or listen to them. Those who break God’s explicit commandments are under the enemy’s influence and don’t have true love, neither do they love God nor their neighbors:
2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.
Adam and Eve wore garments of light before sin, but after the fall into sin that light disappeared.
“The white robe of innocence was worn by our first parents when they were placed by God in holy Eden. They lived in perfect conformity to the will of God. All the strength of their affections was given to their heavenly Father. A beautiful soft light, the light of God, enshrouded the holy pair. This robe of light was a symbol of their spiritual garments of heavenly innocence. Had they remained true to God it would ever have continued to enshroud them. But when sin entered, they severed their connection with God, and the light that had encircled them departed. Naked and ashamed, they tried to supply the place of the heavenly garments by sewing together fig leaves for a covering.” {COL 310.4}
“God instructed our first parents in regard to the tree of knowledge, and they were fully informed relative to the fall of Satan, and the danger of listening to his suggestions. He did not deprive them of the power of eating the forbidden fruit. He left them as free moral agents to believe his word, obey his commandments and live, or believe the tempter, disobey and perish. They both ate, and the great wisdom they obtained was the knowledge of sin, and a sense of guilt. The covering of light about them soon disappeared, and under a sense of guilt, and loss of their divine covering, a shivering seized them, and they tried to cover their exposed forms. The Lord would not have them investigate the fruit of the tree of knowledge, for then they would be exposed to Satan masked. He knew that they would be perfectly safe if they touched not the fruit.” {1SP 40.2}
“Our first parents chose to believe the words, as they thought, of a serpent; yet he had given them no tokens of his love. He had done nothing for their happiness and benefit; while God had given them everything that was good for food, and pleasant to the sight. Everywhere the eye might rest was abundance and beauty; yet Eve was deceived by the serpent, to think that there was something withheld which would make them wise, even as God. Instead of believing and confiding in God, she basely distrusted his goodness, and cherished the words of Satan.” {1SP 40.3}
“At the first advent of Christ, Satan had brought man down from his original, exalted purity, and had dimmed the fine gold with sin. He had transformed the man, created to be a sovereign in Eden, to a slave in the earth, groaning under the curse of sin. The halo of glory, which God had given holy Adam, covering him as a garment, departed from him after his transgression. The light of God’s glory could not cover disobedience and sin. In the place of health and plentitude of blessings, poverty, sickness, and suffering of every type, were to be the portion of the children of Adam.” {RH July 28, 1874, par. 13}
“After Adam’s transgression he at first imagined that he felt the rising to a new and higher existence. But soon the thought of his transgression terrified him. The air that had been of a mild and even temperature, seemed to chill them. The guilty pair had a sense of sin. They felt a dread of the future, a sense of want, a nakedness of soul. The sweet love, and peace, and happy, contented bliss, seemed removed from them, and in its place a want of something came over them that they never experienced before. They then for the first turned their attention to the external. They had not been clothed, but were draped in light as were the heavenly angels. This light which had enshrouded them departed. To relieve the sense of lack and nakedness which they realized, their attention was directed to seek a covering for their forms; for how could they meet the eye of God and angels unclothed?” {1SP 41.1}
“Their crime is now before them in its true light. Their transgression of God’s express command assumes a clearer character. Adam censured Eve’s folly in leaving his side, and being deceived by the serpent. They both flattered themselves that God, who had given them everything to make them happy, might yet excuse their disobedience, because of his great love to them, and that their punishment would not be so dreadful, after all.” {1SP 41.2}
These are very important lessons for us today because the same things, the same deceptions and wrong conclusions from Adam and Eve are repeated everywhere in the world and in the church today. Therefore it is very important for us to pay attention to these lessons and adopt them for ourselves personally.
“Satan exulted in his success. He had now tempted the woman to distrust God, to question his wisdom, and to seek to penetrate his all-wise plans. And through her he had also caused the overthrow of Adam, who, in consequence of his love for Eve, disobeyed the command of God, and fell with her.” {1SP 42.1}
“The news of man’s fall spread through Heaven—every harp was hushed. The angels cast their crowns from their heads in sorrow. All Heaven was in agitation. The angels were grieved at the base ingratitude of man, in return for the rich bounties God had provided. A council was held to decide what must be done with the guilty pair. The angels feared that they would put forth the hand, and eat of the tree of life, and thus perpetuate a life of sin.” {1SP 42.2}
CHANGES AFTER THE FALL:
Here is what all changed after the fall into sin:
Satan will now be able to tempt them often and easily, throughout their entire lives:
“The race from that time forward was to be afflicted by Satan’s temptations. A life of perpetual toil and anxiety was appointed unto Adam, instead of the happy, cheerful labor he had hitherto enjoyed. They should be subject to disappointment, grief and pain, and finally come to dissolution. They were made of the dust of the earth, and unto dust should they return.” {1SP 43.2}
“The earth was cursed because of Adam’s sin, and was ever after to bring forth briers and thorns. Adam was to be exposed to the temptations of Satan while he lived, and was to finally pass through death to dust again.” {RH February 24, 1874, par. 20}
“Satan was determined to succeed in his temptation with the sinless Adam and Eve. And he could reach even the holy pair more successfully through the medium of appetite than in any other way. The fruit of the forbidden tree seemed pleasant to the eye and desirable to the taste. They ate and fell. They transgressed God’s just command and became sinners. Satan’s triumph was complete. He then had the vantage-ground over the race. He flattered himself that he had through his subtlety thwarted the purpose of God in the creation of man.” {RH, February 24, 1874, par. 18}
Their faithfulness determined whether they would remain in Eden.
“This was the test of their obedience. God was the owner of their Eden home. They held it under Him.” {Ms102-1903.39}
“They were informed that they would have to lose their Eden home. They had yielded to Satan’s deception and believed the word of Satan, that God would lie. By their transgression they had opened a way for Satan to gain access to them more readily, and it was not safe for them to remain in the garden of Eden, lest in their state of sin, they gain access to the tree of life, and perpetuate a life of sin. They entreated to be permitted to remain, although they acknowledged that they had forfeited all right to blissful Eden. They promised that they would in the future yield to God implicit obedience. They were informed that in their fall from innocence to guilt, they gained no strength but great weakness. They had not preserved their integrity while they were in a state of holy, happy innocence, and they would have far less strength to remain true and loyal in a state of conscious guilt. They were filled with keenest anguish and remorse. They now realized that the penalty of sin was death.” {1SP 44.1}
The fall into sin changed Adam’s relationship with God:
“Adam listened to the temptation of Satan. He believed a lie, and thus greatly dishonored God. He had not a semblance of an excuse for his transgression, and his disobedience changed his relation to God. The law can in no case pardon the transgressor. It can only condemn the guilty. Adam had to meet God over His broken law. His fatal disobedience brings out with clear prominence that of which the apostle writes, “For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous."" {Ms153-1899.33}
Together with Adam and Eve, the entire human race was estranged from God:
“Having lost his place in heaven, Satan presented his temptations to our first parents. Adam and Eve yielded to the enemy, and by their disobedience humanity was estranged from God, and the earth was separated from heaven.” {3TT 268.2}
After the fall, Adam’s nature changed:
“God did not create man sinful. Adam came forth from the hand of his Maker without the taint of evil. The holy pair might have retained their innocence, had they lived by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God, had they refused to listen to the strange voice declaring another story than that which God had told them. But they abused their high and holy privileges. They were left free to choose between good and evil, and they chose the evil. And as they chose to believe the lie of Satan and disobey the express command of God, that which was pure and godlike in their nature became perverted and defiled.” {ST August 26, 1897, par. 4}
“When man sinned, all heaven was filled with sorrow; for through yielding to temptation, man became the enemy of God, a partaker of the satanic nature. The image of God in which he had been created was marred and distorted. The character of man was out of harmony with the character of God; for through sin man became carnal, and the carnal heart is enmity against God, is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.” {ST December 15, 1914, par. 6}
Adam could have formed a noble and firm character through temptation and strengthened his faithfulness to God:
“The Lord placed man upon probation, that he might form a character of steadfast integrity for his own happiness and for the glory of his Creator. He had endowed Adam with powers of mind superior to any living creature that he had made. His mental powers were but little lower than those of the angels. He could become familiar with the sublimity and glory of nature, and understand the character of his Heavenly Father in his created works. Everything that his eye rested upon in the immensity of the Father’s works, provided with a lavish hand, testified of his love and infinite power. Amid the glories of Eden the goodness and wisdom of God were traced in everything the eye rested upon.” {RH February 24, 1874, par. 9}
Everything could have been different, they could have remained faithful and happy forever.
“If Adam and Eve had never touched the forbidden tree, the Lord would have imparted to them knowledge, knowledge upon which rested no curse of sin, knowledge that would have brought them everlasting joy. All that they gained by their disobedience was an acquaintance with sin and its results.” {3TT 268.3}
Knowledge of sin is experience in disobedience:
“The forbidden tree was as attractive and lovely as any of the trees in the garden. It was called the tree of knowledge, because in partaking of that tree, of which God had said “Thou shalt not eat of it,” they would have a knowledge of sin, an experience in disobedience.” {RH February 24, 1874, par. 11}
This temptation and fall happened as soon as the world was created, right at the beginning:
“As soon as the Lord through Jesus Christ created our world, and placed Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden, Satan announced his purpose to conform to his own nature the father and mother of all humanity, and to unite them with his own ranks of rebellion. He was determined to efface the image of God from the human posterity, and trace his own image upon the soul in place of the divine image. He adopted methods of deception by which to accomplish his purpose. He is called the father of lies, an accuser of God and of those who maintain their allegiance to God, a murderer from the beginning. He put forth every power at his command to win man to co-operate with him in apostasy, and succeeded in bringing rebellion into our world.” {RH April 14, 1896, par. 4}
God and Christ knew from the beginning everything that would happen:
“From the beginning, God and Christ knew of the apostasy of Satan, and of the fall of man through the deceptive power of the apostate.” {DA 22.2}
The way Satan led Adam and Eve to sin was through misrepresenting God’s character:
“In dealing with sin, God could employ only methods of righteousness and truth. Satan has sought to falsify the Word of God, to misrepresent His plan of government before angels and men. Satan’s rebellion has been repeated over and over again in the history of our race—a perpetual testimony as to the nature and results of sin and the working out of Satan’s rule. Its sure effects on both men and angels speak loudly as to what will ever be the fruit of setting aside the light God sends and of rejecting His authority.” {Lt 66, 1909, par. 9}
“From the beginning it has been Satan’s plan to lead men to forget God, that he might secure them to himself. To do this he has misrepresented the character of God, and has led men to cherish false ideas of him. The Creator has been presented to their minds as possessing the attributes of the prince of evil himself,—as arbitrary, severe, and unforgiving,—that he might be feared, shunned, and even hated by men. It was by thus falsifying the character of God and exciting distrust of him, that Satan tempted Eve to transgress. By sin the minds of our first parents were darkened, and their natures were degraded. As men became bolder in sin, the knowledge and the love of God faded from their minds and hearts. “Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God,” they “became vain in their imagination, and their foolish heart was darkened."" {SW April 28, 1908, par. 1}
Many consider Adam’s sin small, and the punishment too great. What was really the severity of Adam’s sin? Here is how we should look at the question of obedience or disobedience:
“Many regard the punishment of Adam’s transgression as too severe a penalty for so small a sin. The enemy of all righteousness has blinded the eyes of sinners, so that sin does not appear sinful. Their standard of what constitutes sin is vastly different from God’s standard. Should those who regard Adam’s sin as a matter of very small consequence look a little deeper, they would see the great mercy of God in giving Adam the smallest possible test. It could scarcely be called a self-denial on his part to refrain from partaking of the fruit of the tree of knowledge, for he already had everything necessary to supply his wants. A compassionate God gave no severe test, no strong temptation that would tax human endurance beyond the power to resist. The fruit itself was harmless. If God had not forbidden Adam and Eve to partake of the fruit of the tree of knowledge, their action in taking it would not have been sinful. Up to the moment of God’s prohibition, Adam might have eaten of the fruit of that tree without realizing any harm. But after God had said, Thou shalt not eat, the act became a crime of great magnitude. Adam had disobeyed God. In this was his sin. The very fact that Adam’s trial was small, made his sin exceeding great. God tested him in that which was least, to prove him; and with the prohibition he stated that the punishment consequent upon his disobedience would be death. If Adam could not bear this smallest of tests to prove his loyalty, he surely could not have endured a stronger trial had he been taken into closer relationship with God, to bear higher responsibilities. He evidenced that God could not trust him; should he be exposed to Satan’s more determined attacks, he would signally fail.” {ST January 23, 1879, par. 14}
“God created man in his own image, after his likeness, free from sin, and with organs well developed. The earth was to be populated with intelligent beings who were only a little lower than the angels. But God would first prove the holy pair, and test their obedience; for he would not have a world filled with beings who would disregard his laws. Adam did the worst thing he could do under the circumstances. In doing that which God had expressly forbidden he set his will against the will of God, thus waging war with his requirements. The pen of inspiration has with accuracy traced the history of our first parents’ sin and fall, that all generations may be warned not to follow Adam’s example, in the slightest disregard of God’s requirements. Had the test been in regard to larger matters, men might have excused the sin of disobedience in what they call smaller things. But God made the test with Adam upon things that are least, to show man that the slightest disobedience to his requirements is sin in every sense of the word. God, the Governor of the universe, has made all things subject to law; things apparently insignificant, and things of the greatest magnitude, are all governed by laws adapted to their natures. Nothing that God has made has been forgotten or left to blind chance. To man, as being endowed with reasoning powers and conscience, God’s moral law is given to control his actions. Man is not compelled to obey. He may defy God’s law, as did Adam, and take the fearful consequences; or by living in harmony with that law he may reap the rewards of obedience.” {ST January 23, 1879, par. 15}
“The question, “What difference does it make what day we keep for Sabbath?” is often asked. Just the same as it did with Adam, it made every difference whether he should obey God and not eat of the tree of knowledge, or whether he should yield to Satan’s specious reasoning and say, “What difference does it make whether I eat of the fruit of this forbidden tree or the rest of the trees in the garden?” Adam’s sin in doing the very things the Lord told him not to do was his disobedience and transgression and opened the floodgates of woe to our world.” {Ms1-1892.8}
“The life of Christ is to be carefully meditated upon and to be constantly studied with a desire to understand the reason why He had to come at all. We can only form our conclusions by searching the Scriptures as Christ has enjoined upon us to do for says He, “they testify of me.” [John 5
.] We may find, by searching the Word, the virtues of obedience in contrast with the sinfulness of disobedience. “As by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.” [Romans 5
.]” {Ms1-1892.9}
“The Garden of Eden, with its foul blot of disobedience, is to be carefully studied and compared with the Garden of Gethsemane where the world’s Redeemer suffered superhuman agony when the sins of the whole world were rolled upon Him. Listen to the prayer of the only begotten Son of God, “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I wilt but as thou wilt.” [Matthew 26: 39] And the second time He prayed saying, “O my Father if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.” [Verse 42.] And the third time He prayed saying the same words. It was here the mysterious cup trembled in the hands of the Son of God. Shall He wipe the bloody sweat from His agonized countenance and let man go? The wail, wretchedness, and ruin of a lost world rolls up its horrible picture before Him. “And being in an agony he prayed the more earnestly; and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” “And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.” [Luke 22: 44, 43] The conflict is ended, Jesus consents to honor His Father by doing His will and bearing His curse, the consequence of man’s transgression. He was obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Here was what was involved in Adam’s disobedience and what the obedience of the Son of God means to us. Adam did not consider all the consequences resulting from his disobedience. He did not set his mind in defiance against God, nor did he in any way speak against God; he simply went directly contrary to His express command. And how many today are doing the very same thing, and their guilt is of much great magnitude because they have the example of Adam’s experience in disobedience and its terrible results to warn them of the consequences of transgressing the law of God. So they have clear light upon this subject, and no excuse for their guilt in denying and disobeying God’s authority. Adam did not stop to calculate the result of his disobedience.” {Ms1-1892.10}
“Adam yielded to temptation, and as we had the matter of sin and its consequences laid so distinctly before us, we can read from cause to effect and see the greatness of the act is not that which constitutes sin; but the disobedience of God’s expressed will, which is a virtual denial of God, refusing the laws of His government. The happiness of man is in his obedience to the laws of God. In his obedience to God’s law he is surrounded as with a hedge and kept from the evil. No man can be happy and depart from God’s specified requirements, and set up a standard of his own which he decides he can safely follow. Then there would be a variety of standards to suit the different minds, and the government [would be] taken out of the Lord’s hands and human beings [would] grasp the reins of government.” {Ms1-1892.11}
“The law of self is erected, the will of man is made supreme, and when the high and holy will of God is presented to be obeyed, respected, and honored, the human will wants its own way, and to choose how far it shall [go] to do its own promptings, and there is controversy between the human agent and the divine.” {Ms1-1892.12}
“The fall of our first parents broke the golden chain of implicit obedience of the human will to the divine. Obedience has no longer been deemed an absolute necessity. The human agents follow their own imaginations which the Lord said of the inhabitants of the old world were evil and that continually. The Lord Jesus declares, I have kept my Father’s commandments. [John 15:10.] How? As a man. Lo, I come to do Thy will, O God. To the accusations of the Jews He stood forth in His pure, virtuous, holy character and challenged them, “Who of you, convinceth me of sin?” [John 8:46]” {Ms1-1892.13}
“Jesus says, “Follow me,” “He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” [John 8:12] Consider it not a hard duty. The commandments of God are His expressed character flowing out of a heart of love, of thoughtful plans that man may be preserved from every evil. They are not an arbitrary authority over man, but the Lord would have men as His obedient children and members of His own family.” {Ms1-1892.20}
In connection with this, Satan claims precisely that, that we cannot keep God’s commandments after Adam’s fall. But God’s commandments are not burdensome and Christ proved this when He came to the world:
“The world’s Redeemer passed over the ground where Adam fell because of his disobeying the expressed law of Jehovah; and the only begotten Son of God came to our world as a man, to reveal to the world that men could keep the law of God. Satan, the fallen angel, had declared that no man could keep the law of God after the disobedience of Adam.” {Ms1-1892.1}
Here again we see that the Law is what God forbade Adam, that is, what He told him. God’s Word is Law.
Scripture says:
23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
The consequences of sin were terrible. Despite the fact that the wages of sin is indeed death, yet God found a way to show mercy to man and give him another chance and restore him, if man will want to accept it. About this, about the plan of salvation, we will study in the next two installments.