THE ORIGIN OF AN ENEMY

The first book of the Bible tells of an opposer of God who showed up in the garden of Eden.  He is described as "the serpent,"  but he was not a mere animal.  The last book of the Bible identifies him as "the one called Devil and Satan, who is misleading the entire inhabited earth."  He is called "the original serpent."  (Genesis 3:1; Revelation 12:9)  This powerful angel, or invisible spirit creature, used a serpent to speak to Eve, even as a skilled person can make it seem that his voice  is  coming from a nearby doll or dummy. That spirit had not doubt been present when God prepared the earth for humans.-Job 38:4, 7.

Since all of Jehovah's creations are perfect, however,  who made this "Devil," this "Satan"?  Put simply, one of the powerful spirit sons of God turned himself into the Devil. How as this possible?  Well, today a person who was once decent and honest may become a thief.  How does that happen?  The person may allow a wrong desire to develop in his heart. If he keeps thinking about it, that wrong desire may become very strong. Then if the opportunity presents itself, he may act upon the bad desire that he has been thinking about. -James 1:13-15.

This happened in the case of Satan the Devil. He apparently heard God tell Adam and Eve to have children and to fill the earth with their offspring.  (Genesis 1:27, 28) 'Why all these humans could worship me rather than God!  Satan evidently thought.  So a wrong desire built up in his heart.  Eventually, he took action to deceive Eve by telling her lies about God.  (Genesis 3:1-5)  He thus became a "Devil," which means "Slanderer." At the same time, he became Satan," which means "Opposer." 

By using lies and trickery, Satan the Devil caused Adam and Eve to disobey God.  (No excuse, they were told by God not to do something and they should have listened)  (Genesis 2:17; 3:6) As a result, they eventually died, as God had said they would if they disobeyed. (Genesis 3:17-19) Since Adam became imperfect when he sinned, all his offspring inherited sin from him. (Romans 5:12)  The situation might be illustrated with a pan used for baking bread. If the pan has a dent in it, what happens to each loaf of bread made in the pan? Each loaf has a dent  or an imperfection, in it. Similarly, each human  has inherited a "dent" of imperfection from Adam.  That is why all humans grow old and die. -Romans 3:23.

Next time: Conclusion of THE ORIGIN OF AN ENEMY

From the book  What Does the Bible Really Teach? 2005 and 2006