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Did Satan Lie In The Garden of Eden? The question above came up a few years ago in a Bible class. The teacher seemed to imply that Satan told the truth in the garden. Why? Because there was an element of truth in what Satan said. In order to answer our question, let us look at what Satan said, what happened, and some other passages that refer to the events in the garden. Eve told Satan what God had told her about eating the forbidden fruit. You shall not eat, nor shall you touch it, lest you die (Genesis 3:3). In response Satan said, You will not surely die (verse 4). Was this a lie? Adam and Eve did not immediately die physically, but they did die spiritually. When they sinned against God, they were separated from Him. Physically, they were condemned to die once the tree of life was taken from them (Genesis 3:22-24). To say that Satan was telling the truth in verse 4, one has to maintain that Adam and Eve were not separated from God and did not die physically. Such is simply not the case.Satan also told Eve that they would be like God (verse 5). Were they like God? They were afraid of Him. Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, "Where are you?" So he said, "I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself." Adam and Eve were not elevated to the position of being deity. They were still part of God’s creation.Satan also told the man and woman that they would know good and evil (verse 5). This part is true. Adam and Eve realized they were naked and were ashamed. They were afraid of God for they realized they had done that which was forbidden. However, having an "element" of truth in a statement does not change a lie into the truth. Abraham told Pharaoh that Sarah was his sister (Genesis 12:13). Such was intentionally misleading for God brought a plague upon Pharaoh. Upon learning the true relationship between Abraham and Sarah, Pharaoh said, Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’? I might have taken her as my wife. Now therefore, here is your wife; take her and go your way (Genesis 12:18-19).What was the result of Adam and Eve eating of the forbidden fruit? They were punished by God. To argue that Satan told them the truth and they then did what Satan wanted them to do means one must also argue that God punishes those who believe and obey the truth. Such is totally ridiculous. What did Jesus say about this event in the Garden of Eden? In John 8, Jesus told the Jews they were children of Satan. He said, You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he a liar and the father of it" (John 8:44, emphasis mine, D.T.). First of all, Jesus says there is no truth in Satan. The devil may state part of the truth, but he intentionally misleads people. False teachers will often use Bible passages to support their doctrine, but that does not make them right. Calling Satan the father of lies is like saying, Satan was the first liar. To what event was Jesus referring? I must admit I have no idea unless it was the lies told in the Garden of Eden.The Apostle Paul in Romans 5 compares Christ to Adam. Notice some of the things he writes about what Adam did in the Garden. Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all man, because all sinned (verse 12). Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam who is a type of Him who was to come (verse 14). Let me make the point again. Satan said they would not die when they ate of the forbidden fruit. But, Paul said death entered the world when Adam sinned against God. The results of Satan’s lies in the Garden of Eden and the disobedience of the man and woman remain to this day. When we sin, we die spiritually (Romans 6:23a). Physical death remains a fact of life. Each generation comes and goes. Thankfully we have the gift of God, Jesus Christ, and His sacrifice for our sins. It is through His blood and our faith that we can be justified before God (Romans 5:16). To minimize Satan’s lies in the Garden is to minimize the tragic results of sin and the greatness of God’s gift to mankind. --Dennis Tucker |