The First Great Lie

Most people believe that when they die, they will live on in some form, which will be of a more exalted nature than the lives we live on this dreary little planet, which revolves around a rather inconspicuous yellow dwarf star which we call the sun. Thus nearly all men believe the first great lie which the serpent spoke to Eve, which was `ye shall not die'.

`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? 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 hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it lest ye die. (Genesis 3:1-3)

The serpent of course represents, Lucifer, or the Devil and Satan as he became known after he aspired to be equal with Christ, and was cast out of heaven after he instigated war in heaven (Revelation 12:7-9).  Scripture tells us  that:

 `Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall. (Proverbs 16:18).

It was in heaven itself where the principal of Eros was first established; for when Lucifer began to take great pride in himself, he consequently became the great usurper and attempted to take the throne of God by force. This is in direct contrast with the unconditional love of Christ, which was demonstrated to us at Calvary:  

`Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God.' (Philippians 2:5-8)

The mind of Christ which the apostle bade be in us is a mind which is totally void of `self', for it gives of itself freely, without the consideration of a hope of a reward in heaven. Nor do those who let this mind be in them that was in Christ Jesus fear the judgement; for this perfect mind of `Agape' that was `in' Christ  `casteth out fear' (1 John 4:18);  for their most important consideration is the welfare of those which the Agape of Christ compels them to reach out to. Christ thought it not robbery to be equal with God, simply because He is equal with the Father. In a legal sense, a robber is known as a usurper when he attempts to seize the power and rights of another without the legal authority to do so. Thus it was when Lucifer attempted to usurp the kingdom of God. But when he failed to do this, he then attempted to usurp the kingdom of earth, and when Adam and Eve fell into sin, so did he wrest this world from Christ, and became `the prince of this world'. (John 12:31).  

The Serpent knew that if Eve could be enticed to leave her husband's side, then he might deceive her into eating of the forbidden fruit . If that were to happen, then perhaps her husband might also do the same out of the love which he had for her. The serpent could then claim this world by default and claim all of their progeny as his own - for none would be able to rise higher than Adam's fallen estate. But the serpent's plans were thwarted when Christ informed him that:

`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 heal'. (Genesis 3:15)

Christ informed the serpent that mankind would not be abandoned to the wages of sin which the serpent wreaked upon the progeny of the fallen pair, for He Himself would repair the breach which the pair had made after the serpent beguiled them. As the pen of inspiration informs us:

`The tree of knowledge had been made a test of their obedience and their love to God. The Lord had seen fit to lay upon them but one prohibition as to the use of all that was in the garden; but if they should disregard His will in this particular, they would incur the guilt of transgression. Satan was not to follow them with continual temptations; he could have access to them only at the forbidden tree. Should they attempt to investigate its nature, they would be exposed to his wiles. They were admonished to give careful heed to the warning which God had sent them and to be content with the instruction which He had seen fit to impart . . . ' (`Patriarchs & Prophets', p. 53)

They were expressly forbidden to eat of the fruit of the tree, `lest ye die.' Thus Satan chose to beguile Eve by choosing the medium of a serpent, which was a beautiful creature which flew through the air on wings of shining gold. He believed that his dazzling brightness, companied with the richness of the fruit that was forbidden to the pair, would entice the woman to leave her husband's side and eat of that which was forbidden. The serpent directly contradicted God when he stated that she would not die:

` Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the days ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil'. (Genesis 3:4-5)

When the Serpent deceived Eve with this first great lie, he sought to sow in her mind disbelief in the Word of God, and insinuated that by eating of the forbidden fruit she would instead enter an exalted state of existence by which she would gain wisdom which Christ Himself selfishly desired to withhold from her. If Adam followed her lead, then the pair would be `as gods, knowing good and evil' . By using this direct turn of phrase, the Serpent insinuated that they were in fact equal with God, for they could not die.

The original Hebrew of Genesis 3:6 informs us that after listening to the beguiling words of the Serpent, Eve began to covet the forbidden fruit:

` 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.' (Genesis 3:6)

The phrase `pleasant to the eyes' is comprised of two Hebrew words, which are `ta'vah' and `ayin'. While `ta'vah' means to covet, or to lust, `ayin' is singular and means  eye, such as in the spiritual eye of the mind and soul; for just as in verse five, where Eve was informed by the Serpent that `then shall your eyes be opened', in both instances `ayin is used. This is confirmed in verse 6, which informs us that the Tree of Knowledge was `a tree to be desired to make one wise'.  Therefore, after Eve had spoken to the Serpent, she coveted the forbidden fruit, so that she might attain a more exalted existence by which she might gain wisdom that was forbidden to her. This hidden wisdom is alluded to in verse three, where the Serpent informed the pair that `ye shall be as gods, knowing the difference between good and evil'.

`The Serpent promised Adam and Eve that their eyes would 'be opened' if they ate of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. The key word in this passage is eyes, which in Hebrew can be translated 'knowledge.' Opened can be translated 'broadened.' What the Serpent promised Adam and Eve was that knowledge would be broadened if they ate of the forbidden fruit. But the most foreboding aspect of this scripture emerges from the fact that the Hebrew word for 'eyes' is not plural, but singular. What the Serpent actually told Adam and Eve was that their 'eye' would be broadened by knowledge. The 'eye' that Scripture wants us to consider is not the physical organ of sight, but the eye of the mind or the soul. This singular 'eye' is called the 'third eye' of clairvoyance in the Hindu religion, the eye of Osiris in Egypt, and the All-Seeing Eye in Freemasonry.' (`Scarlet and the Beast, Vol. III, 6-7, John Daniel, 1995, pp. 6-7.)

This first great lie sowed the seeds of the natural immortality of the soul in the minds of men and is the basis of every pagan religion on earth, where `self' is exulted at the expense of all others and religion becomes that of self acquisition. It eventually led to the descendants of Cain believing in pantheism (pan: all; theos: god, thus `all is god').

A common teaching associated with pantheism, or `New Age' belief, as it has come to be known, is that if the `third eye' is opened, then the mind will become receptive to hidden knowledge of the esoteric mysteries. The serpent promised Adam and Eve that if they ate of the `forbidden fruit' of the Tree of Knowledge, then this `eye of the soul' would be opened, and they would be as Gods, and would have access to this hidden knowledge.  

One of the basic principles of Eros, is that when we behold something we desire, we then take it - for it operates from the basic principle that `might is right'. So it was with Eve. When she first saw the brilliant splendour of the Serpent, who had arrayed himself so that the forbidden fruit  further added to his beauty, she was mesmerized, took the fruit and ate of it. Thus she fell from her natural estate of selflessness (which in the New Testament is called `Agape'), and into the mind of selfishness.

One natural attribute of this fallen mind which Eve acquired from Satan, is that it believes that only that which already has inherent value in itself is worth acquiring. This equated with the Greek conception of virtue, which the Greeks called `Eros', for Eros in fact described the Greek conception of love, which is that a man lay down his life for friends. Yet this in fact teaches that only the good are worth saving, and at best is non love, or anti-love; for Christ lay down His life for us, `while we were yet sinners . . . For if, when we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life' (Romans 5:8).

Eros is in fact the selfish mind of Satan - and it is this mind which Eve received from him when she fell and came directly under his control. It's primary concern is of self and of the fear of judgment, for directly after they sinned, the pair hid from God. The woman blamed the Serpent for her transgression, and the man blamed the woman; for both feared to be judged as guilty before God and therefore worthy of death. The `blame game' comes to us naturally when we operate from the principle of `Eros'.

It is this mind which the apostle called the carnal mind, and equates to the `old man' of sin. It is summed up by the famous words Veni, vidi, vici; which is the phrase which the Roman Emperor Julius Caesar used when described his victories; it translates as `I came, I saw, I conquered.' This base principle of Eros has been perpetuated ever since by the treatment of  women as sex objects - a man whose nature has not been subdued by the mind of Christ sees a woman who is beautiful, he desires her, and he then attempts to take her. It has also led to the veneration of the Mother Goddess cult; which is the cult of Gaia; the world soul; where the role of the man as the spiritual leader is reversed with the woman, and the woman instead rules over the man - for Eve ruled over Adam when she was bewitched by the Serpent and enticed her husband to also eat of the forbidden fruit. Modern feminism is firmly rooted in the Mother Goddess cult.  

We find this underlying principle of `Eros' - the selfish minding taking by force that which it has no lawful right to, and thus usurp the kingdom of God by making His commandments of none effect, first being applied when the sons of God `took them wives of all that they chose.'

`And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they [were] fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.' (Genesis 6:2)

 If we look at Eve coveting the forbidden fruit and then taking it (Genesis 3:6) , we find that in the original Hebrew the word which is used for `took'  (laqach') is the same word which is used when the sons of God took themselves wives. Thus we find that by this time the underlying principles of `Eros' had become firmly established and the first great lie then led to the formation of every pagan religion known to man, as mankind began to believe that the soul is immortal of itself and cannot die. Thus the dualism which is intimately associated with it; which is the belief that God is both male and female, as well as good and evil - led to goddess worship as roles became reversed and nearly all of mankind began to believe that they have an inherent immortality which deems that we are `little gods' who cannot die.

As immortality is the sole province of God, the Serpent insinuated that if Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit, the more exalted existence that they would enter into would be the realization of their True Self;  which is `New Age' parlance which infers that they are `little gods' who cannot die. This first great lie lay the foundation for the doctrine of the natural immortality of the soul - and the majority of men and women who have ever lived have believed it ever since. Yet there is another great deception associated with this first great lie which few ever consider. As the soul is considered to be immortal, then the gravity of sin is made of no effect and the `wages of sin' becomes degraded - for when the majority of people think that `the first great lie' speaks of the first death, or (as the majority of Christians believe) - soul death; the death which Christ actually meant when he informed them that they would die - was in fact the second death! There are few today who comprehend this fact. This belief lies at the base of every error which corrupts the character of God, by presenting to us the idea that God is a God of `Eros' - which is to say that only the good are worth saving!