The first lie in the Bible on the earth was from Satan to Eve, and she believed and responded to that
lie based on secondhand information.
If you carefully re-read the previous chapter, this instruction to 'not eat of the tree of good and evil'
was given by God directly to Adam before Eve was created. That means Eve received this instruction
secondhand from Adam, not directly from God. This is like the party game 'Telephone'
where one person tells another person something, and by the time the message gets to the last person it is greatly distorted.
Note in Eve’s response she changed God’s instruction received by Adam in two subtle ways.
First she did not call it 'the tree of the knowledge of good and evil' (Genesis 2:17)
but instead referred to it as 'the tree in the midst of the garden' (3:3).
Then she elaborated on the instruction 'thou shalt not eat of it' (again in 2:17)
and added to it '...OR TOUCH IT' (lbid- 3:3 - also see Revelation 22:18!)
Satan used her secondhand understanding of God’s Word against her, which caused her to doubt,
and led to her making the biggest mistake in human history.
The lesson here hopefully is obvious. If you are depending to understand what God is saying to you in your life
through what other people are telling or teaching you, you are making the same grevious mistake as Eve!
Instead get it first from God directly through His Word the Bible, through prayer, and listening to what the
Holy Spirit is saying to your heart. As useful as going to church, hearing sermons,
Christian TV or YouTube videos are, reading Christian books or
seeing things in email or on the Internet (just like you are reading here!!) is
no substitute from reading and understanding God’s Word FOR YOURSELF.
Do not make the same mistake as Eve and miss the point and remember that
“no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own
(or someone else’s) interpretation.” (2 Peter 1:20)
The final authority is ALWAYS God’s Word, not what someone told you about it.
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