When God made it known to Adam and Eve early on that ‘in the day that you eat off that one tree in the garden...you shall surely die...’ (Gen. 2:17) ...who was the first one on the scene to cast doubt on what God said and then actually twisted it around to say just the opposite in order to deceive Eve? It was the ‘crafty serpent’ who appeared asking: “Did God really say this...?’ (Gen. 3:1). Then, after some subtle twisting of what God said, the serpent flat out told Eve...’you shall surely not die!’ (2-4).

Yes, that would be the same ‘serpent’ John wrote about in Revelation 12:7-9, who was cast down from heaven, a.k.a. ‘Satan’ and the ‘Devil...who deceives the whole earth’. So when both Adam and Eve ate off that tree, we are told: “the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew they were naked...” (Gen. 3:7). Prior to this ‘incident’, they knew no shame (Gen. 2:25), but now ...when they heard God’s voice as He walked through the cool of the day there in the garden, they hid themselves from the presence of the Lord’ (3:8).

Everything changed that day ... not only for Adam and Eve, but for all of humanity, their future offspring...all the way down to us today (Rom.5:12). And since we have all sinned (Rom. 3:23)...death and condemnation and wrath were upon us all, as Paul in forms us in Eph. 2:1-3. He also explains what happens to those who have a genuine encounter with Jesus Christ; they were/are ‘quickened and made alive’ in Him. But for those who have yet to truly come and surrender to the Savior...guess what ‘remains on them’? – The ‘wrath of God’ (John 3:36). Now take your time with this or you will miss it...

Jesus made it clear in John 3:17-18 that He did not come to condemn the world...because the world was ‘already condemned’. He came to ‘save us’. And what exactly did Jesus come to ‘save’ us from? The ‘wrath of God’ (Rom. 5:9).

I had someone point out a year or so ago, that after Adam and Eve ate off that tree...that they ‘clearly did not die’. And that is what trying to read the Bible through your ‘natural eyes of understanding’ will get you. What this person failed to recognize is the fact that sin brings separation between us and God, as Isaiah points out in 59:2. So in Gen. 3:24, we see where they were ‘shown the door’ and cast out of the garden where they had previously enjoyed the ongoing presence and fellowship with their Creator. Now that’s not to say that God just washed His hands of them and gave up on His creation; quite the contrary, as you discover when you read through the rest of your Bible. But it’s important for us to all see and come to terms with this fact: apart from God...we have no ‘life’; spiritual life, that is (John 5:40); which is exactly what Jesus came to offer you and I (John 10:10; 3:16).

Oh, one more note there from Genesis 3, where after confronted by God who found them hiding in some trees or bushes. God asked Eve: “What is this you have done?” And she responded: “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” (13)

How...did the serpent deceive Eve? He simply twisted God’s word around to say just the opposite. God gave them one command- ‘eat off this tree and you will die’; so the serpent assured her she would ‘surely not die’; and the rest they say...became history. So let me ask you a question: Are we not told in Ezek. 18:20 that the ‘soul that sins shall die’? Do we not read in Romans 6:23 that ‘the wages of sin is death’? Did Jesus not tell that man to ‘go and sin no more or something worse will happen to you’ (John 5:14)? Were we not warned by Jesus “unless you repent you will all likewise perish”, in Luke 13:3,5?

Do we read in 1 John 3:6 and 9 that whoever is born of God and abides in Him no longer sins? Does 1 John 5:18 affirm what we ‘should know’...that ‘whoever is born of God does not sin ...and the wicked one does not touch him’? When Peter reminds us that those who have ‘suffered in the flesh’ (result of putting it to death) have ‘ceased from sin...so they can do the will of God’ (1 Pet. 4:1-2)...what exactly does ‘cease’ mean to you?

Yet what is the majority of the ‘church world’ taught today? It’s certainly not what the Bible teaches since we’ve been convinced that we remain sinners...’saved by grace’, meaning we’ll always continue to sin on ‘this side of heaven’. And while a deceived group of people are looking forward to this great ‘gathering’ called the ‘rapture’, where we’ll all be whisked away from this evil, old world... before God really lowers the hammer of wrath on everyone else, who did Jesus seem to indicate would be ‘gathered up first’, in Matt. 13:30 and 41-42? Seems I read where all those who ‘practice lawlessness”(sin- 1 John 3:4) will be gathered up first and ‘disposed of’. “Then...the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father” (43).

And what about all those folks who figured they would be the first ones out on that ‘rapture bus’, most likely due to all the ‘great works they had done in the name of the Lord’ (Matt. 7:22)? Why were they told by Jesus: “Depart from Me”? It was because...they continued to practice sin” (7:23). Do you think it is possible that somewhere along the way...people like them (and us) may have heard ‘another gospel’ that pointed to ‘another Jesus’ and even led to us ‘receiving another spirit’, as Paul mentions in 2 Cor. 11:3-4? And look there how Paul began that ‘warning’...”I fear that in the same way the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ” (3)

Would you like to know what makes us so susceptible to ‘believing a lie’ that leads to our being deceived? It’s when we are not really interested in ‘knowing the truth’. And trust me, the number of folks who fall into that category is not a small number (Matt. 7:13-14; John 3:19-21). And looky here...I’m going to end today’s message by redirecting you back to the same passage I ended yesterday’s message on...by having you read once again, 2 Thes. 2:9-12, if you would please.

Have you ever noticed how often we are admonished throughout scripture to 'take heed...and be not deceived'? (Matt. 24:4; 1 Cor. 6:9; 15:33; Gal. 6:7; Eph. 5:6: James 1:16)

I would expect that some of you might be wanting to ask about now...’So where does ‘repentance’ and ‘grace and forgiveness’ and ‘Jesus and the cross’ come into all this? Join me here tomorrow and we’ll look at that; because it really is...’good news’! But I’ll also say it’s not what many of us have been led to believe.    If you are still hanging with me here on reading these...it is for good reason. And if you feel like you are wading into uncharted waters...stop, be still...and continue to ask the Lord to lead and guide you as He...confirms His word to you (Acts 17:11).  You can trust Him. Have a blessed day.