He that saith, I know him and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar and the truth is not in him.
(1 John 2:4)
Article Excerpts
Understandably, there is confusion regarding just what blasphemy is and what punishment it carries. There are biblical passages that speak of the blasphemer being put to death, others speak of his forgiveness. There are also the scriptures that speak of the blasphemy of the Holy Ghost which constitutes the unpardonable sin. Its not only imperative to understand how to avoid committing the unforgivable, but also to understand exactly why there is forgiveness for blasphemy against Jesus, but not against the Holy Spirit. Misunderstanding of this truth, sadly, has been used to give credence to the false teaching that Jesus is not God since blasphemy against Him is pardonable. What Is The Blasphemy Of The Holy Ghost And The Unpardonable Sin?
Genesis 3:4 reads, "...and the serpent said unto the woman, 'ye shall not surely die, for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.'"
In Geneses 3:6-7, it's recorded that Adam and Eve ate from the forbidden tree. Notice that later in the same chapter, verse 22, it's stated that, "...the Lord God said, 'behold the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil...'"
Although scripture plainly affirms that indeed both Adam and Eve died (KJV, Genesis. 5:5), revealing Satan as a liar, scripture doesn't deny that they became gods. It should be remembered that "Adam" refers to Adam and Eve as one unit(Genesis 5:2).
Is man therefore divine, being descendents of gods? The answer to this question cannot be given without first explaining what one quality must be present to identify any living being as a god.
The serpent's words to Eve were, "...ye shall be as gods knowing good and evil." Later, even God said, "...the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil...." Scripture can't teach any plainer that to know good and evil is to be a god. But, what does it really mean to know good and evil? It's very important to notice that scripture says that Eve sought wisdom from the tree. Wisdom is knowing what is right, or good, and what is wrong, or evil, what should be done and what should not be done, what is righteous and what is unrighteous.
To decide what's good and what's evil, one must have a system of laws by which he operates. If one steals in a land where theft is against the law, he has done evil, or wrong in the eyes of that judicial system. He is also subject to the penalty carried out against thieves.
God told Adam not to eat from the forbidden tree. This was the only law to obey in paradise. God created the law based purely on what he determined was good and what was evil, what was right and what was wrong. There were no other systems of law in the world. Therefore, the knowledge of good and evil rested only on what God called good and what he called evil. This was the only wisdom Adam and Eve possessed in the beginning.
The serpent offered Eve another wisdom that was represented by the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of what is good and what is evil, outside of God's viewpoint. Their newfound wisdom allowed them to decide for themselves what to call good and what to call evil. It is the attainment of this knowledge that opened their eyes to the fact that their disobedience gained them a certain independence from God's moral law and freedom to establish their own, to be a god unto themselves, wise in their own eyes, not God's. This state of mind brought on terrible confusion leading to man deciding to call good what God called evil and vice versa. The serpent truly told them these things would happen, and they did. However, the new wisdom and knowledge of good and evil, outside of God, the opening of their eyes, and their new independence turned out to be horribly distorted, twisted and warped from how nice the serpent had made it sound.
Perhaps they didn't know that God would say, "thou shalt have no other gods before me" (Exodus 20:3). This command condemns a man being a god to himself. Perhaps they didn't know scripture would say, "woe unto them that call evil good and good evil, that put darkness for light, and light for darkness, that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter. Woe unt them that are wise in their own eyes and prudent in their own sight" (Isaiah 5:20-21)!
What went wrong with Adam and Eve becoming gods, having a wisdom and knowledge of what to call good and what to call evil independently of what God thinks? Everything, for them and all of mankind whose punishment was to be tormented by inevitable death and confusion over the meaning of life which simply is to serve God and enjoy his glorious presence (Ecclesiastes 12:13).
One question remains. How were Adam and Eve to know God would say such things since the scriptures had not yet been written? How could they have possibly understood the consequences that would come from their disobedience? Did't God fail to explain to them the awful trouble into which not only they would fall, but all of their posterity? Isn't this unfair on God's part? Obviously, God doesn't see it that way according to what's recorded in scripture. But, does man agree with him?
When one judges something that God does as fair or unfair, what is he doing? Is he not using his wisdom and his own reasoning to decide whether God is being good or evil? Is this not exactly the new wisdom to challenge God that Adam and Eve received and passed on to their children?
To look at it another way, consider that God truly did not go into detail with Adam and Eve on the horrors that would result from rebellion. However, could two people who were born in paradise, perfection, purity, and total innocence, never having seen anything bad, really imagine the ugliness of the world today, even if God had told them? It defies common sense to believe such. Is God not a parent? Are there not times when parents forbid their children from doing things without explaining to them why? The parent that tells his young child not to go off with strangers cannot make him understand the evil that the stranger may inflict on him. Sometimes when children question why they cannot do something, the parent responds with, "simply because I told you not to."
Christians, if they are going to abstain from eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, must learn to grow up to be obedient little children in the Lord, obeying him in understanding and in confusion. This is their protection. This is their wisdom. This is the only knowledge of good and evil they need. This is their righteousness.
Did the serpent really lie to Adam and Eve? Yes, he lied about them not dying, but he did tell them the truth regarding their eyes coming open. It's also what he did not tell them that counts. In conclusion, the serpent deceived Eve, just as he continues to deceive all of her offspring that listen to his distorted messages.
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