May you have peace!
The Bible says that Satan is the one who has the means to cause death, not Adam and not God. If God allowed Satan (infinitely more experienced than Adam or Eve) to trick Eve and tempt Adam to disobey, it was not a fair situation.
I would have to disagree with you, dear CL, first because of the mistransliteraion of the verse you quote which, in Greek, says that Satan has "the power" to cause death. Having the means... and having the power... are not the same thing. You have been misled. Second, the Most Holy One of Israel did not “allow” Satan to do anything of the sort. Adam, Eve… and Satan… were all enticed by their own desires, not Gods:
“When under trial, let no one say: ‘I am being tried by God.’ For with evil things God cannot be tried nor does he himself try anyone. But each one is tried by being drawn out and enticed by his own desire. Then the desire, when it has become fertile, gives birth to sin; in turn, sin, when it has been accomplished, brings forth death.” James 1:13-15
It was Satan’s own desires that led him to sin:
“In Eden, the garden of God, you proved to be. Every precious stone was your covering, ruby, topaz and jasper; chrysolite, onyx and jade; sapphire, turquoise and emerald; and of gold was the workmanship of your settings and your sockets in you. In the day of your being created they were made ready. You are the anointed cherub that is covering, and I have set you. On the holy mountain of God you proved to be. In the midst of fiery stones you walked about. You were faultless in your ways from the day of your being created until unrighteousness was found… in you. Because of the abundance of your sale goods they filled the midst of you with violence and you began to sin. And I shall put you as profane of the mountain of God, and I shall destroy you, O cherub that is covering, from the midst of the fiery stones. Your heart became haughty because of your beauty. You brought your wisdom to ruin on account of your beaming splendor. Onto the earth I shall throw you…” Ezekiel 28:13-17
And because of HIS own desires, he exploited desires he saw in Adam and Eve, Adam, to “be like God, knowing good and bad,” and Eve, to eat what she desired, although she had been warned not to eat:
“For God knows that in the very day of your eating from it your eyes are bound to be opened and you are bound to be like God, knowing good and bad. “Consequently, the woman saw that the tree was good for food and that it was something to be longed for to the eyes, yes, the tree was desirable to look upon. So she began taking of its fruit and eating it.”Genesis 3:5, 6
But it was Adam and Eve who allowed it, not God. How? By not guarding their hearts but instead giving Satan power over them. You see, while it is true that the NWT version states that Satan is the one with the “’means’ to cause death,” the true Greek rendering is that he had “the power to cause death.” And this is true: Satan has whatever power God… or we… give him. We know that God never gave him the power to cause us death:
“Look! Everything that he has is in your hand. Only against him himself do NOT thrust out your hand!” and “There he is in your hand. Only watch out for his soul itself!”Job 1:12; 2:6
Like Adam, however, we often give Satan such power over us! How? By letting him exploit our own desires to the point that we do what Eve did: allow the desire to become fertile and give birth to sin. And the “wage” that sin pays... is death. It is when we OPPOSE him, however, that he has no power over us. Unfortunately, we more often than not succumb to his power, rather than oppose him, which is why we need a redeemer. You see, even though Adam initially “sold” us into death, we continually “sell” ourselves into sin… and thus death… too! There is One, however, who’s blood can “atone” for our sins… and thus repurchase us from death. That One, the one to whom ALL “authority,” has been given… in heaven AND on earth… is the One with the means to cause death (i.e., let Death “feed”), as well as undo it:
“And I saw a star that had fallen from heaven to the earth, and the key of the pit of the abyss was given him.”Revelation 9:1
“They have over them a king, the angel of the abyss. In Hebrew his name is Avaddohn, but in Greek he has the name Apollyon” (Destroyer).Revelation 9:11
“Neither be murmurers, just as some of them murmured, only to perish by the Destroyer.”1 Corinthians 10:10
“By faith he had celebrated the Passover and the splashing of the blood that the Destroyer might not touch their firstborn ones.”Hebrews 11:28
“… and I have the keys of death and of Hades.”Revelation 1:18
“For the LORD will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the LORD will pass over the door, and will not suffer the Destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite [you].”Exodus 12:23
Having the means… and having the power… is not the same thing. Today, only God and Christ have the means for bringing about death, the Destroyer, whom they have “authority” over. But it was not always like this: because at one time he was equal to Christ, Adam, too, had the means:
“That is why, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death… through sin… and thus death spread to all men, because they had all sinned…”Romans 5:12
“For if by the trespass of the one man death ruled as king, through that one…”Romans 5:17
“For since death is through a man, resurrection of the dead is also through a man. For just as in Adam all are dying, so also in the Christ all will be made alive.”1 Corinthians 15:21
Which brings me to RV's comments:
If I withheld something necessary for my child to live I would be considered a murderer.
I must vehemently beg to differ, dear RV. First, even in our law “murder” is that which is premeditated or results from wanton disregard. So, yes, if you sat down and concocted a plan whereby your child needed something to live and your purposefully withheld it so as to cause that child’s death… you would be a murderer. Not just considered one. If, however, you withheld something from your child… to save someone else’s life… indeed, a ga-zillion someone elses, you would not be considered a murderer: even in this world, you would be considered a “hero.” I only need to point to the poor kids dying in Iraq and other wars to make that point: certain governments “withhold” the ability to return home… which is necessary for some of those folks to live. Yet, very few are crying “Murder!” Why? Because those folks CHOSE to go. They belong to the government they serve, and they serve at such government's whim.
So, here, we have Adam… who CHOSE to know bad… death… chose to “go”. CHOSE to serve at death's whim. And, yet, God is being blamed. And, to add insult to injury, although God prevented Adam from continuing to live forever… for YOUR sake and mine… and the sakes of a ga-zillion others… rather than style Him a hero, you style Him a murderer. Truly it is just as it is written: we call what is good, bad… and what is bad, good.
Earthling man. We think we know so much. Adam was willing to sell YOUR eternal life… indeed the eternal life of ALL mankind… for his own selfish desire. HE… didn’t give a HOOT about you… me… Eve… or anyone but himself. HE… was the “bad” father, husband, and son. Ad-ham.
I find it remarkable… truly… that Adam did what he did and you and others have absolutely NO problem letting him off the hook and blaming God instead! Remarkable, but not surprising. For it is folks like you who would be among the first in the crowd, among the the ones to step over others to get to the front so as to be able to say to God, had he allowed Adam to eat and live forever, “Why did you let him eat?! “Why didn’t you avenge us right away and kill him immediately?! Why did you let him live at all?!”
You have the matter turned around, dear RV and are among those who very often think themselves "wise," think they "see,"... to the point that they make false accusations based on their own desires... rather than on what is true. For your own sake, I exhort you to ask for eyes to see, particularly on this matter.
Peace to you both.
A slave of Christ,
SA
