The Devil was jealous of the blessedness in Paradise of
the first people and he thought to deprive them of life in Paradise. For
this purpose he entered into the serpent and hid in the branches of the tree of
the knowledge of good and evil. When Eve passed by, the Devil whispered to her
to eat of the fruit of the forbidden tree. With cunning, he asked Eve, "Yea,
hath God said, ‘Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?"
Eve answered 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.’"
The Devil lied in order to seduce Eve. He said, "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."
The tempting words of the Devil through the
serpent acted upon Eve. She looked at the tree and saw that the tree was
pleasant to the eyes, good for food, and gave knowledge; and she wanted to know
good and evil. She took of the fruit from the forbidden tree and ate. Then she
gave it to her husband, and he ate.
Man gave in to the temptation of the Devil and
violated the commandment or will of God — he sinned, fell into sin. This
is how man’s fall into sin came about.
This first sin of Adam and Eve, or fall of man
into sin, is called ancestral or original sin, for it is
specifically this sin which is the beginning of all the other sins in man. The
habit, or inclination to sin, passed on to all mankind.
Note: See
Genesis, chap. 3:1-6.
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