When all this took place this great fallen being was no doubt an
eyewitness. He beheld God working in rearranging the chaos of the
original earth produced by his revolt. He saw how God created man. He
heard how God spoke to man and gave him to possess his former estate
which he had lost by his rebellion. He beheld God putting man and
woman into the garden of Eden. He listened when God said "Of the tree
of knowledge of good and evil thou shalt not eat of it, for in the day
that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die" (Gen. ii:17). Then he
must have been moved with envy and jealousy. He sees another in
possession of his past domain. Something like this must have come into
his mind--if I only can get man ruined and turn him against God, if I
can make of man a rebel and lay hold on him, I shall get back the place
which once was mine and then defy God.
The third chapter in Genesis shows how he succeeded in carrying out
this plan. Through the serpent he approached the woman and said, "Yea,
hath God said, Ye shall not eat of any tree of the garden?" God had
spoken; the first word to man had come from His lips. Satan's first
work was to make God's creature doubt God's Word. The first
destructive critic who denied that God hath spoken was Satan. Every
man, no matter what learning he may claim, who denies the inspiration
of the Bible, and that the Bible is the revelation and Word of God, is
the mouthpiece of Satan. Emboldened by the woman's answer he said "Ye
shall not surely die," an out and out denial of what God had said; and
then adds the lying promise, "Your eyes shall be opened and ye shall be
as gods." He wanted to be like the Most High, and now he injects his
own character into man. The transgression followed; sin came into the
world and death by sin, the moment God's commandment was disobeyed.
What a sneer and laughter, what a triumphant shout Satan must have
uttered when the deed was done! And with the fall of man he laid hold
again on this earth and became its prince.