And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel. Genesis 3:15.

Adam and Eve should have been perfectly satisfied with the knowledge of God in His created works, and by the instruction of the holy angels…. The high state of knowledge to which they thought to attain by eating of the forbidden fruit plunged them into the degradation of sin and guilt.

The angels who had been appointed to guard Adam and Eve in their Eden home before their transgression and expulsion from paradise were now appointed to guard the gates of paradise and the way of the tree of life, lest they should return and gain access to the tree of life and sin be immortalized.

Sin drove Adam and Eve from paradise. And sin was the cause of paradise being removed from the earth. In consequence of transgression of God’s law, they lost paradise. In obedience to the Father’s law and through faith in the atoning blood of His Son, paradise may be regained….

Satan made his exulting boasts to Christ and to loyal angels that he had succeeded in gaining a portion of the angels in heaven to unite with him in his daring rebellion. And now that he had succeeded in overcoming Adam and Eve, he claimed that their Eden home was his. He proudly boasted that the world which God had made was his dominion. Having conquered Adam, the monarch of the world, he had gained the race as his subjects, and he should now possess Eden and make that his headquarters. And he would there establish his throne and be monarch of the world.

But measures were immediately taken in heaven to defeat Satan in his plans. Strong angels, with beams of light representing flaming swords turning in every direction, were placed as sentinels to guard the way of the tree of life from the approach of Satan and the guilty pair….

A council was held in heaven, which resulted in God’s dear Son undertaking to redeem the human race from the curse and from the disgrace of Adam’s failure, and to conquer Satan. Oh, wonderful condescension! The Majesty of heaven, through love and pity for fallen humanity, proposed to become their substitute and surety.—The Review and Herald, February 24, 1874.

From From the Heart

Of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, “You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.” Genesis 3:3.

Eve went from the side of her husband, viewing the beautiful things of nature in God’s creation, delighting her senses with the colors and fragrance of the flowers and the beauty of the trees and shrubs. She was thinking of the restrictions God had placed upon them in regard to the tree of knowledge. She was pleased with the beauties and bounties which the Lord had furnished for the gratification of every want. All these, said she, God has given us to enjoy….

Eve had wandered near the forbidden tree, and her curiosity was aroused to know how death could be concealed in the fruit of this fair tree. She was surprised to hear her queries taken up and repeated by a strange voice. “Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” Eve was not aware that she had revealed her thoughts by conversing to herself aloud; therefore she was greatly astonished to hear her queries repeated by a serpent. She really thought the serpent had a knowledge of her thoughts and that he must be very wise.

She answered him, “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. 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.” …

Eve had overstated the words of God’s command. He had said to Adam and Eve, “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” In Eve’s controversy with the serpent, she added the clause, “Neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.” … This statement of Eve gave him advantage, and he plucked the fruit, and placed it in her hand, and used her own words, “He hath said, ‘If ye touch it, ye shall die.’ You see no harm comes to you from touching the fruit, neither will you receive any harm by eating it.” … She ate the fruit, and realized no immediate harm. She then plucked the fruit for herself and for her husband….

Adam and Eve should have been perfectly satisfied with the knowledge of God in His created works, and by the instruction of the holy angels…. It was for their happiness to be ignorant of sin.—The Review and Herald, February 24, 1874.

From From the Heart

But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die. Genesis 2:17.

The Lord knew that Adam and Eve could not be happy without labor; therefore He gave them the pleasant employment of dressing the garden. And, as they tended the things of beauty and usefulness around them, they could behold the goodness and glory of God in His created works. Adam and Eve had themes for contemplation in the works of God in Eden, which was heaven in miniature. God did not form them merely to contemplate His glorious works; therefore He gave them hands for labor, as well as minds and hearts for contemplation. If the happiness of His creatures consisted in doing nothing, the Creator would not have given them their appointed work. In labor, Adam and Eve were to find happiness as well as meditation. They could reflect that they were created in the image of God, to be like Him in righteousness and holiness. Their minds were capable of continual cultivation, expansion, refinement, and noble elevation; for God was their teacher, and angels were their companions.

The Lord placed Adam and Eve upon probation, that they might form characters of steadfast integrity for their own happiness and for the glory of their Creator. He had endowed the holy pair with powers of mind superior to any other living creature that He had made. Their mental powers were but little lower than those of the angels. They could become familiar with the sublimity and glory of nature, and understand the character of their heavenly Father in His created works. Everything that their eyes rested upon in the immensity of the Father’s works, provided with a lavish hand, testified of His love and infinite power….

The first great moral lesson given to Adam and Eve was that of self-denial. The reins of self-government were placed in their hands. Judgment, reason, and conscience were to bear sway…. Adam and Eve were permitted to partake of every tree in the garden save one. There was only a single prohibition. The forbidden tree was as attractive and lovely as any of the trees in the garden. It was called the tree of knowledge, because in partaking of that tree, of which God had said, “Thou shalt not eat of it,” they would have a knowledge of sin, an experience in disobedience.—The Review and Herald, February 24, 1874.

From From the Heart

Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. Genesis 1:31.

Adam and Eve came forth from the hand of their Creator in the perfection of every physical, mental, and spiritual endowment. God planted for them a garden and surrounded them with everything lovely and attractive to the eye and that which their physical necessities required. This holy pair looked out upon a world of unsurpassed loveliness and glory. A benevolent Creator had given them evidences of His goodness and love in providing them with fruits, vegetables, and grains, and had caused to grow out of the ground trees of every variety for usefulness and beauty.

The holy pair looked upon nature as a picture of unsurpassed loveliness. The brown earth was clothed with a carpet of living green diversified with an endless variety of self-propagating, self-perpetuating flowers. Shrubs, flowers, and trailing vines regaled the senses with their beauty and fragrance. The many varieties of lofty trees were laden with fruit of every kind and of delicious flavor adapted to please the taste and meet the wants of the happy Adam and Eve. This Eden home God provided for our first parents, giving them unmistakable evidences of His great love and care for them.

Adam was crowned as king in Eden. To him was given dominion over every living thing that God had created. The Lord blessed Adam and Eve with intelligence such as He had not given to the animal creation. He made Adam the rightful sovereign over all the works of His hands. Human beings made in the divine image could contemplate and appreciate the glorious works of God in nature….

The natural loveliness which surrounded them, like a mirror reflected the wisdom, excellence, and love of their heavenly Father. And their songs of affection and praise rose sweetly and reverentially to heaven, harmonizing with the songs of the exalted angels and with the happy birds who were caroling forth their music without a care. There was no disease, decay, nor death anywhere. Life, life was in everything the eye rested upon. The atmosphere was impregnated with life. Life was in every leaf, in every flower, and in every tree.—The Review and Herald, February 24, 1874.

From From the Heart

As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. Revelation 3:19.

The message to the church of the Laodiceans is a startling denunciation, and is applicable to the people of God at the present time….

The Lord here shows us that the message to be borne to His people by ministers whom He has called to warn the people is not a peace-and-safety message…. The people of God are represented in the message to the Laodiceans in a position of carnal security. They are at ease, believing themselves in an exalted condition of spiritual attainments….

The message of the True Witness finds the people of God in a sad deception, yet honest in that deception. They know not that their condition is deplorable in the sight of God. While those addressed are flattering themselves that they are in an exalted spiritual condition, the message of the True Witness breaks their security by the startling denunciation of their true situation of spiritual blindness, poverty, and wretchedness….

The Christian life is a constant battle and a march. There is no rest from the warfare. It is by constant, unceasing effort that we maintain the victory over the temptations of Satan…. We are fully sustained in our positions by an overwhelming amount of plain scriptural testimony. But we are very much wanting in Bible humility, patience, faith, love, self-denial, watchfulness, and a spirit of sacrifice. We need to cultivate Bible holiness. Sin prevails among the people of God…. Many cling to their doubts and their darling sins, while they are in so great a deception as to talk and feel that they are in need of nothing….

All the soldiers of the cross of Christ virtually obligate themselves to enter a crusade against the adversary of souls, to condemn wrong, and sustain righteousness…. Eternal life is of infinite value, and will cost us all that we have….

It is not enough for ministers to present theoretical subjects. They need to study the practical lessons Christ gave His disciples, and make a close application of the same to their own souls and to the people. Because Christ bears this rebuking testimony, shall we suppose that He is destitute of tender love to His people? Oh, no! … He rebukes those He loves.—The Review and Herald, September 16, 1873.

From From the Heart