1 Subtleness of Satan. Gen 3: 1-7 & Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? 2And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: 3But 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. 4And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: 5"For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." 6And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. 7And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. 13Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" And the woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate." 14And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: 15And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

God’s Redemptive Plan Isaiah 49:6 6And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth. John 8:12 12Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life 2

3 Serpent The word "serpent" is "Nachas" or "naw ‑ khawsh" which means to hiss, i.e. whisper a (magic) spell; gen. to prognosticate ‑‑ enchanter, learn by experience, diligently observe.

Secularization Who is influencing who? Ezekiel 22:26 Her priests have done violence to my law and have profaned my holy things. They have made no distinction between the holy and the common, neither have they taught the difference between the unclean and the clean, and they have disregarded my Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them. Matthew 5:13 “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. 4

Subtleness of Satan. Gen 3: 1 1Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?  Subtil: Cunning-Crafty-Shrewd-Deceitful.  Subtle-A change or distinction so delicate or precise as to be difficult to analyze or describe.  Making use of clever and indirect methods to achieve something.  Characterized by skill or ingenuity. Serpent-Influenced by Satan interjects doubt into the truthfulness of God’s word. Gen 2: And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 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” 5

Subtleness of Satan. If he can create doubt and distortion among the people who have the most access to the truth, then who will be left to point those on the outside toward the truth? It then becomes increasing important for professing Christians to know their Bibles and diligently hone their gifts of discernment in order to recognize error, not primarily outside their churches, but inside. 1 John 4:1 4 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. 4Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 6

Subtleness of Satan. Gen 3: 2-5 2And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: 3But 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. 4And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: 5"For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. Gen 2: And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17but 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.” 7

Subtleness of Satan. Gen 3: 6-7 6And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. 7And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. The word "serpent" is "Nachas" or "naw ‑ khawsh" which means to hiss, i.e. whisper a (magic) spell; gen. to prognosticate ‑‑ enchanter, learn by experience, diligently observe. Purpose Driven Life….Rick Warren and his cohorts. 8

Subtleness of Satan. Gen 3: Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" And the woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate." 14And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: 15And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. God addressed the creature used, and separated him from all the other creatures in the garden. Holding him responsible for participation. The disguise of Satan was in a serpent (reptile?), using a creature whose capacity to speak may have been greater than the other creatures. 9

The Power of God Romans 1: For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. 17For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith. 10