When Satan descended from heaven, evil first emerged. When Lucifer was first anointed by God as a cherubim angel, he was a flawless, lovely angel (Ezekiel 28:12–14). Because of his brilliance and attractiveness, Lucifer felt arrogant and desired to resemble God. As a result, he was transferred from heaven to earth (Isaiah 14:12–15). God made Lucifer to be flawless, but instead of being a godly servant, Lucifer chose to follow his pride. Evil originated. He was then referred to as Satan.
God wanted to protect from evil
Most theologians think that this was the beginning of evil. We know this occurred sometime before God created the Garden of Eden and planted the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, meaning that evil was already present before Eve’s encounter with the serpent. God wanted to protect man from evil, so He told them not to eat of the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Yet, Adam and Eve had free will to choose. And Satan was there to tempt them. We know that throughout the Bible, Satan takes many forms and roams throughout the earth, trying to tempt God’s people. In Job 1:6-7, the angels came to present themselves among God and Satan was with them. God asks him where he came from. Satan states: “From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it.”
The fall of man
Satan entered the form of a serpent, which Genesis says was the craftiest of the creatures of creation, and slithered to Eve to tempt her. Satan knew that if Adam and Eve disobeyed God by eating the fruit, sin and evil would enter into the garden. The fall of man is told in Genesis 3:4-7: “‘You will not certainly die’, the serpent said to the woman, ‘For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil’. When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.”
Aware of their nakedness
After that, as far as we know, Adam and Eve fled from God and brought sin into the garden. At that moment, they realized they were naked, and God said that women would experience childbirth pains and that man would labor on the earth (Genesis 3:8–20). Adam and Eve’s fall from grace, followed by Lucifer’s, illustrates how our greedy and fragile natures may instantly ruin God’s perfection and kindness. In the garden, Adam and Eve had the option of wandering near God or listening to Satan; they were tempted to sin while they were far from God. When Adam listened to his wife and consumed the fruit, he disregarded God’s instruction in favor of her opinion.
As we navigate life, we must walk with God and [pay attention to His voice]. We are surrounded by evil and temptations; only God can save us from sinning.
