If we all remember our Bible teachers way back then, we remember that probably one of the things discussed was the Creation and the first temptation of humanity, rather, satan (the serpent) tempting the woman (eventually known as Eve). For the sake of this article, let me present how it is told in the Bible:
Now the serpent was more shrewd than any of the wild animals that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Is it really true that God said, 'You must not eat from any tree of the orchard'?"
The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat of the fruit from the trees of the orchard; but concerning the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the orchard God said, 'You must not eat from it, and you must not touch it, or else you will die.'"
The serpent said to the woman, "Surely you will not die, for God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will open and you will be like divine beings who know good and evil."
-Genesis 3:1-5
We all know what happens next: Eve eats the fruit, tells Adam to have a bite. By one act of disobedience we were all doomed.
Go back to the verses, and think about what happened. The Word of God was clearly stated to Adam and Eve: Do not eat the fruit, or you will die. It was pretty straightforward. By two statements, the serpent attacked the foundation of Eve: “Is it really true?” and then “Surely you will not die.” First, he got Eve to have second thoughts about what God said; then, he delivered the coup de grace by lying: Shrugging aside the consequences and sugarcoating the effects.
This has been an age-old trick by the enemy, the father of lies. It’s worked before, and it can work against us today.
In light of the May 21 fiasco I have reason to believe that the same tactic was used by the enemy here. The Word CLEARLY states that nobody knows the exact date and time: We don’t know, the angels don’t know, and even the Son does not know. Only the Father knows. You’ll find all this in Mark 13:32, and again in Matthew 24:36.
Proverbs 21:30 states, “There is no wisdom or understanding or counsel against the Lord.” In other words, God does not give us advice that contradicts Himself, His Will, or His Word in any way.
No, I believe there were other ungodly deceptions at work when Harold Camping’s formulae led him to determine that May 21 was when it was all going down (or in our case, going up). And I wouldn’t be surprised if the first thing that ‘came to his mind’ was the thought, ‘Is it really true?’ followed by ‘we can know.’
“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of people who suppress the truth by their unrighteousness, because what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.
For although they knew God, they did not glorify him as God or give him thanks, but they became futile in their thoughts and their senseless hearts were darkened.
Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools... “
-Romans 1:19-22
My friends, may I remind you that what happened to Eve, and what happened to Mr. Camping can definitely happen to us. For most of us, the first step that leads us to disobedience, the first step that leads us to sin, is when we start to question, take for granted, or work around what God says in His Word. The enemy is always keeping an eye out for when we falter in our belief in the Word of God, and he will definitely strike when he sees even the smallest opening.
For the past few posts I’ve made, a common message I’ve been communicating (to God be all the glory) is that we should all be ready. This means that if we haven’t taken our Bibles seriously yet, NOW IS A GOOD TIME TO START.
“I have stored up Your Word in my heart, that I might not sin against You.” - Psalm 119:11
Let us remember the example of Christ: When satan presented Him the three biggest temptations that we can ever encounter, He did not answer, “What I believe was written in the Scripture was…”, or “That was a good argument you made, satan. But here’s what I think…”
He answered: “IT IS WRITTEN…”
He shot him point-blank in the face with the Word of God.
We have been complacent for far too long that the enemy is attacking us in our front yard.
May 22 isn’t a day to relax. For most of us, this should be the day we get serious with the Word of God.
This is the day we bring the good fight back.
May the Lord bless you and keep you.
To God be all the glory and praise.