Daily Devotional: Day 86
“Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” (Genesis 3:1, NKJV).
When someone hates you, one of the things they do is to twist your words. When satan tempted Eve, he used a simple yet effective method: the method of twisting God’s Word. Thousands of years later, he hasn’t changed. Even today, he continues to twist God’s Word through false prophets who are operating inside and outside the Church. Everything written in the Scriptures is for our instruction (cf. Romans 15:4). Therefore, the incident about how the enemy tempted Eve was recorded in the Scriptures for our benefit, to instruct us about how the enemy works. In a battle, knowing your opponent’s tactics is a big step toward victory. It’s the same with our spiritual warfare; knowing how satan operates is key.
In today’s Bible text, notice how the enemy begins by undermining the Word of God: “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden?’ (Emphasis mine). In the first place, God did not forbid Adam and Eve from eating of every tree. By adding the word “every” to God’s original words, satan twisted God’s original command. Not only that, notice how he set up his question: “has God indeed said . . .?”
On the surface, it appears that satan was posing a question, but in reality he was making a statement, i.e. introducing his own version of God’s Word. His purpose was to get Eve to doubt the reliability of God’s Word. Here’s the trick: After all, if God’s Word is not trustworthy, why should people bother obeying it? Eve got confused and indeed she began to doubt God and His Word. The result was rebellion and rejection of the reliability of God’s original command.
Lesson for us: Let’s pay attention to the accuracy of God’s Word. A seemingly innocuous mistranslation or misinterpretation can change the original meaning of the Bible and corrupt the originality of God’s Word, which is what satan wants. And that is what many antichrist prophets have done from the beginning (cf. 1 John 2:18).
Today, many antichrists have infiltrated (In fact, they’ve always been around!) the Church and are confusing and deceiving lots of people. They have perfected the art of twisting God’s Word. When God’s Word is twisted, it eventually leads to doubt, disobedience wrong belief. Let’s be vigilant and make sure that no one is adding to God’s Word or removing things from it. Just one word can make a big difference in what you believe or do not believe.
Prayer:
Father, give me a heart to follow your Word as it is. And preserve me from the deceptions and manipulation of the enemy. In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
For further study: Mark 7:1-13
Higher-Self Realities 