09. The Wrath of the Dragon | Chapter 09: Bait
The Prince of Darkness is a skilful general who plans and devices his baits with such mastery that countless men, women, youth and children throughout the ages fall victim to his attacks. He is no respecter of persons and does not have any mercy even on women and children. His mind is totally bent on the destruction of the human race. The benefits and advantages presented by him are dedicated to our destruction.
In the previous chapter, we learned that the Devil reinforces his attacks against his enemies by presenting them with benefits. In the second chapter of this book, we identified the second enemy that we face: self.
In the previous chapter, we learned that the Devil reinforces his attacks against his enemies by presenting them with benefits. In the second chapter of this book, we identified the second enemy that we face: self.
In her book Steps to Christ, Ellen G. White wrote, “The warfare against self is the greatest battle that was ever fought. The yielding of self, surrendering all to the will of God, requires a struggle; but the soul must submit to God before it can be renewed in holiness.”
Love for God must reign supreme in the heart followed by unselfish love for others. God is an eternal being. He cannot be contained. His life force was designed to flow through every living thing he created. It is the love for self that disrupts the flow of God’s love and life throughout the created beings of the universe.
If “self” stands as an enemy of the love of God, then it is an ally of the Devil. I believe that the art of baiting is used by the devil to awaken the selfish desires of sinful human beings. The desire for more, the greed for gain, the fear of loss, the lust of the mind and flesh is the battle cry of “self” warring against the will of one who is seeking God.
Jesus lived a life of selflessness when He came to earth, giving up His life for the human race. The Bible says, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” Selfishness is the opposite of the life of Christ because it stands against God’s Royal Law of Love. Let us dive deep into the first few verses of Genesis chapter three to find out how the Devil used the art of baiting to lure Eve into disobedience.
Mankind during the time of Eden has never experienced death. God is not the author of confusion. He must’ve explained to them the meaning of death and what brings death to a living being. He couldn’t have given the commandment and left them all confused, asking questions like: “What is death?” He explained to them the nature of rebellion… and even their enemy, Satan. The Devil could not have come to Eve in his angelic form so he came disguised as the serpent.
Death is the ultimate result of rebellion against God, but the Serpent said, “Ye shalt not surely die.” Eve felt contradiction in her heart. In his carefully planned attack, the Devil presented to her what could be achieved if they ate from the forbidden tree. “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.” Genesis 3:5. Let’s analyze this statement:
For God doth know...
This statement implies that God is hiding something from them. Take, for example, your best friend talks about you to other friends without you knowing it. One of these other friends sends you a message telling you that your best friend is spreading bad news about you. You will begin to question your friendship. This is exactly how the Woman felt when the Serpent was talking to her. She began to question the integrity of God. Self began to war against her will to obey God.
Your eyes shall be opened...
Common sense tells us that the Devil is suggesting that somehow, their eyes are still closed or they are still blind. Disobedience to God, as suggested by the Serpent, will open their eyes.
Ye shall be as gods...
This is the echo of Ezekiel chapter 28, which describes how the angel Lucifer wanted to raise his position up to a point where he wanted to God. What does it mean to be a god? It means that all worship, allegiance, service will be done to you. The Devil made her believe that they would achieve a greater form of existence if they rebelled against God.
Knowing good and evil...
Is God withholding from them a hidden knowledge that they deserve? This must’ve been a question in the mind of mother Eve as she was contemplating the words of the Serpent. Eating of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil will surely unlock this hidden knowledge.
Like a skilful hunter, the Devil has laid down his trap and bait. To the eyes of the Woman, the bait was so attractive that she took it. The Bible says, “And 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.” Genesis 3:6.
A satisfactory smile spread across the face of the Serpent as they ate the fruit. The human race has been conquered and has now become his captive, allies in his rebellion against God.
Every day, the Devil presents to us baits to arouse our selfish desires. Every day the Devil suggests that rebellion against God is beneficial. He might suggest that watching a movie is more exciting than reading your Bible. He might suggest that playing sports is better than going to a Bible Study. He might suggest that drinking alcohol and smoking makes you look cool. He might make all sorts of suggestions that, to the sinful human eye, is very attractive and beneficial. All these suggestions lead to certain death.
Love for God must reign supreme in the heart followed by unselfish love for others. God is an eternal being. He cannot be contained. His life force was designed to flow through every living thing he created. It is the love for self that disrupts the flow of God’s love and life throughout the created beings of the universe.
If “self” stands as an enemy of the love of God, then it is an ally of the Devil. I believe that the art of baiting is used by the devil to awaken the selfish desires of sinful human beings. The desire for more, the greed for gain, the fear of loss, the lust of the mind and flesh is the battle cry of “self” warring against the will of one who is seeking God.
Jesus lived a life of selflessness when He came to earth, giving up His life for the human race. The Bible says, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” Selfishness is the opposite of the life of Christ because it stands against God’s Royal Law of Love. Let us dive deep into the first few verses of Genesis chapter three to find out how the Devil used the art of baiting to lure Eve into disobedience.
Mankind during the time of Eden has never experienced death. God is not the author of confusion. He must’ve explained to them the meaning of death and what brings death to a living being. He couldn’t have given the commandment and left them all confused, asking questions like: “What is death?” He explained to them the nature of rebellion… and even their enemy, Satan. The Devil could not have come to Eve in his angelic form so he came disguised as the serpent.
Death is the ultimate result of rebellion against God, but the Serpent said, “Ye shalt not surely die.” Eve felt contradiction in her heart. In his carefully planned attack, the Devil presented to her what could be achieved if they ate from the forbidden tree. “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.” Genesis 3:5. Let’s analyze this statement:
For God doth know...
This statement implies that God is hiding something from them. Take, for example, your best friend talks about you to other friends without you knowing it. One of these other friends sends you a message telling you that your best friend is spreading bad news about you. You will begin to question your friendship. This is exactly how the Woman felt when the Serpent was talking to her. She began to question the integrity of God. Self began to war against her will to obey God.
Your eyes shall be opened...
Common sense tells us that the Devil is suggesting that somehow, their eyes are still closed or they are still blind. Disobedience to God, as suggested by the Serpent, will open their eyes.
Ye shall be as gods...
This is the echo of Ezekiel chapter 28, which describes how the angel Lucifer wanted to raise his position up to a point where he wanted to God. What does it mean to be a god? It means that all worship, allegiance, service will be done to you. The Devil made her believe that they would achieve a greater form of existence if they rebelled against God.
Knowing good and evil...
Is God withholding from them a hidden knowledge that they deserve? This must’ve been a question in the mind of mother Eve as she was contemplating the words of the Serpent. Eating of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil will surely unlock this hidden knowledge.
Like a skilful hunter, the Devil has laid down his trap and bait. To the eyes of the Woman, the bait was so attractive that she took it. The Bible says, “And 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.” Genesis 3:6.
A satisfactory smile spread across the face of the Serpent as they ate the fruit. The human race has been conquered and has now become his captive, allies in his rebellion against God.
Every day, the Devil presents to us baits to arouse our selfish desires. Every day the Devil suggests that rebellion against God is beneficial. He might suggest that watching a movie is more exciting than reading your Bible. He might suggest that playing sports is better than going to a Bible Study. He might suggest that drinking alcohol and smoking makes you look cool. He might make all sorts of suggestions that, to the sinful human eye, is very attractive and beneficial. All these suggestions lead to certain death.
The Devil fears no one! He even dared to tempt the Son of God. “Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.” Matthew 4:8-9. He presented to Jesus the glory of his own kingdom as bait.
Here stand two kings! One offers to the other the glory of his own kingdom as payment for ceding his over His kingdom. But we are thankful that Jesus was victorious for our sakes. Praise the Lord!
Day by day, the Devil leads men, women and children to his prison of death, claiming their souls and mocking God in the process. Day by day, the Devil raises his sword to Heaven with each soul he conquers shouting his battle cry of victory. Day by day, the Devil expands his territory and recruits more human beings into his army, preparing them for the final battle between good and evil.
However, hope remains because of Divine intervention. The prophet Isaiah was inspired by the Spirit of God to make a prophecy of the Messiah. This is what he said, “The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn...” Isaiah 61:1-2.
A few hundred years later, Jesus came to the Nazareth synagogue on the Sabbath. He stood up at the pulpit and took out the book of Isaiah and read the prophecy. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.” Luke 4:18-19.
Day by day, the Devil leads men, women and children to his prison of death, claiming their souls and mocking God in the process. Day by day, the Devil raises his sword to Heaven with each soul he conquers shouting his battle cry of victory. Day by day, the Devil expands his territory and recruits more human beings into his army, preparing them for the final battle between good and evil.
However, hope remains because of Divine intervention. The prophet Isaiah was inspired by the Spirit of God to make a prophecy of the Messiah. This is what he said, “The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn...” Isaiah 61:1-2.
A few hundred years later, Jesus came to the Nazareth synagogue on the Sabbath. He stood up at the pulpit and took out the book of Isaiah and read the prophecy. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.” Luke 4:18-19.
The Bible describes Jesus as the one who “...will save his people from their sins.” Matthew 1:21. Little did Adam and Eve know that when they chose to rebel against God, they have entered into the prison of the Devil. Jesus came to rescue us from this prison.
If you are one, who realizes the fact that you're imprisoned by Satan through the choice to sin against God, it is my prayer today that you turn to God and ask Him, "Lord, what wilt thou have me do?" May God help you and keep you safe.
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