1B22
© Jeff Stacey | Last updated: 5 February 2016
1B22(title) God’s Enemy opposed God’s instructions for Adam and Eve
Prior to Eve being created, Adam’s circumstances may have challenged him to disobey God [see 1B24(a)]. But after Eve was created, a crafty serpent suddenly appeared on the scene Gen 3:1a. Obviously it was opposed to God’s instructions because it was trying to make Adam and Eve disobey them! Gen 3:1b,4-5.
Clearly “it” was far more than a mere serpent, being personified as “he” Gen 3:1b. This was a spiritual being of some kind due to his profound awareness of God as well as of evil. Specific details of his origins and nature are not given at this stage. He must have been created by God as part of His totally good universe Gen 1:25 but then somehow became opposed to God and His primary purpose.
His evil nature and God’s great condemnation of him Gen 3:14 showed that he was “God’s Enemy”. Yet God permitted him to oppose His instructions for Adam and Eve.
1B22(sub-title) God’s Enemy challenged them to disobey God. He was aiming to stop them fulfilling God’s roles for them.
The aim of God’s Enemy was to stop Adam and Eve continuing to fulfil God’s roles for them. So he challenged them to disobey Him!
If they let God’s Enemy achieve this they would be agreeing with his contradictions and accusations against God. He would then be able to accuse, contradict and attempt to discredit God Himself and His primary purpose!
This was the ultimate objective of God’s Enemy, his primary purpose. His intention was nothing less than to assert himself as superior to God and supreme in power!!
1B22(a) God’s restrictions upon His enemy
God apparently restricted the scope of His Enemy’s opposition to His instructions. God’s Enemy was not able to just kill Adam and Eve or make it impossible in some other way for them to fulfil God’s roles for them. Yet he was permitted to challenge their crucial free choice to obey God [1A6(f), see 1B24(sub-title)].
1B22(b) Portraying in Chart 1B the alien nature of God’s Enemy
Since God’s Enemy was opposed to God he was completely out of harmony with all that God intended and had done. He aimed to replace LIFE for Adam and Eve with death [1A12(a)].
For these reasons the “boxes” concerning him in the Charts are coffin-shaped. They have also been shown with only faintly dotted outlines to suggest his shadowy craftiness. They break up the symmetry of Chart 1B, which further implies his alien nature.