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NASB | Genesis 3:1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, "Indeed, has God said, 'You shall not eat from any tree of the garden'?" |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Genesis 3:1 Now the serpent was more crafty (subtle, skilled in deceit) than any living creature of the field which the LORD God had made. And the serpent (Satan) said to the woman, "Can it really be that God has said, 'You shall not eat from any tree of the garden'?" [Rev 12:9-11] |
Subject: Who created evil? |
Bible Note: Thanks Curtman. You have alot of wisdom and have explained yourself well in understanding my viewpoint. As a matter of fact, last night, I was looking over scripture after scripture on this. Funny you should bring up the tree and when it was planted. I pondered the possibility it was planted in Gen 1. However, I don't know for sure. I still haven't received anything definate yet. Genesis does flip flop back and forth alot. I also prayed last night about this asking God to show me if I am wrong. Because as a teacher, I do not ever want to be wrong on a matter of the Word of God. I do not want to give the wrong impression here. I know I probably sound forceful, but I am not saying I am 100 percent right on this matter. I do agree with you that God doesn't NEED evil. And that He used it. Emmaus showed my error in using "NEED". Poor choice of words on my part. I'm still praying and searching. I also saw how Radioman and Tim Moran described how sin is not created, it just is a result of the opposite of good. I also agree 100 percent with that. I think we can all see each others side of the coin now. At this point, it's come down to taking a stand on one of the sides, as we all have (Rom 14:5). I'm hung up on one point, which is, the difference between sin and evil, if there is one. I've come to the conclusion that sin and evil are two different things, but overlap each other. Example: I sin and get drunk. I was not being evil. I delibrately scheme and undermine things to tempt my brother into getting drunk. That was evil. When I look at Is 45:7, I do not read that God created sin. (That much, I can agree with everyone. Sin is definately a result of our choice to disobey the law of God.) I read that as God created Lucifer and allowed him to become evil. The thing that keeps me on my stand is that God could have destroyed Lucifer from the beginning, but chose not to. The way I understand it is Lucifer was cast down before the creation of man. I could be wrong here. If God knowing Lucifer would be evil, why didn't He destroy him then? I feel that He was planning on using Lucifer for His good purpose from the very beginning. Brother, you are right there with me in understanding me. And you are right to say too many Christians are following every other doctrine out there. "If you fall for anything, you will stand for nothing"! I just thank God that this topic does not bear anything on salvation. If it did, someone would be in trouble. All that in mind, this has been a very good study topic. To search the scriptures, humbly and deeply proves we all are trying our best for God (2 Tim 2:15). Oh, and by the way, you might not have intended this, but that scripture you listed (col 1:16), rooted me deeper in my stand on this topic. When it says principalities and powers, what was it referring to? Are they the same principalities and powers listed in Eph 6:12? I think so. Thanks for studying this with me. I have learned alot from this one, even if I haven't been persuaded by the masses :-) Your brother, Sal |