BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

They, as well as their Father, were living the dream. All Adam and Eve had to do to keep living that dream was abide by the Eden Covenant conditions to which they'd agreed. Those conditions included only one restriction: "The Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die" (Genesis 2:16-17). It sounds like a simple request—and it would have been if not for this: In the Garden there lurked a spiritual outlaw (satan). Previously called Lucifer, a name that in Hebrew means "Morning Star" or "Light Bearer", he was once known as "the anointed cherub" (Ezekiel 28:14). When iniquity was found in him, he was cast out of heaven (Ezekiel 28:15; Luke 10:18) and by the time he showed up in the Garden of Eden, he had become God's No. 1 enemy. His new name, satan, which means "opponent or adversary" aptly described his evil nature. As a fallen angel, he had witnessed the creation of God's first family members and he coveted their dominion over the earth. So, he set about to steal it by speaking to Eve through the mouth of a serpent. Asking her a subtle question designed to plant a seed of doubt in her mind about God's WORD, he said, "Hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?" "We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden," Eve replied: "But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die" (Genesis 3:1–3). That was not what God said. Eve misquoted Him by adding to His words. We must never do that. He didn't say anything about not touching the fruit. Eve came up with that because she was deceived. She didn't have a revelation of their covenant agreement with God. Because the truth of what God did say was weakened due to a lack of knowledge and mishandling of His WORD, Eve believed what satan said next: "Ye shall not surely die: 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" (verses 4–5). It was a lie, but Eve fell for it. Without realizing it, she let satan tempt her with a desire for something God had already given to her. She was deceived into thinking that God was withholding something from them when, in fact, He had given them everything! In doing so, she let satan steal The WORD of God from her. She let satan do to her what he always comes to do— which is steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10). God has never changed (Malachi 3:6), and neither has the devil. He fell from heaven's authority, and he cannot change. He's doomed forever. At that moment though, he thought he'd found a way out because not only did Eve succumb to his temptation and eat the fruit, but she also turned and gave it to Adam, as well. Adam had been right there the whole time. He could have used his authority to shut the serpent's mouth and drive the devil out of the Garden. Unlike Eve, "Adam was not deceived" (1 Timothy 2:14). That's why it was such a horrible sin on Adam's part when—knowing full well what he was doing—he too ate of the tree and broke God's covenant command. Adam had the authority, but not the moral right to commit such an act of high treason against his Creator. So, as God said through His prophet, Hosea, God charged Adam and not Eve, for violating the covenant (Hosea 4:7). The Eden Covenant Contradiction The moment Adam bowed his knee to the devil, the Father and His family were separated. The B V O V : 7 with His glory and honor. It gave them power over the planet and everything in, on and around it." THE BLESSING crowned God's family "

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