Transcript
Asking the statement, “being like gods, knowing good and evil”: who, between God and the Serpent, was the liar concerning the eating of the forbidden tree?
“What the Serpent said—that they would be like gods, knowing good and evil after eating from the forbidden tree—was factually correct, but malicious, and therefore deceptive. A malicious fact does not qualify as truth when it is designed to steal, kill, and destroy. Thus, the Serpent was a murderer from the beginning.
“Whatever the Serpent promised was already built into humanity before mankind approached either the Serpent or the tree. Humanity already bore God’s likeness, having been created in the image of God. People already possessed an inbuilt conscience that safely distinguished good from evil. They had wisdom and could behold the gods, angels, and heavenly beings through the Garden’s light, which connected God’s presence in heaven with paradise in Eden. They only needed to continue beholding God and learning from the gods—the sons of God, or angels—and they would gradually grow in the knowledge of good, evil, and all things.
“When God created the gods, or angels, He gave them the capacity to receive tremendous knowledge, abilities, and power at once without collapsing beneath their weight. Angels were equipped with the capacities needed for their appointed tasks and stations. By default, they do not need to grow gradually in capacity, nor do they multiply.
“Humanity, however, was created to begin small, grow gradually, and multiply through procreation. New humans continue to be born, increasing humanity’s number, while no new angels are created. Humans mature gradually in knowledge and in the likeness of God.
“The Serpent maliciously pushed humanity to absorb the knowledge of good and evil in the manner of angels, although humans were not designed to carry such weight instantly. It was like placing the responsibilities of a hundred-year-old person upon a one-year-old child instead of allowing the child to mature gradually into that capacity.
“The fallen angels also crossed forbidden boundaries by attempting to multiply through women. They taught humanity forbidden knowledge through which the world became corrupt.
“In summary, God had already placed conscience within humanity to discern good and evil. People only needed to grow in grace and righteous knowledge instead of taking the forbidden shortcut offered through the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.”