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appeal to intellectual vanity. Satan here attempted to create a
CREDIBILITY GAP against God. "After all," he might have said, "You
only have God's WORD for it. But how do you know you can BELIEVE
God?" He placed DOUBT in her mind, and Adam's, just as he has
tried to do against me in this present rebellion against the
GOVERNMENT OF GOD!
By the same subtle method, Satan produced DOUBT, lack of
CONFIDENCE, prejudice against GOD'S GOVERNMENT. Result: VICTORY
for SATAN. He prevented the restoration of GOD'S Government on
earth, as it might have been through Adam, had he accepted and
obeyed God's WORD and God's GOVERNMENT. Now it would require the
SECOND ADAM (Christ) to restore God's Government and His Kingdom.
Mankind, until now, has followed Adam, disbelieved God, walked
every man according to what was right in his own eyes.
EPISODE III: God took the descendants of Abraham, Isaac
and Jacob, who had become SLAVES in Egypt, and proposed they accept
HIS GOVERNMENT, with the promise of becoming the wealthiest, most
happy and powerful nation on earth. If loyal and obedient to GOD'S
GOVERNMENT, they would have bumper crops year-round, wealth, peace,
happiness. GOD'S GOVERNMENT produces every GOOD.
But Satan got to them. Finally, in the days of Samuel,
"all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came
to Samuel unto Ramah, and said unto him, Behold thou art old, and
thy sons walk not in thy ways: now, make us a king to judge us
like all the nations. ... And the Eternal said unto Samuel, ...
they have rejected me, THAT I SHOULD NOT REIGN OVER THEM. ... they
have FORSAKEN ME, and served other gods, ..." (I Sam. 8:4-8).
As long as ancient Israel KEPT AND OBEYED THE GOVERNMENT
OF GOD, they prospered, had PEACE, had HAPPINESS. But they forsook
GOD'S GOVERNMENT -- which was formed under the OLD COVENANT. The
NEW COVENANT will restore the KINGDOM OF GOD, which is the
GOVERNMENT, under CHRIST, with SATAN REMOVED! Then we shall have
WORLD PEACE. Proclaiming that GOOD NEWS IS OUR GREAT AND PRIMARY
COMMISSION AND PURPOSE IN BEING, TODAY.
Israel divided, and finally both kingdoms went into
captivity and slavery.
EPISODE IV: The "SECOND ADAM" -- Jesus Christ -- was born
as a baby. Born to be a KING -- to restore the GOVERNMENT OF GOD
over all nations. Satan tried to DESTROY HIM AS A BABY. God
caused Joseph and Mary to flee with Him to Egypt.
When Jesus was about 30, ready to start proclaiming the
GOOD NEWS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD, GOD'S GOVERNMENT, Satan tried to
destroy Him SPIRITUALLY. The full account is in Matthew 4.
Jesus had fasted 40 days and nights. Hunger becomes
frantically intense after 40 days. Satan came, subtly as usual.
He gave Jesus, first, a double temptation: "IF thou be the Son of
God, command that these stones be made bread." That "IF,"
questioning His Messiahship, was an appeal to vanity. Satan was
daring Jesus to prove it. To perform a miracle! And the