November 2, 2025
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When God created the earth, He also created man to dwell in it. He formed Adam from the dust of the ground, made him in the image of God, and breathed into his nostrils.
Genesis 1:
26 ¶ Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
27 And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
28 And God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
Note that God said “Let Us” make man, which means that Jesus and the Holy Spirit, also existed at the time God created the earth. Note also that God created us male and female, and He commanded us to be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and He gave us dominion over the fish, birds, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.
Genesis 2:
7 Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.
8 ¶ And the LORD God planted a garden toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the man whom He had formed.
9 And out of the ground the LORD God caused to grow every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
God breathed into Adam’s nostrils the “breath of life.” It wasn’t just air or oxygen; it was the breath of life. All life originates from God. God planted the Garden of Eden toward the east, and He put Adam there to cultivate the garden and keep it. Adam was free to enjoy the fruit of any tree, except for just one tree.
Genesis 2:
15 Then the LORD God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it.
16 ¶ And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely;
17 but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you shall surely die.”
So not a big deal, right? It is just one tree among many. Stay away from this one tree. Do you ever wonder why God excluded the tree of knowledge? Why did He not want us to explore for knowledge on our own? Was He trying to keep us ignorant, so we would not be as knowledgeable as He is? That is exactly the distortion of the Word that the devil used to deceive Eve.
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’?”
2 And the woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat;
3 but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, lest you die.’”
4 And the serpent said to the woman, “You surely shall not die!
5 “For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
6 ¶ When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make [one] wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.
7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings.
So, Eve knew the word of God, but she was tempted by the desire to have knowledge in verse 6. When we fall into temptation, we abandon the truth of God’s word for a lie. When Eve saw that the tree could make one wise, she succumbed to the lie of the devil, as did Adam.
The Thirst for Knowledge
So, let’s return to our fundamental question: why did God exclude this one tree from us? Why did He not want us to have knowledge of good and evil?
The discussion between Eve and the devil makes one thing clear: men and women desire knowledge. Once Eve saw that she could obtain knowledge, she ate of the tree and Adam went along with it. From this interaction, the devil learned that mankind could be tempted with knowledge, and I believe this was the origin of the intellectual spirit, which is a demonic spirit that goes against the truth of God’s word, and induces people to worship their own minds and the power of their reasoning, instead of worshipping God and the wisdom and truth of His word.
God knew that we could be tempted to sin with knowledge. God knew that with knowledge came both good and evil. Notice there was only one tree. There was not a tree of knowledge of good, and then another tree of knowledge of evil. It was one tree of knowledge, and with it came knowledge of both good and evil. You might say knowledge is neutral, but God in His wisdom knew that knowledge would be used for both good and evil at the same time, so He forbade Adam and Eve from taking part. His plan was to create a paradise so perfect that mankind would only use knowledge provided by God. His plan was also to require obedience from mankind. He wants us to trust and obey Him.
The Knowledge Explosion
With all that as a backdrop, let’s talk more about mankind’s desire for knowledge and what that desire has wrought in today’s world. This question of the thirst for knowledge is not just an Old Testament question surrounding original sin. It is also an important tendency playing out today. The internet and the advancement of artificial intelligence (“AI”) have contributed to what is called the “Knowledge Explosion.” The knowledge explosion refers to the rapid and accelerating creation and dissemination of new information across society, especially in science and technology. Artificial intelligence is the use of computers to mine enormous amounts of data and assembling that data into information that can be used to answer questions.
In effect, AI represents mankind’s knowledge creating even more knowledge at an exponential rate of increase. Computers are faster at thinking than man is; therefore, it is time efficient to use AI to answer questions. By studying data, computers can even begin to assimilate how humans think and feel emotionally. But, on the downside, the sheer volume of information available today is overwhelming and makes verification of reliability nearly impossible. As a result, many bible prophecy experts believe AI is going to become a tool of the antichrist to accomplish end times prophecy.
The Spirit of the Lord told Daniel that such an increase in knowledge would occur.
Daniel 12:
4 “But as for you, Daniel, conceal these words and seal up the book until the end of time; many will go back and forth, and knowledge will increase.”
Daniel was having a hard time understanding these things, so the angel had to explain that it was prophecy of what we are seeing today.
Daniel 12:
8 As for me, I heard but could not understand; so I said, “My lord, what [will be] the outcome of these [events?]”
9 And he said, “Go [your way,] Daniel, for [these] words are concealed and sealed up until the end time.
Man’s Use of Knowledge
And so, what has been the impact of knowledge on man? We can see it in our world today.
Wouldn’t it be awesome if science were used only for good and not for evil? But that is not the case because man has a fleshly nature handed down from Adam and Eve and encouraged by Satan.
Instead, we have science being used for good and evil. Knowledge enabled a heart surgeon to replace my aortic heart valve twice. And knowledge has enabled many forms of cancer to be eradicated. Knowledge also invented the internet and broadcast media, which allows the Gospel to be preached to the remotest parts of the earth.
But knowledge also aborted millions of babies, developed sex change operations, and spread pornography, sexual promiscuity, and identity theft via the internet.
God’s Plan for Knowledge
Because all knowledge comes from just one tree, God said essentially: “No, that tree is not for you! You are to look to me for all the knowledge you need.”
Adam and Eve did not take that path, but the word of the Lord advises us to do so, especially in this generation. We are to look to the Lord for all we need, and especially for the knowledge necessary to navigate these end days.
Receive the following words of the Lord regarding knowledge.
2nd Corinthians 11:
3 But I am afraid, lest as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds should be led astray from the simplicity and purity [of devotion] to Christ.
Proverbs 2:
6 For the LORD gives wisdom; From His mouth [come] knowledge and understanding.
7 He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; [He is] a shield to those who walk in integrity,
8 Guarding the paths of justice, And He preserves the way of His godly ones.
9 Then you will discern righteousness and justice And equity [and] every good course.
10 ¶ For wisdom will enter your heart, And knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;
11 Discretion will guard you, Understanding will watch over you,
John 14 (Jesus speaking):
26 “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.
John 16 (Jesus speaking):
13 “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.
1st Corinthians 12:
7 But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
8 For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit;
9 to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit,
10 and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another [various] kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues.
11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.
Note verse 10 concerning the gift of discernment of spirits, which God supplies to us to distinguish between good and evil. Thus, we will also have His wisdom and the knowledge so attained will not be used for evil.
1st Timothy 6:
20 O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you, avoiding worldly [and] empty chatter [and] the opposing arguments of what is falsely called “knowledge”–
21 which some have professed and thus gone astray from the faith. Grace be with you.
There are a lot of arguments today that are falsely called “knowledge,” and so Paul advises us to avoid worldly and empty chatter and the opposing arguments that lead many astray from faith in Jesus.
Closing
God commanded Adam and Eve not to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. He had a good reason for that. God intended for us to rely on Him, the Creator of the world, for all things. But through deception, the devil distorted God’s word and our world is experiencing evil that is proliferating at such a rate that we are desensitized to it.
But we do not need to fall victim to that evil. The scriptures promise us the wisdom and discernment we need today and for the days ahead. Jesus promises us the Holy Spirit will teach us all things and disclose what is to come. Praise God!
Let us pray.
Father God, we praise You for your wisdom in the garden of Eden, and we thank You for Jesus, who died and was raised for the forgiveness of our tendency to sin. Thank You for Your plan to provide us all the knowledge we need by the Holy Spirit. We pray we would not be led astray from the simplicity and purity of our devotion to Christ, as Eve was in the garden. We pray for knowledge, understanding, wisdom, discernment, and discretion. We pray that we would be drawn to the Holy Spirit, who Jesus said would teach us all things and disclose to us what is to come. And we pray that all Your spiritual gifts would manifest in the Body of Christ for the common good. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
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