Half-truth paradigm

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The Serpent

The Serpent used the half-truth paradigm to great effect against Eve in the Garden Annex.

Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?"
2 The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.'"
4 "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. 5 "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."
6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.
7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. (Genesis 3:1-7 NIV)

Attempting to con people with words which are an outright tissue of lies, is likely to achieve only limited success, simply because the con can easily be seen for what it is, and therefore rejected.

If there is to be any hope of the victim swallowing a lie, then it had better be embedded in truth! Distract with a scattering of keywords. Then allow the leaven of deceit to ferment and bring about the planned results.

Success will be measured in terms of whether or not a person breaks faith with God. In the interests of recruitment, it isn't necessary to turn people into monsters at this point in time - that can wait until the lord Satan has built up a force strong enough to go head-to-head with God. For now, it is necessary to spread the word and to recruit as many as possible to his cause.

And war is coming!

The warning is included in the Book of Daniel:

18 He who looked like a man touched me again, and strengthened me. 19 He said, “Have no fear, precious man, all will be well with you; be strong, be strong!" As he spoke with me, I was strengthened, and said, “Speak on, my lord, for you have strengthened me!" 20 Then he said, “Do you know why I have come to you? Now I must go back to fight the prince of Persia. When I go off, the prince of Greece will come in. 21 No one is helping me against them except your prince, Michael. However, I will tell you what is recorded in the book of truth. (Daniel 10:18-21 (Tanakh))

The name 'Michael' means 'who is like God' (David Mandel). Hence, the person in the Book of Daniel called Michael, is [one] who is like God. In this context the only one who is like God is Jesus. Which is confirmed in Daniel 12:1 (Tanakh):

1 “At that time, the great prince, Michael, who stands beside the sons of your people, will appear. It will be a time of trouble, the like of which has never been since the nation came into being. At that time, your people will be rescued, all who are found inscribed in the book.(Daniel 12:1 (Tanakh))

The title 'prince' is apposite, since Jesus was Great High Priest Designate in the Order of Melchizedek at the time (6 century B.C.E.), and would not become Great High Priest and King of Kings until after Calvary and His resurrection.

Further information is to be found in the Book of Revelation:

[11] Then I saw heaven opened, and there was a white horse! Its rider is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. [12] His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems; and he has a name inscribed that no one knows but himself. [13] He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is called The Word of God. [14] And the armies of heaven, wearing fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. [15] From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron; he will tread the wine press of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. [16] On his robe and on his thigh he has a name inscribed, "King of kings and Lord of lords." [17] Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly in midheaven, "Come, gather for the great supper of God, [18] to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of the mighty, the flesh of horses and their riders-flesh of all, both free and slave, both small and great." [19] Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against the rider on the horse and against his army. [20] And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who had performed in its presence the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. [21] And the rest were killed by the sword of the rider on the horse, the sword that came from his mouth; and all the birds were gorged with their flesh. (Revelation 19:11-21 NRSV)
Thematic change

The Serpent's tactics are well worth studying, for they will be an enormous help when it comes to dissecting the excesses within new-covenant doctrine and the churches.

The Serpent's approach was quite laid-back: he was respectful, reasonable, ready to listen, and [ostensibly] knowledgeable; perhaps the Serpent and Eve enjoyed a companionable stroll through the garden towards the Tree [of Knowledge]. The Serpent goes right back to God's original words - faithfully quoted by Eve - and uses this as the starting point for his exegesis. Yet the Serpent's interpretation of God's words is geared to distorting the truth sufficiently for Eve to be led into sin and error.

[ These early chapters of Genesis do not contain a complete transcript of what was said and done in the Garden. How could they?
I am of the firm opinion that Eve's words (Gen. 3:2-3) were an accurate report of what God had said to Adam and Eve on some undocumented occasion.
I have noticed that some people, in their efforts to put all the blame on Eve, accuse Eve of misquoting Scripture. I feel that this is something we must answer on Eve's behalf, since she is unable to do so. (Alan)

Suggesting that the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge would be a source of wisdom, was a master-stroke:

When the woman saw that the tree was good for eating and a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable as a source of wisdom... (Genesis 3:6 (Tanakh))

The fruit - a source of wisdom. Keyword! That must surely have decided things for Eve. And so God's express command becomes explained away: distorted, suppressed, rendered obsolete and forgotten.

[ Notice how Paul and the unknown writer to the Hebrews go far beyond the magnitude of the Serpent's evil. These 'pillars' of the new-covenant church additionally describe the Covenant as being lethal and faulty. They then annul the Covenant and implement their own new-covenant. Finally, they go beyond the pale and attribute the destruction of David's Tent to the power and authority of the Lord Spirit!]

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