Comfort comes when Satan the one originally causing death to be removed. Jesus said to the religious Jews who opposed him: “You are from your father the Devil, and you wish to do the desires of your father. That one was a manslayer when he began, and he did not stand fast in the truth, because truth is not in him.” (Joh 8:44) This is evidence that it was the Devil who spoke through the instrumentality of the serpent, and that this one was a manslayer from the beginning of his lying, devilish course. In the vision that Christ later gave to John, he revealed that Satan the Devil is also called “the original serpent.” (Re 12:9) Satan got his hold on mankind, gaining influence over Adam’s children, by inducing their father Adam to rebel against God. So in the first prophecy, of Genesis 3:15, Jehovah gave hope that this Serpent would be put out of the way. (Compare Ro 16:20.) Not only is Satan’s head to be crushed but also all of his works are to be broken up, destroyed, or undone. (1Jo 3:8; NW, KJ, AT) The fulfillment of this prophecy would of necessity require the undoing of the death introduced by Adam, including bringing back by a resurrection those of Adam’s offspring who go into Sheol (Hades) as a result of his sin, the effects of which they inherit.—1Co 15:26
Posted on: Thu, 11 Jul 2013 09:01:39 +0000
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