The Original Con: Understanding Humanity's First Spiritual Battle

The Original Con: Understanding Humanity's First Spiritual Battle
In a world saturated with scams, deception, and elaborate cons, we rarely stop to consider that these tactics aren't new at all. In fact, the playbook for deception was written at the very beginning of human history, and its methods remain remarkably unchanged because, quite simply, they work.
Consider the heartbreaking story of a 77-year-old retired civil servant who lost her entire life savings of $661,000 to a tech support scam. The con artist didn't appear shady or sinister. He posed as a helpful Microsoft engineer, then a bank fraud investigator. The deception was subtle, convincing, and devastatingly effective. This woman liquidated her parents' inheritance and her retirement annuity—all because she trusted the wrong voice.
This modern tragedy mirrors the catastrophic event recorded in Genesis 3, where we witness the original con that would reshape all of human existence.
The Subtlety of the Serpent
The serpent, identified in Revelation 20 as "that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan," was described as more crafty than any other creature God had made. The word "crafty" means subtle, shrewd, sensible, or prudent. This wasn't a monster with obvious evil intentions. The approach was calculated and deceptive.
What's remarkable is that this first spiritual attack wasn't a direct assault. The enemy didn't confront Adam head-on. Instead, he came indirectly, speaking to Eve while Adam stood by. This indirect approach remains a favorite tactic in spiritual warfare today.
The Three-Pronged Attack
The enemy's strategy involved three distinct cons:
Con #1: Questioning God's Word
"Did God actually say...?" This simple question planted seeds of doubt. The first spiritual attack in human history wasn't dramatic or violent—it was a question about whether God's word was reliable. This same tactic continues today. Did God really say Jesus is the only way? Did He really mean judgment is coming? Did He actually promise to restore all things?
Con #2: Suggesting God Is Withholding Something Good
The serpent insinuated that God was keeping Adam and Eve in the dark, holding them back from something beneficial. "God knows that when you eat of it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like God." This lie resonates through the ages, appearing in everything from teenage rebellion against loving parents to New Age philosophies promising, "You can be your own god."
Con #3: The Promise of Godhood
"You will be like God, knowing good and evil." This seed of pride has plagued humanity ever since. Interestingly, the enemy himself had fallen for this same lie—wanting to ascend above God, to make himself like the Most High.
The Anatomy of Temptation
When Eve looked at the tree, three things captured her attention: it was good for food (desires of the flesh), a delight to the eyes (desires of the eyes), and desirable to make one wise (the pride of life). These same three categories appear in 1 John 2:16, describing everything that draws people away from God.
This wasn't just about fruit. This was a comprehensive assault on human vulnerability—physical appetite, visual attraction, and intellectual pride all working together.
Where Was Adam?
Perhaps one of the most troubling aspects of this account is that Adam "was with her." He was present during this conversation. He heard the lies. Yet he remained silent, failing to protect, failing to intervene, failing to simply suggest, "Let's ask God about this."
This silence speaks volumes about the responsibility placed on men to cover their families in prayer and to recognize when spiritual attacks are happening. Sometimes the enemy's work is so subtle that we don't realize we're under attack until someone who loves us points it out.
The Devastating Consequences
When they ate, "the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked." Something profound had shifted. Many scholars believe Adam and Eve had been clothed in God's glory—the Shekinah presence—which faded the moment sin entered. The impact wasn't localized to just two people in a garden. Romans 8 tells us that "the whole creation was subjected to futility" and has been "groaning together in the pains of childbirth" ever since.
Their first instinct was to cover themselves with fig leaves—humanity's first attempt at religion, at fixing the sin problem through human effort. Every works-based religion since has been variations on this theme: trying to sew enough fig leaves together to make ourselves acceptable to God.
The Heartbreaking Questions
When God came walking in the garden, Adam and Eve hid. And God asked, "Where are you?"
Did the all-knowing Creator not know Adam's location? Of course He knew. This question was less about Adam's physical location and more about his spiritual condition. "Adam, where are you?" It was the broken-hearted cry of a Creator whose creation had rebelled.
God didn't come through the garden in a tank, seeking to destroy. He came asking questions, giving opportunities for confession and repentance. Yet Adam's response was to blame—first the woman, then God Himself: "The woman YOU gave me..."
The First Gospel Promise
But in the midst of judgment, God spoke hope. To the serpent He declared: "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel" (Genesis 3:15).
This is the Protoevangelium—the first gospel promise. Embedded in the curse was the seed of redemption. Someone was coming from the woman (pointing to the virgin birth) who would crush the serpent's head. The cross would be a bruise to His heel, but there would be a fatal blow to the enemy's head.
The Covering God Provides
The most profound moment comes when God killed an animal and made garments of skin to cover Adam and Eve. This was the first bloodshed, and it was at God's hands. Adam, who had just named these animals, now watched as God killed an innocent creature to provide covering for their sin.
Something innocent had to die to cover their shame. This is the gospel in shadow form—the Lamb of God who would die to cover our sin.
God didn't accept their fig leaves. Human religion never suffices. Only the covering God provides will do.
An Act of Love
When God drove them from the garden and placed cherubim with a flaming sword to guard the tree of life, it wasn't cruelty—it was love. God prevented them from eating from the tree of life in their fallen state, which would have locked them into eternal existence without the possibility of redemption.
The Bookends of Scripture
Genesis 3 introduces the curse, but Revelation promises its removal: "No longer will there be anything accursed" (Revelation 22:3). The tree of life, blocked in Genesis, becomes accessible again in Revelation, its leaves "for the healing of the nations."
Death enters in Genesis; death is destroyed in Revelation, thrown into the lake of fire.
The serpent deceives the woman in Genesis; in Revelation, that ancient serpent is finally defeated.
God clothes Adam and Eve in Genesis; in Revelation, the bride of Christ is clothed in "fine linen, bright and pure."
The Redeemer is promised in Genesis 3:15; in Revelation, the Redeemer reigns forever.
The Takeaway
The enemy hasn't changed his tactics because they still work. He still questions God's word, suggests God is withholding good things, and promises that we can be our own gods. He still works indirectly, subtly, through voices that seem helpful rather than harmful.
But God's response hasn't changed either. He still seeks us out when we hide. He still asks, "Where are you?" He still provides the covering we cannot make for ourselves. And He still promises that the Redeemer who was prophesied in humanity's darkest moment will ultimately reign victorious.
The con may be old, but so is the promise of redemption. And that promise has never failed.