In his first display of disaffection Satan was very cunning. All he claimed was that he wanted to bring in a better order of things, to make great improvements. He led the holy pair away from God, away from their allegiance to His commandments, on the same point where thousands are tempted today and where thousands fall; that is, by their vain imaginings. True knowledge is divine. Satan insinuated into the minds of our first parents a desire for a speculative knowledge, whereby he declared they would greatly improve their condition; but in order to gain this, they must take a course contrary to God’s holy will; for God would not lead them to the greatest heights. It was not God’s purpose that they should obtain knowledge that had its foundation in disobedience. This was a broad field into which Satan was seeking to lead Adam and Eve, and it is the same field that he opens for the world today by his temptations. {5T 502.2}

I sin første tilkendegivelse af utilfredshed var Satan meget listig. Alt hvad han forlangte var at ville bringe tingene i bedre (503) orden, for at gøre store fremskridt. Han førte det hellige par bort fra Gud, bort fra deres troskab mod hans bud, på samme punkt, hvor tusindvis fristes i dag og hvor tusindvis vil falde; det er på grund af deres forfængelige indbildninger. Sand kundskab er guddommelig. Satan overlistede vore første forældre med et ønske om spekulativ kundskab, hvorved han erklærede at de kunne udnytte deres situation; men for at kunne få denne, måtte de gøre noget stik imod Guds hellige vilje; for Gud ville ikke lede dem til de største højder. Det var ikke Guds plan at de skulle få kundskab, der havde sit grundlag i ulydighed. Dette var et bredt område, som Satan forsøgte at lede Adam og Eva i og det er det samme område han åbner for verden i dag, ved sine fristelser.