4.2 The Absence of Divine Revelation
The difficulty of the problem regarding God’s hiddenness in Eden is exacerbated by the fact that Satan was already created and had rebelled against God prior to the spiritual downfall of the humans (see Job 38:4–7).[1] Therefore, God could not be unaware of Satan’s nefarious schemes even before this incident in Eden. So, why didn’t God warn Adam and Eve about Satan? Indeed, it is odd that He warned them about the danger of eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, but did not even provide them with a hint, much less a warning, about the dangerous creature lurking under the bush. God’s silence can only be described as puzzling.[2]
Perhaps, we can grant that the earlier divine instruction for Adam to dominate over creatures that creep (Genesis 1:26 and 28) might be taken as an instruction for Adam and Eve to be wary of Satan who would appear later as a serpent to deceive them.
Mark Howard put it this way, “humanity is told to have dominion over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth—for this is the form Satan will take within the story.”[3] However, this reptile was not yet cursed to creep on its belly. That happened only after the humans had fallen into sin (Genesis 3:14). But even if this instruction was indeed an allusion to Satan, why did it have to be so cryptic and vague?
Some have argued that God had already given Adam and Eve a command, forbidding them to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and that command alone should have been more than enough; they were to take God seriously and obey His command without reservation come what may. But why not give Adam and Eve another command to say no to that serpent come what may? Throughout the Scriptures, it is apparent that God had no problem giving multiple commands to humans of later generations, not the least of which would be the famed Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:2–17; Deuteronomy 5:6–21). So, why did He not give just one more command about that serpent for His freshly minted couple to obey? Why was He so reticent?
Others have responded to this enigma by suggesting that God had intended the test for Adam and Eve to be the most extreme form of test of obedience to prepare humanity to enjoy a sinless eternity while remaining free to sin at the same time.
Thus, Huge Ross said, “God in his omniscience knew where Satan was and knew of Satan’s intent. ….God in his omnipotence had the power to keep Satan away from Eden and for that matter completely away from our planet, solar system, and galaxy for all of eternity. These acknowledgments imply, therefore, that it was God’s will and desire for Satan to enter Eden and to tempt Adam and Eve to rebel. One could even conclude that in some context God invited Satan to come into Eden, knowing full well the consequences of Satan’s invasion…. God’s goal was for humans to gain and forever dwell in the new creation that is described in Revelation 21–22. …The permanent elimination of the possibility of evil and suffering combined with the enhancement of free will expression implies that only beings whose free will has been tested by the greatest possible temptation to commit evil can be allowed into the new creation.”[4]
I concur with Huge Ross that God’s test for Adam and Eve was deliberately designed as an extreme form of test of obedience because God had allowed them to be confronted by Satan. But the test was more than just extreme; it was in reality the ultimate test of obedience, not only because God had allowed Satan to tempt the humans, but also because God had kept them in the dark about Satan’s existence prior to the test; they were not privy to the ongoing conflict between Himself and Satan. Indeed, it is easy to see that if Adam and Eve had been aware of Satan, his true identity and evil intent, they would have braced themselves for the test, and the test would have been less than ultimate.
Therefore, when faced with a test of obedience so extreme, is it any surprise that Adam and Eve did not pass? Keep in mind that even though they were created in the form of adults or young adults, they were really “infants” because of their lack of experience and maturity in this world. They were naïve and evidently ill-prepared for the unexpected visitation by Satan. On all counts, it does seem Adam and Eve might have had a better chance at deflecting the lies of Satan if only God had forewarned them about Satan. But incredibly enough, God had not.
Ironically, Christians today have an abundance of God’s explicit warnings about Satan and his evil schemes. For example, our Scripture exhorts us to be wary of Satan so that he “will not outwit us” (2 Corinthians 2:11). We are reminded to be “sober-minded” and “watchful,” for “the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8 ESV). And we are encouraged to put on “the whole armor of God” so that we may “stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood” (Ephesians 6:11–12 ESV). What a blessing it is for Christians today that God has given us ample warning about His adversary. But oddly enough, Adam and Eve were not privileged with such godsent revelation. Didn’t they need it as much as we do, if not more?
I have heard some Christians suggest that because Adam and Eve were already privileged to have the tangible presence of God who routinely walked in Eden, the locality where they dwelt (Genesis 3:8), they therefore did not need any explicit revelation from God about Satan to resist the temptation to sin. However, this argument is unconvincing given that Satan also had the tangible presence of God, and yet he sinned.
Others have tried to defend God by arguing that because Adam and Eve were created perfect, they did not need God to give them any explicit information about Satan’s existence or his upcoming deception. This is because Adam and Eve were hitherto unspoiled by sin, so the argument goes, and therefore, they were fully capable of resisting any temptation to disobey God. In other words, Adam and Eve as yet did not have the so-called “original sin”—a fallen condition that plagued later generations by weakening their resolve to obey God.[5] This argument, however, is also unconvincing. For Adam and Eve did eventually succumb to temptation, testifying to the fact that their potential to sin was not much different from any other human tainted by the so-called “original sin.” Therefore, once again, the question is begged: Why didn’t God give Adam and Eve the heads-up about Satan? Why was He so reticent and silent?
Silence does speak volumes, and in this case, it is deafening. God had allowed Adam and Eve to be tested ever so severely on that day, knowing full well they would fail. That day would go down in history as a day of infamy, if you will. For it was a day that marked the beginning of all the evil and suffering we see in this world. And because of that fateful day, the history of humanity has been drastically altered for the worse. Not a single generation of the human race since the dawn of creation has ever been free from pain and misery because of that tragic day. God’s initial declaration that His creation was good (Genesis 1:3, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25 and 31) was promptly reduced to absurdity because of that day.
[1] Clay Jones, Why Does God Allow Evil?: Compelling Answers For Life's Toughest Questions, Eugene, Oregon: Harvest House Publishers, 2017, Appendix: Satan’s Rebellion – When were the Angels Created?
[2] I realize that it is possible that God could have given warning to Adam and Eve about Satan before he showed up on the scene even though this is not recorded in Scripture. This is of course an argument from silence and does not present itself as a serious counterargument.
[3] Mark Howard, Why Didn’t God Conquer Satan in the Garden? (Tough Questions Teenagers Ask), June 18, 2021. https://rootedministry.com/god-didnt-conquer-satan-garden/ Date accessed: September 22, 2022.
[4] Hugh Ross, Why Didn’t God Keep Satan Out of Eden?, November 23, 2016. https://reasons.org/explore/blogs/todays-new-reason-to-believe/why-didn-t-god-keep-satan-out-of-eden Date accessed: June 17, 2022.
[5] This argument probably refers to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, “As a result of original sin, human nature is weakened in its powers, subject to ignorance, suffering and the domination of death, and inclined to sin (this inclination is called "concupiscence"),” Paragraph 7. THE FALL, Note 418.
https://www.vatican.va/content/catechism/en/part_one/section_two/chapter_one/article_1/paragraph_7_the_fall.html Date accessed: January 28, 2023.