He began to think: "Must such a being as I always remain dependent
on God?" He exalted himself, pride asserted itself in separation from God,
and that very moment he became, instead of an angel in Heaven, a devil in
hell. Self turned to God is the glory of allowing the Creator to reveal
Himself in us. Self turned away from God is the very darkness and fire of
hell.
We all know the terrible story of what took place further; God created man,
and Satan came in the form of a serpent and tempted Eve with the thought
of becoming as God, having an independent self, knowing good and evil. And
while he spoke with her, he breathed into her, in those words, the very
poison and the very pride of hell. His own evil spirit, the very poison of
hell, entered humanity, and it is this cursed self that we have inherited
from our first parents. It was that self that ruined and brought
destruction upon this world, and all that there has been of sin, and of
darkness, and of wretchedness, and of misery; and all that there will be
throughout the countless ages of eternity in hell, will be nothing but the
reign of self, the curse of self, separating man and turning him away from
his God.
Pages:
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40