The Temptation of Adam
Let’s first refresh our memory of the Temptation of Christ.
Matt 4,1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit out into the desert to be put to the test by the devil.
Matt 4,2 He fasted for forty days and forty nights, after which he was hungry,
Matt 4,3 and the tester came and said to him, ‘If you are Son of God, tell these stones to turn into loaves.’
Matt 4,4 But he replied, ‘Scripture says: Human beings live not on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’
Matt 4,5 The devil then took him to the holy city and set him on the parapet of the Temple.
Matt 4,6 ‘If you are Son of God,’ he said, ‘throw yourself down; for scripture says: He has given his angels orders about you, and they will carry you in their arms in case you trip over a stone.’
Matt 4,7 Jesus said to him, ‘Scripture also says: Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’
Matt 4,8 Next, taking him to a very high mountain, the devil showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendour.
Matt 4,9 And he said to him, ‘I will give you all these, if you fall at my feet and do me homage.’
Matt 4,10 Then Jesus replied, ‘Away with you, Satan! For scripture says: The Lord your God is the one to whom you must do homage, him alone you must serve.’
Matt 4,11 Then the devil left him, and suddenly angels appeared and looked after him.
The Temptation of Adam according to Martines de Pasqually:
Adam, entrusted with free will, reflected on the great power manifested by his first three operations. He envisaged that his work was nearly as great as God’s, but by not being able to perfectly understand his first three operations, nor those of the Creator, he started to become troubled while reflecting upon the almighty divine power, which he could only examine with the consent of the Creator. […]. These reflections, as well as the though he had conceived to read in the divine power, soon became known by the first perverse spirits, since, as soon as he had conceived that thought, one of the main perverse spirits, which we call “Evil demons” appeared to him in the most beautiful form of apparent body of glory, and said: “What more do you want to know about the almighty Creator? Has he not made you his equal in virtue and in the omnipotence he bestowed on you? Act according to your innate will, and operate as a free being, either on the divinity or on the entire universal creation that is subject to your command. You will then be convinced that your power does not differ from that of the Creator. You will learn that you are not only a creator of a particular power but also a creator in the way you have been told, that you will bear a posterity of God. I know all these things from God, and it is by him and in his name that I speak to you.”[1]
A lot can be said from this excerpt. Let us simply note the most salient causes of Adam’s fall:
1. Adam became infatuated with his own powers;
2. However, he was frustrated by his limitations, and especially by his ultimate dependance on God (in violation of Deut. 8:3, referred to in Matt. 4:4);
3. A leader of the “Evil Demons” approached him in disguise, presenting himself in the purest light (glory);
4. The tester flattered Adam’s pride and appetite for knowledge so that he would lower his guard (see Matt. 4:10 & Deut. 5:7);
5. The demon then tricked Adam into using his powers for personal motives, and for testing the extent of his power (see Matt. 4:7 & Deut. 6:16).
What ensues directly from this will be the subject of another post. But as you may know or have already guessed, Adam did choose to follow the bad influence of the “tester”, and in doing so, was the cause of his entire posterity’s entrapment in the bonds of materiality, and its subjugation to all the evil one would expect in such circumstances.
[1] Martines de Pasqually, Traité sur la réintégration des êtres dans leur première propriété, vertu et puissance spirituelle divine, Diffusion Rosicrucienne, 1995, §12; compare with Treatise on the Reintegration of Beings, Septentrione Books, 2007, tr. by Trevor Stewart Chp II-7&8