6. How did Satan challenge the goodness and sovereignty of Jehovah?

⁶ But Satan said more. He went on: “For God knows that in the very day of your eating from it your eyes are bound to be opened and you are bound to be like God, knowing good and bad.” According to Satan, Jehovah God​—who had provided so bountifully for our first parents—​wanted to deprive them of something wonderful. He wanted to prevent them from being like gods. Thus, Satan challenged the goodness of God. He also promoted self-gratification and a deliberate ignoring of God’s laws, saying that acting in this way would be beneficial. In effect, Satan challenged God’s sovereignty over His own creation, alleging that God had no right to put limits on what man did.

7. When were the teachings of demons first heard, and how are they similar today?

⁷ With those words of Satan, the teachings of demons began to be heard. These evil teachings still promote similar ungodly principles. Just as he did in the garden of Eden, Satan, now joined by other rebellious spirits, still challenges God’s right to set standards of action. He still impugns Jehovah’s sovereignty and tries to influence humans to disobey their heavenly Father.​—1 John 3:8, 10.

13. What lies has Satan told mankind since Eden?

¹³ To Eve, Satan accused Jehovah of lying and said that humans could be like gods if they disobeyed their Creator. The fallen condition of mankind today proves that Satan, not Jehovah, was the liar. Humans today are no gods! However, Satan followed up that first lie with other lies. He introduced the idea that the human soul is immortal, undying. He thus dangled before mankind the possibility of being like gods in another way. Then, based on that false doctrine, he promoted the teachings of hellfire, purgatory, spiritism, and ancestor worship. These lies still hold hundreds of millions in thrall.​—Deuteronomy 18:9-13.

16. What are the long-term results when humans follow their own wisdom?

¹⁶ By his lies in the garden of Eden, Satan encouraged Adam and Eve to aspire to be independent from God and to rely on their own wisdom. Today, we see the long-term results of that in the crime, the economic hardships, the wars, and the gross inequality that exist in the world today. No wonder the Bible says: “The wisdom of this world is foolishness with God”! (1 Corinthians 3:19) Nevertheless, most humans foolishly prefer to suffer rather than take note of Jehovah’s teachings. (Psalm 14:1-3; 107:17) Christians, who have accepted divine teaching, avoid falling into that trap.