The second choice was the tree of knowledge (Gen. 2:17), which was the opposite of the tree of life. Note that this tree was called the tree of knowledge of good and evil, not simply the knowledge of evil. Both the knowledge of good and the knowledge of evil come from the same tree. It does not matter whether knowledge is the knowledge of good or of evil. As long as it is knowledge, it does not belong to the tree of life. It belongs to the tree of knowledge.
Although the tree of the knowledge of good and evil signifies Satan, it does not signify him directly. It firstly signifies everything apart from God and then it signifies Satan indirectly, because Satan is hidden at the back of the things that are apart from God. Satan likes to conceal himself. Thus, the tree of knowledge represents him indirectly.
Satan is not as frank as God. God is very frank and always comes to the front. Satan, however, is subtle, always staying at the rear. If Satan wants to trouble you, he will not do it openly and frankly. He will do it subtly, acting through your wife or through a part of the world, such as a department store. Sometimes, Satan even utilizes the Bible, operating through the letters of the Scripture to harass you. Remember how the Jewish religionists, the Pharisees and the scribes, used the Bible to condemn the Lord Jesus to death (John 19:7). Because Satan is subtle, the tree of knowledge does not signify him directly. It signifies everything apart from God, including good things, scriptural things, and religious things. Regardless of whether a thing is good or evil, as long as it is not God Himself it can be utilized by Satan.
The things apart from God fall into three categories: knowledge, good, and evil. Suppose you have the intention of doing a certain good thing. Deep in your spirit, however, you have the sense not to touch it and not to do it. You are not convinced by this inner sense which forbids you to do it and you go to one of the elders saying, "Brother, look at this good thing I have in mind to do. It is very good. Why don't I have the peace to do it?" The elder may say, "It does not matter whether or not you have the peace. You should do it because it is good." If the elder gives such a reply, he will certainly be an elder of knowledge, not knowing the principle of life. Every proper elder should say, "Brother, we should never go along with the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Our principle is not good and bad, right and wrong. Our principle is life." Do not employ the principle of good and bad, but cooperate with the principle of life. If you do not have peace within, it means that the Spirit of life does not agree with what you intend to do. You need to cooperate with Him. If you do, you will receive life. Have you not had this kind of experience repeatedly in the past? Whenever you acted according to the good, you were killed. You experienced death. However, when you acted according to the inner life, you received more life.
The tree of knowledge firstly signifies everything utilized by Satan, regardless of whether it is good or evil. It does not signify Satan directly, because he likes to hide. When Satan first entered into man, he did not do it in a frank way. He came in the form of a serpent. At the beginning of the Bible, the serpent was very cunning and apparently was quite attractive (Gen. 3:1), unlike the ugly serpents under God's curse. As Eve conversed with the serpent, she did not realize that Satan was in it. Herein lies the principle of Satan's appearing: he never appears frankly, but subtly.
We find another example of Satan's subtle appearing in the case of Peter in the Gospels. Peter was an honest, faithful disciple, and he loved the Lord Jesus very much. When the Lord spoke of His coming crucifixion, Peter said, "God be merciful to You, Lord; this shall by no means happen to You!" (Matt. 16:21-23). The Lord Jesus turned to Peter and said to him, "Get behind Me, Satan!" Apparently, Peter was the speaker; actually it was Satan in Peter. Satan was also in Judas when he betrayed the Lord Jesus. Judas was filled with Satan and called "a devil" (John 13:2, 27; 6:70).
By all these examples we can see that Satan never acts frankly. He is always subtle, using others as a covering. You may say, "That is not Satan. That is my wife. That is my dear husband." Nevertheless, the wife and the husband have been used by Satan. Therefore, we must be careful.