I finished reading Revelation yesterday and started over again reading Genesis. I noticed that after Adam and Eve ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evill; it was for them, the realization they had a choice, to do good or to do evil. God states they will not live forever but must die, and return to dust. Why was that? I believe that if Adam and Eve lived forever, they would use their immortality to do evil. Death puts an end to doing any more evil on the earth. Without the certainity of death, no one would seek God and have any motivation to do good if they already have eternal life. So Death served a good purpose. Since death is the end of sinning on earth, when we are saved, our old selves die and our new selves live forever so enternal life is restored in Heaven the way it could've been in the Garden of Eden in the begining if Adam and Eve didn't sin.

Anybody have any insights to add?

I agree with what you've said. I found this passage the other day:
Romans 5:14
Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.

And this one (the good news!)
Romans 5:17
For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)

I never thought of the outcome if Adam and Eve had immediately turned to eat from the tree of life. I trust in my heart that God had a plan for that too. It's interesting, I was thinking about how we trust God, He's our Father in Heaven but how we who are His creation are the least to be trusted by Him, even a tree (literal one) is more faithful than us. I was sitting outside watching the trees change over the past month or so, and I just smiled thinking they are so faithful, and they're just a tree! Even the sun and the moon which God commanded long ago...are more faithful than us.

At the same time, He has entrusted us with His Word. My yearning and prayer is just to make the right decisions according to His will, not for merit or to be given a crown. I just want to see Him smile. God cries a lot in the Bible...I want Him to see that we, His people can be faithful.

Anyway...nice post, got me thinking

That brings my thought in that Jesus Christ was the Tree of Life in the garden of Eden and the Tree of Death was the Knowledge of Good and Evil. The serpent is the liar saying 'You won't die.' Adam was told he could eat of every tree except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and if you do you'll die. The tree of knowledge was, by definition, a tree of cunning, slyness, deceitfullness. The serpent was there and he ate from it. He deceived Eve, but I say Eve was the mind of Adam. Adam was already male and female. The female was the 'rib' of Adam taken from him and brought back.

Romans 5:17
For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)

You have to concentrate on this word; . . . by one man's 'offense' death reigned . . .
Offense means 'unintentional slip.' In modern times, it makes you think of a football team and it has nothing to do with that! Jesus said 'If you offend one of these little ones, it would be better for you to tie a millstone around your neck and cast yourself into the sea.' What did He mean by that? Well, I think it is if you make one of these children do something that they do not know how to do and it hurts them, it might be better if you were dead.

But then, bring in the whole thing. Adam unintentionally ate the fruit that was given to him by his mind. Eve, his mind, saw it and desired it and ate it and that was the wrong thing to do. But then, Adam was not the eyes, he was the ears. He 'listened' to his wife. It's hard to bring to the table some knowledge when the hearers are blocked by their own opinions. And that is why you don't cast your bread to the swine. That's not a derogatory term, but it is a term that describes what somebody does; they roll in the mire of their own opinions and trample your opinions under their feet.

Death came by the unintentional eating eating of the fruit. What does that make the fruit? It was the fruit that killed them, not the desire or the sight of it, but the fruit itself. What was that fruit? It came from a tree. A tree that Adam was 'told' not to eat from! He heard that; he listened to that. I gotta reboot my computer. But, y'all listen to that.

OK, I'm back.



Something is hidden in your thought. What is it? You would say, 'If I knew I'd tell you!' That's right, if you knew what the evil was, you would tell us wouldn't you? Nobody has ever told us what the evil is! They only assume what the evil is! What do you read in the bible? The Old Testament doesn't tell you. It just tells you the result of that choice with a few chapters written by those who did not do that and it was a prohesy of what was to come to save mankind from the death of the choice. And the New Testament just told you about the fulfillment of that prophesy and Jesus tells you that! Jesus said, 'Ye search the scriptures daily and you think you have eternal life, but those just tell you of me.'
You say evil was the choice to do good or to do evil. Huh? What? How did the evil come about? What did Adam do that was evil? Was it eating or the choice of the fruit?

The bible tells you it was the fruit that was evil, right? No it does not. So, it was the tree that the fruit came from? Nope. Was it the serpent? Nope. Was it Eve? Nope. It was the desire, right? Not really. Well, what was it?

It was LISTENING to the voice the wife whom Adam named Eve. But now, we have to figure out what the voice is. It was the VOICE that was evil. The VOICE of the serpent was evil. The serpent didn't talk, the VOICE DID. 'Surely you won't die.' See, the woman had 3 names; the woman, Shirley, and Eve.

Didn't Adam just get through saying 'Therefore, a man will leave his father and mother and cleave to the wife and they shall become one flesh.'

So, the wife of Adam became the VOICE.

What does the bible tell you about the voice?

I'll leave you with that.

Have a good day.

A little Hebrew insight,,,,,,

In Hebrew the trees in the Garden are called "Atsah, aw-tsaw,,,,,they are people.....

"Atsah, aw-tsaw, prime root, prop. to fasten (or make firm), i.e., to close (the eyes): shut."

Its funny how Satan told Eve her eyes would be open,,,,,,but the the prime root of the word "Atsah, aw-tsaw, is to close the eye,,,as you can see above.....

Satan ,,,,waht a liar huh.....

The reason Adam and Eve were punished from taking the fruit, they disobeyed one simple commandment and no they would not live forever doing evil.

God knows how easy it is to turn to evil, even Angels are not immortal but have everlasting life as a gift

The difference is everlasting life can be taken away, immortality cannot otherwise Satan would be indestructable.

Who has immortality are the 144,000 mentioned in revelations the Brides of Christ who will be eternally free from the 2nd Death
Eden will be restored as it was in Genesis for faithfull mankind to live forever here on Earth as stated in Revelations

But...

Will be given only the gift of everlasting life not immortality and God will remove certain individuals who fall away in the eternity to follow
that is why Adam and Eve were not immortal even from the beginning.

Fruit just means words,,,,,,,they believed satan,,,and in believing him it made them do the unthinkable....