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NASB | Genesis 2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Genesis 2:1 So the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts (inhabitants). |
Bible Question: So when Adam and Eve sinned, did they repent? Did they go to heaven when they died? How would you explain this to a bunch of middle-school girls? |
Bible Answer: God prepared this earth as a home for his children. Adam and Eve were chosen to be the first people to live on the earth.Their part in our Father’s plan was to bring mortality into the world. They were to be the first parents.When Adam and Eve were placed in the Garden of Eden, they were not yet mortal. They were not able to have children. There was no death. They had physical life because their spirits were housed in physical bodies made from the dust of the earth.They had spiritual life because they were in the presence of God .They had not yet made a choice between good and evil. God commanded them to have children and to learn to control the earth. He said, “Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it, and have dominion over … every living thing that moveth upon the earth” .God told them they could freely eat of every tree in the garden except one, the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Of that tree God said, “In the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die”.Satan, not knowing the mind of God but seeking to destroy God’s plan, came to Eve in the Garden of Eden. He tempted her to eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. He assured her that she and Adam would not die, but that they would “be as gods, knowing good and evil”.Eve yielded to the temptation and ate the fruit. When Adam learned what had happened, he wisely chose to partake also therefore being able to obey the command to multiply. The changes that came upon Adam and Eve because they ate the fruit are called the Fall. Some people believe Adam and Eve committed a serious sin when they ate of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. However, their fall was a necessary step in the plan of life and a great blessing to all of us. Because of the Fall, we are blessed with physical bodies, the right to choose between good and evil, and the opportunity to gain eternal life. None of these privileges would have been ours had Adam and Eve remained in the garden. And now, if Adam had not transgressed he would not have fallen [been cut off from the presence of God], but he would have remained in the Garden of Eden. And all things which were created must have remained in the same state in which they were after they were created; … And they would have had no children; wherefore they would have remained in a state of innocence, having no joy, for they knew no misery; doing no good, for they knew no sin. We should trust that all things have been done in the wisdom of him who knoweth all things. Therefore Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy. When Adam transgressed, and ate the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, he did just that – he transgressed. He did not sin. He could not sin at that point. Why? Because sinning implies that you know the difference between good and evil (see James 4:17). But the whole point of eating the fruit was that before eating, Adam did not have knowledge of good and evil. Adam's transgression was certainly against what God said, but Adam did not appreciate the significance of that at the time, so cannot be justly condemned for it. We are really going off on a tangent here, but it is worth finishing. If the "fall" of Adam is so important, why did God say "don't eat the fruit?" That's easy. If you are a parent, you will know the answer already. Someone who loves their children will always try to stop them getting hurt. But you also know that the child must get hurt in order to learn. God loved Adam, so told him not to get hurt. But like any father, he knew that an inquisitive child who doesn't know any better will do it anyway, and that is as it should be. Adam had to learn for himself. Conclusion: So in conclusion: Adam was presumably a righteous man. So Adam is now in heaven. So Adam sits on a throne (Revelation 3:21). Adam is the most ancient of all mankind. Adam deserves respect from all mankind (as any parent deserves respect from his children). So Adam is truly "The Ancient of Days" (but thats another discussion altogether). |