Mailbag Page 5
Navigate

What if Adam and Eve had not sinned?

Did God permit a witch to raise Samuel from the dead?

What if Adam and Eve had not sinned?

John writes: My fellowship is studying about Adam and Eve. For our next meeting I would like to know, if Adam & Eve never ate the fruit, would they have never died? Would they still have had babies? If they had not eaten the fruit at that time, it would still be there. Might they have eaten it at some future date?

Bible Bell's Response

Would Adam & Eve have died if they had never eaten of the forbidden fruit?

1) Answer: No, they would never have died.

2) Romans 5.12 says that sin and death ENTERED the world because of the sin of Adam & Eve. This means that death was NOT present in the world before the sin of Adam & Eve.

  ...through one man (Adam) sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned (Rom 5.12)
3) Romans 6.23 says that the wages of SIN is death. If Adam & Eve had not sinned, there would have been no death.   For the wages of sin is death (Rom 6.23a)
Would Adam & Eve have had children if they had not eaten of the forbidden fruit?

1) Answer: Yes, they would have had children.

2) In Genesis 1.28, God commanded Adam & Eve to be fruitful & multiply. In other words, God commanded them to have children. This command was given BEFORE Adam & Eve sinned.
  Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it...(Gen 1.28a)

3) One of the penalties for Adam & Eve's sin was that God multiplied the woman's conception (Gen 3.16). "Conception" means "pregnancy." In other words, the birth rate was INCREASED because of sin.

  • Because the sin of Adam & Eve brought death into the world, more children would need to be born in order to replace those people who died.
  • Had Adam & Eve not sinned, people would still have given birth to children, but MUCH less frequently than is true today.
  To the woman He (God) said: "I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; in pain you shall bring forth children...'' (Gen 3.16a)
4) Another penalty for Adam & Eve's sin was that giving birth to babies became painful for women (Gen 3.16). Had Adam & Eve not sinned, there would have been NO pain for a woman who gives birth.  

If Adam & Eve had not eaten the forbidden fruit when they did, would they have eaten it at some future date since the forbidden fruit would still be there with them?

Answer: The Bible does not answer this question.

Bellgamin's OPINION is that, NO, Adam & Eve would never again have been tempted to disobey God.

  • Adam & Eve were NOT sinners when God created them. When they were created, Adam & Eve had no sin nature. In other words, they were neither good nor evil because they were innocent and had never been tested.
  • God Himself planted the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil for the very purpose of testing Adam & Eve as to whether they would choose "good" (trusting & obeying God) or "evil" (distrusting & disobeying God).

If Adam & Eve had rejected the serpent's temptation, and had instead chosen to trust and obey God, it is Bellgamin's opinion that there would have been NO further testing.

  • Adam & Eve would no longer have been innocent. Instead, they would have been "good."
  • God would have confirmed Adam & Eve in their goodness, and they would then have been "impeccable" -- no longer susceptible to temptation.
  • Look at it this way... Adam & Eve sinned once and were confirmed as sinners. By the same token, had they NOT sinned, they would have been confirmed as forever free from sin. This same opinion is held by many evangelical theologians.

Did God permit a witch to raise Samuel from the dead?

Anonymous writes: In 1 Samuel chapter 28 King Saul asked the witch of Endor to call up the spirit of Samuel, who was dead. It seems like the witch was able to do this. I thought God does not permit that sort of thing.
1 Sam 28.13 quotes words that the medium spoke. The medium said she saw a spirit. The medium's statement could be a lie. The Bible always makes FULLY accurate quotations of what people say. However, that does NOT mean that the person being quoted is speaking the truth.   And the woman said to Saul, "I saw a spirit ascending out of the earth.'' (1 Sam 28.13)
However, 1 Sam 28.12a says the woman saw Samuel. This is NOT a quotation. When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice. (1 Sam 28.12a)
Moreover, 1 Sam 28.15 says that Samuel spoke to Saul. This also is NOT a quotation.

Since 1 Sam 28.12a & 28.15 are not quotations, this means that they are Bible statements of FACT. Therefore, it is God who is saying that the woman saw Samuel, and that Samuel spoke to Saul.

Therefore there is NO DOUBT WHATSOEVER that Samuel's spirit came and spoke to Saul.
Now Samuel said to Saul, "Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?'' (1 Sam 28.15)
We conclude that it was God who permitted and enabled Samuel's spirit to visit Saul.

The Bible does NOT say why God chose to release Samuel's spirit to visit Saul, but we can be quite certain that the medium had ZERO to do with it. God alone holds the keys of Hades and death.
(Jesus said:) "I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death. (Rev 1.18)

In 1 Sam 28.19, notice that Samuel told Saul that God had passed the following judgments...

  • Israel would be defeated by the Philistines.
  • Saul and his sons would die during the battle on the following day.

In my OPINION, God allowed Samuel to come to Saul so that Samuel could tell Saul that God had decided that he must die.

  • In other words, Saul was made aware that his forthcoming death would not result from "the fortunes of war" but was instead decreed by God.
  • Perhaps God made the death judgment on Saul BECAUSE he consulted with the medium (a witch).
(Samuel's spirit said to Saul:) "Moreover the Lord will also deliver Israel with you into the hand of the Philistines. And tomorrow you and your sons will be with me.'' (1 Sam 28.19a)

Summary

  • Without question, it was Samuel's spirit that came to Saul.
  • The medium had nothing to do with Samuel's coming. It was strictly God's doing.
  • The Bible doesn't say why God allowed Samuel's spirit to visit Saul. Perhaps it was to pronounce judgment on Saul.

To read more about this topic, go HERE

Home

Site Index

Search

Prayer Requests

Poetry

Contact us

About us