We learn from the Bible that both Adam and Eve lived many years after that fateful day. Since this is true, did the punishment forewarned by God fail?
Was God’s warning not precise? Many Christians try to sort this confusion out by saying that it was not a physical death that God warned them about, but a spiritual death. They say that the separation of Adam and Eve from the presence of God within the same 24 hour day was that spiritual death. This erroneous interpretation has hindered many Christians as it prevents them from understanding the plan of God. Since they believe spiritual death to be the punishment for sin, instead of accepting the simple truth that physical death is the punishment for sin, they also wrongly assume that the coming Kingdom of God is also a spiritual-mystic kingdom. Henceforth, it is difficult for them to comprehend clearly that redemption in Christ primarily means a resurrection from physical death. But the question still remains: if the punishment for Adam and Eve was a physical death, why did they not die the same day? In an attempt to explain this, another intrepretation which has arisen claims that the day mentioned here by Yahweh God is not a 24 hour day. Citing Peter who says that one day is equal to a thousand years for the Lord, it is argued that the day mentioned in Genesis 2:17 must also be a 1000-year day. (2 Peter 3:8) That was the reason Adam died when he was 930 years old; well before 1000 years, as it is stated in Genesis 5:5. It is argued that because of this reason no man has ever lived to a thousand years, According to the Bible, Methusaleh has lived the longest at 969 years. (Genesis 5:27) At first glance, this explanation does look appropriate but it is flawed. We should not forget that the Bible does not record the lifespan of many people. It is possible that one among them could have lived for more than 1,000 years. As a matter of fact, since the Scriptures do not specify, we do not even know how long Eve lived. It should be kept in mind that nowhere does the Bible directly say that no man has lived for more than 1,000 years. Hence it is wrong to make such a claim. It is not for us to speculate whether anyone lived or not till 1,000 years. We just do not and cannot know! For all we know, Eve (who directly received the punishment from God) may have lived for a 1,000 years. The point is we can not agree to an intrepretation which is not directly supported by the Bible. Since we can not go beyond what is written, this explanation which is not directly substantiated by the scripture should not be accepted.
(2) To be able to get a clear, direct, and an uncontested explanation we need to probe deeper. The events of creation are detailed in the first chapter of Genesis. It narrates how God created the entire world in six days. We are able to know that these six days were not 24 hour days since the sun and the moon were created only on the fourth day. (Genesis 1:14-19) Science tells us that our 24 hour day calculation is based on the Sun. The 24 hour day is the time taken by the earth to rotate on its axis once. If the Sun did not exist, we would not have day and night changes. During earth’s rotation, the side which is exposed to the Sun experiences daylight while the opposite side experiences night. Henceforth, the days of creation which had evenings and mornings, (even before the creation of Sun) can not be the 24 hour day of earth. Keeping this in mind, it is possible and reasonable that the duration of each creative day is the time period within which the punishment of death on Adam-Eve needed to be fulfilled. But it is nearly impossible to know how long is this in terms of the way we keep time here on Earth. Though there is an intrepretation that each creative day amounts to 7,000 earth years; while noting that it may be accurate, but since it is not backed by direct scriptural evidence, it can only be deemed at best as a possible supposition. The next question which arises is, is it impossible to find direct scriptural evidence that Adam-Eve died on the same day of the curse? Yes, it is possible. From the Bible it is possible to prove without any doubt that Adam and Eve died the same day that they were cursed. If so, how?
(3) It is mentioned clearly that the first creative six days began and ended with the coming of a morning and an evening. (Genesis 1) We stated in the previous paragraph that this morning and evening was not the same as those of our earth’s day. Having said that, it is to be noted that regarding the Seventh Day, it is written simply that God rested on that day. Nowhere is it mentioned that the Seventh Day ended and the Eighth Day began. (Genesis 2:2,3) We have to keep in mind that the entire Bible was written with the oversight of the Holy Spirit. And hence, we can not slight the asymmetry here as a lapse in the memory or carelessness on the part of the writer. It is thought by many that the Seventh Day is still not over. But simply relying on this is not a solid foundation for us to conclude that the Seventh Day has not ended. A more direct scriptural proof is necessary. Such a kind of proof is found in the book of Hebrews. Let us now discuss Hebrews 3:7 to Hebrews 4:10 in detail.
(4) “So, as the Holy Spirit says: ‘Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the desert, where your fathers tested and tried me and for forty years saw what I did. That is why I was angry with that generation,’ and I said, ‘Their hearts are always going astray, and they have not known my ways.’ So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’ ” (Hebrews 3:7 -11) In these verses God points out that ‘Today’ they should not be like the Israelites who in the desert doubted God, caused confusion, and received the anger of God, and therefore could not enter into His rest. The rest that God talks about here appears to be the rest that the Israelites would have received on entering the land of Canaan. Paul cites these verses from Psalms 95. After referring to them Paul later adds, “See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.” (Hebrews 3:12) He advises that none of us must be like the Israelites. Also, Paul does say in another place that the desert journey of the Israelites is a symbol of our present spiritual journey. (1 Corinthians 10:1-6) The Israelites back then were unrepentant sinners who did not believe that God would take them into the land of Canaan. The lesson for us is that we should not be like them; instead, we must firmly believe that the one who began our race will also be the finisher of our race as we strive to avoid sin, and do the works of faith every day. Paul’s next statements are very important for the topic of our study.
(5) “But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.” (Hebrews 3:13) Here, Paul asks us to continue to encourage one another. If we do so we would not be hardened by sin and become unrepentant sinners like the Israelites in the desert. Pay close attention to the part that is underlined. Therein, Paul stresses on “Today” by saying that “as long as it is called Today,” we need to encourage each other. This means that it would not be beneficial to do so when today is over. But why so? Moreover, what is this “Today” he is talking about? Paul has not explained what this “Today” is till now. He then goes on to advise the church thus, “We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first. As has just been said: ‘Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion.’ “ (Hebrews 3: 14, 15) The lesson here is, if we refrain from being like the unbelieving Israelites and continue in our faith, then we will be joint heirs with Christ. He refers again to Psalm 95 and uses the “Today” mentioned there to counsel the Church. From this we understand that the “Today” mentioned by God through David in Psalms 95 to advise the Israelites of that day, is the same as the ‘Today’ mentioned by Paul regarding the Church (that is us). They both refer to the same day; this is why Paul quotes from Psalms 95 to advise the church. But how is this possible ? Their (Israelite) time period was way in the past, and ours is now. How is it possible for Paul to use the “Today” uttered by God to David some 3,000 years back, in the context of the Church? Isn’t He quoting out of context? Let us read further:
(6) “Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the desert? And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed? So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.” (Hebrews 3:16-19) The people who rebelled against God were the ones whom He led out of Egypt under Moses. God was angry with them for forty years, and due to their hardened and unbelieving hearts, most of them died in the desert. These were the people to whom God said that they would not enter into His rest. The reason for this was because of their lack of faith in Him. When we read the Old Testament, we see that instead of believing that God would take care of their needs, they kept grumbling and wishing they had stayed back in Egypt, and hence they could not enter the rest of Canaan. This is a good lesson for us as well. After undergoing baptism and beginning our spiritual race, we should not keep wishing that we would have been better off as one among the people of the world. We need to have the faith until the end that the God who has called us, will also guide us through to the end. As Paul says in Hebrews 3:14, it is important that we hold on to the faith that we had in the beginning, until the end of our race. These admonitions apart, again here, it appears that God is talking about the rest of Canaan as the one which the Israelites could not enter. We know that those who died in the desert did not enter Canaan, and therefore it appears to be the most obvious rest God could mention here. Let us read further.
(7) “Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it. For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith.” (Hebrews 4: 1, 2) The Israelites of that time worshipped God through the Tabernacle of sacrifices. The New Testament reveals that all those sacrifices only preshadowed the coming sacrifice of Jesus Christ (Hebrews 9 – 11 chapters). Therefore it seems, they also had a fellowship with God based on the “gospel” of Christ. However, the Israelites failed to enter God’s rest because of their lack of faith and so Paul advises us as well, that none of us backslide, or lack in faith like the Israelites since the promise of entering God’s rest “still stands” for us. But it appeared until now that God was talking about the rest of Canaan. If this is ture, how then today, can we enter that rest? Let’s continue to read: “Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said, ‘So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’ And yet his work has been finished since the creation of the world. For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words: ‘And on the seventh day God rested from all his work.’ And again in the passage above he says, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’ ” (Hebrews 4: 3-5) Here, Paul says something that is surprising and also very important to the topic of our study. He says that the rest that God had promised to the Israelites back then was not the rest of Canaan. He links the rest promised to the Israelites with the rest God took on the Seventh Day of creation. In essence what Paul is saying, is that the rest that was promised to the Israelites was not the rest of Canaan, but the rest of God’s Seventh Day. This is why God said “my rest.” If this is ture (then as we saw in Hebrews 4:1), the promise to enter that rest still stands for us; this clearly means that God is still resting. In other words, the Seventh Day is not over yet. This concept is further explained in greater detail by Paul in the next few verses:
(8) “It still remains that some will enter that rest, and those who formerly had the gospel preached to them did not go in, because of their disobedience. Therefore God again set a certain day, calling it Today, when a long time later he spoke through David, as was said before: ‘Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.’ For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his.’ ” (Hebrews 4: 6-10) Paul says some will enter God’s rest in the future. He makes it clear that the rest given by Joshua, who took the Israelites into Canaan, is not the rest promised by God in Psalms 95. Then the question arises: how does it all add up? The simple answer is: if the Israelites had obeyed God in their journey through the desert, then in the coming thousand years reign they would have been resurrected as members of the ancient worthies (the Old Testament faithful), and would have attained eternal rest. It is this rest that God promised them even back then, and not the rest of Canaan. But they lost the privilege of entering into this rest of God by their unfaithfulness. Therefore, when they resurrect during the thousand year reign of Christ, they need to preform appropriate works and then they will be tested before certified as faithful. Paul says that we should learn from their symbolic journey and strive to enter into that rest. (Hebrews 4: 11) This means that if we endeavour to live a life pleasing to God now, we would surely enter that rest in our resurrection. Since we as the Church do not have a second opportunity, if we let this opportunity slip, we will have to face second death. Therefore we need to be even more cautious.This aside, what is important to our subject we are discussing here, is that it is clear that even until the period of Christ’s thousand year reign, God’s seventh day of rest extends. This is why God refers to this period as ‘my rest’. This is the reason Paul also refers to it as ‘His rest.’ In other words, this is the rest period of God. It is now crystal clear that the Seventh Day of creation mentioned in Genesis is not over yet. This is why Paul could use the ‘Today’ which God talked about three thousand years ago to the Israelites in our context. Their ‘Today’ and our ‘Today’ is the same – the Seventh Day of creation in which God has rested.
(9) We have now seen that the Seventh Day of creation is God’s day of rest and presently continues. Keep in mind that it was also the same day in which Adam and Eve transgressed God’s command. Therefore, we can now see that Adam and Eve did die in the very same day as God had warned them. We also know that before the commencement of the 1,000 year reign of Christ, the entire human race is going to experience death, and many will die in the final war of Armageddon. From this we can understand the vigour of God’s punishment ‘in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.’ (NASB) The entire progeny of Adam is to die within that very same day. Yes, not just Adam, but the entire human race is to return to dust within that same day. Indeed, now it is easy to see that God’s punishment was a physical death. And such a physical death visits not just Adam-Eve, but all of their descendants within the same day (the day of God’s rest). Such is the extent of God’s punishment. But let us thank God since He so loved the world, He gave His only begotten Son (John 3:16) as a sin offering on the same day; and thereby made it possible to those who are willing to obey Him, to enter into His rest. This is why Paul says, “as long as it is called Today” we need to try to enter into this rest of God; because none can enter the rest of God after the end of this Seventh Day, for His day of rest would have then ended. The coming 1,000 year reign of Christ also falls within this Seventh Day. The believers of the Old Testament and those of the Church, will enter into the rest of God at the very beginning of the 1,000 year reign. The rest of the people of the world who will be resurrected during the 1,000 year reign will have a perfect body (and mind), and will therefore be at rest in the flesh. But this fleshly rest is not permanent; for by doing Godly works they have to become perfect in spirit, as well, before the end of the thousand years to enter into God’s eternal rest. It is by becoming perfect in spirit that they will then be able to withstand Satan in his litte season of testing. Those who do not become perfected in spirit before the end of the thousand years will be deceived by Satan and will be destroyed along with him (Revelation 20:11-15). In this way, mankind which erred and got away from God at the beginning of the Seventh Day, will be brought back in unity with God, within the very same day. Let all praise be to God!
(10) Keep in mind that none of our doctrines should be based on intrepretations that go beyond the written word, or only on types and parables. Direct scriptural evidence is the primary foundation on which a doctrine should stand. Paul’s explanation regarding God’s day of rest is direct, precise and should not be disputed. Thanks be to God!