"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" (Romans 5:14). Death reigned from Adam to Moses. Who can deny this scientific fact? A fool or a liar might (Genesis 3:4). The key word is "reigned," because death literally ruled over man from the day Adam had eaten the forbidden fruit. When Moses came along, God had passed the Law through him. Until that time, death ran out of control, with only the Law providing a temporary remedy. While the Law held no promise of Heaven, it did alleviate death to some degree. Certain physical blessings were promised (Deuteronomy 28:1-14). Beyond that was the Second Death, the soul being cast into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:14-15). This could not be overcome by the Law at all. We must emphasize that eternal life could not be gained by keeping the Law. All it could do was restrain physical death. For example, God warned that "The adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death" (Leviticus 20:10). Therefore, if we keep the Seventh Commandment, we would at least avoid dying by that particular means. Yet we still die eventually anyway. Even Moses himself died while perfectly healthy (Deuteronomy 34:7). An Atheist could avoid adultery, and still die and go to Hell. The Law could only weaken death, not eliminate it altogether. This holds true, even though we did not commit the exact same sin as Adam. He had brought this curse upon us all simply by breaking the only law in existence at that time: "But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die" (Genesis 2:17). Adam died in spirit, on the spot. Physical death caught up with him later. And it happened simply because of one little taste of fruit. It is no longer possible to commit that specific sin; yet 6,000 years later, we must be punished for it. Some would argue that it doesn't seem fair. Yet it is fair. We must remember the concept behind the fruit that Adam had eaten: it was from "the tree of the knowledge of good and evil." In other words, the moment he took one bite, Adam instantly understood the difference between good and evil. He learned that "evil" was to disobey God, and have his sin exposed (Genesis 3:7). Another definition of "evil" is bad news: a harsh punishment can be "evil" news for man, but not sin on God's part (Genesis 3:17-19, Jonah 3:10). And, of course, "evil" is simply any bad thing that man does. True, God forgave Adam, and gave him clothes to cover his nakedness (Genesis 3:21). But that alone did not wipe out man's new-found knowledge of evil. Man learned that day what evil was like, and became addicted to it (Job 15:16). Before long, man became an expert at it (Genesis 6:5, Jeremiah 4:22). And even if a man could fight his own addiction to sin, he is still capable of dying and rotting. Thank you, Daddy Adam. But Adam was still "the figure of him that was to come." He was still a type of Jesus, and he saved mankind from virtual extinction. How so? Remember that Eve, Adam's one and only wife, was the only other human being in existence. She had taken the forbidden fruit first, then Adam took his helping (Genesis 3:6). If Adam had not eaten, then the full brunt of God's curse would have come upon Eve alone. But Adam was a quick thinker. In a split-second decision, he chose to take the fruit, and bring the curse of sin upon himself, choosing to suffer with Eve for her sake, and thus remained her husband. The Lord Jesus Christ had accomplished basically the same thing when He died on the cross. "But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man" (Hebrews 2:9). The only difference is that Jesus, being incapable of sin, could not be held captive by death (Acts 2:24). We ourselves still die physically, but by Jesus we live in the spirit, and will be physically resurrected. Ultimately, men who accept Jesus will be free of death altogether through Him (Revelation 1:18, 21:4). David Lafleche
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