Expert: Dr Eddy Cheong - 11/7/2007

Question
Dear Dr Cheong,

I have a question and you seem the best among the experts to answer it.

In the beginning, God dwelt intimately with Adam and Eve in the cool of the garden, and neither of them were meant to die; but when they ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil they brought sin and death into the world.  If Jesus came and died to serve as the Tree of Life, that whoever ate from him would not die but live forever with God--to effectively reverse the curse--why is it that men who profess faith in him continue to die on this earth; why does God not dwell objectively on this earth with those who profess faith in him; and, if God reckoned it better that we should dwell with him as spirits in heaven after our earthly lives, why create Adam and Eve as earthly creatures in the first place and, given their free will, be content that we should in equal probability dwell with him forever on earth.

Thanks

Answer
I may not be the best among the experts but here goes my explanation..
The creation of Adam and Eve is a Sovereign act of God. Likewise, giving them free will and the ability to choose is another Sovereign act of God. Before the fall, God’s original plan was for MAN (i.e. mankind) to live eternally hence the purpose of the tree of life being placed in the garden. This was on proviso that they passed the initial test of not eating the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil. If you ponder on this issue carefully, you will find that the question of eating or not eating (the forbidden fruit) is essentially one of ‘faith’ or  the lack of it i.e. taking God at His Word or not taking Him at His Word at all.  Before we accuse God of being a legalist, let us not forget that Adam and Eve were allowed to eat of any of the tree (including the tree of life) except for the tree of the knowledge of good and evil…
Gen 2:16-17
16 And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die."
NIV
As we all know in Genesis Chapter 3, Man (A generic term that includes women) failed the test and fell into sin. Sin begets sin (rather more sin) and Fallen Man, if allowed to live forever would be totally overwhelmed with sin to such a behemoth degree that would be hard to imagine even today. Let me illustrate this point, if Adolf Hitler had not died in 1945 can you imagine the magnitude of the atrocities that he would have committed from then till now?
Gen 3:22-24
22 And the LORD God said, "The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever." 23 So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. 24 After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.
NIV
Notice that the tree of life was not guarded before this. Also in verse 22 above God said that Man should not be allowed to live forever. Why? For the simple reason that for fallen MAN, sin would continue to multiply infinitely if he was to live forever. Herein lies the reason why God decreed that sinful Man must die and then the judgment.
What about the redeemed? Shouldn’t the redeemed be allowed to live forever? Yes and No. The redeemed Christian still has the fallen nature in him. If he does not walk in the Spirit, he would succumb to the flesh (and perhaps backslide to an irreversible spiritual state). No, because God has something better for us (redeemed). In the final stage of redemption, the flesh or sinful nature in us would be totally destroyed and we will be given a new body that is eternal….
1 Cor 15:50-53
50 I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed- 52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.
NIV
Bible scholars believe that that there will be a new Heaven and a new Earth. The new Earth will be populated by those who live through the Millennium. The redeemed will live in heaven and the New Jerusalem on earth. I hope I have answered your very difficult question.