When the Lord our God created man and woman and put them in the Garden of Eden. He instructed the man, “You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die,” (Genesis 2:17).
Among all the other creatures that the Lord God had made, there was the serpent (snake) that was more subtle (cunning) than others. It came up with a scheme to deceive both man and woman. It deviously misled the woman, telling her that if they were to eat of the prohibited tree of knowledge, they would not die; “For God knew that when you eat of it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:5). So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves aprons (Genesis 3:6-7).
This indeed was the creation of sin, the knowledge of what was good and evil. Evil being an act that goes against any instruction of the Lord, against good. The Lord God stands for good, and the serpent (Satan) stands for evil. Mankind makes the choices, to do good or evil (sin). There are consequences for sin, and also rewards for good. In the case of Adam and Eve, their sin brought forth the fall from grace for mankind.
As a consequence of the collusion for the sin of eating the tree of knowledge, God proclaimed to instigator, the serpent; “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all cattle, and above all wild animals; for upon your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall strike your head and you shall strike his heel”.
To the woman, the Lord God said, “I will greatly multiply your pain in child bearing; in pain you shall bring forth children, yet your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.”
To Adam, the Lord God ruled; “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it’, curse is the ground because of you; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth to you; and you shall eat of the plants of the field. In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; you are dust, and to dust you shall return”.
It is apparent that death was brought forth by mankind’s transgression. Although initially the Lord God had wanted us to life forever, our sins brought a halt to our everlasting life on Earth. Thereafter, mankind had an average lifespan of about 900 years. As we continued to sin, the Lord God continues to reduce our average lifespan on this planet bit by bit, according to our rate of our sinning. We now life 10 times less than what was the average lifespan of the first generations of mankind.
As proof of this theory Genesis 5:3-32 reads: When Adam had lived 130 years, he became the father of a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth. The days of Adam after he became the father of Seth were 800 years. He lived a total of 930 years. He had other sons and daughters. When Seth had lived 105 years, he became the father of Enosh. Seth lived after the birth of Enosh 807 years, and had other sons and daughters. Thus all the days of Seth were 912 years, and he died.
- Blanket Mine revenue rises 37%
- ED challenger nabbed
- Sunday word: Identifying ‘mother of earth’s abominations’
- Frontline Kids plots surprise reunion
Keep Reading
When Enosh had lived 90 years, he became the father of Kenan. Enosh lived after the birth of Kenan 815 years, and had other sons and daughters. Thus all the days of Enosh were 905 years. When Kenan had lived 70 years, he because the father of Ma-hal’alel. Kenan lived after the birth of Ma-hal’alel eight hundred and forty years, and had other sons and daughters. Thus all the days of Kenan were 910 years; and he died.
When Ma-hal’alel had lived 65 years, he became the father of Jared. He lived after the birth of Jared 830 years, and had other sons and daughters. Thus all the days of Ma-hal’alelwere 895 years.
When Jared had lived 162 years, he became the father of Enoch. Jared lived after the birth of Enoch 800 years, and had other sons and daughters. Thus all the days of Jared were 962 years, and he died.
When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methu’selah. Enoch walked with God after the birth of Methu’selah 300 years and had other sons and daughters. Thus all the days of Enoch were 365 years. Enoch walked with God, so the Lord God took him at a much younger age. When Methu’selah had lived 187 years, he became the father of Lamech. He lived after the birth of Lamech 782 years, and had other sons and daughters. Thus all the days of Methu’selah were 969 years, and he died.
When Lamech had lived 182 years, he became the father of a son, and he called his name Noah, saying, “Out of the ground which the Lord has cursed, this one shall bring relief from our work and from the toil of our hands” Lamech lived after the birth of Noah 595 years and had other sons and daughters. Thus all the days of Lamech were 777 years’ and he died. After Noah was 500 years old, Noah became the father of Shem, Han and Japheth.
Thereafter, the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. So the Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the ground, man and beast and creeping things and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them” (Genesis 6:5-8).
Thus the Lord God went on to destroy mankind from the Earth through the floods that engulfed the planet, save for Norah and his family and a male and female of every other creature (Genesis Chapter 7, 8 and 9). Thereafter the lifespan of mankind was greatly reduced because of our sins. Henceforth humanity barely lived past 200 years after the floods.
Of subsequent generations, Genesis 25:7 reads: These are the days and the years of Abraham’s life, 175 years. Of Jacob, Genesis 47:28 reads: And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt 70 years; so the days of Jacob, the years of his life, were 147 years. For the sins of mankind, the Lord Jesus Christ lived for only a paltry 33 years, to signal that our sins cut short our lifespan on this planet. Today mankind barely lives past the age of 80 years, as a consequence of our sins. Sin generates death. Everlasting life can now only happen in the heavens.
Prosper Tingini is the scribe of the Children of God Missionary Assembly - God’s messengers. Contact details: Mobile and WhatsApp: 0771 260 195. Email address: [email protected]
