Age Is For Mortals

     “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 KJV

     In my earlier years of Bible study this verse presented me my first issue with the Bible‘s credibility. As I sought to understand this verse, spiritual advisors told me that Adam did die ‘in the day’ and that his death was spiritual. Though I fully accept that spiritual death occurred, I just could not accept this as an acceptable explanation for the meaning of this verse. I even tolerated a notion of guilt for my disbelief for a short time. Thankfully, I realized that my ‘disbelief’ was really only a lack of understanding. Anyway, some time later as I was reading I came across a verse in 2Peter 3:8 where it states “…one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” For some reason at this particular moment, Adam’s ‘age’ at his death jolted my mind and I began to see an explanation that I could readily accept without reservation. The Bible says Adam was 930 years old when he died. For me this was it. This is the explanation I had been looking for. You see, Adam did die (physically) ‘in the day’ he ate thereof. Wow! Not only do I have an understanding of Genesis 2:17, I now have a lot more to explore and come to understand… Why so? Let me ask you; How many ‘days’ did Adam live before he ate from the ‘no-no’ tree? Who knows? Perhaps millions.

Richard L. Grimes

(ã 2005 God Ain’t What He’s Cracked Up To Be… RLG)