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

In the beginning, God created the wonderful Garden of Eden for Adam and Eve to enjoy and in which to commune with Him. The Lord God placed the tree of life and the tree of knowledge of good and evil in the midst of the garden (Genesis 2:9). As long as Adam and Eve ate of the tree of life, their health and vitality were preserved. They were created with living, immortal souls, and God made provision for them to physically live forever. However, God commanded them not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The penalty for disobedience was death. God made mankind free moral agents and gave them the power of choice which is necessary for the power to love.Read more

Scripture Reading: Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power.  —Revelation 20:6a

Summary: Adam’s sin in the Garden of Eden brought the curse of death upon mankind. This death, the first death, was both physical and spiritual. Jesus Christ came to this world that through His death and resurrection mankind would have an antidote to the twofold consequence of sin. The first resurrection is the spiritual resurrection that occurs through salvation and the second resurrection is the literal, physical resurrection that will occur at the end of time. While there is a remedy for the first death, for those that do not accept Christ and partake of the spiritual resurrection, there will be no remedy for the curse of the final and second death which is eternal damnation in hell.Read more

Death was the penalty of sin for disobedience in the Garden of Eden. The nature of this “first death” was twofold and encompasses both a spiritual and physical death. The pronouncement of death was temporary, as Jesus Christ provided a way for the soul to be resurrected unto life and restored to a relationship with God. The power of physical death was also broken by Christ and there will be a physical resurrection of the body at the end of this time-world.

The First Resurrection (Spiritual)

“Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power” (Revelation 20:6). The first resurrection is the spiritual resurrection that takes place when a sinner repents of his sin and is made alive through Jesus Christ. Jesus illustrated this in the story of the prodigal son who left home and broke the relationship with his father. When the prodigal son returned, the father rejoiced, “For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found” (Luke 15:24). The son was not physically dead but he was spiritually dead. When he left the life of sin, he was alive again. The spiritually dead are made alive though a spiritual resurrection.Read more

Revelation 22:1-2 illustrates the tree of life growing on both sides of the river of life which proceeds out of the throne of God. Verse three states that “there shall be no more curse.” The child of God has access to the tree of life today where spiritual death is no more. On the other side of the river, in eternity, the tree of life symbolically grows where all the redeemed can partake and have immortality in the presence of the Lamb of God.

Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. —1 Corinthians 15:51

Paul wrote to the saints at Corinth to encourage them to be faithful to the Lord. Some will be dead and others will be living at the time of Christ’s return. “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye…the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed” (1 Corinthians 15:52).

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