Did he know what death was? Why would God talk to him about things he didn't know?
Good questions,they are the same ones my studies led me to.
I don't think he could know and how can you talk to someone about things they don't know without revealing the things they don't know.
Ah, my friend, your English has got the best of me here. I don't understand. I'm trying but this one is too hard.
Sorry,I meant to say perhaps God was not threatening the man, maybe he was sternly warning him of a consuming a dangerous substance that would cause a deviation in his way of thinking and speaking.
Adam must have been hitting the mark before he had the knowledge of good and evil.Because missing the mark did not come until he partook of that deadly tree.
To say it came from the disobedience is to be parallel to everything the New Testament has to say about sin and disobedience. To say it is from the knowledge, one cannot find any references to the knowledge of evil being the problem that brought about sin.
I basically study both assumptions.The term missing the mark kind of shows something not performed rather than being something performed.That goes along with the new testament idea of whatever is not of faith is sin.
Romans 7 and 8 could be used as a reference.
Very good illustration of Gods word going out and accomplishing its task but can it be of an arrow? It says his word does not return to him void. It doesn't say that his word does not return to him period. The arrow goes out to meet its mark but doesn't return to the archer.
I think he has special boomerang arrows(lol)
Would you say that a hunter who drops a deer would have his arrow returned to him void?
No,it returned with a deer.
But I think it would be a mistake to say that Gods words are all arrows headed toward some mark.
I did not mean all his words were arrows.
If it can be like a sword(in some cases) it can be like an arrow(in some cases).His word reaches those near and those who are far.
Habakkuk 3:11 The sun and moon stood still in their habitation: at the light of thine arrows they went, and at the shining of thy glittering spear.
Psalm 38:2 For thine arrows stick fast in me, and thy hand presseth me sore
Psalm 77:17 The clouds poured out water: the skies sent out a sound: thine arrows also went abroad.
Psalm 144:6 Cast forth lightning, and scatter them: shoot out thine arrows, and destroy them.
Ok maybe it is just an odd coincidence that the author chose to use archery terms,but it does help me.
Very true. Considered this though. Satan is spoken of as being the God of this world. At the time of Christ he also had the power to give all the kingdoms of the world to Christ. Adam was originally given dominion over all of the Earth. Something happened that transferred that power from Adam to Satan. To whom you yield yourselves to obey his servants you are. Eve obeyed the voice of Satan, thus becoming his servant and not Gods. Eve, Satan's new messenger took Satan's gospel to Adam and the covenant was sealed with the first bite of the fruit. In this way Eccl is right. Satan spoke his gospel to Eve. But his mistake is thinking that Satan was the tree and that the fruit was his words. The words led Eve to eat the real and actual fruit. Satan has been spreading his gospel ever since "You can become Gods". Where God has his gospel that says "You can become the sons of God".
Consider it considered.
But if I can't be sure I can't build a doctrine based on it.
I don't feel on solid ground placing Satan in the garden.
Some very elaborate assumptions and stories have been made based on the serpent being Satan.Ha-Satan (the accuser) does not make an appearance until the book of Job.He appears during a meeting with the sons of God but there is no indication that he was a Son of God.
Dante and Milton where not apostles they were fantasy writers with very creative imaginations.I can't base any doctrines on Lucifer,The anointed Cherub or the serpent in the garden all being Satan.
By their fruit you shall know them.A tree with good and evil fruit is a good and evil tree.
Galatians 5:9 A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.
Jesus gave that authority to 70 specific disciples. These were not the 12. He had a specific task for them. It appears he wanted them to learn about relying on God for their needs while keeping their focus on the kingdom since that was the focus of his later call back to this event. The 'serpents' spoken of here probably speaks of the unbelieving Jews just as John the Baptist called them serpents and vipers. Or maybe it is reference to the spirits they had power to cast out seeing as Satan himself is referred to as a serpent.
Are you saying this authority was for that one time only?I thought it was a demonstration of the power that the body of Christ would wield.
If you are not assigning motive (reasons why) then why did you give the reason God did it (protect mans innocence)?
Yes,I would technically be wrong because I would be assuming he did not want Adam to die.Hopefully you can understand why a Father might think his child's innocence or his life has value.
I might see where you are going with this.
In tort law God(the designer/manufacturer) would be negligent for placing the tree in a manner that could have been accessed so easily.It was foreseeable risk.
So God either meant for man to go through death or he had no control over it.There is also the possibility that God did not foresee the possibilities that Satan(assuming Satan rebelled before Adam was created) and the man would rebel but that would conflict with much scripture.
He was created to be disobedient? God deliberately made him so he would sin? And everything God created was very good?
I never said or even inferred that,remember it was my erroneous assumption that God wanted Adam to live.
Isn't that what you are saying here?:
If I were God and I wanted to protect mans innocence from the knowledge of good and evil I would have created the cloud of good and evil or at least put the tree up at the top of the Himalayan Mountains. That is if my 'motive' were protecting innocence. If his motive was protecting innocence he did a lousy job. He put it right where they could reach out and grab it.
I know of the two verses you quote but fail to see what you are trying to get a crossed to me.
That God created all.All things including the church.You seem to be saying the only thing God ever created is the church.
I included Jesus's quote about all Things being pure because it could not possibly be referring to the church.
I do not understand your conflict of understanding.
After some consideration I felt that you might have assigned those verses to the church because the church is Christ's physical body on the earth.
If so then I feel that has enough merit to investigate.
Please do tell me how you have come to apply those verses to the church instead of Jesus.
Peace