Edward D. Andrews — **EDWARD D. ANDREWS** (AS in Criminal Justice, BS in Religion, MA in Biblical Studies, and MDiv in Theology) is CEO and President of Christian Publishing House. He has authored ninety-two books. Andrews is the Chief Translator of the Updated American Standard Version (UASV).

It should be noted that the conversation at the end is fiction. It is an attempt at sarcastic humor to emphasize a point that is actually biblically true. What comes before is merely leading you to the conversation.

What if Adam had refused to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil?

This is a good question because it draws our attention to a not so often discussed topic, God’s original (still the same) intentions for humanity, animals, and the earth.

God’s Purpose for Humans, Animals, and the Earth

God’s original purpose for the earth was not set aside because of Satan or Adam. Are we to believe that Satan could alter God’s intended purposes. What was his original purpose? It is given clearly in Genesis but I think Isaiah 45;18 adds fuel to the fire, God “established it [the earth]; he did not create it empty, he formed it to be inhabited!”

Isaiah 45:18 Updated American Standard Version (UASV)
¹⁸For thus says Jehovah,
who created the heavens
(he is God!),
who formed the earth and made it
(he established it;
he did not create it empty,
he formed it to be inhabited!):
“I am Jehovah, and there is no other.

Psalm 115:16 Updated American Standard Version (UASV)

¹⁶The heavens are Jehovah’s heavens,
but the earth he has given to the sons of men.

Eternal Life on a Paradise Earth

God told Adam and Eve to procreate. He intended that the earth be filled with perfect humans worshiping him, and that humans cultivate the Garden until the entire earth was a paradise. Humanity living as perfect humans on a paradise earth. (Genesis 1:28; 2:8, 15) If Adam had chosen not to sin being that he “sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all …” (Rom. 5:12) it would seem that the most likely scenario is that Eve would have received death and Adam would have been given a new wife.

Hellfire—Eternal Torment

This brings us to hellfire and eternal torment. If such a doctrine were true, why were Adam and Eve not warned of such a thing? Why does such a warning wait for 4,000 years to come about?

Fictional Conversation for Emphasis

God, said to Adam, “oh yeah, old buddy, I forgot to mention the clause on the eating of the tree command.” “What clause” Adam cried out suddenly, in surprise! God went on to say, “Well if you eat of the tree you will surely die, right?” Nervously, Adam said, “Yes. But you mentioned a clause.” God replied, “well it is a footnote really.” “Go on, please,” Adam passionately pleaded. God retorted, “Ok, you don’t have to be pushy!” God broke the really bad news, “you will also burn in hellfire!” “Wait, wait, wait” Adam screamed, “hold the press! What is hellfire?” God now informed Adam, “It is a place of eternal torment, pain, and suffering from an intense fire that even your perfect mind cannot fathom.” Adam looked like he was at the end of his patience, saying, “If you had told me this, I love Eve, but I would not have joined her in the rebellion. Why would you not tell me this before!” God said, it was already baked into the program old buddy, you were predestined to eat of this tree from the eternity of the past before the earth was even formed.” God then blamed it on another, “John Calvin made me do it.” Adam screamed, “wait, wait, wait, how is it that Eve and I were blamed for our actions before the foundation of the world, your so-called ‘predestination’ when we had not been created yet? Doesn’t that violate your principle of justice? Then to worsen it, you’re not telling me this, withholding it until after I do it, only telling me about dying beforehand if I eat from the tree is more injustice isn’t it?” God replied, “don’t blame me, the doctrine of predestination that all events have been willed by Me, the eventual fate of you and Eve and every individual throughout time belongs to John Calvin.” God went on, “you see I foreknew John Calvin would create such a doctrine for an eternity into the past, so you and Eve can rightly be blamed for your actions that you had not even carried out yet.” God chuckled, “don’t worry, in about 6,000 years John Calvin will be joining you in this so-called eternal torment, and you can ask him, ‘why, why, why.’” God said, “You see, Adam, While scriptural passages make clear Sheol and Hades exist, it is nothing more than gravedom, it does not match the popular idea of hellfire, an idea of Pagan origin, with polytheistic religions of Egypt, Greece, and Rome the primary influence, which Christians during the Great Apostasy of Catholicism borrowed to keep congregants obedient to the Church. Eventually, under the influence of Augustine, AD 430, the concept of endless conscious torment would be brought into general acceptance by the Catholic Church in the Western world. Augustine taught that all souls were deathless (immortality of the soul), and consequently the lost would experience endless fires of punishment, immediately upon the end of this life.” Adam looked very crestfallen. So, God said, “too much too soon?” God assured Adam, “Don’t worry, you will be meeting Augustine long before you meet John Calvin, and he will better explain things to you in this place of eternal torment that he borrowed and Calvin established as true to his disciples.” God chucked again. “Now what,” Adam screamed! God smiled, saying, “The irony that the human mind that I created would spend centuries fighting for a doctrine of eternal torment in a fire for humans that sinned for a mere 70-80 years, something that never entered my mind until it entered their mind when the evidence is obvious it is unbiblical, simply because of church tradition or because their master John Calvin espoused it, and his master Augustine borrowed it.” Adam found none of this amusing.