Page 27 - THE TEMPTATION & FALL
P. 27
of appetite and passion, to develop habits of
self-control. It was a part of God's great plan
of man's recovery from the ruin and
degradation of sin.
The warning given to our first parents—“In
the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt
surely die” (Genesis 2:17)—did not imply
that they were to die on the very day when
they partook of the forbidden fruit. But on
that day the irrevocable sentence would be
pronounced. Immortality was promised them
on condition of obedience; by transgression
they would forfeit eternal life. That very day
they would be doomed to death.
In order to possess an endless existence, man
must continue to partake of the tree of life.
Deprived of this, his vitality would gradually
diminish until life should become extinct. It
was Satan's plan that Adam and Eve should
by disobedience incur God's displeasure; and
then, if they failed to obtain forgiveness, he
