Our world seems to be in deep trouble, and it is expected to get worst. Our water, air, and soil are polluted. There are calamities by land and sea: earthquakes, flooding, tsunamis, hurricanes, tornadoes, and the list goes on and on. Every day minute by minute there is something bad, going on. It seems as if we cannot escape the evils in this world. Is there hope for humanity in this troubled world?

Sin, Evil, Death, Dying, and What Happens After

This series addresses an age-old concern that we all have: the concern for sin, evil, death, and what happens after we die. Is there hope after death? When God created us, humans, he intended for us to live forever in a loving relationship with him. But this relationship has been broken by sin.

Here, we address the origin of sin, and we look more closely at death and dying.

But, instead of looking at death negatively, we look at it in the context of hope, the promised hope based on what Jesus did for us when he died and came back to life again.

From the Sabbath School Adult Bible Study Guide 2022 Quarter 4: Sabbath.School

See also Hope Sabbath School and 3ABN Sabbath School

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Inviting God’s Presence

Holy Father, we live in a world in which evil is the thing of the hour. We need intervention. Shower us with your Promised Hope. In Jesus Name Amen.

Bad things happen when we sin. Sin has consequences. When we disobey God, we face the consequence of our actions. Sometimes, many times those consequences are far-reaching. This is the case with Adam and Eve.

Eve was captivated by the persuasive argument of the serpent. His lies were so enticing.   At the time, like us, Eve did not realize that her sin would cause so many terrible things to happen. She did not anticipate the far-reaching consequence of the road she had chosen to travel.

When Eve ate the fruit, she disobeyed God. Her loyalty changed from God to Satan. That’s what happens when we sin.

Genesis 3 talks about Adam and Eve and their life after they sinned. It was not the fact that Eve ate the fruit. Eating the fruit was not the issue.

What was significant is that she disobeyed God! Eve broke her loyalty to God and accepted a new allegiance. Allegiance to Satan, God’s enemy.

Genesis 3 describes the fall of Adam and Eve, and it indicates what the most horrifying consequences of their disobedience are.

This lesson described the results of their sin from four perspectives, see if you have had similar experiences:

• From a theological (a spiritual) perspective: Adam and Eve developed theophobia. They became afraid of God. Genesis 3:8 tells us they hid from Him.

Genesis 3:8

And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. (Genesis 3:8)

• From a psychosocial (Adam and Eve became ashamed of themselves: In Genesis 3: 7, 9-13, we see that they were ashamed of their sin and felt guilt. Thus, they started blaming and accusing each other.

Genesis 3:7

7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. (Genesis 3:7)

Genesis 3:9-13

9 Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?”

10 So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, and I hid myself.”

11 And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?”

12 Then the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.”

13 And the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

(Genesis 3:9–13).

• From a physical perspective: Adam and Eve would sweat, feel pain, and eventually experience death, as expressed in Genesis 3:16–19.

16 To the woman He said: “I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; In pain you shall bring forth children; Your desire shall be for your husband, And he shall rule over you.”

17 Then to Adam He said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’: “Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life.

18 Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, And you shall eat the herb of the field.

19 In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread Till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, And to dust, you shall return.” (Genesis 3:16-19)

• From an ecological perspective: Adam and Eve observed the beginnings of decay and ruin. The natural world began to degenerate. Death became part of the lives of the plants and animals, as indicated in (Genesis 3:17, 18)

17 Then to Adam He said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’: “Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life.

18 Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, And you shall eat the herb of the field. (Genesis 3:17-18)

Sin spoiled much of nature’s beauty. The Garden of Eden was no longer as beautiful and pleasant as it had been before sin. “Adam and Eve witnessed the flowers hang down and the falling leaves. These were the first sign of death and decay. These signs of death caused Adam and Eve to mourn more deeply over the death of the frail, delicate flowers than we now mourn when our loved ones die. The dying flowers caused Adam and Eve to feel sorrowful, indeed. But when the leaves fell off the beautiful trees, Adam and Eve clearly understood the harsh reality that death was now part of life for every living thing.”—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, page 62, adapted.

Adam and Eve didn’t die immediately. But on that same day, God pronounced their death sentence. The Lord told Adam, Genesis 3:19

19 In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread Till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, And to dust you shall return.” (Genesis 3:19).

Sin, the fall of Adam and Eve, brought terrible consequences to all humanity. Paul explains in Romans 5:12

12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men because all sinned— (Romans 5:12).

Therefore, today, the sad and painful fact is that we continue to suffer because of the bad things that happened in the Garden of Eden.

But there is hope! Because of Jesus’ death on the cross, we have the hope of eternal life, not in this world!  But on a new earth where sin will be no more, nor will it ever happen again.

Let us be thankful to Jesus for His help in rescuing us from a dying world. Furthermore, let what happened to Adam and Eve help us better understand the far-reaching consequence of our evil behavior and flee to the one able to redeem us.

Even though Adam and Eve would suffer the consequence of their sin, God in his loving mercy offers hope for humanity. That hope is found in the first Gospel promise he gave to Adam and Eve. What was that promise?

Find out in Day 6: The First Gospel Promise

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