Transcript
Asking the angel in charge of matters of life and death: who, between God and the Serpent, was the liar concerning the eating of the forbidden tree?
“Adam received God’s own breath directly into his nostrils and became a living soul. His body was carefully formed from chosen materials: dust for flesh, rock for bones, dew for blood, grass sprouts for hair, sunlight for eyes, water for emotions, clouds and angels for intelligence, and God’s breath of life for spirit and soul. His original body was both spiritual and physical—strong enough to withstand the fiery presence of God without melting and intense cold without freezing. It was glorious, shining like an angel’s body, though a little lower than the angels.
“The first stroke of death came when humanity ate from the forbidden tree. Adam and Eve immediately lost their glorious bodies and were reduced to naked bodies of dust. This loss also diminished their spiritual vision. Ironically, their eyes were opened while they became spiritually blind. They could no longer see God, but only heard His voice walking, and fear struck them as their bodies began deteriorating. They fell from incorruptible to corruptible bodies and could no longer endure God’s manifest presence. Within Eden, no earthly sun governed the day; God Himself was its light. The sun governed only outside the Garden.
“The second stroke of death came when God cursed the ground for Adam’s sake. The first stroke removed their spiritual glory and protection. The second stripped away their dew, or bodily sap, through compulsory sweating, sickness, suffering, and labor for food. Their blood essence began dying, and humanity began aging.
“The third stroke reversed humanity’s destination—from heavenly Paradise toward the dust from which Adam came. Dust returning to dust also bound humanity downward to death and hell, whether righteous or unrighteous.
“This continued until Jesus Christ came, died, entered hell, and changed the destination of those righteous and faithful to Him. He redirected them from death and hell toward life and heaven. Before that redemption, anyone whose body remained on earth or in the grave was bound to hell. If Christ’s body had remained in the grave, He would have remained in hell or returned to earth.
“But Christ rose and ascended. As He was lifted up, He drew His own departed people—including Adam and Eve—from below toward Himself above. What a great transition: from corruption to life, from the grave toward resurrection, and from hell-bound death to heaven-bound destiny.”