It is clear that God has defined three distinct time periods that the human race will live through. Are they divided into 4000 years for the Old Testament age, 2000 years for the Church age, and 1000 years for the millennium, giving 7000 years in total? Has God ordered time in this fashion? Perhaps he has and perhaps he hasn’t, we will not completely know until the fullness of time is completed.

We must remember that God is divine, and He orders time according to His will, and it is speculation on our part to think otherwise. Christ Himself told us that “no person will know the day nor the hour within the day that He will return”, and yet over 25% of the Bible is written about His second coming. We are constantly told we are to be prepared and ready for His return.

If God has allocated 7000 years to the human race, divided up into three blocks, 4000 years, 2000 years, and then 1000 years, then based on our calculations Adam would have lived in the Garden of Eden for around 42 years before Adam and Eve fell from God’s grace. The question is can we find any evidence to support this?

If we look at Genesis 2:18-20 it tells us that God said “It is not good for Adam to be alone; I will make him a suitable helper”. So God creates all the animals and birds, then he brings them to Adam to name, whatever Adam called them that became the name they were called by. When all the animals and birds were named, the Bible says that a suitable helper for Adam was not found.

Genesis 2:18-20
“(v18) Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.” (v19) And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name. (v20) And the man gave names to all the cattle, and to the birds of the sky, and to every beast of the field, but for Adam there was not found a helper suitable for him.”

Every time I read these three verses, I wonder how long all this took, a day, a week, a month, perhaps even one or more years! After these events God puts Adam into a deep sleep, then takes something from his side and from it creates Eve. I don’t know about you, but if I had been Adam I would have been pretty excited with my new friend, I would have wanted to show her every last square foot of the garden. After all this was paradise.

We are not told much of the history for this period in human history, but there is another clue in Genesis 3:1-3, when Eve meets up with the serpent who asks her a question, “Has God said ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden?’.” This should have been an easy question for Eve to answer, but take a look at the answer Eve gave to the serpent, “From the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it lest you die.’”

Genesis 3:1-3
“(v1) Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from ant tree of the garden?’ (v2) And the woman said to the serpent, ‘From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; (v3) but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, lest you die.’’”
 

These three verses raise a few questions that need to be answered.
(1) From whom did Eve hear Gods commandment not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? Genesis 2:16 tells us, “And God commanded the man….”.
 

Genesis 2:16-17
“(v16) And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, ‘From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; (v17) but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you shall surely die.’”

Nowhere in the Bible is it recorded that Eve heard the command not to eat the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil from God. There is no mention in Genesis 2:16-17, about touching the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The commandment not to eat the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was given to Adam: clearly Eve knew of the command, but she had to have heard it from Adam and not from God directly, as Adam had. There are two conclusions you can make from this, either Adam did not explain or convey God’s commandment correctly to Eve, or sufficient time had gone by that the details of God’s commandment had become hazy in Eve’s mind.

(2) Was Adam with Eve during the interaction between the serpent and Eve? Did Adam hear the conversation or witness the events that took place. I believe he was.
 

Genesis 3:6
“When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.”

The end of Genesis 3:6 says “and she gave it also to her husband who was with her, and he ate.” Adam was standing by watching these events; Adam heard the command not to eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil directly from God. Why then does Adam not interrupt Eve, and clarify Gods command with her, why does Adam not say “hang on a minute honey, that’s not quite what God said”? Why does Adam not try to prevent Eve from eating the fruit?

Did God create Adam to be stupid? I don’t think so. After God had finished His work of creation on the sixth day, he looked upon it and said that it was very good” (Gen 1:31). Or was it that Adam lived in the Garden of Eden so long that he had become complacent, that the memory of God’s commandment had become so hazy in his mind that he began to doubt the specific details of God’s commandment.

I believe it’s possible that after 42 years they both began to accept what they had as common place, and no longer as a gift from God. In essence they had lost their first love; they had forgotten the excitement of getting up in the morning and exploring something new in the garden. They knew every last square inch of the garden, neither could imagine what life would be like without God’s blessing, and without the garden they lived in where everything was provided for them. They just could not imagine life any other way.

As with all theories, there are often problems that would seem to refute the theory. One problem that I could see is found in Genesis 2:16-17.
 

Genesis 2:16-17
“(v16) And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, ‘From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; (v17) but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you shall surely die.’”

Genesis 2:16 and 17 tells us that there was only one tree in the Garden of Eden that Adam was told by God that he could not eat the fruit from. In Genesis 3:22 after God has spoken the consequences of Adam and Eve’s sin, He then curses the serpent for his participation in the deception, and then God makes an interesting statement.
 

Genesis 3:22-23
“(v22) Then the Lord God said, ‘Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, lest he stretch out his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever’ – (v23) therefore the Lord God sent him out from the Garden of Eden, to cultivate the ground from which he was taken.”

Why was God worried that Adam and Eve would now eat from the tree of life, God had not told Adam not to eat the fruit of the tree of life, God’s command only applied to the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If Adam lived in the Garden of Eden for 42 years, are we to believe that he had eaten the fruit from the other trees in the Garden of Eden and not the tree of life? If it was me, the first thing I would have done was try the fruit from all the trees I was allowed to eat from. This is equally true no matter how long Adam and Eve lived in the Garden of Eden, why would they not eat from the tree of life.

There are two conclusions we can make from this.
(1) Adam and Eve ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil some time within the first day that they were created, therefore there was insufficient time from the time they were create until the time they fell from God’s grace and were expelled from the Garden of Eden to eat of the tree of life. Personally, I would like to believe that my ancestors gave it a better shot than a day or two, or worse, less than one day.

If I had been Adam, the first thing I would have done is try the fruit from every tree in the Garden, except the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If Adam and Eve were allowed to eat the fruit from the tree of life, why would they not try it?

(2) The other conclusion is that Adam and Eve lived in the Garden of Eden for some time before they fell from God’s grace. If we make this assumption, then we need to deal with the fact that they may have already eaten of the fruit from the tree of life.

Why was God so worried that Adam and Eve would eat from the tree of life, as stated in Genesis 3:22?

Genesis 3:22
“Then the Lord God said, ‘Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, lest he stretch out his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever’”

Adam was created in the image of God and in his likeness, and Eve was created from Adam, therefore she inherited God’s likeness from her husband.

Genesis 1:26-27
“(v26) Then God said ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’ (v27) And God created man in His own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”

God is eternal, he is the Alpha and the Omega the beginning and the end, when Adam and Eve were created in His image they were created to be eternal beings, just as God is an eternal being. In other words, the human race was designed to live forever. If Adam and Eve ate of the fruit of the tree of life before they fell from God’s grace, there would be no effect or difference they already had eternal life. Had Adam and Eve not disobeyed Gods commandment they would have lived forever.

Adam and Eve were created perfect and lived in harmony with God and nature. How do we know this, Genesis 1:31 tells us that after God had created man and woman, the animals and the birds, on the sixth day of creation, that he looked upon his creation and saw that it was very good.
 

Genesis 1:31
“And God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.”

When Adam and Eve ate the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, sin entered their lives and the world they lived in, and sin has consequences. One of the consequences was death, death of their spirits and eventually death of their bodies. They had lost their ability to live forever. God told Adam this when he gave him the commandment not to eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
 

Genesis 2:16-17
“(v16) And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, ‘From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; (v17) but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you shall surely die.’”

God told Adam that in the day that you ate the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil he would die, spiritual death was immediate. As a result their bodies would begin to age until physical death would occur. When Adam and Eve fell from God’s grace, they lost their ability to live forever, no longer were they eternal beings.

God expelled Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden, because he knew if he didn’t they would eat again of the tree of life. Eating of the tree of life after they had fallen from God’s grace would produce another change in the human race. Adam and Eve would regain the ability to live forever if God allowed this to happen, and the human race would live forever in its fallen sinful state. Therefore, there could be no death, and without death there could be no redemption. The price for sin could not be made and the human race would be in an eternal state of rebellion again God, just like Lucifer the devil (Satan).

Did Adam and Eve live for 42 years in the Garden of Eden before they fell from God’s grace? Without a time machine I can not prove it, but I believe it is a good explanation that fits the facts that we have been given.

Adam and Eve were created to live in harmony with God and nature; they were perfect beings living in a perfect garden in a perfect world. Only time could persuade them that maybe there was something better than what they already had. Only time would the dim the memories of their own creation and the perfection of the garden. Only time would make them susceptible to the deception of the serpent and cause them to eat the forbidden fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

At this stage of the Churches history, I believe it has become discouraged and lost its hope. Many in the Church pinned their hopes on Jesus returning in the year 2000. Many have become demoralised and appear at a loss to know how to pick up and carry on with the job at hand, to go out and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

I have a friend who tells me that it is ok that Jesus did not return in the year 2000, as there is a 4 year error in our calendar, so He is coming in the year 2004 instead! It is true that many historians believe that there is an error in our calendar of around 4 years. It has become generally accepted the Christ was born around the year 4 BC. If this is correct and the Church age begins from the birth of Christ, then in fact the 2000 years ended in 1996 on our calendar 4BC + 2000 = 1996.

When I was at Bible College I had a tutor who was into end time theology. One day someone asked him if he would tell us when he believed the Lord Jesus would return. He thought about it for a moment, and then said “There are a lot of people who have written a lot of books about the Lord’s return, that when he finally does return will wish they never did!”

My main purpose for writing this book is to encourage the body of Christ; the Lord Jesus will return in the fullness of time, we as the Church are called to be prepared for the end times, but not at the expense of our mission. What is the mission of the Church?

Matthew 28:18-20
“(v18) And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.’ (v19) ‘Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, (v20) teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’”

God has entered into a partnership with the human race, Jesus cannot return until the Church has done its part, until it has completed its mission. Be encouraged, fulfil your mission and then we will see the sign of the Son of Man in the sky. Jesus told His disciples when they enquired as to the signs of His return that one of the signs was the gospel being preached to all the nations of the earth.
 

Matthew 24:14
“And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a witness to all the nations, and then the end shall come.”

There are still people in the world that have not had the opportunity to hear the gospel of the Kingdom. We have a job to do; until it is complete the Lord Jesus cannot return.

May the Lord bless you, and keep you; may the Lord make his face to shine on you, and be gracious to you; may the Lord lift up His countenance on you, and give you peace. (Numbers 6:24-26)