The Three Eternal Destinies of Man
Two
Trees
–
Three
Eternal
Destinies
"The Three Eternal Destinies of Man"
can be clearly seen from the beginning of mankind.
There in the center of the Garden of Eden, the Creator placed:
The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and the
Tree of Life.
These two trees foretold the three eternal destinies
of mankind:
The Unjust and Filthy
The Righteous
The Holy
In
the
beginning,
God
made
a
Covenant
(which
we
refer
to
as
the First
Covenant)
with
Adam
and
Eve,
and
placed
them
within
the
Garden
of
Eden
from
which
they
were
to rule
for
Him over
all
creation. From
any
of
the
trees
of
the
garden
God
said
they
were
to
freely
eat,
but
for
their
own
good,
God
instructed
Adam
and
Eve
to
not
eat
from
the
tree
of
the
knowledge
of
Good
and
Evil
— "for
in
that
day
you
will
surely
die."
Adam
and
Eve
were
given
the freedom to
choose
to
obey
His
instruction
or
to
disregard
it.
This
was
a
test
to
them
to
see
what
they
would
do
with
their
freedom.
For
it
was
our
Creator's
desire
from
the
very
start
to
know
what
was
in
the
heart
of
His
highest
creation
—
MAN.
Would they trust Him and obey? He wanted to know what
was in the will of Adam and Eve once they were
tested. Ultimately, what a person does comes from
the inner judgments of his mind and heart. The
will of the man is the man himself.
Alone,
with
no
one
to
know
what
she
would
do,
the
serpent
came
to
Eve
to
test
what
was
in
her
heart
towards
her
husband
and
Creator.
Would
she
trust
them
and
obey?
The
serpent
appealed
to
Eve
through
her reasoning and
led
her
astray. "Indeed,
has
God
said,
'You
shall
not
eat
from
any
tree
of
the
garden'?" Ignoring
the
voice
of
authority
within
her
own
heart,
she
made
the
choice
to
do
what
she already
knew was
not
right and
followed
the
serpent
to
the Tree
of
the
Knowledge
of
Good
and
Evil. "You
surely
shall
not
die!
For
God
knows
that
in
the
day
you
eat
from
it
your
eyes
will
be
'opened',
and
you
will
be
like
God,
knowing
'good
and
evil.'"
Drawn away by the seduction of his cunning and craft,
she then ate from the "forbidden fruit." Weakened by doubt
and accusation against her Creator, Eve was enticed with
the desire to be like God, knowing good and evil.
There was nothing inherently wrong with this desire (for
Adam and Eve were created in God's very own likeness and
image), but Eve was made to think that God was withholding
hidden knowledge and wisdom from her. God wanted
Adam and Eve to have this knowledge, yet without having
to experience evil themselves.
To
have
this
knowledge
of "good
and
evil" with unfallen
nature was
always
God's
intent
for
mankind.
However,
Eve
was
deceived
into
thinking
that
she
did
not
yet
have
this
knowledge,
and
could
not
have
it
through
trust
and
obedience
alone.
As
a
result,
she
transgressed
the
boundaries
where
love
could
protect
her
—
the
love
of
her
husband
and
Creator.
Stretching
forth
to
taste
of
that
knowledge
firsthand,
she
quickly
ate
and
then
felt
fearful
and
even
worse
—
guilty
and
alone.
She quickly ran to find Adam. Motivated out of his love
for Eve, knowing the consequence of the death that would
then await them both, Adam also ate. Too late to fully realize the consequential
effect it would bring upon them, yes, and even more, upon
all of mankind, their consciences were awakened and they
"knew" the shame of their nakedness before each other.
Staring
first
at
each
other,
then
at
the
ground,
they
began
to
perceive
deep
within
themselves
something
that
they
were
never
meant
to
experience,
for
their
knowledge
had
been
achieved
through rebellion,
rather
than
by obedience to
their
loving
Creator.
How
He
too
wanted
to
give
them
this
knowledge
so
they
could
be "like
Him," but
through
a
trusting
relationship
with
Himself.
The "poison" of
the
serpent
was
even
then
taking
effect
as
guilt
began
to
rise
quickly
within
them.
Running
to
hide
for
fear
they
would
be
seen
for
what
they
had
done,
both
Adam
and
Eve
feebly
grabbed
some
fig
leaves
and
sewed
them
together
to
cover
themselves.
What
a
pitiful
sight
they
were,
fallen
from
such
glory
—
once
the supreme
rulers over
all
creation,
now
fearful
and
craven
victims
of
the
serpent's
foul
schemes.
"Will
we
die?" Eve
asked
Adam,
as
he
looked
back
searchingly
into
her
eyes.
The
answer
was
obvious,
Adam
and
Eve "would
surely
die," for
it
was
in
the
very
moment
they
ate
the
fruit
that
they
died
spiritually.
Spiritual death always precedes physical death. Their
spirit was severed from their Creator, the very
Source of their life and being.
But all was not lost. True, Adam and Eve had fallen,
but they were not given a hopeless start to life.
Instead, God made a Second Covenant with fallen
man, giving them the responsibility to obey their
conscience with the promise that if it was faithfully
attended to, they would reap a great reward.
It
wasn't
long
after
that
Adam
and
Eve
heard
the
voice
of
their
Creator
calling
out
to
them
in
the
cool
of
the
evening...
Here lies the eternal question, "What have you done?"
Every
man
and
woman
will
have
to
give account
before
their
Creator
for
what
they
have done —
whether good
or
evil. They
will
be
judged
on
the
basis
of
the deeds which
they
have
committed
during
their
lifetime. A
person's
deeds
will
be
examined
in
relation
to
the
highest
standard
of
knowledge
within
his
conscience.
Conscience is
the built-in
power of
our
minds to
pass
moral
judgment
on
ourselves,
approving
or
disapproving
our
actions,
thoughts
and
plans. It
tells
us
whether
what
we
are
going
to
do
or
have
done
already,
is
right
or
wrong,
good
or
evil. Obedience
to
the
conscience
is
a
remedial
act
on
fallen
man's
behalf.
It
is
done
in
hope
of
ultimate
restoration
to
the
original
covenant
the
Creator
made
with
men
and
women.
If
in
this
life
they
would
rule
over
themselves
then
in
eternity
they
would
be
restored
to
their
rightful
rule
over
creation. Within
the
boundaries
of
conscience,
a
man
can
choose
his
own
eternal
destiny
(blessing
or
calamity
—
a
Second
Eternal
Life
or
a
Second
Eternal
Death).
Adam
and
Eve
chose
to
eat
from
the Tree
of
the
Knowledge
of
Good
and
Evil,
forfeiting
their
right
to
the Tree
of
Life.
Since
that
time
it
has
been appointed
for
all
men
to
die once as
the
wages
for
their
sins. It
is
the
just
sentencing
for
all
who,
like
Adam,
go
against
their
better
judgment. Death (which
we
refer
to
as
the First
Death)
is
the
temporary
abode
of
the
dead,
where
disembodied
spirits
wait
in
hope
or
in
torment
for
their
final
judgment.
All
men
must
keep
this
appointment
with
Death
as
payment
for
the
sins
they
committed
while
bound
to
live
under
the
Covenant
of
Conscience.
After
the
First
Death
is
completed,
comes
final
judgment
where
every
person's eternal
destiny will
be
determined.
If
a
person's
deeds
in
judgment
align
themselves
consistently
with
the "good" he
knew
to
pursue
in
his
conscience,
then
a second
eternal
life will
be
awarded
to
him.
His
part
will
be
in
the "eternal
kingdom
of
the Nations."
He
has
earned
it
and
he
deserves
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