The myth of human immortality is nothing new.
The Bible contains an account of the creation of the first man and woman, and the ancient Book of Genesis describes the Lord’s directive to His created man and what would happen if he disobeyed Him:
“Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. The Lord God planted a garden toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the man whom He had formed.” [Gen. 2:7-8]
“Then the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it. The Lord God commanded the man, saying, ‘From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; 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 will surely die.’” [Gen.2:15-17] [my emphasis]
The narrative continues, revealing the pursuasive strategy of a Deceiver, expressed in diametric opposition to the Spoken Truth:
“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 any tree of the garden?’ The woman said to the serpent, ‘From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat, but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’ The serpent said to the woman, ‘You surely will 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.’” [Gen. 3:1-5] [my emphasis]
You know the rest of the story. The lie that peddled immortality was victorious over the unbelieving spirit. The serpent of the text of Genesis got his foot in the door of the heart vacillating between the fidelity of God’s personally spoken commands and its inherent wicked nature. [Jer. 17:9-10]
So, have you ever wondered why this promise about human immortality continues to be embraced by many of God’s people throughout the ages?
Me too. But not any more [1].
It’s very likely that if Adam and Eve had chosen to believe [and thus obeyed] God’s commands, they would have secured some form of everlasting presence in the paradise of Eden. But the lie spoken in the creation story convinced our ancestors that unbelief was not a barrier to human death.
Even today, unbelief has proven to be the most difficult obstacle for God’s people to overcome.
And provoking sin through unbelief is still the serpent’s most effective tool for separating God’s people from Him. Not only that, it’s one sure way to prevent them from co-inheriting in the coming kingdom of the next age along with their Firstborn Brother, Christ Jesus. [see: Rom. 8:12-17]
But any deception about death should never mislead His people, because the obedient heart and the discerning mind cannot be easily hoodwinked.
Death is real. If it isn’t, then there’s no need for a solution to it.