The Life of Adam

One question that has long intrigued many is, "Who are the people Cain fears after murdering his brother? Who does he marry, and where did these individuals come from?" Answering this question, in truth, involves a degree of speculation. So, if you’re open to it, let’s have a respectful conversation, one where we agree that differing opinions won’t be taken offense to. Below, I’ve outlined seven points that express my thoughts on this subject before diving into the main study. I hope these points spark thoughtful discussion.

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A key point to remember as we explore this topic is that I will refer to Adam and Eve by these names, but it's important to note that Eve wasn’t named until after the Fall. Before the Fall, both were simply called Adam—a Hebrew word meaning "mankind." There’s no indication that they had individual names with specific meanings before this event. Genesis 5:2 supports this, and a study of the Hebrew word "Adam" reveals that it is consistently used to refer to mankind in a general sense.1

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1) The command to be fruitful and multiply was either obeyed or not. The duration of man in the garden needs to take into consideration the naming of the animals, an action that would have taken years. (Today’s 30 million species walking past you, one per minute would take 56 years). Another thing is the ‘walking’ in the garden that Adam does with the Lord. It is inferred that this is something that they had grown accustomed to.

 

A small view of the first Adam
will lead to a small view of the
redemptive work by the second Adam.

 

Let’s now turn our attention to the first commandment given to Adam and Eve—"Be fruitful and multiply." This command was given to beings with the capacity to fulfill it, which means we can confidently conclude that Adam and Eve were not created as children, as some may believe, but as fully mature adults with a complete understanding of what God asked of them. Adam’s wisdom in naming the animals, as God paraded them before him, reflects his level of maturity and discernment.

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God created Adam and Eve with the specific purpose of bringing them together to have children. In this sense, God united them like a minister today unites a man and woman in marriage. Just as no marriage is legally binding without its consummation, the same principle applies here—Adam and Eve’s union had a purpose that was not just about companionship but also procreation. 

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The principle issue many have with comprehending children born into the garden environment is 

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Some people believe that after the Fall, Adam and Eve had their "nakedness" revealed, interpreting this as an indication that they were not sexually active before the Fall. However, this is not an accurate reading of the text. What is described in Genesis 3:7 is not the revelation of their physical bodies but the loss of God’s glory that had once covered them. Their nakedness here refers to their natural and spiritual state. Exposed now to the natural elements. But also now exposed to the enemy—vulnerable and without the divine glory that once illuminated them. Before this moment, they were clothed in God’s glory, but after their disobedience, that glory departed, leaving them empty, powerless, and exposed—much like the temple in Israel when God’s glory left it.

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We see similar manifestations of God’s glory in the lives of others. Take Moses, for example—after spending just 40 days in God’s presence, his face radiated with glory, so much so that he had to wear a veil to shield others from the brightness. This physical transformation was not limited to Moses; we also see the effects of God’s presence in his life, as his natural strength remained undiminished and his eyesight was unaffected at the age of 120. In 1 Peter 4:14, and again in Matthew 17, during the Transfiguration, we see Jesus’ physical appearance change before the disciples, demonstrating how the glory of God can manifest in the physical realm.

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Psalms 8:5 – we see that man is crowned with this Glory. (As an aside – in that verse, man is referred to as a little lower than the angels – this is a traditional substitution in the scripture, and if you dare to study that through, you’ll see that the original word there in Hebrew is not ‘angels,’ but Elohim – the same word used in Genesis 1:1 – God. Man was created a little lower than God – not, nor ever, angels). It is the work of Jesus, the second Adam, to return us to full fellowship with the Father just as the first Adam enjoyed.

 

So it was the Glory of God that crowned
or covered Adam and Eve. 

(Our righteousness, our experience in the presence and love of God, our health, our dominion,
our seat, our walk – is all restored to us through the redemptive work of the cross.
It was to return mankind to our place at our Father’s side.) 

 

Back to the garden. It would be silly to think that they would have no idea how their bodies worked or to try and account for delayed obedience to the command of God about this command to be fruitful. The command was to be fruitful and multiply. Both Adam and Eve were brilliant, with a full capacity mentally. They would not have been ignorant about how to obey this command, not to mention their heart's desire to please their Father, living in harmony with Him. The garden provided a perfect place to raise a family, a perfect place to live in obedience and harmony with their Father. To suppose that Adam and Eve delayed in this first command is to also assume that the animals themselves, likewise, were disobedient and neglected to procreate. This does not seem reasonable.

 

2) We have to keep in mind that the Biblical account of history does not cover every individual who ever lived. Who were the second cousins of Enoch? We don’t know. Why don’t we know? Because they are not relevant to the tracking of history from the fall of man to Christ. The purpose of the gospel story of ‘good news’ is the fulfillment of the prophetic word God gave in the garden – ‘the seed of the woman will crush the head of the serpent’, thereby reversing the curse, the results of man’s transgression in the garden. The Bible is showing us the lineage from the fall of man to Christ the Messiah through genealogies. So when we accept that not all people are mentioned specifically in the scripture, we come to understand why Cain was afraid of other people killing him for the murder of Abel, and why these people are not specifically mentioned.

 

3) Would it have been possible for Adam and Eve to have had children in the garden? Yes, it was physically possible. Was it probable? I believe yes, it was probable. Let’s examine the activities surrounding the fall of man. At the tree, following the temptation, or deception of Eve, she partakes of the fruit. But notice what happens to her upon her transgression, nothing. Now God had said that if you eat of this particular tree “you shall surely die” – in Hebrew, it means ‘to die the deaths’ – plural – meaning both physical death and spiritual death. This was going to be the result of disobedience. Yet, we see that Eve partakes of the tree, and turns to give to her husband to eat after her. This required time, seconds albeit, but time – and during this time Adam does not see the fear in Eve’s eyes, does not notice the Glory of God leaving her body. She does not feel fear or shame, does not have the compelling desire to sew up a makeshift skirt out of fig leaves – nothing happens to Eve! It was not until the transgression of Adam in the next verse that we see that the effects of his transgression, the effects of sin instantly had its way over both of them. Their eyes were opened at that moment. This is plural, both of their eyes were opened. This would have had the same results on any living at this time. Eve suffered the results of death upon Adam’s actions, and so too did all of creation. Death entered into all of creation. All animal life and weather systems, all of nature, and indeed the universe. God is not the author of confusion and chaos, God did not create a system of decay and death in anything He made. At the moment of the fall, all life, Eve Adam, and anyone else would have instantly felt separation from God.

 

4) Another clue is the curse laid upon Eve in the fall. God declares that her childbearing pain would be greatly multiplied. To greatly multiply this pain there has to be a scale of understanding in regards to the degree of pain or discomfort in the first place. This is a strong indicator that she had children before the fall. These children, like Eve, would have instantly felt the effects of the fall at Adam’s transgression. Why they are not mentioned is that they simply are not relevant to the story of redemption. Upon the fall of man, a series of actions take place and the plan of redemption begins to be revealed to mankind. Here, at the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, God levels the prophetic word over Lucifer declaring that from this moment, there shall come a redeemer from the seed of the woman that will crush the head of mankind’s enemy. This prophetic word will come through fallen mankind, through a union of this seed of a woman and the spirit of God. The Word will become Flesh. God joined with humanity to pay the price for humanity, for the sin of humanity. This Jesus did. A mystery is hidden in the fullness of time and that in time would be revealed. This prophetic promise was displayed in the constellations over their heads. I welcome you to study the Mazzaroth, as mentioned in Job. Mazzaroth is a Hebrew word for constellations.

 

5) A study of ancient cultures shows that family groups and clans stayed together in numbers. This was both to make the best use of labour and resources as well as security, and safety in numbers. It is plain to see that both Cain and Abel were closely associated with each other, yet these others that Cain is afraid would kill him were not local. Not closely associated with them as we see that Cain settles in the land of Nod. Cain and Abel were born after the exile from the garden. Born into a cursed world. But if others were born in the garden, yet suffered as Eve did once Adam partook, these may have been older, perhaps much older. Perhaps generations. We really can’t say for sure.

 

Hence this is not a subject for the pulpit,
but it is or should be one for healthy,
mature Christian dialogue.

 

Once Cain is alienated from his family, he becomes a wanderer and travels eastward from the garden. Some would place this in lower Egypt if you study the origin of the garden from an ancient geographic sense. But I think it may very well have been more towards the Euphrates Delta, in what is now Iraq and Kuwait. Here he builds a ‘walled town’, the clear definition of the word city mentioned in the scriptures. Still concerned for his safety.

 

6) Now, any conversation about the possibility of genetic mutation needs to give way to the realization that mankind was created perfectly. Cellularly Adam and Eve were perfect. There would be no chance of genetic mutation this early in human history. The genetic mutations we see today are a result of thousands of years of deterioration. So this argument of mutation and incest falls short of the reality of their time, culture, and physiology.

 

7) Yet another point, Eve is given a name by Adam as the ‘mother of all living’. This name was given to her before Cain was born. Genesis 3 “And Adam called his wife’s name Eve because she was the mother of all living.” Given to her before Cain but after death has been introduced to the world. But we have to keep in mind that the prophecy given in the garden of the seed of a woman striking down the serpent and giving redemption to man was foremost in Adam’s mind. Study again the Mazzaroth and learn the lesson taught by Adam month by month to his children.

 

No, Eve was not just now having children. She had in all likelihood had many. The duration of time for man to have been in the garden could just as easily been 100 years or 1000 years as it could be a week. No one can tell you for sure, that goes for me too. Eve is indeed the mother of all living, and the very definition of the word ‘living’ is meaningless without the word death. What framework of life do you have in eternity? You are. You exist. Without death, there is no end and any thought of life, within the context of how we define it today. Review definitions of the word life and see for yourself. Death plays into the context. Eve now is the mother of all living, as all living are now on the clock so to speak. Existing for some time, that period we call life until they ultimately die.

 

This is profoundly seen at the birth of Enosh – the grandchild of Adam in the line of Christ, born to Seth who was the replacement of the murdered Abel. Adam was the eternal man, holding in his hands a newborn baby, just breathing its first breaths.

 

Now Adam, with tears in his eyes, looks down and names this child
– ‘mortal’ – meaning ‘doomed to die’.

 

This name comes from the father of mankind who was to father God’s children in paradise forever. Raising a family who would know and walk with God in a place without death. Here, is a poignant example of Adam’s broken heart, holding death in his hands as the baby is just breathing for the first time. The results of the fall are there in his hands. Eve is indeed the mother of all living, of all life, and perhaps this too is prophetic, as many of the names in the bible are, and perhaps Adam is looking for that promise that will come. The life-giver to redeem the curse of death. The weight that rests heavily upon Adam’s shoulders.

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• Genesis 2–3 paints a picture of a perfect, deathless, timeless garden before sin entered the world

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• The Fall (Genesis 3) introduced:

  • Death (Romans 5:12: “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin...”)

  • Decay (Romans 8:20–22: creation was subjected to futility and groans under corruption)

  • Time as we understand it — with aging, toil, and mortality.

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Since Scripture ties death and decay to sin, and death starts the mortal timeline, our approach marks the start of measurable time from the moment Adam and Eve sinned and were cast out.

 

Regarding Adam’s role in the garden. I just read an article that presupposed that there needed to be weeds in the garden, to give Adam something to cultivate! Something to do to ‘keep’ the garden. It’s funny the things we accept of this broken, natural, and cursed world because we can’t imagine one without the things we face here every day.

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Instead of supposing that death pre-existed the curse
and fall of man, let’s imagine God made a perfect world.

 

The kind of world that a perfect God would make for his perfect children. A kind of world that reflected heaven on earth, as His will is. Today’s study of string theory points to a harmonic vibration in everything that surrounds us. From the sand to the rocks, from the deer drinking from the brook to the green grasses growing under tall trees.  It all vibrates at specific frequencies. Each has it’s own. Any gardener knows that there are certain plants that you don’t plant beside each other due to how they grow. I wonder if on a quantum level, they are out of tune with each other. Understanding quantum theory, from which string theory derives, brings you to understand that if we could hear all of creation, it would sound like a symphony. I don’t see Adam as a gardener as much as I do a composer. Arranging areas of the garden that not only looked beautiful but sounded heavenly when arranged. Read some accounts of near-death experiences, of those who have died and visited heaven and you’ll get an idea of what life was like in the paradise that God had created, in a world without sin.

 

God had prophesied in the Garden to Lucifer that the seed of the woman would disarm and dethrone him. Although God knew who this would be - the devil had no idea who to look for.  Thus any individual seen walking with God would be a threat to Lucifer. We see in the life of Cain and Abel, two individuals who honor different paths. Cain felt pride and self-righteousness in his own labours or work and Abel respected the teachings and instruction he had received regarding what and how to sacrifice to the Lord.

 

Now, it may be that Abel as the keeper of the flocks was charging his brother ever-increasing fees for the lamb that Cain needed to purchase… no one knows for sure. Nevertheless, as Abel demonstrated his desire to keep the covenant with God, Lucifer worked through Cain to strike him down.

 

Now years later… the Bible tells us that when Adam was 130 years old, Seth was born. Seth had a son when he was 105 years old. This makes Adam 235 years old when Seth brings his father, his first grandson. Remember that Adam, while he was in the garden, was eternal. Death had no dominion over him or for that matter over anything that God had created. God had not made a world system or a system of nature that was dominated by a death cycle. It was a system of balance in all things. There was no death.

 

Now after the fall, death entered Adam’s spirit instantly. Adam’s body began to break down at the cellular level. All of nature reacted to this new cycle of death and the following curse.

 

Adam began to die now. Time started. Time – the system we use to track the progress of things and their decay. The Bible tells us Adam was 130 at the birth of Seth. Therefore he was 50 at some point, 25, 1 at some point. When he walked the last time through the gates of the garden and the doors closed behind him with the angel guarding the way – Adam began dying and time commenced, tracking his decline. 930 years later he passed away, death finally getting the victory over his physical body.

 

At the moment, that Seth brings his firstborn to the Patriarch of the family, Adam is 235 and he is holding the first of the next generation – his grandson. He holds this baby in his arms and with tears in his eyes, he declares the child’s name: “You are ‘Doomed to Die’ – ‘Mortal’ – that is literally what the name Enosh means. Adam calls his grandson Enosh. Doomed to die. A significant reminder of the consequences of Adam’s sin. Adam, the father of mankind, who walked with God in intimacy in the garden and enjoyed life eternally – traded it all for a lie – and subjected all of his descendants to mortality – death.

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Thanks 

M. Joseph Hutzler, Eschatologist
www.FullBibleTimeline.com

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References:

1: http://biblehub.com/hebrew/adam_120.htm

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