Question: LB asks: "If Adam
and Eve had eaten from the Tree of Life, could God do anything about them
living forever?"
Answer: First, this
is an "if" question; it did not happen, so any specific answer is
speculation, not fact.
Second, Adam and Eve had
already eaten the forbidden fruit, and were already sinners. It was
gracious of God in keeping them from the Tree of Life, because they would
have lived forever in bodies with the sinful fallen nature, and would be
in a constant stage of aging without the possibility of dying! How awful!
Third, God could have
decided to take them to heaven, changing their sinful bodies into sinless
glorified bodies, as He did with Elijah in 2 Kings 2:10-12, just as He
will do with those believers who are alive when Jesus returns in the
clouds to meet them in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18)
Question: GB writes: "What
does Exodus 22:20 mean? It doesn’t mean we should go around killing people
who worship idols does it? How is that different than what the Arabs do in
their Holy Wars?"
Answer: First,
the book of Exodus with its commandments and instructions was written to
the Jews and for the Jews; therefore Exodus 22:20 refers to any Jew under
the Law of Moses who offered sacrifices to false gods "should surely be
put to death."
Second, since "the Law was
given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ" (John 1:17),
thus, "whatever the Law saith, it saith to them who are under the Law"
Romans 3:19), not to us today.
Third, this specific
command was not a Holy War, but was given to keep the worship of the True
God pure from idolatry. It is true, there were times when God commanded
Lot to flee from Sodom and Gomorrah because God was going to destroy it
and its people for their wickedness (Genesis 19:13-14). In Deuteronomy
7:1-6 God commanded Israel to destroy whole countries of their population
because of idolatry. Back in Genesis 6:7-13, God told Noah He was ready to
destroy the population of the whole world with a flood, because of their
wickedness. But the Muslims Holy Wars are against any people who do not
believe in their doctrines of Islam. Christianity does not teach this at
all. In contrast, we are to go into all the world and preach the Gospel to
every creature (Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:8).
