Fruits of the Fall.—The fall had a twofold direction—downward, yet forward. It brought man into the world and set his feet upon progression's highway. But it also brought death, with all its sad concomitants. Not such a death as the righteous now contemplate, and such as both righteous and unrighteous undergo, as a change preparatory to resurrection; but eternal death—death of the spirit as well as the body. There was no resurrection when Adam fell—not upon this planet.
The World in Pawn.—Hell had seemingly triumphed over man's—or rather over woman's weakness. It was as if the world had been put in pawn. Death was the pawnbroker, with a twofold claim upon all creation. Everything pertaining to Earth was in his grasp, and there was no help for it this side of Heaven. No part of what had been pledged could be used as the means of redemption. Adam could not redeem himself, great and mighty though he was, in the spirit; for he was no other than Michael the Archangel, leader of the heavenly host when Lucifer and his legions were overthrown. But that same puissant Michael was now a weak mortal man, under the penalty of a broken law, powerless to repair the ruin he had wrought. He and the race that was to spring from him were eternally lost, unless Omnipotence would intervene, and do for them what they could not do for themselves.
Where was Redemption?—Redemption must come, if at all, through some being great enough and powerful enough to make an infinite atonement; one completely covering the far-reaching effects of the original transgression. The scales of Eternal Justice, unbalanced by Adam's act, had to be repoised, and the equilibrium of right restored. Who could do this? Who was able to mend the broken law, bring good out of evil, mould failure into success, and "snatch victory from the jaws of defeat?" Where was the Moses for such an Exodus? Where the deliverance from this worse than Egyptian bondage—a bondage of which Egypt's slavery was typical?
The Price Paid.—The life of a God was the price of the world's freedom; and that price was paid by the God of Israel (Jesus on Earth, Jehovah in Heaven) who descended from his glorious throne, became mortal, and by submitting to death, broke the bands of death, and made it possible for man to go on to his eternal destiny. This spotless Lamb, the great Antitype of the Passover, gave himself as an offering for sin, and by the shedding of his own blood, paid the debt of the universe, took the world out of pawn, and became the Author of Salvation for all mankind. Christ's atonement, offsetting Adam's transgression, brought redemption from the fall, nullifying its evil results, conserving its good results, and making them effectual for man's eternal welfare.
"We Know in Part."—Why the Fall and the Redemption had to be, we, know in part, for God has revealed it. But we do not know all. That a divine law was broken, in order that "men might be;" and that reparation had to be made, in order that men "might have joy"—this much is known. But the great why and wherefore of it all is a deep that remains unfathomed. Why it was necessary to place Adam and Eve in a position so contradictory, where they were commanded not to do the very thing that had to be done—why the divine purpose had to be carried out in just that way, is one of those infinite problems that must remain to finite minds a mystery until the All-wise shall will to make it plain. Man cannot sit in judgment upon his Maker, nor measure by human standards divine dispensations. "All things have been done in the wisdom of Him who knoweth all things."
God's Greatest Gift.—The Fall, though essential to human progress, dug man's grave and opened the portal to Hades. Redemption unsealed the tomb and swung wide the gates to Endless Glory. Adam gave us mortal life. Eternal life, our greatest boon, is the gift of the Redeemer and Savior.
Footnotes
[1]. Moses 1:4, 38; 7:30.
[2]. The Reverend Baden Powell, of Oxford University, quoted in Kitto's "Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature," says: "The idea of 'creation,' as meaning absolutely 'making out of nothing,' or calling into existence that which did not exist before, in the strictest sense of the term, is not a doctrine of scripture; but it has been held by many on the grounds of natural theology, as enhancing the ideas we form of the divine power, and more especially since the contrary must imply the belief in the eternity and self-existence of matter."
[3]. The author of the Epistle to the Hebrews asserts nothing to the contrary when he says: "Things which are seen were not made of things which do appear" (Heb. 11:3). The "things" referred to ("the worlds" that were "framed by the word of God") had existed before, in other forms, invisible to mortal eye and intangible to human touch.