http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=11&article=436
The World Before Sin
| by | Eric Lyons, M.Min. |
Imagine living in a world that is free from sin. It is a world where there are no murderers or thieves. It is a place free from racism and war, and from divorce and physical abuse. In this world, there is no strife, hatred, or jealousy. It is a place void of all pain and suffering. You would never be scared, because in this world there is nothing to fear. It is perfect. You live in complete harmony with every creature around you. You love every person you meet (and they love you!). And, most important, you have a perfect relationship with God.
Although you may think that such a world never existed, or that such perfection will be known only in heaven, the truth is, at one time Adam and Eve lived in such a paradise. According to the last verse in Genesis chapter one, after God finished His six-day creation (which included the making of Adam and Eve) He “saw everything He had made, and indeed it was very good.” Before sin entered the world, Adam and Eve lived in complete harmony with nature, with themselves, and with God.
Instead of living in a world where animals are scared of humans, and where humans are afraid of various animals, Adam lived in harmony with all of God’s creatures. In fact, on the very day he was created, God brought the cattle, birds, and beasts of the field to Adam to be named. The animals were not frightened of Adam, and Adam was not scared of the animals. They lived in perfect harmony. [The Bible indicates it was not until after the Flood that the animals began to fear man (Genesis 9:2-3).]
Rather than having to work a “cursed” earth full of “thorns and thistles” (Genesis 3:17-19), Adam and Eve simply picked and gathered the fruit that God freely gave them in the Garden of Eden. And, as long as Adam and Eve ate of the tree of life that was in the middle of the garden, they would live forever (read Genesis 3:22). It seems that if Adam and Eve had remained in a sinless state, having access to this tree of life, they would have stayed in perfect health—being free from the diseases that claim the lives of so many people today.
Aside from all of these blessings, the most wonderful thing about the world before sin was that Adam and Eve lived in complete harmony with God. There was no sin separating them from their Creator. It was a perfect relationship. Blood sacrifices were not offered, and forgiveness of sins was not needed. Truly, before the fall of man, a kind of paradise existed on Earth.
Even though the sin of man brought a tragic end to the earthly paradise once known by Adam and Eve, God graciously has promised that He will give an eternal life (in a heavenly paradise) to everyone who responds, in faith through obedience, to the good news of Jesus Christ (Titus 3:7; 1 John 5:11-13; Acts 2:38).