The story about the existence of the first man and woman on Earth and their fall still captures people’s imaginations even today. Their presence on Earth marks the origin of humanity in the world.
Adam and Eve were the people that God created with His own hands in the Garden of Eden.
“Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.”
Genesis 2:6
However, besides being the first human beings on Earth, they are also the first to introduce sin into the world.
“Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people because all sinned.”
Romans 5:12
Sin exists in the world today because of Adam and Eve. The fact that they were the first humans to be created, yet they introduced sin into the world, has raised many questions on whether they went to heaven after their death.
Did God forgive them after sending them out of the Garden of Eden? Or did their sin deny them the chance to go to heaven?
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In this article, we will explore the nature of Adam and Eve’s sin and whether it was forgivable. We will also look at the possibility of them being in heaven.
Background
As the first humans to exist, Adam and Eve had a perfect relationship with God. They were the first people who reflected His image on Earth; they talked to God one-on-one and enjoyed everything first-hand. God put Adam in charge of the Garden of Eden and gave him the responsibility of naming the animals He had created.
He gave them the authority to rule over the animals, the birds, the livestock, and all other creations.
“Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole Earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the Earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food. And it was so.”
Genesis 5:29-30
All this shows how much God loved Adam and Eve and the nature of their relationship.
God put them in charge of every living thing but warned them not to eat from the tree in the middle of the garden, the Tree of Knowledge.
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Some theologians argue that God commanded Adam and Eve not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge because He wanted to test them. Whatever the reason, God wanted them to obey Him and maintain their good relationship.
“And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the Garden; but you must not eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it, you will certainly die.”
Genesis 2:16-17
Adam and Eve failed; they disobeyed the Lord. The devil, who appeared to them in the form of a serpent, deceived them, and they ate fruit from the tree that God had commanded them not to eat.
Their disobedience and failure to resist the devil’s temptation marked the beginning of their fall. God was displeased by their disobedience and sent them out of the Garden of Eden.
And when we read the account of the fall of Adam and Eve in the Scriptures, we don’t see them repenting and regretting the sin they had committed.
Instead, they shifted blame to justify their failure to adhere to God’s command.
“The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
Genesis 3:12-13
Instead of confessing their mistakes and repenting, Adam blamed Eve, and Eve blamed the serpent. This attracted God’s curse upon them, and they became prone to sin.
This is the account of the relationship of Adam and Eve with God: how good it was at first and how they ruined it through their disobedience.
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With this in mind, did Adam and Eve go to heaven? Did God welcome them in heaven after their death, or did He reject them?
3 Reasons We Believe Adam and Eve Went to Heaven
Reason 1
“To be sure, sin was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not charged against anyone’s account where there is no law.”
Romans 5:13
Adam and Eve sinned at a time when God had not set any law for humanity to abide by.
What He gave was only a command with its consequences if at all they failed to follow it. But it wasn’t a set law.
And Romans 5:13 says that mankind’s mistakes cannot be charged without a set law.
This could mean that Adam and Eve were not judged based on their mistake in the Garden of Eden. So, there is a possibility that they are in heaven.
Reason 2
After Adam and Eve had disobeyed God, He did not leave them to continue living in shame.
Adam and Eve had hidden from God because they realized they were naked and were ashamed of their nakedness, symbolizing the shame that follows any sin that mankind commits.
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God covered their nakedness and saved them from shame.
“The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.”
Genesis 5:21
God still had compassion for Adam and Eve even after disobeying Him. He was only worried about letting them live on Earth forever since they now knew good and evil.
Therefore, God sent them out of the Garden of Eden to prevent them from eating from the Tree of Life that could make them live forever (Genesis 3:22-24). The idea of God clothing them before sending them out shows that He still valued them.
Reason 3
The Bible mentions God’s grace is bigger than any sin. The weight of the sin that Adam and Eve committed cannot overshadow the mercy and grace of God.
That is why we see Him clothing them even though they had disobeyed Him. His desire is not that any of the people He created perish but that we all have an everlasting life in heaven.
“But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many!
Nor can the gift of God be compared with the result of one man’s sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification.
For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!
Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, one righteous act also resulted in justification and life for all people.
For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man, the many will be made righteous.”
Romans 5:15-19
Many argue that the act of God covering the nakedness of Adam and Eve symbolizes the grace that He extends to humanity even today.
The verses above explain how great His grace is and how He extends it to mankind to deliver them from the bondage of sin.
The first man and woman must have shared in this abundant grace. They must have experienced the mercy and grace of God and went to heaven after their death.
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Furthermore, the Bible does not mention that Adam and Eve were wicked and sinful. What happened was a moment of weakness that could happen to anyone.
It is the only sin that we are told they committed. After being sent out of the Garden of Eden, they may have committed other sins, but they were not wicked.
We don’t see any wickedness in the lives of Adam and Eve after their life in the Garden of Eden that could have denied them the opportunity to go to heaven.
Adam and Eve suffered the consequences of their sin; they were sent out of the Garden of Eden. The punishment for their sin was not being denied the opportunity to go to heaven but the chance to live forever on Earth.
Furthermore, after they were sent out of Eden, it is believed that they maintained a good relationship with God.
Eve acknowledged the Lord’s help when she gave birth to her children (Genesis 4:1, Genesis 4:25).
Their good relationship with God outside the Garden of Eden indicates that they went to heaven after their death.