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It may have lasted less than a week based on the following Biblical standpoints. ✿ We read about "tree of the lives" Gen. 2:9. In the garden of Eden. Literally, "tree of the lives," because each one eating of it would live forever. When Adam and Eve were sinned, God expelled them from the garden of Eden. This tree being a pledge of that immortal life with which obedience should be rewarded, man lost, on his fall, all claim to this tree; and therefore, that he might not eat of it or delude himself with the idea that eating of it would restore what he had forfeited, the Lord sent him forth from the garden. ✿ It has an inherent virtue in the tree of life to preserve life indefinitely. If man was created to live forever should he not sin, then he lost eternal life in the fall. Christ brings it back to him (2Tim. 1:10). The tree of life would have caused even sinful man to live forever physically; hence, the action of Gen. 3:22-24. So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life. ✿ Based on Satan’s dealings today, he tried to cause the fall of man immediately. It may have lasted less than a week, for we have no record of God resting after His first sabbath. Man had not yet visited and eaten of the tree of life when the fall came (Gen. 3:22-24). Hence Adam and Eve stay was ended before man had offspring (Gen. 2:21-25; 4:1). ✿ Preservation of life for the natural, earthly nations, as well as for the resurrected saints (Rev. 2:7; 22:2). There will be no sickness, so no healing from disease, but eternal health and life will come from the leaves of the trees (Rev. 21:4; 22:2-21 cp. Gen. 3:22-24).
I'm thinking that Adam's "age" did not start until "the fall." He could have been in the garden for thousands of years before he had sinned, perhaps even a long time before Eve. He named all the animals after all. There was no reason to count his years until he had sinned and took on death as it were. Just a thought. God Bless and keep reading His Eternal Word!
My thoughts, opinions, and speculations: I don't know how long Adam and Even lived in the garden before the fall but going by what scripture says I assumed they were there for a number of years before the fall. God walked with Adam in the cool of the day. To me, that establishes a pattern; a routine and relationship; something they did daily. God also gave Adam the job of tending to the garden and naming all the animals that were in it and that's definitely NOT a one day job. I allowed my imagination to go a little wild when thinking about it and i can picture Adam working in the Garden and along comes a spider. He's never seen one before so he's fascinated by it. He picks it up, studies it, examines it's features and possibly even writes down what he see's maybe even sketching a drawing or two of the animal and then finally gives it a name. This would be something he did whenever he came across a new creature in the garden and like an excited child who wants to share what he's found with his parents, Adam would also share what he found with Eve and with God while they walked together in the cool of the day (I love that phrase). I've also wondered if Adam and Eve had children BEFORE the fall? We know of Cain and Abel and it would make since to document their birth since everything in the Bible pertains to and leads to Jesus and the gift of salvation which went in to effect immediately when Adam and Eve disobeyed God. But what about before the fall? God gave everything in the garden the ability to reproduce after it's own kind and when he created woman and gave her to man, Adam was pleased with what he saw in Eve; a suitable helper and life partner that was of his own flesh; a very unique and precious gift to him from the Almighty Creator to be cherished, respected, and most importantly loved. God also told Adam and Eve to be "fruitful and multiply" so it seems a little far fetched, to me, that the two of them would wait until AFTER the fall to have children. I said previously about Adam naming the animals in the garden and sharing what he had discovered with Eve. Maybe he passed that knowledge and information along to the children they had before the fall as well (again just speculation). After the fall, God said that Eve would bring forth children in pain. Did she birth children before the fall without pain? Was the adding of pain a result of sin and if so, maybe she birthed children before the fall without pain. Cain had a wife. Where did she come from? Where did the other inhabitants of the earth come from if Cain, Abel, and Seth were Adam and Eve's only children? And Cain slew Abel so that really complicates things. Although I don't have scripture to support this I think that Adam and Eve conceived children while in the garden before the fall and those children went out in to the world, followed the command to be "fruitful and multiply", and established families of their own and so on and so on. This would account for "the wives" that were taken after the fall and the origins of the other inhabitants on the earth. Like I said before this is all speculation and maybe wild imaginations but it's kind of fun to think about as long as we don't become dogmatic about our opinions (especially if you we don't have scripture to back up those opinions) and we should never lose sight of the Bibles true message which is: God loves us so much that he sent His only son to die in our place and extend to us the gift of salvation.
However long Adam and Eve may have been in the garden, one thing is certain: they were not there for any time period that exceeded Adam’s life span of 930 years. But there is additional information that must be considered as well. Genesis 4:25 explains that Seth was born after Cain slew Abel. Since the biblical account makes it clear that Seth was born outside the garden, and since Genesis 5:3 informs us that Adam was 130 years old when Seth was born, it is obvious that Adam and Eve could not have been in the Garden of Eden any longer than 130 years!
I would say that Adam and Eve lived thousands, millions of years, maybe even more than that. The Bible clearly shows that GOD, created Adam and Eve and all Creation to be for Ever. After all God created Adam in He's own Image. The Bible does not say how much time went by before the fall. Adams age starts to count after the fall. Then God said to Adam, the day you eat from that fruit that Day you will surely die. Adam died in the spirit that same moment that he touched that fruit, but physically he started to die slowly. That is why it took 930 years for Adam to die. That's the price he had to pay for his disobedience. Lee Desouza. I was dead in my sins. But in 1978 I was Born Again, now living for ever....
I believe Adam and Eve were in the garden for two or three days at the most. Adam was there longer, because he was busy naming animals, and after he was done God created Eve. Satan then saw his chance to get Adam, and Eve in her natural innocence succumbed to the temptation. As a side note God did not command Adam to not eat from the Tree of Life and it is totally possible they did eat from the tree prior to the fall, but not after the fall, as God put the barrier in place to stop them. Good question.
I think it was a short time. Satan would have begun his attack to bring on the rebellion swiftly! They had no children before the fall, because those children would still be innocent and in a perfect condition; would need no SAVIOR from SIN, & still be living today. We know that ALL (whoever lived) have sinned & died!
I have read and studied the account of Adam and Eve from, “The Forgotten Books of Eden: The Story of Adam and Eve,” and want to suggest reading it as it appears to have been within reach all during the composition period before the canonizing of scripture. In it, it appears that God helped Adam and Eve several times with their transfer to a primitive world outside the Garden. It also illustrates the darkness of soul, along with the reaching out to God as sinners, lost from his grace, but in this hand-me-down account of their lives, Adam does seek help from God. Then God responds and is largely the basis for the great redemption that God planned for his beloved first son and daughter. I can hardly imagine how they would have ever survived without his intervention post fall, and we do have biblical record that he dealt with Adam’s family after the fall in Genesis.
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