Many people reject the Bible because they view its contents as contradictory or false—including God’s statement to Adam in the Garden of Eden.
After God created Adam, He put him in the Garden to tend it. He told Adam he could eat from any tree in the Garden but could not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
God warned Adam that he would die if he ate from it (Genesis 2:15-17). However, when Adam disobeyed God and ate from the forbidden tree, he did not die but lived a total of 930 years before passing away (Genesis 5:5).
So, did God lie to Adam?
When God told Adam he would die if he ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, He spoke the truth. The moment Adam sinned, he died spiritually. His spiritual death immediately severed his intimate fellowship and relationship with God and resulted in him being expelled from God's presence in the Garden of Eden. It also removed Adam's access to the tree of life located in the Garden (Genesis 3:22-24).
Adam also experienced physical death eventually, which would not have occurred had he remained sinless. Adam’s choice to disobey God immediately catapulted him into a realm of decay and death, which would ultimately claim his life at 930 years old.
Therefore, when God told Adam that he would surely die if he ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, that is exactly what Adam experienced spiritually and physically.
I hope this answer was helpful and gives you a better understanding of God’s words to Adam.
