From Eternity Past

The Terrible Fruits of Sin

Sin brought separation between God and man, and the atonement of Christ alone could span the abyss. God would communicate with man through Christ and angels. EP 34.3

Adam was shown that while the sacrifice of Christ would be sufficient to save the whole world, many would choose a life of sin rather than of repentance and obedience. Crime would increase through successive generations. The curse of sin would rest more and more heavily upon the human race and upon the earth. The days of man would be shortened by his own course of sin; he would deteriorate in physical, moral, and intellectual power until the world would be filled with misery. Through the indulgence of appetite and passion, men would become incapable of appreciating the great truths of the plan of redemption. Yet Christ would supply the needs of all who would come unto Him in faith. There would ever be a few who would preserve the knowledge of God and remain unsullied. EP 34.4

The sacrificial offerings were ordained to be a penitential acknowledgment of sin and a confession of faith in the promised Redeemer. To Adam the first sacrifice was painful. His hand must be raised to take life, which only God could give. It was the first time he had witnessed death. He knew that had he been obedient to God there would have been no death. He trembled at the thought that his sin must shed the blood of the spotless Lamb of God. This gave him a vivid sense of the greatness of his transgression, which nothing but the death of God's dear Son could expiate. A star of hope illumined the dark future. EP 34.5