Would Adam have been admitted to eat from the tree of knowledge if he had kept the probation in the garden? Jim Jordan has argued from hints in Genesis 1-3 that the answer is Yes. Perhaps there's also some further hint in Matthew 4:1-11. Jesus goes into the wilderness, and is keeping a fast; unlike the first Adam, He resists the temptation to eat forbidden food, and He triumphs over Satan. At the end of the passage, however, he eats; having faithfully kept the fast, He is allowed to feast. This perhaps can be read back as the hypothetical history of the first Adam: Had he resisted Satan and kept the fast, He would have been admitted to a feast. Not decisive, of course, but perhaps relevant.
posted by Peter J. Leithart on Monday, February 21, 2005 at 11:26 AM
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