¹¹ “And Jehovah God proceeded to take the man and settle him in the garden of Eden to cultivate it and to take care of it. And Jehovah God also laid this command upon the man: ‘From every tree of the garden you may eat to satisfaction. But as for the tree of the knowledge of good and bad you must not eat from it, for in the day you eat from it you will positively die.’”​—Genesis 2:15-17.

13. What prospect did the first man have, and why so?

¹³ Endlessly? What an almost unbelievable thought this must have been to the perfect man! But why not? His Creator had no idea or purpose of destroying this masterfully designed garden of Eden. Why should he destroy his own work, when it was so good and expressive of his artistic creativity? Logically, he would not purpose to do so. (Isaiah 45:18) And since this matchless garden was to remain under cultivation, it would need a cultivator and caretaker like the perfect man, Adam. And if caretaker man never ate the fruit of the forbidden “tree of the knowledge of good and bad,” he would never die. The perfect man could live forever!

14. How could Adam have everlasting life in Paradise?

¹⁴ Everlasting life in the Paradise garden of Eden was set before Adam! It could be eternally enjoyed, provided that he stayed perfectly obedient to his Creator, never eating fruit that was forbidden by the Creator of man. It was His desire that the perfect man remain obedient and keep living everlastingly. The forbidding of the fruit of “the tree of the knowledge of good and bad” was nothing death-dealing. It was merely a test of man’s perfect obedience to his Father. It provided an opportunity for the man to prove his love for God, his Creator.