Man Was Never Immortal
When discussing what the Bible teaches about healing and health, the question of immortality invariably comes up. The logic being that if healing is really a provision of the redemptive work of Christ to be presently enjoyed, then that must mean that physical death is abolished. However, this logic is flawed in many respects. First of all, if we read the Genesis account we cannot determine that man was created mortal or immortal. This is difficult to understand because it seems logical that he had to have been one or the other. Nevertheless, this does not appear to be the case.
But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die (Genesis 2:17).
This verse indicates that Adam and Eve were not mortal, because death resulted from eating the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.
And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken (Genesis 3:22, 23).
From this verse we see that eating from the Tree of Life would have resulted in immortality, and that God removed man from the garden to ensure that he did not become immortal.
Death Not Yet Abolished
As we discussed in Part II of this series, physical death has not yet been done away with. First Corinthians 15:26 identifies physical death as the “last enemy that shall be destroyed.” Since mankind was never immortal and physical death is not yet abolished, we will all inevitably die. However, this fact is not incompatible with what the Bible teaches about healing.
And ye shall serve the LORD your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee. There shall nothing cast their young, nor be barren, in thy land: the number of thy days I will fulfill (Exodus 23:25, 26).
Notice that this passage speaks of the promise to take away disease, but emphasizes long life. It is possible, therefore, to live a long life and die of natural causes without disease.
Defining Longevity
When we read Genesis, we see men living hundreds of years. We know that people do not live that long today. So how can we define longevity in modern terms? One clue is found in Genesis 6:3.
Then the LORD said, ‘My Spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is mortal; his days will be a hundred and twenty years.’ (New International Version)
I believe this refers to the maximum number of years men can live on the earth under the present conditions. Today, it is unusual for people to live this long, but it is not completely unheard of. To be fair, there are some that believe that this verse refers to the number of years that would pass before God flooded the earth. I disagree, but there is not enough biblical evidence here for me to be dogmatic about my position. However, I would point out that the phrase, “his days will be a hundred and twenty years” is preceded by a comment on human mortality.
Some have pointed to Psalm 90:10 as being a defining passage about longevity.
The length of our days is seventy years—
or eighty, if we have the strength;
yet their span is but trouble and sorrow,
for they quickly pass, and we fly away. (New International Version)
This view is problematic when we read the verse in context, particularly when balanced with what we read in Psalm 91. Let us first look at the surrounding text of Psalm 90:10.
We are consumed by your anger and terrified by your indignation.
You have set our iniquities before you,
our secret sins in the light of your presence.
All our days pass away under your wrath; we finish our years with a moan.
The length of our days is seventy years—
or eighty, if we have the strength;
yet their span is but trouble and sorrow,
for they quickly pass, and we fly away.
Who knows the power of your anger?
For your wrath is as great as the fear that is due you.
Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. (NIV)
The picture we get here is one of a disobedient people who are living out their short lives in misery and dissatisfaction. Verse 12 indicates that they were not living as long as they potentially could have. Now let us compare this passage to Psalm 91.
He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High
shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress:
my God; in him will I trust.
Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler,
and from the noisome pestilence.
He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust:
his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night;
nor for the arrow that flieth by day;
Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness;
nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.
A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand;
but it shall not come nigh thee.
Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.
Because thou hast made the LORD,
which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;
There shall no evil befall thee,
neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.
For he shall give his angels charge over thee,
to keep thee in all thy ways.
They shall bear thee up in their hands,
lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.
Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder:
the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.
Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him:
I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.
He shall call upon me, and I will answer him:
I will be with him in trouble;
I will deliver him, and honour him.
With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.
Here we see a conditional promise of long life and protection from pestilences and plagues. Also, there is a promise of angelic protection from accidental injury. Who does this promise apply to? To those who make God their refuge, love him and know him. There is much to say about the knowledge of God. Apart from the proper knowledge, even believers can perish unnecessarily. It is impossible to believe God absent the knowledge of his will because faith begins where the will of God is revealed. Faith is always expressed by words and deeds. Notice what the psalmist says in verse 2. “I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.” He takes ownership of the knowledge in such a way as to express faith personally applicable to his own life.
So how can we define longevity? I think it can be defined in light of verse 16 which says, “With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.” Rather than coming up with an old age to universally apply to everyone, we could say that personal satisfaction should be the defining factor. Whether a person is satisfied will determine how long they will to live. One person may be satisfied after 80 years; another may want to live to be 100.
Even Paul asserted that his personal will had something to do with how long he would live. Consider this passage from Philippians 1.
For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour: yet what I shall choose I wot not. For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:
Verses 22 and 23 both indicate that Paul viewed his life span as a choice. Notice that he said, “yet what I shall choose I wot not.” In other words, there are positives and negatives to both options – whether to continue living or whether to die and go to heaven.
A Common Misconception about Life Span
Many Christians believe that every person has a pre-determined number of years that they will live on the earth; some are destined to die young and others are not. We know that God knows the end from the beginning, but the idea that one is destined to live a certain length of time irrespective of any other factor other than the sovereignty of God is not biblical. In part this misconception comes from a misinterpretation of Hebrews 9:27.
And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.
This scripture does not say that everyone is predestined to die at their own particular unchangeable time. It simply says that all people who die face judgment. We have all heard people say things like, “I guess it was just his time to go,” indicating that the deceased were powerless to affect their own destiny. However, the Bible simply does not teach this. Here a few scriptures to consider.
Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise; That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth (Ephesians 6:2, 3).
For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile (1 Peter 3:10).
My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments: For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee (Proverbs 3:1, 2).
So to sum up what these scriptures say in this regard, how we treat our parents, how we choose our words, how honest we are, and how wisely we live all affect how long we live on the earth.
Next: Biblical Bodily Healing Part IV: Healing and Redemption
So what you’re saying is that biblical healing means we can be free from sickness and disease. But we will still die–not because we’re sick, but simply because we get old. Death is the result of age, not of sickness. Death and aging are part of living, and therefore don’t need to be healed. They are our natural state.
Is that a fair summary?
That sounds fair to me.
I can definitely say that I agree with you regarding lifespan - especially this statement: “the idea that one is destined to live a certain length of time irrespective of any other factor other than the sovereignty of God is not biblical.”
I have noticed a massive trend in mainline Christianity to sort of boil down the sovereign will of God into some kind of lifestyle-fatalism. As though we have absolutely no free-will to make wise decisions, live healthy or chose our spouse/job/schooling etc… It is a complete misunderstanding of how sovereignty and free-will work together.
In that framework, it seems that I understand your point as being that sickness is avoidable, and not something God intends for mankind, but mankind’s free-will allows him to pursue choices that will result in his sickness. I think I understand your premise.
I think what I would need to convince me of this is specific biblical passages that seem to detail (in either application or principle) the methodology behind this idea. I assume you will indeed get to that eventually.
Not a bad article. I’ll definitely have to give it some thought. It is definitely interesting that only one person in recent history is documented to have lived longer than 120 years:
Jeanne Calment 122 years 164 days
There appear to be around 100 people verified to be over 100 though. I would assume that violence is not considered an “illness” under this definition, though since Paul did walk away from a stoning perhaps Stephan merely lacked faith. So now we can assume that any believer who died of “old age” fits the mold, while anyone dying of any kind of disease (or slow wound?) actually died of lack of faith. Interesting position…
Yes, when I get to heaven, I’ll tell all those saints who died from cancer in their twenties that they lacked faith. http://www.zacksaint.com/
This “God will always heal you” idea is… nonsensical. Some of the most faithful, strongest Christians I have ever known died from illnesses and diseases “before their time.”
I still don’t see how the Bible supports the idea that we can hold God hostage to our will if we have enough “faith.” Isn’t that basically what you’re claiming?
Note: I honestly did NOT intend any pun with that first paragraph. Coincidental use of the word “saints” only.
“I still don’t see how the Bible supports the idea that we can hold God hostage to our will if we have enough “faith.” Isn’t that basically what you’re claiming?”
I don’t really know what you mean by the hostage analogy. As far as what I am “claiming” goes, anything anyone claims is irrelevant if it doesn’t agree with scripture. My intent is not to make claims independent of the Bible. If I have inadvertently done that, you have the obligation to reject what I have have written. If, however, I have merely expounded on what the scriptures plainly say, you would have to disagree with God. And that’s between you and him. I haven’t even really begun to speak about faith yet. But when the time comes, you can be sure that I will do my best to show what the roll of faith is from the actual Bible.
I just found your blog post and found it quite interesting.
If you are serious about this subject, then you will be quite interested in my reasearch and findings on this very topic.
I have summarized what I have found on my main blog:
http://www.Ben-Abba.com
Check out the post “Summary of the Facts” whne you get a chance and then my followup book “Secrets of an Immortal - An Eyewitness Account of 2,800 Years of History”.
Blessings!
By comparison, Chris, your idea is the most orthodox theology around.
You know Ben Abba, there was already a trilogy of movies made about that guy. I think it was called “Blade.”