Was there Animal Death Before the Fall?
Version 1A
By Mark Farquharson
When Adam sinned did the death sentence pass on to animals or not? This is the question that will be answered in this article. Please note that there was no human death before the fall, there were only Adam and Eve on the planet. Adam and Eve were the first two people that God created on day six.
Plants of course did die before the sin of Adam, the animals were eating the plants. Some animals would have eaten the whole plant, there is no reason to think otherwise. In the future when all animals will eat plants, plants will still die. Animals are different to plants in that they have a spirit, were a plant has no spirit.
Carnivores
Did God create carnivores or only herbivores? Some people who say he created both, seem to leave out the fact that there are also omnivores. Thus these are the three types an animal can be. Carnivores only eat meat, they do not eat plants, but there are a few exceptions. For instance dogs are carnivores, but people do bring up domestic dogs on both meat and vegetables. However wild cats only eat meat, and no vegetation at all. Humans are omnivores, we eat both meat and plant. A number of humans are vegetarian, they only eat plants. This shows that like the bible says, humans only ate plants in the beginning, as in Genesis 1:29-30:
Genesis 1:29 And saying is the Elohim, "Behold, I give to you all herbage seeding seed, which is on the surface of the entire earth, and every tree which has in it the fruit of a tree seeding seed. For you it is coming to be for food.
1:30 And for all land life, and for every flyer of the heavens, and for every moving animal on the land, which has in it a living soul, all green herbage is for food. And coming is it to be so. CLV
Notice here it is saying what land animals, birds and humans could eat. It does not say that animals could not eat meat, but on the other hand it does not say that humans could not eat meat. However Genesis 9:2-3, tells us when humans were allowed to eat meat. Thus this part in Genesis 1 is tell humans what they can eat, and it does not include animals, which means humans were not allowed to eat animals. People say because there is no rule against eating meat for the animals, that animals could eat meat. This is wrong, because we see there is no rule against humans eating meat, but we know that humans were not allowed to. Animals had the same rule as the humans, and people try to say that it somehow applied differently, there is no scriptural support for that at all.
Later after the Flood humans were told that they could eat meat:
Genesis 9:2 And the fear of you and dismay due to you shall come on every living animal of the earth, even on every flyer of the heavens, and in all which is moving on the ground, and in all the fishes of the sea.
9:3 Into your hand are they given. "And every moving animal which is living is coming to be food for you. As the green herbage I give to you all. CLV
There was no need to change our bodies so that humans could eat meat. It seems that even thou humans were not allowed to eat meat in the beginning, our bodies could have process the meat. Just because we were not allowed to, does not mean we could not eat meat. There is no mention of a change for the animals here, but we know that at some point animals were allowed to eat meat. Some say that because there is no rule change mention, animals could always eat meat. However it does not mean that, the same rule was give in the beginning to animals and humans why should it be different for animals? We do know there was a rule change for animals, but we do not know when. It may have been before the flood, there may be some evidence of this in the fossil recorded, but we just don‘t know.
As I said Carnivores only eat meat, but there are exceptions. Pet dogs can eat vegetables and can be brought up totally vegetarian. There is no physical change the dog needs to go though to be vegetarian. This shows that the dog kind was once vegetarian.
There have been two cases were lions have been vegetarian. “Little Tyke” was brought up on a farm, but she refused to eat meat all her life. The other case is Lea, who for the first seven years of her life was vegetarian, before being moved to South Africa, were it took about a month to get her use to eating meat. These show that while wild cats are carnivorous they can have a vegetarian diet. Note there was no change the lion need to take physically when it started to eat meat.
Gypohierax angolensis or palm-nut vulture bid of prey, mainly eats palm fruits, on occasion it eats carrion, fish and invertebrates. With a diet of mainly fruits, it shows that birds of prey can survive with out meat.
Some say God would have had to physically change the animals to make them be able to eat meat. However there is actually no need to change the animals physically to eat meat.
Some argue that the carnivores would have starved if they could not eat meat, this is not so, the animals could have easily eaten plants.
After the flood in Noah’s day land based animals would have again been off the menu, for a period of time, until their numbers built back up. If that had not been the case then the herbivore kinds would have all been killed off. All land based animals were killed off at the time of the flood, expect those ones that were on the ark. The bible is clear that the flood destroyed all land based animals.
Another point to think about is how many animals did God create of each kind to start with? If animals were carnivores in the beginning, God would have had to make more of the herbivore kinds in the beginning. Thus God would have need to create a lot more than two of each kind of herbivore, or they would have gone extinct quickly.
What does “chay” mean?
Genesis 1:24 And God said—Let the land, bring forth, living soul, after its kind, tame-beast {behema} and creeping thing and wild-beast {Chay}, of the land, after its kind. And it was so. REB
Genesis 1:24 And saying is the Elohim, "Bring forth shall the earth the living soul for its from-kind, beast {behema}, and moving animal and land life {Chay} for its from-kind. "And coming is it to be so. CLV
Does the Hebrew word “chay” mean carnivore? The argument is that if herbivores are all ready mentioned {behema}, God would not mention them again. However they also argue that “creeping thing” is rodent. How does rodent fit in, clearly it does not fit in to this sort of argument, if it is herbivores and carnivores, then the other one should mean omnivore, but it does not.
creeping thing: Strong’s H7431 remeś
From H7430; a reptile or any other rapidly moving animal: - that creepeth, creeping (moving) thing.
According to Strong’s, it can mean reptile. Why say it means rodent, when it can actually mean reptile. Thus we have no evidence it means rodent at all. Some reptiles are carnivores others are herbivores, this shows that the other words are not herbivore and carnivore.
The other argument is that, there are more verses in which chay is shown to be a carnivore than when it is shown to be a herbivore. Therefore it means carnivore because it is used more for carnivore, not so. The fact that there are more verses when it is used to mean a carnivore does not prove it means carnivore. You can’t use that as proof, you are ignoring the verses when it is used to mean a herbivore, just to back your belief that it means carnivore. The fact that it is used to mean both herbivore and carnivore shows that it does not mean herbivore or carnivore at all.
The Hebrew Behema or behemah is translated here beast. However we have a description of one in Job.
Job 40:15 Behold now, the behemoth that I made as I did you; He eats grass like the ox.
Job 40:16 Behold now his vigor in his waist, His virility in the muscles of his belly;"
Job 40:17 He makes his tail taut like a cedar; The sinews of his awesome thighs are intertwined.
Job 40:18 His bones are tubings of copper, His ribs like bars of iron. CLV
A tail like a cedar tree, but it eats grass, sounds like a plant eating dinosaur here. Behema or behemoth, does not mean herbivore at all.
There are other groupings of animals that are used today, reptiles, mammals, dinosaurs, amphibians etc. I believe that the word means some sort of group of animals, like land mammals perhaps. I don’t know that it does mean land mammals, but it is some sort of group like that. Which covers both herbivores and carnivores, however they were all herbivores in the beginning.
Adam named the animals
The bible tells us that Adam name the animals, but did he give some of them names that indicate they were carnivores? Some people believe that God created all the species that we have today in the six days of creation. This is not the case, God created kinds, that can adapt to their environments. The kinds of land animals and birds we have today would have descended from the ones that were on the ark. People have looked at the names in the bible for some animals and are incorrectly stating that Adam give the animals those names, he did not. Adam did not name the lion, or the eagle, or the hawk or the owl at all. Adam named the original kinds that God created in the beginning. The hawk and the eagle would have descended from the same bird kind that was on the ark. The lion would have descended from the cat kind that was on the ark. These names are used after the flood and not before, they were given these names after the flood by someone else.
God threatened Adam with death
When God threaten Adam with death does that mean that Adam had seen death? Actually no it does not, God could have explain it to Adam. Does the threat make sense if Adam had not seen animal death? Yes the threat can make sense, God is known to use visions to explain what things mean, thus Adam could have seen a vision. Hang on there is no record of Adam asking about death, surely he would have asked. Just because there is no recorded, does not mean he did not ask about death. God talked to Adam a lot in the garden, and we have no record of most of those conversations. We have no knowledge of what was said, what so ever in most of the conversations that God would have had with Adam. God could have explained it with out Adam asking about it. We know that Adam understood that God had use part of his flesh to created Eve, but we have no record of God explaining it to him. Adam was asleep at the time Eve was created, which means God explain it to Adam. While there is no record of God explaining to Adam about death, this does not mean it was not explain to Adam in away he would understood.
Changing animal behaviour is not to do with creation
The point is that when God allowed the animals to eat meat, it does not mean that he would have had to physical change the animals. There would have been a change in animal behaviour, but that does not mean God would have had to continue the creation process. There are times in the bible when God does change man’s behaviour, but that does not mean that the person has somehow changed physically. It also does not mean that God has continued the creation process. God can change the mind of any human or animal and it does not have anything to do with the creation process at all.
Who does God Judge when humans sin?
Those who believe that there was animal death before Adam was created, state that when Adam sinned God did not judge the animals. When Adam sinned did his death sentence only effect mankind, or did it also effect the animals? They say all the guilty parties involved were punished. The guilty parties being Adam, Eve, and the serpent { Satan}. However two animals were killed, to cloth Adam and Eve. What did these two animals do? They had no part of what went on in the garden, but they were killed. God also cursed the land, the land grew thorns and weeds. Generations of humans and animals would get injured by the thorns, but these humans and animals were not there.
The full effect of the punishment is not mentioned here, the death sentence is later revealed to cover all mankind. There is no mention of all mankind being punished here. Why should all mankind be punished for something that Adam did? Is all mankind guilty because of what Adam did? Was all mankind in the Garden of Eden?
The killing of Animals for sacrifice
Before Christ died on the cross, animal sacrifice was used to atone for sin. Loads of animals were killed to atone for human sins, and for the sins of Israel. God approved of animal sacrifice. However the animal is paying the price for the person’s sins, or the nation’s sins. When Christ died he paid the price for everyone’s sins but he did not sin. This tells us that the animals who did not sin, paid the price. The punishment for sin is death, but the punishment was passed on to the animal. This meant the person did not have to pay with their life.
What Sin did the animals do for them to be sentenced to death?
When Adam and Eve sinned they were sentenced to death. However there is no mention of the animals sinning, so why did God pass the death sentence on to them? People who say there was animal death before Adam sinned, do not have any reason for animal death. If the animals did not sin then why is there animal death before Adam sinned.
Are Animals Under God’s Laws and Judgements?
Genesis 6:5 And seeing is Yahweh Elohim that much is the evil of humanity in the earth, and every form of the devices of its heart is but evil all its days.
6:6 And regretting is Yahweh Elohim that He made humanity on the earth, and grieving to His heart.
6:7 And saying is Yahweh Elohim, "Wipe will I the humanity, which I have created, off the surface of the ground, from human unto beast, and unto the moving animal, and unto the flyer of the heavens, for I regret that I have made them. CLV
There was much evil in humanity, but it was not just humanity that was going to be wiped of the earth, for all land animals and birds were to be wiped of the earth as well, they were included.
Genesis 6:12-13 And God seeth the earth, and lo, it hath been corrupted, for all flesh hath corrupted its way on the earth. And God said to Noah, `An end of all flesh hath come before Me, for the earth hath been full of violence from their presence; and lo, I am destroying them with the earth. {YLT}
Genesis 7:21 And expiring is all flesh moving on the earth, of flyer, and of beast, and of living animal, and of every roaming animal roaming on the earth, and every human. {CLV}
Not only had humans corrupted their way on the earth, but all flesh had corrupted it’s way on the earth. For all flesh in usage here did not just mean humans, but it also included all birds and all land animals on the earth. This tells us that these animals were corrupt, immoral in someway. Thus telling us animals can sin in someway, and that they are under God’s laws and judgements.
God’s Love
I read a site that believes there was animal death before Adam sinned, I found the usual statements about eternal torment. God will not torment anyone for all eternity, this is against the character of God. The God of love is not like that at all, in fact all mankind will be saved. On top of that all animals will be saved, all flesh will see the salvation of God. God loves all his works, and all that he loves will be conciliated to God and saved.
Can animals communicate with God?
Do animals lack a spirit with which to communicate with God? Animals can communicate with God.
Psalms 145:9 Yahweh is good to all, And His compassions are over all His works."
10 May all Your works acclaim You, O Yahweh, CLV
Here all works are to praise God, this shows there is communication between God and animals.
Death is an Enemy
When an animal kills another animal is it evil? God allows animals to eat other animals and for humans to eat animals, but does that mean that it is not evil or bad? The following two passages tell us that death is an enemy that is going to be abolished.
1 Corinthians 15:25 For He must be reigning until He should be placing all His enemies under His feet.
26 The last enemy is being abolished: death. CLV
2 Timothy 1:9 Who saves us and calls us with a holy calling, not in accord with our acts, but in accord with His own purpose and the grace which is given to us in Christ Jesus before times eonian,
10 yet now is being manifested through the advent of our Saviour, Christ Jesus, Who, indeed, abolishes death, yet illuminates life and incorruption through the evangel
11 of which I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher of the nations. CLV
Both human death and animal death is an enemy, that will be abolished. How do we know that animal death is an enemy, surely it only means human death. In the laws given to the Israelis in the old testament, there was also punishments mentioned. Some of these punishments included human death, but human death is an enemy. When Adam sinned his punishment was death, death which is the enemy. God uses this enemy, death.
Colossians 1:15 Who is the Image of the invisible God, Firstborn of every creature,
16 for in Him is all created, that in the heavens and that on the earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones, or lordships, or sovereignties, or authorities, all is created through Him and for Him,
17 and He is before all, and all has its cohesion in Him.
18 And He is the Head of the body, the ecclesia, Who is Sovereign, Firstborn from among the dead, that in all He may be becoming first,
19 for in Him the entire complement delights to dwell,
20 and through Him to reconcile all to Him (making peace through the blood of His cross), through Him, whether those on the earth or those in the heavens. CLV
All has its cohesion in Christ, all the animals have cohesion in him, every creature, will one day have cohesion in him. Christ is Firstborn from among the dead. The entire complement delights to dwell in Him, Christ. The entire complement, including all the animals, every creature delights to dwell in Him. This is clearly a future event, when all, every person, creature and spirit {including those that were once evil}, will delight to dwell.
For this to happen death will be abolished, but not just human death, but all forms of death. Thus spiritual and physical death will be abolished as both are an enemy. This includes animal death, animal death will be abolished as well, this tells us it is an enemy.
God uses Evil
God uses evil with out sinning at all. There are many times were God uses evil. God is also known to use enemies to carry out his purpose. Thus God uses the enemy death, for the ultimate destiny God has for all his creations.
No animal death on the New Earth
If animal death is not evil, then why do away with it on the new earth? All that is evil and sinful will be done away with. Death will be no more, it will have been abolished.
Conclusion
There is no reason for animal death before Adam sinned.
Copyright © Mark J Farquharson 2009. Version 1, 2009. Version 1A, July 2011. Small Correction on pervious version.