Here is a new thought. I have always assumed there was no pain and suffering before the fall of Adam. But I heard someone raise this question:
“Why did God put Adam to sleep before he took his rib out to make Eve?“
Maybe God’s plan was always for Adam and Eve to die physically on Earth, but not spiritually. They would live forever in heaven with God. God did have to remove them from the Garden so they would not take hold of the tree of life and live forever. And God said that in the day you eat of the tree of knowledge you will surely die. I think that had to be spiritual death because Adam and Eve did not die that day physically. Maybe the scientific laws still had to be followed on Earth. Like if Adam stubbed his toe on a rock he would have felt pain.
Genesis 3:22 NASBS
[22] Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might stretch out his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”-
Pain and suffering must be of a level that we would need peace to bear it?
Interesting thoughts!
Speculations from the minds of men do not make sound doctrine.
Yes the death God was referring to was spiritual death.
By “surely die” it means they will be deprived of eternal life. And they did surely die because they lost their immortality. So it is both a physical and a spiritual death.
There had to be a cutting of the umbilical cord so to speak for creation to be finalized, so that He could inter back into us to bring us back to life, you know the story of the the seed falling to the ground and dying before life could happen.
Pain isn’t always a bad thing. It tells us when something is wrong, like touching a hot stove.
That said, a pain reaction and actual suffering could be very different concepts.
very interesting, even God told them to ate every tree. which mean Adan and Eve must be hungry.