Ellen Chat Conversation

No, God did not tell Adam that touching the tree would cause death. Ellen White clarifies that "Eve had overstated the words of God's command. He had said to Adam and Eve, '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.' In Eve's controversy with the serpent, she added 'Neither shall ye touch it'" (Con 14.2). God's actual command was specifically about **eating** from the tree, not touching it. Ellen White explains that when Eve added this restriction, "the subtlety of the serpent appeared. This statement of Eve gave him advantage; he plucked the fruit and placed it in her hand, using her own words, He hath said, If ye touch it, ye shall die. You see no harm comes to you from touching the fruit, neither will you receive any harm by eating it" (2Red 11.1). This distinction is important because Eve's addition to God's command created an opening for Satan's deception. When she touched the fruit without dying, it seemed to validate the serpent's claim that God's warning was false. The original prohibition was clear and simple: "In the day that ye eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, ye shall surely die" (CTBH 42.2). Ellen White emphasizes that the issue wasn't anything inherent in the fruit itself, but rather the test of obedience. She wrote: "There was nothing in the fruit of the tree of knowledge that was a point in itself, but the point was in Adam's listening to Satan, and venturing to transgress" (9MR 235.3). The command was specifically about eating, and that's where the line of obedience was drawn. --- 💡 **You might also want to explore:** • What was Satan's strategy in deceiving Eve, and how did he twist God's words? • How did Adam's decision to eat the fruit differ from Eve's, according to Ellen White? • What lessons does Ellen White draw from this event about adding to or diminishing God's commands? --- 📚 **thousands of passages found** containing these search terms — [Explore in Full-Text Search](/advanced-search?q=Did+god+tell+Adam+that+if+he+touched+the+tree+of+knowledge+he+would+die)

Yes, the Bible directly records God's instruction to Adam about the tree of knowledge in Genesis 2:16-17. Ellen White references this biblical account, noting that "the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat" (Ed 23.2). This was God's explicit command given directly to Adam. Ellen White emphasizes that this instruction was clear and specific. She explains that "the tree of knowledge had been made a test of their obedience and their love to God. The Lord had seen fit to lay upon them but one prohibition as to the use of all that was in the garden" (PP 53.3). The command was straightforward: they could freely eat from every tree except this one. The biblical record shows God's direct communication with Adam before Eve was created. Ellen White confirms that "God instructed our first parents in regard to the tree of knowledge, and they were fully informed relative to the fall of Satan, and the danger of listening to his suggestions" (1SP 40.2). This instruction included both the prohibition and the consequence: "if they ate of that tree they should surely die" (1SP 27). It's important to note that God's actual command concerned **eating** from the tree, not touching it. As we discussed earlier, the prohibition about touching was Eve's addition to God's original instruction. The biblical text in Genesis records God saying to Adam: thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.Ellen White makes clear that this single prohibition was given in love, as "the knowledge of evil,—of sin and its results, of wearing toil, of anxious care, of disappointment and grief, of pain and death,—this was in love withheld" (Ed 23.2). The test was simple and the instruction direct. --- 💡 **You might also want to explore:** • What was God's purpose in placing the tree of knowledge in the garden? • How did Satan use Eve's misstatement of God's command to deceive her? • What does Ellen White say about the nature of the test God gave to Adam and Eve? --- 📚 **thousands of passages found** containing these search terms — [Explore in Full-Text Search](/advanced-search?q=Is+there+a+direct+mention+of+God%27s+instruction+to+Adam+about+the+tree+of+knowledge+in+the+bible)