A. Adam was the highlight of God’s creation. It has been estimated that the most brilliant genius uses but one-tenth of 1 percent of his total potential brain ability. This means Adam, in his sinless state, was at least one thousand times superior to today’s intellectuals because he could use his whole brain. We are probably 95 percent blind to the total color scheme displayed by nature and 98 percent deaf to its many sounds. But Adam’s five senses were tuned to absolute perfection. He perfectly understood both himself and his environment. He apparently was able to communicate with animals (Gen 3:1–2) and perhaps all nature as well!

B. Adam was absolutely unique. Over the years a pile of shattered skulls and moldy bones have been dug up and presented by evolutionists to “prove” the existence of ancient subhuman creatures in various stages of evolution. Again, one must either choose Moses or Darwin on this subject. Some of the more “important” lost links in man’s chronological chain include:

1. Neanderthal man—found in Neander Valley, near Dusseldorf, Germany, in 1856 by Johann C. Fuhlrott. The find consisted of a skull and several bones.

It is now known that Neanderthal man was fully erect and in most details was indistinguishable from modern Man, his cranial capacity even exceeding that of modern Man. It has been said that if he were given a shave, a haircut and a bath and dressed in a business suit, and were to walk down one of our city streets, he would be given no more attention than any other individual. (Duane T. Gish, Evolution: The Challenge of the Fossil Record, p. 204).

2. Java man (Pithecanthropus erectus, “erect ape man”)—found in Trinil, Java, in 1891, by Eugene Dubois, a Dutch physician.

The “find” consisted of a single skull cap. One year later a femur, along with two molar teeth, was discovered fifty feet from where the skull cap had been. Dubois estimated they all belonged together, and dated them back 500,000 years! He did not reveal, however, until thirty-one years later, that he had also found two obviously human skulls at the same time and in the same level. Most evolutionists of the day were convinced of the validity of this find. Today, scientists agree that the femur is more recent, from a modern human, and that the teeth are that of an orangutan. This leaves only the skull cap.

3. Piltdown man (Eoanthropus dawsoni, “dawn man”)—found in Piltdown, England, in 1912, by Charles Dawson.

The find was a skull part and a few teeth. Soon the consensus of the world’s greatest authorities was that here indeed was a genuine link in the evolution of man. It was dated to be between 500,000 to 750,000 years old! The praises of the Piltdown man were sung by Dr. Arthur Smith Woodward, eminent paleontologist at the British Museum, and Dr. Henry Fairfield Osborn, paleontologist of the American Museum of Natural History. However, in 1953, the Piltdown bones were carefully examined by fluoride tests and discovered to be a colossal hoax. The “skull” had been stained with iron salts and the teeth filed down to give it the appearance of age. Thus, the world-famed Piltdown man was simply the doctored remains of a recent age.

4. Peking man—found near Peking, China, in 1926 (and 1928) by Davidson Black.

The find consisted of the fragments of thirty skulls and 147 teeth. This find disappeared in 1941 when it was moved from Peking by a U.S. Marine detachment to escape the oncoming Japanese invasion. It is now believed by some that this find was simply the remains of some apes killed in an ancient lime-burning quarry!

The find was exactly one tooth! Five years later, Dr. H. F. Osborn of the American Museum used it as evidence for a new species of ape. Dr. William K. Gregory, curator of the American Museum of Natural History and professor of paleontology at Columbia University, called it “the million dollar tooth.” Sir Grafton Elliott Smith of the popular Illustrated London News collaborated with an imaginative artist to draw the ape man. In 1927, Gregory retracted the claim about the tooth’s origins and correctly identified the tooth to be that of an extinct pig.

6. East Africa man (Zinjanthropus)—found in 1959 in Olduvai, Tanzania, by Louis S. B. Leakey.

This find consisted of a skull cap and a few bone fragments. National Geographic publicized the “discovery,” having sponsored Leakey. His find was dated 1.8 million years in age, thus making East Africa man by far the oldest “link” known at the time. However, prior to his death, Leakey indicated he felt his vaunted discovery was but a variety of Australopithecus (Southern ape) found in 1924.

C. Adam was declared the king of creation, commanded to subdue the earth, to name the animals, and to care for his beautiful home in Eden’s garden (Gen 1:28–31; 2:8–15, 19–20).

D. He was commanded to abstain from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, lest he die (Gen 2:17). The Hebrew language indicates here that if Adam sinned he would die twice. This phrase can also be translated, “and in dying thou shalt surely die.” In the Bible there are two kinds of death, and both can be defined by a single word. The word is separation. The two kinds of death are physical and spiritual. When a person dies physically, his soul is separated from his body. The body is put in the ground, but the soul lives on. It can never die. The more serious kind of death, however, is spiritual death. This will occur someday when an unrepentant sinner is forever separated from God. This is sometimes called the “second death” (Matt 7:23; 25:41; Rev 20:11–15; 21:8).

With this background in mind, let us ponder this tremendous truth: to be born once means to die twice, but to be born twice means to die once (and maybe not even once, if one is alive at the Rapture) (see 1 Cor 15:51–53; 1 Thes 4:16–17).

E. Adam was encouraged to eat from the tree of life and all other trees (the trees of music, literature, art, etc.?) (see Gen 1:29; 2:9, 16).

Even though Adam had a perfect body at creation, it was apparently necessary for him to partake of this fruit tree in order to assure that his body continued in top running order. Many centuries later the early Spanish explorers in America looked in vain for the fountain of youth. But they searched for the wrong thing!

F. Adam was given a wife (Gen 2:22–24). The first wedding in history was conducted in Eden and performed by God himself. Eve’s creation is described this way: “And the rib . . . from man made he a woman” (Gen 2:22). It has often been noted that God did not take Eve from Adam’s feet, that she might be his slave, nor did he take her from Adam’s head, that she might be his master, but rather from under his heart, that she might love and be loved by Adam (1 Cor 11:8–9). The word “rib” in Genesis 2:22 should be translated “side.” The Hebrew here is tsela and is almost always translated “side” (Exod 25:12; Job 18:12).