Adam had been clearly instructed by God not to eat “of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil…for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die” (Gen 2:17). We know that he did in fact eat of the tree and as a result sin entered into the world. Romans 5:12 says, “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:” Romans 6:23 goes on to say, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Adam and Eve would not have died if they had not eaten of the tree.

We also learn some other truths from this portion of Scripture. First, we can see that evolution of any kind (including Theistic Evolution) is impossible. There was no gap or age of time when God used evolution to ‘create’ because evolution demands death and survival of the fittest. There was no death before Adam sinned. Evolution and the Bible cannot coexist.

Second, we can also see that one does not have to break one of the Ten Commandments to be guilty of sin. God’s command to Adam not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is not one of the Ten Commandments and appears nowhere else in Scripture – yet it was sufficient to condemn him.

Finally, by comparing Genesis 3:24, we can also see that the fruit Adam ate was not an apple. Cherubim and a flaming sword prevented man from approaching the tree and eating of its fruit (whatever it was) until the tree was taken off the earth. (A further thought…the tree feasibly and quite likely could have been thus protected until Noah’s flood destroyed the earth.)

What if they had a child before they sinned is a mute point.  God commanded both Adam and Eve to multiply and replenish the earth. They were physically capable of procreation and therefore the physiological answer to the question is yes. Adam and Eve could have reproduced if they hadn’t sinned. The answer to the question, however, doesn’t provide further opportunity for speculation. We know Adam and Eve did not have a child until after they sinned and were forced from the Garden of Eden.