Jehovah God rested his work of creation, ceased to prosecute it, because in his wisdom he foresaw that his designs could best be executed by another means. God saw best to permit his creature Adam to exercise his free will and fall under temptation into sin and its legitimate penalty, death–including a long period, 6,000 years of dying and battling, as a convict, with evil environment. God saw best to permit him thus as a convict to do a part of the subduing of the earth; that to bring it as a whole toward its foretold Paradisaic condition would be profitable to man under the circumstances; that it would be expedient that man realize the principles underlying divine righteousness and the exceeding sinfulness of sin, and be thus prepared for the grace to be brought to the world in due time.
