Page 84 - Foundations

Romans 8:19-22
For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. For the
creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope
that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory
of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth
together until now.

The Greek word translated as “futility,” or as “vanity” in the KJV Bible, is “mataiotes.” Strong’s
Concordance defines this word as “inutility,” which itself means “a lack of ability or usefulness.”
Mankind losing the power of an immortal life was not the only consequence of his sin. Yahweh in
His mercy chose to lessen the powers of man and of the creation that sin would not have such a
devastating and powerful impact. Scientists today have postulated that man uses no more than 10%
of his brain capacity. If man’s powers had not been diminished, humanity would surely have wrought
far worse things than nuclear bombs, manufactured plagues, and extermination camps. It is quite
plausible that the animals also suffered a great diminishment in their abilities as well, perhaps even
losing the power of speech.

Although such possibilities cannot be proven, we are told plainly that the animals changed in a very
dramatic (one could even say “supernatural”) manner after mankind sinned. Prior to the sin of Adam
every animal was herbivorous. God gave them only the plants of the field for their food.

Carnivores

Genesis 1:30
“And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the sky and to every thing that moves on the earth
which has life, I have given every green plant for food.”

There are a great many things that must change in an animal’s body for it to transform from an
herbivore into an omnivore or carnivore. There are changes in teeth and claws, changes in enzymes
that must be released into the digestive tract, changes in the length of the large and small intestines,
differences in the amount of uric acid and other agents released into the body to aid in breaking down
proteins into amino acids, differences in liver function, etc.. If all of these things changed in the
animals that became carnivorous after the fall of man, it is not too difficult to imagine that animals
may have varied in other significant ways before sin entered the creation. Keep in mind that animals
were also immortal, for there was no death on the earth until man transgressed.