² When God created the first human couple, he told them clearly what his purpose was for them. At Genesis chapter 1, verse 28, we read: “God blessed them and God said to them, ‘Be fertile and increase, fill the earth and master it; and rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and all the living things that creep on earth.’” When we relate that command to what is stated in the next chapter of Genesis​—“The LORD God took the man and placed him in the garden of Eden, to till it and tend it”—​it becomes clear that God intended for the original couple, together with their offspring, to extend Paradise beyond the limits of the garden of Eden, eventually to encompass the entire earthly globe.a​—Genesis 2:15.

³ How long would they enjoy their paradisaic home? The Scriptures imply that man was created to live forever on earth. Death for mankind would come about only if they disobeyed their Creator, as stated at Genesis chapter 2, verses 16 and 17: “The LORD God commanded the man, saying, ‘Of every tree of the garden you are free to eat; but as for the tree of knowledge of good and bad, you must not eat of it; for as soon as you eat of it, you shall die.’” Reasonably, therefore, continued obedience would have resulted in continued life, everlasting life, in these paradisaic conditions.​—Psalm 37:29; Proverbs 2:21, 22.