[196]Adam was sentenced to death, and when he actually went into death after 930 years, justice was satisfied. The law demanded the life of a perfect human being. It had received it when Adam died. Between the time of Adam's sentence and the time of his death he begat many children that were born into the earth. These being born imperfect had no right to life; hence the living of the children was only by permission of Jehovah, and every one who died, died because of imperfection resulting from the sin of father Adam. [197]The Scriptures clearly show that God planned long in advance for the redemption and deliverance of the human race. Hence his wisdom led him to embrace in the effects of this death sentence all of the human family, all of the offspring of Adam, so that in due time he might redeem them all through the sacrifice of one. (Galatians 3:22) The sentence against Adam and the resulting effects upon all of his offspring must stand. An earthly court may reverse its judgment because imperfect, but God cannot reverse his, because it is perfect; and he cannot deny himself. He could make provision, however, for another man exactly equivalent to Adam to go into death voluntarily; and by thus dying his life could be given as a corresponding price for Adam and his offspring, that Adam and his offspring might be released from death and given a trial for life. The Scriptures definitely show that it was God's purpose and intention from the beginning to make just such a provision. He made a specific promise to this effect when he said: "I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction". (Hosea 13:14) This promise of Jehovah to ransom the human race must be carried out, because God is unchangeable. Having made the promise, he will perform it.--Malachi 3:6; James 1:17. [198]It is very important, then, that we understand the meaning of ransom; hence we here define it. _Ransom_ means something to loosen with; that is, a redemptive price. It is the means or price or value which can be used in loosening or releasing something that is in bondage or in restraint or imprisoned. Necessarily the ransom price must be exactly equivalent to, or corresponding with, that which justice requires of the thing or being that is in bondage or imprisonment. Hence we say that ransom means an exact corresponding price. A perfect man sinned and was sentenced to death; hence an exact corresponding price would be the death of another perfect man and the value of that life presented in place of the one who first sinned and was held in bondage.