Yes—the Bible teaches that Adam's sin brought a curse on the ground and on all creation, causing thorns, thistles, toil, death, and the groaning of the world until the curse is lifted.
In Genesis 3:17-19, God cursed the ground because Adam hearkened to his wife and ate the forbidden fruit. Les Feldick emphasizes that the curse did not fall on Adam alone but on everything—animate and inanimate—and that creation's present deterioration, predation, and groaning all trace back to that event.
Genesis 3:17 — This is where God pronounces the curse on the ground after Adam's disobedience.
Genesis 3:18 — It names thorns and thistles as direct effects of the curse on the ground.
Romans 8:22 — It shows the whole creation groaning under the curse, not just humanity.
Isaiah 24:6 — It confirms that the curse devours the earth because of sin.
The Bible traces the world's present condition to the curse that followed Adam's sin. In Genesis 3:17-19, God told Adam: 'cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground.' The curse therefore changed the ground's productivity and made human labor painful and lifelong. Romans 8:20-22 shows the curse's scope: 'the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope' and 'the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.' The created world itself is suffering under the curse and waiting for deliverance. Isaiah 24:5-6 connects the curse to human sin: 'The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth.' Scripture presents the curse as the biblical explanation for decay, desolation, and death in the world.
Les Feldick teaches that when Adam sinned, the curse did not fall only on Adam or on the ground per se—it fell on all creation. He says everything, 'inanimate, animate, the birds, the fish, everything came under the awful effect of the curse.' For Les, the curse explains present-day deserts such as the Sahara, as well as disease, insects, thorns, and thistles. He also ties the curse to science, noting that with the curse the second law of thermodynamics became operative: everything is constantly moving into a less usable state—entropy. Before Adam sinned, nothing died and animals ate herbs, fruits, and grasses; the curse brought death. According to Les, the curse also changed the animal world: predation—one species feeding on another—'isn't the way God created it. That's the result of the curse.' Yet God did not leave man without hope: immediately after the fall, God made the promise of a redeemer in Genesis 3:15. Les says all of nature is looking forward to the day when the curse will be lifted, and that 'the tribulation will pay off the curse.'
Scripture shows the curse came because Adam listened to his wife and ate the forbidden tree (Genesis 3:17). Les Feldick emphasizes that the curse was not limited to Adam or the ground per se—it fell on all creation, including animate and inanimate things. He points to Romans 8:20, where creation was made subject to vanity, and insists that everything came under the curse.
The Bible says the ground will produce thorns and thistles, and man will eat the herb of the field in sorrow and eat bread by the sweat of his face (Genesis 3:18-19). Les Feldick adds that after leaving the garden, Adam and Eve lived under the effects of the curse, facing thorns, thistles, disease, and insects. He also observes that modern ecology, in which one species preys on another, is a result of the curse rather than God's original creation.
Les Feldick teaches that before Adam sinned, nothing died. He says animals 'ate of the herbs, and the fruits, and the grasses, so consequently nothing lost its life in order to support another species.' Death, he says, was unknown until Adam sinned and the curse fell; with the curse came death.
Romans 8:21 promises that the creature itself 'shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.' Les Feldick says all of nature is looking forward to that deliverance, and he specifically teaches that 'the tribulation will pay off the curse' and the world will be delivered from it.
Les Feldick applies the second law of thermodynamics to the curse: because of sin, everything is constantly moving into a less usable state—entropy. He illustrates this with a house left empty for a year and a tree that decays to ashes. He says this deterioration is a result of the curse, not part of God's original creation.
Entropy and the Curse
Les explains that the second law of thermodynamics—everything moving into a less usable state—became operative after sin and is part of the curse's effect on the world.
The Curse in Genesis 3:17
Les reads Genesis 3:17 and stresses that God's curse was not limited to Adam or the soil; it fell on all of creation.
Creation Subjected to Vanity
Les teaches that the curse brought deserts and the groaning of creation, and that the tribulation will pay off the curse so the world is delivered from it.
God's Promise of a Redeemer
Les shows that immediately after the curse fell, God gave the remedy—the promise of a redeemer in Genesis 3:15—so the curse is not the end of the story.
Living Under the Curse
Les describes Adam and Eve after the Garden living under the curse by the sweat of their brow, with thorns, thistles, disease, and insects as their environment.
The Curse Devoured the Earth
Les applies Isaiah 24:5-6 to show that the curse that began with Adam devours the earth because of mankind's disobedience to God's laws and covenant.
Predation Is a Curse Result
Les teaches that animals preying on one another is not the way God created things; it is a result of the curse, and nature awaits the lifting of the curse.
Death Entered with the Curse
Les teaches that before Adam sinned nothing died—animals ate plants—and that death entered the world when the curse fell on everything.
Genesis 3:17: And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
This is the moment God speaks the curse on the ground after Adam ate the forbidden fruit—the foundational answer to the question.
Genesis 3:18: Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
Thorns and thistles are listed as the ground's response to the curse.
Genesis 3:19: In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
The curse makes human labor painful and connects it with returning to dust.
Romans 8:20: For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,
The creation itself was made subject to vanity because of the curse.
Romans 8:22: For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.
The whole creation groans and travails in pain until the curse is removed.
Isaiah 24:5: The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant.
The earth is defiled because inhabitants transgressed God's laws and broke the everlasting covenant.
Isaiah 24:6: Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left.
The curse that began with Adam devours the earth as a result of sin.
The curse is God's judgment on the ground and on all creation after Adam's sin (Genesis 3:17). Les Feldick teaches that it fell on everything—animate and inanimate—not just on Adam or the soil.
The Bible lists thorns, thistles, sorrowful toil, and death. Les Feldick adds disease, insects, predation, deserts, and the constant deterioration of creation under the second law of thermodynamics.
Romans 8:21 says the creation will be delivered from the bondage of corruption. Les Feldick teaches that the tribulation will pay off the curse and that all of nature looks forward to the day when the curse will be lifted.
No. While Genesis 3:17 says 'cursed is the ground,' Les Feldick emphasizes that the curse fell on all creation—the birds, the fish, the animals, and the whole world.
Watch the Teaching: Understanding the Curse & God’s Promise of a Redeemer