When I study the elements of the Tabernacle in context of human history, I consider the promise,
Gen 2:17
(17) But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
What is death?
Death is a state of existence involving separation.
What is the anthropology of man?
Body, Soul, and Spirit.
Did man die in his body, in the day he ate fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil?
No, because we further read Adam and Eve departed Eden and were made to toil the soil for their subsistence. They died in their bodies later, hundreds of years later, so yes their also is a physical consequence to sin, but the didn’t die the same day, physically.
Did man die in his soul, in the day he ate fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil?
No. Immediately after the consumption of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, they exercised reason in their mind and recall in their memory of God’s direction, and they further covered themselves and hid from God, recognizing they deserved punishment for their disobedience.
Did man die in his spirit, in the day he ate fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil?
Yes, as is manifest by their perspective of God. Instead of perceiving God in fellowship, in righteousness with Him, they perceived Him from a perspective of unrighteousness and guilt.
Now consider the Tabernacle.
In the Holy of Holies we have the Arc of the Covenant. On top of the Arc is the Mercy Seat, upon which two Cherubim face one another. One represents Perfect Justice and the other, Perfect Righteousness (these 2 elements compose the Perfect Holiness of God). Whatever is placed between them is required to meet both Perfect Justice and Perfect Righteousness. If something is unrighteous in their midst, His Perfect Justice demands Perfect Righteousness, and His Perfect Righteousness demands Perfect Justice.
Humans, ever since the fall in the Garden, now become the Natural Man, having a Body and Soul, but having human spirit
which is dead to God. When we have faith in Christ and what He provided on the Cross, He is now free to give us a regenerated human spirit, changing us into the “New Man”, reborn in the spirit, from a baptism from God the Holy Spirit.
Here is the crux.
Every human has the ability to discern good and evil after Adam ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
That same day we spiritually died wrt God because of that knowledge.
Christ has redeemed us from that slave market, and by propitiating the wrath of the Father, reconciled us to Him, thereby allowing Him to regenerate our human spirit, while He always remains Perfectly Righteous and Just in His Perfect Holiness. He is not required to give us anything, but provides it by His grace and according to His Plan.
Our objective in life is not to return to the knowledge of good and evil, but instead focus on fellowship with Him, performing what He has Planned for us since eternity past so that we might be rewarded at the bema seat for all eternity future to further perform His Plan.
Just as Christ denied human good, but remained in obedience to the will of God the Father in His Plan, by becoming the Perfect Sacrifice for all sin, we also are to obey Him, follow His Plan, and remain in fellowship with Him in all things, performing as He has planned for us,...bearing our Cross for Him.
Each of us has a different set of works to perform and He has gifted us in body, soul, and spirit, so that when we are at the right place, at the right time, we are able to perform the right thing, in the right way, in obedience to Him, always in fellowship with Him.
When we focus on anything other than Him, we miss the mark, i.e., we sin and fall out of fellowship. So we are to repent and confess to Him, so we return back away from the knowledge of good and evil, and instead refocus upon His Plan.