1 And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD.
2 And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
You can see from the verse above that some time had passed not only between the birth of Cain and Abel, but after Abel was born until he was old enough to work.
The first people herded animals in direct opposition to evolution which teaches that this is a recent thing.
Question:
"If man wasn't allowed to eat meat until after the flood then, why was Abel a shepherd? I mean what do you do with sheep other than eat them?"
thanks Tyson 1/23/02
Answer:
There are many animals you can be a shepherd over, and many uses for those animals. Sheep for instance provide wool, goats provide milk etc. So it is possible to be a shepherd without eating or killing animals.
3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD.
4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:
5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
We are not told specifically prior to this that only animals were acceptable offerings to God. Though they are used as a blood sacrifice, this appears to be different than an offering. God appears more concerned here with the attitude towards giving. God was pleased with Abel's offerings because he gave the best animal of his flock. Whereas Cain did not give God the best of his crops.
"By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh." (Hebrews 11:4 KJV).
6 And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?
The fact that God asks Cain why he is upset seems to indicate that he and Cain both understood what was acceptable for an offering.
7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.
8 And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.
"Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous."
1 John 3:12 (KJV)
Many people assume that Cain killed Abel when they were both still children. However other writings indicate that both may have been adults. Possibly 100 years old.
Though not part of the bible "The Books of Adam and Eve from VITA ADAE ET EVAE and Apocalypse of MOSES" book xxiii. verse 2 says that: "Cain slew Abel, but Adam was then one hundred and thirty years old, but Abel was slain when he was one hundred and twenty two years" If this is an accurate record, then Adam (born an adult) lived for 8 years before he had Abel. Abel did not die until he was 122 years old. |
Common images such as this may not be correct |
Abel was the first person in the world to die.
Question:
"Where did Abel's soul and spirit go after Cain killed him?"
Cindy 2/16/02
Answer: Because Abel (and thousands of others after him) died before Christ was born, died and resurrected he did not go directly to heaven.
The soul of Abel and all others who died before the time of Christ would have gone to a place called "Sheol" in Hebrew and Hades in Greek. Those who believed in God were safe in a place called "Abraham's bosom". There is a "great chasm" (Luke 16:25) separating the believers from the unbelievers. You can not travel from one side to the other.
Abraham's bosom was a temporary holding place for believers. Christ descended into Hades and freed the captives(Ephesians 4:8-10).
When Christ rose from the dead the believers went with him to Paradise (2 Cor. 5:8),
Those who did not trust in God remain in Hades/Sheol and will go to the lake of fire after the Great White Throne of Judgment (Revelation 20:11-13).
Believers who died after Christ rose from the dead will now go straight to Paradise, and will move to heaven at the end of the Millennium reign of Christ.
For more info on this read this page on Abraham's bosom or click here to open this page in a new browser window.
"We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him." 1 Thessalonians 4:14
9 And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper?
Here Cain tells the truth and a lie. It is true that Cain may not know where his brothers spirit had gone, because he was the first human ever killed, but he lies in that is also saying he does not know where his brothers body is.
10 And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground.
This was the first physical death of any human. (see "Buried Alive" by Dr. Jack Cuozzo)
11 And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand;
12 When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.
13 And Cain said unto the LORD, My punishment is greater than I can bear.
14 Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me.
15 And the LORD said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the LORD set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.
Question from a reader:
"Cain pleads with God saying that whoever finds him will kill him. So even Cain knows there are people living in other lands. Now God has to physically put
a sign on Cain so no one would touch him. Implying that there are people on the earth out of Gods control in that he has to wear something they can see."
Mike 8/9/01
Answer:
Actually the works of Josephus indicate that it was not just man, but animals that wanted to kill Cain. This had to be a physical mark, that everyone knew about. In other words for the mark to protect Cain, he must rely on the passing down of oral and written tradition. Otherwise someone seeing the mark would find it meaningless.
The apes were also more intelligent (assumption) at this time. If you know how threatening a chimpanzee can be as it hits its arms against a tree, can you imagine getting Homo erectus (see chapter __) mad at you?
Both man and animals recognized this "mark". We don't know what it was, but those who claim Cain was the fist person of a different color misunderstand the true origin of races (see my section on the Tower of Babel).
16 And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden.
In Genesis chapter 5 verse 3, we see that Adam and Eve had many children. Only 3 are mentioned by name in the scriptures.
17 And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch.
Question:
"God created Adam and Eve and they
were the only 2 people on earth. Right? Adam and Eve had many children. Whom did their children marry. Did God create other people also like Adam and Eve?
from Binal J. 1/23/02
Where did Cain get his wife?
Few People understand where Cain got his wife.
The answer is pretty simple.
The first man was Adam:
Genesis 2:7 "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground,
and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a
living soul.
Then in verse 21 we see the Creation of Eve the first woman.
"And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam,
and he slept; and he took one of his ribs, and closed up
the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man."
So now we have one man and one woman. All people are descendants of Adam and Eve, because the Bible says that Eve is the mother of all living"
Adam and Eve had 2 sons, Cain and Abel.
Cain killed his brother Abel.
As part of his punishment, Cain was cast out of the city. And God put a "mark" on Cain so that anyone who saw him would not kill him.
This causes many people to ask: "What other people?"
We are also told later of Cain’s wife.
Who is she? And where did she come from?
Well, I intend to go deep into all the thoughts surrounding this.
But in the mean time, here is the short answer:
Adam and Eve had many sons and daughters.
Cain had no choice but to marry his sister.
At the beginning of the Creation, there was not the genetic load, inter marriage was not a problem.
The laws against marrying relatives came much later in the time of Moses. By then it became necessary, as it is now.
we have degenerated to the point that intermarriage is a problem.
Question: "Regarding Cain and his supposed incest I don't understand genetic Load. What is it?"
Regards, Bob 4/19/01
Answer: Coming soon
18
"And unto Enoch was born Irad: and Irad begat Mehujael: and Mehujael begat Methusael: and Methusael begat Lamech.
19
"And Lamech took unto him two wives: the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah."
20 "And Adah bare Jabal: he was the father of such as dwell in tents, and of such as have cattle."
If men lived in tents it would be hard for us to ever find remains of these habitations.
21 "And his brother's name was Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ."
This verse tells us that from the very beginning man made and played sophisticated musical instruments. Discoveries of musical instruments (the recently discovered Neanderthal flute for instance) with the Neanderthals confirm this verse, and the humanity of these people.
A flute was discovered in Slovenia (near the town of Nova Goricain) in southeast Europe. Scientists believe that the 5 inch flute was carved from the leg bone of a bear.
The revelation that Neanderthal learned to play music is said to have "far reaching implications for human evolution". In other words, it goes against everything scientists thought they knew about Neanderthal man.
22 "And Zillah, she also bare Tubalcain, an instructor of every artificer in brass and iron: and the sister of Tubalcain was Naamah."
23 "And Lamech said unto his wives, Adah and Zillah, Hear my voice; ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech: for I have slain a man to my wounding, and a young man to my hurt."
24 "If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold."
25 And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew.
Question: Answer:
If for instance both Cain and Abel were adults at the time of Abel was murdered (which the bible seems to indicate that they were), then they would have already had other brothers and sisters of similar age at that time. So it would have to be a new brother born to Adam and Eve that was "appointed".
"If Adam and Eve had sons and daughters before Seth was born, then why was Seth picked to replace Abel and not another brother?
from John P. 11/03/01
26 And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the LORD.
Click Here to read Genesis chapter 5