Cain & Abel History

X. THE GREAT BABYLONIAN KINGDOM - Out of the Book: THE DUAL PLAN

Cain was born. Then Eve said, "I have gotten the Lord's man." What did she mean? Did she mean that the seed which should bruise the serpent's head, had come? She called him Cain —possession. But Cain's disposition, instead of developing under the influence of good, developed under the influence of evil, and his propensities inclined towards selfishness; the desire to become a possessor, a property-owner, a real estate man, grew rapidly, and it prompted him to build a city. The hope for the restoration of the lost estate had no influence over him. His ambition was to be lord over his contemporaries and to enjoy possessions, as his name indicates. His brother's name, Abel, signifies against Be]

(or against lord, owner or master) ; thus he developed a disposition contrary to that of Cain, and therefore was killed by the last mentioned.

The Cain-nature developed with the building of cities, and, as they increased their possessions, selfishness consumed all the respect due the Creator, and individualism carried them into a

life of idleness and leisure. About 120 years before the flood, God testified of them thus,

"Every imagination of the thoughts of his (man's) heart was only evil continually."

God made a kingdom for man before he created him. When everything was in order for man to be placed in the kingdom of God, the Creator made man out of the dust of the ground and put life into him; then he placed him in the kingdom that had been made for him. Having fallen away from that happy station, he received the blessed promise of a Redeemer, who should reinstate him in his original possession. It was right here that the descend­ants of Ham turned away from God and his promise. They, by taking the dust of the ground and forming it into brick, began a creation of their own for fallen man. They produced a creative power that ever since has continued to expand its productions over the surface of the earth—it constitutes even this very day the kingdom of man. Thus man has made his own kingdom and consequently, has turned from the original promise of the Creator.

The impression the promise of Elohim made on the first hu­man pair, followed the race from father to son. They continued to await the seed that would crush the power which destroyed the home of Paradise. When Enos, the seventh from Adam, was born, men began "to call upon (preach) the name of Jehovah"—the Lord of the Messiah. They believed that Enos was the God-sent restorer of Paradise. But finally Enos disappeared; "God took him," says the testimony. He was thus a prefiguring type of the Messiah.

The Declaration of War - Out of the Book "THE DUAL PLAN"

In order to draw out man's mind and develop his attributes concerning the glorious kingdom placed before him, God adopted a testing-process corresponding with the object in view, consisting of the choice between a present kingdom full of hardship, sorrow and death, and a future kingdom, immortal in its nature, glorious in its aspect and everlasting in its continuance. Hence, God connected with his very first promise of the restoration of the lost possession, a declaration of war. He addressed the Tempter and declared: "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." (Gen. 3: 15.)

The serpent represented there a spiritual god-power, who assumed the Messianic relation to the Word of God, explaining and developing its meaning. God knew that such an influence would divide the human family into two contesting parts—one would contend for a kingdom in the present creation, the other for a kingdom in the new creation. In the struggle between these two opposing classes, the Word of God would have an opportunity to develop a chosen people for the eternal kingdom. Both parties would claim the right to the inheritance, and the struggle to gain the possession would go on until the true Messiah finally puts an end to it.

The class opposing and misconstruing the Word of God, would develop the serpent-nature, and by subtlety and cunning devices, they would gain advantage over the other class. The woman-nature would develop in the class that, in submission to the Word of God, would hold on to the promise of a future kingdom and, as a consequence, let the present kingdom go.

The seed of both parties denotes their offspring, which, like the fruit on a tree, would eventually gain perfection in their respective developments of character until there would be no room for a change: i. e., the serpent-nature could not change and partake of the woman-nature, and vice versa. Hence that particular development belongs to the time specified in the prophecy thus: "The time is at hand. He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still." (Rev. 22: 10, 11.) At that time, the redeeming process is closing up and the Messianic kingdom is being ushered in. We find an explanation of the two so different characters in the history of Cain and Abel. The serpent-nature developed in Cain. God spoke to him and warned him not to let sin have dominion over his mind, but even in spite of that, he slew his submissive brother, because Cain noticed that Abel was more favored by God than himself. That act plainly shows the necessity of a fostering redemption connected with the lifetime of the sinner, which tends to change his character from evil unto good.

These two natures have continued to develop, and the cunning devices of the Cain-nature during all the past ages, have allured the woman-class and taken its possessions from it—not only its possessions in the present kingdom but even its inheritance in the kingdom to come; this has been done by following up the Word of God with explanations such as the Deceiver brought to light. Unless God's mercy is applied to the abused and deceived souls, there certainly will be a very small portion accepted for the coming kingdom, because the serpent-class has hindered them in preparing for it.

All nations, heathens or Christians, have been actuated by the aspiration of a holy war. Each class believes that the god it worships is the mightiest and that he will finally demonstrate his unlimited power in its favor. The Mohammedans have long looked for the time to come when their highest representative would unfold the mantle of the prophet to the winds believing that their Allah would then subdue all their enemies before them. In the event referred to, they will to some extent find their hope realized.

XXII. THE MENSURATION OF THE TEMPLE - Out of the Book "THE DUAL PLAN"

c. The measuring of the worshippers. As the proclamation of the opened book is pressed upon the great multitude coming out from the sinful Babylon, which then is a seething caldron of wars and revolutions and, consequently, falling, the worshippers of the temple unite with the living temple of God. Having had no religious experience previously, they now make a start to serve the King of heaven instead of the powers in Nimrod's kingdom. though the words of the Lord, "By your patience you shall possess your life" (Luke 21: 19) , cannot be applied to them because of their lack of tried faith, still, if slain by the dragon as martyrs, they are within the measure of the reed. John, in describing the movements and what took place when the fifth seal was opened, says:

"I saw under (about) the altar the persons of those who had been killed because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they held. And they cried with a loud voice, saying, how long, 0 sovereign Lord the holy one and true! doest thou not judge and take vengeance for our blood from those who dwell on the earth? And there was given them severally a white robe; and it was told them to rest yet for a time, till both their fellow servants and their brethren, who were about to be killed, even as they, should be completed." (Rev. 6: 9-11.)

Here we have a description of what happens to the worshippers in the temple. The angry "Christian" nations kill them as revolutionists; but, their innocent blood, like the blood of Abel (against Bel) , cries for vengeance in the ears of the Lord of hosts. Cain's time is at hand. This terrible vengeance-act indicates about how far the people of Elohim then are from the opening of Paradise which is to be restored by the Messiah.

The promise of giving white robes to the martyrs is the pledge of a glorious resurrection which is to take place at the time the temple or the living saints are translated. The slaughtering-scene continues until the two special witnesses of Jesus are killed; their blood seals the covenant. Then it is established forever.

d. The court about the temple. "Measure it not!" says the angel. "It is given to the Gentiles." The court of the old covenant temple was much larger than the temple, and it stood open to the Gentiles, or the strangers. When the living temple moves out from the brick-creation, the court will be open for comers and goers dur­ing the three and one-half years that the temple is subject to the mensuration-process.

e. The nations will tread down the holy city during the forty-two months, or the remaining time of the week of the covenant. What holy city is that? It is the capital-city of the world to come. That city develops from the holy temple and after the forty-two months, the resurrection begins, by which act the city, the New Jerusalem, becomes a reality.

The Three Grades of Faith - Out of the Book: FAITH

The three grades of faith show themselves typically in Adam, Abraham, and Solomon, the son of David. For Adam there could be no question of faith until he had gained knowledge concerning the signification of the Word and had been placed in a condition where he became dependent on the Word. Not until he had lost his garb of innocence and his home, and in addition to that, was made to provide for himself a livelihood by work, was Adam able to grasp what the Word was capable of doing or not doing.

Standing outside the magnificent garden of Paradise, where he had enjoyed sublime blessings and peace, with the apparent results of his fall now pressing on his life, the promise of the Father that "the woman's seed shall bruise the serpent's head," was the only thing that kept his hope within the portals of Paradise. The aim of his faith, therefore, was first, to get a son, and second, that this son should atone for his crime, and third, to bring Eve and himself again into that world of happiness they once had inhabited. Therefore, they awaited at all times their redeemer, and when their first son was born he was called Cain, i. e., Possessor, because they now hoped they had received the awaited restorer of Paradise. Here it will be noted how they, by faith — in its elementary grade — not only held this aim before their minds, but that they also drew it close to themselves. This is the quality of faith, and it has the same influence on the faithful as the germ of growth embedded in a kernel of corn. As soon as the kernel unites with the soil, it begins to sprout and grows up toward its aim — corn in the ear — but the distance between these two stages represents development, time, and transformation. This shows the evolutionary forward march of faith in larger and larger forms, in force and in scope, in such a manner that the whole earth can be planted with seed from a single kernel.