What Was the Theological Reason Cain Murdered Abel?
And What is the Relationship
Between Cain’s Great Grandsons and Freemasonry?Genesis, Chapter 4
Lorraine Day, M.D
V 1 And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord.
What does it mean biblically “to know”?
In the Bible, the most physically intimate relationship between a man and his wife is described as “knowing.” Adam “knew” Eve – and she conceived.
That’s how Jesus wants us to “know” Him spiritually – in the closest type of spiritual relationship possible. If we don’t know Jesus that well, in the end He will say to us:
“Not everyone that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven.
Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy name? And in Thy name have cast out demons? And in Thy name done miracles?
“And then I will profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from Me, ye that work iniquity.”
Notice that Jesus is not talking about pagans, unbelievers; He is talking about those who claim to be Christians. He is talking about those who profess to “know” Him, those who believe that are following Him and doing works in His name.
What does the name Cain mean?
Eve named her first-born son Cain, which means Acquire, and said, “I have gotten a man from the Lord. No doubt Eve believed that Cain was the Messiah who had come to “save the world.” After all, in Genesis 3:15, God had promised them a Redeemer. Speaking to Satan shortly after he tempted Eve to sin, God said:
“And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; and he shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise His heel.” Genesis 3:15
The Promise of a Redeemer Messiah
God was telling Satan that when the Messiah came, Satan would bruise His heel (by instigating wicked men to kill Him on the cross), but Jesus would “bruise” Satan’s head, by conquering sin and death, giving Him the right to be the “Savior of ALL mankind” (1 Tim 4:10) thus bringing Satan’s diabolic plans to nought.
V 2 And she again bare his brother, Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
The name Abel means “breath” or “breathing spirit.” Abel was a shepherd, symbolizing Jesus, the “good shepherd” and Cain was a farmer.
V 3-5 And in process of time it came to pass that Cain brought the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord.
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:
But unto Cain and to his offering He had no respect. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell.
How are we to worship God?
The Bible tells us, “Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin” (Hebrews 9:22). It becomes obvious that either God told the two sons, or He told their parents and they told their sons, what type of offering to bring to the Lord, but only one son, Abel, complied. Cain chose to disregard – and disrespect – God’s command and worship God in his OWN way, by bringing the “work of his own hands.”
It is important to recognize that Cain and Abel were worshiping the SAME God. The controversy was over HOW they would worship that God. Would they do it God’s way – or their own way – “man’s” way?
That same issue will be vitally important at the end of time. All will claim they are worshiping the SAME God. But the issue will be HOW to worship God. The vast majority of Christians have chosen to worship God on Sunday, but that is NOT God’s way. God clearly tells His followers that the Sabbath is on the Seventh-day of the week – Saturday, and that is the day on which we ALL should worship. “Man” – including almost all of worldwide Christendom – has chosen to worship God on Sunday, the day the pagans worship the Sun god. God says in His Word:
“Remember the Sabbath, to keep it holy. Six days thou shalt labor and do all thy work, but the Seventh day (Saturday) is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God. In it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor they stranger that is within thy gates:
For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and made it holy.” Exodus 20:8-11
God has told us that WE are not to work on the Sabbath doing are routine jobs or recreational activities, nor are we to hire others to do work on the Sabbath day. God made the Seventh-day Sabbath (Saturday) holy, and we are to spend it with Him, getting to know Him and His marvelous creation.
God did not accept Cain’s Sacrifice
There were at least two reasons God did not accept Cain’s sacrifice: 1) God had commanded that there must be “shedding of blood for remission of sin” – looking forward to His own death on the cross for the sins of the world, and 2) Cain’s offering/sacrifice was “the work of his own hands” which symbolizes “salvation by works,” suggesting that we can “work our way” into heaven.
V 6-7 And the Lord said unto Cain, Why are thou angry? And why is thy countenance fallen?
If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? And if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And its desire is for you, and thou shalt rule over him (it).
The Lord talked to Cain, who was angry at the lack of acceptance of Cain’s offering, telling him that if he decided to follow God’s way instead of his own way, Cain would be acceptable to God.
But if not, “sin lieth at the door” like a wild beast, waiting to consume him. “And its (the sin personified as a wild beast lying at the door) desire is to consume Cain, but Cain would have to learn to rule over his own desires, and follow God instead.
V8 And Cain talked with Abel his brother saying, Let us go out into the field. When they were in the field, Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.
This is an extremely important prophecy for the End Times. It will be those who claim to be Christians but are worshiping God in their OWN way, who will call for the death of those Christians who are worshiping God in GOD’S way.
Those “Christians” who are worshiping on Sunday, or who are worshiping a Killer God who will destroy His children in a burning hellfire, or those who believe God has given human beings “freewill” or those who insist that when a person dies, he is not really dead, but has become a “spirit” and floats off to heaven – these are the ones who will call for the death and total annihilation of the ones who KNOW the true character of God.
The anguish of Adam and Eve over the murder of their son Abel by their other son Cain is almost incomprehensible. They had never seen the death of anyone before this time, and think of one of their sons murdering the other must have broken their heart.
Even now, 6,000 years later, if the child of parents today murdered one of his or her siblings, the crushing despair of the parents would be beyond belief. So, just think what is was like for Adam and Eve, just one generation after sin had entered the human race, to deal with such a violent act of one of their sons against the other.
The eyes of Adam and Eve were opened wide to see what their sin had done to humanity. They were “reaping what they had sown.” This became their own private “hell.”
V 9-10 An d the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper?
And He said, What hast thou done? The voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto Me from the ground.”
Not only did Cain murder his brother, but he then denied it to God. He was a murderer and a liar.
God personified Abel’s blood by stating it “crieth unto Me from the ground.” God was telling Cain that He knew what Cain had done and Abel’s righteous blood was demanding justice. Cain had to pay for what he had done.
Many Christians believe that when a person dies, he goes to heaven or hell, rather than just into the ground in death, until the resurrection. One text they use to support their incorrect doctrine is Rev 6:9,10:
“And when He had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held.
“And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?”
They believe this text supports their theory that people go to heaven when they die because here are these “souls under the altar, crying out for God to avenge their death as martyrs.’ But this is just another instance of personification, just the same as the personification God’s Word uses in regard to the blood of Abel. Abel’s blood was not really “speaking.” God was using that as an illustration to let Cain know that Abel’s blood would be avenged.
V 11-12 And now art thou cursed from the earth, which has opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand:
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.
In Genesis, Chapter 3, God had cursed the serpent and the soil. Now, for the first time, the curse was falling on “man.” The “earth had opened her mouth to receive Abel’s blood” but now the earth had become to the “tilling” of Cain. No longer would the earth yield its produce at the farming hand of Cain, but Cain would become a fugitive and a wanderer, finding food wherever he could.
V 13-14 And Cain said unto the Lord, My punishment is greater than I can bear.
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.
Cain shows no sign of repentance for murdering his brother, the first act of murder ever done on the earth. Cain was the most wicked person alive and yet he was only worrying about himself and how severe his punishment was, with no thought of his dead brother, Abel, whose life Cain had taken.
Cain was more worried about being killed himself, rather than the fact that he had taken his brother’s life. Cain’s attitude was, “I can murder my brother without remorse, but I don’t want anyone to murder me.” This is the utter selfishness of the sinful heart.
V 15 And the Lord said unto him, No so. 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.
There are two important messages in this verse: 1) God still loved and protected Cain even though he had committed a heinous crime – killing his own brother, a righteous man. God did not condone Cain’s evil behavior, but He still loved Cain as He loves all His children (good or bad), and, 2) “Vengeance is mine, says the Lord, I will repay” (Romans 12:19). We are to leave the “vengeance” to God. It is not man’s job to take vengeance on another. That must be left to God since all of God’s judgments are remedial, not punitive.
V 15,16 And Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden.
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.
The word “Nod” means “wanderer.” Cain “went out from the presence of the Lord” and as far as we know Cain never again had anything to do with God.
Cain’s wife was obviously one of his sisters because we are told that after Cain, Abel and Seth, Adam and Eve had “many sons and daughters” and, at that time, they were the only family on the earth. So, in order to fulfill God’s command to “be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth” Adam and Eve’s children had to marry each other.
The reason that marrying a close relative is now forbidden is that 6,000 years of sin has caused enormous genetic damage in the human race and there is a significant chance that two close relatives may give birth to a severely genetically damaged child, a possibility that did not exist in the time of Cain and his younger brother Seth.
Cain, a murderer, built the first city. God wanted humanity to live an agrarian existence, tilling the soil, growing their own food, becoming totally self-sufficient. But Cain, not trusting God’s absolute promise of protection, decided to build a city and depend on “man” – other people – for his protection.
(Cain’s son, Enoch, was not the same Enoch who “walked with God” and was taken to heaven. That occurred after the flood.)
V 18-22 And unto Enoch was born Irad: and Irad begat Mehujael; and Mehujael begat Methousael: and Methusael begat Lamech.
And Lamech took unto him two wives: the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah.
And Adah bare Jabal: he was the father of such as dwell in tents, and of such as have livestock.
And his brother’s name was Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle the harp and flute.
And Zillah, she also bare Tubal-cain, a craftsman in bronze and iron: and the sister of Tubalcain was Naamah.
Josephus (Titus Flavius Josephus) the a “Jewish” historian who lived from 37 – 100 A.D. wrote of the extreme wickedness of the descendants of Cain, which includes Tubal-cain and Jubal, as shown in the Bible passage above. How interesting it is that these two names are used frequently in Freemasonry, a secret society that its low level members believe to be “Christian.” In fact, the word Tubal-cain is a password in Freemasonry.
That should be a huge red flag to any Mason that this Secret Society, a group that admires the evil and wicked descendants of Cain enough to cherish their names, could in any way be perceived as a “Christian” organization.
The descendants of Seth were the righteous ones, through whose descendants the Messiah came, whereas, the descendants of Cain, including Tubal-cain and Jubal, were some of the wickedest men on the earth. Yet Freemasons adore them.
Also notice that their father, Lamech, was the first recorded bigamist, taking two wives.
V 23-24 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 for wounding me, and a young man for hurting me.
If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and seven fold.
Lamech was boasting about his murderous revenge, and claiming that if God protected Cain for murdering one person, certainly God would protect Lamech even more for murdering two men. What an arrogant perversion of truth on Lamech’s part. Yet, his sons have become the heroes of Freemasonry!
V 25-26 And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth (appointed): For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew.
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.
From then on, there were two groups of people on the earth: those who worshiped God, and those who didn’t. They were those who believed in God and those who didn’t. The world was divided into the “believers” and the “unbelievers.”
And so it is today. The Bible speaks of those who do NOT believe in Jesus Christ as the “nations” – the heathen or pagans – totally mistranslated as “Gentiles.” And those who DO believe in Jesus Christ are the “believers” – the Judeans (who worshiped the God whose presence resided in the temple in Jerusalem). They were Christians. But this word “Judean” is totally mis-translated as the word “Jew.”
The words “Jew” and “Gentile” imply ethnicity, when in reality, the true translations, Judean (or Judahite) and nation (heathen or pagan) define the type of worship they practiced. The Judeans or Judahites were “Christians” because they were looking forward to Christ the Messiah (even though when He arrived, they didn’t recognize Him – and murdered Him). The nations (or heathen or pagan), incorrectly translated “Gentiles” were those who worshiped many pagan gods.
God help the translators who have literally “slaughtered” the translations of the Bible!