Shirley H Supporter Wife, mother, veteran in the spiritual war we all face!

Cain, who was a tiller of soil in Genesis, did not place faith in God. He was full of pride and self-righteousness. 

Hebrews 11:4: "By faith Abel offered to God a more excellant sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; through it he being dead still speaks."

The heretics in Jude are compared also to Balaam, Numbers 31:16, and to Korah, a Levite in Numbers 16:1-3.

Today we are to be aware because there are surely some ungodly teachers who seem very religious!

Remember, it's not about religion, it's about a relationship!

January 30 2023 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Jack Gutknecht Supporter ABC/DTS graduate, guitar music ministry Baptist church

"Cain was the first person to be born naturally; he was Adam and Eve's first son. He was the founder of the family of Kenites (Kenite is called Kain in Hebrew) (Gen. 4; Num. 24:22; Heb. 11:4; 1 John 3:12; Jude 11). By calling Cain was an agriculturist, but he was not happy with his calling since he did not fear God. His heart became jealous as he witnessed the happiness of his brother Abel and his favor with God. Ultimately he yielded to his jealous feelings and slew Abel, just as the Jews for envy sought Christ’s death. (Genesis 4:2-5, 8)." --Lockyer 

I take it from 1 John 3:12 that Cain was envious of Abel. Cain is doing "whatever his instincts tell him, like an unthinking animal, and so he would bring about his own destruction" (Jude 1:10). Jude names him as the first one of the 3 in Jude 11 to do this. NLTPSB (NLT Parallel Study Bible).

First, see the big picture.

Three Stages of Apostasy Jude 11
1 The Way of Cain, the Self-righteous—Natural apostasy—opposed to Christ, the Way
2 The Error of Balaam, the Self-interested—Sacrificial apostasy—opposed to Christ the Truth
3 The Gainsaying of Core, the Self-willed—Ecclesiastical apostasy—opposed to Christ the Life
The end of those who Go in the way of Cain—is to be banished, like Cain Gen. 4:14,16
Run greedily after the error of Balaam—is to be admonished, like Balaam 2 Pet.2:16
Follow in gainsaying of Core—is to be punished, like Korah Num. 16:32

Now look at it this way:

Cain and Abel, Genesis 4:1-13:

The way of Cain Jude 11; Prov. 16:25
The blood of Abel Gen. 4:10; Heb. 12:24
MAN’S WAY—seen in Cain
(a) A WRONG APPROACH to God Gen. 4:3
(b) A WRONG ANSWER to God Gen. 4:5
(c) A WRONG ATTITUDE to his brother Gen. 4:8
GOD’S WAY—seen in Abel
His Name—that which ascends: Desire after God
His Faith—Heb. 11:4
His Offering—‘Shedding of blood’ Gen. 4:4; Heb. 9:22
His Witness Gen. 4:10; Heb. 11:4
‘he being dead yet speaketh’

February 01 2023 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Justin Hale Supporter

In the New Testament era, the 'way of Cain,' 'way of Balaam' and 'way of Korah' are all part of one collective evil work known as the 'spirit of antichrist' (1 John 4:3).

Evil was once arranged around pagan religious systems and practices with each 'demon' illicitly receiving worship in place of GOD. The work of Christ opened a floodgate of destruction upon these systems and the Holy Church obeyed the command to destroy these 'speculative fortresses' themselves, (2 Corinthians 10:5), while 'capturing and reinterpreting' every thought contained within them, restoring obedience to Christ.

For example, the Greek New Testament itself is written in a language that was personally devised by an evil prodigy named 'Alexander,' (known to history as 'Alexander the Great'), who planned to conquer all tribes on earth and force them to learn it so he could rule them all from one throne. He called this language 'Koine,' meaning, 'The universal [tongue].'

GOD saw the potential in this 'universal language' and decided to use it instead to reach the entire world of human tribes with His gospel of salvation and cross-tribal unity in Christ! It is being used millions of times a day by Christians around the world to bring peace and clarity through unified doctrine when their cultural 'surface languages' create confusion or disagreements. 

If you will recall, 'Cain' was the world's first murderer who was cursed by GOD to 'wander restlessly' with no tribal home. Like the New Testament description of 'antichrist,' Cain was given a 'mark' by GOD to identify himself and his people and keep them from being exterminated by the other tribes. This was a 'genetic imprint' containing three prodigious abilities first arriving in his descendants 'Jabal,' (the master nomad who could live anywhere), 'Jubal' (the master entertainer), and 'Tubal-Cain' (the master of the forge, [all found in Genesis 4:20-22]). 

Those who are part of the modern 'way of Cain' continue to have this 'restless desire to wander' and are even focused now on leaving the planet itself and traveling into 'space.' The 'mark' appears as one of these three abilities, (survival skills, entertainment skills, or tools and weapons production), and the person is either 'marked on the forehead' (an intellectual, part of the 'priestly caste'), or 'marked on the wrist,' (a soldier, part of the 'military caste' both found in Revelation 13:16, 20:4).

The people of GOD 'sealed in their forehead' with the Holy Spirit, (Revelation 7:3), may also exhibit a version of these same skills but we have only one 'caste' which is both priestly and soldierly. Soldiers marked on their wrists were tattooed to identify them by their field commanders. We have only One Lord and He is our High Priest.

'Balaam' and 'Korah' are both 'impostor' Christian traditions joining antichrist in attempting to undermine the Church from within. Balaam is focused on using greed and sexual immorality to destroy doctrine. Korah is a spirit of 'rebellion' using conflict and even open war to create division in the Church or undermine its doctrines, (Jude 1:10-16, 2 Peter 2:10-22).

The Lord Jesus Himself will 'cut off' this evil work suddenly at the height of its power, (2 Thessalonians 2:8), making it the only regime in world history not to experience a period of 'decline.' In scripture, regimes are always described in terms of 'seven years.' The first three and one half 'years' represent its period of ascension to full power. The second three and one half 'years' usually represent its period of decline. That is why 'antichrist' is described as reigning only for 'three and one half years.' 

However, this description is NEVER literal and refers to many different lengths of time depending on the will of GOD as He shapes history. 

In the interim, we also know that the Church has been directly commanded to 'expose and remove the wicked person from among us,' (1 Corinthians 5:13, Ephesians 5:11). 

Do that until our Lord returns.

January 31 2023 • 6 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Tim Maas Supporter Retired Quality Assurance Specialist with the U.S. Army

To me, the main distinction with respect to Cain was his belief (and the belief of those who follow his "way", then and now) that God's favor could/can be earned through works or individual efforts (which, in Cain's case, was the self-grown produce that he offered to God). Abel, by contrast, recognized the necessity of a blood sacrifice, which realized its ultimate fulfillment in Christ.

March 03 2024 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report