Since the 1990s we have been warning that Chuck Swindoll is one of the fathers of what has more recently been called “cultural liberalism.” Swindoll’s grace is an invitation for believers to participate in the wicked pop culture in a largely non-critical fashion. His doctrine of “grace” opens the door to secular rock, Christian rock, dancing, drinking, mini-skirts, bikinis, petting, fornication, unisex fashion, marijuana, cursing, R-rated movies, violent occult video games, pornography, unfiltered social media, etc.
Genesis 4:17 – Where did Cain get his wife?
If there were only two people on Earth: Adam and Eve, then for the human race to “fill the Earth” at one point there must have been a brother and sister who would marry. This is not a perverse establishment by God since in that time there would have been no laws and problems with brother and sister marrying. This eventually changed certainly, but in the beginning there was nothing morally incorrect with that just like in the time of Abraham there was nothing wrong with his marrying his half-sister (Genesis 20:12), which marriage God blessed (Genesis 17:16), but later those kinds of marriages were restricted in the Law of Moses (Lev. 20:19).
Born Again and Joined to Christ
When a person believes in Jesus Christ, something happens far deeper than a change in behavior. Salvation is not merely the decision to improve our lives. It is not the beginning of a religious self-improvement program. It is a new birth.
Genesis 4:17 – Inconsistencies About Incest?
On more than one list of “Bible discrepancies” is the allegation that Bible writers erred in their teachings about incest. In Leviticus 18:6-30, 20:11-12, and Deuteronomy 27:20-23, one learns that sexual relations between close family members is sinful and punishable by death: “None of you shall approach anyone who is near of kin to him, to uncover his nakedness” (Leviticus 18:6). Other passages, however, indicate that God tolerated incest among His people, and even blessed those involved in such relationships. Abraham married Sarah, his half-sister (Genesis 20:12; cf. Genesis 17:15-16; 22:17), while Abraham’s son, Isaac, married Rebekah, his second cousin (Genesis 22:20-23; 24:4,15), and Jacob, Abraham’s grandson, married his first cousins, Rachel and Leah (Genesis 24:29; 29:15-30). Even Moses’ father, Amram, “took for himself Jachebed, his father’s sister, as wife” (Exodus 6:20, emp. added; cf. Leviticus 20:19). Critics claim that such passages are contradictory. Were Bible writers really inconsistent when they addressed the subject of incest?
Reflections on a Rainbow
And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud:
(Genesis 9:14)
Genesis 4:16 – The Land Of Nod
After Cain killed Abel and was declared a “fugitive and vagabond” by God (Genesis 4:12), the Bible says that he “went out from the presence of the Lord and dwelt in the land of Nod” (4:16). It was in this land that “Cain knew his wife” (4:17), and it was here that his son, Enoch, was born.
Has Your Great-Great-Grandfather Been Born Yet?
Has your great-great-grandfather been born yet? If he hasn’t, he’s not your great-great-grandfather! This might seem like a silly question. But when it comes to the claimed evolutionary fossil evidence for man’s evolution, our claimed great-great-grandfather has turned up in the wrong period of history. A re -dating of Homo erectus fossil skulls discovered in 1931 and 1933 has placed these supposed “human evolutionary ancestors” squarely in human history. This dating is supported by the geological setting in which they were found. In fact, two excavation sites right next to each other together yielded both modern human and Homo erectus remains!
Genesis 14:14-15 – Does Genesis 4 Indicate that God Specifically Created Others Besides Adam and Eve?
If Adam and Eve were the only human beings that God miraculously created, where did all of the people come from who were of great concern to Cain? After God sentenced the murderous Cain to be “a fugitive and a vagabond” on the Earth (Genesis 4:12), recall that Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is greater than I can bear” (4:13). Cain then said: “Surely You have driven me out this day from the face of the ground; I shall be hidden from Your face; I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond on the earth, and it will happen that anyone who finds me will kill me” (4:14, emp. added). God then responded to Cain, saying, “Therefore, whoever kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him seven-fold.” So, “the Lord set a mark on Cain, lest anyone finding him should kill him” (4:15, emp. added). Do the references to “anyone” and “whoever” in these verses suggest that God specially created others besides Adam and Eve?
This Flower is a Real Stinker
Dung beetles may not be a very pleasant subject, but after all, someone has to do the housekeeping. So God created what man has classified into 30,000 species of dung beetle. Many will form their finds into a ball about the size of a croquet ball and roll it home for the wife and kids. Others tunnel beneath a find and set up housekeeping there.
Genesis 4:12-13 – Was Cain a wanderer or did he build/live in a city?
According to verse 17, Cain had a wife, a son, and even began building a city. But this is not a contradiction.
Continue reading →The Amazing Leaf-Miner
If you live in a climate where fall brings colors to the leaves before they fall, you’ve probably noticed something strange. Once the leaves start to fall, the ground is littered with their color. But among all those fading leaves, you might find a perfectly healthy looking green leaf. That green leaf is probably the work of one of God’s more amazing tiny insects.
Genesis 4:11-17 – Was Cain a “Wanderer” or a “Settler”?
After Cain killed his brother Abel, the Lord punished the first recorded murderer saying, “So now you are cursed from the earth, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength to you. A fugitive and a vagabond you shall be on the earth” (Genesis 4:11-12, emp. added). Critics have accused God of error in His sentencing of Cain. According to Dennis McKinsey, Genesis 4:12 represents “one of the earliest false prophecies” in the Bible. “Instead of becoming a vagabond as was forecast, Cain took a wife, built a city, established a line of descendants and seems to have led a settled life” (McKinsey, 1995, p. 298). Skeptic Steve Wells contends Genesis 4:16-17 indicates that “Cain will settle down,” but “[t]his is not the activity one would expect from a fugitive and a vagabond” (2014, emp. added). So which is it? Did Cain become a wanderer or a settler?
Satan Hindered Us.
Wherefore we would have come unto you, even I Paul, once and again; but Satan hindered us.
(1 Thessalonians 2:18)
Genesis 4:9 – Does God REALLY Know Everything?
Numerous passages of Scripture clearly teach that God is omniscient. The Bible declares that God “knows the secrets of the heart” (Psalm 44:21), that His eyes “are in every place” (Proverbs 15:3), and that “His understanding is infinite” (147:5). Of Jehovah, the psalmist also wrote:
Enduring Faith – Proven Through the Race
Romans 5:4 continues the progression: “And patience, experience; and experience, hope.” Tribulation produces endurance, and endurance produces experience. The Greek word translated “experience” is dokime. It refers to proven character, tested worth, or something that has passed through examination and been shown to be genuine.
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