Abyssus Abyssum Invocat Pt. 1 (Lit. Hell calls to Hell; general usage: One wrong step causes another).

        It is generally the case that one wrong step leads to another. We experience this over and over in life.  In our last two letters (Sept., Oct.) we surveyed the intensity of evil taking place in our world today. We saw that God destroyed the first world because almost everyone had corrupted his ways and rejected God outrightly; there were actually only eight persons in the world at that time who remained faithful to God. So in order to preserve righteousness on our planet God had to remove the rebellious people.

        Many people ask the question, was God just and correct in destroying those millions of people (some say over a billion) in a flood? And what made humanity so rebellious towards their Creator that God had to destroy them? We said the answer lay in Genesis 6:2 in the Hebrew word ‘tov.’ The text in question reads, ‘…the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair…’ (fair in Hebrew is ‘tov’); however, before delving into that study, let’s look at the background that led up to outright rebellion by almost every inhabitant on earth at the time. 

        This would help us to understand God a little better in light of this destructive act of His; and it will also help us to understand the warning that Christ gave us in Luke 17:26 where he said, ‟And as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.” This text clearly tells us that Jesus predicted that people today will arrive at the same behaviour as the people before the flood. Please read of this behaviour in Genesis 6:5. This should therefore be a huge concern to you and me today.

        So here’s the background. In the beginning God made our fore parents, Adam and Eve, perfect, without any bad or rebellious (sinful) ways. We read this in Genesis 1:31. It says, ‘And God saw every thing that he had made, and behold it was very good…’ God next told Adam and Eve that they were to eat of all the fruit trees in the garden He made for them, except of one tree called the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If they eat of that tree it would lead to their death. 

        Was God too hard on Adam and Eve by telling them that they would die if they disobeyed Him and eat of the forbidden tree? Consider this, Adam and Eve were made with the power of free choice. They were free to obey Him or reject Him as their God and Creator. Years ago my wife and I worked in the beautiful country of Bermuda. One day a terrible hurricane blew across the country and left some damage. The next morning several families went down to the beach to see what might have been washed up on the shore.  

        My wife and I also went with our two children, 8 and 11 years old to see what might have been washed up. We strictly told our boys to remain by our side and not run ahead of us nor go any closer to the sea from where we walked. As the boys pushed their luck and moved ahead in spite of our warnings on their disobedience, suddenly a big wave appeared and washed them and others up the shore and proceeded to drag them back towards the ocean. I was able to catch one and lift him up, while seeking to reach the other. Fortunately, being a smart lad, he had the sense to dig his feet into the sand giving me the opportunity to reach him and stop them both from being washed into the sea! Despite our telling them how dangerous it could be, they made a wrong choice to move away from us and it almost cost them their lives.

        So with Adam and Eve. God warned them about satan and his desire to cause them to disobey Him so they would die like him and his rebellious angels. Rom. 6:23 says the wages of sin is death; and Matthew 25:41 says the devil and his angels will be destroyed by fire eventually. Similar sentiments are found in Jude 1:6. This reads: ‟And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.” Adam and Eve like my sons exercised their free choice to disobey God, and as a result of this disobedience or rebellion against the law or word of God, they became subject to death and they passed death on to their descendants (you and me). 

        Satan hoped that if Adam and Eve sinned God would forgive them, and if God did that, then he and his rebellious angels would have to be forgiven as well or God would be partial. But God, who said that sin always brings death, could not break His law or His word to accommodate sin and rebellion. Sin and evil could not be institutionalized in God’s universe, the wages of sin will always be death. 

        Adam and Eve were then put out of the beautiful garden; their nature instead of being one of joy, peace and sinlessness, now became one of rebellion, sadness, hatred and subject to certain death. We saw this when their oldest son, Cain, killed his younger brother, Abel. Cain, under the curse of God, moved away to another part of the earth east of Eden called Nod. See Gen 4:16. All the descendants of Cain became wicked and rebellious against the laws and the goodness of God. These descendants of Cain were known as the sons of men.

        In time Eve bore another son whom she called Seth, and the Bible goes on to tells us in Genesis 4:26 that in the days of Seth, after his first son Enos was born, men (that is the descendants of Seth) began to call upon the name of the Lord. The followers of Seth became known as the sons of God; and there now developed two classes of people on the earth, the sons of men who were the descendants of Cain and the sons of God who were the descendants of Seth. How long these two classes remained distinct from each other is not given in the Bible. We do know, however, that the sons of God were preachers of righteousness calling people back to God and to repent and confess their sins. 

        The rejecters of God’s mercy were also told of the sad consequences of rejecting God. Read this in Jude 1:14, 15. The text says: ‟And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.”

        My friends, can you detect in our world today that there seems to be those who seek after God and desire to follow Him? These people can be Christians or of any other religion. They may not have everything perfect, but they are in their lives seeking God. The Bible tells us that God will eventually put things in order, giving everyone an opportunity to follow Him as He has delineated in His word, the Bible. In Ezekiel 33:11 we read: ‟Say unto them, As I live, says the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?” And Jesus himself assures us in John 10:16, …there are other people who do not belong to this group; I will also reach out to these ones and bring them to me, for they shall hear my voice and come, and there shall be one group, and one Shepherd or leader.

        At the same time my friends, have you noticed that there is another group of people who just do not seem to want God in their lives? They choose to do things their way without the involvement of God or His moral laws. These people too need to be persuaded if possible to accept God into their lives before it becomes too late just like the times of Noah and the world flood that destroyed all those that rejected the mercy of God.

        Finally, back to the sons of God, the descendants of Seth, and the sons of men the descendants of Cain. We do not know how long these two groups remained separated in their lifestyle, but one very sad thing we know, at some point the two groups joined together! The sons of God gave up their unique godly, holy, and moral life! Why? How could this ever happen? What made God’s people exercise their free choice to no longer have God to direct their lives? We will discuss this topic in our next letter in December. The answer however, is in the Bible. It starts in Genesis 6:2. Check it out ahead of time and let me know what you think if you so desire. May God bless you.

If there are any questions or comments please contact Ron Henderson at ronhende@outlook.com.