The PhotoDrama of Creation

Section 2

Expulsion From Eden

The Word of God must stand, whether it be the word promising Eternal Life or the sentence of Death. There is no variableness with Him, neither shadow of turning. The curse, the Death Sentence, foretold by the Lord, was executed, but not instantly. Adam was not stricken lifeless with a thunderbolt. From the very beginning God foreknew all, and had planned the redemption of Adam, Eve and their children. To this end Jesus came and "died, the Just for the unjust." As a result ultimately the curse of death will be removed. "There shall be no more curse"--no more dying, sighing, or crying, nor any more pain.--Revelation 22:3; 21:4,5.

All of us were told, and many of us believed fully, that the penalty of Father Adam's disobedience was eternal torture, in which all of his posterity must share, except a few--the saintly, the Elect. Told that this was the teaching of the Bible, we accepted without proof.--1 Thessalonians 5:21.

Now Christian people examine their Bibles more carefully. They find that the curse, or penalty for sin, is a totally different one. "The wages of sin is death." (Romans 6:23.) "The soul that sinneth it shall die." This penalty of death has rested against Adam and his family for six thousand years. It has brought sorrow, sighing, pain and trouble; it has blighted our lives mentally, morally and physically.--Romans 5:12.

It is this curse of death that was pronounced against Father Adam, according to the Genesis account, and also according to the New Testament. "Accursed is the earth for thy sake; thorns and thistles shall it bring fourth unto thee. In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread until thou return unto the ground from whence thou wast taken, for dust thou art and unto dust shalt thou return." It is from this curse that Jesus redeemed us by dying, the Just for the unjust. It is from this death-curse that Messiah rescues all by a resurrection from the dead. "By man came death, by man also the resurrection of the dead."--1 Corinthians 15:21.

Pride-Jealousy-Anger-Murder

No children were born to Adam and Eve in Eden. They labored with sweat of face for quite a time before their first-born came. Doubtless he was birth-marked with a jealous, unhappy disposition. Toil conduced to fretfulness in those who knew a happier lot in Eden. Fault-finding with each other, resentment against the Creator, discontent with their lot, probably marked their offspring--Cain. The world has since been under a "reign of Sin and Death."

Daughters also were born to them, and later another son, Abel, of a very different disposition from their first-born. The experiences of life may have mellowed their hearts. They remembered an intimation of hope connected with their sentence; namely, that the Seed of the woman should bruise the serpent's head. Abel's disposition indicates that he had a contrite heart, and desired to please God. If parents realized to what extent mental conditions affect their offspring, all would strive to bestow favorable birth-traits on their children.

Years passed. Cain and Abel were inspired by the promise respecting the Seed of the woman, and the hope for recovery by Divine favor. They approached the Lord with offerings to receive a blessing. Abel's sacrifice of animal life God accepted, because it typified the necessity for Jesus' death as the basis for forgiveness of sin. God's rejection of Cain's offering teaches that without shedding of blood there can be no remission of sins. Cain should have procured an animal for acceptable sacrifice, in obedience to the Divine will. Instead, he allowed anger, malice, hatred, and strife to burn in his heart, and became a murderer.--Genesis 4:5-8.

St. Paul says that Abel's blood cried to God for justice against Cain. But Jesus' blood cried to God for mercy on the sinner. Every injustice cries to God for justice. By a special covenant, Jesus and His Elect Church lay down their lives sacrificially for Adam and his race. (Romans 12:1.) The "better sacrifices" completed, Restitution follows.

Abel the First Martyr

The word "martyr" signifies witness, and is particularly used in reference to those who witness to the Lord's cause faithfully, at the cost of suffering or death. Abel has the distinction of being God's first martyr. It is very remarkable that nearly all the martyrs have suffered at the hands of "brethren." Thus Jesus and the Apostles received their persecution chiefly from Jewish brethren, sharers of the same blessed hopes and promises. (John 16:2,3.) How strange that it should be thus!

Similarly, during this Gospel Age, Christians have suffered martyrdom at the hands of fellow Christians. Thus the Scriptures foretold, saying, "Your brethren that hated you and that cast you out, said, "The Lord be glorified. But He shall appear to your joy, and they shall be ashamed."Every martyr, in proportion to his faithfulness, will ultimately receive a crown of life, while all persecutors will ultimately be ashamed.

The reign of Sin and Death continued for four thousand years before God sent His Son into the world to be its Redeemer and Deliverer. The Redeemer will set it free from bondage to Sin and Death, but He could not do so unless first He paid the death penalty--dying, the Just for the unjust. During those four thousand years vague promises were given from time to time. But no start was made to fulfil them until Jesus appeared. Even those vague promises were confined to the Jewish nation. Outside nations, the Gentiles, received no promises of relationship to God. They were condemned sinners, and no hopes were held out to them. As St. Paul says, they were without hope--"being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world."--Ephesians 2:12.

For six thousand years, according to St. Paul, we have had a reign of Sin and Death. Christians are still praying for the blessed Day of Messiah, for Satan's binding. Then blessings will displace sin, sorrow and death.--Revelation 21:4.

Sorrow and Mourning Begun

The first death in Adam's family must have cast a great shadow. The hope centered in the Divine promise that the Seed of the woman should bruise the serpent's head was temporarily snuffed out. Shortly after, Seth was born. His name indicates that his parents hoped that he would be the man promised of the Lord--not seeing that the promised One would be the Messiah, who would come long afterward, and for whose work the world still waits.

Although we speak of this as the first death, we must not forget that from the Divine standpoint Adam and his race were already dead, in that none can regain everlasting life except through the Redeemer's work of Sin-Atonement.

At present the population of the world consists of sixteen hundred millions, ninety thousand dying every day.

It is undoubtedly fortunate for our fallen race that we cannot appreciate deeply the sorrows and difficulties of others. Each individual, each family, has about as large a share of sorrow as it can properly bear. Indeed, the poet, realizing the folly of unrestrained grief, has well sung,

"Go bury thy sorrow,
The world has its share,
Go bury it deeply,
Go hide it with care."

Hope, joy and peace come to us through the Divine promise that the time is coming when there shall be no more sorrow or dying, no more sin or pain. For Messiah's Kingdom shall conquer Sin and Death and cause God's will to be done on Earth as fully as it is now done in Heaven.--Matthew 6:9,10.

Our experiences with Sin and its penalty should make us all sympathetic. We should do nothing to add to the sorrow of others, but everything to relieve. The words of Jesus touch this chord of sympathy, "Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." There is no rest for the weary of heart except in union with Christ.

Sons of God, Daughters of Men

Long before man's creation, angels were created, yet sin was unknown until Adam's day. The beginning of sin, according to the Bible, was in the Garden of Eden. Lucifer, an angel of very high rank, had long cherished in his heart ambitious designs. If opportunity ever offered he would show God and the angels his grand schemes. His thought is expressed by the Prophet: "I would ascend above the stars [angels], I would be as the Most High"--an Emperor.When Lucifer beheld the first human pair, he was tempted to try his experiment. They were a new order of beings in God's moral image. They had procreative powers, which no angel possessed. Their offspring filling the Earth would be his subjects, through whom he would work out his ambitious schemes. Thus Lucifer became Satan--God's opponent.--Isaiah 14:12-14.

All the holy angels were bewildered. His was the first rebellion against the Almighty's laws. No punishment followed, and the angels queried whether or not God was able to enforce His laws. Centuries rolled on; the human family was wasting; God's penalty, "Dying, thou shalt die," was gradually being enforced. Satan realized that his kingdom of dying subjects would make but a poor showing ever. He conceived a plan to outwit God and develop a new order of beings--hybridized humans, infused with superior vitality.

The angels possessed a God-given power of materialization. They could appear in human bodies resembling those of men. The Bible attests this. (Genesis 18.) The angels were permitted contact with the fallen race to prove whether they could bring mankind back to God.--Hebrews 2:5.

The record of Genesis 6:2-5 is that the "sons of God saw that the daughters of men were fair, and they took unto themselves wives of all they preferred." Thus the angels became the fathers of a new race, distinct from Adam's. The record is that these were giants, physically and intellectually--"men of renown," who filled the Earth with violence.

While the Ark was Preparing

The disloyal course of the angels apparently continued for centuries without any outward manifestation of God's ability to check them. Thus all the holy angels were tested, and all who chose "were disobedient in the days of Noah."--1 Peter 3:20.

Noah's family was singled out as exceptional, in the statement, "Now Noah was perfect in his generation"--implying that few or no others were perfectly generated--of pure Adamic stock. (Genesis 6:9.) Noah's family, therefore, included all the uncontaminated--only eight persons. They, by Divine command, built the Ark, and thus witnessed to the world the Divine intention respecting a Deluge.

Noah's message respecting a Divine judgment by a Deluge seemed ridiculous. Until the Deluge there was no rain. The last of the great "rings" which then flooded the Earth was of pure water. For centuries it was spread out over the firmament. The whole Earth was a great hothouse. There were practically no changes of seasons, nor storms, because the great water canopy preserved it in perpetual Summer. Of that period we read: "For as yet there was no rain on the Earth." (Genesis 2:5.) Noah, the preacher of righteousness, was mocked and considered a fool because of his faith in God's Word, just as others of the Lord's people at various times have been mocked by those who lacked faith, and are yet mocked.

Finally, the Deluge came. "The fountains of the great deep [canopy] were broken up." The breaking of the canopy precipitated millions of tons of water at both poles, forming two great tidal waves, covering the Earth for a great depth, deepening the ocean beds, and throwing up additional mountains.

The cradle of the world is supposed to have been in Armenia. Geology tells us that the land of that vicinity was at one time a quiet settling pond, as evidenced by heavy alluvial deposits. In this vicinity the Ark floated, and by Divine protection landed on Mt. Ararat its precious freight for the world's new start.

Nephilim Destroyed

The account of the fall of the angels from being sons of God to be demons helps us to understand why God decreed the Deluge to wipe out all of the human race except Noah and his family. We perceive that God from the first intended to deal only with Adam and his family. The giant sons of the fallen angels (Nephilim) came into being contrary to the Divine will; hence, properly, no provision was to be made for them. They never had a right to life, nor will they have a resurrection. On the other hand, all of Adam's posterity, redeemed by Jesus' death, must be recovered from death, with full opportunity to secure everlasting life.

After the Deluge, the demon angels dematerialized--resumed their spirit conditions. St. Peter and St. Jude reveal the penalty inflicted upon them. "Those angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation [spirit condition], God restrained under chains [restraints] of darkness, unto the Judgment of the Great Day."--2 Peter 2:4; Jude 6.

The liberties of the fallen angels--demons--were restrained. They are unable to use deceptions in the light--unable to materialize as formerly. Note, however, that the limitation "unto" implies that when the "great Day of Wrath" shall come, these fallen angels will be permitted to materialize and become potent factors in the strife. Other Scriptures indicate that these fallen angels will have much to do with the great "time of trouble" with which this Age will close, and in which Messiah's Kingdom will be inaugurated.

These fallen angels were cast to tartarus--our Earth's atmosphere. Satan, a cherub-angel of higher rank, is styled the Prince of Demons. They are not in some far-off place stoking fires, but keep as close to humanity as possible. Not permitted to materialize, they seek to obsess, to demonize by clairvoyance and clairaudience. Mankind would properly resent them if their true character were known. They therefore personate the dead, communicating through spirit-mediums.

The End of That Age

In the Scriptures, the expression "End of the World" is frequently used. St. Peter tells us that the world came to an end in the Deluge. It was not the Earth which came to an end; merely that order or condition of things which prevailed prior to the Deluge ceased there. A new world, a new order of things, was there ushered in. This is in strict accordance with the proper translation of the Greek. The common translation unfortunately has deceived many. We would better read "End of the Age"--not End of the World.

Ages may end and be succeeded by other ages, but the Bible declares that "the Earth abideth forever;" that "God formed it not in vain; He formed it to be inhabited." It has never been thoroughly habitable, nor has it ever been inhabited, in the proper sense of the term. The work of Messiah's Kingdom will be to make God's footstool glorious, and fit for those restored to His favor. His further work will be to uplift man and restore him to all that was lost in Eden and redeemed at Calvary. He will destroy only the incorrigible.

In the new order of things started by Noah and his family, God allowed humanity to have its way and to work out its own schemes without Divine interference, except in extreme cases. He allowed the world to learn lessons, while He carried out His own great Plan, of which Redemption is the center, and Messiah's Kingdom the circumference, for the recovery of mankind from their fallen estate.--Romans 5:12-14.

The development of God's Plan has been long from the human standpoint, but not so from the Divine, for we read: "A thousand years in Thy sight are but as yesterday;" and again, "A day with the Lord is as a thousand years." During six of these thousand-year Days, in which He rests or desists from interfering with the world's affairs, God has permitted a reign of Evil, but His arrangements are complete whereby Messiah, the Redeemer, will fully restore all the willing and obedient to all that Adam forfeited.--Acts 3:19-22.

The Rainbow Pledge

When Noah and his family came out of the Ark, they acknowledged God by offering to Him a sacrifice, and God pledged the Rainbow as a sign that He would never again destroy mankind by a flood of waters. A rainbow was never seen before that time, for the reason given in the Bible; there had been no rain. Furthermore, the Sun's rays did not directly strike the Earth, but merely through the canopy, with much the same effect as that of a hothouse.

Many changes were brought about by the removal of the canopy--rains, floods, droughts, thunder-storms, tornadoes, extremes of heat and cold. These things were impossible under the canopy. Noah's intoxication is accounted for along these lines. The juice of the grape had not previously fermented. Hence Noah could not have known of its intoxicating effect.

With the collapse of the watery envelope, came the extreme heat of the tropics and the extreme cold of the polar regions, before the ocean currents modified them.

The change must have been almost instantaneous. We have proofs of this. In northern Siberia an antelope was found imbedded in ice. It had green grass in its stomach, which proved that its death occurred suddenly while it was feeding. Similarly, a mastodon was found imbedded in ice with food between its teeth. Thus is demonstrated that the poles were once as equable as the temperate zone, and that in a moment came such a change as could be brought about only by the breaking of the canopy. The great glaciers and heavy ice of the Arctic regions, formed thus suddenly, have existed for centuries. The water did not all congeal into ice, but like a tidal wave carried great glaciers and boulders across the North American continent, and Northwestern Europe, as scientists have clearly traced. They cut through hills with such force that they have left their mark for all time. Equatorial currents, the Gulf Stream and the Japan Stream have since thawed out much of the polar ice.

Demigods of Greece and Egypt

Long have the learned wondered what foundation Grecian Mythology might have had. Now, taking heed to the sure Word of God, we perceive that the angels who materialized before the Flood were the gods of Mythology, while their offspring, the giants, were the demigods. The suggestion may well start a flood of reflection in thinking minds.

Egyptologists have been astonished by their findings in the tombs of the Pharaohs. In some of these, historic tablets have been found, tracing the ancestry of the Pharaohs apparently back to Creation--the first Pharaoh--Adam. But these tablets show so many more generations than the Bible record that Egyptologists lose all faith in the Genesis account. They become Higher Critics, discount the Bible record and pin their faith to the Egyptian tablets. They confess, however, that these tablets vary, and more or less contradict each other. Concededly, the most accurate is THE ABYDOS TABLET, found in the sepulchre of Seti I.--probably the Pharaoh who made Joseph his Prime Minister and who is supposed to have died about 120 years before Moses was born.

The chief fault found with this Tablet is that it is not so lengthy as some of the others. Nevertheless, Pharaoh, Seti I., preserved this Tablet for us with great care. He sank a shaft sixty feet deep through solid rock. At that level his masons cut out the stone staircase on which THE ABYDOS TABLET is portrayed. An exact copy of it is to be found in the British Museum. At considerable expense and with difficulty we have secured the photograph of it, which we here present. Our object is to show that this best of Egyptian records fully corroborates the Genesis account.

This list of Pharaohs is shorter than the others because it omits the names of gods and demigods. It is the complete Egyptian record of the purely human line of rulers back to Adam. Furthermore, these omissions occur at the appropriate place--at the time of the Deluge.