Hebrews 11 is known by both serious and casual Bible students as the “Faith” chapter. The words flow into meaningful moments of past examples of Biblical faith in a profound capture of past faith. The reader can’t help to recognize the awesome display of faith development without any need for deep interpretations to realize this effect.
Hebrews 11 has deeper meaning, however, than first meets the casual reading. It contains a map for serious and mature Christians to lead them to a deeper faith in their natural and spiritual lives. It is multi-layered and has deep path that is going to take us into many different areas that will add to our knowledge of faith. More importantly, it promises to prepare our souls to meet these troubled times with a confidence of knowing the things we know conform to the Truth of God.
The secret to learning the deep things of Hebrews 11:1-40 require us to travel throughout the Word of God. It is the entire Word of God that frames faith:
Hebrews 11:3 (KJV 1900)
3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. (Hebrews 11:3)
Hey! Why does this verse speak of “worlds” in the plural? Let’s look at the definition of the Greek Word:
Worlds – 172 αἰών (aiōn), ῶνος (ōnos), ὁ (ho): n.masc.; ≡ DBLHebr 6409; Str 165; TDNT 1.197—1. LN 67.143 era, a unit of time as a particular stage of history.
The use of the word brings our attention to time periods (ages). Throughout the history of mankind, the LORD God has brought forth His creation, His Will, and His Way in steps. Each period He has revealed more of Himself than the one previously; however, that revelation does NOT come from anything that can be seen! And, if it can be seen, then can stir false faith.
Imagine for a moment that you are among the first people created by the LORD God in His Image. During the beginning of civilizations there were probably more false gods than there were people. They had a god for everything, and centered their lives superstitiously upon pleasing their false idols for good luck in their life. Over the years, these false gods were credited with great powers and most everybody believed in at least one of them. Cultures and civilizations were formed by the belief in these false gods and mankind flourished. Their false gods were worshipped in statues, idols, carvings, and pictures.
The LORD God was God over all things, including the false gods that man had created. He was unseen, yet HE WAS CREATOR! Only the Creator of the worlds could have dominion over those worlds, that that was our LORD God!
So, if you’re still imagining yourself back in those days, think of what it must have been like. The LORD God moved His Spirit through you, and you knew that there was an all-powerful, all-knowing LORD God, that was more powerful than any other that your neighbors and friends worshiped, but, He was unseen. Belief in the LORD God, Creator of all worlds, required a believer to have faith:
Hebrews 11:1
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1 KJV)
The early believers had evidence of the Creator within themselves, but it could not be shown to others. Either you were created by God, and implanted with His image, or you were not. Those who did not have God could not have faith. Those that were created in His Image knew Him, without seeing Him.
It should not surprise you that the first proof of faith in Hebrews 11:1 speaks of the Creator and His Creation, and the forming of the various ages of belief, through the Word of God. Philosophically speaking, that is the basic beginning of faith; for a Creation to exist, there must be a Creator. For ages of belief to have evolved, there must have been a Director. Isn’t it interesting today, how they are trying to remove the LORD God and Jesus Christ from the creation process! Why? Because their false gods have no power over one who creates and directs all things in existence!
Cain and Abel – Sons of the Most Intelligent Parents
The Lord wants the mature Christian to learn the details of each of these faith situations accounted in Hebrews 11 deeply. When these deeper things of faith are applied to a mature believer’s walk with Christ, the path will become more easily navigated regardless of tough times.
That is the secret to the study of Hebrews 11! How do we practice our faith? One doesn’t think about faith in those terms, do they? Either you have faith or not, and that is dependent on God whether He gives it to you!
WE ARE NOT USING OUR FAITH FULLY! If faith of a mustard seed can move the mountain to the sea, then surely the works produced from the great faith given to us is unlimited! Yet, we often stand with the babes in Christ and walk with Him in the same manner as they do.
What if the LORD God has given you an extra dose of faith in your maturity? What if the LORD God is now teaching you how to use this extra faith, to bring greater works and glory to Him? What if these different studies of our elders, is not so much study of the old guys of past, but rather, as a key to open up that extra faith He has blessed you with?
It is that deeper understanding of the strong faithful walk of those in the beginning that will lead to our own lives being touched with deep faith. Our study of Abel will begin that process, as we look at each of those mentioned in Hebrews 11 with an eye toward emulating His faith.
Adam and Eve were NOT monkeys. They were created by the LORD God in His Image, possessing their souls formed by the breath of God (Genesis 2:7). They were living examples of created perfection, with an intelligence that far exceeded de-evolution of mankind that followed them as a result of the sinful nature.
If one were asked to name the most intelligent person that ever existed in mankind, scholars might name Einstein, Newton, Archimedes, Aristotle, Plato, Franklin or DaVinci. Present-day intelligent thinkers might include Jobs, Hawkins, or Gates; yet, all of their brain-power put together was not as perfected as the first brain of the first man and woman that the LORD God created.
Evolutionists form their conclusions that man “evolves” into a greater being through a series of unproven acts of life adapting to their environment in ever-increasing improvements. Evolutionishs are wrong. Mankind is not evolving, but rather de-evolving!
The mind of Adam was perfect in every way. He possessed the highest level of intelligence that any man would have on this earth, because it was perfectly created by God. From the moment that Adam and Eve chose to sin against God, and were cursed to a natural life away from the LORD God, de-evolution of the intelligence potential of mankind began. Generations to follow would be lesser smart, as the perfect mind was watered down by sinful natures.
Developed intelligence of our present-day world has always relied upon knowledge given before, as building blocks of thought are stacked, one upon another. Misguided philosophers point to this process as proof of increased intelligence; in fact, it merely points to increased development of knowledge based upon knowledge as it is revealed and unfolds. It is “cleverness” of some notable men and women that lead to advanced developments; while a measure of intelligence is observed in these clever people, it does not offer proof of increased intelligence. Rather, it is evidence of the Creator moving increased attention to new ideas, not an increase of intelligence that is being expressed. How great the mind must have been in the first created people for de-evolution to still allow the development of the technology we have today!
Before you can understand the faith of Abel, you must first realize the perfect intelligence that his parents, Adam and Eve possessed.
1. Man was created to have dominion over all other life created by the LORD God.
Genesis 1:26
“And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.” (Genesis 1:26)
2. Man and woman were created in the image of the LORD God. (Genesis 1:27)
“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.”
3. God blessed them.
Genesis 1:28
“And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.” (Genesis 1:28)
These three facts are solid proof that Man and Woman were created highly intelligent with a likeness to God Himself. Then God commissioned them to be fruitful and multiply, and subdue the earth. The LORD God had given the intelligence to be able to do these things He assigned them to do. Adam and Eve understood completely the works God gave them to do. They knew that God required more than their peaceful existence. He expected them to take the things in their environment, and produce fruits from their efforts. They knew their duty to multiply mankind, and they knew how to subdue the earth. God DID NOT tell them to subdue the earth, and expect them to figure it all out on their own. He knew He had given them the intelligence to know exactly how to do the things He Willed.
Then God gave them every food they would need to feed their effort upon this earth. He provided for their spiritual and natural well-being. He had given them perfect intelligence, a perfect environment, and a perfect life. It was good.
Genesis 1:29-31
“And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so. And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.” (Genesis 1:29-31)
The LORD God gave the intelligent Adam the responsibility of dressing and keeping the most perfect Garden ever created in Eden.
Genesis 2:15
“And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.” (Genesis 2:15)
The LORD God formed a perfectly intelligent Eve out of a perfectly intelligent Adam as a helpmate.
Genesis 2:18
“And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.” (Genesis 2:18)
In fact, the smartest of all men to have ever existed, Adam, was given the privilege of naming every other life form that the LORD God had created. It wasn’t just because God was telling Him what to name them. He was that smart!
Genesis 2:19
“And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.” (Genesis 2:19)
There was only one thing that their perfect minds lacked, that prevented them from being like a god themselves. They did not know the difference between good and evil. That one piece of knowledge was kept from them by a loving LORD God, who delighted in giving His perfect creation the best of everything, without the knowledge of the worst of all.
Genesis 3:1-5
“Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:1-5)
The dumb act of a very blessed and perfect man and woman was their disobedience against the LORD God, when they ate of the prohibited fruit of the tree.
Genesis 3:6-7
“And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.” (Genesis 3:6, 7)
It was a result of that moment of stupidity, that mankind was forever cast out from the perfect life, in the perfect garden, with the perfect intelligence and the perfect works to glorify God.
Genesis 3:16-24
“Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.” “And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; 19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.” “And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.” “Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.” “And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.” (Genesis 3:16-24)
Adam and Eve were on their own, thrown out into the world, still beholden to the LORD God to be fruitful, multiply and subdue the earth. Though their perfection was marred by sin, and de- evolution of mankind initiated into the genetic code of future generations, they still remained very smart. In fact, they were smart enough to begin the works the LORD God had commissioned them to do, in spite of His rejection because of their disobedience.
Cain and Abel were born from their union in the first acts recorded after their expulsion from the Garden. That is how intelligent people think, you know. When you anger the powerful LORD God, you do everything you can to please Him once again. The smart parents of Cain and Abel begin to multiply the earth. Their perfect intelligent genes, tainted with the sin of their parent’s actions, were passed genetically. Cain and Abel were the second most intelligent people in the entire Creation of the LORD God, in the past, present or future!
This one fact, the extra-ordinary intelligence of Adam and Eve, Cain, and Abel is usually NOT applied to the interpretation of the beginnings of mankind. Rather, a cynical view of created mankind as monkey people have been developed with the “Evolution Theory” mixed together with the taunting of carnal pretend smarts, and a decidedly prejudiced view taken concerning these things. These false theories have been exploited for so long by so many, that certain assumptions are made in the study of the beginnings of mankind as it is related to Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel.
These FALSE assumptions include:
1. Adam and Eve were barely more than monkeys. This theory wrongly concludes that whether the “evolution theory” can be proven or not, there is enough genetic likeness to conclude that Adam and Eve were more beastlike than developed 21st century man. Thus, Adam and Eve had the intelligence of lower beasts, and were unable to discern the things of spirit and nature that intelligent evolved man is able to do today.
2. Since Adam and Eve were on the lowest rung of thinking man, their offspring were dumb like them. Many wrong theorists point to the stupidity of the first generations of Adam and Eve as the reason behind so many of the mistakes they made toward the LORD God. They suggest that no matter how hard Adam, Eve, Cain and Abel wanted to please the LORD God, their intelligence was so limited in a monkey-like reasoning, that there would be no way for them to know the will of Him.
3. This wrong assumption then proceeds to bring man-curses to an arrogant God that makes his people jump through hoops, without giving them knowledge of how to do it. “How could Cain have known that his sacrifice would be displeasing to the LORD God?” they ask as they attempt to prove their point that God is uncaring. It pleases Lucifer well for these charges to be brought; it is the same charges leveled against the LORD God by the serpent in the Garden of Eden that led to the fall of mankind!
Genesis 3:4-5
“And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: 5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” (Gen 3:4, 5)
These false assumptions must be removed from the understanding of a serious Bible student that is searching for the Truth. The LORD God did not create imperfection, and rely upon mankind to develop it into perfection. On the contrary, God created perfection, and it has been de-evolving since the first disobedient acts of man. Thus, Adam and Eve, Cain, and Abel were the most intelligent human beings to ever live upon this earth. When that fact is applied to the study of the Faith of Abel, the deep things of God begin to reveal themselves to those searching for the Truth of Him!
Footnotes:
Swanson, James. 1997. In Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains: Greek (New Testament), electronic ed. Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
