By Kathy L McFarland
The Faith of Enoch is captured perfectly in His prophecy against those who walked in the Way of Cain, ran after the Error of Balaam, and perished in the Gainsaying of Core. (Jude 1:11)
To understand the nature of most mankind during the time of Enoch to provoke prophesies spoken by him, we will study each error of mankind separately.
The Way of Cain was revealed in his arrogant offering to the LORD God on that fateful day, when he demanded God to worship him and his efforts. When the LORD God refused, and gave a blessing to the offering of his brother Abel, Cain murdered Abel.
Genesis 4:8
“And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.” (Genesis 4:8)
This begin the disintegration of mankind, as the offspring of Cain and the generations to come intermingled together, and developed the Way of Cain even further.
Have you ever heard of the philosophy where a butterfly’s wings in the jungles of South America have the potential of creating a hurricane across the oceans, depending upon the conditions in nature at the time of flight? The “Way of Cain” reflects this philosophy perfectly. One man gone terribly wrong because of his self-focused efforts to glorify his own works from the cursed ground, coupled with the sinful de-evolution of mankind, resulted in very wicked generations coming forth from his emulating his ways.
The nature of the wicked generations that evolved from this error in the Way of Cain is described dramatically in Jude 1:6:
Jude 1:4
“For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Jude 1:4)
The Way of Cain condemned one man and removed him from the presence of the LORD God. Cain’s way evolved into a total denial of the LORD God and Lord Jesus Christ, which became the profane error of the wicked mankind that followed after him.
Cain was cursed from the earth after he murdered his brother Abel.
Genesis 4:9-13
“And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper? And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground. And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand; When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth. And Cain said unto the LORD, My punishment is greater than I can bear.” (Gen 4:9-13)
This condemnation was ordained upon those whom followed his ways, which in turn, which eventually crept into the spiritual lives of the Faithful followers of Jesus Christ. That is how powerful the Error of Cain became! It extended through generation after generation, finally reaching the point to cause the denial of both God and Christ!
The “Way of Cain” produced “ungodly men.” The Greek Word used to describe this type of men is “asebes.” “Asebes” is the destitute lack of reverential awe towards the LORD God. Those who are ungodly, condemn God, and are impious. “Impious” means a total lack of respect toward the LORD God.
Remember your study of the Faith of Abel? Abel offered the choicest life created by the LORD God, back to its maker. It was the only gift worthy to be given by the LORD God; man was unable to create anything greater to God, and Abel knew it would be disrespectful for him to even try.
Cain, on the other hand, lacked reverential awe towards the LORD God. He created fruits from his own labors and demanded the LORD God to accept them. This lack of respect toward the LORD God is termed “ungodly”, and perfectly represented by the Greek word “asebes.” And guess what this disrespect of God led to! Scripture says that it turned the grace of our LORD God into lasciviousness!”
Lasciviousness means lustfulness, lewdness and lechery! The Greek word for this is “aselegia,” and identifies the absolute outrageous and shameless insolence that those who follow the Way of Cain hold toward the LORD God. The grace given to Cain by the LORD God was changed in the most wicked way, when he decided to elevate himself above God. Today, we see the result of that lewdness in the behaviors of the carnal, wicked people in the world. Our televisions, games, speech, politics and religions often reflect that lewd and lustful behavior that first developed as a direct result of the Way of Cain!
This lewdness eventually led to the denial of the LORD God and the Lord Jesus Christ. It was that problem that first began with the Way of Cain, and it was one of three problems that caused wickedness to run rampant during the time of Enoch’s prophesy.
Jude 1:14-15
“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.” (Jude 1:14-15)
We will study the other two problems next, that together caused most of mankind to become ungodly complainers that walked about shooting their mouths off against the LORD God and His people, and brought the promise of judgment to come to bear against them.
The Ways of Cain started the process, but the Error of Balaam, and the Gainsaying of Core added to the problem to create a horrible and wicked mess.
Jude 1:11-16
“Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core. These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever. 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. These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men’s persons in admiration because of advantage.” (Jude 1:11-16)
