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Mysteries of Genesis
Chapter 3
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[Mysteries of Genesis]
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Chapter III
The Fall of Man
Genesis 3, 4, and 5
ACCORDING to the Bible, "the word of God" is the power that
created the world, as stated in Hebrews:
"By faith we understand that the worlds have been framed by
the word of God, so that what is seen hath not been made
out of things which appear."
The 1st chapter of John explains that "the Word" was in the
beginning with God and was God and that through the Word
all things were made. So it is not true to say that the
Bible is "the creative Word" of God. The Christ in Jesus is
the creative Word. Spiritual man is the Word of God, and
the Bible bears "witness of the word of God." As Jesus
taught: "Ye search the scriptures because ye think that in
them ye have eternal life; and these are they which bear
witness of me; and ye will not come to me, that ye may have
life."
Man fell because he did not keep his mind on the source of
life. He departed from spiritual consciousness and saw both
good and evil. If he had held to the one good, good is the
only thing that he could have manifested.
The Word of God is the living, creative force that is man's
spiritual mind. As Jesus said to those Jews who searched
the Scriptures for eternal life: "Ye have not his word
abiding in you."
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Those who search the Scriptures and think that through them
they will get life are, according to Jesus, ignoring the
omnipresent creative word and separating themselves from
its perfect manifestation, man.
Man is falling just to the extent that he is ignoring the
living Word in himself. Man must keep affirming the living
Word; then he will have the transformed body.
Jesus Christ is the Word demonstrated as perfect man, and
through Him we are saved from the fall. In these words we
find an epitome of both the law and the gospel.
The Bible is at the same time the simplest and the greatest
of all books. It is great because it deals with great
matters in simple ways. It eliminates the transient,
unnecessary temporalities and goes direct to the gist of
the subject.
We have not understood the depth and height of these simple
allegories and symbols sprinkled all through the Bible.
They are condensed explanations, stripped of minor details,
of the great underlying laws of existence. A mortal
description of creation would make time a necessary
element, but the author of Genesis is not caught in this
trap of mortality. "In the beginning God created."
Time is a human invention and acts as a barrier to a
broader conception of creative processes. All attempts to
find a date for the beginning of man are futile. Years are
associated with events, and when the events are past the
years go with them. States of mind make events, and new
states of mind are constantly being formed; consequently
every moment is the beginning
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of a new creation to the individual. It is of no practical
value to a man to know that the world has journeyed around
the sun six thousand or six million years since it was
formed. The important thing is to know where man stands in
relation to the creative law. The Bible puts history before
us as if we were part of every event, which we are. The one
Mind is moving in its realm of ideas "over all, and through
all, and in all."
The allegory of the Garden of Eden, of the man and the
woman and the serpent, represents the development of ideas
in individual consciousness, not the development of a
planetary system. The latter is the narrow conclusion of
the casual observer. Creation is the evolution of ideas in
mind. Creation is the development of individuality; hence
the one object of all creative processes is the making of
man.
In the development of individuality the factors described
in the allegory are active in every one of us at this
moment, and the creating is going on right now. The reason
why God created man potentially perfect and then set him
the task of proving it is found in the mysterious process
called self-identification. Man makes himself after the
pattern designed by the Great Architect. In proving his
ability to carry out the divine plan he proves himself
perfect.
As we study mind we find that every thought tends to find
expression; that the formless and the formed go hand in
hand; that you cannot have an idea in your mind without its
immediately taking form as a mental picture, which in due
course is clothed upon with substance and life, "a local
habitation and a name."
Three fundamental factors are at the basis of all
manifestation, namely intelligence, life, and substance.
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Divine intelligence reveals perfect ideas as the basis of
existence. Any conception other than this is "eating" or
appropriating thoughts that seem both good and evil. This
conception of opposites leads to all kinds of inharmonies.
It is the "serpent," "more subtle than any beast of the
field," that suggests this to man. The serpent represents
life, in which is vibration, color, sound, in fact all
sensation. Sense consciousness is another name for the
serpent. The word sensation, either written or spoken,
suggests the sinuous movement and warning hiss of the
serpent. The life idea is manifest in the sinuous shape of
the mighty lightning chain darting from sky to earth as
well as in the subtle sensations that sweep through the
soul.
The soul (Eve) is attracted by this realm of sensation and
is psychologized by its promises of pleasure. It is a
"delight to the eyes," is "good for food," is to be desired
to make one wise. When we indulge any of the sensations of
the flesh for the mere pleasure that accompanies the
indulgence, we are following the delusive suggestions of
the serpent instead of listening to the word of God. Pain,
disease, and finally death always result from such ignorant
trangression of the divine daw.
Life is a fundamental factor in all existence. The most
vital word in any or all languages is "life." Without life
there could be no existence. In man's estimation life is so
great a thing that he often uses the word "living" as
representing all existence. But life is not all of
existence. Love, substance, power, intelligence, these all
play their part; and above all is man, spiritual man.
When man riots in the realm of ideas ("birds of
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the heavens") and loses sight of God in the pursuit of his
art, he becomes unbalanced. This applies to all who are so
enamored of the outer that they lose dominion over the
inner.
When man fails to master his sensations and gives himself
up to the uncontrolled enjoyment of life, he is losing his
dominion and must suffer the consequences of transgressing
the law. Listen to the voice of wisdom and keep a steady
rein on "every beast of the field": the life forces in the
natural world.
Man should therefore be ever on the alert to maintain his
dominion and mastery over all the ideas of the mind and
sensations of the body. The wise man never gives himself up
to pleasure seeking in the world or in his body. Everything
has its use in the divine economy, and man as the master
builder should ever be seeking to carry out the divine plan.
In considering a practical application of this allegory,
let every man ask himself, Am I entangled in the coils of
the serpent of sense? The Scripture says that the serpent
was the most subtle of all the beasts of the field that the
Lord God created. That subtle sensuous feeling that thrills
you is the beast of the field. The elemental life forces of
your body are minute serpents. The reproductive elements in
your body are in the form of minute serpents. These
serpents are very obedient to your thought. By thinking
about some sense pleasure you can concentrate them in the
function of life giving, and they will blend all their
energies to give you pleasure. But remember that in so
doing you may be robbing some other function of its life,
and it will deteriorate in consequence.
The person who gives up to the pleasures of sex
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eats from the tree of life until the body is depleted in
every function; even sex itself dies of its own ignorance.
What is the remedy? Conservation, mastery, control. Man
must control every one of the elemental forces of his
being. In other words, instead of being tempted by the
devil of sensation, instead of yielding completely to the
pleasure of living, he must study the object of life as a
whole.
There are two ways of living open to man. One is Satan's
way: through experience of evil man gains by contrast a
concept of good. The other is God's way: through
consciousness of good, man sees that evil is unreal and
unnecessary. Every man and woman in the world is following
one or the other of these two courses in the development of
his individuality. Good and evil seem to be pitted against
each other in the world, but it is not necessary for man to
eat of the tree of good and evil; he need not have a
knowledge of evil in order to realize the allness of good.
If he follows God's way, which is to know the good first,
last, and always, his mind will become so charged with good
that evil will be to him totally unreal.
You will find men on every side meeting temptation in God's
way, by knowing the good, affirming the good, and living it
according to their faith in God. I know men who have never
taken a drink of whiskey. They have not found it necessary
to become intoxicated in order to experience the feeling of
sobriety. They have better dominion over their appetites
than those who have given up to Satan's way of experience.
There are men in the world who are living a pure life. They
know the joy of purity in the sex dominion. They have
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proved that dominion over sex, under the guidance of
Spirit, is a necessary part of the regeneration taught by
Jesus. "For there are eunuchs, that were so born from their
mother's womb: and there are eunuchs, that were made
eunuchs by men: and there are eunuchs, that made themselves
eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake."
Gen. 3:1-5. Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast
of the field which Jehovah God had made. And he said unto
the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of any tree
of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, Of the
fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat: 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 God, knowing good and evil.
The serpent is sense consciousness. It may also be called
desire, sensation, or the activity of life in external
manifestation apart from the divine source of life. "Woman"
represents love or feeling in the individual consciousness
and symbolizes the soul. Desire for sensation or activity
in the external first tempts the soul, the center of
feeling and emotion. The temptation of sense is at first
very subtle, entering the consciousness to stir up doubt
and slyly asking the question "Why not?"
From the center of one's being the life-giving,
ever-bearing tree of the Spirit of God spreads its branches
into every department of mind and body. Its fruits are
intelligence to the mind, substance to the body, and life
to the entire being. The warning given by Jehovah
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God was that man should not eat of (appropriate) the fruit
of this tree. In spiritual revelation we discern that man's
cardinal mistake is to appropriate the pure essence of God
in order to experience selfish sensuous pleasure.
The serpent is slyly suggesting to the soul that it indulge
in the pleasures of sense and that the experience will
result in a deeper understanding of God and His laws. The
individual can always find arguments that to his own mind
justify indulgence. This tendency may be described as
sensation beguiling man from his Garden of Eden
consciousness.
Gen. 3:6-7. And when the woman saw that the tree was good
for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that
the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of
the fruit thereof, and did eat; and she gave also unto her
husband with her, and he did eat. And the eyes of both were
opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed
fig-leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
Woman, the intuitive or feeling side of man's nature,
discerns that activity in ideas begets knowledge, but the
knowledge gained is not necessarily of a divine nature.
Love or feeling (woman) acting independently of wisdom
(man) is not reliable.
The "eyes" are the perceptive faculty of mind, and unless
the perception is established in Truth one sees or
perceives duality. When one delights in knowledge that is
less than Truth, one's capacity to receive inspiration
direct from Divine Mind is lessened or lost. Both love
(woman) and wisdom (man) become involved in a counterfeit
knowledge through "eating" ideas inappropriate
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to the divine nature.
In the Scriptures figs are representative of the "seed" of
man. This seed is in its original essence mind energy, and
when ideas are kept in contact with Divine Mind, the seed
of man is the life stream in its original purity. Man's sin
is the misappropriation of ideas, which leads to sensation.
When man and woman are joined--that is, one in sin--they
are unclothed of the garment of Truth or "naked."
When wisdom and love, man and woman, are joined in the
consciousness that God inspires all their thoughts and
acts, the gross sensations of the flesh will be "lifted
up," that is, glorified. "I, if I be lifted up from the
earth, will draw all men unto myself." This is the "holy
marriage."
Gen. 3:8-12. And they heard the voice of Jehovah God
walking in the garden in the cool of the day; and the man
and his wife hid themselves from the presence of Jehovah
God amongst the trees of the garden. And Jehovah God called
unto the man, and said unto him, Where art thou? And he
said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid,
because I was naked; and I hid myself. And he said, Who
told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the
tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?
And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me,
she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.
The "cool of the day" represents the relaxation or
emptiness that follows sense expression. After the high
tide of sensation has subsided, the voice of Jehovah God,
commonly called conscience, is heard. Man is convinced that
he has acted out of harmony with divine law. After
experiencing sensation the picture
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visualized by the conscious mind is impressed on the life
stream and sets up a subconscious tendency. Consciousness
would hide from facing this situation, taking refuge
amongst the "trees of the garden" (other sensations), but
this is not the way to redemption. Every idea is to be
dealt with. All error is forgiven when Truth is brought to
bear on it, and if this method is pursued, only
constructive thought habits will be put into activity in
the subconscious realm of mind.
Jehovah God walks continually in the garden (the body)
calling unto Adam (life), and when man raises his thoughts
and feelings Godward, he contacts the inspiration of Being
and builds again the immortal consciousness.
The soul or "woman" is the feminine aspect of man. It is
through the affections (love) that man becomes involved in
sensation. When a desire of the soul (woman) presses for
attention, man often gives way to his feelings instead of
raising them, through wisdom, to conform to higher
principles.
In Truth feeling must be disciplined and refined and desire
for sense pleasure eliminated. When consciousness is
purified through the knowledge of Truth and thought force
is established in harmonious relation to divine ideas, the
woman (feeling) will be joined with man (wisdom) and the
holy marriage (generation of divine ideas) will again be
consummated. "Therefore shall a man leave his father and
mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be
one flesh," writes the author of Genesis, and Jesus
verifies it in Matthew 19:5: "For this cause shall a man
leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife;
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and the two shall become one flesh." Indescribable joy is
the heritage of those who submit their sex relations to God
in prayer.
Gen. 3:13-14. And Jehovah God said unto the woman, What is
this thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent
beguiled me, and I did eat. And Jehovah God said unto the
serpent, Because thou hast done this, cursed art thou above
all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy
belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days
of thy life.
Man, ever seeking an excuse for sin, puts the blame on God
for endowing him with sensation. Sensation is itself a
divine creation, and all God's creation was pronounced
"good." This brings us to the root cause of the appetite
that craves stimulants and goes to excess in seeking
satisfaction. Through listening to the serpent of sense,
man goes beyond the limit set by natural or divine law and
becomes a glutton and drunkard of sensation. The remedy is
for him to take up the problem from a spiritual standpoint
in the knowledge that sensation is a mental quality that
can be satisfied only by his cultivating the spiritual side
of his nature.
When the desire for sensation leads man to dissipate the
precious fruit of the tree of life in his earthly garden,
the whole nervous system is depleted and loses its capacity
to contact the higher life current and supermind wisdom.
Then man feels a lack of something; he is "naked."
Sensation is no longer a heavenly ecstasy but a fleshly
vibration, and crawls on its "belly," eating "dust" all the
days of its life.
We often wonder why God cursed the serpent since He created
him for the very purpose of enabling man
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to have sensation. The author of Genesis discerned that
certain principles were in operation; that when the
creative life which Jehovah God breathed into man's
nostrils was taken away, there would be a fall from divine
union and man would have to suffer certain conditions that
would follow. So the curse was not imposed directly by
Jehovah but as a result of man's breaking certain laws.
Gen. 3:15-19. And I will put enmity between thee and the
woman, and between thy seed and her seed: he shall bruise
thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. Unto the woman he
said, I will greatly multiply thy pain and thy conception;
in pain 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 toil 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; 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.
The seed of the woman is from God; it is the spiritual life
that comes from the fountainhead. The seed of the serpent
is fallen sense consciousness, and there is enmity between
the two. The effect, as set forth in the text describing
the suffering common to most women, needs no metaphysical
interpretation. The interpretation usually given is that
the "seed" that bruised the head of the serpent was Jesus.
But these verses were written long before the time of
Jesus, so they must refer to certain principles. The heel
represents the activity
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of the will in the body. When one is willful the tendency
is to force the heel into the ground. When you do that you
are determined.
When you make up your mind that you are not going to be
governed by your sensations, you plunge the whole man into
spiritual consciousness, through which you are protected
from sense. All through the account of the fall of man are
found these promises of redemption, implications that man
has within him a saving consciousness.
The story of Eve symbolizes the truth that instead of
bringing forth ideas in the realm of supersubstance, the
feminine is compelled to clothe its ideas with flesh and
bring them forth in the earthly consciousness.
Having lost consciousness of God as its guiding light, the
soul turns to its highest concept of wisdom, the intellect
(husband).
The intellect, having lost contact with its inner light, is
no longer possessed of the ability to ideate direct from
God, and man is forced to cultivate the ground and toil
physically. Jesus demonstrated man's spiritual ability
when, direct from the ether as a substance base, He
produced the fishes and loaves to feed more than five
thousand persons.
Gen. 3:20. And the man called his wife's name Eve; because
she was the mother of all living.
The name Eve means "elemental life," "life," "living.'' Eve
represents the soul region of man and is the mother
principle of God in expression through which life is
evolved. The I AM (wisdom) puts feeling into what it
thinks, and so Eve (feeling) becomes the "mother of all
living." Back of feeling is the pure
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life essence of God. Adam and Eve symbolize the I AM
individualized in life and substance. They are the primal
elemental forces of Being itself.
The Hebrew verb hoh, "to be being" luminous, absolute life,
which forms the basis of the name Ihoh (Jehovah) is the
basis also of the word Eve; however, due to a slight change
in characters and a hardening of the vowels, it no longer
represents absolute life, but the struggle of elementary
existence. This indicates the struggle of the soul to
regain its perfect state of existence in the Absolute, God.
Gen. 3:21. And Jehovah God made for Adam and for his wife
coats of skins, and clothed them.
Man originally was connected with the warm currents of
spiritual life, but when these currents were broken by
thoughts of separation, he required protection from
external invading thoughts, hence the "coats of skins."
This need is evidenced by the outer skin covering the
sensitive nerves of our body and the danger of infection
when this covering is broken. When spiritual thought
becomes supreme in consciousness the "coat of skins" gives
way to the manifestation of the spiritual body spoken of by
Paul. Corruptible flesh is the manifestation of corrupt
ideas in mind. "Be ye transformed [changed in form] by the
renewing of your mind."
Gen. 3:22-24. And Jehovah 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 Jehovah 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
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at the east of the garden of Eden the Cherubim, and the
flame of a sword which turned every way, to keep the way of
the tree of life.
"Jehovah God" is Divine Mind identified as the Christ Mind
or I AM man. "Good and evil," primarily representing the
two poles of Being, are opposite but not adverse to each
other. Man developed divine consciousness--came into an
understanding of ideas in their relation to Being
itself--and when he became involved so intensely in the
feeling or negative side of his nature, he lost
consciousness of the equilibrium of the Christ Mind. Will
became independent of wisdom, and an unbalanced condition
in both mind and body was set up. And "lest he put forth
his hand [appropriating power of mind], and take also of
the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever," using the
forces of Being toward the expression of a consciousness
adverse to the Christ Mind, omnipresent wisdom closed the
door to the within until man should again enter into the
"garden" by establishing the divine consciousness, Christ,
the Way.
The "garden" symbolizes the spiritual body in which man
dwells when he brings forth thoughts after the pattern of
the original divine ideas. This "garden" is the substance
of God. "Eden" is a state of perfect relations among the
ideas of Being. The "garden of Eden" is the divine
consciousness. Having developed a consciousness apart from
his divine nature, man must "till the ground from whence he
was taken"--that is, come into the realization of God as
the substance of his being--and express ideas in harmony
with Divine Mind. Wisdom and love are joined in God, and a
perfect balance is struck in consciousness between knowing
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and feeling when man spiritualizes his thoughts.
The "east" is the within. "Cherubim" refers to protection
of the sacred life. The inner spiritual life is protected
from the outer, coaser consciousness. The "flame of a
sword" is the divine idea or Word of God. Man unites with
the inner Word or sacred life through the Christ Mind.
Gen. 4:1-2. And the man knew Eve his wife; and she
conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man
with the help of Jehovah. And again she bare his brother
Abel, and Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller
of the ground.
The story of Cain and Abel is an allegory of the movement
of certain departments of the soul or consciousness. The
name Cain means "possession." This refers directly to that
part of human consciousness which strives to acquire and
possess selfishly. Cain was a tiller of the soil, which
shows that he is of the earthly domain. The name Abel means
"breath," which places Abel in the air or spiritual realm.
The two are brothers, that is, are closely related in the
consciousness. Abel does not represent the high spiritual
consciousness but the life energy that controls the animal
functions: he was a sheep raiser. The Hindu metaphysics
would call Abel the animal soul and Cain the physical body.
Paul would call Abel the "creature" and Cain "the flesh."
Gen. 4:3-4a. And in process of time it came to pass, that
Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto
Jehovah. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his
flock and of the fat thereof.
Making sacrifices unto Jehovah is symbolic of a refining
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process that is constantly going on in consciousness.
Jehovah is the one universal Mind, which is the receptacle
of all ideas and receives all. When you have a thought of
love and good will, you set free invisible emanations that
are impregnated with these ideas. These ascend to a higher
realm and form a part of your spiritual soul, at the same
time relating you to Jehovah, who is the presiding oversoul
of the race. This is the inner meaning of the offering of
sacrifices to Jehovah.
Everything in nature is going through this refining
process, and there is a constant ascension of substance to
mind and of mind to Spirit. We are taught that a time will
finally come when the whole universe will be resolved back
into its original essence in God.
Gen. 4:4b-15. And Jehovah had respect unto Abel and to his
offering: but unto Cain and to his offering he had not
respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
And Jehovah said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is
thy countenance fallen? If thou doest well, shall it not be
lifted up? and if thou doest not well, sin coucheth at the
door; and unto thee shall be its desire; but do thou rule
over it. And Cain told 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. And Jehovah 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 cursed art thou from the ground, which
hath opened its mouth to receive thy brother's blood from
thy hand; when thou tillest the ground, it shall not
henceforth yield unto thee its strength; a fugitive and a
wanderer shalt thou be in the earth. And Cain said unto
Jehovah, My
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punishment is greater than I can bear. Behold, thou hast
driven me out this day from the face of the ground; and
from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and
a wanderer in the earth; and it will come to pass, that
whosoever findeth me will slay me. And Jehovah said unto
him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be
taken on him sevenfold. And Jehovah appointed a sign for
Cain, lest any finding him should smite him.
The thoughts of the mind are nearer to the Spirit than are
the emanations of the body. Hence the offering of Abel
(mind) was more acceptable to Jehovah than was that of Cain
(body). The killing out of all human sympathy and love by
the body selfishness is the slaying of Abel by Cain. When
the body demands possession of all the resources of mind,
it reduces existence to mere material living; it has slain
Abel, whose blood of life then cries from the earthly
consciousness (ground) to Jehovah for expression.
When the selfishness of the body has killed out the finer
impulses of the mind and reduced all the higher aspirations
to a material level of existence, there is no longer any
pleasure in living. Without the mind the body is a mere
machine with little sensation and makes no progress. Cain
thus tills the ground, but it yields him no strength.
The body feels its degradation, and those who get into this
degraded condition are usually miserable. Thus Cain's
punishment is great. He fears the vengeance of the other
faculties; fears that they may condemn the body (Cain) for
its impotency. But Jehovah, divine law, has fixed a limit
to this condemnation, and we are warned that we must not
destroy the body, however great its sins. This mark set
upon Cain to prevent his
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being slain is man's consciousness of his divine origin. No
matter how deep the body ego may be in transgressions, it
still bears the stamp of God and can never be killed out
entirely. We cannot kill life, for it is eternal; but we
can allow the body ego (Cain) to kill the consciousness of
life within the individual organism.
Every man, by his example and word, is his brother's
keeper. Jesus said, "Even so let your light shine before
men; that they may see your good works, and glorify your
Father who is in heaven." This does not nullify the innate
freedom of your brother, but rather strengthens your
ability to co-operate with the good and make it manifest in
your life.
Gen. 4:16-24. And Cain went out from the presence of
Jehovah, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden.
And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch:
and he builded a city, and called the name of the city,
after the name of his son, Enoch. And unto Enoch was born
Irad; and Irad begat Mehujael; and Mehujael begat
Methushael; and Methushael begat Lamech. And Lamech took
unto him two wives: the name of the one was Adah, and the
name of the other Zillah. And Adah bare Jabal: he was the
father of such as dwell in tents and have cattle. And his
brother's name was Jubal: he was the father of all such as
handle the harp and pipe. And Zillah, she also bare
Tubal-cain, the forger of every cutting instrument of brass
and iron: and the sister of Tubal-cain, was Naamah. And
Lamech said unto his wives: Adah and Zillah, hear my voice;
Ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech:
For I have slain a man for wounding me,
And a young man for bruising me:
If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold,
Truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold.
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After he had killed Abel, Cain went out from the presence
of Jehovah (the body consciousness lost its contact with
its spiritual source) and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the
east of Eden. After any positive action of the mind there
is always an apparent negative reaction. Nod, a name
meaning "wandering with uncertainty," suggests the
seemingly unguided activity of man's subconsciousness
during periods of sleep. The fundamental idea in the word
Nod is that of uncertainty of mind, bewilderment.
The name Enoch means "founder," "centralizer."
Metaphysically it denotes entrance into and instruction in
a new state of thought or understanding.
The name Irad means "self-leading passion," "blind
whirling." Irad represents a state in the physical or body
consciousness and organism of man, the embodiment of the
stubborn, foolish, destructive, devouring--yet transitory
and fleeting--emotions and desires that are the result of
the sense man's ignorant, confused thoughts and beliefs.
The name Mehujael means "manifestation of strength,"
"physical demonstration of power." Metaphysically Mehujael
represents the belief of the outer man that strength and
power are purely physical. This belief leads to error
manifestations and demonstrations of power and strength
that always lead to trouble of some kind; and the outer,
personal man usually attributes to God the afflictions and
griefs that are the result of his own error activities.
The name Methushael means "man of God." Metaphysically
Methushael denotes the idea that man is a spiritual and
perfect being, which is inherent even in the body
consciousness of man (Cain and his descendants
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represent the body or physical consciousness). Methushael
also denotes the error thought of death, of the
disintegration of the outer organism that unenlightened man
thinks is desirable, inevitable, of God.
The name Lamech means "strength," "health," "power."
Metaphysically Lamech represents the thought of strength
and youth that is carnal and physical.
The name Adah means "beauty or comeliness," "adornment,"
"pleasure." Metaphysically Adah symbolizes a phase of the
human soul, the love nature. Love even in limited personal
consciousness and expression has its pleasing aspect
("pleasure"). The expression of it adorns one with a
certain beauty of character and a grace and comeliness that
are lacking in persons who are wanting in love.
The name Zillah means "deep," "darkness, gloom, or shadow,"
"screened," "veiled," "protected." Zillah represents the
very great or dense obscurity of thought regarding his true
spiritual nature and capabilities that exists in the soul
of the individual who is still living wholly in the outer
or sense consciousness. Lack of true and clear
understanding at this phase of unfoldment is a protection
to the individual in that it shields or screens him from
experiences that he is not yet able to meet yet would have
to face if it were possible for the full light of Truth to
enter his consciousness at this time.
The name Jabal means "a stream," "a welling up,"
"abundance." Jabal represents the transitoriness of the
outer, physical character of the man who dwells in the
animal-strength consciousness. The negative aspects of the
name--"wanderer," "passing away," "going out"--all
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imply lack of permanence. The word cattle refers to animal
strength. Stream means the "life flow."
The name Jubal means "principle of sound," "harmony,"
"melody." Jubal "was the father of all such as handle the
harp and pipe"; in other words, metaphysically he
represents a principle of harmony, which might find
expression in musical instruments. Thus Jubal symbolizes
the natural rhythm, harmony, and joy of life that are
experienced when the soul radiates grace, beauty of thought
and character, and comeliness (Adah, mother of Jubal), and
the body is healthy and strong.
The name Tubal-cain means "diffusion of Cain," "diffusion
of worldly possessions," "flowing of centralized might."
Cain represents the sense selfishness centered by an
individual in his own physical being. Tubal-cain denotes a
broadening out of the selfishness represented by Cain, or
the same selfishness operating on a broader, more universal
base. Tubal-cain is sometimes said to have been the
inventor of the art of forging metals into cutting
instruments.
The name Naamah means "amity," "social unity," "grace,"
"sweet or pleasant." Metaphysically Naamah represents the
animal soul in pleasing, harmonious combination with youth
even though the consciousness here is of the strength and
youth of the outer man.
Gen. 4:25-26. And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a
son, and called his name Seth: For, said she, God hath
appointed me another seed instead of Abel; for Cain slew
him. And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he
called his name Enosh. Then began men to call upon the name
of Jehovah.
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The third son of Adam and Eve, Seth, was born after the
death of Abel. The name Seth means "compensation,"
"substituted"; but more particularly it carries the idea of
settled, placed, set. The root idea is that of surrounding
sympathetic forces which envelop a thing and define its
limits. Some mystics have seen in the meaning of the name a
reference to the law of destiny: that which predetermines a
thing and settles the order of its occurrence.
While man is in a sense a creature of free will, yet in a
larger sense he is a son of God, made in His image and
likeness and destined to express and demonstrate spiritual
perfection. There is in all the universe, including man, a
balancing power of good, of protection, that causes
readjustment and healing to supervene after every
transgression of law or wandering away from that which is
wholesome and true. This is set forth very clearly in Bible
symbology and history. Every time man has wandered away,
gone to some extreme, he has experienced a reaction and
been led back to a saner standpoint. It is thus that he
evolves and grows into a full consciousness of his perfect
good. His growth in Christlikeness is greatly accelerated
however when he comes into a knowledge of the Truth that
makes him free, and begins to think and act consciously and
voluntarily in harmony with it.
The spiritual idea killed out by the carnality of Cain
(represented by his slaying of Abel) was reincarnated or
reborn in another spiritual idea (identified with the
personality of Seth), as compensation for the loss of the
original concept.
"And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he
called his name Enosh. Then began men to call
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upon the name of Jehovah." The name Enosh means "a
miserable man," "mortal man." When man comes to the end of
his personal resources and sees the nothingness of all his
efforts in the outer, apart from Spirit, he begins to look
for a higher ideal to express in his life. He calls on the
name of Jehovah. It is the activity of the awakening
spiritual ideas within him (Seth) that causes him first to
realize the futility of his human efforts to better
himself, and then to recognize the one Source of all true
uplift and good.
Gen. 5. This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the
day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he
him; male and female created he them, and blessed them, and
called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.
And Adam lived a hundred and thirty years, and begat a son
in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name
Seth: and the days of Adam after he begat Seth were eight
hundred years: and he begat sons and daughters. And all the
days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years:
and he died.
And Seth lived a hundred and five years, and begat Enosh:
and Seth lived after he begat Enosh eight hundred and seven
years, and begat sons and daughters: and all the days of
Seth were nine hundred and twelve years: and he died.
And Enosh lived ninety years, and begat Kenan: and Enosh
lived after he begat Kenan eight hundred and fifteen years,
and begat sons and daughters: and all the days of Enosh
were nine hundred and five years: and he died.
And Kenen lived seventy years, and begat Mahalalel: and
Kenan lived after he begat Mahalalel eight hundred and
forty years, and begat sons and daughters: and all the days
of Kenan were nine hundred and ten years: and he died.
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And Mahalalel lived sixty and five years, and begat Jared:
and Mahalalel lived after he begat Jared eight hundred and
thirty years, and begat sons and daughters: and all the
days of Mahalalel were eight hundred and ninety and five
years: and he died.
And Jared lived a hundred sixty and two years, and begat
Enoch: and Jared lived after he begat Enoch eight hundred
years, and begat sons and daughters: and all the days of
Jared were nine hundred sixty and two years: and he died.
And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah:
and Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three
hundred years, and begat sons and daughters: and all the
days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty and five years:
and Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.
And Methuselah lived a hundred eighty and seven years, and
begat Lamech: and Methuselah lived after he begat Lamech
seven hundred eighty and two years, and begat sons and
daughters: and all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred
sixty and nine years: and he died.
And Lamech lived a hundred eighty and two years, and begat
a son: and he called his name Noah, saying, This same shall
comfort us in our work and in the toil of our hands, which
cometh because of the ground which Jehovah hath cursed. And
Lamech lived after he begat Noah five hundred ninety and
five years, and begat sons and daughters: And all the days
of Lamech were seven hundred seventy and seven years: and
he died.
And Noah was five hundred years old: and Noah begat Shem,
Ham, and Japheth.
The name Adam means "red," "ruddy," "firm." Adam is the
first man of the human race according to the Bible.
Metaphysically Adam represents the first movement in the
evolution of the man idea in its contact
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with life and substance. Adam also represents generic man;
that is, the whole human race epitomized in the typical
individual-man idea.
Adam in his original state was a spiritually illumined
creation. Spirit breathed into him continually the
necessary inspiration and knowledge to give him superior
understanding. But he began "eating" or appropriating
thoughts of two powers: God and not-God, good and evil. The
result, so the allegory runs, was that he fell away from
spiritual life and all that it involves.
Man is Spirit, absolute and unconditioned; but man forms an
Adamic consciousness into which he breathes the breath of
life; this, in its perfect expression, is the Son of man,
the expression of the divine idea. This Adam is all of what
we term soul, intellect, and body. We are continually at
work with this Adam; we can breathe into his nostrils the
breath of life, insiring him with the idea of life in all
its unlimited fullness. We can lift up this Adam by
infusing into him this sublime idea, and in no other way.
The name Seth means "substituted," "settled,"
"compensated." Seth represents the root idea of surrounding
sympathetic forces.
The name Enosh means "transient man," "mortal man." Enosh
represents the outer or body consciousness in its limited,
material, corruptible concept of the organism.
The name Kenan means "self-centered one," "possession
invading space." Kenan denotes the seemingly established
materiality of consciousness and organism. But the higher,
more spiritual thought represented by Seth is at work, and
the man, though seemingly established in materiality, is
reaching out of the lesser self
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("possession invading space") and upward toward something
that has more power to uplift, enlighten, heal, renew, and
restore than anything to be found in the material. Thus
Kenan brings forth Mahalalel.
The name Mahalalel means "mighty rising," "glory of
brightness," "praise of God." Metaphysically Mahalalel
denotes that in man which praises and blesses and glorifies
God, the good.
The name Jared means "descending," "low country."
Metaphysically Jared denotes the descent of Spirit through
praise and acknowledgment of God (Mahalalel, father of
Jared), into the seemingly earthly or physical in man ("low
ground") in order to lift man wholly into spiritual
consciousness (Enoch, son of Jared).
The name Enoch means "founder," "instructor," "repentance."
Enoch walked with God and did not die. He was translated
into the spiritual consciousness. Enoch represents entrance
into and instruction in the new life in Christ.
The name Methuselah means "man of the sword," "sting of
death." Methuselah has the record of having lived in the
earthly body longer than any other man. Metaphysically
Methuselah denotes a quick, piercing thought or word
("sword," "dart") of life, power, and oneness with God,
which while it causes a renewal of youth to a degree and
serves to lengthen one's life in the body, does not become
abiding enough in the consciousness at the Methuselah stage
of man's unfoldment to put away the appearance of death
entirely.
The name Lamech means "strong young man," "health,"
"power." Metaphysically Lamech represents the strength of
youth, the vital something in us that
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overcomes thoughts and tendencies leading to dissolution.
The vital life principle constantly inspires us from within
to keep on living. This thought of youth was in Lamech, the
father of Noah, and it found expression in Noah. The
strength and youth symbolized by the Lamech descended from
Adam through Cain is carnal and physical. The Lamech
descended from Adam through Seth, which God sent to replace
Abel, represents a higher, a more spiritual understanding.
Lamech signifies the principle of life, which not only
tends to keep one alive in the body but also brings about
the building of a new body and re-entrance into manifest
existence for each one who lets go of his consciousness of
life in the body for a time.
The name Noah means "rest," "calm," "peace." Noah was the
son of Lamech, the "strong young man." It is in the
strength of our youth that we idealize the material and
attach our spiritual enthusiasm to the things of sense. But
the law of reaction sets in: Noah (rest) finds "favor in
the eyes of Jehovah." If in the strength of your youth you
have indulged in the things of sense, the law of spiritual
equilibrium (the Lord, Jehovah) is now working itself out
in a "rest" and you may have bodily ills. Thus your race of
wicked thoughts is drowned and your earth cleansed. Noah
can also denote the obedience through which seed for a new
state of consciousness is saved. Again Noah represents the
consciousness at rest in God (Gen. 6:9). In Genesis 6:10
the sons of Noah represent typical states of mind. Shem
("renowned") represents the spiritual; Ham ("warm")
represents the physical mind, and Japheth ("extended")
represents the intellect or reason.
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