Summary of Bible references on the Rapture
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Jesus is the Sun
16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.
17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,
18 And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.
19 And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.
Who is depicted by the two great lights? Jesus rules the day, He told us He was the light of the world, and the church is the Lampstand, Jesus as the High Priest and the Holy Spirit as the oil provides the light that the lampstand is shining.
At the end of 4,000 years God made these two great lights, that is the year Jesus died and rose again, and the year that the Holy Spirit was poured out on the Church. 30 AD was the end of the 4,000 years. 2030 will be the end of the sixth day, by that day the bride will have been built and brought to the Lord. 2031 will be the start of the Millennial reign.
16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.
17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,
18 And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.
19 And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.
Who is depicted by the two great lights? Jesus rules the day, He told us He was the light of the world, and the church is the Lampstand, Jesus as the High Priest and the Holy Spirit as the oil provides the light that the lampstand is shining.
At the end of 4,000 years God made these two great lights, that is the year Jesus died and rose again, and the year that the Holy Spirit was poured out on the Church. 30 AD was the end of the 4,000 years. 2030 will be the end of the sixth day, by that day the bride will have been built and brought to the Lord. 2031 will be the start of the Millennial reign.
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.
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
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.
29 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.
30 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.
31 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.
By 2030 all dominion will be given to Christ and the Church. The earth will need to be replenished at that time, but all pretenders to the throne will have been removed.
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
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.
29 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.
30 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.
31 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.
By 2030 all dominion will be given to Christ and the Church. The earth will need to be replenished at that time, but all pretenders to the throne will have been removed.
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.
16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
The problem with AI is not that it is good or evil, the problem is that the day you eat thereof you will surely die. It is like a wheelchair. The minute you start using a wheelchair instead of walking your legs begin to die.
This is what happens to astronauts in the Space station. Without gravity their bones begin losing mass and their muscles become weak.
16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
The problem with AI is not that it is good or evil, the problem is that the day you eat thereof you will surely die. It is like a wheelchair. The minute you start using a wheelchair instead of walking your legs begin to die.
This is what happens to astronauts in the Space station. Without gravity their bones begin losing mass and their muscles become weak.
Why were they afraid?
6 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.
7 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.
8 And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.
9 And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?
10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.
When you eat from the AI tree you realize that you have just opened the door for you to be expelled from the garden. AI will kick man out. Your job was to tend the garden, AI can do that.
6 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.
7 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.
8 And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.
9 And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?
10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.
When you eat from the AI tree you realize that you have just opened the door for you to be expelled from the garden. AI will kick man out. Your job was to tend the garden, AI can do that.
The curse of AI
16 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.
Imagine having a baby today! In 20 years what job could that child possibly do? I can see someone who is 55 or 60 not being worried about AI, I could even see someone who is 45 and at the top of their field being quite hopeful. But if you have a child today? I just can't think of any scenario that works out well for that child.
17 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;
18 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.
Why is everyone who is being tempted so blind. AI will make scams and hacks explode. AI will be a powerful weapon to terrorists and nations like Iran, N. Korea, Russia and China. If you thought crimes and scams and liars and thieves were bad yesterday, you haven't seen anything yet. Think about Fake news, deep fakes and identity theft.
16 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.
Imagine having a baby today! In 20 years what job could that child possibly do? I can see someone who is 55 or 60 not being worried about AI, I could even see someone who is 45 and at the top of their field being quite hopeful. But if you have a child today? I just can't think of any scenario that works out well for that child.
17 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;
18 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.
Why is everyone who is being tempted so blind. AI will make scams and hacks explode. AI will be a powerful weapon to terrorists and nations like Iran, N. Korea, Russia and China. If you thought crimes and scams and liars and thieves were bad yesterday, you haven't seen anything yet. Think about Fake news, deep fakes and identity theft.
When did Jesus ascend into Heaven
He appeared 40 times to the disciples after the resurrection, and the 2nd time he appeared was 8 days after the resurrection. So at the very least it was 47 days after the resurrection. However, He told the disciples to "remain in Jerusalem" indicating they were there and they didn't live there. Because this was so close to Shavuot we can assume they were in Jerusalem for Shavuot. We can also assume that Pentecost was not Shavuot because there would have been no reason to tell them to remain. Jesus ascended on Shavuot which was prefigured in Moses going up the mountain and Pentecost was 50 days later, the feast of new wine. We know this because they joked that the disciples were drunk on new wine and Peter said that wasn't the case because it was only 9am (the Priest pours the new wine out on the ground at 9am to bless it, after it is blessed it can then be drunken, Peter was saying that since the Priests were just then pouring out the new wine onto the earth no one could have drunken any of it yet).
He appeared 40 times to the disciples after the resurrection, and the 2nd time he appeared was 8 days after the resurrection. So at the very least it was 47 days after the resurrection. However, He told the disciples to "remain in Jerusalem" indicating they were there and they didn't live there. Because this was so close to Shavuot we can assume they were in Jerusalem for Shavuot. We can also assume that Pentecost was not Shavuot because there would have been no reason to tell them to remain. Jesus ascended on Shavuot which was prefigured in Moses going up the mountain and Pentecost was 50 days later, the feast of new wine. We know this because they joked that the disciples were drunk on new wine and Peter said that wasn't the case because it was only 9am (the Priest pours the new wine out on the ground at 9am to bless it, after it is blessed it can then be drunken, Peter was saying that since the Priests were just then pouring out the new wine onto the earth no one could have drunken any of it yet).
Zechariah 7 Either you are salt and light or else you too will be cast out.
1 In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, the month of Kislev. 2 The people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-Melek, together with their men, to entreat the Lord 3 by asking the priests of the house of the Lord Almighty and the prophets, “Should I mourn and fast in the fifth month, as I have done for so many years?” 4 Then the word of the Lord Almighty came to me: 5 “Ask all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months for the past seventy years, was it really for me that you fasted? 6 And when you were eating and drinking, were you not just feasting for yourselves? 7 Are these not the words the Lord proclaimed through the earlier prophets when Jerusalem and its surrounding towns were at rest and prosperous, and the Negev and the western foothills were settled?’” 8 And the word of the Lord came again to Zechariah: 9 “This is what the Lord Almighty said: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. 10 Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other.’ 11 “But they refused to pay attention; stubbornly they turned their backs and covered their ears. 12 They made their hearts as hard as flint and would not listen to the law or to the words that the Lord Almighty had sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. So the Lord Almighty was very angry. 13 “‘When I called, they did not listen; so when they called, I would not listen,’ says the Lord Almighty. 14 ‘I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations, where they were strangers. The land they left behind them was so desolate that no one traveled through it. This is how they made the pleasant land desolate.’”
This chapter is amazing, very hard to believe that it is real and yet it is so real. So the fast and feast they are talking about are for the burning of the temple by Nebuchadnezzar and the murder of Gedaliah. Neither of these was established by God in the Old Covenant, rather they were the customs of man. For example there is no “Easter” or “Christmas” in the New Testament, but rather they were instituted by man later on. No doubt there is the incarnation of Jesus and the death and resurrection of Jesus so surely there were some believers who kept their hearts on the Lord. But as we know most “Christians” who “celebrate” Christmas and Easter do so for themselves, and not unto the Lord. The Lord does not appear to be upset about that, this is not a chapter on “putting Christ back into Christmas”. No the point is very different and stunning really.
The Lord says you have no problem assigning these feasts and fasts for yourselves under the pretense that you are doing it unto the Lord. However, what the Prophets say, you simply ignore. “Administer true judgement”. Oh no, we can’t do that, we let the unbelievers handle that. The New Testament tells us that all things are under the feet of Jesus, that we have been commissioned by Him to preach the gospel which is that Jesus is Lord and He is bringing in His Kingdom and we are to bring all things into submission to this glorious gospel. We are told to be light and that you don’t put anything over that light. Yet Christians are saying that we leave that up to the government? What? That is the same attitude that led to the Jews going through the holocaust. You allow the government to cover the light, you allow multinational corporations to cover that light.
Show mercy and compassion to one another. We live in a country (the US, but this would also apply to every other nation) that bullies other nations and does not show mercy and compassion. But the US has given more foreign aid than any other country? We use our foreign aid to gain power, control and to manipulate other countries. We use foreign aid to prop up puppet governments and keep the country in poverty.
Do not oppress the widow or fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. What do these four all have in common? The widow lacks a husband, the fatherless needs a father, the foreigner doesn’t understand our customs and the poor lacks the resources. We use their need to take advantage of them. Our school system is not focused on raising up highly educated people, no that is only for those with the resources to pay for tutors or send their kids to private schools. Instead the politicians use the schools budget to pay off political debts. You could easily have a much more effective and helpful school system for less money than we spend if we put an end to the politicians manipulating that budget for their own benefit. The mortgage meltdown in 2008 was a perfect example of our taking advantage of widows, fatherless, foreigners and the poor. Those selling the mortgages took advantage of these people not understanding what a balloon mortgage is. They put them into houses where they would do all they could to pay the mortgage every month for sixty months, let’s say $2,000 a month for a total of $120,000 then the mortgage balloons to $4,000 a month, they can’t pay, the bank forecloses, takes the house back but gets to keep the $120,000.
Now these very same people who set up fasts and feasts for when the temple was burned and Gedaliah was murdered, the same ones who say we can’t do anything about the houses being robbed from widows, or the poor being sent to fight bogus wars to make the elite powerful, they want to know what to do about this? Are these not the dumbest people, I mean dumb as a rock.
Wake up! We are the light and the salt. If the salt has lost its saltiness it is good for nothing but to be cast out into the dung heap. That is why the temple was burned and Gedaliah was murdered. That is why God scattered the people and they wandered in a desolate land. The corruption and crime is in your face, either you respond as light and salt or else you too will be cast out.
1 In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, the month of Kislev. 2 The people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-Melek, together with their men, to entreat the Lord 3 by asking the priests of the house of the Lord Almighty and the prophets, “Should I mourn and fast in the fifth month, as I have done for so many years?” 4 Then the word of the Lord Almighty came to me: 5 “Ask all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months for the past seventy years, was it really for me that you fasted? 6 And when you were eating and drinking, were you not just feasting for yourselves? 7 Are these not the words the Lord proclaimed through the earlier prophets when Jerusalem and its surrounding towns were at rest and prosperous, and the Negev and the western foothills were settled?’” 8 And the word of the Lord came again to Zechariah: 9 “This is what the Lord Almighty said: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. 10 Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other.’ 11 “But they refused to pay attention; stubbornly they turned their backs and covered their ears. 12 They made their hearts as hard as flint and would not listen to the law or to the words that the Lord Almighty had sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. So the Lord Almighty was very angry. 13 “‘When I called, they did not listen; so when they called, I would not listen,’ says the Lord Almighty. 14 ‘I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations, where they were strangers. The land they left behind them was so desolate that no one traveled through it. This is how they made the pleasant land desolate.’”
This chapter is amazing, very hard to believe that it is real and yet it is so real. So the fast and feast they are talking about are for the burning of the temple by Nebuchadnezzar and the murder of Gedaliah. Neither of these was established by God in the Old Covenant, rather they were the customs of man. For example there is no “Easter” or “Christmas” in the New Testament, but rather they were instituted by man later on. No doubt there is the incarnation of Jesus and the death and resurrection of Jesus so surely there were some believers who kept their hearts on the Lord. But as we know most “Christians” who “celebrate” Christmas and Easter do so for themselves, and not unto the Lord. The Lord does not appear to be upset about that, this is not a chapter on “putting Christ back into Christmas”. No the point is very different and stunning really.
The Lord says you have no problem assigning these feasts and fasts for yourselves under the pretense that you are doing it unto the Lord. However, what the Prophets say, you simply ignore. “Administer true judgement”. Oh no, we can’t do that, we let the unbelievers handle that. The New Testament tells us that all things are under the feet of Jesus, that we have been commissioned by Him to preach the gospel which is that Jesus is Lord and He is bringing in His Kingdom and we are to bring all things into submission to this glorious gospel. We are told to be light and that you don’t put anything over that light. Yet Christians are saying that we leave that up to the government? What? That is the same attitude that led to the Jews going through the holocaust. You allow the government to cover the light, you allow multinational corporations to cover that light.
Show mercy and compassion to one another. We live in a country (the US, but this would also apply to every other nation) that bullies other nations and does not show mercy and compassion. But the US has given more foreign aid than any other country? We use our foreign aid to gain power, control and to manipulate other countries. We use foreign aid to prop up puppet governments and keep the country in poverty.
Do not oppress the widow or fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. What do these four all have in common? The widow lacks a husband, the fatherless needs a father, the foreigner doesn’t understand our customs and the poor lacks the resources. We use their need to take advantage of them. Our school system is not focused on raising up highly educated people, no that is only for those with the resources to pay for tutors or send their kids to private schools. Instead the politicians use the schools budget to pay off political debts. You could easily have a much more effective and helpful school system for less money than we spend if we put an end to the politicians manipulating that budget for their own benefit. The mortgage meltdown in 2008 was a perfect example of our taking advantage of widows, fatherless, foreigners and the poor. Those selling the mortgages took advantage of these people not understanding what a balloon mortgage is. They put them into houses where they would do all they could to pay the mortgage every month for sixty months, let’s say $2,000 a month for a total of $120,000 then the mortgage balloons to $4,000 a month, they can’t pay, the bank forecloses, takes the house back but gets to keep the $120,000.
Now these very same people who set up fasts and feasts for when the temple was burned and Gedaliah was murdered, the same ones who say we can’t do anything about the houses being robbed from widows, or the poor being sent to fight bogus wars to make the elite powerful, they want to know what to do about this? Are these not the dumbest people, I mean dumb as a rock.
Wake up! We are the light and the salt. If the salt has lost its saltiness it is good for nothing but to be cast out into the dung heap. That is why the temple was burned and Gedaliah was murdered. That is why God scattered the people and they wandered in a desolate land. The corruption and crime is in your face, either you respond as light and salt or else you too will be cast out.
Consider the Curse of Cain
9 And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper?
10 And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground.
11 And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand;
12 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.
Cain was jealous and he killed his brother. Many of us would cry out for the death penalty, but God is much wiser. We bless God with the fruit of our Labor and He in turn blesses us. But imagine you see someone who is being blessed by God and his brother betrays him and kills him because he is jealous of him. No one is going to want anything to do with that person. Even the earth will refuse to yield unto him her strength, he will become a fugitive from the law, hiding, changing his name, trying not to be found, and so he will become a vagabond. No family, no friends, no one he can spend time with or talk to. Because if anyone gets to know him they will find out who he is. So the rest of your life you get to see what you have lost. This gives you a chance to repent and confess your sins.
Now consider the US. At first we were a charitable nation, giving our best to help others and to bless them. The earth loved us and gave. us her strength. But then our brother Cain got in power, he was jealous and also stingy. He thought why do we give these poor our best, give them the stuff we don't want. Soon we were not held in high regard anymore and instead of changing Cain took it to the next level. He manipulates people for his own advantage. We send $100 billion to Ukraine, mostly weapons we won't use anymore, but also we manipulate the Ukrainians to fight and die in a war against Russia, killing all the men, and to make it even worse we set up a money laundry operation through FTX so that billions that we sent to Ukraine in cash comes back to the US to pay for political campaigns in 2022. It was murder.
But what happens, Russia investigates the bioweapons labs in Ukraine and has evidence that the pandemic was a US bioweapon, and the ground begins crying out over the blood from the vaccine that we foisted on the world. The world will hate the US, destroy our land, and those that escape will be fugitives and vagabonds. Many will die, but those who don't will get a very big lesson on what we had that we lost, and how blessing God is so much better than cursing man.
9 And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper?
10 And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground.
11 And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand;
12 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.
Cain was jealous and he killed his brother. Many of us would cry out for the death penalty, but God is much wiser. We bless God with the fruit of our Labor and He in turn blesses us. But imagine you see someone who is being blessed by God and his brother betrays him and kills him because he is jealous of him. No one is going to want anything to do with that person. Even the earth will refuse to yield unto him her strength, he will become a fugitive from the law, hiding, changing his name, trying not to be found, and so he will become a vagabond. No family, no friends, no one he can spend time with or talk to. Because if anyone gets to know him they will find out who he is. So the rest of your life you get to see what you have lost. This gives you a chance to repent and confess your sins.
Now consider the US. At first we were a charitable nation, giving our best to help others and to bless them. The earth loved us and gave. us her strength. But then our brother Cain got in power, he was jealous and also stingy. He thought why do we give these poor our best, give them the stuff we don't want. Soon we were not held in high regard anymore and instead of changing Cain took it to the next level. He manipulates people for his own advantage. We send $100 billion to Ukraine, mostly weapons we won't use anymore, but also we manipulate the Ukrainians to fight and die in a war against Russia, killing all the men, and to make it even worse we set up a money laundry operation through FTX so that billions that we sent to Ukraine in cash comes back to the US to pay for political campaigns in 2022. It was murder.
But what happens, Russia investigates the bioweapons labs in Ukraine and has evidence that the pandemic was a US bioweapon, and the ground begins crying out over the blood from the vaccine that we foisted on the world. The world will hate the US, destroy our land, and those that escape will be fugitives and vagabonds. Many will die, but those who don't will get a very big lesson on what we had that we lost, and how blessing God is so much better than cursing man.
Philo -- the meaning of Cain and his descendants
https://catholicgnosis.wordpress.com/2018/04/27/cain-city-descendants/
Finally, to avoid confusion, please note that in Genesis there are two Enochs, two Methuselahs and two Lamechs; in each case one is bad (Cain’s lineage) and one is good (Seth’s lineage). Here Philo’s interest is with the bad line.
Now we’ll proceed to Philo’s allegoresis verse by verse. As much as possible we’ll use his own words. Unless otherwise indicated all paragraph numbers refer to On the Posterity of Cain.
~*~
Genesis 4 (KJV)
[16] And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden.
Land of Nod (22, 32; Cher. 12f.)
Nod is similar to the Hebrew word for “toss.” “Eden” symbolizes an opposite mental condition characterized by peace, joy and right reason.
https://catholicgnosis.wordpress.com/2018/04/27/cain-city-descendants/
Finally, to avoid confusion, please note that in Genesis there are two Enochs, two Methuselahs and two Lamechs; in each case one is bad (Cain’s lineage) and one is good (Seth’s lineage). Here Philo’s interest is with the bad line.
Now we’ll proceed to Philo’s allegoresis verse by verse. As much as possible we’ll use his own words. Unless otherwise indicated all paragraph numbers refer to On the Posterity of Cain.
~*~
Genesis 4 (KJV)
[16] And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden.
Land of Nod (22, 32; Cher. 12f.)
Nod is similar to the Hebrew word for “toss.” “Eden” symbolizes an opposite mental condition characterized by peace, joy and right reason.
IT IS worth while to notice the country also into which he betakes himself when he has left the presence of God: it is the country called ‘Tossing’ In this way the lawgiver indicates that the foolish man, being a creature of wavering and unsettled impulses, is subject to tossing and tumult, like the sea lashed by contrary winds when a storm is raging, and has never even in fancy had experience of quietness and calm. And as at a time when a ship is tossing at the mercy of the sea, it is capable neither of sailing nor of riding at anchor, but pitched about this way and that it rolls in turn to either side and moves uncertainly swaying to and fro; even so the worthless man, with a mind reeling and storm-driven, powerless to direct his course with any steadiness, is always tossing, ready to make shipwreck of his life. (22; cf. DeCherubim. 12f.)
Having now shown each side of the picture, calm in a good man, restlessness in a foolish one, let us devote our attention to the sequel. The lawgiver says that Naid, ‘Tumult,’ to which the soul migrated, is over against Eden. ‘Eden’ is a symbolic name for right and divine reason, and so it is literally rendered ‘luxuriance.’ For right reason above all others finds its delight and luxury in the enjoyment of good things pure and undiluted, yea complete and full, while God the Giver of wealth rains down His virgin and deathless boons. And evil is by nature in conflict with good, unjust with just, wise with foolish, and all forms of virtue with all forms of vice. That is the meaning of Naid being over against Eden. (32)
The meaning of Cain's descendants (2)
[17] 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.
Cain’s wife (33−39)
Philo interprets “Enoch” to mean “thy gift,” here understood as “my gift to myself.” He connects this with the preceding discussion of Cain’s wife, viz. the opinion that ones sensations and thoughts belong to ones ego.
A characteristic of egoistic thinking is that one builds a veritable city of false beliefs, wrong opinions and supporting rationalizations, populated by inauthentic dispositions.
[17] 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.
Cain’s wife (33−39)
‘WIFE’ … [means] the opinion which the impious man (habitually) assumes touching (all) matters. … Of what sort then is an impious man’s opinion? That the human mind is the measure of all things. (34f.)
For if man is the measure of all things, all things are [incorrectly seen as] a present and gift of [ones own] mind … including … thought, resolves, counsels, forethought, comprehension, acquisition of knowledge, skill in arts and in organizing, other faculties too many to recount. Why … deliver … discourses about holiness and honouring God … seeing that you have with you the mind [that presumes] to take the place of God? (36f.)
Enoch (41−43; cf. 35f.)For if man is the measure of all things, all things are [incorrectly seen as] a present and gift of [ones own] mind … including … thought, resolves, counsels, forethought, comprehension, acquisition of knowledge, skill in arts and in organizing, other faculties too many to recount. Why … deliver … discourses about holiness and honouring God … seeing that you have with you the mind [that presumes] to take the place of God? (36f.)
Philo interprets “Enoch” to mean “thy gift,” here understood as “my gift to myself.” He connects this with the preceding discussion of Cain’s wife, viz. the opinion that ones sensations and thoughts belong to ones ego.
THOSE who assert that everything that is involved in thought or perception or speech is a free gift of their own soul, seeing that they introduce an impious and atheistic opinion, must be assigned to the race of Cain, who, while incapable even of ruling himself, made bold to say that he had full possession of all other things as well. (42)
Builded a city (49−62)A characteristic of egoistic thinking is that one builds a veritable city of false beliefs, wrong opinions and supporting rationalizations, populated by inauthentic dispositions.
NOW, every city needs for its existence buildings, and inhabitants, and laws. Cain’s buildings are demonstrative arguments. With these, as though fighting from a city-wall, he repels the assaults of his adversaries, by forging plausible inventions contrary to the truth. His inhabitants are the wise in their own conceit, devotees of impiety, self-love, arrogance, false opinion: men ignorant of real wisdom, who have reduced to an organized system ignorance, lack of learning and of culture, and other pestilential things akin to these. His laws are various forms of lawlessness and injustice, unfairness, licentiousness, audacity, senselessness, self-will, immoderate indulgence in pleasures … Of such a city every impious man is found to be an architect in his own miserable soul, until such time as God takes counsel (Gen. 11:6), and brings upon their sophistic devices a great and complete confusion. (52f.)
The Meaning of Cain's descendants (3)
[18] And unto Enoch was born Irad: and Irad begat Mehujael: and Mehujael begat Methusael: and Methusael begat Lamech.
Irad (66−68)
This descendant of Cain is not to be confused with the long-lived Methuselah of Seth’s lineage in Genesis 5.
[18] And unto Enoch was born Irad: and Irad begat Mehujael: and Mehujael begat Methusael: and Methusael begat Lamech.
Irad (66−68)
THE SON of Enoch is named Gaidad [Irad], which means ‘a flock.’ Such a name follows naturally upon his father’s name. For it was fitting that the man who deems himself beholden to mind, which is incapable of comprehending its own nature, should beget irrational faculties [dunameis], collected into a flock. (66)
Now every flock that has no shepherd over it necessarily meets with great disasters, owing to its inability by itself to keep hurtful things away and to choose things that will be good for it. (67)
For when the protector, or governor, or father, or whatever we like to call him, of our complex being, namely right reason (orthos logos), has gone off leaving to itself the flock within us, the flock itself being left unheeded perishes, and great loss is entailed upon its owner, while the irrational and unprotected creature, bereft of a guardian of the herd to admonish and discipline it, finds itself banished to a great distance from rational and immortal life. (68)
Mehujael (Mahujael, Maiel; 69−72)Now every flock that has no shepherd over it necessarily meets with great disasters, owing to its inability by itself to keep hurtful things away and to choose things that will be good for it. (67)
For when the protector, or governor, or father, or whatever we like to call him, of our complex being, namely right reason (orthos logos), has gone off leaving to itself the flock within us, the flock itself being left unheeded perishes, and great loss is entailed upon its owner, while the irrational and unprotected creature, bereft of a guardian of the herd to admonish and discipline it, finds itself banished to a great distance from rational and immortal life. (68)
THIS IS why Gaidad is said to have a son Maiel, whose name translated is ‘away from the life of God.’ For since the flock is without reason, and God is the Fountain of reason, it follows that he that lives an irrational life has been cut off from the life of God. (69)
Methusael (Methuselah; 73, 44f., cf. 41)This descendant of Cain is not to be confused with the long-lived Methuselah of Seth’s lineage in Genesis 5.
WHAT issue awaits him who does not live according to the will of God, save death of the soul? And to this is given the name Methuselah, which means (as we saw) ‘a dispatch of death.’ Wherefore he is son of Mahujael, of the man who relinquished his own life, to whom dying is sent, yea soul-death, which is the change of soul under the impetus of irrational passion. (73f.)
He who receives [this] death is an intimate of Cain, who is ever dying to the way of life directed by virtue. (45)
Lamech (74−79; 46−48; cf. 41)He who receives [this] death is an intimate of Cain, who is ever dying to the way of life directed by virtue. (45)
WHEN the soul has conceived this passion, it brings forth with sore travail-pangs incurable sicknesses and debilities, and by the contortion brought on by these it is bowed down and brought low; for each one of them lays on it an intolerable burden, so that it is unable even to look up. To all this the name ‘Lamech’ has been given, which means ‘humiliation,’ [or ‘brought low’] … a low and cringing passion being [an] offspring of the soul’s death, [and] a sore debility child of irrational impulse. (74)
The Meaning of Cain's descendants (4)
[19] And Lamech took unto him two wives: the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah.
[20] And Adah bare Jabal: he was the father of such as dwell in tents, and of such as have cattle.
[21] And his brother’s name was Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ.
Adah (79−83)
For Philo, Ada means “witness” — in the sense of self-witness and attention directed to ones thoughts and acts.
Zillah (Sella; 112−113)
[19] And Lamech took unto him two wives: the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah.
[20] And Adah bare Jabal: he was the father of such as dwell in tents, and of such as have cattle.
[21] And his brother’s name was Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ.
Adah (79−83)
For Philo, Ada means “witness” — in the sense of self-witness and attention directed to ones thoughts and acts.
THE LOW and grovelling Lamech marries as his first wife Ada, which means ‘Witness.’ He has arranged the marriage for himself, for he fancies that the prime good for a man is the smooth movement and passage of the mind along the line of well-aimed projects, with nothing to hinder its working towards easy attainment. ‘For what,’ says he, ‘could be better than that one’s ideas, purposes, conjectures, aims, in a word one’s plans, should go, as the saying is, without a limp, so as to reach their goal without stumbling, understanding being evidenced in all the particulars mentioned?’ (79)
If a man has used a natural aptness and readiness not only for good and worthy ends, but also for their opposites … let him be deemed unhappy. … for verily it is a desperate misfortune for the soul to succeed in all things which it attempts, although they be utterly base. (81)
Therefore, Ο mind, have nothing to do with Ada, who bears witness to (the success of) worthless things, and is borne witness to (as helping) in the attempts to accomplish each of them. (83)
Jabal (Jobel; 83−99)If a man has used a natural aptness and readiness not only for good and worthy ends, but also for their opposites … let him be deemed unhappy. … for verily it is a desperate misfortune for the soul to succeed in all things which it attempts, although they be utterly base. (81)
Therefore, Ο mind, have nothing to do with Ada, who bears witness to (the success of) worthless things, and is borne witness to (as helping) in the attempts to accomplish each of them. (83)
IF you shall think well to have her [Ada] for a partner, she will bear to you a very great mischief, even Jobel (Gen. iv. 20), which signifies ‘one altering.’ For if you delight in the witness borne to (the goodness of) everything that may present itself, you will desire to twist everything and turn it round, shifting the boundaries fixed for things by nature. (83)
The man who removes the boundaries of the good and beautiful both is accursed and is pronounced to be so with justice. These boundaries were fixed … on principles which are divine and are older than we and all that belongs to earth. This has been made clear by the Law, where it solemnly enjoins upon each one of us not to adulterate the coinage of virtue, using these words: ‘thou shalt not remove thy neighbour’s boundaries, which thy fathers set up.’ (Deut. 19:14) (88f.)
How, then, should Jobel escape rebuke, whose name when turned into Greek is ‘altering’ the natures of things or making them other than they are? For he changed the forms of wisdom and endurance and justice and virtue in general, forms of Godlike beauty, substituting contrary shapes of folly, intemperance, injustice, and all wickedness, obliterating the shapes that had been impressed before. (93)
Jubal (100−111)The man who removes the boundaries of the good and beautiful both is accursed and is pronounced to be so with justice. These boundaries were fixed … on principles which are divine and are older than we and all that belongs to earth. This has been made clear by the Law, where it solemnly enjoins upon each one of us not to adulterate the coinage of virtue, using these words: ‘thou shalt not remove thy neighbour’s boundaries, which thy fathers set up.’ (Deut. 19:14) (88f.)
How, then, should Jobel escape rebuke, whose name when turned into Greek is ‘altering’ the natures of things or making them other than they are? For he changed the forms of wisdom and endurance and justice and virtue in general, forms of Godlike beauty, substituting contrary shapes of folly, intemperance, injustice, and all wickedness, obliterating the shapes that had been impressed before. (93)
‘JUBAL’ is akin in meaning to ‘Jobel,’ for it means ‘inclining now this way now that,’ and it is a figure for the uttered word, which is in its nature brother to mind. It is a most appropriate name for the utterance of a mind that alters the make of things, for its way is to halt between two courses, swaying up and down as if on a pair of scales, or like a boat at sea, struck by huge waves and rolling towards either side. For the foolish man has never learned to say anything sure or well-grounded. (100)
[He swerves aside from the] royal road, which we have just said to be true and genuine philosophy, is called in the Law the utterance and word of God. (102)
Jubal is the father of musical instruments because music, like foolish thought and speech, has infinitely many variations:[He swerves aside from the] royal road, which we have just said to be true and genuine philosophy, is called in the Law the utterance and word of God. (102)
RIGHT well then is Jubal, the man who alters the tone and trend of speech, spoken of as the father of psaltery and harp, that is of music. (111)
[22] And Zillah, she also bare Tubal-cain, an instructer of every artificer in brass and iron: and the sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.Zillah (Sella; 112−113)
LET us contemplate Lamech’s other wife Sella (Zillah) and her offspring. Well, ‘Sella’ means ‘a shadow,’ and is a figure of bodily and external goods, which in reality differ not a whit from a shadow. (112)
Tubal (Thobel; 114−119)OF this shadow and its fleeting dreams a son is born, to whom was given the name of Thobel, meaning ‘all together.’ For it is a fact that those who have obtained health and wealth … think that they have secured absolutely all things. (115)
He goes on to say: This man was a wielder of the hammer, a smith in brass and iron work. For the soul that is vehemently concerned about bodily pleasures or the materials of outward things, is being ever hammered on an anvil, beaten out by the blows of his desires with their long swoop and reach. Always and everywhere you may see those who care for their bodies more than anything else setting lines and snares to catch the things they long for. You may see lovers of money and fame dispatching on expeditions to the ends of the earth and beyond the sea the frenzied craving for these things. They draw to them the produce of every region of the globe, using their unlimited lusts as nets for the purpose, until at last the violence of their excessive effort makes them give way, and the counter pull throws down headlong those who are tugging. All these people are war-makers, and that is why they are said to be workers in iron and bronze, and these are the instruments with which wars are waged. (116f.)
It is an invariable rule that broils and factions arise among men scarcely ever about anything else than what is in reality a shadow. For the lawgiver [Moses] named the manufacturer of weapons of war, of brass and iron, Thobel, son of Sella the shadow… . For he was aware that every naval or land force chooses the greatest dangers for the sake of bodily pleasures or to gain a superabundance of things outward, no one of which is proved sure and stable by all-testing time; for those things resemble pictures that are mere superficial delineations of solid objects, and fade away of themselves. (119)
Tubal, who signifies a state of complete inner strife and self-tyranny, is the culmination of the entire line of Cain: hence his full name, Tubal-cain. His association with bronze and iron is reminiscent of the Bronze and Iron races in Hesiod’s Ages of Man myth (Works and Days 109–201), another allegory of the soul’s progressive descent.He goes on to say: This man was a wielder of the hammer, a smith in brass and iron work. For the soul that is vehemently concerned about bodily pleasures or the materials of outward things, is being ever hammered on an anvil, beaten out by the blows of his desires with their long swoop and reach. Always and everywhere you may see those who care for their bodies more than anything else setting lines and snares to catch the things they long for. You may see lovers of money and fame dispatching on expeditions to the ends of the earth and beyond the sea the frenzied craving for these things. They draw to them the produce of every region of the globe, using their unlimited lusts as nets for the purpose, until at last the violence of their excessive effort makes them give way, and the counter pull throws down headlong those who are tugging. All these people are war-makers, and that is why they are said to be workers in iron and bronze, and these are the instruments with which wars are waged. (116f.)
It is an invariable rule that broils and factions arise among men scarcely ever about anything else than what is in reality a shadow. For the lawgiver [Moses] named the manufacturer of weapons of war, of brass and iron, Thobel, son of Sella the shadow… . For he was aware that every naval or land force chooses the greatest dangers for the sake of bodily pleasures or to gain a superabundance of things outward, no one of which is proved sure and stable by all-testing time; for those things resemble pictures that are mere superficial delineations of solid objects, and fade away of themselves. (119)
The Meaning of Cain's descendants (5)
Naamah (Noeman; 120−123)
In verses 23 and 24, the slain young man whom Lamech refers to is Abel, the disposition of piety, innocence and childlike trust in God, whose death is brought to completion by the line of Cain.
So much for Philo’s exegesis of Cain’s progeny and how they relate to the moral/cognitive descent of the psyche.
Naamah (Noeman; 120−123)
WE are told that the sister of Thobel was Noeman, meaning ‘fatness’; for when those, who make bodily comfort and the material things of which I have spoken their object, succeed in getting something which they crave after, the consequence is that they grow fat. Such fatness I for my part set down not as strength but as weakness, or it teaches us to neglect to pay honour to God, which is the chiefest and best power of the soul. (120)
From this we see that the Divine word dwells and walks among those for whom the soul’s life is an object of honour, while those who value the life given to its pleasures, experience good times that are transient and fictitious. These, suffering from the effects of fatness and enjoyment spreading increasingly, swell out and become distended till they burst; but those who are fattened by wisdom which feeds souls that are lovers of virtue, acquire a firm and settled vigour, of which the fat taken from every sacrifice to be offered with the whole burnt offering is a sign. For Moses says all the fat is a due for ever to the Lord (Lev. 3:16f.), showing that richness of mind is recognized as God’s gift and appropriated to Him. (122f.)
Final RemarksFrom this we see that the Divine word dwells and walks among those for whom the soul’s life is an object of honour, while those who value the life given to its pleasures, experience good times that are transient and fictitious. These, suffering from the effects of fatness and enjoyment spreading increasingly, swell out and become distended till they burst; but those who are fattened by wisdom which feeds souls that are lovers of virtue, acquire a firm and settled vigour, of which the fat taken from every sacrifice to be offered with the whole burnt offering is a sign. For Moses says all the fat is a due for ever to the Lord (Lev. 3:16f.), showing that richness of mind is recognized as God’s gift and appropriated to Him. (122f.)
In verses 23 and 24, the slain young man whom Lamech refers to is Abel, the disposition of piety, innocence and childlike trust in God, whose death is brought to completion by the line of Cain.
So much for Philo’s exegesis of Cain’s progeny and how they relate to the moral/cognitive descent of the psyche.