THE STUDY OF CAIN
“The Land of Nod” (part 1)
“The Anger of Cain” (part 2)
“The Fear of Cain” (part 3)
Each of the articles above are written as stand alone articles. We recommend reading the series that also includes “House of Judas,” which was the beginning of the journey.
And Cain said unto the Lord, My punishment is greater than I can bear. Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me.
Genesis 4:13-14 KJV
In “The Anger of Cain,” we explored how the emotion wroth came into the presence of Cain and possessed him. Today, we can understand on a minute scale what that amount of rage looked like. Before the return of Christ, that old evil, that accuser of God’s people, the deceiver, will bring his arsenal of Antichrist spirits to the forefront in those who worship him or choose to be influenced by him. These seducing spirits, wandering and roving like a vagabond, deceiving and playing the imposters to Truth, are leading many astray like anger, lust, jealousy, and fear. (see 1 Timothy 4:1-2) I believe that is one reason why God has sped up time in His infinite mercy. It is for our benefit and is occurring at this very moment. In His limitless wisdom and omnipresence, God has provided those in Christ the power and authority to do “even greater things” during the End Times because Christ Jesus was all-one (God, Word, Holy Spirit) here on earth and went back the Father! Jesus states it in the book of John, chapter 14:12-14.
CAIN EXPERIENCES FEAR–ANOTHER TARE FROM SATAN
In Genesis 4:14, we see that Cain was overwhelmed and terrified by what his actions toward his brother and his disregard of God’s instructions meant. He was carrying the second generation of fear. (See Adam’s fear in Genesis 3:8-10) There are no mentions of any of the ‘sins’ Cain committed within the text, yet certain truths stand out as it is read. First, his mother, Eve, named him possession or acquisition in Genesis 4:1. Secondly, Cain’s actions showed us he had multiple spirits ruling him, such as pride, envy, lust, greed, wrath, and it is even possible that gluttony and sloth were in the mix. Yes, there is no actual mention of these seven deadly sins in the Bible, but I can see at least five of them occurring in Genesis 4:8-13. Can you? Actions indeed speak louder than words.
Now, Cain would not be able to escape God’s justice, and I believe he knew it. He said his punishment was more than he could stand, and it shall come to pass, that everyone that finds me shall slay me. Cain was speaking about his fear of death, which had entered the earth after Adam ate from the tree. Cain was not equipped to withstand death because he had chosen to make a different covenant, one with the earth, cursed for Adam’s sake, and did not have integrity with the Triune God. He was out-of-order, forsaking God, experiencing an amount of emotional fear that was insurmountable. In the Garden, after the woman ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, the curses were as follows: the serpent was cursed by God for trafficking, and the ground was cursed for Adam’s sake. The woman was given a sentence but was not cursed. (See Genesis 3:16) Cain, the firstborn of sin, however, was cursed from the earth. His ability to till the ground and acquire a harvest was gone. Even though he was the heir to it, it would benefit him nothing. Rabbinic tradition speaks of wealth coming from interacting with others, yet killing will always produce lack.
Cain gains a reprieve from his death sentence, is given a mark of protection, and is granted existence and protection in the Land of Nod.
Cain now moves on to be with his wife, bare a son named Enoch, whose name means dedicated or initiated. (Not the Enoch from Genesis 5:22) To atone for his egregious crime, Cain built his city, naming it after his son, and established what his kingdom would be like. It would be far away from the presence of the Lord.
FEELING THE EMOTION
I imagine every person reading this can, at this very moment in time, summon a memory from the depths of their mind and give an example of literally shaking and being overcome by the emotion of fear. Did you feel its tinge again? You just commanded a spirit! Pretty cool, huh? Well, it’s not if you remain there! You just pulled into your conscience, occupying the same space you exist in, a spirit that does not belong there anymore, right?
There are many words used to expound upon the definition of fear, such as calamity, danger, risk, peril, hazard, and sudden attack. In the physical, this emotion can help us to move away from impending danger, let’s say, from a mama black bear grunting just on the other side of a brier patch where you can’t see it. This very event happened to my mother and me on a trip to the family farm. Our goal was to walk down the old access road, beyond the tree line, and gather some ripe wild grapes to make homemade jelly.
It was a beautiful day, and as we walked–knowing to make noise in the woods to scare any larger mammals away–we had not a care in the world. As we approached the thicket just before the woods opened to the cow pasture, we stopped in our tracks. My mother was only a few feet in front of me and about 8-10 feet away from the opening. I clearly remember that she was turned with her back to the opening, and we had stopped, talking about something. At that moment, we heard the grunt of the animal. We looked at each other for a split second, wondering if we had really heard the noise and trying to deduce if the cows were out in the field. We heard it again, and we both had the hair stand up on the back of our necks. Fear had entered our thoughts, and we were alerted of the danger just on the other side of the brier patch. We immediately got quiet, and I began to walk backward, and my mother started walking toward me. To our surprise, we were pretty calm about it, and we started walking at a faster pace, through the overgrown weeds, listening intently for the sounds of any pursuit by the animal. You could hear it breathing and grunting down the thicket line. Then, as we got further down the path, it moved to our left, just beyond our sight on the other side of the ravine. By this time, I knew my NAA .22 Long Rifle Mini-Revolver would be no match for a larger bear, and we began to run at a steady clip, jumping branches along the way and not turning back! We kept running into my uncle’s field, where his dog greeted us, and we felt a bit safer seeing it and nothing behind us.
Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
2 Corinthians 10:5
During this whole ordeal, I can tell you our hearts were racing, and the flight response was in full effect. Our sympathetic nervous system had put the gas in our engines which triggered our response to run like the wind! However, when we made it into my uncle’s garage, our bodies felt as if we had just run a 5K marathon uphill! The adrenaline that pushed us to run began to lessen, and we needed to recuperate for a few minutes, catch our thoughts, and begin to move back into a normal state of mind. Can you see how this emotion, or, for the sake of this story, this “spirit,” was able to help us remove ourselves from danger? But what happens when you don’t come out of a state of fear? Or a perceived fear that is a lie?
We can sense fear to help us, but we can also perceive dangers that are not real. Unreal perceptions, reinforced by what we allow to enter our minds regularly, can create an imbalance in the conscience. For example, misplaced fear can cause multiple seducing spirits–this is not an exhaustive list–such as phobias, anxiety, worry, terror, and suspicious or solicitous behaviors to manifest.
When the emotion of fear is balanced, it will only fall into what I’ll call the “help” category. That healthy fear is governed by the Holy Spirit. It provides safety in times of storms, giving way to saving us from impending danger and creating a reverential fear and awe of what He can do. Those who are in Christ venerate, and fear, the power of almighty God as we navigate through our existence, knowing it is the only way of success against the powers and principalities, the rulers of the air, under the command of Satan and his seducing spirits. God tells us what the order of the Kingdom is through His Word, not what the world says or what the out-of-order spirits tell us!
GOD’S WORD GIVES US EMOTIONAL STABILITY
Emotions are not only an involuntary physiological response to stimuli meant to help us navigate the physical world, but they also reside inside the part of a person’s inner self, their state of being, their field, their heart. Or you could say they live in someone’s conscience. Our thoughts, beliefs, and moral compass give way to what we allow to occupy our minds or what we command to leave. God tells us to use wisdom and be led by peace in our hearts. (Colossians 3:15) We are to refrain from allowing emotions that do not line up with the Word of God to rule our lives. Emotions can increase to such a point that our minds are overcome. When that happens, they become elevated above the mind of Christ that is supposed to rule our thoughts. (see Proverbs 23:7)
There is a freedom that comes with self-control authorized by accepting Jesus Christ. Whom the Son sets free is free indeed!
Christ liberates us from the dominion of sin, the spirits that do not line up with the Word! He makes us free to choose His way and cast down those emotional thoughts that rise up to overtake our minds and make us forget who we are in Him. A peace that passes all understanding was left for you and me to overcome in this spiritual battle, and we are the ones responsible for choosing to use that gift of Peace that conquers the devices of Satan; those out-of-order emotions, those demonic “spirits,” that rob us of our inheritance!
The story of Cain should be an example of what not to do in this life, but, ironically, if we did not have access to his plight, would we be better for it? I contend that without knowing what you are up against, you will not be able to formulate a well-laid-out plan of defeating spirits. If you are never told the truth about a situation or are fed half-truths, can you really make an informed decision? Are your decisions being made from a balanced perspective that includes the Holy Spirit, or are they only being made from what the world has offered up as “truth?” Without the infilling of the Holy Ghost, I dare say those salacious seducing spirits will be looking to set up shop where you are in an effort to influence you and your household.
My prayer is that all who read this will have a hunger to find out more about the Lord Jesus Christ and be led into all truth by the Holy Spirit. For me and my house, we shall serve the Lord.
I have one last note about the mama bear story before I go. We later found out from relatives that the mama bear had two cubs and was around 400 to 500 pounds! I am so thankful for the Holy Spirit who guided us out of harm’s way!
Feature Image: Bigstock.com | Unless otherwise attributed, scripture quotations are taken from the KING JAMES VERSION of the Bible.
