Sabbath School Department.
By G. H. Bell
1. What were the names and occupations of Adam's two sons? Gen. 4:2. 2. What offerings did they bring to the Lord? Verses 3, 4. 3. How did God regard the offering of each? Verses 4, 5. 4. What kind of spirit did Cain show when his offering was not accepted? 5. How did the Lord remonstrate with him? Verses 6, 7. 6. To what terrible act did Cain's anger finally lead him? 7. What answer did Cain make when the Lord inquired for Abel? 8. What crime did he thus add to murder? 9. What did God say to him? 10. How did God punish Cain for his wickedness? 11. What was the first reason why God would not accept Cain's offering?—Rem. 1. 12. What was the second reason? 13. Why was not Cain's offering suitable? 15. What does the blood denote? 16. In shedding the blood of the offering, what did the sinner acknowledge? 17. What did the victim offered in sacrifice represent? 18. What did the shedding of his blood represent? 19. What did the one who brought the offering show by that act? 20. Did Cain have faith in Christ, when he brought his offering? 21. Then how must his offering have appeared in the sight of God? 22. What evidence have we that Cain had been taught what to bring, and how to offer it?—Rem. 2. 23. Why did Cain murder his brother?—Rem. 3. Adam had two sons: Cain and Abel. Cain, the elder, was a tiller of the ground, but Abel was a keeper of sheep. They both brought offerings to the Lord. Cain brought of the fruit of the ground, and Abel brought a firstling of the flock. God had respect unto Abel and his offering, but unto Cain he had not respect. This made Cain very angry. The Lord remonstrated with him, telling him that if he did well, he would be accepted; but Cain was still rebellious, and manifested a spirit of hatred. One day, when he and Abel were in the field together, they began to talk, and Cain finally became so angry that he killed his brother. “And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel, thy brother? And he said, I know not, am I my brother's keeper?” And God said, “What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground.” “And now art thou cursed from the earth which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand. When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.” 1. God would not accept Cain's offering for two reasons: 1. It was not suitable, and 2. It was not offered in faith. It was not suitable, since in offering it no blood was shed, and without the shedding of blood there can be no forgiveness of sins. Heb. 9:22. The blood denotes the life, Lev. 17:11, and the sinner, in shedding the blood, took the life of the offering, and thereby acknowledged that he himself deserved to die because he had broken God's law. 1 John 3:4; Eze. 18:20. The victim offered in sacrifice represented Christ, and the shedding of his blood represented the death of Christ on the cross. The one who brought the offering showed, not only that he was guilty, and worthy of death, but that his only hope of pardon was in Christ, the great sacrifice that was to be offered as an atonement for the sins of all who believe on him. Cain did not have this faith, as we see from Heb. 11:4; so his offering was a mere mockery in the sight of God. 2. Cain must have been taught what to bring for an offering, and how to offer it, or God would not have condemned him. This was plainly intimated when God said to him, “If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted?” 3. From 1 John 3:12, we learn that Cain murdered his brother because his own deeds were evil and his brother's righteous. LESSONS FOR BIBLE CLASSES.
1. How did Daniel's vision affect his mind? Daniel 7:15. 2. What did he do? Verse 16. 3. What verses contain a record of the interpretation of the vision? 4. Did this interpretation seem to fully satisfy Daniel's mind? Verse 28. 5. When did the Lord give Daniel another vision? Dan. 8:1. 6. Where is this vision recorded? 7. Was the first, or Babylonian kingdom, represented in this vision? 8. Why was it not represented? 9. How were the other three kingdoms represented? Dan. 8:3–12. 10. What kingdom did the ram denote? V. 20. 11. What did the goat represent? V. 21. 12. We have now found the names of how many of the four kingdoms? 13. Name them in their order. 14. What can you say of the origin of the Babylonian kingdom? Gen. 10:10–13. 15. What was it called for many hundred years? 16. What was its capital? 17. What city became the capital when Nineveh was destroyed? 18. When may the kingdom of Babylon proper be said to have begun? 19. How long did this kingdom continue? 20. By whom was it overthrown?—Read the fifth chapter of Daniel. 21. How long did the Medo-Persian kingdom reign supreme? 22. By whom was it overthrown? 23. By what symbol is this great conqueror represented? Dan. 8:5, 21. 24. What is the only universal kingdom that has existed since Grecia? 25. Have we any other proof that the fourth kingdom is Rome? 26. What decree did the Roman emperor Cæsar Augustus issue? Luke 2:1. Daniel was troubled by the vision which he had, and inquired of one standing by in regard to its meaning. The interpretation given him is recorded in Dan. 7:17–27. This interpretation did not seem to fully satisfy him; for he says, “As for me Daniel, my cogitations much troubled me, and my countenance changed in me.” Dan. 7:28. So about two years after this, the Lord gave him another vision, which is recorded in the eighth chapter. At this time the Babylonian kingdom was soon to pass away, and so it was not represented in the vision; but the other three kingdoms were represented by a ram, a goat, and a horn. In the explanation of this vision, the angel plainly tells Daniel that the ram denoted Medo-Persia, and the goat Grecia. Verses 20, 21. We now have the names of the first three of the four great kingdoms,—Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Grecia. It remains to find the name of the fourth. The Babylonian kingdom had a very ancient origin.—See Gen. 10:10. For many hundred years it was known as the Assyrian kingdom, and Nineveh, a great city said to be one hundred miles in circumference, was its capital; but Nineveh was finally destroyed, and Babylon became the capital. The Babylonian kingdom proper may be regarded as beginning at this time, about 747 B. C. This kingdom continued till 538 B. C., when it was overthrown by the Medes and Persians under Cyrus. The Medo-Persian kingdom reigned supreme till overthrown by Alexander the Great, king of Grecia, about 330 years before Christ. This Alexander was represented by the notable horn between the eyes of the goat, Dan. 8:5, 21. Since the Grecian kingdom there has been but one universal empire, and that was the Roman; so the Roman kingdom must be the fourth kingdom, represented by the legs of the image, and by the great and terrible beast. Of this there is abundant proof as we shall see. In Luke 2:1, we see that the Roman emperor sent out a decree that all the world should be taxed. This shows that his kingdom was universal. G. H. BELL.