Prelude to Judgment (Genesis 6:5-7)

“Only evil continually.” Now that is a perfect description of unredeemed men and women of any era—including our own. Human beings are not basically good. Because of the curse brought about by Adam’s sin (see Gen. 3 and Rom. 5), human beings are basically bad—completely sinful. How can I say such a thing? We can look around the world and see good things being attempted and noble tasks being achieved. But the problem is not simply with our attempts and our achievements. The problem is with our hearts. Until we come to bow the knee to Jesus Christ as King of the universe, our own agendas remain on the thrones of our hearts—we are without God in the world. And that means that even our best acts are godless acts. And for all the good that homeless shelters, cancer research, or AIDS orphanages will do on this earth, those efforts will not carry over to eternity unless they are done in the name of the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

To put it another way: if our hearts are godless, then even our most altruistic deeds are filthy rags because they are done by our own self-effort and not through the strength that God supplies. And that, even in the most loving and giving among us, leads to secret pride: “Look at what I achieved”; “Look at who we helped”; “Look at what mankind has accomplished.” And in that kind of thinking, subtle or unspoken as it may be, there is a robbery of the glory of God who made us and who alone gives us the ability to accomplish what is meaningful.

Some of us do “only evil continually” by blatantly rebelling against God. Others of us do “only evil continually” by failing to acknowledge God as the giver of every good and perfect gift—including the gifts we ourselves give to others. But both lifestyles are equally godless and, as we shall see, worthy of judgment.

Global Judgment

The water covered the entire earth: “And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered.” Genesis 7:19

All people and animals not on the ark died: “And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man: All in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, died. And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark.” Genesis 7:21-23

Arnold Murray doesn’t agree, but Peter does: “Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.” 1 Peter 3:20

Here’s a couple of great articles for more on the flood:
http://www.icr.org/article/842/ “Why Christians Should Believe in a Global Flood”

http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/nab/really-a-flood-and-ark

There are many comments on the old post, but none actually addressed a question that I asked. What does “Kenite” mean? On his “Answer to Critics” page, Murray states:

What about the use of the word Kenites? It is a Hebrew word that has only one meaning, “sons of Cain.”

Strong’s Concordance and the Brown-Driver-Briggs’ lexicon do not give this definition. None of the commenters addressed this issue (other than Kendall Rycroft, who simply says that I am wrong), this is probably because they just pasted in comments they previously posted on a “I-know-Murray-is-right-because-I-can-look-up-words-in-Strong’s-concordance-and-anyone-who-criticizes-him-is-Satan’s-seed” forum (e.g., Bill). Strong’s concordance is a valuable tool for Bible study, by the way, it is not my intent to disparage it.  I plan on addressing its value in my upcoming post of Arnold Murray.

To help me with the next post, I would like to ask two questions for my commenters.

1. Could you name a source (other than Arnold Murray) for the word “Kenites” meaning “sons of Cain”?
2. Are there any printed materials or materials that Arnold Murray has written online?

I asked for printed materials because I do not have the time or desire to go through a lot of audio messages. I will be glad to compare Murray’s own words with the teaching of the Scriptures. I realize there is some information on his website, but there is really not much there. Any additional sources would be appreciated.

About commenting:

• If this is your first comment, I will have to approve it before it is public. If you have had comments approved in the past, it will show up immediately. 
• I am looking for resources in this comment thread, not arguments. If you think Murray is right, then you can post your arguments on my next post about him.
• Don’t expect me to answer comments on this post. I will on the next and I’ll give you a chance to defend Murray…

Thanks in advance!

“And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain…” so begins Genesis 4. That seems pretty plain – Cain is born from a union of Adam and Eve. I have recently come into contact with folks that do not believe this! Their teaching is called “the serpent seed doctrine.” In brief, the doctrine teaches that Eve’s sin in the garden was not disobedience but sexual contact with the serpent! As a result of this sexual contact with the serpent Cain was born. My initial reaction to this peculiar theology was “You’ve got to be kidding me!” Since I interact regularly with some folks who believe this, I thought I would investigate it in this post. The truth about the serpent’s seed is found in Genesis 3:15, where the first reference is made to the coming Redeemer Who will destroy Satan and his seed. In John 8:44, Jesus makes it clear that unbelievers are serpent’s seed: “Ye are of your father the devil…” This new “serpent seed doctrine” comes from the serpent himself (1 Timothy 4:1).

One of Satan’s messengers for this false doctrine is Arnold Murray of the Shepherd’s Chapel. Murray teaches that the Kenites are the descendants of Cain. According to Murray, the Kenites survived the global flood and continue to this day (source: www.carm.org). Obviously, Murray must not believe what God’s Word says concerning the flood (Genesis 7:21-22). He states plainly of Kenites on the Shepherd’s Chapel website:

It is a Hebrew word that has only one meaning, “sons of Cain.”

This Hebrew definition was apparently concocted by Murray. Upon examining Strong’s Concordance, the word means “a Kenite or member of the tribe of Kajin.” The Brown-Driver-Briggs’ Definitions gives this meaning: “Kenite = “smiths” 1) the tribe from which the father-in-law of Moses was a member and which lived in the area between southern Palestine and the mountains of Sinai.” Two standard Hebrew lexical references do not have the “only one meaning” of the word according to Arnold Murray.

The only way this wacky doctrine can be supported is by abandoning a literal interpretation of Scripture. Serpent must not mean serpent (how could a woman and a snake have intercourse?). Genesis 4:1 must not mean what it says (Adam is the father of Cain). There is no sense in answering any other arguments from Murray. By not accepting his teaching, it is probably just because I am a Kenite – child of Satan (according to Murray).

What are the consequences of believing in the serpent seed doctrine?

1. The Scriptures cannot be trusted. If they could, then a plain reading of the Bible could be believed instead of Arnold Murray’s perverse twisting of the Word (which defies logic and context).
2. If a literal interpretation of the Scriptures is thrown out, then the Words of Scripture have no authority. The meaning is up to each individual’s imagination.

Fortunately, we do not have to depend on the teachings of Arnold Murray or any other man to reveal hidden or lost truths in the Scriptures. We just need to read the Scriptures with an open heart and mind to receive God’s truth.