Introduction to the Historical Portion of this Treatise--The
Dealings of God with Adam, Cain and Abel--The Institution of
Sacrifice--The Symbolism of this Rite--The Words of the Angel to
Adam--Lucifer--His Rebellion in Heaven--His Conflict with Michael
for the Body of Moses--He tempts Christ--He is cast into a Lake of
Fire and Brimstone.
Having thus gathered in one numerous testimonies from the writings of
the ancient inspired servants of God who dwelt on either hemisphere,
and joined therewith extracts from the revelations of the present
dispensation, with regard to the fore-ordination, mission, lifework
and death of the Only Begotten Son, we shall now proceed to trace,
from the sacred volumes, the revelation of our Savior, and the
prophecy of his advent from the earliest ages of recorded history,
until He fulfilled in Himself all, even all that, as offering,
sacrifice, sacrament, vision or prophetic word, had foreshadowed His
appearing, or typified the mystery of His all-atoning blood.
We shall commence this portion of our subject by showing that
sacrifices have been offered from the very earliest times, and that
when performed under divine instruction, they prefigured and typified
the sacrifice of the Son of God, and that it was with this view these
sacrifices were offered up.
It is recorded in the fourth chapter of the Book of Genesis that,
"Adam knew Eve, his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said,
I have gotten a man from the Lord. And she again bare his brother
Abel: and Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the
ground. And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of
the fruit of 'the ground an offering unto the Lord. And Abel, he also
brought of the firstings of his flock, and of the fat thereof. And the
Lord had respect unto Abel, and to his offering: but unto Cain, and to
his offering, he had not respect."--Genesis, iv, 1-5.
As these sayings found in King James' translation of the Bible are
very limited, and somewhat obscure, we will here refer, as a starting
point on this subject, to the account given of these events in the
Pearl of Great Price, which is a selection from the revelations,
translations and narrations of Joseph Smith, the Prophet, Seer and
Revelator of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. For in
that translation it is stated that Adam, previous to these acts of
Abel and Cain, offered up a sacrifice by the direct command of God. It
is there written that the Lord gave unto Adam and Eve "commandments,
that they should worship the Lord their God; and should offer the
firstlings of their flocks for an offering unto the Lord. And Adam was
obedient unto the commandments of the Lord. And after many days, an
angel of the Lord appeared unto Adam, saying, Why dost thou offer
sacrifices unto the Lord? And Adam said unto him, I know not, save the
Lord commanded me. And then the angel spake, saying, This thing is a
similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father, which
is full of grace and truth; wherefore thou shalt do all that thou
doest in the name of the Son. And thou shalt repent, and call upon
God, in the name of the Son, for evermore." We are further informed
that "Adam and Eve blessed the name of God; and they made all things
known unto their sons and their daughters."
From the above it would seem that Adam, until instructed by the angel,
did not know the reasons for the offering up of sacrifices, nor the
object that the Lord had in view in requiring this offering at his
hands; for, being asked by the angel why he performed this rite, he
said, "I know not, save the Lord commanded me;" and the object of the
visit of this holy being to Adam evidently was to show him why he was
called to offer a sacrifice to the Lord, as, on Adam expressing his
ignorance of the intent of this offering, the angel stated very
explicitly that this thing was "a similitude of the sacrifice of the
Only Begotten of the Father." We have here given a reason why Adam
offered up this sacrifice. We may hereafter explain why it was
necessary that the sacrifice of the Son of God should be made.
These sacrifices, which were similitudes of the sacrifice of the Only
Begotten, were continued from that time until, as is stated in the
Scriptures, Jesus came to offer "his own body once for all."--Heb., x,
10.
We will now return to the sacrifices offered by Cain and Abel, and
give the statement in relation thereto contained in the Pearl of Great
Price. It is as follows:
"And Cain loved Satan more than God. And Satan commanded him, saying,
Make an offering unto the Lord. And in process of time it came to
pass, that Cain brought of the fruits of the ground an offering unto
the Lord. And Abel, he also brought, of the firstlings of his flock,
and of the fat thereof; and the Lord had respect unto Abel, and to his
offering; but unto Cain, and to his offering, He had not respect. Now
Satan knew this, and it pleased him. And Cain was very wroth and his
countenance fell. And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? Why
is thy countenance fallen? If thou doest well, thou shalt be accepted,
and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door, and Satan desireth
to have thee, and except thou shalt hearken unto my commandments, I
will deliver thee up, and it shall be unto thee according to his
desire; and thou shalt rule over him, for from this time forth thou
shalt be the father of his lies. Thou shalt be called Perdition, for
thou wast also before the world, and it shall be said in time to come,
that these abominations were had from Cain, for he rejected the
greater counsel, which was had from God; and this is a cursing which I
will put upon thee, except thou repent. And Cain was wroth, and
listened not any more to the voice of the Lord, neither to Abel his
brother, who walked in holiness before the Lord."
From the above it would appear that Satan, or Lucifer, was "also
before the world," and that the term "also" refers to another
personage, and that personage was the Messiah, the Christ, the Well
Beloved Son, who, we are told, was the Lamb slain from before the
foundation of the world; and it is obvious that Lucifer, who is
elsewhere called the Son of the Morning, had an important role to play
upon the earth as well as the Messiah, and that he occupied a very
prominent position before the world was, and still occupies that
position in opposition to his Heavenly Father, to the Son of God, and
to the interests of humanity; which opposition will continue, we are
informed, until he shall not only be bound, but cast into the
bottomless pit; as stated by the Apostle John in the Book of
Revelations:
"And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the
bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the
dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him
a thousand years, and cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him
up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no
more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled; and after that he
must be loosed a little season."--Rev., xx, 1-3.
And a little further on we read that after the thousand years have
passed, "Satan shall be loosed out of his prison," and shall go out to
deceive the nations and gather them to battle against the Saints, when
fire from heaven will devour them.
"And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and
brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be
tormented day and night for ever and ever."--Rev., xx, 10.
The operations of Satan in opposition to the designs and purposes of
God are frequently noticed in Holy Writ. Reference has already been
made to his control over Cain and the results thereof, and
unfortunately for them, Cain was not the only one in that early age of
the world's history over whom Satan gained the mastery. For he went
abroad amongst the inhabitants of the earth, saying, "I am also a son
of God; * * * and they loved Satan more than God. And men began, from
that time forth, to be carnal, sensual, and devilish." And so they
continued increasing in wickedness, until "all flesh had corrupted its
way upon the earth," and the waters of the flood had to accomplish the
work which the preaching of Noah could not effect.
In later years we hear of Satan contending with the archangel,
Michael, for the body of Moses. Jude writes: "Yet Michael, the
archangel, when contending with the devil, he disputed about the body
of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said,
The Lord rebuke thee."
This is again exhibited in the part he took in tempting the Savior,
after His baptism and recognition by His Heavenly Father. Of this
event it is written:
"Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted
of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he
was afterward an hungered. And when the tempter came to him, he said,
If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.
But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread
alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Then
the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a
pinnacle of the temple. And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God,
cast thyself down, for it is written, He shall give his angels charge
concerning thee, and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at
any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. Jesus said unto him, It
is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. Again, the
devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and showeth him
all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; and saith unto
him, All these things will I give thee if thou wilt fall down and
worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it
is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt
thou serve. Then the devil leaveth him; and behold, angels came and
ministered unto him."--Matt., iv, 1-11.
Or to give the words of the inspired translation: "Then Jesus was led
up of the Spirit into the wilderness, to be with God. And when he had
fasted forty days and forty nights, and had communed with God, he was
afterwards an hungered, and was left to be tempted of the devil. And
when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God,
command that these stones be made bread. But Jesus answered and said,
It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word
that proceedeth out of the mouth of God."
"Then Jesus was taken up into the holy city, and the Spirit setteth
him on the pinnacle of the temple. Then the devil came unto him and
said, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down, for it is written,
He shall give his angels charge concerning thee, and in their hands
they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a
stone. Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt
the Lord thy God."
"And again, Jesus was in the Spirit, and it taketh him up into an
exceeding high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world
and the glory of them. And the devil came unto him again, and said,
All these things will I give unto thee, if thou wilt fall down and
worship me. Then said Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan; for it is
written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou
serve. Then the devil leaveth him."
Again, John in the Revelations, when referring to the latter days,
exclaims, "Wo to the inhabitants of the earth, and of the sea! for the
devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth he
hath but a short time." [Rev., xii, 12.] And by and by the same writer
tells us, in a passage already quoted, that Satan's time is finished,
and he is bound and cast into the bottomless pit.