Question: Cain's wife, the sabbath, and Jesus' return?

    Answer: Bible Questions (www.biblequestions.org) and Bible Truths (www.bibletruths.net) web sites have been a tremendous success. We are now receiving all the worldwide questions that seven of us can address. Three recurring questions are Cain's wife, the sabbath, and when is Jesus returning.

    The matter of Cain's wife. Skeptics have wondered where all those other people came from if no one except Adam, Eve, and Cain were living at the time of Genesis four. Yet, we read "and Cain knew his wife…" (4: 17). Two matters to consider: The Bible does not say when Cain found his wife and the law that forbid marrying one's sister was not in force at the time of Genesis 4 (see Lev. 18). Since the Bible normally did not record the birth of a daughter, it is very probable that Cain married a sister or, for sure, a close relative.

    Are we to keep the sabbath today. Nine of the Ten Commandments are "taught" in the New Testament (Ex. 20: 1-17, Rom. 13, Jas. 2). The early church "observed" the First Day of the week, not the seventh day, the sabbath (Acts 20: 7, I Cor. 16: 1, 2). The First Day is when Jesus' resurrected, the gospel was first preached in its fullness, the church was established, remission of sin based on Jesus' blood was enjoyed, etc. (Acts 2). In fact, Gentiles, as such (you and I), were never commanded to keep the sabbath (Deut. 5: 1-3, see Col.2: 14 ff).

    When is Jesus coming again. Ever so often, there are open attempts to set the date of Jesus' return. Some are setting the date as the year 2000 (Jan. 1). The plain truth is, man does not know when Jesus is returning (Matt. 24: 36). In fact, angels and Jesus himself do not know, only the Father (Mk. 13: 32).

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