in tents, and of such as have cattle,” (Genesis 4:20); the arts (“And his brother’s name was Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ,” (Genesis 4:21); and science, and warfare (“And Zillah, she also bare Tubal-Cain, an instructor of every artificer in brass and iron,” (Genesis 4:22).
With these developments came then the gradual infection of the use of elements from without for protection, as implements with which to protect themselves, which began with the use of fitting stone, iron, brass, copper, and those elements known in the present as instruments of warfare, or of building, or of preservation of the various emoluments of individuals. Hence we had also those for ornamentation of the body, ornamentation of the abode, ornamentation of the various surroundings that had to do with the individuals in their various sets, classes, or groups.
These made for such as dwelt in groups in homes or cities, while others made for those as of following the field, or those as of the hunters, or those as of the agriculturists, or those that had herds, and their various necessities that followed with these.
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Just as the descendants of Cain obtained their vocations through their dependency upon the earth, the children of Seth were to practice man’s other vocation: religion. They were to be guided and sustained by that which came from Within, and to live in the manner as the spirit directed.
To what uses, then, did these people in this particular period give their efforts, and in what directions were they active?
As many almost as there were individuals; for, as we find from the records . . . To some there was given the power to become the Sons of God; others were workers in brass, in iron, in silver, in gold; others were made in music, and the instruments of music.
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The great geniuses of today, whether in the arts, science, agriculture, or religion, reflect the manner in which they, as entities—as souls—partook or developed in the beginning. Their “genius” is the result of a continued involvement with their vocation over many incarnations.
They Were There
One of the most significant factors of the Edgar Cayce Life readings is in the weight and support they give to a literal approach to the Bible. Cayce stated almost all portions of Scripture can be interpreted on three levels: literal, metaphysical, and spiritual. But for any level to be valid, it must be practical and applicable and able to be coordinated with the others and be “as one, even as the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit are one.” (281-30)
In other words, a literal level must be consistent with our understanding of mental processes and coordinant with spiritual truth as well. Failure to interpret its three–fold meaning is to deny the Bible its intrinsic wholeness. In some mysterious way, to acknowledge as factual those stories which have previously only been studied symbolically, or allegorically—or dismissed as fantasy or unenlightened primitive mythology—is to restore with added depth the indefinable sacredness of this Book of Life. A good example is found in the Tree of Life, with its significance on both a symbolic and literal plane.
The Tree of Life is found at the beginning and the end of the Bible, in Genesis and Revelation. In Genesis, Man loses the Tree of Life because of his fall. In Revelation, Man regains his access to the Tree. Symbolically, both trees represent the same principle.
(Q) What is meant by the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit that yielded her fruit every month and the leaves of the tree for the healing of the nations? (Revelation 22:2)
(A) That as the tree planted by the water of life; that is, as the sturdiness of the purpose of the individual in its sureness in the Christ; and the leaves represent the activities that are as for the healing of all that the individual activities may contact, even in material life. And that it is continuous, as by month, as for the purpose, as for the activities.
281–37
However, in the actual Garden everything was literally pure and pristine, a reflection of those images conceived in the mind of God. Thus, everything, even the trees, carried spiritual meanings.
In 1944, an Iowa housewife was told preceding an incarnation in Egypt as one of the handmaidens who discovered Moses in the ark (Exodus 2:5), she had been near Eden.
. . . we find the entity was in the early, early days, when there was the garden called Eden. There we find the entity was among those who looked on the activities of the mother of mankind. The entity then was among the “things”8 and yet was touched in person, was touched in heart, and sought to know the meaning of same, for it saw then fruit, leaves, trees, which had their spiritual meaning in peoples’ lives.
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The relationship to this suborder ultimately became an issue between the Sons of God, dividing them into two camps.
A young Unitarian widow was told of her experience in Atlantis.
In that sojourn, then, we find that [the entity as] Assen-ni was of the children of the Law of One; with the Children of Belial as the negative influence or force among the children of men.
And there was the realization by Assen-ni that those who had been born were, through no fault of their own, being used as creatures for exploitation; and that through the very influence and power of the Children of Belial the Creative Energies were being used for destructive purposes—or as cloaks behind which their activities might be carried on.
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The Cain and Abel story and the question it raises, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” may be drawn, in part, from the conflicts of this period. The patriarchs of the Bible drew upon the same source to face similar problems as the children of the Law of One thousands of years earlier. The above reading continues:
Thus those disintegrations were brought about that were so well given in the injunctions later written in the admonitions to Abraham, to Jacob, to Moses, to Elijah, to Joshua, to all the children of promise—of which we have records.
And if the entity will interpret the admonitions of Moses, much of that which is the inner basic principle of the entity may be found.
1007-3
The Descendants of Cain
Two of Cain’s ancestors appear in the Life readings.
In a reading given for a seven-year-old girl, a very interesting reference is made to Tubal-Cain (Genesis 4:22) as “the first son to become perfect to become an associate with those of other activities.” Could this mean that the children of Cain had adapted themselves to the world yet still held a sufficient measure of the Light which enabled them to associate with the mixture races whereas the Adamic race was supposed to keep itself separate from the world?
The daughters of Eve are mentioned as well:
