Why was the sacrifice of Cain rejected by God?

In Genesis 4:3,4, we learn that Cain was a farmer and that Abel was a shepherd or herdsman.  Both desired to show their reverence for God by offering Him the fruits of their labor.  Genesis 4:4,5 also states that God had respect for Abel's but not Cain's offering. 

At first glance, one might surmise that Abel was naturally favored by God over Cain.  However, personality, appearance, etc. did not enter into God's response to the two sacrifices. It was the type of the sacrifice(s) that led to the rejection of one and the acceptance of the other.  

Man was fallen from his original relationship, established in the Garden of Eden, with God because of sin. Adam originally was created perfect and without sin. Through the acceptance of Abel's sacrifice, God illustrates for us that there must be a shedding of blood for the forgiveness of sin.  Abel's sacrifice involved the shedding of blood by the offering of the "firstlings of his flock," Genesis 4:4. Cain's did not. Hebrews 9:22 affirms this, "And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission." 

Throughout the Old Testament the Jewish people offered animal sacrifices to God. One of many scriptures mentioning these sacrifices is Genesis 12:5, "Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats." Note that the animal was to be "without blemish." In order for the sacrifice to be acceptable to God, it had to be perfect.

Why was God so exacting in his requirements for an acceptable sacrifice?  God was giving us, in this illustration, a glimpse of his glorious plan of redemption for mankind from sin. God's justice demanded a corresponding price for the forgiveness of Adam's original transgression, a perfect man's life (Jesus) for a perfect man's life (Adam).  Jesus' death at Calvary fulfilled God's design. Jesus was the only perfect being to inhabit the earth after Adam's fall.  Jesus was without blemish, the only acceptable sacrifice for the remission of sin.  The only one able to bring man back into harmony with his creator. 1 Peter 1:18,19 verifies this, "Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot."  

Through Jesus' sacrifice, all of mankind will eventually be brought back into relationship with God and as Revelation 21:4 reads, "And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away." 

Who is antichrist in the Bible?

The word antichrist comes untranslated from the compound Greek word antichristos; “anti” meaning "in opposition to,” or, “in place of” and “Christ” meaning "anointed." Consequently, in order to understand what anti-Christ means —“a position in place of Christ”— we need to determine who the real “Anointed” is. Clearly, Jesus was “anointed” with the holy spirit at his baptism. (Matt. 3:16) Redeemed followers of Jesus, who also receive the anointing of the holy spirit, are considered part of Christ's body (I Cor. 12:12). Therefore, Christ is composed of the head, Jesus, and His body members, spirit-begotten followers of Jesus. However, these members are not now reigning (I Cor. 4:8) These body members are suffering now (Matt. 16:24).  Yet the scriptures promise that Christ will reign (with His church) over the nations for 1,000 years (Rev. 20:3). 

The antichrist has a parallel structure. It is a group of people with a leader and many members who follow that leader. Our Lord warned that many false Christs would come (Matt. 24:24) Of greatest importance is the fact that historically Christian believers have identified the Catholic Church as the Antichrist (see the forward to the King James Bible where antichrist is linked to the man of sin and Popish Persons). The Catholic Church, through the Pope, teaches that to receive forgiveness and salvation, a priest is necessary to sacrifice Christ at the altar in the Mass. They teach that every person must eat the body and blood of Jesus at the mass, do penance, and be forgiven of a priest. Pope Boniface VIII decreed, "We declare, say, define, pronounce it necessary to salvation for every human creature to be subject to the Roman pontiff." Ferraris' Ecclesiastical Dictionary, a standard Roman Catholic authority, under papal power, article 2 reads, " the pope is crowned with a triple crown, as king of heaven, of earth, and of hell…he occupies one and the same tribunal with Christ; so that whatsoever the pope does seems to proceed from the mouth of God…The pope is, as it were, God on earth…" Popes Innocent and Jacobatius state that "the pope can do nearly all that God can do,…" Today, some say that the Catholic Church has changed, but it is the constant claim of Papacy that its doctrines are unchangeable; that the decrees of its popes and councils are infallible.

Additionally, the Catholic Church teaches they reigned a 1,000 years as the Holy Roman Empire from 800 to 1800AD.  During this period, hundreds of thousands of non-Catholics were tortured, brutally murdered, and burned at the stake. This was certainly not Christ's kingdom!

Feeling the sting of Protestant criticism regarding “antichrist,” Francisco Ribera (1537–1591) a Spanish Jesuit theologian, from the University of Salamanca sought to remove the papacy and the Catholic Church from consideration as the Antichrist (as an act of countering the Protestant Reformation).  Ribera began writing a lengthy (500 page) commentary in 1585 on the Book of Revelation (Apocalypse) titled In Sacrum Beati Ioannis Apostoli, & Evangelistiae Apocalypsin Commentarij, proposing that the first few chapters of the Apocalypse apply to ancient pagan Rome, and the rest he limited to a yet future period of 3½ literal years, immediately prior to the second coming. Among many Christians today variations of Ribera’s thesis have been accepted.  We must strongly disagree with this rewrite of history.

What are the different types of angels in heaven?

The word angel basically means “messenger of God.”

Angels are not composed of physical matter but are spirit beings created by God (Hebrews 1:14). They can materialize in human form when God permits or wills it  so (Genesis 19).  There are different orders or ranks of angels in heaven. Those that covered the throne in heaven were mighty seraphim angels.  They are represented as having six wings that hovered over the throne of God. Two of the seraphim’s wings covered their faces, two covered their feet, and the last set were used to fly. (See Isaiah 6.) Another type of angel are the cherubim. After Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden, the powerful cherubim guarded the Tree of Life with a flaming sword.

The archangel rank is the highest of the angelic hosts. Michael, the archangel,  has a name which means “who is like God”–not Jehovah God- but “one who as God,” or The Son of God (our Lord Jesus Christ). 

Then there are the fallen angels. Lucifer is their chief. Before the flood, these angels materialized as male humans, married human women, and had a mixed breed of children, called the Nephilim (Genesis 6:1-4). This situation was such an abomination in God’s sight, that He caused the flood. Subsequently, God confined these fallen angels with chains of darkness in Tartaroo (2 Peter 2:4, Jude 1:6).  The sinful angels’ and Lucifer’s final end will be complete destruction (Ezekiel 28:12-19, Revelation 20:10).

The Bible doesn’t give us details about life in the heavenly realm. The scriptures give us instruction and information about how to live to glorify God. Our Heavenly  Father wants us to focus on following His will now. He did not tell us about heaven because we could not comprehend it and it would be a distraction.