How old is the gospel?

In all ages the gospel has been preached or disseminated and faith in it has been the means of realizing the salvation which it announces. Though the gospel message has increased in details since it was first announced, its basic elements have remained the same. The importance of understanding this is important in answering the question about the fate of those who die without hearing the gospel. The first persons to find salvation found it through faith in the gospel (Adam, Eve, Abel, etc.), as we will see. 

The gospel is as old as the garden of Eden into which the first man and woman were placed. The promise or prophecy of a savior or deliverer was made by God after the fall of Adam and Eve. In the words spoken to the serpent (who we know to be Satan) there is revealed the essence of the gospel message. That revelation is called by theologians the "protoevangelium." That word simply means "first gospel." 

"And the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” So the Lord God said to the serpent: “Because you have done this, You are cursed more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you shall go, And you shall eat dust All the days of your life. And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.” (Genesis 3: 13-15)

From this oracle we see a promised savior, one who would defeat the serpent and his seed, who would undo or remedy the damage done by the serpent. It was not merely a prophecy of the serpent's destruction and defeat, but of undoing what he had done, which is the essence of redemption. That is the way Adam and Eve and their children understood the oracle, as we will see. 

The constellation of Virgo, the first sign in the ancient Zodiac (or Mazzaroth - Job 38: 32), elaborates on the protoevangelium as understood by the first family and their immediate descendants. (See my posting here) In that sign a virgin is seen giving birth to the promised deliverer. 

A Promised Savior and Redeemer

The one who would destroy the serpent, and his work and seed, is presented as a savior and redeemer. A redeemer in old testament understanding was a near kinsman. (See our series on Redemption) So in this case, the protoevangelium presents the Redeemer as "the seed of the woman." That fact is pregnant with meaning and significance. One thing that jumps out of that expression is the idea of a person being of the seed (sperma) of a woman. In the bible a child is always the seed of the man. So, "seed of the woman" is highly unusual and therefore significant. It no doubt signifies that the Redeemer would be born miraculously of a virgin. It also gives the promised Redeemer the significant title of "the seed." Until the time of Abraham the promised Redeemer and Deliverer was known as "the virgin's seed," and "the desired one," and "the coming one." From the revelation given later to Abraham by Lord God the woman's illustrious seed became also known at "the seed of Abraham." (Gen. 22: 18)  Wrote the apostle Paul:

"Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as of many, but as of one, “And to your Seed,” who is Christ...What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made..." ( Gal. 3: 16, 19)

Jesus said: "Abraham rejoiced to see my day, and he saw it and was glad." (John 8: 56) Also, in Galatians Paul also wrote:

"And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, “In you all the nations shall be blessed.” So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham." (3: 8-9)

Not only was the gospel announced in the garden of Eden but was also announced to others after that, such as Seth, Enoch, Noah, and Abraham. Adam no doubt was a prophet and received additional revelation about the gospel and true worship. So too with Abel and Seth. Whatever gospel knowledge they had would have been disseminated by their offspring so that it would have been known by the antediluvian peoples.  

Adam and Eve and their descendants had a basic understanding of the gospel. They believed in a promised Savior and Redeemer. Those who were saved in the days preceding the flood, up to the time of Noah, were saved by hearing of the promised Redeemer and by placing faith in him for salvation. All their hope of redemption from the curse of sin, from the work of the serpent, was in that promised seed, that "one who is to come," or "the coming one." If Adam, Seth, and Enoch (the seventh from Adam) were the ones who drew the constellations, and gave names to them and to their leading stars, then we see that their knowledge of the gospel was quite extensive. But, more on this shortly. First, let us talk about Abel.

The Faith of Abel

"By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks." (Heb. 11: 4)

We are told by the apostle Paul that "faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God." (Rom. 10: 17) He also asked:

"How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!" (vs. 14-15)

Since Abel had faith he must have heard the word of God. What word was that? Surely it was the word of the protoevangelium. It no doubt included faith in other oracles that Lord God gave to the first family. Who taught Abel about sacrifices and worship? Abel believed in the promised Redeemer, the one who would be born of a woman, and yet who would be the Lord himself, and who would be wounded in his heel by the Serpent and his seed, and yet thereby crush the head of the Serpent. By offering an animal sacrifice he showed that he understood how the promised Redeemer would save from the fall by himself suffering the penalty announced, which was death. 

The good news concerning the Lord Jesus Christ has been published since the foundation of the world. The ancient first sign of "Mazzaroth" (Job 38: 32), or the Zodiac, tells of the coming of the "seed of the woman" (the Virgin Maiden of Virgo). Virgo has in her right hand the Spica of Wheat or the Seed, and the name of the brightest star in Virgo means "the seed." Jesus, when referring to his coming death, said to the Greeks - "except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abides alone, but if it die, it brings forth much fruit." (John 12: 24) 

The Virgin in the constellation of Virgo also has in her left hand a "branch" and this is one of the most ancient names of the Messiah or "seed of the woman." (See Isa. 4: 2; 11: 1; Jer. 23: 5; 33: 15) The first Decan of the Virgo constellation is the sign of "Coma" and this word means "the Desired One," and which is also a title of Christ "the seed" in scripture. (See Haggai 2: 7; Dan. 11: 37) The other two Decans also testify of Christ, the divine seed who would be Redeemer, Judge, Shepherd, and be both God and man. So, the gospel revelation is as old as the garden of Eden. 

Prophets Since The World Began

From the following texts we see how the prophets of God have been in existence since the world began, extending back to the first family, and that their prophetic message included information about the coming of the promised Deliverer.

“Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, For He has visited and redeemed His people, And has raised up a horn of salvation for us In the house of His servant David, As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets, Who have been since the world began, That we should be saved from our enemies And from the hand of all who hate us, To perform the mercy promised to our fathers And to remember His holy covenant, The oath which He swore to our father Abraham: To grant us that we, Being delivered from the hand of our enemies, Might serve Him without fear." (Luke 1: 68-74)

From this passage of scripture we see how the prophets of God have existed "since the world began" and that they spoke concerning salvation through the promised Savior. 

“Therefore the wisdom of God also said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and persecute,’ “that the blood of all the prophets which was shed from the foundation of the world may be required of this generation, “from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah who perished between the altar and the temple. Yes, I say to you, it shall be required of this generation." (Luke 11: 49-51)

Notice how Abel is put in the category of prophets. It was he, along with others, who drew the constellations, and gave them and their leading stars their names. Of course, it was God who gave names to the stars (Psa. 147: 4; Isa. 40: 26), but these were revealed to Adam, Seth, and Enoch who all together gave us the names of the stars and constellations. If one studies the twelve constellations and their associated Decans (minor constellations), beginning with Virgo and ending with Leo, he will see the story of the gospel, and see that those first prophets had great understanding of the gospel. And, all the nations who studied the Zodiac would be instructed in the gospel. See J. A. Seiss's book "Gospel in the Stars."

“Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, “and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, “whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began. “For Moses truly said to the fathers, ‘The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear in all things, whatever He says to you. ‘And it shall be that every soul who will not hear that Prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.’ “Yes, and all the prophets, from Samuel and those who follow, as many as have spoken, have also foretold these days." (Acts 3: 19-24)

Again, another statement that the prophets have been since the world began and that all the prophets foretold of the days of Christ.

In the next chapter we will see how this gospel knowledge was disseminated in the antediluvian world and in the world after the flood.