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Filling the Gaps

Filling the Gaps: Critical Foundational and Prophetic Topics

1. The Pre-Sinai Principles: God’s Law Before the Tablets

This article addresses your stand-alone project about the fundamental principles of God’s law existing before the Ten Commandments were “codified” at Sinai. This is a foundational topic that establishes the consistent nature of God’s righteousness.

The Law of Eternal Righteousness

Introduction: The common belief is that God’s law began on Mount Sinai. However, the Bible reveals that the essential, fundamental principles of God’s moral governance existed from creation, were observed by the patriarchs, and were only formally codified for the nation of Israel at Sinai. These timeless commands reveal that God’s requirement for righteousness is not cultural, but eternal.

Prophetic Hotspot: The Eternal Foundation

The existence of a foundational law before Sinai confirms that the moral standard of God is immutable and will be the standard by which the King judges the nations at The Lord’s Return.

  • The Law of Life and Death (Genesis 2:17): The first law given to Adam in Eden established the core principle of obedience vs. consequence. Life came through submission to God’s word; death came through disobedience. This principle underlies all subsequent law.
  • The Law of Worship (Genesis 4:3-5): Cain and Abel’s offerings demonstrated the principle of acceptable worship and the necessity of reverence and faith in giving. The requirement for proper approach to God was implicit.
  • The Law of Sanctification (Genesis 7:2): Noah was commanded to take clean animals by sevens, demonstrating that the distinction between clean and unclean—a core principle later codified in Mosaic Law—existed before the Flood.
  • The Law of Capital Punishment (Genesis 9:6): God established the principle that murder violated the image of God and required the ultimate penalty, confirming the sanctity of human life as a universal law for mankind.
  • The Law of Holiness (Genesis 12:4): Abraham’s command to leave his home was a call to separation and faith-based obedience, the root of all the holiness laws given later to Israel.

The Return Question: Where Is Your Law Written?

If the principles of God’s Law were written on the hearts of men from creation (Romans 2:15, KJV), demonstrating an intrinsic knowledge of right and wrong, then every person is accountable to this standard.

If the moral Law of God is eternal and existed before Sinai, are we relying on cultural or temporal definitions of right and wrong, or are we seeking the deep, eternal principles of holiness that will be the unwavering standard enforced by the King when The Lord returns?