The Bible tells us that Adam and Eve were created by God. To Messianic and Gentile Christians, Adam and Eve are as real today as they were at the Creation. Since Adam and Eve were our original progenitors, every one on earth can actually trace their ancestry to them. The process of tracing, establishing, and studying ancestors is known as genealogy. When the genealogy goes back to our first parents, it is known as an Adam and Eve Geneology.
In Scripture, ancestral lineage is given for the Messiah in Matthew 1:1-17. There are also lines for the Patriarchs, and for Ham, Noah, Shem, Esau, Terah, Jacob, Esau, Israel, David, the Levites, and others. The genealogy of Adam is found in Genesis 5:1-32, and the first nine chapters of I Chronicles provide a repeat of the descendants of Adam. Genealogies can be very tiresome to read, so why a repeat? In fact, why include them at all? I Chronicles is an example, in Scripture, of the law of recurrence or recapitulation. This means that the Holy Spirit, in giving the Word of God, comes back and recovers certain things He wants to make sure that we have read.
So, why is it important that Adam's genealogy be read? I think it is because the Holy Spirit wanted to stress upon us that we belong to Adam's family. The Holy Spirit is calling to our attention that through Adam we have been born into his lost family as sinners, alienated from God, and having no desire for God. The dismal prospect is that in Adam we all die. However, we have hope in Jesus Christ, the Jewish Messiah, who heads the family of God. Well, how does anyone know that he can trace a personal line all the way back to Adam? That covers many footprints in time. Simple. Because others have done it. I have done it. The Bible says that in Adam we all die, therefore logic tells me that I can trace back to my original progenitor.
The following genealogy is traced through my father, and his father and grandfather, through the male line to my immigrant colonial ancestor. Through him, it progresses backward through some interesting and not-so-interesting persons, until our footprints meet other footprints in the sands of time. This genealogy was compiled and verified through Bible records, tombstone rubbings, published records known as deeds, wills, equity records, parish records and other archives, New York Library records, Magna Carta lineage books, Harlaein society lineage books of England, and professional genealogists who specialize in collecting and correcting mistakes found in numerous Adam and Eve Genealogies.
| Here's the follow-up discussion on this article: | View all related messages |
For a complete listing of article comments, questions, and other discussions related to Virginia Marin's Messianic Judaism topic, please visit the Discussions page.