Beginning of the End - Ellen G. White

with his brother to approach God in the divinely prescribed way, but
his appeals made Cain the more determined to follow his own will.
As the eldest, he despised his brother's counsel.
Cain came before God with resentment in his heart. His gift
expressed no real sorrow for sin, for it would be an admission of
weakness to follow the exact plan marked out by God, of trusting
his salvation completely to the atonement of the promised Savior.
He would come in his own merits. He would not bring the lamb and
mingle its blood with his offering, but would present his fruits, the
products of his labor, as a favor done to God. Cain obeyed in
building an altar, obeyed in bringing a sacrifice, but gave only
partial obedience. The essence--recognition of the need of a
Redeemer--was left out.
Both of these brothers were sinners, and both acknowledged
the claims of God to reverence and worship. To outward appearance
their religion was the same up to a certain point, but beyond this the
difference was great.
The Great Difference Between Cain and Abel
"By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than
Cain" (Hebrews 11:4). Abel saw himself as a sinner, and he saw sin
and its penalty--death--standing between his soul and God. He
brought the slain lamb, thus acknowledging the claims of the law
that had been violated. Through the shed blood he looked to Christ
dying on the cross. Trusting in the atonement to be made there, he
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