Have all men known of Jesus?
I will take a stab at this, although my answer may not satisfy you. I believe that God only holds a man accountable for what is revealed to him. The first mention of Jesus in the Bible was the promise to Adam and Eve in the garden.
Gen 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
This was the first promise of the Messiah to come. He would bruise the head of the serpent (Satan) and the serpent would bruise his heel. The devil thought he had won when he had Jesus crucified on the cross, he did not count on the resurrection. But Jesus defeated Satan and the power of sin and death by the cross and resurrection.
And perhaps God also showed Adam that blood must be shed for the forgiveness of sins, because we see Abel offering an animal sacrifice. Cain offered of the fruit of the ground (works) and was not accepted. And God showed this to Cain.
Gen 4:3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD.
4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:
5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
6 And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?
7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.
Perhaps Cain did not understand that blood had to be shed for the forgiveness of sins, I do not know. But Cain did know that Abel's sacrifice was accepted and could have offered a like sacrifice and been accepted.
The point is, God has revealed himself to all men from the beginning. We see later that Noah offered an animal sacrifice.
Gen 8:20 And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.
And of course, Noah taught his children to offer these sacrifices. And the knowledge of God, or at least what had been revealed at this time was passed down through their children, from who came all men on earth.
So, all men have some knowledge of God, although it can be perverted by man and often is.
But I personally believe that God knows the hearts of all man and will reveal himself to those who sincerely seek to know God.
Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
A man cannot come to God unless he first believes that God truly exists. Not just a head conviction, but a deep and personal heartfelt belief. And a man must also believe that God is good, that he can be found of those who sincerely and diligently seek him.
God revealed himself slowly over time to men. Most scholars believe Job to be the oldest book in the Bible, and Job knew of a coming Redeemer. He also knew of the resurrection.
Job 19:25 For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:
26 And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God:
27 Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me.
There is a lot of doctrine in these few verses. Job knew his redeemer was alive at the moment, and that he would stand upon the earth in the latter day. And Job knew though his body be destroyed he would see this redeemer in his flesh. And he knew he would see the redeemer with his own eyes. So Job knew of the coming saviour, and knew of the resurrection.
So, I believe all men have some knowledge of God and always have. One of the best proofs of Noah's flood is that similar stories have been passed down by over 200 ancient civilizations. The ancient Chinese, the American Indians, people seperated by great distances and oceans all knew of the man in the boat with the animals.
Here are some civilizations old and new that have stories of a worldwide flood, usually involving a man with animals aboard a boat.
See the next post for list.,,
I will take a stab at this, although my answer may not satisfy you. I believe that God only holds a man accountable for what is revealed to him. The first mention of Jesus in the Bible was the promise to Adam and Eve in the garden.
Gen 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
This was the first promise of the Messiah to come. He would bruise the head of the serpent (Satan) and the serpent would bruise his heel. The devil thought he had won when he had Jesus crucified on the cross, he did not count on the resurrection. But Jesus defeated Satan and the power of sin and death by the cross and resurrection.
And perhaps God also showed Adam that blood must be shed for the forgiveness of sins, because we see Abel offering an animal sacrifice. Cain offered of the fruit of the ground (works) and was not accepted. And God showed this to Cain.
Gen 4:3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD.
4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:
5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
6 And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?
7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.
Perhaps Cain did not understand that blood had to be shed for the forgiveness of sins, I do not know. But Cain did know that Abel's sacrifice was accepted and could have offered a like sacrifice and been accepted.
The point is, God has revealed himself to all men from the beginning. We see later that Noah offered an animal sacrifice.
Gen 8:20 And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.
And of course, Noah taught his children to offer these sacrifices. And the knowledge of God, or at least what had been revealed at this time was passed down through their children, from who came all men on earth.
So, all men have some knowledge of God, although it can be perverted by man and often is.
But I personally believe that God knows the hearts of all man and will reveal himself to those who sincerely seek to know God.
Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
A man cannot come to God unless he first believes that God truly exists. Not just a head conviction, but a deep and personal heartfelt belief. And a man must also believe that God is good, that he can be found of those who sincerely and diligently seek him.
God revealed himself slowly over time to men. Most scholars believe Job to be the oldest book in the Bible, and Job knew of a coming Redeemer. He also knew of the resurrection.
Job 19:25 For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:
26 And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God:
27 Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me.
There is a lot of doctrine in these few verses. Job knew his redeemer was alive at the moment, and that he would stand upon the earth in the latter day. And Job knew though his body be destroyed he would see this redeemer in his flesh. And he knew he would see the redeemer with his own eyes. So Job knew of the coming saviour, and knew of the resurrection.
So, I believe all men have some knowledge of God and always have. One of the best proofs of Noah's flood is that similar stories have been passed down by over 200 ancient civilizations. The ancient Chinese, the American Indians, people seperated by great distances and oceans all knew of the man in the boat with the animals.
Here are some civilizations old and new that have stories of a worldwide flood, usually involving a man with animals aboard a boat.
See the next post for list.,,
