In the beginning God created each plant and each animal to reproduce according to its kind. (Genesis 1.) But sin entered the world from a desire to become like God—to be as gods. (Genesis 3.) This was also the motivation that led to Lucifer’s fall. (Isaiah 14; Ezekiel 28.) This desire to become like God has never ceased to agitate the sinful mind of man since the fall and will exist in those who have not been born again until the end of all things. This desire to be like God has manifested itself in the greatest crimes that have ever been perpetrated upon the human race.
In attempting to take the place of God the devil has been a genetic experimenter and manipulator for thousands of years: “All tares are sown by the evil one. Every noxious herb is of his sowing, and by his ingenious methods of amalgamation he has corrupted the earth with tares.” Selected Messages, Book 2, 288.
The devil inspired his subjects (the unconverted descendants of Cain) to also experiment with what God had made. “But if there was one sin above another which called for the destruction of the race by the flood, it was the base crime of amalgamation of man and beast which defaced the image of God, and caused confusion everywhere. God purposed to destroy by a flood that powerful, long-lived race that had corrupted their ways before him.” The Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 1, 69.
We see in the above statement that before the flood men were performing genetic experiments in which they were producing creatures that were partly animal and partly human. This was one of the main crimes which resulted in God’s destruction of the earth by a flood. These amalgamations were destroyed by the flood.
“Every species of animals which God had created was preserved in the ark. The confused species which God did not create, which were the result of amalgamation, were destroyed by the flood. Since the flood, there has been amalgamation of man and beast, as may be seen in the almost endless varieties of species of animals, and in certain races of men.” Ibid., 78.
Since Jesus said that the last days would be like the days of Noah, we would expect that in the last days mankind would again be involved in genetic experimentation. That is exactly what has happened since 1798 A.D.
Man is not content with the plants and animals that God has created but is ever attempting to design plants and animals to his own liking for supposedly superior benefit. God has given plain warning in His word against doing this but it is hard for man to learn that God means exactly what He says and that a penalty is attached to every transgression of God’s commandments.
Before getting more deeply into this subject it is necessary to clearly define the law of God—the Ten Commandments. Because of the frailty of man’s mind, God instructed Moses to specify in minute terms the breadth and meaning of the Ten Commandments in the Torah—the first five books of the Bible. “If man had kept the law of God, as given to Adam after his fall, preserved by Noah, and observed by Abraham, there would have been no necessity for the ordinance of circumcision. And if the descendants of Abraham had kept the covenant, of which circumcision was a sign, they would never have been seduced into idolatry, nor would it have been necessary for them to suffer a life of bondage in Egypt; they would have kept God’s law in mind, and there would have been no necessity for it to be proclaimed from Sinai or engraved upon the tables of stone. And had the people practiced the principles of the Ten Commandments, there would have been no need of the additional directions given to Moses.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 364.
The above statement shows that the entire ceremonial system would have been unnecessary if man had kept the law of God. The bondage of the Israelites in Egypt would have been unnecessary. The giving of the Ten Commandments from Mount Sinai would have been unnecessary, and additional directions explaining the principles of the Ten Commandments would have been unnecessary.
In addition to the explanations of the principles of the Ten Commandments in the Torah, the Lord gave to Moses a ceremonial system made up of symbols pointing to Christ, His sacrifice and priesthood. This ritual law with its ceremonies, sacrifices and ordinances was to continue until “the Seed should come” (Galatians 3:19), and then this ceremonial law was taken out of the way and nailed to the cross. (Colossians 2:14-17.)
Much of what Moses wrote was simply an explanation of the Ten Commandments and therefore is actually part of the moral law by which we will be judged. For example, in Leviticus 18 and 20, we have extended descriptions in regard to nakedness and modesty for which God even held the heathen nations responsible. These are explanations of the seventh commandment by which all the purveyors of pornography in any context will have to answer in the day of judgment.
In the same way, in Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14, God gave dietary restrictions to His people. These dietary restrictions had nothing to do with the ceremonial law but were given as explanations of the Ten Commandments, especially the sixth commandment.
The only laws in the writings of Moses that were temporary until the death of Christ on the cross were the instructions in regard to the ceremonies. These were types of the future incarnation, work and ministry of Christ. This typical or ceremonial law was taken away by Christ and nailed to the cross.
But the explanations of the moral principles of the Ten Commandments, being part of the moral law, defining right and wrong, are eternal. These are as unchangeable as the throne of God and these moral principles will maintain their claims upon all created intelligence’s through eternal ages. This is what the great controversy is about—is every precept and principle of the law of God as contained in the Torah binding upon all generations and in all ages?
When a person chooses to keep the Sabbath, he is telling the whole world that he believes that all the law is binding and that he is going to keep all of it. This law has very specific things to say about biological tinkering or genetic experimentation upon God’s creation, whether plant or animal.
Notice, “You shall not breed together two kinds of your cattle, you shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed.” Leviticus 19:19. This was not part of the ceremonial law; it was part of the moral law—an explanation of the principles of the Ten Commandments. It is repeated in Deuteronomy 22:9: “You shall not sow your vineyard with two kinds of seed, or all the produce of the seed which you have sown and the increase of the vineyard will become defiled [or polluted or unclean].” Some people have wondered why God placed this strict prohibition of genetic engineering or biological tinkering with either plants or animals. In a later article we will explain what happened in the twentieth century when human beings decided, as they had formerly decided before the flood, to re-engineer what God had made.
The flood brought a stop to most (but not all) of this biological tinkering with what God had created. Although in a lesser degree, genetic experimentation still continued. The reduction of the human race to eight individuals almost brought to an end the genetic experimentation that was widespread before the flood. But Jesus said that the last days of earth’s history would be like it was in the days of Noah. These genetic experiments or biological tinkering are promoted as being for the betterment of the human race, both individually and collectively. They are supposed to bring health and increased well-being. They were probably promoted in the same way before the flood. In a later article we will see what actually happens.