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March 24, 2025 |
| Who or What is the Snake? | ||
The Bible tells us nothing directly about the snake. The first mention of him only says that he was more crafty than any other animal. Through the story, we learn other things about him that raise questions. How is it that he can speak? If he isn't crawling on his belly, how is he getting around? Why does Eve seem so unsurprised when he shows up and starts talking with her?
We know His goal is to cause Eve to sin so she would cause Adam to sin. We have to ask: why does he have that goal?
All of this just leads us to ask: who is this snake?
Christianity has always identified the snake with Satan, as though the snake was Satan, as though Satan chose to appear as a snake. But is that the correct way to think of it? This study digs into that question
And he seized the Dragon, the ancient serpent, that which is the Devil and Satan (Revelation 20:2)
The verse refers to the snake as the "ancient serpent," which has to be a reference to the snake in the garden.
The verse also makes it clear that these 4 names refer to the same entity. Therefore, the serpent in the garden was, in some sense, Satan.
And Yahweh God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, cursed are you more than any of the cattle, and more than every beast of the field; on your belly you will go, and dust you will eat all the days of your life; 15 And I will put enmity [hostility] between you and the woman, […]" (Genesis 3:14-15)
The verse says, "said to the serpent," so we know these words are plainly addressed to the snake, who is standing before God, along with Adam and Eve.
We see that he will live on and eventually die (all the days of your life), but his body will change. However he has been traveling, he will now travel on his belly. He will eat dust, not as food but as a consequence of traveling on his belly. Eve will hate him for how he treated her. If she ever catches him out in the open, she will grab a rock or stick and try to even the score. He will hate her for that.
God has chosen these particular consequences to be appropriate for the "crime". The snake will eat dust because he "ate" Adam and Eve, who were creatures of dust.
God's judgments are exactly what you would expect to see for an animal that has done wrong.
Continuing on from where we left off:
"And I will put enmity […] between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel." (Genesis 3:15)
I've removed part of this verse to simplify it. Later we'll look at the whole verse.
Everyone accepts that "bruise him on the heel" refers to Jesus' death. But that will happen something like 4,000 years in the future. No snake lives that long. Also there is no snake in the story of Jesus, at all. A snake certainly isn't the cause of his death. These consequences could only apply to a powerful being who doesn't die.
So now God is talking about the titanic battle between good and evil. The bruised head is Satan's, and the bruised heel is that of Jesus. But those are metaphorical bruises. Satan is a spirit being. What would a bruised head even mean to him? The bruise is damage to his plan. Jesus' heel is never bruised. The point is that Jesus' death will be a small thing compared to the consequence for Satan.
Therefore the snake in the garden was both Satan and a snake who would live on and then die. After God's judgment, the snake doesn't change back into Satan. The snake continues to live his life. So the snake isn't Satan in a different form. The snake is a combination of them.
"And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel." (Genesis 3:15)
God is describing two enmities that will be the consequences of the sin.
One enmity is between the woman and the snake. I've already talked about the hostility there. The other is between "your seed" and "her seed." I think most Christians understand that "her seed" is Jesus. But who is "your seed?" We would expect it to be the offspring of either the snake or of Satan.
When we look at the Hebrew, we see that "Seed" in both cases is masculine singular. That means "your seed" is one person. When we think of Jesus' trial, we can't think of a single person who caused him to be crucified, only a group of priests or a group of people in the crowd. We might think it was Pilate, but he wouldn't have done it without the pushing of the priests and the crowd. We can't think of anyone because we don't understand the cause of his crucifixion.
So, who is "Your Seed"?
We've already discussed that a snake didn't bruise Jesus on the heel, that is, cause his death. So what person, what singular masculine person caused Jesus' death? There is only one person - Judas.
But that seems odd. In what way was Judas the seed of the snake in the Garden? If you look back at what happened just prior to Jesus' trial, it becomes obvious.
And when it was supper he cast Satan into the heart of Yehuda son of Shimeon Scariota, so that he would betray him. (John 13:2)
This verse doesn't mean that Jesus forced Satan into Judas. He allowed it, so in some sense he caused it. When you know the future, and allow it to happen, are you not the cause? But both Judas and Satan were willing. This is going to tell us something about the snake in the garden.
From this point, Judas is possessed by Satan. Just as other people at that time had become possessed by demons, Judas was now possessed by the king of demons. He was a combination of Satan and man. Satan in the body of a man.
Therefore, Judas was "your seed", the seed of the snake in the garden. He was the perfect son of that snake in that the snake was also possessed by Satan.
I want to look a little more at how Judas became possessed by Satan.
A woman came near to him who had with her of vase of oil of sweet spices, very expensive, and she poured it on Yeshua's head as he reclined. 8 But his disciples saw it and it displeased them and they said, "Why this waste? 9 For it would have been possible to sell this for much and it might have been given to the poor."
10 But Yeshua knew and he said to them, "Why do you trouble the woman? She has done a beautiful deed for me. […]"
14 Then one of the twelve who is called Yehuda Scariota went out to the Chief Priests, […] 16 And from then on, he sought opportunity to betray him. (Matthew 26:7-10,14,16)
We see in these verses that Judas was very angry. We don't know for sure, but it looks like he feels betrayed. Jesus hasn't lived up to Judas' expectations. From the incident above, he must have thought that Jesus was actually in it for himself. Even Jesus' disciples were confused by this. Jesus was allowing himself to enjoy a woman pouring expensive oil on him.
There were many con men around at that time who would travel from town to town, bestowing blessings in return for whatever perk they desired. Now Judas sees what looks like the same behavior in Jesus. He feels used.
We know that Judas was a thief. He may have seen an opportunity being lost.
There were other possessed people at that time. We saw Jesus evicting their demons. Judas wasn't something special or unique.
Why don't we see demon possessions like that in our time? The answer is that God was allowing it then. Satan and demons cannot enter into any person they choose, except when God allows it.
But not everyone was possessed; only a few were. The reason is that they wanted it. Some of God's people became so depraved that they desired it. The demons probably promised them something in exchange. With that, God allowed the demon(s) in them.
Satan probably promised Judas to help him get retribution. Their goals are aligned. Despite being possessed, the responsibility is still on the one who sins, on Judas.
Satan wanted control of Judas so he could strike at Jesus. Judas was angry with Jesus (felt betrayed?) and wanted to strike back.
We've seen that Judas would be "your seed" and Satan would use him to strike at Jesus. Is that the only fulfillment of that prophecy? Maybe not. Revelation 12 talks about a future time when Satan will be cast out of Heaven. Along with that, the verses show Satan and the anti-Christ speaking from the same mouth and then attacking God's people. This seems to be another "seed," a possession of the anti-Christ, who begins to show amazing powers. There is a study called War in Heaven that gives the details.
There is also another possible fulfillment that comes a little later.
Because Judas was the seed of the snake possessed by Satan, and we know more about Judas than the snake, we can take some of that knowledge and apply it to the snake.
The snake willingly agreed to allow Satan to possess him. Before that, Satan must have promised him something. Was there ever a time that the snake was angry and felt cheated or treated unfairly? Some Jewish Rabbis say there was, and I think they are on to something.
Here is one of the strangest passages in the Bible.
Then Yahweh God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him." 19 […] And He brought each [beast of the field and bird of the sky] to the man to see what he would call it; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name. 20 […] but for Adam there was not found a helper suitable for him. (Genesis 2:18-20)
Everyone asks: why is this in the Bible at all? What point does it have? Why not just skip the search and create Eve?
We learn something from these verses though. The snake would have been in the running to be a helper for Adam, but he was passed over. We don't know why.
Was he angry at the rejection? Did he feel that he was judged unfairly? Was he like Judas, looking for a way to strike back or for a way to gain what he thought he deserved?
That may explain why the snake has allowed Satan to possess him. But what's in it for the snake? Is retribution enough? Maybe not. What if one of the reasons the snake was rejected during the search for a helper was that the snake couldn't walk upright like Adam did? If he wanted to be Adam's helper, in place of Eve, or if he wanted to replace Adam and have Eve as a helper, he would need a way to get around like Adam and Eve did.
What if another reason for the rejection was that the snake didn't have the same intellect as Adam? Ooh! That smarts. Is that why, when the snake is introduced, the verse says, "Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field." Is that why the verse says "now"? Did Satan promise these enhancements … and deliver?
When possessed by a demon, even Satan, a person loses control. Multiple examples in the Bible show this. Was it the desire of men to run naked through the graveyard or have people with chains chasing them? Not likely.
The snake also lost control. He didn't get what he wanted from the deal with Satan because Satan took it in a direction that the snake didn't expect. Satan got what he wanted: the fall of Adam and Eve. The snake got an angry woman trying to beat on him at every chance.
Judas also lost control. Satan got what he wanted - to have Jesus killed. Judas probably just wanted him exposed as a fraud.
Presumably, Satan left Judas after he had betrayed Jesus. When Judas sees that Jesus is sentenced to crucifixion, he regrets what he did and recognizes that the blood of an innocent man will be on his hands. He probably also realized how he had been deceived by Satan.
There is a common factor here. The snake is trying to move up, so is Eve, and so is Satan. They aren't happy with what they have and covet what someone else has.
We conclude, therefore, that: