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A Snake Had Legs???

Posted in #PaulthePoke with tags Genesis 3, Najash rionegrina, serpent, snake on December 11, 2019 by paulthepoke

Genesis 3:1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”

This is the first mention of the serpent in the Bible. The Hebrew word is nachash. The term is used 31 times in the Old Testament.

Genesis 3:14 The LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life.

As originally created by God, snakes were not in the form they are now. They were physically different prior to the fall of man. This is implied in Genesis 3:14. There was a consequence to the serpent for deception. The serpent was cast to its belly.

So what did a snake look like before the fall?

A recent published study from Science Advances has some interesting observations. A fossil of a snake was shown to have back legs. Because the fossil was found in the sand away from the ocean, the creature was three dimensional and not smashed flat.

Najash rionegrina is the scientific name. Science turned to the Bible for the original name of a snake. Below is a quote from the article.

Najash rionegrina is named after the legged biblical snake Nahash (Hebrew for snake).

The discovery was made in the Río Negro Province in Argentina. This is in central Argentina. The snake was actually found in February of 2013.

This is an article from an evolutionary perspective. Science postulates the snake is 95 million years old. Predictions and speculations are made based on the findings and how this relates to Darwin. For more details if interested, see the link below.

https://www.livescience.com/snake-with-legs-skull.html

They can’t explain this away. God said He made a serpent. And that serpent was not always on its belly.

Disbelief Is the Issue, Featuring Phil Kulis

Posted in Phil Kulis with tags cross, Egypt, Exodus, Jesus Christ, John 3, Moses, Pharaoh, serpent, sin on June 28, 2018 by paulthepoke

In the Garden of Eden, Satan came in the form of a serpent and the result was sin entered the world.

In the Exodus, Moses went before Pharaoh – the ruler of the world empire. When Aaron cast Moses’s staff before Pharaoh as God told Moses to do, it turned into a serpent – the symbol for sin. In return Pharaoh’s men cast their staffs down and their staffs also turned into serpents. But the serpent of God ate the serpents of Pharaoh. God’s symbol for sin took away the sins of the world. Aaron then lifted up the serpent and it turned back into a staff. But the serpents of Pharaoh were no more.

Later while wandering in the desert the Jews were complaining, so God sent fiery serpents to bite them and they were dying from being bitten. They asked Moses to pray to God then God told Moses to make a serpent of bronze and put it on a stick on a hill. Whenever anyone was bitten by a fiery serpent all they had to do was look at the bronze serpent and they would not die.

The only other mention of the bronze serpent is when Jesus sets up the most famous verse in the Bible.

John 3:14-18 “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

Sin is not the issue.
Disbelief is the issue.

Straight Talk…God’s Glory & Satan, Rodna Epley

Posted in Gospel, Rodna Epley with tags 2 Corinthians 3, devil, doer of the word, glory, James 1, Jesus Christ, satan, serpent on February 16, 2018 by paulthepoke

2 Corinthians 4:4 In their case the god (Satan) of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

The enemy’s primary function on this earth is to blind the minds of everyone so we can’t see the “Gospel of the Glory” of Christ. The devil wants us powerless and not operating like Jesus or the first church. He wants us to look just like the world. So that no one gets saved, including the church. So that no one thinks God is real or has any power. And so that God never receives any glory. This has been Satan’s plan from the beginning. He’s always been after the throne.

But the devil is handicapped when it comes to God’s glory! He can’t understand God’s glory! It’s a language much higher than him. God’s glory is the highest form of light there is, where anything becomes possible. That’s why Jesus came, to restore His glory in man (that was lost in Eden). Jesus came for the sake of love. This gives the Father glory! He seats us in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, far above all principalities and powers and rulers of the darkness. Of course, the devil doesn’t want anyone knowing they are supposed to operate in the glory of God! Because we destroy his works in our lives. We overcome in Christ when we have knowledge of the glory! We overcome all sin and flip every dark situation into light!

But God UNBLINDS the minds of those of us who step into Christ! We put on the Mind of Christ! Watch this…

2 Corinthians 3:18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

Compare this with James 1:22-25 which is also referring to another type of “believer”…

James 1:22-25 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.

So in one example we have those true believers who not only have Christ in them but they step into Christ. They are doers of the Word. They hear and follow the voice of the Holy Spirit. AND we are being transformed into the SAME image of THE GLORY OF THE LORD. This the Face we see looking back at us in the mirror according to 2 Corinthians 3:18!

It’s all clear in Scripture when the veil is removed in Christ.

Isaiah 11:6, This Curse Is Not Reversed

Posted in Creation, Isaiah, Prophecy with tags curse, Garden of Eden, Genesis 3, Isaiah 11, Isaiah 65, micah 7, satan, serpent, snake on February 9, 2014 by paulthepoke

Isaiah 11:6-8 And the wolf will dwell with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little boy will lead them. Also the cow and the bear will graze, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. The nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child will put his hand on the viper’s den.

What about the role of Satan, the serpent, in all of this? He is the one who enticed the woman in the Garden of Eden. He is the one who suggested to the woman to challenge God’s authority. He is the one who suggested disobedience to God. What does the future hold for Satan and future snakes? Let’s take a look back to the Garden. Satan was successful in the encouragement of the woman’s disobedience. Granted she and Adam made their own choices and are responsible for them.

Satan’s consequences are spelled out in Genesis 3:14, The LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you more than all 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… This is why we see snakes slither around on their belly.

…on your belly you go…The snake was reduced to the lowest of all animals. The snake is the most cursed (judged, condemned, harshly punished in the original Hebrew as noted per Strong’s Concordance) animal on the planet. There are some who conjecture the snake was originally created with the ability to maneuver upright prior to the fall. Notice the last part of the verse. The length of the sentence, punishment, and consequence is all the days of your life…

The context of Isaiah 65:25 is a time when there is peace in the animal kingdom. “The wolf and the lamb will graze together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox; and dust will be the serpent’s food. They will do no evil or harm in all My holy mountain,” says the LORD. Despite these changed and improved conditions, the snake is still cursed. Look at the living conditions of the cobra and viper. They are still in the ground on their bellies.

He wanted to exalt himself like the Most High. Micah 7:17 They will lick the dust like a serpent, like reptiles of the earth… His curse will not be reversed.

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Ezekiel 28:12-19 Pride, Original Sin?

Posted in Uncategorized with tags devil, Eden, garden, hell, king of tyre, lake of fire, original sin, Pride, satan, serpent on July 29, 2012 by paulthepoke

Ezekiel 28:12 “Son of man, take up a lamentation over the king of Tyre and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, “You had the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.

Who is this King of Tyre God is talking about? Is this figurative language or is this a real personality? I would challenge all who read this to come to a decision independently. Think about it. God describes this being as perfect in wisdom and beauty. This being is the most beautiful thing created. This being is also the best at taking knowledge and functionally applying that information. This is how God describes this being, the essence of good looks and smarts. The “king” had God’s stamp of approval.

Ezekiel 28:13 You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone adorned you: ruby, topaz and emerald, chrysolite, onyx and jasper, sapphire, turquoise and beryl. Your settings and mountings were made of gold; on the day you were created they were prepared.

Wait a minute, there were only three characters in Eden according to the Genesis account: a man, a woman, and a serpent. The man and the woman were without possessions prior to the fall. They were naked. Humanity had no clothing.

This creature being discussed in verse 13 has extravagant material wealth and possessions. He has every precious jewel and the jewels are placed in gold. He has significant riches and in need of nothing. He is not only clothed, he has the finest. The best was given to him from day one. He did nothing to earn them. God’s grace materially blessed this creature from the beginning.

Ezekiel 28:14 “You were the anointed cherub who covers, and I placed you there. You were on the holy mountain of God; you walked in the midst of the stones of fire.

This being was created with a purpose. He was to rule and guard, specifically God’s separate mountain. He was placed to watch over God’s property by God Himself. He was given authority and power. He was in charge.

Ezekiel 28:15 “You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created until unrighteousness was found in you.

He was originally made perfect and without sin. He got off to a good start. Then sin and perversion was identified by God within him. It was his mental attitude. God knows what we are thinking.

Ezekiel 28:16 “By the abundance of your trade you were internally filled with violence, and you sinned; therefore I have cast you as profane from the mountain of God. And I have destroyed you, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.

Because of his greed and need for more and more and more, his attitude and being were consumed with aggression. He was kicked off the mountain of God because of self-pollution and desecration.

Ezekiel 28:17 “Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom by reason of your splendor. I cast you to the ground; I put you before kings, that they may see you.

He thought he was better because he was “good looking”. He used his beauty and appearance to manipulate others with his reasoning. He was persuasive.

Ezekiel 28:18 You defiled your sanctuaries with your many sins and your dishonest trade. So I brought fire from within you, and it consumed you. I let it burn you to ashes on the ground in the sight of all who were watching.

His depravity and sin polluted and desecrated holy places. Unjust, violent, and corrupt trade practices were the norm. He was initially granted the ability to judge and preside over God’s property. Fire is a symbol and instrument of judgment in the Bible. This character is being stripped of his ability to judge and stripped of his instrument of judgment, fire.

Ezekiel 28:19 “All who know you among the peoples are appalled at you; you have become terrified and you will cease to be forever.”

All the destruction, violence, and dread that has been brought upon others… The tables will ultimately be turned. The irony, he was created with the power to judge by fire. Now, he will be eternally judged by fire. Who is thrown into the Lake of fire in Revelation 20:10 for all eternity?