Satan the Serpent
Before I write
anything on this subject I would like to freely and humbly admit that I am no
expert on the Bible. I simply read it and try to understand it as best I can,
and then pass on what I have discovered in the hope that it may be of some help
to other people. This and all my other articles are not an attempt to set up 'once-and-for-all'
dogmatic statements. I believe I may be correct in many areas, but I also know
that in some points I am in need of some correction. I have, many times,
discovered other views by other people which have caused me to run back to my
original findings and modify, or even scrap them. I urge you, the reader, to
make up your own mind, and not follow my writing as if it is the final
statement!
The subject of this
essay is the matter of whether Satan appeared to Adam and Eve as a snake or as
an angel. Both points of view are defended by Bible-believers with equal
sincerity, and I am not interested in picking a fight. As with all peripheral
Bible teachings, when it comes to a choice between winning an argument and
losing a brother, or conceding an argument and keeping a brother, I always
choose the latter.
However, there is
much that I would like to say in defense of the view that Satan appeared as an
angel.
The first point
that must be made is that Genesis is literal, historical narrative. This means
that we are not reading some oral tradition, which has been altered as it has
been passed down from generation to generation, or a myth, in the sense of
Aboriginal 'dreamtime' myths, or fanciful legend in the genre of Zeus and
Hercules. What Genesis tells us is a real account, such as we might receive on
the television News, with live, actual footage of the events as they transpire.
Genesis is so true, we could hop in a time machine and
park near the Garden of Eden, and watch Adam being molded from the soil and
then spring to life. We could watch the rib pulled from Adam's side and see it
transform into a woman. And as Adam and Eve walked through the orchard (this is
what "garden" means) we would see a glorious being, Satan himself,
approach them. We would hear him speak, and then Eve would speak back, in a
language foreign to our ear.
The Bible is full
of idioms and figures of speech. This fact may surprise some people, because it
may seem quite illogical, to them, for God to use such 'unscientific' language
as a means of conveying truth. One would expect (naturally speaking) a more
technical and formal method, with less 'colouring'.
But God is the Author of the Bible, so we must accept His judgment, and look
into the idioms and figures of speech for the treasures they contain. There is,
after all, a lot more in a figure of speech, than a technical description of
something.
For example, suppose we described the defeat
of some Indians by a group of cowboys in technical language. We could
efficiently convey the numbers of cowboys and Indians and the course of the
battle, the types of guns used, the quality of the arrows fired, and so on. We
could submit the whole thing as a formal entry in the military files, and there
it would lie, boring to most people, dry, technical, and just another archive
to be kept for reference. Its main interest would be its historical record.
But suppose we told
the same story with the use of facts plus idioms and figures of speech?
Suddenly the battle would take on a new depth, it would catch the imagination, it would make us wonder. Just the addition of some cliches can make the event so much more interesting: The
Indians could 'bite the dirt', the guns might be 'blazing like fireworks', the
battle could be 'as wild as a stampede', the cowboys might 'cut the ground from
under' their attackers, the battlefield might be visited by 'hungry vultures of
death", and the story of the battle might 'spread like wildfire'.
Because God is both
Scientist and Playwright, He has peppered His Book with both accurate narrative
and creative devices, in order to make it arresting and interesting to us His
children. Having said this I must add that there is no serendipitous or randomness
about this writing. Everything is consistent, and measured, and balanced. God
is God, and His Word is perfect.
Why would God use a
figure of speech when referring to Satan in Genesis?
1. To call
attention to what He has to say,
2. To
emphasize what He has to say,
3. To
intensify what He has to say,
4. And
to underline the reality of the literal sense of what He has to say.
God wants to force
upon us the truth of the historical setting in which His description takes
place. He uses highly imaginative language to convey something true, which the
picture He uses is not literally true. There are many examples of this through
the Bible (For example Deut.32:22, Is. 43:2, Mat.3:12 and Rev.6:16) It is
common in our own normal everyday language to use metaphors, such as 'the rain
was biting though my jersey', or we 'battled a storm of protest', or we made a 'last
ditch' effort. In fact, it is very difficult to relay any information
without assuming some imaginative underlying picture. (You see how I used the
word 'underlying' as in sub-soil, and 'relay' as in passing something on?)
Another aspect of the way God uses figures
of speech and so on is the actual revelation of Himself
to us! The fact that He uses idioms and metaphors tells us something about Him
because His words convey His thoughts. Every writer betrays him or herself the
moment they put pen to paper. Something of our own personality is revealed as
soon as we begin to write, and it is the same with God. Suppose, for a moment,
that God was a machine. We might expect the Bible to be written in machine
code. Or suppose He was a cruel, heartless tyrant. His Word would be a
catalogue of rules and punishments. Or what if God was like some of those
invented gods of the nations? He would be morally slack, inconsistent, and in
most ways just as bad, and fickle as the humans who invented them. So it is
quite unrealistic for us to presume that God should obey our whims and write
contrary to His own choice and nature. His Book is written the way He wanted it
written. It is up to us to accept it as such and obey His rules of
interpretation.
The following is
quoted from Bullinger's 'Companion Bible':
"Figures are
never used but for the sake of emphasis. They can never, therefore, be ignored.
Ignorance of Figures of speech has led to the grossest errors, which have been
caused either from taking literally what is figurative, or from taking figuratively
what is literal.
The
Greeks and Romans named some hundreds of such figures. They may be divided into
three classes:
Figures
which involve (1) omission; (2) the addition;
or (3) the alteration or change, of a word,
or words, or their sense.
In Gen.3:14, 16 we
have some of the earliest examples. By interpreting these figures literally as
meaning "belly "," dust"," heel", or "head ".
we lose the volumes of precious and mysterious truth
which they convey and intensify. It is the truth which is literal, while
the words employed are figurative".
(He goes on to name
181 types of Figure of Speech with examples from the Bible)
When we look
through Genesis chapter three we find many figures of speech. For example
"eyes were opened", "they knew that they were naked",
"upon your belly you shall go", "dust shall you eat",
"bruise your head", "bruise his heel", "thorns and
thistles", "sweat of your face", "you are dust",
"to dust you shall return". In every case, God is trying to convey
more than just the bare facts. By "eyes were opened" He is conveying
the sudden shock and intense reaction which Adam and Eve experienced as they
realized the implications of what they had done. By "thorns and
thistles" we understand that God was condemning the world to many
"problems and difficulties", as well as literal changes in creation
of course. By "dust you shall eat" we understand that God was placing
Satan under a humiliating punishment.
In Revelation 20:2
we have two references to Satan which link him to his first appearance in
Genesis: "And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent,
called the Devil, and Satan, which deceives the whole world: he was cast out
into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him". Revelation 12:9
"And
he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan . . ." Revelation 20:2
In both references
the word "old" is used, which, taken literally means that Satan must
be at least 6000 years old (minimum) but it also links his 'oldness' with the
fact that he is also the "serpent".
The
Hebrew for "serpent" is 'nachash' which
means 'to hiss, mutter, whisper' as enchanters and those involved with the
black arts do. The secondary meaning of 'nachash' is 'to
divine, to enchant'. In other words, Satan's name means something like 'to
entice by enchantments', which is consistent with his first act of enticement
when he deceived Eve into sin. All through the Bible Satan's methods have been
much the same. He entices through false doctrine, false Christians, false Bibles,
false witnesses, false evangelists, false everything. In every area of life we
find the trail of the serpent - not just in the pulpit, but also in the Arts,
in Science, in Philosophy and so on. His goal is to draw people away from God's
Word and into alternatives, any alternatives
will do, provided they contradict what God has said.
"And no
marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light". 2
Corinthians 11:14 Satan is, of course, already an angel of light. What this
verse means is that he appears to those he wants to deceive as a member of the
church, or as a good pastor, or as a wonderful Bible teacher, or as a Christian
musician, or whatever. He comes as a wolf dressed as a sheep. See 2Cor. 11:1-15.
If you took the
time to read the above reference you will have noticed verse three, which says
that "as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety . . ." This
verse is explained by verse 14, quoted above, which refers to Satan as "an
angel of light". By this we see that it was not a snake which beguiled
Eve, but a glorious being, an angel, to whom Eve paid great attention. She
assumed that because of his appearance, he must have possessed superior
knowledge. It is hardly likely that she would have paid as much attention to a
snake - a mere created animal over which she and Adam were to have dominion.
Now look at Ezekiel
28. In this passage we have a description of the "king of
The link between
Satan and the Garden of Eden is made in the passage in Ezekiel, which again
shows that it was Satan as an angel who deceived Eve.
In defense of the 'Satan
was a snake' point of view, some people quote Genesis 3:1 which says "the
serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had
made." However, the word "subtle" means 'wise' ( The Hebrew word is 'aw-room' which means 'cunning
(usually in a bad sense) - 'crafty, prudent'.) and the word "beast"
means "living creature", so what the verse is saying is: "Satan
was wiser than any other living creature created by God". This makes
harmony of what we have already concluded.
Moving away from
the purely Scriptural view, let us suppose that Eve, in all her perfection and
great wisdom, actually held a conversation with a literal snake. On the face of
it this is most unlikely. The snake was just one of many beautiful creatures
created by God, but it was, after all, just a creature. Eve was a brilliant
creation, glorious and wonderfully made, far superior to the snake. She may
have been attracted to it aesthetically, but hardly intellectually. If there
was anything resembling an angel of light in the garden, perhaps a large bird
would have been more likely, but not a mere snake. However, if Satan behaved
like a snake, then the comparison is quite understandable. (We have many
similar comparisons in the Bible, such as Herod, whom Jesus called a fox, and
When we read in
Genesis 3 that Satan would "bruise his heel" we understand this
"head" to be more than just skin and bone. It has something to do
with character, and it will be only temporary. When we read that "he shall
crush your head" we understand this to mean more than literal hair and
skin and skull. It means that Satan's plans and plots, activities and purposes,
will one day be crushed and finished. Referring to this very passage Paul says
"And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet
shortly". Romans 16:20 Again, in Malachi: "And you shall tread down
the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet
in the day that I shall do this, says the LORD of hosts". Malachi
4:3 And Jesus warned Christians about throwing wisdom at the ignorant:
"Give
not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast your pearls
before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn
again and rend you". Matthew 7:6
The prediction that
Satan would one day 'bruise the heel' of the seed of the woman was a
wonderfully compact description of what followed. In just those few words God
foretold the temptations and injuries done to the Son of God, plus the
associated sufferings shared by His followers. The crucifixion set the seal on
Satan's doom, because by orchestrating the death of Jesus, Satan made the way
for the resurrection. The moment Jesus rose from the dead, Satan's entire
object (world domination among other things) was utterly defeated - his head
was about to be crushed. Through the death of Christ, he who had the power of
death would be destroyed, and all Satan's power brought to an end, including
all his works - Heb.2:14, Uohn 3:8, Rev.20. Thanks to
figures of speech, much more than a mere technical description of the facts is
conveyed to us.
Gen.3:14. "upon your belly shall you go". If this were literal,
then Satan, the angel must be sliding about on his stomach, but of course this
is quite absurd. He is also called the "prince of the power of the
air" Eph.2:2. What this figure of speech means is that Satan has been
humiliated. He has been brought down, demoted, disgraced. God has reduced his
rank and standing and authority from a high place to a very low place. In a
similar setting we read in Psalm 44:25 "For our soul is bowed down to the
dust: our belly cleaves to the earth". This expression tells us a lot more than mere facts could. We understand the feeling
of prostration and submission of the writer. We enter into his sense of
prolonged subjection to oppression or sorrow.
Gen. 314 "and dust
shall you eat all the days of your life". If this were literal, then we
know what Satan eats - the dirt which we grow plants and vegetables in. Soil. Minerals. If we take a figure
of speech literally we come to many absurd conclusions. But if we take the
expression as pointing to some underlying fact, some more important truth, we
understand that Satan judgment was to be always disappointed, always a failure,
always a loser. Proverbs 20:17 picks up on this 'eating dirt' idea: "Bread
of deceit is sweet to a man; but afterwards his mouth shall be filled
with gravel". Again, in the New Testament, Christians are rebuked
for "biting and devouring one another:" (Gal.5:14,15)
something more heart-breaking and terrible is meant.
Other examples of
these 'dirt" type of expressions are:
"He has also
broken my teeth with gravel stones, he has
covered me with ashes". Lamentations 3:16
"And Abraham
answered and said. Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak to the Lord, which
am but dust and ashes:" Genesis 18:27
"He raises up
the poor out of the dust" 1 Samuel 2:8
"Then did I
beat them as small as the dust of the earth, I did stamp them as the
mire of the street, and did spread them abroad". 2 Samuel 22:43
"My flesh is
clothed with worms and clods of dust" Job 7:5
"Let the enemy
persecute my soul, and take it; yea, let him tread down my life upon the
earth, and lay mine honour in the dust".
Psalms 7:5
"My soul
cleaves to the dust" Psalms 119:25
Etc.
When we read that
the enemies will "lick the dust" (Psalm 72:9) we are not supposed to
think of them down on their hands and knees licking away at the ground with
their tongues, but rather to understand that the enemies are prostrated in
defeat, subdued, brought down to complete submission. The expression is far
more effective at conveying the meaning than a mere statistical analysis of the
battle campaign.
Another problem
which arises if we think that Satan was a literal snake is the simple
biological impossibility of a snake talking. It has no larynx, or 'voice box'.
Even if it wanted to, it couldn't speak. It has no organs of speech, no lips,
no mobile tongue, no speech center in its brain. On
the other hand, where was the wisdom in Satan taking a mere creature, and
certainly not one of the most beautiful in creation, and using it like a
glove-puppet to beguile Eve? She was intelligent enough to see through
something as stupid as this. Whatever would she have thought if a real snake
has started talking to her? She would have been instantly suspicious. Why would God created a mere animal which had such
wisdom? If snakes could talk, what else in the Garden had the same ability? Monkeys? Elephants? Moths?
Traditions are very
powerful. They can be so strong that even when the Word of God is presented,
they still prevail. Jesus, in anger, told the religious leaders of his day: You
make "the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which
you have delivered: and many such like things you do". Mark 7:13. Many
Christians, despite having Bibles available, still think that Jonah was
swallowed by a 'whale', that Noah's
If we dig into the
figures of speech and look for the underlying truth we find a picture which
conveys many wonderful things. We see two beings, the first humans, both
glorious and perfect. They already have language and science built into them.
They already understand many things. They live and rejoice in a perfect world.
Suddenly an immensely glorious being appears to Eve. He challenges her to go
beyond what God has said and she does. It is this great disobedience - adding
to and taking from the words of God - which caused the Fall.
Not some silly story about a woman eating an apple. The traditional story, with
equally absurd illustrations, have smothered the real meaning of what happened
and it is the Church (the only organization on earth entrusted with the
preaching and teaching of God's Word) which has failed to consistently proclaim
this truth, hi this way Satan's deception has been successful for thousands of
years.
When Satan said
"Has God said . . .?" Eve should have been immediately alerted to the
danger. Her reply should have been to quote exactly what God had said. Or Adam,
who was "with her" should have done this.
Just as Jesus responded to Satan's "If you are the Son of God . . .?"
with quotes from the Word, Eve should have remembered precisely what God had
said and Satan would have been defeated.
But Eve committed
several errors. She omitted the word "freely" and added
the words "neither shall you touch it" and then she altered
the words "you shall surely die" into "lest you die". In
this way Eve misrepresented the Word of God, but when Jesus was tempted He
presented the Word of God faithfully.
From this
temptation of Eve we understand that Satan's main sphere of influence is in any
area where he can influence people to doubt the word of God. We see his
activity in the pulpit - perhaps his main area of deception (by this I mean
through false teachings, traditions, cults religions, New Age mystical ideas,
and sectarianism). There are of course many fine Christians who love and
cherish the Bible. We see Satan in the newspaper and other forms of media, in
professorial chairs, in universities and colleges, in Institutes of higher
learning, in the unsaved academia. We know that Satan has a dominant control
over the media - this is why anything which calls into question the Word of God
has ready admission into the newspapers and so on, and
also why anything which strongly supports God's Word is resisted and omitted
from the same organizations. The man or woman who claims to have found the body
of Jesus (or some such thing) is given air time and treated seriously, while
the creationist is held up as a 'flat-earther' and
depicted as 'controversial'. Sinful Mankind tolerates Christianity, but will
not receive it as the revealed Word of God. The unsaved will talk about the
Bible as 'literature' but they will not believe it to be anything more than
that.
If we continue to follow traditions, we (by default) join the crowd who think
in terms of snakes and apples. By doing this we help to hide God's truth. We
take part in the jeering of unbelievers and we pat the critics on their backs.
We also provide a stumbling block to the weak in faith because we help to
propagate a tradition which Satan himself has fostered. Better by far rather to
stand on God's Word and present it as it is written, with understanding and
faith. That way, on the Day of Judgment, we will not be ashamed of our witness,
and the ungodly will have no excuse.