Skyscraper Ministries/Lectures/Annual Baptisms/The Other Seventy Training Academy
That Old Serpent
An address to a question regarding the Devil and the
1) Why did
Satan have to disguise himself as a serpent to tempt Eve?
Passages to help answer the question
Genesis
3:1 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the
LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not
eat of every tree of the garden?
Revelation
12:9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the
Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the
earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
Greek definition of the term (Subtle)
·
Subtle/Arum:
Crafty, cunning, sly.
Satan
and his angels are celestial spirits. These spirits are generally unseen but
have been known to seek the bodies of humans or animals as vessels for
possession. See biblical examples below:
1.
Matthew 8:31 So the devils besought him, saying, If thou
cast us out, suffer us to go away into the herd of swine. 32 And he said
unto them, Go. And when they were come out, they went into the herd of swine:
and, behold, the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the
sea, and perished in the waters.
2.
Mark 1:23 And there was in their synagogue a man with an
unclean spirit; and he cried out, 24 Saying, Let us alone; what have we
to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know
thee who thou art, the Holy One of God. 25 And Jesus rebuked him, saying,
Hold thy peace, and come out of him. 26 And when the unclean spirit had torn
him, and cried with a loud voice, he came out of him.
Answer:
Satan
entered into the being (The serpent) that he believed would most effectively
help his cause of introducing sin into the world. He entered into the most
crafty, cunning and sly animal to tempt Eve. Apparently the Devil knew Adam
would not be seduced by his methodology and there were no other humans on
earth. Perhaps the only animal that could commiserate with humans was the
snake.
2) Why couldn't he tempt her as he was? It would appear it would
have been easier to tempt Eve as he was rather than a serpent.
Demonic
spirits operate on a spiritual level and their makeup is not generally visible:
Ephesians 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against
principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this
world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
The
struggle of humanity is not physical, yet Satan needs a physical vessel to be
successful. Satan needs a physical vessel for his evil suggestions to be heard.
The Devil will not literally whisper in your ear but he will get someone else
to do it. He needs someone to work through and it is generally man or woman.
None of us have seen the Devil but we have fallen victim to his plots on
numerous occasions. If we could literally see the Devil coming I am sure we
would be terrified and would truly flee, making the Devil's attempts
ineffective. “And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel
of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed
as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works”
(2 Corinthians 11:14-15).
3) I have heard the forbidden fruit was an apple on the tree of
conscience. Is this true?
The
KJV refers to it as the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:17).
Their are 9 references to apple(s) in the Bible and none contextually appear to
refer to the fruit contained on the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
4) Due to the curse of the serpent is it correct to interpret that
snakes used to walk on legs but now they are cursed to crawl on their bellies?
Genesis
3:14 And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this,
thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy
belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:
I
would say that the above appears to be an accurate deduction but it could have
a figurative meaning as well. Recently a fossilized snake with hind limbs was
discovered and there are certain snakes, currently, that have small hind limbs
that they use for things other than walking. I believe a literal interpretation
of Genesis 3:14 proves to be correct.