Serpent Jesus Quotes

Intellectualism is a poor master over passion

If you yield yourself up to His divine working, the Lord will alter your nature; He will subdue the old nature, and breathe new life into you. Put your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, and He will take the stony heart out of your flesh, and He will give you a heart of flesh. Where everything was hard, everything shall be tender; where everything was vicious, everything shall be virtuous: where everything tended downward, everything shall rise upward with impetuous force. The lion of anger shall give place to the lamb of meekness; the raven of uncleanness shall fly before the dove of purity; the vile serpent of deceit shall be trodden under the heel of truth.

John sees Jesus symbolically as the serpent lifted up on his cross, drawing the venom out of human life, restoring wholeness. It is a powerful image. John

It is pretty difficult to imagine a single person having, simultaneously, the characteristics of the serpent and the dove, but this is what Jesus expects. We must combine the toughness of the serpent and the softness of the dove, a tough mind and a tender heart.

We operate under the notion that America actually belongs to us Christians, and that we belong to it. We believe that the church and the state can make beautiful music together if only they would cooperate. We believe that the preaching of the Kingdom of God and the rallying around the red, white, and blue are always compatible. We believe the lie of the Serpent that we can hold to the sacrificial, life-giving, peace-pursuing, cheek-turning way of Christ and hold to the poisonous, domineering, power-hungry, least-of-these-abusing systems of the Empire. But this is impossible.

Among Jesus’ Jewish contemporaries no one questioned the legitimacy of divorce. The only question was what constituted adequate grounds;

Jesus said, “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.” (Matthew 10:16) To be fully prepared for spiritual warfare, we need to be trained on the weapons of our warfare. The primary purpose of this book is to provide this training for you and your church. The first step you must take is to educate yourselves, then to remain alert and aware.

When Satan tempted Adam, he was disguised as a serpent; when Satan tempted Jesus, he was not disguised. As we approach the End of the Age, Satan will gradually unmask himself. Matthew 24 and Revelation 13

The Book of Numbers relates that when the people murmured rebelliously against God, they were punished with a plague of fiery serpents, so that many lost their lives. When they repented, Moses was told by God to make a brazen serpent and set it up for a sign, and all those bitten by the serpents who looked upon that sign would be healed. Our Blessed Lord was now declaring that He was to be lifted up, as the serpent had been lifted up. As the brass serpent had the appearance of a serpent and yet lacked its venom, so too, when He would be lifted up upon the bars of the Cross, He would have the appearance of a sinner and yet be without sin. As all who looked upon the brass serpent had been healed of the bite of the serpent, so all who looked upon Him with love and faith would be healed of the bite of the serpent of evil.

What the Ancient Liar did to Eve at the beginning of things he did to me. The Mother of All was a mighty woman. She thought to outface the Serpent. She thought to brazen it though as she were herself equal to evil.

  But JOSHUA whom the Gentiles JESUS call,   His Name and Office bearing, who shall quell   The adversarie Serpent, and bring back   Through the worlds wilderness long wanderd man   Safe to eternal Paradise of rest.

Jesus—for example, his categorical rejection of divorce, or his statement that “if anyone does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26)?

Jesus said: “And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself” (John 12:32). It is by looking to Jesus on the cross that we are drawn by His love for us. By gazing in faith at our Redeemer’s sacrifice, we are saved from the sting of the serpent.

MAY 6 I HAVE BROKEN LEVIATHAN’S POWER FROM YOUR LIFE MY CHILD, I have broken the demonic power of the sea serpent from your life. I have caused all his demonic little demon fish to stick to his scales as I brought him up out of the midst of the sea and cast him into the wilderness to lie on the open field as food for all the beasts of the field and the birds of the heavens. The rivers and seas belong to Me, and I will make utterly waste and desolate the places where his evil power has dwelt. I am the one who commands the sea and its streams to run dry, and I have broken the power of the evils of the sea from bringing destruction to your life. EZEKIEL 29:3–5; ISAIAH 44:27 Prayer Declaration Father, in the name of Jesus I bind every sea monster that would attack my life or region. You have raised a watch against Leviathan, and You will not let the demonic powers of the sea oppress me. You have stripped him of his power and have taken away his armor. You have caused the places of his domain to become utterly waste and desolate and have thrown him and his demonic spirits into the wilderness to be food for the beasts and birds who dwell there.

I saw the sky descending, black and white, Not blue, on Boston where the winters wore The skulls to jack-o’-lanterns on the slates, And Hunger’s skin-and-bone retrievers tore The chickadee and shrike. The thorn tree waits Its victim and tonight The worms will eat the deadwood to the foot Of Ararat: the scythers, Time and Death, Helmed locusts, move upon the tree of breath; The wild ingrafted olive and the root Are withered, and a winter drifts to where The Pepperpot, ironic rainbow, spans Charles River and its scales of scorched-earth miles. I saw my city in the Scales, the pans Of judgement rising and descending. Piles Of dead leaves char the air— And I am a red arrow on this graph Of Revelations. Every dove is sold. The Chapel’s sharp-shinned eagle shifts its hold On serpent-Time, the rainbow’s epitaph. In Boston serpents whistle at the cold. The victim climbs the altar steps and sings: “Hosannah to the lion, lamb, and beast Who fans the furnace-face of IS with wings: I breathe the ether of my marriage feast.” At the high altar, gold And a fair cloth. I kneel and the wings beat My cheek. What can the dove of Jesus give You now but wisdom, exile? Stand and live, The dove has brought an olive branch to eat.

What would prevail in Christian tradition was not only the stark sayings of the gospels attributed to Jesus and the encouragements to celibacy that Paul urges upon believers in 1 Corinthians, but versions of these austere teachings modified to suit the purposes of the churches of the first and second centuries.

I told one of the writers that our fields were so nearly vertical that we planted our corn with a shotgun and had to breed a race of mules with legs shorter on one side than the other for plowing. And when he asked how we transported the corn down off the mountain, I said, in a jug. He appeared to believe me, so I was encouraged to go on and tell him that every church in that corner of the state, except our Indian congregation, either conducted services speaking entirely in tongues or else took up serpents as recommended by Jesus. Both the writer and I had taken a few rounds of Scotch at the time. The story appeared as fact in a well-known national periodical, along with the obligatory descriptions of the beauty and ruggedness and unmatched remoteness and mystery of our mountains.

Jehennam is a region fraught with all kinds of horrors. The very trees have writhing serpents for branches, bearing for fruit the heads of demons. We forbear to dwell upon the particulars of this dismal abode, which are given with painful and often disgusting minuteness. It is described as consisting of seven stages, one below the other, and varying in the nature and intensity of torment. The first stage is allotted to Atheists, who deny creator and creation, and believe the world to be eternal. The second for Manicheans and others that admit two divine principles ; and for the Arabian idolaters of the era of Mahomet. The third is for the Brahmins of India ; the fourth for the Jews ; the fifth for Christians ; the sixth for the Magians or Ghebers of Persia ; the seventh for hypocrites, who profess without believing in religion. The fierce angel Thabeck, that is to say, the Executioner, presides over this region of terror. We must observe that the general nature of Jehennam, and the distribution of its punishments, have given rise to various commentaries and expositions among the Moslem doctors. It is maintained by some, and it is a popular doctrine, that none of the believers in Allah and his prophets will be condemned to eternal punishment. Their sins will be expiated by proportionate periods of suffering, varying from nine hundred to nine thousand years. Some of the most humane among the doctors contend against eternity of punishment to any class of sinners, saying that, as God is all merciful, even infidels will eventually be pardoned. Those who have an intercessor, as the Christians have in Jesus Christ, will be first redeemed. The liberality of these worthy commentators, however, does not extend so far as to admit them into paradise among true believers ; but concludes that, after long punishment, they will be relieved from their torments by annihilation.

Revelation 12:11 "And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death ". I would like you to read this message with rapt attention, so that you can key in to what God intends to do through this miracle power. The verse above is a very interesting part of the Bible; it gives us weapons and it would be good, if you could memorise it and appropriate it to yourself. There is a weapon that has never lost its power, but people have not learnt to use it; whereas, it is highly effective. Even the enemy is afraid, when you start to talk about it. That old serpent, the dragon, that the Bible talks about, saying: "Woe unto the earth and the sea ... " There is a weapon that can overcome it. There is nothing that God created, that He cannot rearrange; there is no enemy that God cannot defeat. A two-year old girl learnt this song and was always singing it: "There is power, there is power, there is power in the Blood of Jesus." Her mother noticed that she never took ill. One day, the mother washed the girl's clothes and hung them outside. There was a high wind, which blew her small panty to the compound next to theirs and it landed in the sitting room of a neighbour, who was a herbalist. Immediately the panty landed, there was pandemonium in the room; everything turned upside down. Everything he knew how to do failed; nothing could avail for him. He did his consultation and he found out that there

BAPTISM BY FIRE Scriptures for meditation: 2 Chronicles 6; 7:1-6 Confession: Jer. 20:9 PRAYER POINTS Thank God for the purifying power of the fire of the Holy Ghost. I cover myself with the blood of the Lord Jesus. Father, let Your fire that burns away every deposit of the enemy fall upon me in the name of Jesus. Holy Ghost fire, incubate me in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. I reject any evil stamp or seal placed upon me by ancestral spirits in the name of Jesus. I release myself from every negative anointing in the name of Jesus. Let every door of spiritual leakage be closed in the name of Jesus. I challenge every organ of my body with the fire of the Holy Spirit. (Lay your right hand methodically on various parts of the body beginning from the head.) Let every human spirit attacking my own spirit release me in the mighty name of Jesus. I reject every spirit of the tail in the name of Jesus. Sing the song "Holy Ghost fire, fire fall on me". Let all evil marks on my body be burnt off by the fire of the Holy Spirit in the name of Jesus. Let the anointing of the Holy Ghost fall upon me and break every negative yoke in the name of Jesus. Let every garment of hindrance and dirtiness be dissolved by the fire of the Holy Ghost in the name of Jesus. I command all my chained blessings to be unchained in the name of Jesus. Let all spiritual cages inhibiting my progress be roasted by the fire of the Holy Spirit in the name of Jesus. Now Make this Powerful Confession Before You Proceed I boldly declare that my body is the temple of God and that the Holy Ghost is dwelling in me. I am cleansed through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, whosoever wants me to go into captivity shall go into captivity. Whosoever wants me to die by the sword shall die by the sword. The strangers shall fade away and be afraid out of their close places in the mighty name of the Lord Jesus Christ. They shall lick the dust like a serpent, they shall move out of their holes like worms of the earth,

[C]arrying promises such as these [from Scripture] enable us to hear what God's voice sounds like amid the torrent of competing voices that thrash the boarded up windows of our minds. We hear His strong and tender voice of love, presence, purpose, and truth for us in Jesus. We lean by faith upon those promise words of our heavenly and tender Father, as Jesus did when the ancient fiend tempted Him in the wilderness. While the hissing serpent whispered thoughts to undo Him, the Savior responded, 'It is written.

What you are asking God to do will induce a major impact on your life. That major impact cannot happen with minor faith. He will carry out His divine plan by providing you with opportunities to advance yourself in Him. Jesus said, in Luke, 10:19, “Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” He will teach you the skills you need to be a force in your industry, but He will not force you into success. You must reach out and walk through those doors, which are open just for you.

Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves” (Matthew 10:16). Jesus Himself acknowledged that when we go into our world, we are being sent as sheep among wolves—even in the church at large. Everyone is at a different level of maturity. When I begin spending time with a new friend, I have learned to be aware of warning signs to avoid long-term hurt. If a woman is constantly critical of others; carries lots of drama; tells me secrets and then always says, “Don’t tell anyone”; is fearful, gossips, or is not humble but defensive when corrected, I see these as cautions.

So what was the hidden divine purpose in this seemingly strange story? As we saw, from Romans 5:12 on Paul has referred to “Sin” in the singular, “Sin” as a force or power that is let loose in the world and that ultimately rules the world (“Sin reigned in death,” 5:21). “Sin” here seems to be the accumulation not just of human wrongdoings, but of the powers unleashed by idolatry and wickedness—the powers that humans were supposed to have, but that, through idolatry, they had handed over to nongods. Paul then uses the word “Sin” as a personification for all this. Sometimes it seems as though, in 7:7–12 at least, Paul says “Sin” where he might have said “the satan,” or at least the serpent in Genesis 3. In any case, in Romans 7 Paul is telling two stories, the story of Adam and the story of Israel, weaving them together to show—as in much Jewish tradition—just how closely that they resonated with one another. His main point is that, through the Torah, Israel recapitulated the sin of Adam.

But if you like the word Quetzalcoatl, don't you think it would be wonderful if he came back again? Ah, the names of the gods! Don't you think the names are like seeds, so full of magic, of the unexplored magic? Huitzilopochtli!--how wonderful! And Tlaloc! Ah! I love them! I say them over and over, like they say Mani padma Om! in Tibet. I believe in the fertility of sound. Itzpapalotl--the Obsidian Butterfly! Itzpapalotl! But say it, and you will see it does good to your soul. Itzpapalotl! Tezcatlipocá! They were old when the Spaniards came, they needed the bath of life again. But now, re-bathed in youth, how wonderful they must be! Think of Jehovah! Jehovah! Think of Jesus Christ! How thin and poor they sound! Or Jesús Cristo! They are dead names, all the life withered out of them. Ah, it is time now for Jesus to go back to the place of the death of the gods, and take the long bath of being made young again. He is an old-old young god, don't you think?' He looked long at Kate, then dived for his soup. Kate widened her eyes in amazement at this torrent from the young Mirabal. Then she laughed. 'I think it's a bit overwhelming!' she said, non-committal. 'Ah! Yes! Exactly! Exactly! But how good to be overwhelmed! How splendid if something will overwhelm me! Ah, I am so glad!

Mormonism was founded on the purported visit of two personages of light who brought a different gospel, a different Christ, and a different spirit. The Bible itself identifies these two beings who appeared to Joseph as he fell under the marvelous power of that unseen being from another world: They were beings who were the enemies of God. But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.... For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. 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 1 1:3,4,13-15). According to Smith's

Yahweh saved the sons of Israel for himself, through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and claimed the land of Canaan for their inheritance. The only problem was that Canaan was already under the dominion of Ba’al, Asherah and other gods. And Canaan was the land of giants, the Seed of the Serpent. Joshua ben Nun and David ben Jesse had cleansed the land of its unclean inhabitants with the Wars of Yahweh. But Israel’s constant adultery with the gods of Canaan lost them their inheritance, and over the years, they were chastised by one nation after another. Assyria, Babylonia, Media-Persia, Greece, and now Rome.

More prosaically – and forgetting all about that alleged serpent and that hypothetical Kundalini energy – it appears possible to describe the processes in such experiences in modern scientific terminology. One of the best approaches can be seen in psychologist David Cole Gordon’s neglected little masterpiece on the subject of masturbation, Self-Love. It is Professor Gordon’s thesis that “unification” experiences appear on a variety of levels and are much more miscellaneous than has been realized hitherto. In fact, he insists that many experiences regarded as coarse or low are precisely similar, neurologically, to the cosmic trances of Buddha, Jesus, Blake or Whitman.

Adversity comes before opportunity, but you shouldn’t allow it to be an obstacle to stop you from drawing your opportunity out of it. God created all of us with a purpose—tribulations will refine and prepare us for the high purpose if we don’t give up or give in. The spirituality that shaped my life involved struggle between my soul, my psychic nature outside God, which includes the mind and the intellect, and my spirit, my pneuma, my pure consciousness that relates to God. I experienced divine intervention and miracles and always won when I allowed my soul and spirit to work in my life in harmony. In Matthew 10:16, Jesus said, “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.” My services did indeed take me among the wolves, but my dove personality dominated in my life, exposing me to many harms. The good thing is, God used it to strengthen me to fulfill the mission He gave me. My self-confidence and faith grew so strong that I was filled with boldness to take risks in the steps I took toward achieving my goals. Handouts create dependency, but handiness builds independence and self-esteem

Throughout the history of the Church, there have been attempts to disfigure the identity of Christ by detaching the Christ whom we encounter in the Gospels from the God of the Old Testament. The first known and perhaps most infamous attempt was made by Marcion, who argued at the beginning of the second century that Yahweh was a different God than the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, describing the former as violent and wrathful while the latter is loving and compassionate. Views of this sort are most often debunked by demonstrating the love and compassion of Yahweh in the Old Testament. The commands to love God and neighbor are drawn from the Torah, specifically Leviticus and Deuteronomy. His mercy and compassion are continual themes in the Psalms. It can, however, be equally refuted in the opposite direction. The Christ who walked in the Garden and cursed the serpent, who destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, who led the people out of Egypt and commanded Joshua’s armies is the same Christ whom we encounter in the four Gospels. The Christ of love and compassion and mercy whom we encounter in the Gospels and the teaching of the apostles that make up the rest of the New Testament is the same Christ whom we encounter in the judgment of Revelation as the avenger of innocent blood.

In the very first expression of the Gospel, God tells the serpent he will be the enemy of the woman’s seed until the day his head is bruised (Gen. 3:15). Thus, Satan, represented by this strange crawling voice piece, would eventually be crushed under foot. God, our refuge, will enable us to tread on the lion and the adder (Ps. 91:13). Jesus gave his disciples authority to tread on serpents and scorpions (Luke 10:19). In the end Jesus’ death and resurrection was his own bruising and the powers of darkness’ ultimate defeat (Col. 2:14–5; Rev. 20:2). So the mandate to have dominion still holds, but now it must include reversing the effects of sin through the one who gained the power over sin, Jesus Christ. Through death he destroyed the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil. Now, we too, through him have that power (Heb. 2:14–15).

There is yet one more point which I must mention here in which the gospel is the best help to man. We must remember to-day, that there are districts of the earth where the ground is yet red with blood. There are sad portions of our globe that as yet must have the name of Aceldama, the field of gore, there are spots where the horse-hoof is splashed with blood; where the very carcasses of men are the food of ravens and of jackalls, the mounds of Balaclava are as yet scarcely green, and the spots where rest the relics of our own murdered sisters and brothers are not covered with the memorial stone. War has ravaged whole districts; even in these late times the dogs of war are not yet muzzled. Oh! what shall we do to put an end to war? Mars, where is the chain that shall bind thee like Prometheus, to the rock? How shall we imprison thee for ever, thou cruel Moloch; how shall we for ever chain thee? Behold here is the great chain, that which one day is to bind the great serpent; it has the blood-red links of love. The gospel of Jesus Christ the crucified one, shall yet hush the clarion of war, and break the battle-bow in sunder.

Flies represent demons in the Word, as do other animals. If you could see into the spirit world, many demons resemble animals. For example, the Bible said that when the seed of God’s Word is sown, the birds of the air come to eat it up (Matt. 13:4, 19). When Jesus said, “They will take up serpents” (Mark 16:18), He was referring to demonic powers. The Bible talks about treading on snakes and scorpions (Luke 10:19). David, in foretelling Jesus’s experience on the cross, said, “Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled me” (Ps. 22:12). Those spirits came at Him, goring Him like bulls. Devils will start—you guessed it—dropping like flies! These demon spirits attach themselves to our lives as generational curses, bondages, strongholds of the mind, lust, perversion, and addictions of every kind. The problem with most churches is that we just swat at the flies for a few days when they are right up in our faces. They go away for a while, but they keep coming back. It’s time to clean house! It’s time for a scriptural season of cleansing. Devils will start—you guessed it—dropping like flies, not only those in your life and your generation, but also the future generation of demons that would be passed down to your children. Solomon wrote, “Dead flies putrefy the perfumer’s ointment, and cause it to give off a foul odor” (Eccles. 10:1). Flies would get into the special anointing oil. They’d get stuck in it, die, and spoil the fragrance. Flies hinder the anointing in your life. Your worship gets polluted by flies of lust and perversion. We are supposed to walk in that pure anointing that pierces hearts, breaks yokes, delivers from bondages, and heals the sick. It’s time to get rid of the “flies” in your business, your marriage, your mind, your house.

I became a pastor. But I didn’t know how to be one. The Serpent saw this. He seized his opportunity. “You can be like God,” he said. And I, the fool, believed him. Looking back over these twenty years of pastoral work, the words of a poet come to mind. They set the stage for conversation I’d like to have with you.

I became a pastor. But I didn’t know how to be one. The Serpent saw this. He seized his opportunity. “You can be like God,” he said. And I, the fool, believed him.

To gain the hearing of a post-Christian society already skeptical about religion will require careful strategy. We must, in Jesus’ words, be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. I fear that our clumsy pronouncements, our name-calling, our stridency — ​in short, our lack of grace — ​has proved so damaging that society will no longer look to us for the guidance it needs.

enmity that God had declared would exist between the serpent and the seed of the woman—between Satan and his subjects and Christ and his followers. Through man’s sin, Satan had gained control of the human race, but Christ would enable them to cast off his yoke. Whenever, through faith in the Lamb of God, a soul renounces the service of sin, Satan’s wrath is kindled. The holy life of Abel testified against Satan’s claim that it is impossible for man to keep God’s law. When Cain, moved by the spirit of the wicked one, saw that he could not control Abel, he was so enraged that he destroyed his life. And wherever there are any who will stand in vindication of the righteousness of the law of God, the same spirit will be manifested against them. It is the spirit that through all the ages has set up the stake and kindled the burning pile for the disciples of Christ. But the cruelties heaped upon the follower of Jesus are instigated by Satan and his hosts because they cannot force him to submit to their control. It is the rage of a vanquished foe. Every martyr of Jesus has died a conqueror. Says the prophet, “They overcame him [“that old serpent, called the devil, and Satan”] by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.” Revelation 12:11, 9.

It had some kind of access to the underworld. Equally significant was the fact that this sacred space stood at the foot of the mountain range of Hermon, the cosmic mount of assembly of the gods. Simon had read the Book of Enoch, and the Book of Giants at Qumran. He knew of the fall of the Watcher gods at this very mountain before the Flood. This was the heart of evil in the land of Bashan, the place of the Serpent.

Bashan is the place of the Serpent.” She knew more about this world around her than he realized. “Yes,” he said. “It is like a battle between two cosmic mountains. That is why the Psalm says, “O many-peaked mountain, mountain of Bashan! Why do you look with hatred, O many-peaked mountain, at the mount that Elohim desired for his abode, yes, where Yahweh will dwell forever? The chariots of Elohim are twice ten thousand, thousands upon thousands… Elohim will strike the heads of his enemies.” Mary stopped walking. They were almost to the forested area. She looked fearful. “Do you mean that we are walking into the midst of a battle of gods and angels?

Nachash,” croaked Jesus. It was the name of that ancient tempter in the Garden, the first of many names through the ages; Accuser, Mastema, Sammael, Diablos, Helel ben Shachar, the Serpent. “I am going by Belial these days. It has a nice ring to it.” Belial meant the personification of wickedness, treachery and rebellion.

precious look on John’s face. A mixture of revelation and confusion, like he doubted what he had been proclaiming might actually be coming true. Jesus had chuckled and thought of dunking John in the water as a playful prank, but thought better of it because of the seriousness of the moment. Baptism was a serious sacrament indeed. It was a symbolic ritual that recapitulated the cleansing waters of the Great Deluge. In the days of Noah, the fallen Sons of God had not merely come to earth to draw worship away from Yahweh. They also sought to corrupt humanity by violating the holy separation between heaven and earth. They mated with human women who gave birth to unholy hybrids of human and angel. These offspring were giants called Nephilim, and they were mighty warriors of old. The angelic/human crossbreeding had a second purpose: to corrupt the bloodline of the Messiah that was promised through the fully human bloodline of Eve. In the curse on the Serpent of the Garden. Yahweh had said, “I will put war between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall crush your head, and you shall strike his heel.” The violent sins of men and angels brought the judgment of Yahweh to cleanse the earth from abomination. But it was only the beginning of a war that would not cease until the promised Messiah came to crush the Serpent’s head.

series of torches surrounded the curved opening of a large pit, the opening of the Abyss. The high priestess from earlier stood on the opposite side of the pit, before an entourage of twelve nymphs, all seductively alluring in translucent gowns and jewelry. The priestess wore a headdress of gems on her raven black hair. Her purple robe, made from the finest of Phoenician silks, flowed behind her like a spirit. Her eyes were large, deep brown and hypnotic. Her beauty was beguiling. When she spoke, her voice sounded like seven voices blended into one bewitching unity. “Welcome to the Gates of Hades, Son of God,” she said. “And your ass-kissing suck-upssss.” Her “esses” slid through the air like the serpents that wrapped around her arms and neck. Jesus stared her down. She faltered and visibly shivered, but regained her composure and approached him. “What is your name, woman?” “I am the Ob of Paniassss.

exilic prophet Daniel, had followed the final sign in the heavens that pointed to the birth of Messiah. It was written that when the constellation Virgo was on the horizon, clothed with the sun and the moon under her feet, with twelve stars above her head, she would give birth to a divine king. This was because the king planet Jupiter aligned in conjunction with the king star Regulus over her head creating a bright star. The Magi observed that sign in the year 750 AUC, seven hundred and fifty years from the founding of the city of Rome. The star Regulus is in the constellation of Leo the Lion. The Magi were taught by their Hebrew prophet that this King of the Jews would be called the Lion of the tribe of Judah. And they were taught he would come from the small town of Bethlehem in Judea. Unfortunately, the second part of the sign was the constellation of Hydra, the red dragon, whose tail was just under Virgo’s feet and entailed a third of the horizon line called the elliptic. This prefigured the Serpent and his fallen ones seeking to devour the Messiah at birth.

Simon explained, “Demons are the spirits of the Nephilim. You will remember the readings in synagogue from the Scriptures that in the days of Noah, the fallen Sons of God mated with the daughters of men. Their unholy offspring were the Nephilim, giant hybrid bastards of angel and human essence. This unholy mixing of heaven and earth, was a violation of the separation of creation. But it was also the attempt to corrupt the human bloodline of the promised Messiah who would crush the head of the Serpent.” Peter interjected, “The Nephilim were killed in the Flood.” Simon nodded. “Yes, but their seed rose again to occupy the land of Canaan that was promised as Israel’s inheritance by Yahweh. Joshua used the holy wars of Yahweh to cleanse the land from the evil filth of the Nephilim, whose descendants were the mighty Anakim and Rephaim. It was not until King David that they were fully subdued and wiped out.” Peter asked Jesus directly, “Well, then what do you mean that the Nephilim are back, Rabbi?” Jesus sighed. “The god of this world, and his principalities and powers know that I am here. So they have awakened the spirits of the Nephilim to occupy the Land. The holy wars of Yahweh are renewed in the heavenlies.” Simon added for clarification, “Rabbi is cleansing the land for inheritance by Messiah.” “In the synagogue,” said Jesus, “I did not quote the entire passage from Isaiah. I left out the last line.” “What was the line, Rabbi?” asked Peter. Jesus said somberly, “To proclaim the day of vengeance of our God.

And the faithful were not the only ones privy to the prophecy. Even from the earliest of ages, the heavenly principalities and powers used the Seed of the Serpent to hunt down the Chosen Ones in each generation to try to kill them. Enoch, Noah, Abraham and others were protected by Yahweh from this murderous plan. The oracles of the pagan diviner Balaam and others foretold a divine star coming from the line of Jacob, a kingly scepter from Israel, a lion from Judah who would crush the skulls of the enemy and dispossess his inheritance.

this island and her sister city, Sidon, just twenty-five miles north up the coast, had a far more dark and fascinating spiritual significance than mere Greek imperial expansion. The gods of the Phoenicians, Ba’al, Asherah and Molech, constituted a trinity of wickedness that shadowed Israel through much of her history. The Seed of Abraham never seemed to fully eradicate this Seed of the Serpent from their land. These gods seemed to have their talons dug deep into the soul of the nation.

You would not attack an unarmed, naked woman, would you, Son of God?” Her voice turned from vulnerable to sexual. “Or would you like to?” Jesus kept looking her in the eye. Compassion flowed from his gaze, not judgment. It shook her to the core. He said, “You are a woman created in the image of Yahweh and you have a name.” “I am the Ob of Panias. I belong to Pan.” “You belong to Yahweh,” said Jesus. He reached out and touched her head. She froze. Her eyes went wide with terror. She began to tremble. The serpents slid off her body in a self-protective move. Her head tilted back and her mouth opened wider than humanly possible. A black swarm of flies issued from her mouth as if from her very soul.

Tohu wabohu. Formless and void. The desert of Azazel was the haunt of jackals, the habitation of siyyim and iyyim demons, Lilith the night hag and her serpent Ningishzida. Here the night creatures howled, the centaurs dwelt, and the satyr goat demons danced upon the ruins of desolation. Chaos and disorder. But it was not night, it was day. The demons seemed held at bay, their whisperings carried only by the winds.

But as the primeval past faded into memory, mankind’s knowledge expanded and its hubris grew with the promise of the Serpent that humans would become as gods. The Watchers became less obvious with passing time, as they sought to work more behind the veil of the supernatural world. As divine beings, Watchers could exert hypnotic effect on humans to see them in any appearance they desired. Thus, the eight-foot tall shining Belial made himself appear to be a mere five-foot ten being, both male and female, neither male nor female, a dissolution of gender, an abomination in the Law of God. But to Belial, such intolerant condemnation would not stop him from looking good. Unlike the ordinary, quite uncomely human before him, Belial still wanted to stand out from the crowd. He reveled in abomination.

Warned by Gabriel, the Magi never returned to Herod and Jesus’s parents escaped to Egypt until after Herod died. By the time Herod, that son of a serpent, murdered all the young male children of Bethlehem, Jesus was already gone. Jesus knew that Herodian mass murder was a mere portent of the battle he had in his future. And this monster before him was the heavenly architect of his earthly opposition. Jesus swayed in his stance. He reached down and with a grunt picked up his staff to hold himself up.

Pray knowing that you pray to your heavenly Father. Pray in confidence that when you ask you will receive; when you seek you will find; when you knock it will be opened. Pray knowing that you pray to a God who doesn’t give stones or serpents to his kids. Believe Jesus, and pray accordingly.

Thus we have it illustrated in the story of the snake who was sent to kill Hercules, when an infant in his cradle; [482:2] also in the story of Typhon, who sought the life of the infant Saviour Horus. Again, it is illustrated in the story of the virgin mother Astrea, with her babe beset by Orion, and of Latona, the mother of Apollo, when pursued by the monster. [482:3] And last, that of the virgin mother Mary, with her babe beset by Herod. But like Hercules, Horus, Apollo, Theseus, Romulus, Cyrus and other solar heroes, Christ Jesus has yet a long course before him. Like them, he grows up both wise and strong, and the "old Serpent" is discomfited by him, just as the sphynx and the dragon are put to night by others.

Mark 16:15-20 Jesus said to his disciples: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned. These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons, they will speak new languages. They will pick up serpents with their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them. They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” So then the Lord Jesus, after he spoke to them, was taken up into heaven and took his seat at the right hand of God. But they went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the word through accompanying signs.

First of all, He revealed to John that the Serpent was angry only at a certain group of people: Rev 12:17 And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. Who is the woman?  Israel.  Who is the seed?  Messiah.  Who is the remnant of Israel’s Messiah (her seed)?  Those who keep the commandments of God AND have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

APRIL 6 YOU ARE REDEEMED FROM THE CURSE THROUGH THE POWER OF MY SON YOU ARE MY mighty warrior, and I have given you My armor that you may be able to be victorious over the enemy. Use My shield of faith, for with it you will be able to put out all the flaming darts that Satan will try to use against you. Be strong and courageous, for the enemy desires to destroy you altogether. When Leviathan stands before you with sparks of fire spewing from his mouth and smoke going out of nostrils like a boiling pot or a forest fire, you will have the power to utterly defeat him. You will be able to quench every burning light that he uses to try to inflict his destruction upon you. In the name of My Son, Jesus, you will be able to rebuke every firebrand sent against your life. EPHESIANS 6:13, 16; JOB 41:20–21; ISAIAH 7:4 Prayer Declaration In Your power, Lord, I quench with the shield of faith every fiery dart the enemy sends my way. In the name of Jesus I quench the darts of jealousy, envy, anger, bitterness, and rage sent against my life. I bind and cast out every fiery serpent sent against me, and I will not be burned by the fire of the enemy.

Martin Luther noted that “the sin underneath all our sins is the lie of the serpent that we cannot trust the love and grace of Christ and that we must take matters into our own hands.

Yea, did he not bear record that the Son of God should come? And as he alifted up the brazen serpent in the wilderness, even so shall he be lifted up who should come. 15 And as many as should look upon that serpent should alive, even so as many as should look upon the Son of God with faith, having a contrite spirit, might blive, even unto that life which is eternal.

MARCH 5 YOU WILL DESTROY ALL ANIMALISTIC DEMONS DO NOT FEAR when the enemy comes after you disguised in the animalistic characteristics of wild beasts and dangerous vipers. If you fight in My power and strength, you will tread on the lion and the cobra, and you will trample the great lion and the serpent. The wild boars from the forest will not be able to ravage you, nor will insects from the field be able to feed on you. I will protect you from the prowling of beast in the darkness, when lions roar for their prey and seek their food. Though the leopard lies in wait near your home to tear to pieces those who venture out, it will not do you harm, for My power in you is greater than all the power of the enemy. PSALMS 91:13; 104:2–21; JEREMIAH 5:6; LUKE 10:19 Prayer Declaration I tread upon serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt me. I tread down the wicked; they are ashes under my feet. I rebuke every spirit that creeps forth from the forest. In the name of Jesus I close the door to every demonic rat that would attempt to come into my life.

Sin a little thing? It put a crown of thorns on Jesus’ head and pierced His heart! It made Him suffer anguish, bitterness, and woe. If you could weigh the least sin in the scales of eternity, you would run from it as from a serpent and abhor the slightest appearance of evil. Look upon all sin as that which crucified the Savior, and you will see it to be “sinful beyond measure.

Notice that God “places enmity” between Satan and Eve’s offspring. We struggle against sin, hating it in ourselves. If God hadn’t placed enmity between the seed of the Serpent and the seed of the woman, we would be given over to our sinfulness, willing slaves to Satan’s evil purposes. But God blesses us by giving to us and preserving in us a hatred for what is evil. God gives us new hearts when we put our trust in Jesus, but we still must battle the sin nature that remains. The fact that there’s a battle at all is a result of God’s grace and part of his plan to eradicate the enemy. We can all agree with the Bible that conflict is painful, sometimes destructive, and not to be entered into carelessly. Conflict, far from being a sign of moral or marital failure, is God’s chosen means of rescuing his people and destroying sin.

The Bible warns us about doing good to those who don't appreciate it and may even repay evil for good. Jesus taught us to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves (Matthew 10:16). Here's a verse to consider: "Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces." - Matthew 7:6 This verse advises us to discern who we choose to do good to, as some people may not receive our kindness with gratitude. Instead, they may take advantage of our generosity or even respond with evil. However, this doesn't mean we shouldn't do good at all! We should strive to discern the right situations and people to show kindness to, and trust God to guide us. Remember, our ultimate reward comes from God, not from human appreciation. Keep seeking wisdom and guidance from God's Word!

This is no surprise to us. The Church was promised ongoing conflict from Genesis 3:15 to the end. We expect to see the kingdoms of men rising and then falling, and the “seed of the serpent” seeking to crush the “seed of the woman.” Christians are committed to “the eternal city.” But it is not Rome. Our commitment is to Jesus Christ and his church. There are always two kingdoms, two cities, and two kings. But only the city of God and of King Jesus will last forever.

Agora o nascimento de Jesus Cristo foi assim. Estando Maria, sua mãe, desposada com José, antes de se ajuntarem, achou-se ter concebido do Espírito Santo. Sim, e o semideus grego Perseu nasceu quando o deus Júpiter visitou a virgem Danae como uma chuva de ouro e a engravidou. O deus Buda nasceu através de uma abertura no flanco de sua mãe. Catlicus, a deusa de saia de serpente, pegou uma pequena bola de penas do céu e a escondeu em seu seio, concebendo assim o deus asteca Huitzilopochtli. A virgem Nana pegou uma romã da árvore regada com o sangue do morto Agdestis, colocou-a em seu seio e deu à luz ao deus Átis. A virgem filha de um rei mongol acordou uma noite e encontrou-se banhada em uma grande luz, que a fez dar à luz Genghis Khan. Krishna nasceu da virgem Devaki. Hórus nasceu da virgem Ísis. Mercúrio nasceu da virgem Maia. Rômulo nasceu da virgem Reia Sílvia. Por alguma razão, muitas religiões se forçam a pensar no canal de parto como uma via de mão única, e até o Alcorão trata a Virgem Maria com reverência.

Luther’s reaction to the rapid disintegration of Protestant unity is instructive: This won’t have baptism, that denies the efficacy of the Lord’s Supper; a third, puts a world between this and the Last Judgment; others teach that Jesus Christ is not God; some say this, others that; and there are almost as many sects and beliefs as there are heads. . . . When the pope reigned we heard nothing of these troubles.127

Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.

The price is too high, the serpent tells him, abandon them to their own filth. O my Father, Jesus prays, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.

Take God-Given Authority (1) You must become a believer, for this is only valid for believers (Jn. 14:12; Matt. 16:17). (2) Break the bondage of Satan over the aware and unaware mind. Command that all bonds of serpents, chains, cords, metal, etc. be cut off and removed in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Call for the Heavenly Father to send angels with swords to do this (Heb 1:14; Lev 26:13, Isa. 28:22; Job 38:31). (3) Daily recite renunciation and warfare prayers and consistently break evil soul ties and Curses and break away from all mind-altering medicines. (4) Keep a right attitude toward deliverance; stay ready at all times to receive more. Any doubt, care, or worry could be a flaw in your protective armor. (Lk. 8:14).

In God’s goodness, he tells us what is right and wrong. God defines human moral behavior, because he knows what will result in the ultimate good. But the serpent tempts: “God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:5). The fundamental human sin is to make our own moral choices apart from God’s directives. This is sin distilled: God tells us how we should behave, but we do not trust that he has our best interests in mind, so we decide what is right and wrong for ourselves. Then we act on it.

The Gospel writers record their eyewitness accounts of what the kingdom coming to earth really looks like. In the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, we see that our God has both spiritual and earthly preoccupations. Heaven mattered to Jesus, for sure, and proclaiming eternal salvation from sin was essential to Jesus’ message of the kingdom. “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life” (John 3:14-15). Jesus was insistent that sin was a very real problem, and because of sin, humans would be eternally separated from God apart from the divine work of atonement. But the stuff of earth mattered to Jesus too. In addition to his concern for the souls of men and women, Jesus also paid a good deal of attention to their bodies: hands that wouldn’t work, backs that wouldn’t straighten, legs that couldn’t walk. The kingdom advanced as Jesus healed physical infirmities and proclaimed forgiveness from sin, took interest in the poor and the poor in spirit.

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. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” (Gen. 3:14-15)

SHIP: I have taught you about the classical Pandora and her box. PANILLE: I know how this planet got its name. SHIP: Where would you hide when the serpents and shadows oozed out of the box? PANILLE: Under the lid, of course.

The famous ritual of Jesus washing the feet of his male disciples (John 13 : 1–11). After taking his clothes off (yes, he strips) and tying a towel around his waist, Jesus does something that only slaves and women did in his culture, something that “real men” never did: he washes other peoples’ feet. More provocatively still, it is this unmanly or womanly act, he teaches, that signals both his own divinity and the way he wants his own disciples to live. As Jennings has it, “Jesus’s ‘divine’ identity thus is expressed in his disregard for the most intimately enforced institutions of worldly society: gender role expectations.” Not everyone, of course, is pleased with such a queer act: “Jesus stripping naked and washing the feet of his friends,” Jennings reminds us, is “something that Peter at least regards as quite unseemly.” Dale Martin makes a very similar point: although “Jesus allows a woman to wash his feet (and we biblical scholars— who know our Hebrew—recognize the hint [foot penis]), when it is his turn, he takes his clothes off, wraps a towel around his waist, and washes the feet of his male disciples, again taking time out for a special seduction of Peter.” Modern readers, then, may be blind to the gendered and sexual meanings of such acts, but the original participants certainly were not, nor are our contemporary gnostic scholars.

John 8:38–44, Jesus spoke to some of the Jewish people and leaders who opposed Him (per John 8:22,16 31,17 48,18 52,19 and 5720) and pointed out that they are of their father the devil. John the Baptist and Jesus both affirmed the leaders of the Jews (i.e., the scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees) were a brood (i.e., offspring) of vipers and serpents (obviously not literally, but rather in a spiritual sense) in verses, such as Matthew 3:7,21 Matthew 12:34,22 Matthew 23:33,23 and Luke 3:7.24 Jesus even says they are of their father the devil in John 8:44.25 It’s interesting to note that of all the types of serpents currently in the world, the Bible repeatedly uses “a brood of VIPERS” to describe those lashing out at Christ. So, is it possible that the initial serpent in the Garden was actually a type of viper? We can’t know for certain, but it is something to consider; after all, vipers are among the most vicious types of snakes. Though not the most venomous, the aggressive Saw-scaled viper (also called Echis or Carpet viper) leads the way (by far) with the most human kills per year for snake bites.

And who are the Serpent’s offspring? Well, that’s more abstract. The apostle John gives us examples—like the Jewish leaders who hated Jesus. “You are of your father the devil,” Jesus told them (John 8:44). Jesus called his betrayer, Judas, a devil (John 6:70). The Serpent’s offspring is anyone who stands against God’s plan, just as he

(2) The sense of their own sinfulness will be overruled for the good of the godly. Thus our own sins shall work for good. This must be understood warily, when I say the sins of the godly work for good - not that there is the least good in sin. Sin is like poison, which corrupts the blood, infects the heart, and, without a sovereign antidote, brings death. Such is the venomous nature of sin, it is deadly and damning. Sin is worse than hell, but yet God, by His mighty over ruling power, makes sin in the issue turn to the good of His people. Hence that golden saying of Augustine, ‘God would never permit evil, if He could not bring good out of evil.’ The feeling of sinfulness in the saints works for good several ways. (a) Sin makes them weary of this life. That sin is in the godly is sad, but that it is a burden is good. St. Paul’s afflictions (pardon the expression) were but a play to him, in comparison of his sin. He rejoiced in tribulation (2 Corinthians 7:4). But how did this bird of paradise weep and bemoan himself under his sins! ‘Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?’ (Romans 7:24). A believer carries his sins as a prisoner his shackles; oh, how does he long for the day of release! This sense of sin is good. (b) This inbeing of corruption makes the saints prize Christ more. He that feels his sin, as a sick man feels his sickness, how welcome is Christ the physician to him! He that feels himself stung with sin, how precious is the brazen serpent to him! When Paul had cried out of a body of death, how thankful was he for Christ! ‘I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord’ (Romans 7:25). Christ’s blood saves from sin, and is the sacred ointment which kills this quicksilver.

2nd Thessalonians says that Christ Jesus will appear when the man of sin is revealed. If we could only receive the truth that the fallen First Adam has the nature of the Serpent, God would deliver us and reform us into His likeness (nature). Then we would understand why we will continue to be the enemies of God until our spirit is redeemed and our soul is adopted. But we have to recognize our fallen spiritual condition before the Son of God will appear in us.

This will happen because Antichrist’s irresistible presence will be the result of an invisible network of thousands of years of collective knowledge. He will be the embodiment of a very old, super-intelligent spirit. As Jesus Christ was the “seed of the woman” (Genesis 3:15), this man will be the “seed of the serpent.” Moreover, though his arrival in the form of a man is foretold by numerous Scriptures, the broad masses will not immediately recognize him for what he actually is—paganism’s ultimate incarnation: the “beast” of Revelation 13:1. It’s been assumed for centuries that

Duality of Mind is the condition that man fell into when Righteous Adam, who was the Christ of the previous age, yielded to the Serpent in his thoughts. Every man is born with a Carnal Mind, but Jesus of Nazareth is the only man who was ever born with both a Carnal Mind (which He inherited from His mother), and the Mind of Christ (which He inherited from His heavenly Father).

The 1st Church of Selfish Desires Offering Jesus dressed up in world ways giving comfort, happiness, and success through wealth and the practice of sin as long as you give your tithe and offerings to this newfound truth like the whisper from a serpent to Eve.

The Devil was waiting for me around the corner; camouflaged in the evening darkness, smiling with a wicked smile while entertaining the thought if he could tempt Jesus Christ with the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them, if he could tempt, Eve first and then Adam, to eat the forbidden fruit from the Garden of Eden what match would this glutton be before his destructive powers. This time instead of assuming the form of a vile serpent, he transformed himself into a demonic breeze that wafted out the delicious aromas from all eateries to my nostrils.

The same Christ is Revealed in all the Covenants since the Fall. They are as many Cabinets one within another: but Christ the Jewell within them All. All their Promises lead to him, and Center in in him, All their Commandments refer to him, All their Threats drive to him, All their Ceremonies Typifie him, All their Sacraments signfie him, All their Ordinances magnifie him, &c. But in every of them how differently is the same Christ represented! As the Seed of the woman bruising the Serpents Head; in the First: As the true Noah saving an Elect Remnant by water by his blood, in the Ark of the Church; in the Second: As the Seed of Abraham in whom all the Nations of the earth should be blessed in then third: As the Prophet like Moses raised up from among the People Israel, to be hearkned unto in all things, under severest Penalty: in the Fourth: As the Royall Seed of David, that should sit upon his Throne, ruling the House of Jacob, The Church of God, for evermore; in the Fifth: As the true DAVID, Shepheard, Prince and King of the Redeemed Captives for ever; in the Sixth; And, as God manifested in the Flesh, Crucified, Dead, Buried, Risen, Ascended, and Set down on the Right hand of God, For the actual accomplishment of his Elects Redemption; in the Seventh.

Talking to his father made Dill feel like he was talking to a sentient brick wall that somehow knew about Jesus.

And the Enemy, the Destroyer, senses the surface truth that this Jesus is a threat, so he targets Him for destruction. Lucifer shows up in the desert to tempt a weakened Jesus using a trusted strategy—he will appeal to the same primal lust for power and control that bulldozed Adam and Eve into an unthinkable betrayal. But Jesus is having none of that. The Enemy is banished from His presence, where he stays until he sniffs an opportunity to launch a second assault in a lonely garden. In Mel Gibson’s brilliant portrayal of this tipping-point confrontation in The Passion of the Christ, the weight of the assault is palpable. Jesus is alone and tormented to the point of death on the eve of His crucifixion. The serpent moves through the Gethsemane garden toward the exposed feet of Jesus—now perilously within striking range. Everything hangs in the moment. And then, in a shocking burst of violence, Jesus stomps on the serpent’s head.3 It is sudden and brutal and … revelatory. It turns out that Jesus—sweating blood, abandoned, and apparently beaten—is no shrinking violet. The Great Surprise is that He cannot be leveraged and that He is no victim of circumstances. In this, He is not at all the way most Americans describe Him.

God’s vision is so much larger than our vision, and in John 3, Jesus reveals a larger meaning for this piece of Jewish history. Jesus compares himself to that serpent: as it was lifted up on a pole, so he would be lifted up on the cross. As those who looked upon the serpent would live, those who look to Jesus will have eternal life.