This week we are going to look at the identity of the serpent in the Gardern of Eden. The Western Church usually assumes that the serpent was satan, but a deeper look at the identitiy of satan is rarely if ever looked at. We can dig into the origins of this serpent and obtain a better understanding of where it came from. Because of the nature of this study we are going to diverge from our normal practice of using audio or video recordings. We will using resources that are well referenced. We only have two resources, but they will take some effort to get through. This will be time consuming and require some seious mental energy, but given that this is identifying our greatest spiritual foe, it is worth the effort.
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Scripture Audio:
Presented as dramatizations from The Bible Gateway.
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David Guzik: Study Guide for Genesis 3
David Guzik is he senior pastor at Calvery Chapel in Santa Barbara, California. This study guide follows what we could consider a traditional look at the chapter, but allowing for mutliple interpretations.
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Bnonn Tennant: Who is the serpent in Genesis, and is it an actual snake?
Tennant does a good job of applying references to his thoughts. This is good because he looks at the spiritual beings in the Bible a little differently than we usually address them in Western though. One of the interesting comparisons that he makes is of the Garden and the Throne Room of the Lord. That leads to a broader discussion of the serpents role within the broader collection of non-human beings around God. Please read this one with discernment. It has some good points, but are outside normal thought. Throughout this post, there are links to related posts that may be of interest and add insite to what he states. This will provide solid discussion materal.
Here are some questions to prompt your study and/or discussion time:
- Do you believe that the term ‘serpent’ represents the entities physical characteristics, functional/operational characteristics, or both?
- What are your thoughts on the Garden of Eden being representative of either the throne room or council room of the Most High?
- Are you bothered by Bnonn Tennant’s use of the term god to represent the other spiritual beings in God’s court?
- Why do you think that the serpent focused on Eve instead of Adam?
- Snakes: Do you think that the serpent was literally a talking snake or that the curse resulted in snakes as we know them today?
- What do you think happened with the curse?
- If you were asked to explain the serpent to a non-believer, how would you explain who or what it is?
- How would you explain the serpent to a believer?