The Highway Forums General Discussion Theology Discussion Forum Two more questions in Genesis

John,

I am of the opinion that the snake never had legs. If one is consistent with the entire passage which relates the curse upon Adam & Eve, the serpent and the entire earth, this particular mention of the serpent crawling upon the ground, etc., is actually rhetorical and not to be taken literally. When the LORD through Moses says that the serpent shall "bruise the heel" of the woman's seed but that her seed will "bruise its head" it cannot be taken literally. For, in fact, what is being referred to is Satan and all the fallen angels (implied) and not the serpent and the Lord Jesus Christ and not Cain nor Abel. Further, the bruising of the seed's heel was actually a fatal blow which brought about the physical death of Christ, albeit in reality a less than fatal blow because He was resurrected . . . but the bruising of the serpent's head is not only a fatal blow but one that will result in eternal death, i.e., a life of living torment in Hell. Calvin also picks up on an important point concerning the serpent being consigned to the eating of "the dust of the earth", and we know that serpents don't' eat dirt! <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> Although the entire animal kingdom as well as the entire creation suffered the consequences of the Fall, the curse is not to be understood to be applicable to the physical snake in the garden but again to Satan.

In His grace,