OOOOOOOOO!!!
Snake
The snake will creep
Then suddenly leap
When in danger you will reap
Jesus tenderly will keep.
A SERPENT AMONG THE BOOKS.
A GENTLEMAN in India went into his library one day, and took a book from the shelves. As he did so, he felt a slight pain in his finger like the prick of a pin. He thought that a pin had been stuck by some careless person in the cover of the book.
But soon his finger began to swell, and then his arm, then his whole body, and in a few days he died. It was not a pin among the books, but a small and deadly serpent. There are many serpents among the books nowadays. They nestle in the foliage of some of our most fascinating literature; they coil around the flowers whose perfume intoxicates the senses. We read, we are charmed by the plot of the story, by the skill with which the characters are sculptured or grouped, by the gorgeousness of the word-painting—we hardly feel the pin-prick of the evil that is insinuated. But it stings and poisons us. When the record of ruined souls is made up, on what multitudes will be inscribed:
"Poisoned by the serpents among the books."
—Selected
Snake
But it is wisdom from beneath and not from above. The wisdom taught by Satan is opposed to the truth, unless, to serve his purpose, he apparently clothes himself with the light which enshrouds angels. To a certain class of minds he will come sanctioning a part of what Christ's followers believe to be truth, while he warns them to reject the other part as dangerous and fatal error.
The wily adversary is called "That old serpent, which is the devil, and Satan." Rev.20:2. What is literally true of a serpent is true of Satan's teaching and work. A serpent's track is a meandering one. He can only travel by means of the wriggling and twisting of his body. Elder Mitchel, of Iowa, about two years ago told me of the catching of a "live and perfect snake." It was placed in a long straight box, open at each end, and a trifle larger than the snake, so that it was not in any way bound, and was so loose in the box that it could have been readily and easily drawn out by the hand. But it could not get out itself because of insufficient room to make the meandering motions of its body needful to its forward travel, consequently it remained in the box, and starved to death. So of the track of "the old serpent," the devil; while truth goes in the most direct line, Satan's course is a meandering one. Speaking of him, the Saviour said, "He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it." John 8:44.
1984 JNL, HEVI 51
“Faith is not folly. It is not presumption. It is simple trust in the plain word of God. But the man in Oklahoma, U.S.A., who heard a preacher say that if a man had sufficient faith he might pick up a rattlesnake, and it would not bite him, and who, to test the matter went out and picked one up, and died from the bite that the snake inflicted, was both foolish and presumptuous. There was no faith in the act, because God had not told him to pick the snake up. Faith does not make experiments. If God sends a man to do a work which takes in throughout a region infested with snakes, then he can go with confidence that the word that sent him to be worked will keep him until the work is done, if he does not turn aside from the path marked out by the word.
The Gentlewoman is dealing with "The Sin and Scandal of Tight Lacing," and gives some extracts from letters received from some of the poor, deluded devotees of the goddess "Fashion." Following are two of the extracts:”
December 29, 1892 EJW, PTUK 416
"And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up; that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life." John iii. 14, 15. The children of Israel had sinned in the wilderness, "And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died." Then the people confessed their sins and begged that the serpents might be removed from them. "And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole; and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived."
Numbers 21: 6-9.
“In twelve months no fewer than 21,889 persons died in India from snake bite, and over half-a-million of snakes were destroyed during that period.”
May 10, 1894 EJW, PTUK 302
“And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,
When Pharaoh shall speak unto you, saying, Show a miracle for you: then thou shalt say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and cast it before Pharaoh, and it shall become a serpent.
And Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and they did so as the LORD had commanded: and Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh, and before his servants, and it became a serpent.
Then Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers: now the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments.
For they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents: but Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods.”
Exodus 7:8-12
“When God sent Moses back to Egypt, he gave him the best commission that was every given to man. "This shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM sent me unto you." God made himself known as the self-existent one-the living God. He is the living God, in contradistinction from all other gods of every kind. He has "life in himself," he is the Author of life. The title, "I AM" comprises all that may be said of God, for that he is the Creator of all things is necessarily conveyed in the idea that he alone lives by his own power. The possession of life, inherent life, marks Deity. The man who claims to have life in himself, whether he has faith in Christ or not, actually claims to be God.
On the changing of the rod into a serpent, "Speaker's Commentary" says:-
"This miracle had a meaning which Moses could not mistake. The serpent was probably the basilisk or Uracus, the Cobra. See Tretram, Nat. His., p. 271. This was the symbol of royal and divine power on the diadem of every Pharaoh. It was a poisonous snake, as is shown by the flight of Moses, and by most passages in which the same word occurs, sehash, derived from hissing. This snake never attacks without first inflating its neck, and then hissing; on the monuments it is always represented with its neck enormously swollen. The conversion of the rod was not merely a portent, it was a sign, at once a pledge and representation of victory over the king and gods of Egypt."
W. June 1, 1888 EJW, SITI 330
Satan Is Called a snake
“And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.
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.”
Revelation 12:7-9
“And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.”
Revelation 20:1-3
Satan Himself the Undercover
Tempter in Eden
It is difficult to conceive of Eve's holding converse with a groveling snake, as we know it today, or giving heed to it. But we can understand her fascination with a radiant creature, appearing like an "angel of light" (2 Corinthians 11:14) -- and apparently possessing supernatural knowledge, along with its disconcerting questions. Tradition has come to portray a slithering snake and a shining apple in connection with the Fall -- the former based on a misconception; the latter a pure fabrication. Thus this tragic episode is made the butt of the jeers and jokes of the infidel and the target of the critic's attacks. But let us turn from all such trivia, as we reverently seek the truth.
The scene of this artful and crafty temptation in Eden was laid amid the glories of the significant trees of the Garden. And the undercover tempter was none other than Satan himself, working through the medium of an enchanting "serpent" (Hebrews nachash) -- the name implying fascination or enchantment 1-- evidently on the order of a saraph. 2 The enchanting serpent of Eden was clearly not the writhing snake of today, now slithering along on its belly. It was then a creature of glorious beauty, more "sub-til" (Hebrews 'aram, wise) than any other creature in Eden, possessing powers and capacities no longer enjoyed.
So this most attractive and intelligent of all creatures, then doubtless having wings, like the saraph, was the dazzling medium that attracted the attention of Eve and to which she paid such deference. But back of it was none other than the old "serpent" (2 Corinthians 11:3), here operating under a guise. After its cruel achievement, Satan's tool was cursed by God and then made to glide and spiral along on its belly (Genesis 3:14), and has ever since been a loathsome, writhing reptile. That was one of the secondary results of the Fall.”
1966 LEF, CFF1 48, 49
“Rejoice not thou, whole Palestina, because the rod of him that smote thee is broken: for out of the serpent's root shall come forth a cockatrice, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent.”
Isaiah 14:29
“The burden of the beasts of the south: into the land of trouble and anguish, from whence come the young and old lion, the viper and fiery flying serpent, they will carry their riches upon the shoulders of young asses, and their treasures upon the bunches of camels, to a people that shall not profit them.”
Isaiah 30:6
A 3-year-old Australian boy's collection of eggs turned deadly when they hatched into venomous snakes.
Kyle Cummings likes wildlife, according to his family, so when he found 9 eggs on his lawn near Townsville, Queensland, he thought he'd bring them inside for further investigation. He put them inside a plastic takeout container and stored them in his bedroom closet. Big mistake.
He could have been killed, reptile specialist Trish Prendergast told the Post. The eggs hatched into eastern brown snakes, one of the most venomous land snakes in Australia.
Cummings' mother, Donna Sim, found seven of the snakes squirming around in the box within her son's closet. An unsettling sight to be sure, but even worse once she found out the baby snakes are apparently just as venomous as their adult counterparts. Thankfully, their teeth were probably too tiny to break the skin.
The family turned the box over to North Queensland Wildlife Care, to which released them back into the wild.
If the venom had entered a cut or the boy's mouth, he could have died, according to the report. Not such a cuddly plaything, after all.
Eastern brown snakes are speedy predators and one of the most common snake bites in Australia.
Associated Press
"The small town of Werda, in the kingdom of Dahomey, is celebrated for its temple serpents-a long building in which the priests keep upwards of 1,000 serpents of all sizes, which they feed with birds and frogs brought to them as offerings by the natives."
December 8, 1898 EJW, PTUK 782
THE HIDDEN SERPENT.