SNAKE HANDLERS
First Word
I am amazed at the denominations that hang their
hat on different parts of the Bible.
The Pentecostals on speaking in tongues - The
Baptist on baptism by submersion.
The Methodist on the method of worship and life
styles - The Presbyterians on Predestination. Adventist on the Saturday Sabbath
- Others with feet washing and some Snake handling.
I realize the doctrines run deeper than I have
written; but this is the bottom line.
Background
- In the Book of Mark,
there are SIGNS that followed
the Believer.
- In other words there
are certain actions that will be observed in a Believer that has
been filled with the Holy Spirit as it was poured out on the day of
Pentecost.
- A couple of these
“signs” dealt with poison; from drinking deadly poison and being bitten
by poisonous snakes.
- NOTE: There were people who could be hired to
get a snake out of your house. They
were known as “Snake Handlers” or “Snake Charmers” – Oddly enough, snakes
do not have ears, so they cannot hear, they can only feel vibrations or
see movement. – So you can’t charm a snake by playing music – But they
might feel the vibrations or see you swaying as you toot your horn. -
People “Charm” themselves today by “Tooting their own Horn”.
Mark 16:17 -18 – You will pick up snakes and it will not hurt you
17 And these signs will accompany those who
believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues;
18 they will pick up snakes with their
hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all;
they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well."
NIV
Snakes as a Sign
- Many times snakes are
a symbolism of punishment sent by God. – They are metaphorically trials
and tribulations and attacks by wicked people.
- The Hebrew’s were
complaining against Moses and God about their living conditions and God
sent poisonous snakes among them and many died.
- Moses made a bronze
serpent lifted high on a pole as a symbol of their sin and if those bitten
by a poisonous snake would look on it their sin would be forgiven and they
would live. – This was a direct symbolism of Jesus being lifted up on the
cross and the forgiveness of their Sins.
- They did look upon it
and crazy as it seems; they began to worship snakes and at some point King
Hezekiah destroyed the bronze snake so they would not offer incense to it.
– Good Grief
- NOTE: I personally think that the medical
doctor’s symbol of a snake on a pole came from this Biblical account of
healing in the wilderness, but when asked they say NO. - Just
saying
Jer 8:17 – Un-charmed snakes
are punishment from the Lord
17 "For behold, I will send serpents among
you, Vipers which cannot be charmed, and they shall bite you,"
says the LORD. NKJV
Num 21:6-9 - Make a snake
and put it up on a pole
6 Then the LORD sent venomous snakes among
them; they bit the people and many Israelites died.
7 The people came to Moses and said, "We
sinned when we spoke against the LORD and against you. Pray that the LORD will
take the snakes away from us." So Moses prayed for the people.
8 The LORD said to Moses, "Make a snake
and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live."
9 So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a
pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, he
lived. NIV
John 3:14-15 – Jesus would
be lifted up on the Cross
14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in
the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
15 that whoever believes in Him should not perish
but have eternal life. NKJV
2 Kings 18:4 – King
Hezekiah destroyed the bronze snake
4 He removed the high places, smashed the sacred
stones and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke into pieces the bronze snake
Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had been burning
incense to it. (It was called Nehushtan.) NIV
“Signs People”
- The Signs People believed that if
there was “Sufficient Faith” they would not die or be permanently harmed.
- The practice was denounced in
1928 by the
Brood of Vipers
- There was something
called a Leviathan which
was depicted as large as an elephant or hippopotamus that lived in the sea
which was called a serpent. Some
suggest it had the form of a crocodile.
I don’t think anybody knows for sure what it looked like, but they sure
wrote about it.
- Serpents or Snakes are just not spoken
of that very well – Most of the time they are mentioned as a symbol of Evil,
Sin and Wrong Doing with condemnation and the wrath of hell following.
- Jesus called the
Pharisees and Sadducees a “Brood
of Vipers”, because they spoke evil.
- The serpent is the
enemy of God and of God’s people. The first and final villain.
- In the first book of
the Bible, God curses the serpent so he could no longer walk upright but had
to crawl on his belly. – In the Last book, God binds the “Old Serpent” and
casts him into Hell.
- Interestingly, in the end time,
snakes will not be banished, but transformed to be harmless.
Matt 3:7 – Jesus called
the Pharisees a Brood of Vipers
7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and
Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, "Brood of vipers!
Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? NKJV
Matt 12:34 – Brood of vipers speaking evil
34 Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil,
speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.
NKJV
Luke 3:7 – Brood of vipers
– wrath is to come
7 Then he said to the multitudes that came out to
be baptized by him, "Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from
the wrath to come? NKJV
Matt 23:33 - Brood of vipers! How can you escape hell?
33 Serpents, brood of vipers! How can you escape
the condemnation of hell – NKJV
Gen 3:14 – God has cursed the serpent
14 So the LORD God said to the serpent,
"Because you have done this, "Cursed are you above all the
livestock and all the wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you
will eat dust all the days of your life. NIV
Ps 74:14 – God will crush
the head of Leviathan the serpent
14 It was you who crushed the heads of
Leviathan and gave him as food to the creatures of the desert. NIV
Isa 27:1 – God will slay
Leviathan the serpent
1 In that day, the LORD will punish with his
sword, his fierce, great and powerful sword, Leviathan the gliding
serpent, Leviathan the coiling serpent; he will slay the monster
of the sea. NIV
Rev 20:2 - God seized the
ancient serpent and bound him.
2 He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent,
who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. NIV
Isa 11:8-9- END TIMES; The
snake will be transformed.
8 The infant will play near the hole of the
cobra, and the young child put his hand into the viper's nest.
9 They will neither harm nor destroy on all
my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as
the waters cover the sea. NIV
The Conflict
- Ancient Manuscripts
for some reason omit Mark 16:9-20 which uniqueness speaks of snake
handling, so it is possible this section was added later as it does
not appear in any of the other Gospels. – Some commentaries end with Mark
16:8 as if 9-20 did not exist.
- We are also instructed
that the Bible is the inspired
word of God. Therefore all
scripture carries the same weight regardless of how many times something
is mentioned.
- Since the passages
are included in the canonized Bible; I accept them as from God and they
must be examined, handled and unpacked with care.
- We are instructed to prove scripture with scripture;
so we would be wise to examine other scripture that embraces handling
snakes and drinking poison. – I find
none
- Oddly enough most
snakes in
- The
Asp
is very small and was said to live in holes in the ground striking at what
comes by for food, and you could be on top of one and not even know it.
- The
Carpet Viper
also known as the Adder is
sometimes as long as two feet often hides in the sand attacking its victims.
While you feel no pain at first, internal bleeding has already started and
death occurs in about two days.
- There is scripture
where Paul was bitten by a viper and he just shook the snake off. - At first the observers thought that he
was getting the just rewards of a murderer and when he didn’t swell up or
die they changed their minds thinking he must be a god. Go
figure
- In this incident with
Paul, he did not go looking for a snake to handle; it handled him. – It
should also be noted; that God had placed an Angel beside Paul to be sure he got to
- Wicked
people
are metaphorically mentioned as snakes that come among you,
un-charmed by the Word of God. – In
other words the Disciples have been assured that they will be able to “HANDLE”
what ever comes against them. – The “Snake” in the grass is rendered
harmless. – Luke says if they step on a snake in the grass they
will not be harmed.
- The quoted scripture
is part of “The Great Commission”
to go into all the world and preach the Gospel; with the emphasis that God
will protect them, even from snakes and people trying to poison them. –
The purposeful drinking
of poison without harm IS NOT taught in the New Testament.
- If you accept the “gift
signs” as a COMMAND today; then you must accept
- The TEST of your Faith is not snakes,
but correct doctrine; the doctrine of Jesus Christ.
2 Tim 3:16-17 – All
Scripture is God-breathed
16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is
useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,
17 so that the man of God may be thoroughly
equipped for every good work. NIV
Isa 28:13 – Learn precept
upon precept – line upon line
13 The word of the LORD was unto them precept
upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line;
here a little, and there a little; KJV
Mark 16:15-16 – The Great
Commission and Assurances
15 And He said to them, "Go into all the
world and preach the gospel to every creature.
16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved;
but he who does not believe will be condemned. NKJV
Mark 16:17 -18 – You will be supernaturally protected.
17 And these signs will accompany those who
believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues;
18 they will pick up snakes with their
hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all;
they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well." NIV
Luke 10:19 – Authority to
trample on serpents – Not Handle
19 Behold, I give you the authority to trample
on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing
shall by any means hurt you. NKJV
Acts 28:3-6 – Paul bitten
by a snake; just shook it off
3 Paul gathered a pile of brushwood and, as he put
it on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his
hand.
4 When the islanders saw the snake hanging from
his hand, they said to each other, "This man must be a murderer;
for though he escaped from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live."
5 But Paul shook the snake off into the
fire and suffered no ill effects.
6 The people expected him to swell up or suddenly
fall dead, but after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual
happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god. NIV
Acts 27:23-25 – An Angel
of God protected Paul
23 For there stood by me this night an angel
of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve,
24 saying, 'Do not be afraid, Paul; you must be
brought before Caesar; and indeed God has granted you all those who sail with
you.' 25 "Therefore take heart, men, for I believe God that it will be
just as it was told me NKJV
Ps 58:4-5 – The Wicked are
like snakes that cannot be charmed
4 Their poison is like the poison of a serpent;
they are like the deaf cobra that stops its ear,
5 Which will not heed the voice of
charmers, Charming ever so skillfully.
NKJV
2 John 7-10 – The test is
not snakes; but correct doctrine
7 For many deceivers have gone out into the world
who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and
an antichrist.
9 Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the
doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of
Christ has both the Father and the Son.
10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this
doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him; NKJV
Tempt God
- At no point in
scripture do we see a “side show” of handling snakes - Handling snakes in
public is no more a proof of Faith than the pagan “Snake Charmers” in
- There are some things
that “You Know that You Know” and you do not have to PROVE them to
anybody; doing so is a sign of doubt on your part.
- Satan was trying to
get Jesus to prove he was the Son of God and told Him to jump off the
mountain and God would save Him IF
He was His Son. – Jesus said we were not to TEMPT the Lord God.
- In other words, don’t
bring snakes into your worship service. – It’s like saying; “OK God; PROVE
yourself”. YOU SHALL NOT TEMPT THE LORD YOUR GOD - - SELAH
Matt 4:7 - You shall not tempt
the LORD your God
7 Jesus said to him, "It is written again, 'You
shall not tempt the LORD your God.' "NKJV
Deut 6:16 - You shall not tempt the LORD
16 "You shall not tempt the LORD your
God as you tempted Him in Massah. NKJV
James 1:13 – God does not temp you
13 Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am
tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He
Himself tempt anyone.
NKJV
In the multitude of counselors,
there is wisdom.
Prov 11:14
I
am grateful for those that went before me providing concepts, ideas, historical
information, and scripture verses.
Because of them I can stand on their shoulders and see further that I
otherwise ever could have.
A Commentary – Critical,
Experimental & Practical – Eerdmans
Annotated Reference Bible - DAKE
Antiquity of the Jews; The - Josephus;
The Jewish Historian
Bible Almanac; The – Packer Tenney White
Baker Commentary on the
Bible – Walter A. Elwell
Bible Commentary – F.B. Meyer
Customs and Folkways of Jewish Life – Theodor H. Gaster
Expositor’s Bible
Commentary; The – Frank E. Gaebelein
Guide Post - Lent – Max Lucado
Harpers Bible Dictionary – Harper & Row
His Glory Revealed – John Hagee
Illustrated Encyclopedia
of Bible Facts – Packer-Tenney White
Jewish book of Why; The – Kolatch
Matthew Henry’s Commentary – Zondervan
Mysteries of the Bible – Readers
Digest
New International Version
Bible – NIV
New Unger’s Bible
Handbook; The – Gary N. Larson
One Hundred Bible Topics – Marvin Hunt
Paul & His Letters – John B. Polhill
The Message Bible
Tyndale New Testament
Commentaries - Leon Morris
Vincent’s Word Studies of
the NT – MacDonald
Webster’s New World
College Dictionary - Webster
Why Do Catholics Do That? –
Kevin Orlin Johnson
Wikipedia
Wycliffe Bible Commentary;
The – Pfeiffer & Harrision
Zondervan Pictorial
Encyclopedia of the Bible; The – Tenney
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