Serpent

NOTES:

Cahn, Jonathan. Return of the Gods. Christma Media. Kindle Edition

Pagans saw the serepent as a sourse of devine wisdom. But in the Bible it is seen as symbol of darkness, of the satanic o demonic realm.

Heiser, Michael S.. The Unseen Realm: Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible. Lexham Press. Kindle Edition.

In some respects, we know that the Genesis “serpent” wasn’t really a member of the animal kingdom. We have other passages to help us grasp that point, particularly in the New Testament.

We understand that, even though New Testament writers refer to the serpent back in Eden, they are really referring to a supernatural entity—not a mere member of the animal kingdom (2 Cor 11:3; 1 Thess 3:5; Rev 12:9). This is how we need to think about the story of Genesis 3. An Israelite would have known that the episode described interference in the human drama by a divine being, a malcontent from within Yahweh’s council.