The Seed of the Serpent

Intro

Text - Genesis 3.14-15

Genesis 3:14–15 NASB 2020

14 Then the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, Cursed are you more than all the livestock, And more than any animal of the field; On your belly you shall go, And dust you shall eat All the days of your life; 15 And I will make enemies Of you and the woman, And of your offspring and her Descendant; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise Him on the heel.”

Title - The Seed of the Serpent

Series - Genesis: The Foundation of Biblical Doctrines

Background

The issues -

are not all humans descended from Adam and Eve?

how can 2 different kinds reproduce?

if there is a serpent seed today, how are they to be identified physiologically?

The serpent

Questions

Was the serpent in the garden, Satan himself?

Certain references say the serpent and the devil are the same being —

Revelation 12:9 NASB 2020

9 And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

Revelation 20:2 NASB 2020

2 And he took hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years;

But the serpent was an animal in the garden

Genesis 3:1 NASB 2020

1 Now the serpent was more cunning than any animal of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God really said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?”

the serpent belonged to the “animals of the field”

there were 3 types of animals created on the 6th day -

Genesis 1:24–25 NASB 2020

24 Then God said, “Let the earth produce living creatures according to their kind: livestock and crawling things and animals of the earth according to their kind”; and it was so. 25 God made the animals of the earth according to their kind, and the livestock according to their kind, and everything that crawls on the ground according to its kind; and God saw that it was good.

livestock - Heb. behema, cattle, domesticated animal

crawling animal - Heb. remes, small crawling animals, including reptiles

animalsof the earth - Heb. hayyah, wild animals, bests of the field

he was distinct among the wild animals

he was cunning/crafty - skillful, marked by deception

he could speak

he did not move by his belly - he had feet!

He was used by the devil

Satan uses lives to work in the physical world

Judas

Luke 22:3–4 NASB 2020

3 And Satan entered Judas, the one called Iscariot, who belonged to the number of the twelve. 4 And he left and discussed with the chief priests and officers how he was to betray Him to them.

Ananias

Acts 5:3 NASB 2020

3 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back some of the proceeds of the land?

The serpent was the only other living creature that Satan can use to deceive humankind

Satan used the serpent to put his evil scheme into action

usurpation of authority - he had always wanted to be above God’s angels

now he wanted to have authority over earthly creation

produce his own “people” - spirit beings could not reproduce

but he found away top have children - using the seed of another creation

corrupt and destroy God’s good creation - at the very least, Satan wanted to bring God’s creation to destruction together with him and his evil hosts

Thus, the serpent became Satan’s namesake and representation in the fall of man.

The “seed”

Questions

where are the serpent’s seed/descendants?

God clearly identified the serpent’s “seed”

Genesis 3:15 NASB 2020

15 And I will make enemies Of you and the woman, And of your offspring and her Descendant; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise Him on the heel.”

“offspring” and “descendant” - Heb. zera, seed, descendant, offspring

corresponds to the grk. sperma, seed, (eng. sperm)

God identified 2 distinct seeds

Cain was the first seed/offspring of the serpent

Genesis 4:1–2 NASB 2020

1 Now the man had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain, and she said, “I have obtained a male child with the help of the Lord.” 2 And again, she gave birth to his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of flocks, but Cain was a cultivator of the ground.

at first glance, one could easily conclude that Cain and Abel were both children of Eve to Adam

as the story continued - he killled his brother Abel

He belonged to the wicked one

1 John 3:10–12 NASB 2020

10 By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother and sister. 11 For this is the message which you have heard from the beginning, that we are to love one another; 12 not as Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And for what reason did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil, but his brother’s were righteous.

He was of the evil one - certainly NOT Adam, but the devil

Jesus said the same thing to the Jews who were against him -

John 8:44 NASB 2020

44 You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he tells a lie, he speaks from his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of lies.

His genealogy was separated from Adam’s

Gen 5 records the genealody of Adam to Noah’s children

Adam; Seth; Enosh; Kenan; Mahalalel; Jared; Enoch; Methuselah; Lamech; Noah; Shem, Ham, Japheth;

Gen 4.16-24 records the genealogy of Cain

Cain; Enoch; Irad; Mehujael; Methushael; Lamech; Jabal and Jubal, and Tubal-Cain;

The Book of Chronicles does not include Cain in the genealogy - see 1 Chronicles 1.1-10

From 2 bloodlines to 1 bloodline

Thus, there were 2 bloodlines of mankind before the Flood in the days of Noah

the Sethites - descended from Seth, who was a son of Adam

the Cainites - descended from Cain, who was of the evil one

the 2 bloodlines intermarried

Genesis 6:1–5 NASB 2020

1 Now it came about, when mankind began to multiply on the face of the land, and daughters were born to them, 2 that the sons of God saw that the daughters of mankind were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose. 3 Then the Lord said, “My Spirit will not remain with man forever, because he is also flesh; nevertheless his days shall be 120 years.” 4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of mankind, and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown. 5 Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of mankind was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually.

1 bloodline emerged after the flood

Acts 17:26 NASB 2020

26 and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation,

this refers to the assigning of the nations their proper places as they spread all over the world - See Gen 10-11

one man - one blood (NKJV)

Acts 17:26 NKJV

26 And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings,

one blood - one lineage

Adam’s lineage continued after the flood, but it was mixed with the bloodline of Cain

The distinction of Cainite bloodline was lost

God now looks at all humans on the same level

sons of Adam

fallen in nature

condemned to destruction

The offspring of the serpents emerged in the time of Christ

John identified them

Matthew 3:5–9 NASB 2020

5 At that time Jerusalem was going out to him, and all Judea and all the region around the Jordan; 6 and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, as they confessed their sins. 7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Therefore produce fruit consistent with repentance; 9 and do not assume that you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father’; for I tell you that God is able, from these stones, to raise up children for Abraham.

Jesus identified them

Matthew 12:34–35 NASB 2020

34 You offspring of vipers, how can you, being evil, express any good things? For the mouth speaks from that which fills the heart. 35 The good person brings out of his good treasure good things; and the evil person brings out of his evil treasure evil things.

Matthew 23:31–33 NASB 2020

31 So you testify against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Fill up, then, the measure of the guilt of your fathers. 33 You snakes, you offspring of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of hell?

The distinctions of the serpent’s offspring are no longer physical, but spiritual

they are religious, but unrepentant

Note - Cain was unrepentant, even after God gave him an opportunity to correct his wrong!

Paul called “sons of disobedience”

Ephesians 2:1–2 NASB 2020

1 And you were dead in your offenses and sins, 2 in which you previously walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.

Ephesians 5:3–8 NASB 2020

3 But sexual immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be mentioned among you, as is proper among saints; 4 and there must be no filthiness or foolish talk, or vulgar joking, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. 5 For this you know with certainty, that no sexually immoral or impure or greedy person, which amounts to an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. 6 See that no one deceives you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. 7 Therefore do not become partners with them; 8 for you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light

1 bloodline, but 2 different origins

John 8:39–45 NASB 2020

39 They answered and said to Him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you are Abraham’s children, do the deeds of Abraham. 40 But as it is, you are seeking to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth, which I heard from God; this Abraham did not do. 41 You are doing the deeds of your father.” They said to Him, “We were not born as a result of sexual immorality; we have one Father: God.” 42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I came forth from God and am here; for I have not even come on My own, but He sent Me. 43 Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot listen to My word. 44 You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he tells a lie, he speaks from his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 But because I say the truth, you do not believe Me.

The prophecy

There are 2 prophecies declared in Gen 3:15

Genesis 3:15 NASB 2020

And I will make enemies Of you and the woman, And of your offspring and her Descendant; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise Him on the heel.”

The enmity between the serpent and the woman

The enmity was to manifest in their offsprings

Cain and Abel

Cain was the offspring of the serpent

Abel was the descendant of the woman, because -

Abel was the pure mankind, while Cain was a mix

Note - denominational ministers miss this when the look at this prophecy

Jesus and the offspring of the serpent in His day

the pharisees and other non-believing Jews were clearly the offspring of the serpent -

not physically, but in view of their unbelief and unrepentant attitude

The bruising of the head and the heel

“He shall bruise on the head...”

the seed of the woman will crush the serpent’s head -

head - signified sin, which gives its sting to all humanity - death

1 Corinthians 15:56 NASB 2020

56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the Law;

“You will bruise him on the heel.”

the serpent will “hurt” the seed of the woman

not his seed - but the serpent himself, now representing Satan

note - most snake attacks are on the heel, considering their crawling position

[Image - roman nail hammered in the heel bone…]

Sometime between 130 and 360 C.E., a 25- to 35-year-old man in what’s now Cambridgeshire, England, died by crucifixion at the hands of the Roman Empire. His skeleton—found with a telltale nail hammered through its heel bone—represents one of the few surviving physical traces of the ancient punishment, report David Ingham and Corinne Duhig for British Archaeology magazine.

Conclusion

The “offspring of the serpent” still exist today -

they are the ones who will not repent despite the love of God pleading to them through the gospel preaching!

they are the ones who will continue to disobey the will of God

So are the children of God, not through Adam, but through Christ!

Ephesians 2:4–8 NASB 2020

4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our wrongdoings, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the ages to come He might show the boundless riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;

Song

Jesus Paid It All