Praise Jesus.
A fruitful question is to ask about the animals God uses in His word.
What does Jesus mean by, treading on scorpions and serpents? for an example.
What are the scorpions and serpents?
First hint is the use of the word "serpent".
A lot of people think "snake", but they'd be wrong.
Snakes are real animals, but serpents can fly. Right?
Snakes cannot talk, but serpents can. Remember? in the garden of Eden.
Also, John saw in the hearts of the Pharisees broods of serpents.
He wasn't seeing a nest of real snakes.
Already you should start to see, these animal references are references to spirits.
But why use animal names?
First let us look at those Pharisees with the brood of serpents.
The serpents were clear to John and Jesus by the way those Pharisees behaved.
Their countenance, their demeanor, and the way they spoke.
Easy for us to see, the Pharisees were skeptics, deniers, and spoke scornfully and dismissively, always testing.
Well, we can look around us in the world, and see people like that.
(No one here - this is not a personal reference - please don't take it that way.
Though it is good to look and see if there are any serpents within.
For the bearers of serpents are, in the main, completely unaware of them, or in denial.)
People who have broods of serpents are always lashing out.
They attack with multiple biting remarks, trying to destroy you, or whatever you were offering.
Scorpions on the other hand, sting their host.
If you have ever withstood a brood of vipers, you may remember seeing the host give up lashing out, and then start on themselves.
If you ever saw an angry person wind down to muttering, "I must be the idiot", and, "I suppose I am the fool",
and in extreme cases, "I may as well be dead",
then you know what I mean.
Every self degrading comment is another sting of the tail.
I'll talk about more animals next post.
And I'll try to answer your questions.
Paul
A fruitful question is to ask about the animals God uses in His word.
What does Jesus mean by, treading on scorpions and serpents? for an example.
What are the scorpions and serpents?
First hint is the use of the word "serpent".
A lot of people think "snake", but they'd be wrong.
Snakes are real animals, but serpents can fly. Right?
Snakes cannot talk, but serpents can. Remember? in the garden of Eden.
Also, John saw in the hearts of the Pharisees broods of serpents.
He wasn't seeing a nest of real snakes.
Already you should start to see, these animal references are references to spirits.
But why use animal names?
First let us look at those Pharisees with the brood of serpents.
The serpents were clear to John and Jesus by the way those Pharisees behaved.
Their countenance, their demeanor, and the way they spoke.
Easy for us to see, the Pharisees were skeptics, deniers, and spoke scornfully and dismissively, always testing.
Well, we can look around us in the world, and see people like that.
(No one here - this is not a personal reference - please don't take it that way.
Though it is good to look and see if there are any serpents within.
For the bearers of serpents are, in the main, completely unaware of them, or in denial.)
People who have broods of serpents are always lashing out.
They attack with multiple biting remarks, trying to destroy you, or whatever you were offering.
Scorpions on the other hand, sting their host.
If you have ever withstood a brood of vipers, you may remember seeing the host give up lashing out, and then start on themselves.
If you ever saw an angry person wind down to muttering, "I must be the idiot", and, "I suppose I am the fool",
and in extreme cases, "I may as well be dead",
then you know what I mean.
Every self degrading comment is another sting of the tail.
I'll talk about more animals next post.
And I'll try to answer your questions.
Paul