.
That is likely the best explanation; for example Dan is depicted as a serpent
in Gen 49:17. Well; Dan wasn't an actual reptile and neither is Jesus an
actual cat.
Also, Jesus identified the garden's serpent as the Devil rather than a critter.
(John 8:44)
The story indicates that Eve could hear the Devil's speech, but it doesn't
really say she saw him; although it's likely because spirit beings are visible
to the human eye under certain conditions. (Gen 32:2-3, 2Kgs 6:15-17)
That range of our vision has apparently been lost, and no explanation given
for it; although I'm kind of glad because if I could see the hostile beings that
are all around us every day and night of our lives, I think might lose it.
● Gen 3:14c . . On your belly shall you crawl and dirt shall you eat all the
days of your life.
It's probably best to interpret Gen 3:14c as poetic language because I have
never seen, nor yet heard of, a species of snake that eats soil for its food.
True, snakes crawl on their bellies; but they probably always did; because
that's the way they're designed. Some snakes live in trees and others live in
water. Those kinds don't spend a whole lot of time on the ground so not all
snakes are alike. I really don't think snakes crawl because they were
condemned to crawl. Nor was every species of snake condemned; just the
one.
A person who crawls and eats dirt is typically someone held in very low
regard; in other words: a worm. And "all the days of your life" is saying that
God's low opinion of the Serpent will never be rescinded.
Serpents will eat dirt in the kingdom of God; possibly as a perpetual
reminder of Man's first great mistake.
"The wolf and the lamb shall graze together, and the lion shall eat straw like
the ox, and the serpent's food shall be earth." (Isa 65:25)
Today, snakes don't eat earth, they eat prey. How serpents will survive on
dirt is unclear, unless their digestive system will be changed to that of a
night crawler.
Serpents are never portrayed in the Bible as beneficial to Man. They are
always of the poisonous variety and a serious threat to Man's health and well
being. That will all be different in the kingdom of God.
"A babe shall play over a viper's hole, and an infant pass his hand over an
adder's den. In all of My sacred mount nothing evil or vile shall be done; for
the land shall be filled with devotion to the Lord as water covers the sea. In
that day, the stock of Jesse that has remained standing shall become a
standard to peoples-- nations shall seek his counsel and his abode shall be
honored." (Isa 11:8-10)
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