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The Serpent's Seed: Difference between revisions
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=Does the New Testament Teach the Serpent's Seed doctrine?= | =Does the New Testament Teach the Serpent's Seed doctrine?= | ||
The New Testament does not support William Branham's doctrine of the Serpent's Seed for the following reasons: | |||
#The New Testament contains no explicit reference to the serpent having sex with Eve. | |||
#Acts 17:26 states that all men sprang from one man, Adam, and not two (Adam and the Serpent). | |||
#2 Cor. 11:2-3 does not state that the serpent had sex with Eve. While it is possible to read that into the text, that is not what the text says. | |||
#Rom. 5:12 tells us that sin entered into the world through Adam, not through Eve. | |||
==2 Corinthians 11:2-3== | ==2 Corinthians 11:2-3== | ||
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:CEB - ''I’m deeply concerned about you with the same concern that God has. As your father, I promised you in marriage to one husband. I promised to present you as an innocent virgin to Christ himself. But I’m afraid that '''your minds might be seduced in the same way as the snake deceived Eve with his devious tricks'''. You might be unable to focus completely on a genuine and innocent commitment to Christ.<ref>Common English Bible (Nashville, TN: Common English Bible, 2011), 2 Co 11:2–3.</ref> | :CEB - ''I’m deeply concerned about you with the same concern that God has. As your father, I promised you in marriage to one husband. I promised to present you as an innocent virgin to Christ himself. But I’m afraid that '''your minds might be seduced in the same way as the snake deceived Eve with his devious tricks'''. You might be unable to focus completely on a genuine and innocent commitment to Christ.<ref>Common English Bible (Nashville, TN: Common English Bible, 2011), 2 Co 11:2–3.</ref> | ||
Does this passage state that the relationship between Eve and Satan was physical? Such an interpretation reads into the text more than it actually says. A common way that scripture is misinterpreted is when we draw wrong conclusions from the text by reading into the text what isn’t there. | Does this passage state that the relationship between Eve and Satan was physical? Such an interpretation reads into the text more than it actually says. A common way that scripture is misinterpreted is when we draw wrong conclusions from the text by reading into the text what isn’t there. What we need to do is draw out from the text only what is there.<ref>James B. Williams and Randolph Shaylor, eds., God’s Word in Our Hands: The Bible Preserved for Us (Greenville, SC; Belfast, Northern Ireland: Ambassador Emerald International, 2003), 366.</ref> | ||
The sole characteristic of the serpent mentioned by Paul is his deviousness. It was by his words that the serpent deceived her in the Genesis account, a point Paul implies in that it is by what the enemies of the Gospel preach that the Corinthians are led astray. This viewpoint is supported in a closely parallel passage where Paul writes of “those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned … By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people … The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet” (Rom 16:17–18, 20). The references in 2 Cor 11:3 and Rom 16:18, 20 to | The sole characteristic of the serpent mentioned by Paul is his deviousness. It was by his words that the serpent deceived her in the Genesis account, a point Paul implies in that it is by what the enemies of the Gospel preach that the Corinthians are led astray. This viewpoint is supported in a closely parallel passage where Paul writes of “those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned … By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people … The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet” (Rom 16:17–18, 20). The references in 2 Cor 11:3 and Rom 16:18, 20 to | ||
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:(3) “deceive” tie both passages back to Genesis 2–3 and to each other. | :(3) “deceive” tie both passages back to Genesis 2–3 and to each other. | ||
Paul sees | Paul sees words — erroneous in content but smooth of delivery — as Satan’s instrument to seduce the church from her loyalty to Christ.<ref>Paul Barnett, The Second Epistle to the Corinthians, The New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1997), 501–502. </ref> | ||
==Acts 17:26== | ==Acts 17:26== | ||
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:''And '''He made from one [common origin, one source, one blood] all nations of men''' to settle on the face of the earth, having definitely determined [their] allotted periods of time and the fixed boundaries of their habitation (their settlements, lands, and abodes)... <ref> Acts 17:26 (Amplified Bible, Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation</ref> | :''And '''He made from one [common origin, one source, one blood] all nations of men''' to settle on the face of the earth, having definitely determined [their] allotted periods of time and the fixed boundaries of their habitation (their settlements, lands, and abodes)... <ref> Acts 17:26 (Amplified Bible, Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation</ref> | ||
:'''''From one man''' he made '''every nation living on the entire surface of the | :'''''From one man''' he made '''every nation living on the entire surface of the earth''', and he fixed the limits of their territories and the periods when they would flourish.<ref>David H. Stern, Complete Jewish Bible: An English Version of the Tanakh (Old Testament) and B’rit Hadashah (New Testament), 1st ed. (Clarksville, MD: Jewish New Testament Publications, 1998), Ac 17:26.</ref> | ||
The Serpent seed doctrine requires that a person reject Acts 17:26 because it requires the belief that the serpent injected his blood into the human race. That's 2 bloods, not one. That's two origins not one, and two sources, not one. | The Serpent seed doctrine requires that a person reject Acts 17:26 because it requires the belief that the serpent injected his blood into the human race. That's 2 bloods, not one. That's two origins not one, and two sources, not one. | ||
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==Romans 5:12== | ==Romans 5:12== | ||
Paul said that "as by '''one man''' sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men..."<ref>The Holy Bible: King James Version, Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version. (Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2009), Rom 5:12.</ref> | William Branham stated: | ||
:That’s what You give Adam and Eve, in the garden of Eden, to defeat the enemy. And when Eve reasoned with It, and projected reasons with the Word, it fell apart, and sin entered.<ref>William Branham, 63-0123 - Identification, para. 276</ref> | |||
But Paul said that "as by '''one man''' sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men..."<ref>The Holy Bible: King James Version, Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version. (Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2009), Rom 5:12.</ref> | |||
That one man was Adam, not Cain. Not one woman, not one serpent. One man - Adam. | That one man was Adam, not Cain. Not one woman, not one serpent. One man - Adam. | ||
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If you believe the Serpent's seed is physical, you deny the truth of Romans 5:12 | If you believe the Serpent's seed is physical, you deny the truth of Romans 5:12 | ||
=Does the Old Testament Teach the Serpent's Seed doctrine?= | |||
=If you believe the Serpent Seed doctrine, ask yourself the following questions= | =If you believe the Serpent Seed doctrine, ask yourself the following questions= | ||