Upon being born again of The Spirit of Holiness, the Lord started to reveal some profound things to me regarding snakes and why we “must be born again” and become a new creation in Christ.  He showed me that until we are born again of the Holy Spirit, we possess by our own very nature, all the characteristics of the snake, the serpent.  When Adam and Eve listened to that serpent, they took on the nature of the serpent.  However, in Christ we receive a new nature, a divine nature ( Eph 2:3; 2 Pe 1:4).

First, He impressed upon me that it was the woman that was deceived by the serpent, and not the man (1 Ti 2:14).  Here it should be obvious that the only man not to be deceived by his own flesh (serpent) is Jesus Christ, Whom, although he lived in the flesh (serpent) was not deceived by the flesh.  All the rest of us, including Adam are referred to as the woman, and purposed through re-birth to become the bride of Christ.  For, all of us like sheep have gone astray, sinned, and come short of the glory of God.  

The snake has a split or forked tongue.  Whether we grew up in a Christian home, regardless of denomination, we used to bless and curse, salt water and fresh water coming from the same mouth.  James 3:8-12 tells us that no man can control the tongue, but that The Holy Spirit will control the tongue, bringing conviction for every idle word once one is truly born of God.  Needless to say, two born-again Christians of any denomination, cannot conceive a born again baby.  God's word remains the same to all, "ye must be born again". 

Next, the snake has scales over his eyes and cannot see very well with these lidless eyes.  When Saul of Tarsus was converted, the scales fell from his eyes. This must be true of every new believer also. That is why so many people get upset when you come to bless them with the good news of the gospel.  They are blind to the blessing you are bringing to them.  Yet, you have received “the holy commandment” (2 Pe 2:21; 2 Pe 3:2) by faith, “...that you should love one another...” (John 13:34).  It is truly impossible to love ones neighbor and not share the gospel with them, that they might have their sins forgiven and forgotten (Jeremiah 31:34) and be re-conciled by "the blood of The Lamb" and freely receive the Holy Spirit unto eternal Sonship.

Then I was made aware that snakes have no ears with which to hear.  Instead, they detect sounds through their tongues and feel vibrations through sense organs in the skull.  Having been taken captive by the devil to do his will, (2 Tim 2:26) to kill steal and destroy lives, we used to throw out a feeler question to whomever we wished to waylay, and depending upon the responce, we pursued.  Thus, we listened by way of the tongue.  We got good vibrations from so and so.  Now in Christ we hear with the ears of The Spirit. 

Snakes are cold blooded creatures, adapting to their surroundings - a characteristic of ear tickling preachers.

The curse mentioned in Genesis 3:14 was that the serpent would crawl on its belly and eat the dust of the earth.  Dust of the earth here refers to man, who is but dust of the earth.  Those among us still under the curse, who since the day of Pentecost, have not yet received the promised gift of God -  the Holy Spirit, have no discernment.  So, when they assemble with the church, they listen to the man (dust) instead of what God is saying to them by way of the preacher, priest, teacher etc., and through the Holy Spirit.  All things true are borne witness to us by the Amen in our hearts (Revelation 1:5 and 3:14)  and so Jesus would come to us and say “come to me all you that are thirsty” (John 7:37), for swallowing dust will cause one to become thirsty indeed.

Next, a snake will if necessary, unhinge his jaw to swallow whatever food is in front of him, but not so the discerning child born of God who awaits confirmation of the Holy Spirit in his heart before swallowing (believing) anything.   Here again God reminded me of how the manna, with which He fed His people those many years in the desert, came down through fire (miracle food) and did not melt.  While eating this roasted food no one was sick.  But, they craved meat.  He gave it to them.  However, it blew into the camp as opposed to coming down through the fire.  No sooner was it in their mouths than they were sick.  The lazy man does not roast (receive by the Spirit of Fire) his food. (Proverbs 12:27) 

While stopping briefly in a bar in Houston, TX one evening to celebrate the birthday of a special friend, The Lord impressed me to turn around and look as the music was playing and people were dancing. They were wiggling up and down like “concertina” snakes, as He quickened this verse to my remembrance. “He rescued me out of the miry pit” (snake pit) (Psalm 40:2).

Next, He showed me the snake who moves from side to side wiggling as he travels.  Yet that same snake that wiggles from side to side will go straight as an arrow when climbing over a rock.  The Proverb writer was amazed by “the way of a serpent on a rock”(Pr 30:19).  Although we knew the Law of God we could not keep it.  Can the leopard change its spots?   Again the bible tells us to “acknowledge the Lord in all your ways and He will direct your paths” (Pr 3:6).  He will make a straight path for our feet, the crooked ways straight.  Jesus is The Rock of our salvation, the love of God shed abroad in our hearts who makes our lives straight and holy.  He is the potter and we are the clay. All of God’s law is summed up in loving God and loving our neighbor as ourselves (Romans 13:8-10).

Next He showed me that it was the "fiery" serpent that Moses put up on the pole and all who fixed their eyes on him (Jesus) were saved (Num 21:8-10).  For although He lived in the flesh, God's Spirit was upon Him without measure or limit (John 3:34).  He came from heaven above, God, The WORD, became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:12).  Unlike Him, we are of the earth, desendants of fallen Adam.  Do not become a follower of any man or man made religons.  We could not save ourselves, but Jesus has already saved all of us, that is, all who will receive Him (John 3:16).

It is no accident that the "esteemed of men" medical profession use the symbol of the serpent on a pole.  While hiding behind this symbolic healing veil, the devil has perpetrated the holocaust of holocausts with the blood of the innocent already up to the horse's bridles.  Through the use of sorcery, (the Greek word is pharmakia), pharmaceutical abortificients such as the pill, the mini-pill, emergency contraception pills (EC), the Morning After pills, the IUD, depo provera, norplant etc., many unsuspecting families are being destroyed, as they knowingly or unknowingly murder their own offspring.  Jesus said, “a house divided against itself cannot stand”( Mat 12:25; Mark 3:25).  Sadly, many of these doctors and pharmacists who knowingly prescribe and dispense these human pesticides, claim they are Christians.  The word of God calls them "the antichrist" (2 John verse 6-7 NIV).  Woe to them if they will not repent.

Then I noticed that at Christmas and Easter, and possibly one or two other times per year, the Church buildings will fill up with people who otherwise rarely visit.  I once was among them and in my ignorance of Father, many times came in to make a deal with Him.  You see, I knew I was living wrong and that the fire of hell was very close.  So I would come and make promises to God that if He would bail me out just one more time, I'd surely make Him proud of me yet.  However, God had a different deal and it was His one and only deal.

His deal was for me to acknowledge that I was dead in my trespasses and sins, with no hope of ever changing myself; that His son Jesus Christ who had never sinned, took the just punishment of my offenses and died in my place.  Jesus was not just the son of God, but He was God the Son, and therefore worth more than everything and everybody that He created (Col 1:16).  He showed me that if I would appropriate His shed blood over the door posts of my heart, the Holy Spirit would come and live in me, and because of this same daily appropriated blood, His Spirit would never leave or forsake me, and would conform me to the likeness of Jesus Christ, the image and likeness of God, thereby, fulfilling Genesis 1:26. 

Here also, the true value of every human being is revealed in that not one drop more or one drop less of His blood was shed for a Jew or Arab, white man or  black man, male or female, retarded, crippled, blind, lame, deaf, dumb, or precious baby in the womb.  He measured His blood out equally to the last drop for all of us, and in the process, paid an eternal life for each individual one of us.  Therefore, each human being is worth more than all the gold, silver, cattle, stocks, bonds, etc. on the planet. That value was assigned to us while we were yet sinners, for it was exactly then that Christ loved us and gave Himself for us, redeeming us, not with precious silver or gold, but in His own precious blood (1 Pe 1:18) .  Not understanding these things, the serpent child quickly returns to the pig trough; and as is the nature of the snake, he continues shedding his own skin, growing thicker meaner snake skin, three to four times a year.

Next, He reminded me of these words: “Ye brood of vipers (Mat 3:7;12:34;23:33; Luk3 3:7).  Ye have venom under your tongues."  “There are these people who worm their way into your homes and exploit you” (Titus 1:11).  David said, "O wretched worm that I am (Psalm 20:6)........eyes that can't see....ears that can't hear (Psalm 115:5) etc.. Worms have no eyes or legs or arms and are both male and female at the same time, which ought to explain alot these days.

Now we come to the caterpillar. This little miniature snake-like worm creature, crawls on his belly eating the dust of the earth and bringing death and destruction to everything he touches.  He takes a bite out of one leaf, and then goes to the next to kill it also.  Death and destruction is everywhere in his wake.  However, one day he goes through a cocoon, Calvary's cross for us, and out the other side comes this beautiful butterfly who pollinates and brings life everywhere he goes.  He does nothing bad whatsoever.  Soaring in the heavenly places, no longer crawling on his belly.  Yet this life was first expressed as a worm.  Is this your story also?  For if any man is in Christ, he is a new creation (2 Co 5:17), a holy being, not only made in the image of God, but now being transformed into the very likeness of God.  For God’s original design for mankind, expressed in Gen 1:26 says; “Let us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness...”.

Having sinned against God through their disobedience, Adam and Eve both lost the indwelling presence of The Holy Spirit and both died a spiritual death to God that very day.  With the exception of Jesus, from that time onward, approximately four thousand and forthy years (4,040), until the day of Pentecost, the human race was void of God’s likeness although we did retain His image (i.e. when Jesus (God) came to live among us on earth, He was as one of us as opposed to the animals, birds, insects etc..)  The new testament revelation of God is that “God is Love” (1 Cor 13:8).  Everything Jesus did and said testified to this.  The Holy Spirit is the Love of God shed abroad in our hearts (Rom 5:5) whom Jesus commanded us to receive by faith (John 13:34) in order that we should lack nothing and be made “complete in Him” (Col 2:10), bringing us back to God’s original design for mankind in Genesis 1:26. 

Saint Patrick lived and preached this kind of love among a pagan, barbaric generation of Irishmen around the year 432 AD.  He blessed them, even the most vile with this message of re-conciliation and conformation to the One true God who is still calling all people to Sonship through Jesus Christ.  I likewise bless you this day.    Amen.
Brother John+