Humanity has Been Bitten and will Die From the Venomous Attack of Satan, the “Old Serpent”!
Every human being, born of a human father, is included in this death sentence. When Adam sinned against God, all his descendants died when he disobeyed God’s one command to him. In Genesis 2:15 it is written:
15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
The results of his sin is written in Romans 5:12-14 where it is written:
“12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned— 13 for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. 14 Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.”
All who remain in Adam’s family will suffer eternal punishment in the Lake of Fire!
Jesus Provides the Antidote to the Satanic Poison!
In the Gospel of John, Chapter 3, an important Jewish Pharisee came secretly to meet Jesus at night.
3 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” 3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
9 Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” 10 Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things? 11 Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony. 12 If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 13 No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. 14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
No idle conversation here, Jesus jumps directly to the heart of the matter, “Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
There was no mention of Nicodemus’s life, of good works or bad works, just, “you must be born again!” Personal sin was not the biggest problem, being a part of Adams family was the root of the problem!
The only way to escape the judgement facing all of Adams family was to be born again into another family, God’s family! Therefore Jesus opens their conversation, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
At first, it may be puzzling to discover the scripture portion chosen by Jesus to illustrate the new birth, but careful observation reveals how perfect it is as a type of the crucifixion! It is the crucifixion that makes the new birth possible!
In Numbers 21:4-9 it is written:
4 They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way; 5 they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!”
6 Then the Lord sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. 7 The people came to Moses and said, “We sinned when we spoke against the Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord will take the snakes away from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.
8 The Lord said to Moses, “Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.” 9 So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, they lived.
All the Israelites had to do was look at the bronze snake and they would live. Simply looking was enough! All humans are invited to look to Jesus on the cross as their Savior from sin and receive the new birth into the family of God.
I have found other parallels of interest, the Israelites were not separated from the snakes but given immunity from their bite; as Christians, we are not removed from our sinful environment, but given an immunity to its control. The Israelites did not have to provide any works or payments to live, just look to the bronze serpent. All we need to do to receive the new birth is to receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior.
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. 20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. 21 But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”







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