Snakes, Judgment and Revelation

 

One of the guys I'm mentoring who is in jail, wrote to tell me he is having some interesting issues regarding reading the Bible. First, he's being led to read the Book of Revelations which is a great book but not the easiest to deal with, especially for a fairly new believer like Clyde. What he says is interesting:

"I've been in revelations for a week now I don't know what I'm getting out of it but I've went to other stuff like job and paul and James but something keeps telling me to get back to revelations.... sometimes I feel like I know what it means and sometimes I feel like I'm not getting anything at all ....I'm not going to lie I feel like I'll never learn anything from it"

In the next email I received from him he said this:

"hey dale sorry to bombard u with all of this but I find myself in the book of Matthew chapter 7 I think that I've been judging god on how I see things and not trusting gods judgment..... I don't know how I got to the book of Matthew this morning I was going to read in Romans again ....your going to think I'm crazy but I was dreaming about snakes biting me and I would cut there heads off and they would grow back ....I feel like something is being said to me ...I just wish it would get clearer"

Below is my reply to him, but I would be very interested if any of my friends have any inspired insights I can pass on as well.

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Hey Clyde,

I must say, you don't ask simple questions about the Bible here! No problem, I'm glad you are reading and pondering.

First, do you pray for wisdom when you start studying the Bible? It's a really good habit to get in to. Pray that the Holy Spirit will give you insight and understanding. That doesn't mean you'll always get it, but it will definitely help put you in the right frame of mind. Don't forget, sometimes God holds off on explaining everything because we are not ready for all of it just now. Trust Him - His timing is always right.

I'll tackle the easier issue first - or at least it seems easier to me from what you've written. Snakes, or serpents, are a recurring theme in the Bible. They often are symbolic of the devil and his demons (see Chapter 3 of Genesis and Chapter 12 of Revelation). Other times, they are literally snakes and sometimes they are both. Look at the Book of Numbers, Chapter 21:4-9.

4 Then the people of Israel set out from Mount Hor, taking the road to the Red Sea to go around the land of Edom. But the people grew impatient with the long journey, 5 and they began to speak against God and Moses. “Why have you brought us out of Egypt to die here in the wilderness?” they complained. “There is nothing to eat here and nothing to drink. And we hate this horrible manna!”

6 So the Lord sent poisonous snakes among the people, and many were bitten and died. 7 Then the people came to Moses and cried out, “We have sinned by speaking against the Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord will take away the snakes.” So Moses prayed for the people.

8 Then the Lord told him, “Make a replica of a poisonous snake and attach it to a pole. All who are bitten will live if they simply look at it!” 9 So Moses made a snake out of bronze and attached it to a pole. Then anyone who was bitten by a snake could look at the bronze snake and be healed!

So that's pretty interesting, isn't it? Now, look at what Jesus says in John chapter 3:

13 No one has ever gone to heaven and returned. But the Son of Man has come down from heaven. 14 And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life.

16 “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.

The lifting up of the snake and having the people look at it in the desert was used by Jesus as an example of what we are all to do regarding Him when He is raised up on the cross! It's all about faith!

So what does Matthew 7 have to do with snakes? From what you've told me, it seems your faith in God's judgments may not be where it should be. Psalm 19:9 says "The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether."

It's sometimes hard to deal with that truth - especially when we are enduring some not so nice judgments. However, one thing my wife likes to say is "If you can't see His plan, trust His heart". Meaning, God's nature is one of love for us. He wants to do well for you - but His outlook is not short term, it's long term. Look at what it says in Matthew 7:9-11 -

9 “You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? 10 Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! 11 So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.

However, to really understand what God's plan is, you must first seek Him. From Jeremiah 29:11-13

11 For I know the thoughts, that I have thought towards you, saith the Lord, even the thoughts of peace, and not of trouble, to give you an end, and your hope.

12 Then shall you cry unto me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hear you,

13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, because ye shall seek me with all your heart.

(I use a lot of different Bible translations)

I hope this helps. I'm not saying "Thus says the Lord", but only offering a possible explanation. You need to pray about this and let the Holy Spirit enlighten you.

As far as Revelation is concerned, it's not an easy book to understand but it is a wonderful book for it shows how we will get back to the Tree of Life and be with God forever! You need to give me some more information regarding your questions about it as there is so much to talk about that I could easily discuss something which has nothing to do with what is unclear to you.

One thing about the book itself is it is a very overlapping book. By that I mean if you try to read it like a regular novel, then you will get totally confused. Revelation (and many other books in the Bible) talks about similar things in many different ways. It's like looking at a gemstone from different angles. The facets make the stone look slightly different depending on how you hold it. That's why the seven churches sounds similar to the seven seals which sound similar to the seven bowls.

Remember, all the writers of the Bible were Jewish/Hebrew except for Luke (he was Greek). Jews commonly use this style of overlapping writing to tell and retell a story in order to bring out different details as you look at it from different angles. You can see a great example of this in Genesis chapters 1 and 2. There, you will see two versions of the creation story. It's actually the same story, just told from different perspectives.

Another thing to remember about Revelation is that the names are almost all metaphorical. Meaning, when you read about Jezebel in Revelation 2:20, it's not literally the same evil Jezebel from earlier in the Bible - it is referencing her name to explain how bad the church of Pergamum is doing.

Revelation requires a fairly extensive knowledge of the rest of the Bible to understand a lot of it the first time.

HOWEVER...

If the Holy Spirit is leading you to read the book, read it!!! Ask questions and I'll do my best to help but pray to God for clarity and wisdom. As it says in James, chapter 1:

5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. 6 But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.

I'm looking forward to hear what God is trying to show you.

Dale