Be Wise As 'serpents'. Really? But Satan is the 'Serpent! - Religion - Nairaland
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| Be Wise As 'serpents'. Really? But Satan is the 'Serpent! by Nobody: 5:31pm On Apr 28, 2011 |
"Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves." (Matthew 10:16) I really cant understand this. How wise is a Serpent? But the only Serpent, who deceived Eve in Genesis was known as Wise. Please can someone explain this verse? |
| Re: Be Wise As 'serpents'. Really? But Satan is the 'Serpent! by Nobody: 5:35pm On Apr 28, 2011 |
In Genesis 3:1 the Bible describes the serpent as "more subtil than any beast, " |
| Re: Be Wise As 'serpents'. Really? But Satan is the 'Serpent! by Nobody: 5:55pm On Apr 28, 2011 |
This is a commentary from a blog. It seems strange that we are told, by Jesus Himself, to be "wise as serpents" when the first thing most of us think of when it comes to serpents is Satan, who took the form of a serpent in the temptation of Eve. Many may not even realize this statement comes from Scripture, when most certainly it does. But what is Jesus saying to us, in context here? He's talking about when He is going to send them (the Apostles) out and that they would be persecuted for His sake. It would not be so wise to flaunt their Christianity in a world which, as He knew would be coming, persecutes Christians - simply because they believe in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Be cautious, and shrewd - and know when it is time to kick the dust from your sandals and move on to the next town. But why extol the virtues of a serpent, when the only Serpent we know is the 'Satan'? What makes us believe the Serpent is wise? |
| Re: Be Wise As 'serpents'. Really? But Satan is the 'Serpent! by kandiikane(m): 5:59pm On Apr 28, 2011 |
I will be back with my explanation by dawn For now- Sheep in the mist of wolves: This was a common saying, as the Jewish people saw themselves as sheep, and the rest of the Gentile world as wolves. As Christians, we are sheep among wolves, facing dangers and opportunities that collide to cause the spread of the Gospel--even if it means enduring strain, pain and suffering. The serpent in the Garden of Eden was clever and, if believers were even half as shrewd as he was, they would find that they would help their own cause no end in the situations that confront them (Acts 22:25-29). The Serpent is very cunning and can easily get to you without you knowing what it is doing. The serpent became known as "wise", it was not because of its own innate positive knowledge, but of its wisdom in hiding away from all observation; and because of its association with one of the names of Satan (that old serpent) who "beguiled Eve" (2Cor. 11:3, 14). To be wise as a serpent means to have basic, fundamental knowledge of what areas you can go into and what areas you cannot go into – and to always be on your guard against the snares, traps, and deceptions that the dark side will try and throw at you in order to try and knock you off course, or try to enslave you into a dark area or into a dark side group of people. In conclusion- We have to be wise, smart, sober, vigilant and always on guard against Satan, his horde of demonic spirits, and all of the bad and evil people who are out there living this life on the dark side. 1 Like |
| Re: Be Wise As 'serpents'. Really? But Satan is the 'Serpent! by kandiikane(m): 6:06pm On Apr 28, 2011 |
babaearly: The use of animals to describe has been used all over the bible. Eg-The lion of Judah as christ. I think they are metaphors/similes to describe the devil. You can be evil but also *wise* |
| Re: Be Wise As 'serpents'. Really? But Satan is the 'Serpent! by Nobody: 6:19pm On Apr 28, 2011 |
The serpent became known as "wise", it was not because of its own innate positive knowledge, but of its wisdom in hiding away from all observation; and because of its association with one of the names of Satan (that old serpent) who "beguiled Eve" (2Cor. 11:3, 14). That is what i'm thinking. Naturally is a serpent very wise? Is it the wisest animal? or Jesus made that statement because of the bolded above? Its hard for me to get a grip on this. |
| Re: Be Wise As 'serpents'. Really? But Satan is the 'Serpent! by kandiikane(m): 6:40pm On Apr 28, 2011 |
babaearly: I think it is because of the statement bolded. The serpent showed up in genesis, where the beginning of life also showed so I am thinking then the snake was just like any other animal until satan used it to tempt Eve. Lets say hypothetically, another animal was used to tempt Eve, these traits will be used on that animal too. Not that the snake is the wisest animal but wise in the sense that he used his knowledge(whether negative/positive) to deceive. Satan is a deceiver and that is why he appear to Eve as a wise serpent. I understand where you are coming from. I am going to go over this and see what my understanding is from it. |
| Re: Be Wise As 'serpents'. Really? But Satan is the 'Serpent! by lagerwhenindoubt(m): 7:20pm On Apr 28, 2011 |
The Serpent - easily history's oldest, diffused and largely misunderstood symbolism in popular culture today. I say diffused because obvious culture-overlaps abound with regards to the symbolic values it represents. Why Serpents have come to be closely associated with wisdom is not completely lost to me; the Bible reveals its origins/nature from the dawn of time . I defer to Biblical references largely due to its marked similarities with much ancient cultures/civilizations from Mayan, Mesopotamia then Greece most interestingly about its version of the Story of Creation. I shall skip a huge swath of literature and post my understanding of the symbolism. The Serpent is neither a Creature/Snake/Lucifer as most people have conveniently mixed perceptions between the literal and the metaphorical into one "seemingly" cohesive thought, trivializing the deeper message and focusing on the moral drama that followed. (understanding it incorrectly altogether) Contrary to popular belief - The Serpent represents God's Wisdom; his Dual Nature (Order/Chaos) clearly inherent in the very fabric of the Cosmos itself. The Serpent did not Tempt/Deceive Eve - Our (human) Dual Nature explored by Instinct what was already there in the first place. Mathew 10:16 Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. The quote is still rocks (heavy) in movies - especially when used by a bad guy  |
| Re: Be Wise As 'serpents'. Really? But Satan is the 'Serpent! by kandiikane(m): 7:47pm On Apr 28, 2011 |
^^The Serpent did deceive/tempt Eve. On the other hand Adam was not deceived because he knew about the tree way before Eve was made. Ofcourse the instinct was there but without the serpents's intervention, that instinct to find out exactly why not to eat that tree would have stayed put. When you look at the Christian Beliefs and many other beliefs they are all similar in a way. eg. The Greek mythology has myths which I believe can be found in the bibles but disguised. Religion is man-made. |
| Re: Be Wise As 'serpents'. Really? But Satan is the 'Serpent! by Sweetnecta: 7:50pm On Apr 28, 2011 |
@kandikane; send me a message at galadinalou@aol.com so that we may connect off NL. I am waiting. thanks. @Topic poser; The christians will give you all song and dance but not the truth by providing simple answer from the master himself who warned them to play such a serpent. The christians will lionize the devil when it fits their purpose. They will demean or demonize or lower the esteem or even make The Creator as gullible and inept as the creature so that they justify their agenda in various forms. In all of the above, they never give anyone of themselves the name Satan or Devil or Serpent, Snake, Judas, Pharaoh, Goliath, etc. You can hate a personality but loves the quality. This is hypocrisy. Is there a time Jesus the god of the christian as wise as serpent and gentle as a dove? I doubt if he ever played the serpent, yet the christians are to be christ-like. can christ-like and serpent wisdom quality co-exist in one single body, except you are Peter being a follower of a godly prophet and being a fully devil so much so that his master Jesus had to cry out 'get behind me, satan'. |
| Re: Be Wise As 'serpents'. Really? But Satan is the 'Serpent! by kandiikane(m): 7:57pm On Apr 28, 2011 |
Sweetnecta:I am married.  What do you practice? |
| Re: Be Wise As 'serpents'. Really? But Satan is the 'Serpent! by Sweetnecta: 8:06pm On Apr 28, 2011 |
@Kandikane; « #8 on: Today at 07:47:58 PM » [Quote]^^The Serpent did deceive/tempt Eve. On the other hand Adam was not deceived because he knew about the tree way before Eve was made.[/Quote]if Mother was ignorant and got deceived, why did Adam who had fore knowledge ate just as Eve? shouldn't Adam get blamed just as Eve if not more with all the knowledge than he had? [Quote]Of course the instinct was there but without the serpent's intervention, that instinct to find out exactly why not to eat that tree would have stayed put.[/Quote]i wonder what duty other that keeping Eve in his sight as a mate had Adam? how could that simple responsibility got fouled up by Adam, while the males among humans are so possessive of their mates, the females? some men will not be so complacent to let a little boy talk privately to their wives without knowing what is being said. Can anyone tell me why Adam and Eve had such an open enemy to the point that the enemy caused their demise? what did they do against the serpent or whoever the serpent on behalf? there is a cause and effect, always. |
| Re: Be Wise As 'serpents'. Really? But Satan is the 'Serpent! by Image123(m): 8:17pm On Apr 28, 2011 |
kandiikane:He wants to convert you to become a muslim |
| Re: Be Wise As 'serpents'. Really? But Satan is the 'Serpent! by Sweetnecta: 8:18pm On Apr 28, 2011 |
@Kandikane; « #10 on: Today at 07:57:43 PM » [Quote]Quote from: Sweetnecta on Today at 07:50:05 PM @kandikane; send me a message at galadinalou@aol.com so that we may connect off NL. I am waiting. thanks. I am married. Smiley What do you practice?[/Quote]there is no place in my statement that i am indicating other than dialogue based on our discussion which you abandoned. i am a proponent of marriage. intending to continue our dialogue especially with my earlier tone should tell you that your marital status is fine with me. you are also a person who can receive the effort of dawah as you said you were raised a muslim by your parents. I practice Islam. i thought you got that from my first response to you, when i cautioned about the 72 virgins in heaven statement? it is truly wise to provide evidence in matters of faith. as i often the non muslims, sell me your religion with proofs i can hang on to. if you can't let me present islam with proofs. |
| Re: Be Wise As 'serpents'. Really? But Satan is the 'Serpent! by kandiikane(m): 8:19pm On Apr 28, 2011 |
Sweetnecta: That is what I meant by Eve was deceived, Adam was not deceive because God told him and because of that the serpent did not approach him. Because Adam knew God punished him more than he did Eve. He ate after Eve ate, he could have stopped her because they were both together when the serpent came but it only approached Eve. God was more angry at him. Sweetnecta: I do not think the serpent approached her in physical form but mentality perhaps. Just think about it most of the time when you are doing something morally/spiritually bad you do not have a physical being coming to you and telling you to do it(Im not talking friends, family/human) it is all played in the mind. So I think the serpent approaching and talking to Eve in the present of Adam was in played in the mind. |
| Re: Be Wise As 'serpents'. Really? But Satan is the 'Serpent! by kandiikane(m): 8:24pm On Apr 28, 2011 |
Sweetnecta: oh, it was you. I thought I remembered your name somewhere. I am a spiritualist, I believe in God and I see religion as man-made which can distort your relations with God. I do read the Quran/Bible/Torah, to learn. I also do research on other religions, not to practice them but to see why and how it all came about. I am not confused as some might say. Not following a religion does not make me an atheist/pagan. As I believe in God. I believe in the God that made me, The God that created the Heavens The God who gave me life. The God who sees over me and the God who continue to guide me. The God of the Abraham who from his God, Islam, Christianity and Judaism came to be 1 Like |
| Re: Be Wise As 'serpents'. Really? But Satan is the 'Serpent! by Sweetnecta: 8:28pm On Apr 28, 2011 |
@Image123; you are welcome to tag along for the ride. per chance, with you involved she may be willing to stand to hear the truth which her parents told her. image123 is better than Jesus in this case because you knew the future already. a mind reader, in a matter of yes or no can get it right in at most 50% chance of the bat. even when he is correct 100%, every question is a guess work of 50/50. @kandikane; now that you have a support in image123, shall we return to the thread you abandoned or you take me up on my offer or we open a dialogue using a new thread to explain christianity to me with proofs? sell me christianity if it is true. invite a muslim infidel like me into it. |
| Re: Be Wise As 'serpents'. Really? But Satan is the 'Serpent! by kandiikane(m): 8:30pm On Apr 28, 2011 |
^^Please Read my comment above, I have modified it |
| Re: Be Wise As 'serpents'. Really? But Satan is the 'Serpent! by Sweetnecta: 8:47pm On Apr 28, 2011 |
^^^^^^^^^^^^ your explanation of the trick of the serpent is not clear because you said i think, meaning not sure. the condition of the punishment that Adam received you did not provide. it is to me as if your information sources are torah and injil. you also qualified yourself in your first or second post on this thread as a christian. read your posts. even if you are not a christian, and only classify yourself as a spiritualist, you cant know God by making up your own way when God actually had sent many personalities [messengers and prophets] to humans with clear process of guidance in revealed books, and keeping people on the single path by inspired words and actions that they led by. if their records are preserved intact without addition or subtraction, you will see that the chain is one [path of guidance] and each messenger or prophet is a link, starting from Adam and ending with Muhammad [as to each of them]. Any other way, you can't be sure of its permissibility in the Sight of The Judge. please rethink your position. hopefully, you and those you will impact in life will accept guidance as your parents have. some need a little or a big push, while other dont. it is a matter of how soft the heart is. i have no desire to derail the thread, so the bird is now in your hand. |
| Re: Be Wise As 'serpents'. Really? But Satan is the 'Serpent! by Sweetnecta: 8:59pm On Apr 28, 2011 |
@kandikane; « #8 on: Today at 07:47:58 PM » [Quote]^^The Serpent did deceive/tempt Eve. On the other hand Adam was not deceived because he knew about the tree way before Eve was made. Ofcourse the instinct was there but without the serpents's intervention, that instinct to find out exactly why not to eat that tree would have stayed put. When you look at the Christian Beliefs and many other beliefs they are all similar in a way. eg. The Greek mythology has myths which I believe can be found in the bibles but disguised. Religion is man-made.[/Quote]except Islam. What is the meaning of Islam? it is submission to The Unique Creator, willingly is best. Allah says in the Quran that He commanded the heavens and earth to come together, willingly or unwillingly. they said we come willingly submitting to You. Satan who was Iblis disobey God in his not submitting to the Order of God to prostrate to Adam, while all the Angels did willingly. Satan/Iblis was created from smokeless flame, being a jinn, while the Angels were created from light and human from dirt and water. |
| Re: Be Wise As 'serpents'. Really? But Satan is the 'Serpent! by kandiikane(m): 9:30pm On Apr 28, 2011 |
Sweetnecta: The reason I seemed to you as a christian is because the poster has asked about a scripture in the bible which I replied to accordingly. The season I used *I think*is because itwas neither written the the quran/bible/torah when the serpent deceived Eve with the mindor physical. Its my thoughts about it that is why I used *I think* because it could be different for another individual Like I said I have looked into the quran/bible and torah which if I am asked about something out of any of them I might come across as the one which I have been asked about. Sweetnecta: Seeing that Islam/Christianity and Judaism is derived from the the means of worship Abram used when God changed his name to Abraham one cannot possibly say ones means of worship is the right one for at the end like you say its all linked. I am going to send you an email so you can send me teachings and Suras for me to look into. |
| Re: Be Wise As 'serpents'. Really? But Satan is the 'Serpent! by kandikane: 10:18pm On Apr 28, 2011 |
I tried your email but my message was sent back to me saying an error occurred @sweetnecta |
| Re: Be Wise As 'serpents'. Really? But Satan is the 'Serpent! by Sweetnecta: 10:34pm On Apr 28, 2011 |
@Kandikane; it is GALADIMALOU@AOL.COM. all lower case. sorry if i had typed it wrongly. |
| Re: Be Wise As 'serpents'. Really? But Satan is the 'Serpent! by tpia5: 11:18pm On Apr 28, 2011 |
@ topic what's confusing the poster there?  It simply means be street smart ie dont be book smart and street foolish. Know who you are dealing with and dont be folorunsho to fi igi ogede gun ope. |
| Re: Be Wise As 'serpents'. Really? But Satan is the 'Serpent! by tpia1: 6:17pm On Jul 18, 2014 |
babaearly: "Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves." (Matthew 10:16) it means dont display ignorance of the devices of the devil or the way of the world. wolves eat sheep, therefore dont ignore that fact in the hopes God will stop the wolves' mouths so they wont eat or harm you if/when you are in their midst. Or that they'll turn vegetarian just because you are there. |
| Re: Be Wise As 'serpents'. Really? But Satan is the 'Serpent! by tpiander: 4:12pm On Sep 14, 2015 |
. |
| Re: Be Wise As 'serpents'. Really? But Satan is the 'Serpent! by dawahdeflector: 7:43pm On Oct 01, 2015 |
I find it ironic that 'sweetnecta', in a post about how satan seduced Eve into dissbelieving that God meant what He said when He said that if they diobeyed Him, they woud die, he is as a muslim. approaching those that he wants to lead to 'enter' Islam exactly as satan did, like a sneaky snake that promises what he can't deliver! |
| Re: Be Wise As 'serpents'. Really? But Satan is the 'Serpent! by dawahdeflector: 7:57pm On Oct 01, 2015 |
kandikane:Let me warn you kandicane, his intentions are NOT discussion...never give a muslim your personal contact information. He will pry his way in every area of your life, and harrass you unceasingly until you either convert, or block him. |
| Re: Be Wise As 'serpents'. Really? But Satan is the 'Serpent! by tpiander: 8:13pm On Oct 01, 2015 |
babaearly: wisdom or guile was an attribute of the serpent ie it's nature. |
| Re: Be Wise As 'serpents'. Really? But Satan is the 'Serpent! by Nobody: 8:21pm On Oct 01, 2015 |
tpiander: you have time to go through my posts. hmm |
| Re: Be Wise As 'serpents'. Really? But Satan is the 'Serpent! by tpiander: 1:06am On Oct 02, 2015 |
babaearly: coincidence. i was checking another topic when i came across this one. there's no particular reason for me to be going through your posts. |
| Re: Be Wise As 'serpents'. Really? But Satan is the 'Serpent! by openmine(m): 8:37am On Oct 02, 2015 |
what are the attributes of an average serpent? prudence,calculating,sensible and watchful.... when Jesus Christ sent out his disciples and asked that they be as wise as a serpent ,he was figuratively implying that the disciples must possess the attributes of a serpent...he could have used other animals but the serpent's attributes are quite explicit...... |
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