Assemblies Of God Theological Seminary In Conjunction With: Fill & Download for Free

In the ancient Hebrew texts we see a pattern that repeats itself over and over again regarding the fall of humanity. After Adam and Eve's expulsion from the Sacred space called Eden, things went downhill pretty quickly. Instead of humans ruling over creation they fell due to pride and this set into motion a chain of events. It all started in the Garden of Eden in Genesis 3. Things would take a very disastrous turn… But who or what exactly is this serpent In Genesis 3? We are introduced to this being known as the nakhash (Heb. נחשׁ, n-ḥ-š). Most English translations translate the word to “serpent,” which does not necessarily refer to a snake, although it implies something of a serpentine nature.Interestinglyf, the international Standard Version (ISV) gives us:Now the Shining One was more clever than any animal of the field that the LORD God had made. It asked the woman, "Did God actually say, 'You are not to eat from any tree of the garden'?"The interesting thing about biblical Hebrew as well as other semitic languages (such as Aramaic and Akkadian) is that it is very common to find frequent usage of double—and even triple—entendres. An entendre is a figure of speech or a particular way of wording that is devised to have simultaneous definitions at the same time. Because the Hebrew language is an action oriented language rather than descriptive, it is prolific with verbs. When a Hebrew verb is conjugated in a sentence it identifies person, number, gender, tense, mood and voice. Being able to understand these different aspects of Hebrew verbs—while not essential for basic interpretation—it is very helpful when studying any given Hebrew text. Entendres also play into the nature of the language as a whole. This type of wordplay is extremely common among Ancient Near Eastern cultures. This might just be the case with Genesis 3:The verb form means deceiver or diviner with divine knowledge. The adjective version means bronze or brazen with a bright shine. Therefore, used as an adjective it should be translated as “shining one.” Shining or luminosity is a quality that is characteristic of divine beings in the Hebrew bible and other near east literature. The serpent speaks to Eve and she responds. The nakhash is fully aware of God’s words and therefore this serpentine being has proximity to God and some role in the Divine Council and Eden, which in Genesis is viewed as the residence of God.At many Bible colleges and seminaries today, students are told to understand the book of Genesis as typical Ancient Near-Eastern piece of literature, sharing many features in common with things such as the Sumerian epics and Pyramid texts. There's a good reason why this is the case. Representative of scholars teaching this view is John H. Walton of Wheaton College. He proposes that, following a pattern scholars detect in Ancient Near-Eastern literature, Genesis 1 presents a cosmology that bypasses entirely the creation of the initial raw materials of the universe. Instead, it, regards them as preexistent, with their origin never addressed.This concept is probably most accurately reflected in his 2009 work, The Lost World of Genesis One: Ancient Cosmology and the Origins Debate. He asserts that things—by which he apparently means material “stuff”—are not the focus of Genesis 1 at all. Rather, he declares, “Genesis one is about God bringing order (functionality) out of disorder (nonfunctionality).” In his book he elaborates on this:…analysts of the ancient Near Eastern creation literature often observe that nothing material is actually made in these accounts...Scholars who have assumed that true acts of creation must by definition involve production of material objects are apparently baffled that all of these so-called creation texts have nothing of what these scholars would consider to be creation activities. I propose that the solution is to modify what we consider creation activities based on what we find in the literature. If we follow the senses of the literature and its ideas of creation, we find that people in the ancient Near East did not think of creation in terms of making, material things—instead, everything is function oriented.With this in mind, we can base the concept of the nachash on common cultural ideas and motifs of the Ancient Near-East.Dr. Heiser earned his PhD in Hebrew Bible and Semitic Languages at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He can do translation work in roughly a dozen ancient languages, among them Biblical Hebrew, Greek, Aramaic, Egyptian hieroglyphs, and Ugaritic cuneiform. He has also studied Akkadian and Sumerian independently. His work makes brings very interesting insights into Divine Council Theology and the biblical hierarchy of divine beings. According to him, Genesis 3, Isaiah 14, and Ezekiel 28 seemingly involve Satan, a Nachash, or some type of angelic or spiritual entity. Please watch these:Dr. Heiser’s opinion is that the nachash or serpent is not an animal and definitely not a talking snake. It is a divine being associated with the Divine Council who freely chose to oppose God’s plan for humanity by prompting the humans to disobey God so they would either be killed or removed from God’s council and family. The nachash is an angelic-type divine being perhaps masquerading as an animal, but not a member of the animal kingdom. It may have actually been a serpent or it may have assumed a a serpentine form.The motif of the serpent is important to understanding how the Ancient Near East functioned and this will give us a bit of insight into the occultic symbolism at play here. Serpents are referred to in both the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament. The symbol of a serpent or snake played important roles in religious and cultural life of ancient Egypt, Canaan, Mesopotamia and Greece. The serpent was a symbol of fertility, as well as wisdom and immortality. As Dr. Michael Heiser notes, this term is most likely referring to a divine being as opposed to a flesh and blood animal. God created Lucifer as the highest angel in God's angelic kingdom, he was was the anointed cherub guardian the throne of God (Ezekiel 28:14; Isaiah 14:12, 13).Closely related to the cherubim are the seraphim (שָׂרָף śārāf, pl. שרפים śərāfîm), in fact, a cherub may have been considered a class of seraph. The meaning of the Hebrew term שרף is uncertain. Most suggest that it is derived from the verb śārāph, which means “to burn completely.” The noun śārāph would then mean “the burning/fiery one.” The seraphim are angelic beings associated with the prophet Isaiah’s vision of God in the Temple when God called him to his prophetic ministry. In the Book of Isaiah we are given a description:“Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke” (Isaiah 6:1-4).Many believe that the term designates a serpentlike creature, but this is far from certain. We'll have to go over the evidence for this.A number of passages associate śerāphîm with serpents. As a result of the Israelites’ rebellion in the wilderness the Lord sent “venomous [שרפים] snakes among them” (Num. 21:6). After the people confessed their sin, the Lord ordered Moses “to make a snake [שרף] and put it up on a pole” (v. 8). In this last verse the term seraph refers back to the full phrase “venomous [שרפים] snakes.” In Deuteronomy 8:15 the wilderness is described as a “thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes [נחש שרף, nāḥāš śārāph, literally, “seraph snake”] and scorpions.”In Isaiah 6 the term שרף is applied to heavenly beings. We should keep some details in mind. First, the term snake is not used in this chapter. Second, the term is used as a noun. Third, the form of this being is fundamentally human. The two seraphim had faces, hands, and feet, and were able to sing and communicate through language, i.e., they were rational beings (vv. 2, 6, 7). They had six wings and could fly; they were angelic beings. Fourth, they had a specific function. They were “above” the throne of God; perhaps hovering over it, or standing around it as royal guards ready to serve the Lord. More specifically, it was their role to proclaim the holiness of the Lord and to minister on behalf of sinners in the heavenly temple (vv. 3, 7). Their deportment expresses a spirit of humility and reverence in the presence of the Lord. Why are they called seraphim? The verb “to burn” (śārāph) could express the idea of brightness, suggesting that the seraphim were angelic beings of extraordinary brightness or fiery appearance. Perhaps their brightness, their six wings, and their position with respect to the throne of God distinguish them from cherubim, who are often associated with the throne of God.Two passages in Isaiah associate seraphim with evil. This may go back to the experience of Israel in the wilderness. The wilderness in the Bible is a symbol of death and a residence for demons. The Israelites, who during the time of Isaiah were asking Egypt for support, are described as going through the desert, “a land of hardship and distress, of lions and lionesses, of adders and darting snakes [שרף מעופף, śārāph meʿōphêph, literally, “flying serpents”]” (Isa. 30:6).Animals could be used as symbols of the demonic (e.g., Ps. 7:2; 1 Peter 5:8), and the prophet could be suggesting that the road to Egypt is one where demonic powers reside. In this case “the flying seraph” would represent evil angelic powers (see Isa. 30:7, where Egypt is identified with Rahab, a demonic monster defeated by the Lord [Ps. 89:10]). In Isaiah 14:29 the Philistines should not rejoice, because a king worse than the others will come; he will be like a “flying seraph.” Neither in Isaiah 30:6 nor in 14:29 is the seraph identified with a serpent. In both cases it flies and is a symbol of evil that could stand for demonic powers operating within history. This may suggest that Lucifer was supported by seraphim.Helpfully, outside the Hebrew Bible, winged snakes are attested across various regions and periods of the ancient Near East. Appearing in Egypt as early as the fourth millennium B.C.E., serpentine traditions permeate both the textual and iconographic records. For instance, the wingless form of the serpent, often in the form of the Egyptian cobra (Naja haje), is closely associated with the goddess Wadjet—the divine midwife. Frequently called the uraeus in scholarly circles, the Egyptian cobra is generally a protective agent or apotropaic figure in Egyptian lore. Such a protective function is exemplified in texts like the Prophecy of Nefer-Rohu, where the uraeus guards the king from treacherous tempters. Also, the uraeus’s presence on pharaonic headgear and other royal garb is suggestive of its protective function.Additionally, there are also Egyptian examples of the winged form of the uraeus. Wings, not only in Egypt, but also in the Hebrew Bible, tend to signify the notion of protection (see Ps. 91). Therefore, the addition of wings to the uraeus further highlights the protective function of the creature. In terms of iconography, winged uraei appear on the throne of Tutankhamun (late fourteenth-century B.C.E), which displays two, two-winged uraei, one either side of the chair. And the sarcophagus of Seti I (early thirteenth-century B.C.E) displays a two-winged uraeus and a four-winged uraeus. The seraphim may have evolved from the uraeus, the gold serpent (specifically a cobra) worn by Egyptian pharaohs on their foreheads. Uraei without wings and with two or four wings were depicted in iconography throughout the Near East. They protected by spitting their poison, or fire.The first is that “crawl on one's belly does not actually imply that the so-called serpent never crawled on it's belly prior to the expulsion from the garden. The term “crawl on one's belly” is semi-poetic. It refers to the rebellious cherub (ie. Lucifer) being forced into a docile position. When a snake is frightened into submission it lowers it's head and slithers away, as opposed to raising it's neck and advancing, baring it's fangs.Crawling on the belly refers to a response that is similar to a wolf pulling it's ears back and tucking it's tail between its legs. Thus God spoke down to Satan, causing him to flee the garden in shame and exile, just as Adam and Eve were made to. The same goes for eating the dust, which obviously does not refer to literally eating dirt for sustenance. In other passages of the books of the Old Testament Sheol is referred to as the house of dust, so this could signify Satan being locked up in Hell. This sort of analogy regarding serpents is prevalent throughout many Ancient Near Eastern literature, especially the Ancient Pyramid texts. It was this being which came to be worshipped as Enki, the chief of the Annunaki and ruler of the air.These seals shown abocr picture basically the same scene portrayed by Isaiah in the opening verses Isa 6:1-7. Seal 273 portrays Yahweh symbolically as a sun disk wearing a crown (a typical representation in Israelite-Judean art). Yahweh is thus portrayed as king, and surrounding him are the seraphs. Seal 274a may portray Yahweh as king, sitting on some sort of structure or throne, also attended by a seraph, this time a seraph with wings.The ancient pyramid texts mention spells that are used to cause the uraeus (divine serpentine beings) in the underworld to “crawl on their belly”. This refers to the serpent being lowered into the docile position, as opposed to upright in the attack position. Genesis 3 is probably using the same kind of language and is not referring to the loss of limbs. It could also refer to Satan figuratively losing his “wings” although this doesn't seem to be what the text is describing. The second part of the curse is for the serpent to “eat the dust”. Obviously snakes don't eat dust. What this is probably referring to is Sheol, which is known as the House of Dust.Therefore we can see that the serpent in genesis three is actually one of the anointing cherubs of God's throne in the midst of rebellion, which God cursed to retreat from his divine council in shame and exile and is sentenced to the abyss of Sheol to be laid in chains of darkness. It's probably not referring to an actual flesh and blood snake. We can see the serpent imagery associated with the cherubim when we examine ancient Israelite seals.Lucifer the Light BearerAs background material, Isaiah 6 refers to a seraph which means serpent. In Egyptian mythos a seraph is a guardian serpent and in the Egyptian pictorial alphabet is the equivalent of a cherub. Seraphs stood over him; each one had six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and they used the remaining two to fly. (Isa. 6:2) Isaiah 14:4 begins with a proverb or taunt against the king of Babylon. The story according to Heiser is about an evil tyrant king, whose pride is described in terms of an ancient story about a divine being who fell from paradise due to rebellion against God. He claims that Eden is referenced indirectly, though clearly in the case of Isaiah 14:You will taunt the king of Babylon with these words: "Look how the oppressor has met his end! Hostility has ceased! (Isa. 14:4)Verse 14 introduces the name Lucifer, which in Hebrew is הֵילֵל בֶּן-שָׁחַר｜hêlel bēn-šāḥar｜, the name הילל meaning something like “shining one” or “light bearer”, from whence we get the Latin name Lucifer. What is interesting here is that the latter part of the name שחר, although literally referring to dawn, is also the name of the god of dawn in the pantheon of Ugarit. It is often associated with the planet Venus.Many books, commentaries, and papers have been written using Isaiah 14 as the excuse to give Satan another name as Lucifer. It may, in fact, be referring to Satan, but should not be translated as Lucifer. It could be referring to another divine being; however, the general dismissal by the elite expositors of the “sons of God” in Genesis 6 as angelic beings limits their discussion to only one fallen angel which is Satan. Even those who do teach Genesis 6 as fallen angels continue to adhere to the name Lucifer. This shining one wanted to set his throne on the mountain of God, the mountain of the divine council, above the stars of God.For you havd said in you heart, “I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of El: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north [Zaphon].” (Isa.14:13)Note, that in the Isaiah 14:13 the word translated as “God” is actually “El”. In Canaanite mythology the stars of El were the deities under the authority of the high god El. The word “north” in many translations is actually “Zaphon” which is sort of the Canaanite version of Olympus or the mountain of assembly where the gods met.Zaphon is also regarded to as he sacred mountain of the god Baal or Baal-Hadad in Canaanite religion. The mountain has been identified as Jabal al Aqra’ (known as Kel Dağı in Turkish) located about 25 miles north by northeast of Ras Shamra near the mouth of the Orontes River in the border region between the modern states of Syria and Turkey. Either way, stars are the scriptural sons of God or God assembles His council on some high place probably in heaven or on an actual mountain but in a heavenly dimension not an earthly one. Thus we can clearly see that Lucifer is actually a celestial being—not just an earthly king. As previously stated, the words shining or luminosity represent a quality that is characteristic of divine or angelic beings. It may indeed be Satan but is doubtful as will be shown next.Sheol below is stirred up about you, ready to meet you when you arrive. It rouses the spirits of the dead for you, all the former leaders of the earth; it makes all the former kings of the nations rise from their thrones. All of them respond to you, saying: 'You too have become weak like us! You have become just like us! Your splendor has been brought down to Sheol, as well as the sound of your stringed instruments. You lie on a bed of maggots, with a blanket of worms over you. Look how you have fallen from the sky, O shining one, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the ground, O conqueror of the nations. (Isa. 14:9-12)It would seem from the scripture this a Shining One, or celestial being, was sent to Sheol, and if Satan, it may be prophesying a future event. It appears that Satan is currently “the prince of the power of the air” and “the god of this world.” For most practical reasons, Satan is not thrown out of the sky (heaven) and down to the ground until the actions related in Revelation chapter 12 occur.Ezekiel 28: King of TyreEzekiel 28 is another passage concerning an evil tyrant king. It is about another king, this one involving the king of Tyre whose pride is described in terms of an ancient story about a divine being who fell from paradise because of rebellion against God similar to Genesis 3 and it references Eden directly. A Bible professor named Van Dyke wrote a paper on Ezekiel 28 and describes the divine being as one with special knowledge, lifted up in pride, then preempts God’s plan and overturns it. He adds that it is a divine council setting and the preemptor is a divine council member.Verse 13 states the divine one was in the garden of Eden defined as the garden of God. He was covered with every precious stone which were prepared on the day of his creation. These precious stones describe the brightness of God’s throne in other scriptures:You were in Eden, the garden of God. Every precious stone was your covering, the ruby, topaz, and emerald, the chrysolite, onyx, and jasper, the sapphire, turquoise, and beryl; your settings and mounts were made of gold. On the day you were created they were prepared. (Ezekiel 28:13)Verse 14 appears to have a translation conundrum. The KJV and others render the text as if the divine being is an anointed cherub although the word “art” is an added addition not present in the Hebrew text. The LXX and some other translations render it so that it appears that the divine being was with an anointed cherub, with some Bible versions adding “guardian cherub.”Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. (Ezekiel 28:14 KJV)I placed you there with an anointed guardian cherub; (Ezekiel 28:14 NET)From the day that thou wast created thou wast with the cherub (Ezekiel 28:14 LXX Brenton)Below is more information on this peculiar translation:Heb. "you (were) an anointed cherub that covers and I placed you." In the Hebrew text the ruler of Tyre is equated with a cherub, and the verb "I placed you" is taken with what follows ("on the holy mountain of God"). However, this reading is problematic. The pronoun "you" at the beginning of verse Eze_28:14 is feminine singular in the Hebrew text; elsewhere in this passage the ruler of Tyre is addressed with masculine singular forms. It is possible that the pronoun is a rare (see Deu_5:24; Num_11:15) or defectively written (see 1Sa_24:19; Neh_9:6; Job_1:10; Psa_6:3; Ecc_7:22) masculine form, but it is more likely that the form should be repointed as the preposition "with" (see the Septuagint (LXX)). In this case the ruler of Tyre is compared to the first man, not to a cherub. If this emendation is accepted, then the verb "I placed you" belongs with what precedes and concludes the first sentence in the verse. It is noteworthy that the verbs in the second and third lines of the verse also appear at the end of the sentence in the Hebrew text. The presence of a conjunction at the beginning of "I placed you" is problematic for the proposal, but it may reflect a later misunderstanding of the syntax of the verse.Regardless, Heiser appears to agree generally, but not totally, with the KJV translation. For the phrase “anointed cherub” he claims the translators are assuming the word “mashach” means “anointed” but it may come from a Semitic homonym meaning “to shine” and so produce “shining cherub”. The cherub in Assyrian and Phoenician context is a throne guardian. In the above Isaiah passage, the throne guardian is called a seraph, which means serpent. Heiser claims that a seraph and a cherub are essentially the same entity, just from different cultures and contexts.For the next example, we'll focus on the NIV because it contains the actual words that Heiser expressed, “seal of perfection”. Most other versions render the same basic concept. The Semitic for “seal of perfection” is “hwtm tknyt”. Occasionally the “m” at the end is silent rendering “hwt(m) tknyt” which would translate as “serpent of perfection”."Son of man, take up a lament concerning the king of Tyre and say to him: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: "'You were the seal of perfection [or serpent of perfection], full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. (Ezekiel 28:12 NIV)Heiser ties the three scripture passages together by concluding the nachash or shining one is a component. In G3 he is obviously in Eden with Eve; E28 states he was in Eden or the holy mountain of God where he walked among the stones of fire or the divine council; Is14 implied he was in Eden by saying, “he will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly” and that he wanted to set his throne on the mountain of God or the mountain of the divine council/assembly. Eden was is the place of the council according to Heiser. The “stones of fire” of E28 are in Eden on the cosmic mountain. The serpentine cherubim figure is in “the seat of God” or “the gods” and envisions himself as God.ALSO, SEE MY OTHER ANSWERS:Damien Cowl's answer to Why does the Bible mention the mythical unicorn (Psalm 22:21 KJV)?Damien Cowl's answer to Did The Tower of Babel Exist?Damien Cowl's answer to What is the best way to read the Bible?Damien Cowl's answer to Do Fallen Angels Exist?