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Originally Posted by JohnOwen007  Quote:
Originally Posted by armourbearer Paul says the serpent beguiled Eve | Is Satan a literal Snake? Is Satan, as a snake, now crawling around on his belly eating dust all the days of his life according to God's curse in Gen. 3? |
I personally have no doubt that Satan took the form of a literal serpent in the Garden. As you well know, snakes today do crawl around on their bellies. It would seem this may not have always been the case. Now, why would God curse serpents just because Satan took their form? I don't know. But we see a similar thing when Jesus punished the pigs in the Gospels which were possessed by demons. Or was that figurative as well? Where does uncertainty stop? "A Mere Housewife" said it well. Once we start down this path, the questions are endless as to what is historical in the account and what is not... Did God really walk with our parents in the Garden? Did the sin of our first parents really cause the sin and death we see in the world? Did God really curse mankind as a result? Did we really come from Adam and Eve? Is there really such thing as a tree of life? The list goes on and on and the answers to these questions will have an impact on what we believe in other sections of Scripture.
With regard to the "apparent" problems that have been mentioned with regard to the sequence in which God created all things, isn't it very possible and even likely that the point of the order is to teach us that God is in absolute control over creation and time? The order given in the creation account shows us that everything is dependent upon God, not creation, for its origin and existence. I.e. plants and vegetation are created before the sun which teaches us God is the One who gives life to the plants and sustains them, not the sun... Of course, we know that once God completed His work of creation He has been pleased to make use of means and therefore since that time plants do need sunlight or they will die. However, that's not to say that the sunlight is absolutely necessary; God could sustain vegetation by whatever manner He chooses; the creation account teaches as much.
Just some more thoughts. Please know that I have many other reasons for believing the Genesis account to be historical narrative. I share these particular thoughts as a result of the direction this thread is taking.
In His bountiful grace,
Steve