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We have exposed many lies and
false doctrines over the years, but the deception we are discussing now has been without a doubt the most dangerous to humanity and in fact all creation. This false doctrine, or even the lack of God's knowledge on this portion of scripture conceals or hides a
key to the victory of the cross and our restoration! I am referring to the account of the Brazen Serpent.
You see, the church for the most part teaches the story of the Brazen Serpent recorded in Numbers 21 as a forerunner of Christ's cross. They use what Jesus said in John 3 as their proof.
John 3:14
14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, (the real meaning of this scripture will be revealed later)
Some also teach the reason God was angry with old Israel was their lack of faith and fear to
enter into the Promised Land. There are so many different perspectives on these scriptures that are unfortunately hiding Christ's victory from man.
So let us begin to unravel the lies spawned by the wisdom Eve chose by shining God's light on this account found in Numbers 21:4-9.
4 Then
they (Old Israel) journeyed from
Mount Hor by the Way of the
Red Sea, to go
around the
land of Edom; and the
soul of the people became
very discouraged on the way.
5 And
the people spoke against God and against Moses:
(they held God and His leadership responsible for their problems!) “
Why have
you brought us up out of
Egypt to
die in the
wilderness?
(Your fault we haven't made it to the promises!) For
there is no food and
no water, and
our soul loathes this worthless bread.”
(That is what they thought of God's provision! The people of that time did not know the manna represented the Bread of Life as we should today!)
6 So
the Lord (not the enemy, the Lord!) sent fiery serpents among the people, and
they bit the people; and
many of the people of Israel (God's people) died.
(Could this be a valuable lesson for God's people today? Are we disgruntled with God, those over us, displeased with truth, spiritual manna that requires us to change?)
7
Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, “
We have
sinned, for
we have spoken against the Lord and against you;
pray to the Lord that
He take away the
serpents from
us.”
So Moses prayed for the
people.
8
Then the Lord said to
Moses, “
Make a fiery serpent (a molten image), and
set it on a pole (for all to see); and
it shall be that
everyone who is
bitten,
when he looks at it (not God, not Moses),
shall live.”
9 So
Moses made (a statue of) a
bronze serpent (This is what God wanted the people to look at instead of Him or His leadership, or anyone for that matter!), and
put it on
a pole (so all could see it plainly, no-one deceived, and put the blame where it belonged!); and
so it
was, if a
serpent had
bitten anyone, when
he looked at
the bronze serpent (recognized what really caused the problems they encountered),
he lived.
(Remember, these were God's people, they knew all about the serpent in the garden!)
To give us a clearer picture of what happened there and how it applies to today, let us look in the Strongs Concordance in the Hebrew dictionary at the word Brazen.
Brazen 5178 a masculine noun, nchosheth nekh-o'-sheth for 5154; copper, hence, something made of that metal, i.e. coin, a fetter; figuratively, base (as compared with gold or silver):--brasen, brass, chain, copper, fetter (of brass), filthiness, steel. Notice next a female counterpart.
5154 nchuwshah nekh-oo-shaw' or nchushah {nekh-oo-shaw'}; feminine of 5153; copper:--brass, steel. (This shows us a female version of the brazen image also!)
So that was the word Brazen, now let us look at the word serpent as used in Numbers 21. In verse 8 it shows us the serpent was symbolic of the nature of what was actually a seraph, an angel!
Serpent - Hebrew 8314 saraph saw-rawf' from 8313; burning, i.e. (figuratively) poisonous (serpent); specifically, a saraph (an angel) or symbolical creature (from their copper color):--fiery (serpent), seraph.
In verse 9 we will see the serpent image Moses made was actually depicting a magician of sorts.
Serpent – Hebrew 5175 nachash naw-khawsh' from 5172; a snake (from its hiss):--serpent. Now look at this!
5172 nachash naw-khash' a primitive root; properly, to hiss, i.e. whisper a (magic) spell; generally, to prognosticate:--X certainly, divine, enchanter, (use) X enchantment, learn by experience, X indeed, diligently observe. Doesn't sound like a normal snake, does it? And remember, there's a female version of this. We know her as Leviathan or Babylon.
Side note: To explain why the word serpent was used there, much like when the Pharisees told Jesus to leave because Herod wanted to kill Him, He said, tell that fox I will keep on driving out demons and healing people. He didn't mean Herod was a fox literally, but clever, fox-like, so likewise Satan is snake-like!
So can you see what and who the Brazen Serpent is, along with his counterpart from those definitions?
Revelation 12:9
9 So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
With this truth on our minds let us now look at John 3:14, the church's supposed proof for the Brazen Serpent being a forerunner of the cross or punishment for our lack of faith!
John 3:14
14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness (so God's people could see who was really behind the things that happened), even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, (so everyone can see and appreciate the full restorative story of what happened there also!!)
You see, what Jesus was really saying, until you see the pole you will never see the
extensiveness of the cross and all it did for creation!
Now for proof of this truth let me show you the definition of this serpent found in John also, as it is New Testament and therefore in the Strongs Greek dictionary.
Serpent – Greek 3789. ophis of'-is probably from 3700 (through the idea of sharpness of vision); a snake, figuratively, (as a type of sly cunning) an artful malicious person, especially Satan:--serpent. (See how off the church that taught this as a picture of the cross was!)
Remembering there was a female serpent also, so the image depicted Satan and his bride,
Leviathan or Babylon. This is a counterfeit of Jesus and His Bride, New Jerusalem. Why the lies? The enemy knows quite well the spiritual laws of God. He knows all things will
be as you believe (spiritual law) and he will therefore work very hard to
keep us in spiritual darkness and believing his lies!
Now with our eyes of discernment open to Satan, let us look at this glorious prophecy in Isaiah 25:7-9. I will include the Strongs at the end to show you the definitions.
Isaiah 25:7-9
7 And
He (God) will destroy on
this mountain (the mountain of Hebrews 12) the
surface (face) of the
covering cast over all people (the Brazen Serpent), and
the veil (of deception) that is
spread (cast metal, poured out) over
all nations.
8
He (God) will
swallow up (destroy) death forever (is this not a glorious promise?),
and the
Lord God will
wipe away tears from
all faces; the
rebuke of His people He will
take away from
all the earth;
for the
Lord has spoken.
9 And
it will be said in
that day: “
Behold,
this is
our God; we have
waited for Him (waited for His promises to be manifested), and
He will save us (restore us, renew us).
This is the
Lord;
we have waited for Him; we will be
glad and
rejoice in
His salvation.”
(Complete salvation, remember God will swallow up death forever!)
Okay, let us turn to the Strongs Concordance again to see what the Lord intends to do from His mountain and take a good look at when this could happen.
God said He would destroy the surface of the covering, so let us begin by looking at the word surface.
Surface – Hebrew 6440 paniym paw-neem' from 6437); the face, (be- )fore(-time), countenance, mouth,
So God will destroy the face, the countenance, the mouth of the covering cast over all the people. It was
predestined before time. Strongs again will show us who this
covering is that is cast over all people.
Covering - 3874 luwt loot a primitive root; to wrap up:--cast, wrap.
3875 lowt lote from 3874; a veil:--covering. Pay close attention to the next definitions of covering.
3909 lat lawt from 3874; properly, covered, i.e. secret; by implication, incantation; also secrecy or (adverb) covertly: -enchantment, privily, secretly, softly. (See the serpent?)
Now let us look at the Veil Hebrew 4541 maccekah mas-say-kaw' from 5258; properly, a pouring over, i.e. fusion of metal (especially a cast image) (the image of the Brazen Serpent); a coverlet (as if poured out):--covering, molten (image), vail.
5258 nacak naw-sak' a primitive root; to pour out, to cast (metal); to anoint a king:--cover, (cause to) pour (out).
Spread - 5259 nacak naw-sak' a primitive root (probably identical with 5258 through the idea of fusion); to interweave (this image is interwoven on all people), i.e. (figuratively) to overspread.
5258 nacak naw-sak' a primitive root; to pour out, to cast (metal) (the image again); by analogy, to anoint a king:--cover, (cause to) pour (out).
We have looked at the Brazen Serpent as described as a serpent, a covering over the people. Now let us look at him as he is, an angel or cherub.
The account found in Ezekiel 28 helps us to see and understand why God created him in the first place and how we are affected by it.
Ezekiel 28:14
14 “You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you (God made him a perfect covering for earth and all on it, but he turned evil); you were on the holy mountain of God (the mountain at Hebrews 12); you walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones (or stones of fire, God's government).
Remember Obadiah 1:18?
18 The house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame;
In fact, let's just turn to the account in Ezekiel and take a really good look at
the anointed cherub depicted by the Brazen Serpent.
Ezekiel 28:11-18
11 Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
12 “Son of man, take up a lamentation for the
king of Tyre (Tyre means black rock. He was the person used at that time as the vessel Satan worked through), and
say to
him (speaking to the devil inside of him), ‘
Thus says the Lord God: “
You were the seal of
perfection,
full of wisdom (his vast knowledge became warped and is now the base of man's intellect) and
perfect in beauty (this is why he looks so appealing to people today, his persona shines through those he possesses).
13 You
were in
Eden,
the garden of God (no-one was there but Adam and Eve, Christ and Satan so you can see God was speaking to another entity other than King Tyre!); every precious stone was your covering: the sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold. The
workmanship of your
timbrels and pipes (he was originally heaven's chief musician, see why the world's music is so drawing) was
prepared for you on
the day you were created (God Himself made him absolutely perfect).
14 “
You were the anointed cherub who covers;
I established you (he was meant to be faultless, a perfect vessel to guard us, protect us from both realms, but he turned evil); you
were on
the holy mountain of God; you
walked back and forth in the midst of
fiery stones (again, God's government, living stones of fire).
15 You
were perfect in your ways from the day you were created,
till iniquity was
found in you.
(All his characteristics were meant to be a blessing to creation, he was to be a perfect protection, a secure covering, but He turned evil and has been shaping his world and people to his image. God sees the end from the beginning so as we saw in Isaiah, He will destroy him, his world, its systems and people.)
16 “
By the
abundance of
your trading you became
filled with violence within (rich and ruthless), and
you sinned;
(this next part is the future of Satan, already predestined in God's plan) therefore I cast you as
a profane thing (one who has tainted all things he touches) out of the
mountain of God; and
I destroyed you (swallowed him),
O covering cherub, from the
midst of the
fiery stones (again, His government).
17 “Your
heart was
lifted up because of your
beauty (pride produced lust of the eye, lust of the flesh and taught these traits to man, remember, he profaned all things);
you corrupted your wisdom for the
sake of
your splendor (twisted it to make himself look good);
I cast you to the ground,
I laid you before kings, that
they might gaze at you.
(All will soon see who he really is!!!)
18 “
You defiled your sanctuaries (places of safety for your people) by the
multitude of your iniquities (the father of sin), by the
iniquity of your trading; therefore I brought
fire from your midst (Truth trumpeted by the stones of fire. In other words, God will destroy through His government); it
devoured you, and
I turned you to ashes upon the earth in the sight of
all who saw you .
(Those that see the pole, see him as the instigator of all sin!)
19
All who knew you among the
peoples are
astonished at you;
you have
become a horror, and
shall be no more forever.” ’ ”
(The fulfillment of Isaiah 25.)
I surely hope we have successfully raised the Brazen Serpent, the anointed cherub high enough everyone can see who is really behind every problem on earth today! All sin, starting with Eve originated with this wily evil serpent. He has caused mankind and all creation to be out of sync with their Creator and therefore
out of order with the universe itself!
He does not want to see Ephesians 1:10 fulfilled for sure!
10 that
in the dispensation of the fullness of the times (when mankind can see they can do nothing without God) He might gather together in one all things (His whole creation) in
Christ,
both which are
in heaven and which are
on earth—
in Him.
Thankfully, in God's predestined plan there is an answer to how the enemy is defeated! When we see Satan on the pole as the father of all sin, and make him the scapegoat for all creation, we will begin to better understand God's solution, Christ on the cross!
Revelation 13:8 shows us even those that do not know and love Christ will in the end worship Him according to God's plan predestined from the earth's creation.
Revelation 13:8
8 All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
Please pay attention to what I am going to say here. As old Israel stood at the edge of the Promised Land they were fearful, angry and mad at all the wrong things! God was very angry with them and they did not get to enter His rest, or
receive the promises He wanted for them. Today we are about to
enter God's Promised Land, His wonderful Kingdom once again. What do
we see as the cause of our problems? Have we blamed God for what has happened in our lives, or perhaps His leadership? Have politicians disappointed us or
the world's systems, money, education, its religions? Maybe we see our families at fault. Do you realize none of the above have anything to do with your problems, they are all just the
fruit of the tree of good and evil, the Brazen Serpent, the anointed covering cherub, plainly said, the devil! He is completely guilty of
every evil thing from Eve to you and I today. It is because of him our lives are destroyed and because of his influence in our lives that God's promises are not met concerning us. Oh if humanity would stand still for just five minutes and all face the pole, looking at the Brazen Serpent and forgive everyone of all circumstances. If they would take every sin they ever committed and throw them at the Brazen Serpent and turn to the cross and say,
thank you Father for Your predestined plan for our restoration, and thank you Yeshua for manifesting Your part in His plan. Thank you for making us holy, not because of what we've done, but because of what You've done!
When did all this start? In Genesis Father told Adam and Eve if they ate the knowledge of the tree of good and evil, they would die.
Eve was beguiled by the serpent and death was introduced to earth! The death of loved ones, pets even our plants, trees and flowers has brought much heartache to man.
Yeshua fixed it all by giving His own life to cancel the debt of our rebellion, to cover our iniquity! The next move this cunning serpent natured cherub did was to talk the
angels into crossing with the daughters of man hoping to produce a race of people that would be superior to those Father had created. Instead, sickness, disease, all kinds of birth defects came into being. Again, the cross came to our rescue. As Yeshua lifted the glass of wine saying this is My blood, He also, as the last thing on the cross,
drank the sour wine, the vinegar and took it to the grave making it possible for us to be baptized into His death and be resurrected a new creature with clean blood. Then we can enter into the
blood covenant of communion to receive His eternal life! Remember, life is in the blood. I could go on and on about all our Lord has done for us, but what we must understand, everything Satan has caused God's creation to do wrong Yeshua has made right. The Mighty Jehovah conceived in His mind a perfect universe, a perfect creation including Satan himself and Yeshua brought it into being. Father said “let there be light” and Yeshua made it appear as a sun and a moon. Earth and all on it were brought into being in the same manner. Everything was perfect until Satan fell into iniquity. All he had jurisdiction over became like him. In other words, you and I were
meant to be perfect. Because of God's great love for His creation all will be righteous,
back in sync with the rest of His perfect universe including us. Our restoration depends on our personal perspective and our perspective will be derived from
the knowledge we are feeding ourselves. Eve ate from the tree of good and evil, we see where mankind ended up.
In closing, let us
eat from the Tree of Life, see the pole, the Brazen Serpent, the anointed cherub's covering and above all the cross, God's predestined plan to right all things for all creation!