The Serpent: An Alternative View of the Devil

Introduction

I passed on finishing this study twice due to my own skepticism and lack of understanding about its subject. There were questions I couldn’t answer, so I felt that I should wait until I could. I also knew that I was challenging one of the strongest and most accepted doctrines embraced by the majority of Christianity, the understanding of Satan as a fallen angel. It wasn’t until I realized that the Bible, from beginning to end, is basically a parable. I don’t mean a parable here and there but rather, that the Bible itself is in parabolic form throughout, concealing spiritual realities beneath the surface of its natural and literal interpretations. From the many stories and prophecies of the Old Testament to the four gospels and letters of the New, we shouldn’t be surprised by this fact. Once we enter into the Spirit of the Word, it becomes apparent to the humble reader that there is a hidden wisdom, a divine essence, an understanding cloaked in symbols, numbers, and patterns that rises above the pages of the written Word itself.

It has always been my most sincere desire to understand the truth regardless of its reflection on myself and others. For this reason, I have challenged and continue to challenge all of the accepted teachings of Christianity, knowing that since the days of Christ and the apostles, we have drifted far from its original foundation, and as a result, become so greatly divided in our ranks that the world simply scoffs at our endeavors. No wonder, for we are full of ritual and rote, but not of His Spirit. But that’s to be accepted too, for the scriptures themselves, when viewed openly and honestly, testify of this very thing.

Brothers and sisters, we are in great need of the Lord’s intervention, and I believe He will intervene. Know that each and every spiritual phenomenon in the Bible is marked by our Creator coming to us and not us to Him. This has always been the case, for it His divine purpose that is being reckoned in this universe and we are simply participants in it. The wisdom of the mind of the Spirit far exceeds our ability to comprehend it. He alone can give us eyes to see and ears to hear what the Spirit is saying in this hour.

There are mistakes in this presentation, not by intention, but out of ignorance. I am still and always will be learning. It has been difficult to put aside what I have inherited in order to see from a fresh perspective.

In His Grace,

Jack Marshall

Please note: All Hebrew and Greek definitions are taken from the Strong’s Greek and Hebrew Dictionary unless otherwise noted. All scripture quotations are from the New King James version of the Bible unless otherwise noted.

Genesis 3:1 (NKJV)

Now the serpent was more cunning than any

beast of the field which the Lord God had made.

Chapter One

UNANSWERED QUESTIONS

Who or what is that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan? (Rev. 12:9) For most of society at large it speaks of an evil entity, a being if you will, a fallen angel, capable of great power as the ruler of the darkness of this world (Eph. 6:12).

He has been portrayed as many things, not the least of which is a hideous looking creature with horns and a pitchfork. No doubt, he is considered the epitome of evil, an adversary to both God and man. But is he really a fallen angel? If so, when, where, and how did he fall? If he is not a fallen angel, then who or what is he? And what about his angels or demons? (Rev. 12:7-9) If Satan is not a fallen angel, then the demons are not fallen angels either. If this is true, then what are demons?

Finally, one must consider the power of Satan. If he is a fallen angel, how much power does he truly have? Is he omnipotent? Is he omniscient? Is he omnipresent? If he is none of these, then how does he manage to have such control over the world?

Most everyone has accepted the traditional view, almost without question, and in this day and age, the major denominations of our time, along with the world, have helped to propagate this idea of the devil as a fallen angel and adversary of man and God. But do we not realize that just because the majority accept this as true, it may not be? Do the scriptures support this perspective?

In June of 2015, I released my free ebook and study called, "Hell, No! An Alternative View of Hell," which I revised in December of 2016. In it, I discuss that hell is not a place of eternal torment as so many of us have been led to believe. Once I realized this, I was then challenged to reconsider my understanding of the serpent.

I haven’t believed in the fallen angel theory for quite some time, but like everything I have considered in the Bible, I learn more as I continue to study and revisit those things which I have deliberated in the past. I’ve also found that it’s not unusual for me to find answers about one topic while studying and writing on another.

As we move forward in this study, I hope to address all of these questions, so I ask you to keep an open mind. We have a lot of territory to cover.

Chapter Two

PARABLES

Matthew 13:1-3 (NKJV)

¹ On the same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea. ² And great multitudes were gathered together to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore. ³ Then He spoke many things to them in parables…

Matthew 13:34-35 (NKJV)

³⁴ All these things Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables; and without a parable He did not speak to them, ³⁵ that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying: I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things kept secret from the foundation of the world.

The first mention of the word parable in the Old Testament is found in Numbers 23:7 while the first mention of this word in the New Testament is found in plural form in our passages above. The Hebrew word for parable in the King James Old Testament is found 38 times, but is translated, not only as parable, but also proverb and once as byword (Psalms 44:14). In the King James New Testament, the Greek word for parable is found 50 times, translated as parable or parables, but also once as comparison (Mark 4:30), once as proverb (Luke 4:23), and twice as figure (Heb. 9:9; 11:19).

The definition of this word in the Old Testament reads, "A pithy maxim, usually of a metaphorical nature; hence a simile (as an adage, poem, discourse)."

The definition of this word in the New Testament reads, "A similitude ("parable"), i.e. (symbolic) fictitious narrative (of common life conveying a moral), apothegm or adage. The definition of the word from which it is derived reads, To throw alongside, i.e. (reflexive) to reach a place, or (figurative) to liken."

Google defines maxim as, A short, pithy statement expressing a general truth or rule of conduct. It defines simile as, "A figure of speech involving the comparison of one thing with another thing of a different kind, used to make a description more emphatic or vivid (e.g., as brave as a lion, crazy like a fox). Apothegm is, A concise saying or maxim; an aphorism, while adage means, A proverb or short statement expressing a general truth."

Look again at the definition from which the word parable is taken, meaning, "To throw alongside." Consider the following from Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament.

Parables (παραβολαῖς)

From παρά, beside, and βάλλω, to throw. A parable is a form of teaching in which one thing is thrown beside another. Hence its radical idea is comparison. Sir John Cheke renders biword, and the same idea is conveyed by the German Beispiel, a pattern or example ; bei, beside, and the old high German spel, discourse or narration.

The word is used with a wide range in scripture, but always involves the idea of comparison…

Let me share with you an excerpt from J. Preston Eby’s Echoes from Eden and his explanation of parables.

And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there He put the man whom He had formed. And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gen 2:8-9). 

The story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden is the greatest parable in the Bible. It is supremely important because it explains the real nature of our life here on earth. It tells us about ourselves, about our state of being, and how we bring about the conditions in which we live. It is the blueprint of man’s experience on earth and his destiny in God. When you thoroughly understand the Garden of Eden you will understand the nature of God, the nature of man, and the nature of Satan. This parable is placed at the beginning of human history, because it is the foundation upon which the whole plan of purpose of God is built. The entire revelation of the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, assumes an understanding of the great principles and characteristics in the Garden of Eden.

Don’t let it disturb you that I call the Garden of Eden a parable. What is a parable? Your dictionary or Bible Concordance will tell you that a parable places one thing alongside another for a variety of reasons. There are quite a number of English words which sound a little like parable; in fact they all start with the same four letters, P-A-R-A. This prefix para means by the side of. One word I would like you to think of is the very common word parallel. It’s a word they use a great many times in school. In the Art Department, in the Geography Department, in the Mathematics Department, even in the Music Department, as music is written on five parallel lines, and, of course, in the English Department. If you look at the edges of this paper you’ll find they are parallel with each other. If you are sitting at a table it is most likely to have parallel sides. The edges to the door of your room should be parallel; the floor and ceiling ought to be parallel; the edges of the window frames should be parallel, too! So now I’ve got you thinking about this word parallel perhaps it would help if we wrote the two words down like this:

P A R A B L E

P A R A L L E L

Now we can ask another question: If a parable is only a story, why not call it a story? Why use an unusual word like parable, if an ordinary word like story will do? The answer is simple: A parable is more than a story. It is a story plus, it has a bonus added to the story. It has two things that run side by side – the lesson and the reality!

So that’s where a parable is different; it’s more than a story – it has a story line and then a parallel line – a new idea, concept, or meaning to comprehend! Also – parables may be based upon actual events. For instance, when Jesus begins His parable by saying, A sower went forth to sow… if there were no such things as actual farmers, soil, and seed we would miss His point altogether. The natural and outward corresponds in principle to the spiritual and inward – the one is set along side the other. That’s just what makes it a parable! So do not be distressed by the representation of Adam and Eve and the Garden of Eden as a parable!

There is one thing about which God’s people must be perfectly clear. The Bible is not primarily intended to teach history or biography. It is intended to teach THE PURPOSES OF GOD and SPIRITUAL REALITIES. It deals primarily with states of being and the laws of spiritual activity; and anything else is only incidental. Each of the principal characters in the Bible represents a kind of nature, character, or state of being that any of us may experience and walk in; and the events that happen to the various characters illustrate the consequences to us of walking in such realms of nature and character, either good or bad. Some of the Bible characters, such as Adam and Eve, Moses, Elijah, and Paul, are indeed historical figures. They were real people who lived on earth and did the deeds attributed to them; nonetheless they represent kinds of natures and states of being revealed in their varying hues as their lives unfolded. Other Bible characters, such as the Prodigal Son, the Good Samaritan, or the Great Harlot in Revelation are, of course, fictional and never lived on earth as actual persons; but as parables and allegories they express inner conditions and states of being too, and always in a most effective and graphic manner.

You cannot with brush and canvas paint a picture of fear for instance; but you can paint a picture of a human being, and create terror on his countenance. You cannot take a pencil and draw sensuality, rebellion, hatred, or spiritual bondage as such; but you can take a pen and write about great crises in men’s lives, about the emotional trauma, inner torment, and excruciating pain caused by tyranny, brutality, hatred, bigotry, immoral conduct, hopelessness, despair, darkness, and death men execute and perpetrate upon one another. You can describe the righteous judgments of God brought into men’s lives by all these evils, as does the Bible, with the symbolic term hell fire. And the carnal mind and natural understanding is certain to think that you mean a literal human body being tortured in a physical flame! On the other hand, you cannot picture a soul abiding in the perfect peace, joy and harmony of the glorious presence of God, adoring and worshipful; but you can speak of a great choir of rapturous beings playing music upon perfectly tuned harps, and again the carnally minded people will think that redeemed souls are to spend eternity literally playing harps! The Spirit of God uses this method to impart understanding to our minds and hearts. The Spirit uses outer concrete things to express inner spiritual realities. As Paul says, These things are an allegory (Gal 4:24).

In the Garden of Eden many people seem to think that Eve symbolizes woman as a sex and that Adam somehow stands for man as a sex. The truth goes far beyond this! Adam and Eve in the Garden represent the whole of humanity in the first Adam. They represent you and me and every man and woman who has ever lived or shall live. What happened to him happens to us. What he was we are. His experience is our experience. His destiny is our destiny. May the mighty spirit of wisdom and revelation from God give enlightenment to the eyes of your understanding that you may see and know of a truth that what was happening to Adam in the Garden speaks of spiritual realities even in the beginning of history, before history, beyond history and yet in history; it is we ourselves of whom the Garden speaks, it is we ourselves who are confronted, intended, addressed, accused, expelled, instructed, and redeemed.

What an excellent explanation of parables from J. Preston Eby!

When we continue in Matthew 13, we find the Parable of the Sower. After the Lord shared this with the great multitudes, His disciples came to Him and asked Him, Why do You speak to them in parables? (Matt. 13:10) Valid question. Here’s the Lord’s response.

Matthew 13:11-17 (NKJV)

¹¹ He answered and said to them, "Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. ¹² For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. ¹³ Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. ¹⁴ And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says: 'Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, and seeing you will see and not perceive; ¹⁵ for the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them.' ¹⁶ "But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; ¹⁷ for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

Why did the Lord speak to them in parables? Because it has been given to you, His disciples, "to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. Furthermore, I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. Jesus went on to say that the hearts of the people had grown dull, and due to this fact, their eyes and ears," spiritually speaking, were incapable of receiving what He taught.

So think about this. According to Matthew 12, verses 39 through 45, Jesus declared that His wisdom was greater than that of Jonah and Solomon. This being true, He expressed this wisdom in parables. As we read earlier, "All these things Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables; and without a parable He did not speak to them, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying: I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things kept secret from the foundation of the world (Matt. 13:34-35; Psalms 78:2).

John 6:63 (NKJV)

⁶³ It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.

John 8:26 (NKJV)

²⁶ I have many things to say and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I heard from Him."

John 12:49-50 (NKJV)

⁴⁹ For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. ⁵⁰ And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak."

These passages leave no doubt. Jesus spoke the words of our heavenly Father, words of wisdom that proceeded from the Creator Himself. And I don’t believe anyone would argue with me when I say that there can be no greater wisdom. So again, in regard to the multitudes, Jesus spoke in parables in order to conceal this wisdom, or in the case of His disciples, reveal it.

It should come as no surprise that Jesus used parables to illustrate the mysteries of the kingdom of God, for the Old Testament itself is written in the same fashion. From Genesis to Malachi, the Word of God uses parables, analogies, metaphors, types and shadows.

That being said, and in agreement with Eby, it is my opinion that the story of creation and Adam and Eve is presented as a parable; symbolisms mixed with reality. One thing has been "thrown beside another for the sake of comparison, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual" (I Cor. 2:13). The Garden of Eden, along with the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and the tree of life, are not literal, so by no means would the serpent be. When we recognize this fact, then we should also realize that those things presented to us in Genesis require diligent research, consideration, and a humble heart to arrive at an understanding of what these things truly mean.

As this study will suggest, Adam and Eve illustrate the formation and creation of what Paul called the natural man (I Cor. 2:14). The Garden of Eden speaks of the principle of sowing and reaping whereas the tree of knowledge and tree of life define its two components (flesh and Spirit). The Two Covenants, Old and New, also reflect and enhance this divine and universal principle (Gal. 4:21-31; 6:7-10).

As this study will also suggest, the serpent is not speaking of a fallen angel but of the deceptive workings of the heart and mind of the natural man, his nature and behavior, and the corresponding actions which lead to carnality.

If we view the serpent as simply another element of a parable, and we are willing to lay aside the long-standing traditional view that all of us have heard, then it allows for us to see beyond the surface and consider a depth we would not otherwise see.

The first appearance of the serpent is in the Garden of Eden where he is called more cunning than any beast of the field. As we will also find, the phrase, beast of the field is not referring to animals, but to humans. Proof of this is found in many scriptures.

Understand that the serpent, devil, Satan, and dragon, is spoken of in an individual as well as a collective perspective (Rev. 12:3, 9). No surprise, for Adam is too. When Paul wrote about the natural man (I Cor. 2:14), the old man (Rom. 6:6; Eph. 4:22; Col. 3:9), the outward man (II Cor. 4:16), or the man of sin (II Thess. 2:3-4), was he speaking of just one person who exists somewhere on this planet? Of course not. All of these phrases speak of something that is part of every human being on this earth. And the reality of this is evident. Every wicked act of humankind can be attributed to the natural man who is unable to receive the things of the Spirit of God (I Cor. 2:14) and thus becomes carnal (Rom. 8:5-8). For this reason, Paul made it clear that our old man must be "crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin (Rom. 6:6). We should understand that this is not speaking literally but correlates with what Jesus said in Matthew 16:24 about a man denying his self" and taking up his cross in order to follow Him.

Revelation 1:1 (KJV)

¹ The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John…

We will get into the book of the Revelation, so it’s important to understand that this book is the most symbolic book of the Bible. In agreement with this, consider our passage above and the word signified. Here’s the definition of this word from Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words (bolding mine).

Usage Number: 1

Strong's Number:

Original Word: σημαίνω, sēmainō

Usage Notes: "to give a sign, indicate (sema, a sign:" cp. SIGN, No. 1), to signify, is so translated in John 12:33; John 18:32; John 21:19; Acts 11:28; Acts 25:27; Rev. 1:1, where perhaps the suggestion is that of expressing by signs.

Vine’s tells us in regard to Revelation 1:1, where perhaps the suggestion is that of expressing by signs. In other words, the revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave to John was in keeping with the rest of scripture, presented in parable form. That being said, some of the symbols are interpreted within this book itself as in Revelation 1:20 and 19:8, however, much of it is not. So how do we come to understand it? By seeking out the meaning in other areas of scripture, for rest assured that the understanding can be found in either the Old or New Testament when we are willing to study and search it out.

So why parables? Because they are like a wheel with spokes in that many things can be connected in scripture to give a greater understanding of the subject at hand. Think about it. When Jesus said, The seed is the Word of God (Luke 8:11), doesn’t that open up to us something about the Word of our Maker which can be better explained and understood by comparing it to a natural seed? And when we do so, we get a better grasp of the intricacies of His divine truth.

Chapter Three

THE FOUNDATION

Romans 1:18-20 (GW)

¹⁸ God's anger is revealed from heaven against every ungodly and immoral thing people do as they try to suppress the truth by their immoral living. ¹⁹ What can be known about God is clear to them because he has made it clear to them. ²⁰ From the creation of the world, God's invisible qualities, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly observed in what he made. As a result, people have no excuse.

Look closely at verse 20 above. "From the creation of the world, God’s invisible qualities, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly observed in what He made."

Our word creation is defined by Strong’s as, "Original formation (properly the act; by implication the thing, literal or figurative), and our phrase, From the creation of the world" makes it clear. In the creation story in Genesis, we will not only find understanding of the physical things which God created, but also spiritual parallels which reveal "His eternal power and divine nature."

If we didn’t have the Bible, we would still have nature itself which unmistakably testifies of the One who made it. No wonder Jesus used these things to present the Word of the kingdom. One of the best examples in scripture which we have touched on is the Parable of the Sower, where Jesus said, "The seed is the Word of God" (Luke 8:4-15). Knowing this, we can better understand what John wrote in the following.

John 1:1 (NKJV)

¹ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

In the beginning was the Word, which Jesus said was the seed (Luke 8:11). He didn’t say it was like a seed, but was the seed, thus the dynamic Word of God is the origin of all that we