Disproving the Serpent Seed Doctrine
What is the “Serpent Seed Doctrine?”
The serpent seed doctrine is a belief based on poor biblical interpretation and superstition. It is a primary doctrinal resource for those who want to use Scriptures to justify racial prejudice.
One of the most unfortunate problems with the serpent seed doctrine is that it so heavily relies on prejudice and warped biblical interpretation that it can be very difficult to discuss rationally.
There are various versions of this Serpent Seed Doctrine but basically what this doctrine teaches is that the sin of Eve was not simple disobedience, but the actual sexual contact with the serpent, and that Cain was the son of Eve and of the devil. Cain’s descendants are, according to this idea, the sons of Satan.
Cain’s descendants are not included in the plan of salvation. Cain’s descendants includes most any race or group that the serpent-seed believer chooses to dislike. This idea is rooted in superstitious beliefs and is particularly popular with white supremacists and anti-Semites; the Unification Church also supports this idea.
Noted false prophets and false teachers such as Arnold Murray of Shepherd’s Chapel and William Branham espoused the idea. It is appropriate to condemn an idea when it logically leads to sin. A philosophy that teaches that some races or people are universally satanic, like the serpent seed doctrine, is one such philosophy.
Those who support serpent-seed ideas cite many passages in the Bible as proof that their idea is correct. Almost without exception, these “proofs” require an interpretation that is totally inappropriate to the context of the passage.
Genesis 3:15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.
When it comes to this verse, there are those that teach the understanding that the seed of the serpent is a literal physical seed.
Supposedly, there is a genetic lineage of Cain and all of his lineage are a “child of the devil.”
We have two choices before us.
Either the seed spoken of in Genesis is a spiritual metaphor or it is biological and physical.
Either being a child of the devil is a matter of the heart, or it is genetic and the serpent is a literal father of a non-human race starting with Cain.
Those are our two choices. We need to test each to the Word of Yahweh and determine which is valid.
To the unlearned, the support for this doctrine, at least on the surface, can appear rather convincing, so let’s review some of the major tenants of this doctrine.
Genesis 3:13 is often cited, with the claim that the word translated “beguiled” in the King James Version really meant “seduced.” At that point, it is extrapolated that the serpent sexually seduced Eve.
Genesis 3:13 And Yahweh Elohim said unto the woman, “What is this that thou hast done? “And the woman said, “The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.”
Strong’s defines the Hebrew word used here as to be “deceived” and that is how the ESV translates this verse.
Genesis 3:13 Then Yahweh Elohim said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
There is a Hebrew word that can be and is used in the scriptures to mean seduced in a sexual sense.
However, it should be noted that this particular word is not present in Genesis 3:13. So one has to superimpose or force this interpretation on the text. You'd be hard pressed to find scholarly support for interpreting Genesis 3:13 to mean that the Serpent sexually seduced Eve.
Despite this fact, there are those who for various reasons still loosely stretch the Hebrew text in a attempt to make it imply this. As we will see, in the light of Yahweh's Word, this interpretation does not really make much sense.
So already those that support this thought process have wrongly divided the Word of Yahweh on the false foundation that Eve was seduced by the serpent; they then further expand upon this error with another supposed proof text found in Proverbs 30:20,
Proverbs 30:20 metaphorically compares the act of eating with sexual immorality.
Proverbs 30:20 This is the way of an adulteress: she eats and wipes her mouth and says, “I have done no wrong.”
The linkage is necessary because the sin of Adam and Eve is mentioned to include eating, thus there is a need to attempt to prove that when Adam and Eve ate, it could not be literal but is meant to mean something sexual instead.
It's interesting to note that, in Proverbs 30:20 the adulterous says “I have done no wrong,” whereas in Genesis 3 Eve promptly admitted her wrongdoing. The attempt to forcefully link Proverbs 30:20 into the context of the sin of Eve fails substantially.
Another common argument brought by those who advocate this scripturally inaccurate interpretation is to quickly pointed out that Adam and Eve realized that they were naked, and thus in context, their physical nakedness implies something sexual in nature occurring.
However, the sudden awareness of their physical nakedness is here mentioned to reflect on how their sinful disobedience led to a corrupt falling away from what was once a spiritual and physically pure, wholesome, and only good relationship of innocence they once had with each other and in the holy presence of Elohim.
Now for the first time they became aware of feelings of guilt, and perceptions of relationship that was contrary to the only good, righteous and holy existence they once had with Elohim and each other.
They're very perception of themselves changed as they became aware of a spiritual disconnect of having died from a wholesome righteous state to a corrupt existence stained by evil.
In comparison, it was painfully obvious that their existence was no longer worthy of the ability to stand unashamed in the intimacy of the holy, pure and good presence of Yahweh Elohim.
Upon hearing the footsteps of Elohim approaching in the garden, they're fearfully recognized their current need of a covering to hide the repulsive nature of their new unrighteous guilt stained identity of sin and death from Yahweh Elohim. Let’s read...
Genesis 2: 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
3:4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.-7 For Elohim knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like Elohim, knowing good and evil.”
So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.
Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.
We must understand that outside physical responses often times reflects inward change and spiritual realities and perceptions.
Adam and Eves outward reactions teach us that being in sin makes us naked and exposed to Elohim’s judgment.
We need to be covered for that sin to no longer be naked and ashamed. We can see that Yahweh Elohim was our first High Priest in which he slaughtered an animal and used it’s skin to “cover” Adam and Eve, immediately pointing them to the blood sacrifice that Yahshua would eventually make for us to atone for all sin and to cover all men in the faith.
Genesis 3:21 And Yahweh Elohim made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.
In order for garments of skin to cover them, an animal had to die.
Thus, their whole realization and perception of their physical nakedness is an outward reflection that tells of a much deeper inward spiritual understanding of their spiritual nakedness in lacking a covering for their sin.
This is a consistent understanding from Genesis also found found communicated in metaphorical language elsewhere in Scripture. Nakedness does not mean something sexual in nature, but a lack of a spiritual covering in intentional sin and lack of faith.
2 Corinthians 5:2-4 For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.
Revelation 3:17 For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.
Revelation 16:15 “Behold, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake, keeping his garments on, that he may not go about naked and be seen exposed!”
So we can see that just because they have realized that they are naked, that it does not mandate that what just transpired is something sexual in nature? It simply means that Adam and Eve were found to be in sin, so that they were spiritually naked.
They were certainly physical naked as well, but the physical situation teaches that their inward spiritual condition was bad; that is the intended purpose that Yahweh Elohhim reflects through the writings of Moses in the telling of mans fall here.
Because they were physically naked, and ashamed, they needed a physical covering.
On a spiritual level, they were also spiritually naked and ashamed because of their sin…therefore Elohim sacrificed an animal, and covered them in its skin as a spiritual covering…pointing us to what later would be accomplished by our Messiah when the events of the first century covered our sins in His sacrifice.
Genesis 3:6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.
If we attempt to use Proverbs 30:20 to try to prove that the fruit in Genesis 3 is referring to a sexual act between Eve and the Serpent, then we have a few serious things we now need to deal with.
We need to consider that it was stated that Adam was with Eve when Eve ate the fruit from the serpent.
Which means that we would have to believe that Adam sat around and watched the serpent have sex with his wife.
But don’t stop there. Then, after that, Eve decided to give Adam some sexual relations with the serpent:
“she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. “
Strange doctrine indeed.
Again, here is what we have with the “Serpent Seed” doctrine.
First, Adam watched his wife have sexual relations with a serpent, then Eve thought that sexual relations with the serpent was great, so she offered the same sexual relations with the serpent to Adam, and then Adam agreed and then proceeded to participate in bestiality with a serpent in front of Eve.
Does that even sound right? Is that what really happened? To those who believe this false interpretation, we must expose it’s Biblical error, but it is about to become even more absurd. We have to be consistent with the application of the metaphors.
If eating fruit means sexual relations with the one giving it then there is something to consider.
If the serpent giving the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil means sex with the serpent, what does it mean when Elohim initially gave Adam and Eve the fruit from the tree of life?
Does that mean that Adam and Eve were having sexual relations with Elohim? We would have to believe that if it meant that Adam and Eve were having sexual relations with the serpent by eating the fruit.
We cannot choose application of the metaphor in one instance and attempt to ignore just a few verses prior.
Remember, the physical teaches the spiritual…in the physical, the fruit is the product of a tree, it is the result of the life of the tree. It is what the tree does.
In Scripture, fruit does not symbolize sexual relations, instead fruit symbolizes our obedience or disobedience as good fruit or bad fruit.
For instance…watch how fruit symbolizes obedience to the Word of Elohim in the following…
Mark 4:20 But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.
Good fruit is hearing and accepting the Word of Elohim, and since the Word of Elohim contains instructions, it means conforming to and following the Word of Elohim…exactly how our Messiah did as the example to follow.
Luke 3:9 Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
Luke 6:43 For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit,
Matthew 7:17 So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
Matthew 12:33 Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit.
We can clearly see that in Scripture, fruit does not mean sexual relations, but instead it means obedience or disobedience.
Otherwise we would have to believe that the one who has good sexual relations is the one who lives, but the one who has bad sexual relations is the one who is thrown into the fire.
Clearly that is not what is meant to be understood.
Metaphors mean things in the Scriptures, most certainly, but we need to be consistent in the application of those metaphors. Also note that the fruit contains seed…that is metaphorically relevant as well…we will cover importance of that next.
Genesis 3:15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed, he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.
This verse is used by Serpent Seed proponents to attempt to prove that the seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman is referring to something physical.
Our Messiah Yahshua taught that the seed is the Word of Elohim.
Watch how simple this definition is.
Luke 8:11 The seed is the word of Elohim.
It cannot be more simple than that to define the metaphor of the seed. The work is done for us.
This is one of the few instances in which the definition of the metaphor is given to us.
We are not told that the seed is either the physical biological genetics of Elohim or the physical biological genetics of the serpent. No…the seed of Elohim is the Word of Elohim.
The seed of the serpent is deception that is against the Word of Elohim. Peter teaches the same.
1 Peter 1:23 Since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding Word of Elohim;
If the seed of Elohim is the Word of Elohim, then the seed of the adversary, or serpent, is whatever is against the Word of Elohim.
This makes complete sense because those who follow the Word of Elohim have always been at odds with those who do not follow the Word of Elohim.
Now we also understand the nature of the seed that is in the fruit. Remember, from the beginning, like kind produces like kind.
When Adam and Even ate the fruit from the serpent, they were following the instructions(Torah) of the serpent and against the instructions (Torah) from Elohim.
And ever since then the seed that followed the Word of Elohim has been against the seed that does not follow the Word of Elohim. That is the consistent theme from Genesis to Revelation.
Genesis 3:15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed...
This is why believers in the Word of Elohim are referred to as the woman, or the bride of the Messiah.
Thus, the seed is not physical and biological in this case, but completely metaphorical. Seeds are chosen as a metaphor because seeds carry instructions in them, just like the Word of Elohim carries (Torah) instructions, or there are the false (Torah) instructions of the enemy. Whatever instructions we follow, will dictate what type of tree we become and what type of fruit we produce.
Genesis 3:15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed...
Another problem is according to Serpent Seed proponents, Cain was supposedly the seed of both the serpent and Eve, whereas all others would be the seed of Adam and Eve.
Thus, both Cain, and every other person on planet Earth would be the seed of Eve…so it does not make sense to try to imply that Cain is not the seed of the woman but only the seed of the serpent.
This verse cannot support the serpent seed doctrine.
It cannot be referring to Cain as the seed of the serpent, because it is contrasted against the seed of the woman. If the serpent seed doctrine is true, Cain is the seed of both the woman and the serpent.
Genesis 4:1-2 Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have gotten a man with the help of Yahweh.” And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground.
Sometimes it is stated that the Bible does not refer to Adam 'knowing' his wife again before the birth of Abel and this indicates to the subscriber of the Serpent Seed theory that Cain and Abel were twins.
According to the theory, this was made possible through the process of heteropaternal superfecundation where the mother ovulates more than one egg and has more than one partner during her fertile period.
One egg is fertilized with sperm from one partner, and the other egg from sperm of another partner.
Hence, it is contended that Cain was the son (or seed) of the serpent and Abel was the son of Adam.
However, in verse two we have a Hebrew word that means “and again.” Thus, what happened again was the same thing that occurred in verse one.
So in both instances, for both Cain and Abel, Adam “knew” Eve and bore a child. The birth of Cain was the result of “knowing” Adam.
Genesis 4:1 Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain,
To know your wife in such context, means “intimate relations” and in this case, the result of Adam “knowing” Eve, they conceived Cain.
Consider these examples:
Genesis 4:25 And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and called his name Seth,
Judges 19:25 But the men would not listen to him. So the man seized his concubine and made her go out to them. And they knew her and abused her all night until the morning. And as the dawn began to break, they let her go.
1 Kings 1:4 The young woman was very beautiful, and she was of service to the king and attended to him, but the king knew her not.
Matthew 1:24-25 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son.
As we can clearly see, it was Adam who knew Eve and thus conceived Cain…not the serpent who knew Eve and conceived Cain.
Genesis 4:1 Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have gotten a man with the help of Yahweh.”
It is also often noted that Cain’s lineage is ignored in scripture. This is inferred to mean that Cain was not human and his lineage is that of the serpent. This is what’s called a logical fallacy.
The reality is that Cain’s lineage is not mentioned because Cain’s lineage never survived the flood and thus his lineage is irrelevant. Another scripture also misapplied to teach the serpent seed doctrine is John 8.
John 8:44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
Some have taught that Jews are biologically fathered by the devil because of this verse, just like Cain supposedly was. However, as we learned earlier, those of the good seed follow the Word of Elohim and thus Elohim is their Father.
And those who follow the ways of man and the world follow the adversary, and thus the devil is their father.
This is a spiritual understanding, and not literal. It must be, for the Messiah recognized that the Jews are indeed of the lineage of Abraham, not the serpent. He said it Himself just a few verses earlier:
John 8:37 I know that you are offspring of Abraham;
It is a mistake to assume that because one is referred to as a child of the devil that it is biological in nature…the reality is that it is spiritual in nature.
At one time, we all practiced sin…
1 John 3:8-10 Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of Elohim appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. No one born of Elohim makes a practice of sinning, for Elohim's seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of Elohim. By this it is evident who are the children of Elohim, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.
You can clearly see how who's child we are is not defined by our physical Father, but by who's instructions we are following, either for the Word of Elohim or against the Word of Elohim.
And this was the same for Cain…he was not a physical child of the serpent, but a spiritual child of the serpent.
1 John 3:11-14 For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him?
Because his own deeds were evil and his brother's righteous. Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you. We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death.
Also consider how. Galatians 3:28 states that race nor status has any impact on the possibility of salvation.
2 Peter 3:9 says that Elohim wants everyone to be saved, not “everyone but the children of Cain.” Nowhere in Scripture is anyone identified as a “Kenite” or condemned based on being from Cain’s lineage. Never are we warned about such people by the New Testament writers.
Also, there is the question of how or why such persons survived the flood. The doctrine supposes that original sin was sexual, but cannot explain why the whole remainder of the Bible lays out a worldview where the original sin was disobedience, not sexuality.
As one final, yet profound point, if Cain was indeed the devil’s son and by default
excluded from salvation, then why would Yahweh say this in Genesis 4:6-7?
Genesis 4:6-7 Yahweh said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.”
That single verse alone dismantles the entire serpent seed doctrine. Yahweh Himself acknowledges that Cain had potential of being accepted, but Cain chose the wrong path. Cain was not of some non-human race spawned by the serpent, but simply a human that chose ways contrary to Yahweh.
Quiz/Test: You have been equipped, and now we're coming to the end of this study. Let's wrap everything up with an exercise to test yourself according to 1 Peter 3:15...(KJV)
But sanctify the Lord Messiah in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:
Read and answer:
Your out evangelizing, and you happen upon someone who states they believe in the serpent seed doctrine. They open up their Bible and present to you a passage such as the parable of the tares in Matthew chapter 13:36-43. in which they interpret Yahshua’s description of the “children of the devil” in this parable to be true in a biological sense. Knowing that only one who is trying to force this belief into the Bible will see it this way; and it is not naturally read out of Scripture, how would you answer them?
I hope that this teaching was of value in offering some thoughts to consider related to how to scripturally answer the serpent seed doctrine.
The serpent seed doctrine is a belief based on poor biblical interpretation and superstition. It is a primary doctrinal resource for those who want to use Scriptures to justify racial prejudice.
One of the most unfortunate problems with the serpent seed doctrine is that it so heavily relies on prejudice and warped biblical interpretation that it can be very difficult to discuss rationally.
There are various versions of this Serpent Seed Doctrine but basically what this doctrine teaches is that the sin of Eve was not simple disobedience, but the actual sexual contact with the serpent, and that Cain was the son of Eve and of the devil. Cain’s descendants are, according to this idea, the sons of Satan.
Cain’s descendants are not included in the plan of salvation. Cain’s descendants includes most any race or group that the serpent-seed believer chooses to dislike. This idea is rooted in superstitious beliefs and is particularly popular with white supremacists and anti-Semites; the Unification Church also supports this idea.
Noted false prophets and false teachers such as Arnold Murray of Shepherd’s Chapel and William Branham espoused the idea. It is appropriate to condemn an idea when it logically leads to sin. A philosophy that teaches that some races or people are universally satanic, like the serpent seed doctrine, is one such philosophy.
Those who support serpent-seed ideas cite many passages in the Bible as proof that their idea is correct. Almost without exception, these “proofs” require an interpretation that is totally inappropriate to the context of the passage.
Genesis 3:15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.
When it comes to this verse, there are those that teach the understanding that the seed of the serpent is a literal physical seed.
Supposedly, there is a genetic lineage of Cain and all of his lineage are a “child of the devil.”
We have two choices before us.
Either the seed spoken of in Genesis is a spiritual metaphor or it is biological and physical.
Either being a child of the devil is a matter of the heart, or it is genetic and the serpent is a literal father of a non-human race starting with Cain.
Those are our two choices. We need to test each to the Word of Yahweh and determine which is valid.
To the unlearned, the support for this doctrine, at least on the surface, can appear rather convincing, so let’s review some of the major tenants of this doctrine.
Genesis 3:13 is often cited, with the claim that the word translated “beguiled” in the King James Version really meant “seduced.” At that point, it is extrapolated that the serpent sexually seduced Eve.
Genesis 3:13 And Yahweh Elohim said unto the woman, “What is this that thou hast done? “And the woman said, “The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.”
Strong’s defines the Hebrew word used here as to be “deceived” and that is how the ESV translates this verse.
Genesis 3:13 Then Yahweh Elohim said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
There is a Hebrew word that can be and is used in the scriptures to mean seduced in a sexual sense.
However, it should be noted that this particular word is not present in Genesis 3:13. So one has to superimpose or force this interpretation on the text. You'd be hard pressed to find scholarly support for interpreting Genesis 3:13 to mean that the Serpent sexually seduced Eve.
Despite this fact, there are those who for various reasons still loosely stretch the Hebrew text in a attempt to make it imply this. As we will see, in the light of Yahweh's Word, this interpretation does not really make much sense.
So already those that support this thought process have wrongly divided the Word of Yahweh on the false foundation that Eve was seduced by the serpent; they then further expand upon this error with another supposed proof text found in Proverbs 30:20,
Proverbs 30:20 metaphorically compares the act of eating with sexual immorality.
Proverbs 30:20 This is the way of an adulteress: she eats and wipes her mouth and says, “I have done no wrong.”
The linkage is necessary because the sin of Adam and Eve is mentioned to include eating, thus there is a need to attempt to prove that when Adam and Eve ate, it could not be literal but is meant to mean something sexual instead.
It's interesting to note that, in Proverbs 30:20 the adulterous says “I have done no wrong,” whereas in Genesis 3 Eve promptly admitted her wrongdoing. The attempt to forcefully link Proverbs 30:20 into the context of the sin of Eve fails substantially.
Another common argument brought by those who advocate this scripturally inaccurate interpretation is to quickly pointed out that Adam and Eve realized that they were naked, and thus in context, their physical nakedness implies something sexual in nature occurring.
However, the sudden awareness of their physical nakedness is here mentioned to reflect on how their sinful disobedience led to a corrupt falling away from what was once a spiritual and physically pure, wholesome, and only good relationship of innocence they once had with each other and in the holy presence of Elohim.
Now for the first time they became aware of feelings of guilt, and perceptions of relationship that was contrary to the only good, righteous and holy existence they once had with Elohim and each other.
They're very perception of themselves changed as they became aware of a spiritual disconnect of having died from a wholesome righteous state to a corrupt existence stained by evil.
In comparison, it was painfully obvious that their existence was no longer worthy of the ability to stand unashamed in the intimacy of the holy, pure and good presence of Yahweh Elohim.
Upon hearing the footsteps of Elohim approaching in the garden, they're fearfully recognized their current need of a covering to hide the repulsive nature of their new unrighteous guilt stained identity of sin and death from Yahweh Elohim. Let’s read...
Genesis 2: 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
3:4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.-7 For Elohim knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like Elohim, knowing good and evil.”
So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.
Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.
We must understand that outside physical responses often times reflects inward change and spiritual realities and perceptions.
Adam and Eves outward reactions teach us that being in sin makes us naked and exposed to Elohim’s judgment.
We need to be covered for that sin to no longer be naked and ashamed. We can see that Yahweh Elohim was our first High Priest in which he slaughtered an animal and used it’s skin to “cover” Adam and Eve, immediately pointing them to the blood sacrifice that Yahshua would eventually make for us to atone for all sin and to cover all men in the faith.
Genesis 3:21 And Yahweh Elohim made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.
In order for garments of skin to cover them, an animal had to die.
Thus, their whole realization and perception of their physical nakedness is an outward reflection that tells of a much deeper inward spiritual understanding of their spiritual nakedness in lacking a covering for their sin.
This is a consistent understanding from Genesis also found found communicated in metaphorical language elsewhere in Scripture. Nakedness does not mean something sexual in nature, but a lack of a spiritual covering in intentional sin and lack of faith.
2 Corinthians 5:2-4 For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.
Revelation 3:17 For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.
Revelation 16:15 “Behold, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake, keeping his garments on, that he may not go about naked and be seen exposed!”
So we can see that just because they have realized that they are naked, that it does not mandate that what just transpired is something sexual in nature? It simply means that Adam and Eve were found to be in sin, so that they were spiritually naked.
They were certainly physical naked as well, but the physical situation teaches that their inward spiritual condition was bad; that is the intended purpose that Yahweh Elohhim reflects through the writings of Moses in the telling of mans fall here.
Because they were physically naked, and ashamed, they needed a physical covering.
On a spiritual level, they were also spiritually naked and ashamed because of their sin…therefore Elohim sacrificed an animal, and covered them in its skin as a spiritual covering…pointing us to what later would be accomplished by our Messiah when the events of the first century covered our sins in His sacrifice.
Genesis 3:6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.
If we attempt to use Proverbs 30:20 to try to prove that the fruit in Genesis 3 is referring to a sexual act between Eve and the Serpent, then we have a few serious things we now need to deal with.
We need to consider that it was stated that Adam was with Eve when Eve ate the fruit from the serpent.
Which means that we would have to believe that Adam sat around and watched the serpent have sex with his wife.
But don’t stop there. Then, after that, Eve decided to give Adam some sexual relations with the serpent:
“she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. “
Strange doctrine indeed.
Again, here is what we have with the “Serpent Seed” doctrine.
First, Adam watched his wife have sexual relations with a serpent, then Eve thought that sexual relations with the serpent was great, so she offered the same sexual relations with the serpent to Adam, and then Adam agreed and then proceeded to participate in bestiality with a serpent in front of Eve.
Does that even sound right? Is that what really happened? To those who believe this false interpretation, we must expose it’s Biblical error, but it is about to become even more absurd. We have to be consistent with the application of the metaphors.
If eating fruit means sexual relations with the one giving it then there is something to consider.
If the serpent giving the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil means sex with the serpent, what does it mean when Elohim initially gave Adam and Eve the fruit from the tree of life?
Does that mean that Adam and Eve were having sexual relations with Elohim? We would have to believe that if it meant that Adam and Eve were having sexual relations with the serpent by eating the fruit.
We cannot choose application of the metaphor in one instance and attempt to ignore just a few verses prior.
Remember, the physical teaches the spiritual…in the physical, the fruit is the product of a tree, it is the result of the life of the tree. It is what the tree does.
In Scripture, fruit does not symbolize sexual relations, instead fruit symbolizes our obedience or disobedience as good fruit or bad fruit.
For instance…watch how fruit symbolizes obedience to the Word of Elohim in the following…
Mark 4:20 But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.
Good fruit is hearing and accepting the Word of Elohim, and since the Word of Elohim contains instructions, it means conforming to and following the Word of Elohim…exactly how our Messiah did as the example to follow.
Luke 3:9 Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
Luke 6:43 For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit,
Matthew 7:17 So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
Matthew 12:33 Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit.
We can clearly see that in Scripture, fruit does not mean sexual relations, but instead it means obedience or disobedience.
Otherwise we would have to believe that the one who has good sexual relations is the one who lives, but the one who has bad sexual relations is the one who is thrown into the fire.
Clearly that is not what is meant to be understood.
Metaphors mean things in the Scriptures, most certainly, but we need to be consistent in the application of those metaphors. Also note that the fruit contains seed…that is metaphorically relevant as well…we will cover importance of that next.
Genesis 3:15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed, he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.
This verse is used by Serpent Seed proponents to attempt to prove that the seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman is referring to something physical.
Our Messiah Yahshua taught that the seed is the Word of Elohim.
Watch how simple this definition is.
Luke 8:11 The seed is the word of Elohim.
It cannot be more simple than that to define the metaphor of the seed. The work is done for us.
This is one of the few instances in which the definition of the metaphor is given to us.
We are not told that the seed is either the physical biological genetics of Elohim or the physical biological genetics of the serpent. No…the seed of Elohim is the Word of Elohim.
The seed of the serpent is deception that is against the Word of Elohim. Peter teaches the same.
1 Peter 1:23 Since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding Word of Elohim;
If the seed of Elohim is the Word of Elohim, then the seed of the adversary, or serpent, is whatever is against the Word of Elohim.
This makes complete sense because those who follow the Word of Elohim have always been at odds with those who do not follow the Word of Elohim.
Now we also understand the nature of the seed that is in the fruit. Remember, from the beginning, like kind produces like kind.
When Adam and Even ate the fruit from the serpent, they were following the instructions(Torah) of the serpent and against the instructions (Torah) from Elohim.
And ever since then the seed that followed the Word of Elohim has been against the seed that does not follow the Word of Elohim. That is the consistent theme from Genesis to Revelation.
Genesis 3:15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed...
This is why believers in the Word of Elohim are referred to as the woman, or the bride of the Messiah.
Thus, the seed is not physical and biological in this case, but completely metaphorical. Seeds are chosen as a metaphor because seeds carry instructions in them, just like the Word of Elohim carries (Torah) instructions, or there are the false (Torah) instructions of the enemy. Whatever instructions we follow, will dictate what type of tree we become and what type of fruit we produce.
Genesis 3:15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed...
Another problem is according to Serpent Seed proponents, Cain was supposedly the seed of both the serpent and Eve, whereas all others would be the seed of Adam and Eve.
Thus, both Cain, and every other person on planet Earth would be the seed of Eve…so it does not make sense to try to imply that Cain is not the seed of the woman but only the seed of the serpent.
This verse cannot support the serpent seed doctrine.
It cannot be referring to Cain as the seed of the serpent, because it is contrasted against the seed of the woman. If the serpent seed doctrine is true, Cain is the seed of both the woman and the serpent.
Genesis 4:1-2 Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have gotten a man with the help of Yahweh.” And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground.
Sometimes it is stated that the Bible does not refer to Adam 'knowing' his wife again before the birth of Abel and this indicates to the subscriber of the Serpent Seed theory that Cain and Abel were twins.
According to the theory, this was made possible through the process of heteropaternal superfecundation where the mother ovulates more than one egg and has more than one partner during her fertile period.
One egg is fertilized with sperm from one partner, and the other egg from sperm of another partner.
Hence, it is contended that Cain was the son (or seed) of the serpent and Abel was the son of Adam.
However, in verse two we have a Hebrew word that means “and again.” Thus, what happened again was the same thing that occurred in verse one.
So in both instances, for both Cain and Abel, Adam “knew” Eve and bore a child. The birth of Cain was the result of “knowing” Adam.
Genesis 4:1 Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain,
To know your wife in such context, means “intimate relations” and in this case, the result of Adam “knowing” Eve, they conceived Cain.
Consider these examples:
Genesis 4:25 And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and called his name Seth,
Judges 19:25 But the men would not listen to him. So the man seized his concubine and made her go out to them. And they knew her and abused her all night until the morning. And as the dawn began to break, they let her go.
1 Kings 1:4 The young woman was very beautiful, and she was of service to the king and attended to him, but the king knew her not.
Matthew 1:24-25 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son.
As we can clearly see, it was Adam who knew Eve and thus conceived Cain…not the serpent who knew Eve and conceived Cain.
Genesis 4:1 Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have gotten a man with the help of Yahweh.”
It is also often noted that Cain’s lineage is ignored in scripture. This is inferred to mean that Cain was not human and his lineage is that of the serpent. This is what’s called a logical fallacy.
The reality is that Cain’s lineage is not mentioned because Cain’s lineage never survived the flood and thus his lineage is irrelevant. Another scripture also misapplied to teach the serpent seed doctrine is John 8.
John 8:44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
Some have taught that Jews are biologically fathered by the devil because of this verse, just like Cain supposedly was. However, as we learned earlier, those of the good seed follow the Word of Elohim and thus Elohim is their Father.
And those who follow the ways of man and the world follow the adversary, and thus the devil is their father.
This is a spiritual understanding, and not literal. It must be, for the Messiah recognized that the Jews are indeed of the lineage of Abraham, not the serpent. He said it Himself just a few verses earlier:
John 8:37 I know that you are offspring of Abraham;
It is a mistake to assume that because one is referred to as a child of the devil that it is biological in nature…the reality is that it is spiritual in nature.
At one time, we all practiced sin…
1 John 3:8-10 Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of Elohim appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. No one born of Elohim makes a practice of sinning, for Elohim's seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of Elohim. By this it is evident who are the children of Elohim, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.
You can clearly see how who's child we are is not defined by our physical Father, but by who's instructions we are following, either for the Word of Elohim or against the Word of Elohim.
And this was the same for Cain…he was not a physical child of the serpent, but a spiritual child of the serpent.
1 John 3:11-14 For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him?
Because his own deeds were evil and his brother's righteous. Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you. We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death.
Also consider how. Galatians 3:28 states that race nor status has any impact on the possibility of salvation.
2 Peter 3:9 says that Elohim wants everyone to be saved, not “everyone but the children of Cain.” Nowhere in Scripture is anyone identified as a “Kenite” or condemned based on being from Cain’s lineage. Never are we warned about such people by the New Testament writers.
Also, there is the question of how or why such persons survived the flood. The doctrine supposes that original sin was sexual, but cannot explain why the whole remainder of the Bible lays out a worldview where the original sin was disobedience, not sexuality.
As one final, yet profound point, if Cain was indeed the devil’s son and by default
excluded from salvation, then why would Yahweh say this in Genesis 4:6-7?
Genesis 4:6-7 Yahweh said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.”
That single verse alone dismantles the entire serpent seed doctrine. Yahweh Himself acknowledges that Cain had potential of being accepted, but Cain chose the wrong path. Cain was not of some non-human race spawned by the serpent, but simply a human that chose ways contrary to Yahweh.
Quiz/Test: You have been equipped, and now we're coming to the end of this study. Let's wrap everything up with an exercise to test yourself according to 1 Peter 3:15...(KJV)
But sanctify the Lord Messiah in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:
Read and answer:
Your out evangelizing, and you happen upon someone who states they believe in the serpent seed doctrine. They open up their Bible and present to you a passage such as the parable of the tares in Matthew chapter 13:36-43. in which they interpret Yahshua’s description of the “children of the devil” in this parable to be true in a biological sense. Knowing that only one who is trying to force this belief into the Bible will see it this way; and it is not naturally read out of Scripture, how would you answer them?
I hope that this teaching was of value in offering some thoughts to consider related to how to scripturally answer the serpent seed doctrine.