Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
Hensley was a minister of the Church of God, now known as the Church of God (Cleveland), founded by Richard Spurling and A. J. Tomlinson.In 1922, Hensley resigned from the Church of God, [10] citing "trouble in the home"; [11] his resignation marked the zenith of the practice of snake handling in the denomination, with the Church of God disavowing the practice of snake handling during the 1920s.
Serpents (Hebrew: נָחָשׁ, romanized: nāḥāš) are referred to in both the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament. The symbol of a serpent or snake played important roles in the religious traditions and cultural life of ancient Greece , Egypt , Mesopotamia , and Canaan . [ 1 ]
O Lord, who have given authority unto us to tread upon serpents and scorpions and upon all the power of the enemy, crush his heads beneath our feet speedily, and scatter before us his every design of weakness that is against us.
Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. The New International Version translates the passage as: I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.
When he tells them to be as wise as serpents, this refers back to the Genesis story of Eden, where the serpent is called 'subtle', but the Greek is the same both here and there (at Gen 3:1). [6] This wisdom entails avoiding danger, but only in ways consistent with their mission. [7]
Alongside serpents, scorpions are used to symbolize evil in the New Testament. In Luke 10:19 it is written, "Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you." Here, scorpions and serpents symbolize evil. [14]
Serpents could also be evil and harmful such as the case of Apep. [citation needed] The serpent goddess Meretseger is regarded ambivalently with both veneration and fear. [42] Charms against snakes were inscribed or chanted, sometimes even to protect the dead; [b] There are known charms against snakes that invoke the snake deity Nehebkau. [44] [47]
The iconography derives from Biblical texts, in particular Psalm 91 (90):13: [3] "super aspidem et basiliscum calcabis conculcabis leonem et draconem" in the Latin Vulgate, literally "The asp and the basilisk you will trample under foot/you will tread on the lion and the dragon", translated in the King James Version as: Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon ...