☥ Gnosticism ⚚ Hermeticism ॐ Spirituality 𓂀 Knowledge of Self ⛧ Left Hand Path

The Serpent: Enemy of Man, Or Enlightener Of Man?

Sophia

Introduction

What proper way to start off a blog dealing in Gnosticism than in the beginning…the beginning according to biblical tradition that is. Let’s discuss a major figure within the first few chapters of Genesis, the Serpent.

According to the traditional Christian thought, Adam and Eve were created by a god named Yahweh (often translated as LORD, Adonai, or Jehovah) who placed them in a garden and told them that they could eat from every tree and plant in the garden, except the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good & Evil. The Serpent then appears in the garden and supposedly tempts Eve into eating from the Tree of Knowledge. Eve then goes to Adam and gives him the fruit to eat as well. Yahweh later becomes aware of this and banishes the couple from the garden. He also then curses the Serpent and declares it an enemy. Because of this, many refer to the Serpent as Satan or Lucifer. However, Genesis never refers to the Serpent as either title.

Becoming Satan

The identification of the Serpent as Satan or Lucifer comes from established Christian theology. Christians believe that Satan was once an angel named Lucifer who rebelled against Yahweh and was thrown out of heaven. This theology usually begins with the verse Isaiah 14:12-14:

“How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.”

A verse from the New Testament Luke 10:18 also reinforces this idea:

“And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.”

Then finally this verse ties Lucifer, Satan, and the Serpent together, Revelation 12:9:

“And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.”

At first it may seem justifiable to uphold the Christian theology when picking out and isolating these verses alone. However when you go and study these verses within their source material, their original context differs from the established theology. The very first thing that must be understood is these verses all come from three separate books within the Bible. One verse comes from the Old Testament section while the other two come from the New Testament. That means they were all written at different times in history by different authors. They had never met each other and historically would have had different world views.

For example, the Isaiah verse within the Old Testament is a Jewish text. Looking into the Jewish theology concerning that verse reveals it is not referring to Satan or a fallen angel. Rather, it is referring to a man, an unnamed king of Babylon. This becomes apparent when you continue reading the verses that follow – Isaiah 14:15-17:

“Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms; That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?”

Jewish tradition has a concept of Satan, but it is not an absolute evil or the enemy of god. The original Hebrew term, שָּׂטָן‎ “satan”, is a noun from a verb meaning to, “obstruct, oppose”. Numbers 22:22, 1 Samuel 29:4, and Psalms 109:6 are examples of such. Ha-Satan most often translates as “the accuser,” or “the adversary”. The definite article “ha” (which is the English “the”) shows this is a title, versus a name.

The Deity Set

This concept goes back to Ancient km.t (Egypt) to the nṯr (deity) Set. Set is the deity of opposition. Though Set opposes the deity Heru (Horus), in the Ancient Egyptian’s philosophy, Set is not originally an evil deity. He simply symbolizes all opposing forces, which are necessary forces in the universe. Therefore as said previously, Satan is not a proper name but a title. It is a title for an adversary. When your enemies rise to oppress you, they are your adversary; therefore they are “the satan” to you. You can say our corrupt leaders are “Set”anic due to their abuse of power, making them adversaries.

So why do Christians call the Serpent Satan? Because the Serpent made Adam and Eve disobey and oppose the god Yahweh. Did this actually make the Serpent evil and an enemy to man though? Let’s examine what exactly had taken place in the garden myth.

The Garden of Eden

Yahweh decides to create Adam and places him in the garden of Eden – Genesis 2:15-17:

“And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat. But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.”

Yahweh commands Adam not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge. If he does, he will surely die “in the day that thou eatest thereof”.  However a little while later, the Serpent appears to Eve – Genesis 3:1-5:

“Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.”

Here you can see the Serpent has asked Eve a question about not being able to eat from every tree. When Eve responds that Yahweh said she would die by eating from the forbidden tree, he informs her that’s false. He tells her that her eyes will open and she will be like Yahweh, knowing good and evil….and that’s exactly what happens! Genesis 3:22 says:

“And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.”

True Natures Revealed

This verse confirms a few things. First, it confirms that Yahweh is a liar while the Serpent tells the truth. Yahweh told Adam that the day they eat the fruit from the tree of Knowledge, they would die. However, Genesis says Adam went on to live another 800 years after the birth of his son Seth (Genesis 5). Seth’s birth occurs long after the events within the garden already. The end of Genesis 3:22 reveals the real reason for Adam’s eventual death:

He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.”

Adam was from the beginning a mortal being, in opposition to Christian theology claiming Adam was created perfect and immortal. The latter has no biblical support whatsoever. If Adam and Eve were able to eat from the Tree of Life, they would have both become immortal. Since they did not have the opportunity however, they both eventually met their death.

This verse also confirms the natures of these two characters, the Serpent and Yahweh. Yahweh lies to Adam and Eve concealing the truth about the nature of the tree of KNOWLEDGE. The Serpent tells the truth. Also, the Serpent does not force Eve to eat from the tree, nor does it tempt her. It simply tells her the true nature of the fruit and lets her decide what to do. The Serpent gives a CHOICE. Yahweh however uses FEAR and DECEPTION to prevent Adam and Eve from eating the fruit and to submit to him. He doesn’t give them a choice, he wants blind submission. When they don’t blindly submit to him, he curses them and prevents them from eternal life.

Our World Today

Now applying this myth to real life; Yahweh prevents Adam and Eve from KNOWLEDGE and keeps them blind and ignorant. Who does this today? Do not corrupt politicians and religious leaders keep the masses blind and ignorant while withholding knowledge from them? And when individuals don’t submit to their authority, do they not try to take away those individuals’ lives and liberty? Does not big government use fear and lies via the media to control the masses?

The Serpent rebels and gives the KNOWLEDGE of self to Adam and Eve. That is really the only thing the Serpent is guilty of. This is akin to someone who rebels against the globalist system, informing the masses about the true nature and intent of their corrupt leaders. Of course to them, anyone doing such a thing is an enemy. That is why the Serpent is called Set-an. The Serpent is not called “Satan” because it is evil, but rather because it is an enemy to Yahweh. That’s not much different than a truth speaker being an enemy to today’s corrupt institutions.

Becoming Lucifer

Christians over time started to call the Serpent “Lucifer”, based on their theology revolving around the Isaiah verse mentioned earlier. Though the intentions for naming the Serpent “Lucifer” aren’t benevolent, it’s still proper from the Gnostic perspective. Lucifer means “light bearer”, light in an esoteric sense equates to knowledge or “gnosis”. The Serpent is the one responsible for giving the “gnosis” or knowledge of themselves to Adam and Eve. Therefore, it was their “light bearer” or Lucifer. This is why in many cultures the Serpent is not anything evil at all, but rather symbolizes knowledge and wisdom.

Serpent

The Gnostics identify the Serpent as an aspect or agent of Sophia, the feminine personification of Divine Wisdom. Sophia reveals gnosis of the true “god”, the Monad, the Source of ALL things. This Source is ultimately above simply being a “god” or “goddess” in the anthropomorphic way most view the Divine. Sophia and the Monad are subjects that will be addressed in future post.

Conclusion

So in conclusion one must ask themselves, who is the true enemy of man? Yahweh, who, like our governments today, uses fear and deception to make his subjects submit to his will blindly? Or the Serpent who speaks the truth, giving man the freedom and choice to be something greater? To the Gnostic, the Serpent is mankind’s liberator and enlightener who gave Adam and Eve self-knowledge and realization. The real enemy of man is the one who would try to keep man ignorant and submissive. Who is the individual within the myth that does that? Yahweh, whom the Gnostic’s refer to as Yaldabaoth which means “son of chaos”. It’s a fitting name for one who causes so much devastation, death, and confusion within the biblical text. I will go into detail about the Gnostic’s view of Yahweh in a future post.

Peace, Love, & Balance

 

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