In this message I am burdened to present, as a parenthesis, a further word on Gen. 3:15. As we saw in the last message, Genesis 3:15 is the gospel. Genesis 3:15 is the first occurrence of the proclamation of the gospel in the entire Bible. In this verse God Himself preached the glad tidings to fallen man in judging the serpent. Therefore, we need to spend more time on this verse.
I have mentioned several times in previous messages that nearly everything found in Genesis 1 through 3 is a seed that grows throughout the following books of the Bible, appearing as a crop in the Epistles of the New Testament and ripening into a harvest in the book of Revelation. We have seen this principle applied to many items. In this message I want to point out this principle once again as we consider the three main items found in Genesis 3:15: the serpent, the woman, and the seed of the woman.
As we read through the Scriptures, we find the serpent is not only mentioned in Genesis, but also in other books of the Bible. Rev. 12:9 and Rev. 20:2 both refer to the serpent. In Revelation 12 and 20 we find that Satan has various names — the dragon, the ancient serpent, the Devil, and Satan. Among these names we find the title "the ancient serpent." John uses this term because at the time he wrote the book of Revelation the serpent had become very old, in fact, at least four thousand years old. Who is this "ancient serpent"? The only way to answer this question is to consult the third chapter of Genesis where the serpent is first mentioned.
In John 3:14 we find another reference to the serpent. When Nicodemus, a high-class gentleman of superior attainment, came to the Lord Jesus in a positive way, the Lord told him that he needed a new birth with a new life (John 3:3, 5). The Lord told him that his human spirit needed to be reborn of the Holy Spirit, for "that which is born of the Spirit is spirit" (John 3:6). However, not many Christians have observed that in His conversation with Nicodemus the Lord pointed that gentleman to the serpent (John 3:14). Although Nicodemus was a gentleman, a teacher, and a "master of Israel," the Lord indicated that he was a serpent.
At a certain point in His conversation with Nicodemus the Lord Jesus said, "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up." What does this mean? It was the Lord's answer to Nicodemus's question. Nicodemus had asked, "How can a man be born when he is old?" and, "How can these things be?" Nicodemus was asking how he could be born again. The Lord replied, "You are the teacher of Israel, and you don't know these things?" Although Nicodemus taught the Old Testament to the people, he did not know the meaning of being born again. Therefore, the Lord referred to the type of the brass serpent lifted up on a pole by Moses (Num. 21:9). The Lord seemed to be saying to him, "Your fathers were all bitten by poisonous serpents, and the poison of the serpents entered into them. Your fathers became serpents in the eyes of God. Because they were dying, Moses prayed to God on their behalf, and God told Moses to lift up a brass serpent on a pole to bear His judgment upon the poisoned Israelites. Everyone who had been poisoned by the serpents and who looked to the brass serpent lifted up on the pole lived." Many of the Israelites did this, and their lives were preserved. This is a type of regeneration. The Lord seemed to be telling Nicodemus, "Don't consider yourself as a gentleman. You must realize that you are one of the people who has been poisoned by the serpent and that you have the serpentine nature within you. Apparently you are a man; actually you are a serpent. In the eyes of God you are one of the serpents. Although you are a serpent, I have come to die for you. I shall die on the cross in the form of the serpent. When I am on the cross, in the eyes of God I shall not only be a substitute for sinners; I shall be judged there by God in the form of the serpent. The only difference is that the real serpent has poison, but I shall only be in the form of the serpent. I do not have the nature and the poison of the serpent. I have come in the likeness of the flesh of sin, in the form of the serpent, to die for all of you who have been poisoned by the serpent."
The first mention of the serpent in Genesis 3 is a seed that is developed in subsequent books of the Bible. We see the serpent in Genesis 3 and also in John 3:14. Nearly all Christians have seen the eternal life in John 3:16, but not many have seen the serpent in John 3:14. However, if we are to understand what is eternal life, we must also understand what is the serpent. We must see the serpent. The serpent is not only in Genesis and John but is fully exposed in the book of Revelation. In Genesis 3:15 the serpent is a little seed, in the Gospel of John this seed grows, and in the book of Revelation this seed becomes a harvest. By reading throughout the Bible we can see that in every generation God's divine work has had a goal: to build up the Body to express His Son, Christ, and also to eliminate the serpent. God intends to expel the serpent. Therefore, we all must realize where the serpent is today.
Through the fall of man the serpent injected himself into mankind. Where is this serpent now? He is in our flesh. In the garden, before the fall of man, the serpent was outside of man. However, since the fall, the subtle, crafty serpent is in man, in his flesh.
One day the Lord Jesus asked His disciples, "Who do you say that I am?" and Peter immediately responded, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God" (Matt. 16:15-16). A short time after this the Lord rebuked Peter, calling him "Satan" (Matt. 16:23). Can you believe that one minute he was a holy Peter and that soon afterward he had become Satan? If I had been Andrew, Peter's brother, I would have asked the Lord Jesus, "Where is Satan? I am Andrew, and Peter is my brother, but where is Satan?" The Lord Jesus might have answered, "Satan is here within him. Satan is inside of Peter." When you speak in an evil way, who are you? You are Satan. When you act in a mean way with your wife or husband, who are you? Satan. At such a time the Lord Jesus could say of you, "Satan!" Where is Satan? He is within fallen mankind. Satan today is in man's flesh. We all must be on the alert because Satan, the one who tempted and damaged the first generation of mankind, is now within us.
Because Satan has injected himself into man, all men have become serpents in the eyes of God. Although you may consider yourself a man, in the eyes of God you are a serpent. According to Matthew 3:7, John the Baptist called the religious, Jewish people a "brood of vipers." They were serpents. John seemed to be saying to them, "You think of yourselves as religionists. You are so religious, yet you don't realize that you are a generation of vipers." In His explanation of the parable of the sower the Lord Jesus used the term "the sons of the evil one" (Matt. 13:38). Who is the evil one? The serpent, Satan — he is the evil one and all his followers are his sons. The followers of Satan are not his adopted sons; they are his sons by birth. Thus, in John 8:44 the Lord Jesus said, "You are of your father the Devil." The Lord appeared to be saying, "Your father is the Devil because you have the Devil's life. The Devil's life and nature are in you. You were born of your father and now you have his life and nature." The Apostle John mentions "the children of the Devil" and says, "He who practices sin is of the Devil" (8, 1 John 3:10). Therefore, Paul called Elymas the sorcerer the "son of the Devil" (Acts 13:10). Even a gentleman such as Nicodemus, who appeared to be such an upper-class person, was a serpent in the eyes of God, possessing the serpentine nature. This is the reason that all the serpentine people need the Lord Jesus to be their substitute in the form of a serpent.
As children of the Devil, people who have been born of the serpent, we all have the serpentine nature and life (1 John 3:12). No one can deny or dispute this since we see Satan's nature and life in our own children. Apparently little children are sweet; however, the more they grow, the more the serpentine nature within them is exposed. Although they are not trained to display the serpentine nature and life, they manifest it spontaneously. I have observed this in many children including my own. We must remember that we all are like that. Not only are we like that — we are that! We have a serpentine nature and life within us.
Satan, the serpent, is the evil spirit that works in fallen man (Eph. 2:2). This evil spirit does not lie dormant, but actively works in the children of disobedience. Consider, as an example, how Satan worked in Judas, the man who betrayed the Lord Jesus (John 13:2, 27; 6:70). How Satan worked in that pitiful man! We have already seen that Peter was referred to as Satan (Matt. 16:23). If we did not have such a record as Matthew 16, no one would believe that Peter, a leading apostle, could have become Satan. Furthermore, even after the day of Pentecost Ananias and Sapphira were filled with Satan and lied to the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:3). Ananias and Sapphira were not in a gambling casino; they were in the church after the day of Pentecost. Nevertheless, they were filled with Satan.
Now we know Satan's whereabouts. He is not far from us; he is within us. Some Christians think to themselves, "After we are saved and are in the Body of Christ, Satan has nothing to do with us." This thought is not the voice of the Holy Spirit; it is the voice of the subtle serpent, and the preaching of this concept is the lie of the serpent. We all must be on the alert because even now the subtle one is still present with us. As long as we are in the old creation, the serpent remains within us.
Now we need to see who the woman is. Undoubtedly, the woman in Genesis 3:15 firstly is Eve. Secondly, as all the fundamental teachers agree, this woman also refers to Mary, the mother of Jesus, because the seed of the woman was the Lord Jesus. The Lord Jesus was not born of a man, but of a woman, a virgin. Hence, His title is "the seed of the woman." However, the woman has a threefold significance, not only signifying Eve and the virgin Mary, but also the woman revealed in Revelation 12.
The woman of Revelation 12:1 is a universal woman who includes all the people of God. Therefore, she is a corporate woman. However, some people interpret the woman of Revelation 12 as Mary, the mother of the Lord Jesus. But Mary was an individual, local virgin. If we read Revelation 12, we can see that the woman unveiled there is universal, not local. She has twelve stars upon her head, the moon under her feet, and is clothed with the sun. All of this certainly indicates that she is universal and corporate. The best way to interpret the Bible is to consult other portions of the holy Word. We see a similar vision in Joseph's dream (Gen. 37:9). In that dream Joseph saw the sun, the moon, and the eleven stars. The sun signified Jacob, Joseph's father; the moon signified Joseph's mother; and the eleven stars signified Joseph's brothers. Therefore, in principle, the sun, moon, and stars together represent the entire body of God's people. Thus, the woman in Revelation 12 is not an individual, local virgin. She is universal and corporate, including all the people of God.
According to the Bible, the people of God can be classified into three categories: the patriarchs, Israel, and the church. The patriarchs, who came before the nation of Israel, are signified in Revelation 12 by the stars. Israel, which lived during the dark time, is signified by the moon under the woman's feet. When the Lord Jesus came, the sun shone (Luke 1:78-79), and the church came into existence. In a sense, during the present age the church is in the sun, in the day. So, the church is represented by the sun. Now we can see that this woman is composed of the patriarchs, Israel, including Mary, the mother of Jesus, and all the church people. She includes all the people of God beginning with Adam and continuing throughout the Old Testament period and the New Testament age until the time that the Lord Jesus returns. We are all included in this woman.
I have stated many times that our position before God is that of a woman. Our status is not that of a man, but of a wife, for we are all a woman before God. Do not consider that you are a wise, strong, capable man. If you assume this kind of position, you are immediately fallen. Whether we are brothers or sisters, we all have the same position before God — that of a wife. We must say, "Lord, I stand on the position of a wife. I know nothing and I can do nothing. Lord, I put my trust in You. You are my husband." Whenever we take such a position, leaning upon the Lord Jesus, we all are a part of the woman. All of the patriarchs were people like this. The genuine Israelites and all the people in the church throughout the generations have been people like this. We also must be people like this. We need to say, "O Lord, apart from You we are helpless and can do nothing. We put our trust in You." We must realize that according to the Bible the woman signifies the weaker vessel (1 Pet. 3:7).
Throughout the generations the woman, the people of God, has been attacked by the serpent. The serpent attacked Job (Job 1:6-12; 2:1-7). He also attacked Israel, David (1 Chron. 21:1), and Joshua the high priest (Zech. 3:1-2). Hence, in Revelation 12 we see that the serpent opposes, persecutes, and fights against the woman (Rev. 12:4, 13-17).
Although the woman is the weaker vessel, within her is a stronger part, the manchild. Now we need to consider this manchild, the seed of the woman.
Who is the manchild? As we pointed out in message nineteen, some fundamental Christians say that the manchild is the Lord Jesus Christ. Although I agree with this in a sense, I do not agree with it in every sense. There are two main reasons why I do not believe that, in every respect, the manchild of Revelation 12 refers to Christ. Firstly, I have already mentioned that the mother of the manchild is not a local, individual woman, but a universal, corporate woman. Since the mother is corporate, her child must also be corporate. Secondly, if we read Revelation 12 carefully, we will see that the manchild is raptured in verse 5. He is not raptured to the air, but to the throne of God. Some people say that this describes the ascension of the Lord Jesus into the heavens. However, in the following verse it says that after the rapture of the manchild there will be a period of "a thousand two hundred and sixty days." This denotes a period of forty-two months, for forty-two months multiplied by thirty equals one thousand two hundred sixty days. This one thousand two hundred sixty days or forty-two months is the equivalent of "a time, and times, and half a time" (Rev. 12:14). "Time" means one year, "times" two years, and "half a time" a half year, giving a total of three and a half years, which equals forty-two months or one thousand two hundred sixty days. This period of three and a half years is the second half of the last seven years, the last week of the seventy weeks mentioned in Dan. 9:25-27. The "one week" of Dan. 9:27 specifies an era of seven years considered by all Bible teachers as the period of the great tribulation. The great tribulation will be intensified during the last half of the seven years, referring to the forty-two months or to the one thousand two hundred sixty days. Here is my point in mentioning all of this: if you say that the manchild is only the Lord Jesus, who ascended to the heavens over nineteen hundred years ago, how could it be that after He ascended to the heavens there will only be three and a half years? This is impossible. Nevertheless, after the rapture of the manchild to the throne of God, there will only be the last half of the last seven years. By this we can realize that the manchild must be other than Christ Himself.
The manchild in Revelation 12 certainly is the complete fulfillment of the prophecy regarding the seed of the woman in Genesis 3:15. In message nineteen I pointed out how Genesis 3:15 and Revelation 12 are two portions of the Divine Word which correspond to one another. In Genesis 3:15 we see three main figures — the serpent, the woman, and the seed of the woman. In Revelation 12 we see the same three crucial figures — the serpent, the woman, and the manchild. As we saw in the last message, the seed of the woman mentioned in Genesis 3:15 undoubtedly is Christ. However, once this seed reaches the development of the manchild unveiled in Revelation 12, it is no longer only the Lord Jesus Himself, but the Lord and the overcoming part of His Body. What was once an individual seed has become corporate by the time of Revelation 12. When the Lord Jesus was born in the manger, He was the individual seed of the woman, and when He was crucified on the cross to be our Redeemer, He was still this individual seed. However, after His resurrection He was reproduced and multiplied. The one grain of wheat became many grains (John 12:24). Once He was the unique One, the only begotten Son (John 1:14), but through death and resurrection He became the firstborn among many brothers, the first Son among many sons (Rom. 8:29; Heb. 2:10). The firstborn Son is the Head of the Body, and all the brothers, the many sons, are the members of the Body. Now the seed of the woman is no longer an individual person, but a corporate person with the individual Christ as the Head and with all His members as the Body. Therefore, Christ is the Head of this manchild. He is also the center, reality, life, and nature of the manchild. The Head has gone to the heavens, but His Body remains on the earth. As far as the Head is concerned, He ascended to the heavens more than nineteen hundred years ago. But as far as His Body is concerned, we are still here awaiting the coming rapture. After the rapture of the manchild will be a time of three and one-half years.
The manchild, like the mother, is universal and corporate. The virgin Mary was a part of this universal mother. Therefore, firstly we have an individual mother with an individual seed, but eventually we have a corporate mother with a corporate manchild. We are the same as He. He is the leading overcomer, and we are the following overcomers. He is the Head of the manchild, and we are the Body. He is the center of the manchild, and we are the circumference. He is the reality of the manchild, and we are the expression of the manchild. He is the manchild's life and nature, and we are the manchild.
We have seen that firstly the seed of the woman is Christ. This Christ was born of a woman, even of a virgin (Isa. 7:14; Matt. 1:23; Gal. 4:4). When this seed of the woman was on earth, He bound the serpent as the strong man (Matt. 12:29). When the Lord Jesus was on earth, Satan, the serpent, was the strong man, and the Lord exercised His authority to bind him. Jesus, as the seed of the woman, bound the serpent and plundered all his wealth. In John 14:30 He told His disciples that the serpent, as the prince of the world, had nothing in Him. Although the serpent tried his best, he could find nothing for himself in the seed of the woman. When the Lord Jesus went to the cross, He bruised the head of the serpent, destroying him entirely. Thus, Hebrews 2:14 says that through death Christ destroyed the Devil who holds the power of death. Christ has destroyed the works of the Devil (1 John 3:8). In the future Christ will rule over the nations with a rod of iron (Psa. 2:8-9; Rev. 12:5).
All of this concerning Christ as the seed of the woman is wonderful, but it is still outside of us. He has not yet come into us. Nevertheless, after Jesus was born, had bound the strong man, had given no ground to the prince of the world, and had destroyed the enemy on the cross, He was resurrected and in resurrection became the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45). Whenever and wherever a person will say, "Lord Jesus," this life-giving Spirit will immediately come into him. This is a mystery, yet it is a fact. By coming into His believers as the life-giving Spirit Christ works Himself into them as the conquering seed.
Christ has been sown into us as the seed. The parable of the sower in Matthew 13 shows that this Christ has sown Himself as the seed into our hearts. As a result, we have been regenerated. Peter says that we were regenerated, not by a corrupted or a corrupting seed, but by an incorruptible seed, the living and abiding Word of God (1 Pet. 1:23). This living Word is Christ, and Christ is the seed. Furthermore, the Apostle John says, "Everyone who has been begotten of God does not practice sin, because His seed abides in him, and he cannot sin, because he has been begotten of God" (1 John 3:9). The seed here is Christ, the seed of the woman. The seed of the conqueror, the seed of the overcomer, is this very seed. The foremost overcomer is the seed. We have a conquering seed within us. If we let this seed grow, it will be victorious. We all must shout, "Hallelujah, we have the conquering seed within us!"
One day I was surprised to see the last stanza of "Hark! the Herald Angels Sing," a hymn written by Charles Wesley over two hundred years ago. In this stanza we see a clear reference to the conquering seed of the woman:
Come, Desire of nations, come!Fix in us Thy humble home:Rise, the woman's conqu'ring seed,Bruise in us the serpent's head;Adam's likeness now efface,Stamp Thine image in its place:Final Adam from above,Reinstate us in Thy love.
This stanza opens with an appeal for the "Desire of nations" to come, an allusion to Haggai 2:7. Christ is the desire of all nations. The writer does not ask Christ, the Desire of nations, to come to die on the cross for us, but to "Fix in us Thy humble home." The next line does not say, "Rise Emmanuel, rise Jesus Christ, the Son of God." It says, "Rise, the woman's conqu'ring seed." I like this line. The writer then beseeches this "conqu'ring seed" to "bruise in us the serpent's head." Although He bruised the serpent on the cross, He must now bruise the serpent's head within us. Furthermore, Adam's likeness must be effaced because it has been filled with the serpentine nature. Then Wesley says, "Stamp Thine image in its place," which means to transform us into the image of the Lord. The hymn ends with a prayer that the "Final Adam" would reinstate us in His love. We all must praise the Lord that He has fixed His humble home in us and that He is now bruising the head of the serpent within us. He is "the woman's conqu'ring seed."
This conquering seed also makes us overcomers. We are the co-overcomers with Christ because we have the over-coming seed within us. In Romans 16:20 we have the promise that God will soon crush Satan under our feet. Nevertheless, as co-overcomers with Christ, we are attacked and accused by the serpent (2 Cor. 12:7; Rev. 12:10). The serpent will also try to devour us (Rev. 12:4), but we can overcome him. We do not overcome by our merit; we overcome by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of our testimony (Rev. 12:11). We must declare the word of our testimony, telling the serpent, "You have been bruised." We should not only preach the gospel to human beings, but must also declare to the serpent the facts regarding the conquering seed of the woman. If you are tempted to lose your temper, do not try to overcome it. Simply speak to Satan, "Satan, don't tempt me. Don't you know that you have been bruised?" Say this the next time Satan entices you to lose your temper. Do not pray, but remind the serpent that he has been bruised. Say to him, "Satan, read your Bible. Read Hebrews 2:14. I want to remind you that you have been destroyed." We overcome him by the word of our testimony, by declaring what Jesus has done. This is our victory. Moreover, the overcomers do not love their soulish life even to the death.
Eventually, we will be co-rulers with Christ, ruling over the nations with a rod of iron (Rev. 2:26-27). Revelation 2:26-27 is a quotation from Psalm 2, a prophecy concerning Christ that predicts His rule over the nations. However, the fulfillment of this prophecy concerns the overcomers. By this we can see that the Bible actually combines Christ and all His overcomers as one body. This gives us further ground to say that the manchild in Revelation 12 is not only Christ Himself, but Christ as the Head and all the overcomers as His Body. In the prophecy of Psalm 2 Christ is prophesied as the One who will rule over the nations with a rod of iron. In the fulfillment in Revelation 2:26-27 the overcomers are revealed as the ones who will rule over the nations with a rod of iron. The prophecy and its fulfillment bring together Christ and His overcomers as one manchild. Therefore, Revelation 12:5 says that this manchild will rule all nations with a rod of iron. Hallelujah! We are co-rulers with Christ. According to Revelation 20:1-6, we will also be co-kings with Christ to rule with Him in the millennial kingdom.
Now we come to the result. The seed is in Genesis 3:15, and the result, the harvest, is in Revelation 20 through 22. Each of the three items has grown from a seed into a highly developed form. The serpent has grown into a dragon (Rev. 12:9; 20:2), the individual woman has grown into a corporate woman, and the individual seed of the woman has grown into a corporate manchild.
Revelation 20:10 declares that the serpent ultimately will be cast into the lake of fire. This is the harvest of Satan. Satan's destiny and destination is the lake of fire.
The woman herself will issue in the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:2, 9-10). This is the harvest of the woman. The destiny and destination of the woman is the New Jerusalem.
What about the seed of the woman? The seed of the woman will be the center of the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:22-23; 22:1). This is the harvest of the seed of the woman. The destiny and destination of the seed of the woman is to be the center of the New Jerusalem.
I believe that the Lord has shown us clearly the serpent, the woman, and the seed of the woman. The seed of these three items is in Genesis 3:15, and the harvest of them all is in Revelation 20 through 22.
