The Serpent Seed

I would not normally have written a teaching on this subject, but I write this now in response to one of my readers on Let’s Talk Scriptures who sent me an email a few months ago, requesting that I explain this doctrine to her. She had encountered several people who were teaching her about the serpent seed, and wanted me to write and explain it from the bible.

I will start by explaining the basic tenets of the serpent seed doctrine, and then I will show from the scriptures why this doctrine is wrong and dangerous.

What is The Serpent Seed Doctrine?

In summary the serpent seed doctrine says that when Eve was deceived by the serpent into eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, this was a metaphor for sexual intercourse. The doctrine states that Eve had sexual intercourse with the serpent and gave birth to Cain, who was a son of the serpent. Cain therefore becomes the first seed of the serpent. All of Cain’s descendants are therefore direct children of Satan (the serpent) and therefore they are wicked, and can not be saved. This then means that on earth today, we have living children of Adam, and children of the serpent. The children of the serpent are predestined for hell, and can never have salvation.

The doctrine was initially created by an ancient Jewish sect a few thousand years ago, but in the 20th century, it was propagated by prophet William M. Branham, whose ministry was filled with miracles, signs and wonders. 

The Scriptures Used to Support Serpent Seed

Let me put the scriptures used to support the doctrine.
The idea that eating the fruit of knowledge of good and evil is a metaphor for sexual intercourse is supported by the proverb that compares an adulterous woman to one who eats.

Proverbs 30:20 (NIV)

20: “This is the way of an adulterous woman: She eats and wipes her mouth and says, ‘I’ve done nothing wrong.’

The term serpent seed comes from Genesis 3.

Genesis 3:14-15 (NKJV) 

14: So the LORD God said to the serpent: “Because you have done this, You are cursed more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you shall go, And you shall eat dust All the days of your life. 15: And 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.”

So according to the doctrine, the seed of the woman is explained as Jesus, who was born without a human father, and the seed of the serpent is explained as Judas whom Jesus calls the devil.

John 6:70-71 (NKJV) 
70: Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?” 71: He spoke of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, for it was he who would betray Him, being one of the twelve.

The idea that Cain was the devil’s physical son is supported by the scripture where the apostle John says Cain was of the evil one.

1 John 3:12 (NKJV)

12: not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother’s righteous.

The concept that there is a whole race of people who are physical children of the serpent who is Satan, is supported by words spoken by John the Baptist and Jesus to address the pharisees.

Matthew 23:31-33 (NKJV) 

31: “Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. 32: Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers’ guilt. 33: Serpents, brood of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell?

John 8:44 (NKJV) 

44: You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.

The scripture that is then used to seal up this doctrine and the predestination for hell, is taken from of a parable of the wheat and tares spoken by Jesus himself.

Matthew 13:24-30 (NKJV) 
24: Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; 25: but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. 26: But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. 27: So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ 28: He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’ 29: But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. 30: Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.” ’ ”

Jesus explains that the good seed that was sown first represents the sons of the kingdom, and the tares represent the sons of the devil, who were sown in later. These sons of the wicked one will be destroyed at the end of the age.

Matthew 13:36-43 (NKJV) 
36: Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.” 37: He answered and said to them: “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38: The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. 39: The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. 40: Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. 41: The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, 42: and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 43: Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!

This concludes my summary of the main tenets of the doctrine of the serpent seed. These indeed are the main scriptures used to support it, by those who preach it.

Principles of Analysing Doctrines

When you first hear the serpent seed doctrine, something about it just feels wrong. But as someone takes you through the scriptures in support of it, the doctrine actually starts to look biblical. As a result, many are left confused. You can’t deny the scriptures. But as you go further with the scriptures, you realise that this doctrine is a complete heresy.
The bible contains so many scriptures that it is possible for someone to infuse any false doctrine and make it look like it’s supported by the bible. However, when analysing a doctrine you must consider two things: 

1. The harmony of the scriptures
2. The whole counsel of the word.

When looking at the harmony of the Scriptures, we are making sure that we do not interpret one verse, in a way that contradicts many other verses. The harmony of the scriptures must always be maintained. We see this in the temptation of Christ. The devil quotes Psalms 91, which says, ‘I will assign my angels to catch you in case you fall.’ So he asks Jesus to jump off a building. But Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 6 which says, ‘you shall not tempt the Lord your God.’ 

The devil had interpreted Psalm 91 in a way that contradicts Deuteronomy 6. Jesus maintained the harmony of the scriptures.

In Acts 20, the apostle Paul told the elders of the churches that he had declared to them the whole Counsel of God’s word. This means that when you look at a subject, you don’t just consider a few scriptures, but you look at everything that God says from genesis to revelation concerning that subject. Then you draw your conclusions.

Why The Serpent Seed Doctrine is Wrong

Firstly I am going to start with some rhetoric questions, and then I will move into the scriptures.

Question 1
If eating the fruit of knowledge of good and evil represents sexual intercourse with the devil, does that mean eating the fruit of the tree of life represents sexual intercourse with God?

You see it starts to become blasphemous.

Question 2
Jesus calls some people serpents, and children of serpents. This statement is then taken literally to mean that they are actual physical descendants of an actual serpent. This is taken as proof that Eve had sexual relations with a serpent.

However, Jesus also calls Herod a fox (Luke 13:32), does that mean Herod’s mother slept with a fox? Jesus himself is called a Lamb by John the baptist (John 1:36), does that mean that his mother slept with a Sheep? Jesus calls some people goats and others sheep, does that mean their mothers slept with goats or sheep?

You see, Jesus uses animals as metaphors for different characters, not as a description of physical descendants.

Luke 13:31-32 (NKJV) 
31: On that very day some Pharisees came, saying to Him, “Get out and depart from here, for Herod wants to kill You.” 32: And He said to them, “Go, tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.’

As we go through the bible we see that Jesus uses animals to describe people’s internal characters and not their physical decent. Herod was cunning, so Jesus calls him a fox. The pharisees were deceptive so Jesus calls them serpents, some people are stubborn, so Jesus calls them goats and others are submissive so they are called the sheep.

CAIN WAS ADAM’S SON

The first scripture that totally destroys this whole doctrine is in the book of Genesis itself. The bible clearly shows us that Cain was Adam’s son.

Genesis 4:1:
Now Adam had marital relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived, and gave birth to Cain, and said, “I have gotten a man from God.”

Cain was born when Adam slept with his wife and she conceived. It is clear, Cain is Adam’s physical son.

ALL HUMAN BEINGS CAME FROM ADAM

The bible is clear that all human beings alive and all nations came from the same man.

Acts 17:26 (ESV)

26: And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place,

So the interpretation that says, some people did not come from Adam, contradicts this and other scriptures.

So How does the Devil Have Children?

In order to understand the devil’s children, you have to first understand God’s children. God and Satan are both spirits. They do not have children through procreation and sexual relations. They have children through their word.
Those who receive and follow the word of God, become the children of God. Those who receive and follow the word of the devil become the children of the devil. This is what the bible tells us.

1 Peter 1:23 (ESV) 

23: since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God;

Jesus starts by acknowledging that the Jews he was speaking to were indeed offspring of Abraham.

John 8:37 (ESV)

37: I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you.

But because they were now doing the works of the devil, he now calls them the devil’s children, because they were now following the word and works of the devil.

John 8:44 (ESV) 

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.

So in the parable of the wheat and tares, the sons of the kingdom are those who hear the word of God and follow it. The sons of the evil one, are those who choose to follow the ways of the devil. It has nothing to do with natural decent.

John 1:12 (ESV)

2: But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,

Conclusion

I could go on and on, showing the faults of this doctrine, and how it contradicts many scripture, but however, I believe the points given are already enough to dismiss the serpent seed doctrine as a heresy. In order to believe this teaching, we have to directly ignore many clear scriptures. Stay blessed. Amen.