The following has been banned on Quora. Moderators removed it because they did not like what it states. For some reason Quora seeks to be a cesspit of vipers. Clearly, they shadow ban those who write answers that contain views, facts, principles, and truth that they do not like.
- Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Beware of men; for they will deliver you up to councils, and flog you in their synagogues, and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear testimony before them and the Gentiles. When they deliver you up, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Brother will deliver up brother to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death; and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved. When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next; for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel, before the Son of man comes. (Matthew 10:16-23)
The context of the statement informs us the reason why Jesus would have said that disciples are to be wise as serpents. For the sake of Lord Jesus Christ:
- Disciples will be hated
- Disciples will be persecuted
- Disciples will be flogged in synagogues
- Disciples will be dragged before governors and kings
- Disciples will be delivered up to councils to have their fate determined
- Disciples will be delivered up to death by their brothers
- Disciples will be delivered up to death by their fathers
- Disciples will be delivered up to death by their children
Disciples of Lord Jesus Christ in the last two thousand years have suffered these fates, and still do in much of the world, where to become a Christian means persecution and ostracism, if not death. This is also the case even within Christendom, where hatred, persecution and ostracism is common. Being dragged before courts, flogged and put to death is a likely fate for Christians in countries from China to Morocco (wherever atheism, Islam and anti-Christian sentiment is found in Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe and the Middle East).
Being as wise as a serpent means: not to let your left hand know what your right hand is doing; not to wear your heart on your cuff; not to be overbearing and obnoxious; not to be arrogant and judgmental; but to tell people what they need to hear when they are ready to receive what you have to say; to be perceptive and learn how to take specks out of people’s eyes.
- Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” (Genesis 3:1)
When the Devil deceived Eve, he did not say to her, “God didn’t say that you are not to eat of the prohibited tree. You know Adam told you that.” For had he done this, Eve would have become defensive. She would have insisted that God did tell Adam. Instead, the Devil put doubt in her mind by asking a question and circumnavigating her natural tendency to defend the only person she knew to trust.
Chronologically, the Bible informs us that before Eve had been created, God told Adam that he wasn’t to eat of the prohibited tree. From the question asked of Eve, the implication is that the Devil knew this. Therefore, by asking if God made the statement, this gave Eve cause to wonder whether He really did or whether Adam was hiding something from her.
Likewise, when being brought before councils, governors and kings, by being cautious and learning to ask questions that cause people to reveal their intentions, or make statements that cause division among councils who intend to harm disciples of Christ, this is being as wise as a serpent. An example of this is evident when Paul was brought before the Sadducees and Pharisees:
Then Paul, knowing that some of them were Sadducees and the others Pharisees, called out in the Sanhedrin, “My brothers, I am a Pharisee, descended from Pharisees. I stand on trial because of the hope of the resurrection of the dead.” When he said this, a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. (The Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, and that there are neither angels nor spirits, but the Pharisees believe all these things.) — Acts 23:6-8
Paul understood that if he were to create division among the council, then they would not be able to unanimously decide his fate.
- To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. (1 Corinthians 9:22)
The missionary-minded Paul was always seeking to see souls saved. And in order to beat the ancient serpent at his own game, he saw the value of identifying with others so that they might listen to what he had to stay. Rather than appearing like a dictator seeking to run people’s lives, in order to win souls for the Body of Christ, he understood that by being overconfident he might also appear like a con man or—even though they did not exist back then—a televangelist asking for money.
If every person, who is a Christian, were to become as wise as a serpent and win only some souls for Christ, there would not be any need for televangelists becoming serpents. Instead, we can become wise as serpents by understanding how to point out to people that propaganda is fed into school students’ unconscious minds by using phrases such as “over billions of years we know life evolved”, “we know evolution took millions of years”, “we know the big bang was millions of years ago” etc. etc. Students are not encouraged to question this. Yet they hear this propaganda year in, year out. By the time they reach university, they are sold on it, even though they have never truly researched the claims, nor have they been encouraged to ask questions. Usually, all students are doing is trying to pass exams.
Some students are wise in that they realize that if they question the narrative of the indoctrination agenda, they are shot down in flames and ridiculed. So they keep quiet. Nevertheless, by asking the right questions, students are able to expose the indoctrination narrative without embarrassing the teachers. For example, Where is ultimate meaning found in being born to die? If my thoughts originate from chemicals, why can’t we analyse them in a test-tube? Isn’t eternity a useless concept if we cannot experience it?
Many students leave school with a progressive, immoral, socialist indoctrination, but after being exposed to the real world of personal responsibility, begin to realize conservative values are what really count; for it is conservative values that enable them to make something worthwhile of their lives. Similarly, many find themselves questioning the anti-Creator narrative with which they were indoctrinated, as being born to die is a futile existence; especially, if all one does is work for forty years—only to grow old, suffer illnesses, experience grief, and not enjoy life every day.
In the context that Jesus was speaking, being as wise as serpent, means to be wary of non-believers and those who do not walk the walk, but only talk the talk. They could be treacherous. Therefore, Lord Jesus is saying that you ought to know your boundaries and seek to win as many souls for the Kingdom of God as you can, without discrediting His precious name.
The Enemy Seeks To Destroy Those Who Speak The Truth, Never Impostors.
