Dr. Barclay with Something to Think About - SATANS' SEED

 

SATAN’S SEED

In the Book of Genesis, the statement is made that:

“And I will put enmity

Between you and the woman, 

And between your seed and her Seed;

He will bruise your head,

And you shall bruise His heel.”

(Genesis 3:15)

This statement is made in the context of the curse proclaimed by God on the serpent:

“You are cursed more than all cattle,

And more than every beast of the field;

On your belly shall you go,

And you shall eat dust 

All the days of your life.”

(Genesis 3:14) 

And also on the earth:

“Cursed is the ground for you sake;

In toil you shall eat of it 

All the days of your life.”

(Genesis 3:17)

This implied that since Satan is immortal the curse would be as long as the present world system endures. But it should be noted the curse was on Satan and the earth and not on Adam and Eve who were told to essentially be fruitful and multiply. From the remainder of the Bible, we are familiar with the eventual coming of the Seed of the woman, but how about the seed of Satan?

It is interesting that, due to the initial fall of man from the grace of God, sin has always been at man’s doorstep. This is why, when Cain became angry at not being accepted through his own efforts, God relayed this message to him: “…if you do not do well, sin lies at the door.(Genesis 4:7) When Cain slew Abel, the response was: “So now you are cursed from the earth…” (Genesis 4:11). 

So, it was the descendant of Adam and Eve who was cursed and not the parents. The same seems to have applied to the son of Noah. When Noah, after the flood, planted a vineyard and drank too much of its benefits, he was subsequently seen naked, by his son Ham, who relaid the event to his brothers. Noah, angry at Ham for this, cursed Ham’s son, Canaan, when he said:

“Cursed be Canaan;

A servant of servants

He shall be to his brethren.”

(Genesis 9:25)

As Cain was cursed, it identified him with his figurative father, the devil. This follows the original curse that God placed on Satan and later His warning that sin was at his door. This concept has been carried down through history in the premise that those who rebel against God and His purposes will be identified as followers of Satan. Christ confirms this when He confronts Abraham’s descendants and says:

“You are of your father the devil, 

and the desires of your father you want to do… 

…If God were your father, you would love Me…”

(John 8:44,42)

“…whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.”

(John 4:34)

1 John 3 puts it this way:

He who sins is of the devil, 

for the devil has sinned from the beginning…

…Whoever has been born of God does not sin, 

for His seed remains in him…

…In this the children of God 

and the children of the devil are manifest:

Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God,

nor is he who does not love his brother.

(1 John 3:8-10)

This further illustrates why Paul, in the Book of Romans, states that:

nor are they all children 

because they are the seed of Abraham…

…those who are the children of the flesh, 

these are not the children of God,

but the children of promise are counted as seed.

(Romans 9:7,8)

So, in essence, those who rebel against God and His promises are the ones considered to be the seed of Satan and are under the curse. This is why there has always been such animosity between God’s people and the peoples of Canaan and why God said:

O Canaan, land of the Philistines:

“I will destroy you;

So there shall be no inhabitant.”

(Zephaniah 2:5)

And also why people still refer to the mark of Cain and the way of Cain in reference to wrongdoers:

not as Cain who was of the wicked one 

and murdered his brother…

…because his works were evil 

and his brother’s righteous.

(1John 3:12)

Woe to them! 

For they have gone in the way of Cain,  

have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit…

(Jude 1:11)

So it should be clear that the seed of Satan really refers to anyone who has rebelled against God and His precepts, and therefore, follows in the character of Canaan or in the footsteps of Cain. And so, whether one is a follower of the Seed of the woman or belongs to the seed of Satan is something which we all have to eventually decide.

And it certainly is something to think about.