The "Seed of Satan" Does the Devil Have Offspring on This Earth?
A growing movement in this country is spewing out virulent hatred
against certain ethnic and racial groups - particularly the Jews
claiming that they are the lineal descendants of the serpentine
creature who appeared to Eve in the Garden of Eden. Perhaps you
have heard of this "seedline" teaching. If so, it is past time
you saw the TRUTH about this hate-mongering doctrine!
by Vance A. Stinson
THE SERPENT'S SEED AND THE FLOOD
Seedline preachers claim that the "spurious counterfeit seedline"
survived the Flood - apparently through one or more of Noah's
daughters-in-law - and later made its presence known in the
descendants of Canaan and related peoples.
But there are some major problems with this theory!
First, if genetic corruption and its resultant spread of
wickedness was the primary cause of the Flood, as some seem to
think, then why did God allow the wicked seedline to find its way
aboard the ark?
Second, since Noah and his wife and sons were genetically
"pure," the serpent's lineage had to have been carried on through
Noah's daughters-in-law (which means that they were genetically
"impure"). But, unfortunate for seedliners, this theory crumbles
in the light of Genesis 9:1:
"And God BLESSED Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be
fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth."
In verse 7, He again states, "And you, be ye fruitful, and
multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply
therein."
Now, had Noah's sons been in unlawful marriages (unlawful
according to the seedline doctrine) with descendants of Cain,
then surely God would NOT have BLESSED them; would not have
commanded them to be fruitful and multiply in the earth - for GOD
DOES NOT BLESS UNLAWFUL UNIONS!
In spite of the evidence, seedline advocates still find a way to
trace the serpent's lineage through the Flood and into the line
of Canaan, son of Ham. Their time could be much better spent by
following a simple piece of advice:
"[Do not] give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which
minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith"
(I Timothy 1:4).
DESTINY OF THE CANAANITES
Seedline preachers point to the curse Noah placed upon Canaan
(Genesis 9:25-27), and to the many scriptures carrying
unfavorable remarks about the Canaanites, as evidence that the
Devil's seedline emerged on this side of the Flood in Canaan's
lineage.
As stated previously, Zechariah 14:21 seems to be a favorite
scripture of certain seedline proponents.
The latter part of the verse reads, "...and in that day [when the
Kingdom of God is established on this earth] there shall be no
more the Canaanite in the house of the LORD of hosts."
Does this mean that the descendants of Canaan will be
exterminated?
In verse 16, same chapter, God says, "And it shall come to pass,
that every one that is left of all the nations [the non-Israelite
peoples] which came up against Jerusalem shall even go up from
year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep
the Feast of Tabernacles."
Here we find that non-Israelite peoples - including Egyptians
(verse 18) - will worship the true God in the true Way once the
Kingdom of God is in place in this earth. But what about the
descendants of Canaan? Does verse 21 rule out the possibility
that Canaanites will be among the true worshippers? Are
Canaanites incapable of repentance, as seedline preachers claim?
Or is there scriptural evidence that God will hear the prayers of
Canaanites, and will respond positively to their faith? We find
the answer in Matthew 15:21-28:
"Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and
Sidon. And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same
coasts, and cried unto Him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord,
thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil
[demon]. But He answered her not a word. And His disciples came
and besought Him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us.
But He answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep
of the house of Israel. Then came she and worshipped Him, saying,
Lord, help me. But He answered and said, It is not meet to take
the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs. And she said,
Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their
masters' table. Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman,
great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her
daughter was made whole from that very hour."
Seedline preachers naturally focus on Jesus' declaration that He
was sent only to the House of Israel, and on His use of the word
"dogs."
But did Jesus' comments have anything to do with "genetic
purity"?
No! He was simply showing that the "children" to which the
promises were given came first - that is, the Gospel of the
Kingdom of God must go first to the "children of the kingdom,"
the people of Israel. But many other scriptures show that the
promises given to Abraham were not to be restricted to Abraham's
physical lineage.
Doubtless, Matthew included this account in his Gospel in order
to show his Jewish readers - many of whom were biased toward
Gentiles - that Christ responds positively to the faith of
anyone, regardless of race or lineage, and that the grace of God
knows no genetic boundaries.
Notice that Matthew used the word Canaan. Interestingly, he could
have used some other word, but he chose this one. Why? Since the
Canaanites were the age-old enemies of Israel, Many must have
known that the inclusion of this word would magnify the lesson of
God's grace and willingness to respond to true faith.
This account should lay to rest once and for all the idea that
Canaanites cannot express true faith.
Zechariah 14:21,then,does not mean that God will destroy all
the physical descendants of Canaan. Evidently, the expression
"Canaanite," as used in this passage, was a term used of
idolatrous people, regardless of lineage - just as "Sodomite" was
used of something other than "citizen of Sodom," and just as
"Babylon" and "Egypt" were used metaphorically of nations and
peoples having characteristics similar to those of the ancient
cities. (See Deuteronomy 23:17; Revelation 11:8; 14:8.)
The "Canaanites" spoken of in Zechariah 14 are described in
Revelation 21:27: "And there shall in no wise enter into it [the
holy city] any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh
abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the
Lamb's book of life" - and that has nothing to do with genetics!
A "RACE OF SERPENTS"
Let's now turn our attention to those passages in the New
Testament that are commonly used by seedline proponents to
"prove" that many of the Jews of Jesus' day were part of the
spurious seedline extending all the way back to Cain.
In view of what we have seen thus far, it is obvious that
expressions such as "serpents" and "generation of vipers" (see
Matthew 3:7; 23:29-35) have nothing to do with lineage. Rather,
these terms describe certain behavioral characteristics.
Yet, seedline advocates seem completely blind to the clear simple
truth.
They point to Matthew 27:22-25, for instance, and insist that
those who cried "CRUCIFY HIM!" and who said, "His blood be on us,
and on our children," were the counterfeits whose father was the
Devil - the descendants of Judah through Shuah the Canaanite.
But notice what the apostle Peter said to the assembled crowd on
the Day of Pentecost: "Therefore let all the house of Israel know
assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom YE crucified,
both Lord and Christ" (Acts 2:36).
Who crucified Jesus? Was it the counterfeits of the true Israel,
the "spurious bastard seedline"? No!
The REAL descendants of Jacob-Israel did it, or at least had a
part in it! Some of the very same people who had shouted "Crucify
Him!" REPENTED on that Day of Pentecost, and received God's Holy
Notice their response to Peter's powerful message:
"Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and
said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and
brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent,and
be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the
remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy
Spirit. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to
all afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. And
with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying,Save
yourselves from this untoward generation.
Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the
same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls"
(verses 37-41).
Prior to that time, these Jews had been duped by the political-
religious leaders, who had accused Jesus of being a blasphemer
who had threatened to destroy the Temple, and a revolutionary who
intended to lead a bloody revolt against the Romans. When they
learned the truth about Jesus - learned of His true identity as
the promised Messiah - they were "pricked in their hearts,"
having realized what they had done.
The fact is, these people did turn to God in heart-rending
repentance; they did accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior; and
they did continue in the faith, even in the face of persecution.
The idea that they were a race of genetic freaks incapable of
repentance flatly contradicts the Word of God!
The same kind of absurdity is found in the seedliners'
interpretation of John 8:44, where Jesus said to a group of Jews,
Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye
will do." These are said to be the "genetically programmed"
progeny of the Devil who could not help but imitate their father.
But notice verses 31-32: "Then said Jesus to those Jews [the same
group] which believed on Him, If ye continue in my word, then are
you my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, truth shall
make you free."
Obviously, if repentance and conversion had been completely
impossible for these people, Jesus would not have spoken these
words to them. It is quite possible that some of them later
became members of the New Testament church. This seems to be
suggested in Jesus' statement, "And ye shall know the
truth...." Perhaps some of them were converted on the Day of
Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was given.
COUNTERFEIT JEWS
If you have carefully read the above material, having checked
each scriptural reference along the way, you should be able to
see clearly that the Jews of Jesus' day - including the scribes
and Pharisees - were real Jews. They were for the most part
descendants of the southern kingdom, the House of Judah.
But we are told of a group of counterfeit Jews, who lived in Asia
Minor during the latter part of the first century. We read of
them in Revelation 2:9:
To the church in Smyrna, Christ said, "I know thy works, and
tribulation, and poverty,(but thou art rich) and I know the
blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are
the synagogue of Satan." (see also Revelation 3:9.).
Who were these people? Were they Canaanites in disguise? Are they
still with us today?
It is not possible to identify these people precisely; we are not
given enough information about them. However, we do know that
Satan the Devil was behind their evil deeds (verse 9), that it
was a time of intense persecution upon the church (verses 9-10),
and that Satan was the source behind the persecution of the
saints at Smyrna.
We also know, through history, that Smyrna was a wealthy city;
yet, the church there was impoverished (verse 9). This poverty
may have been the result of sanctions against the Christians in
the city - perhaps because of their refusal to engage in the
highly esteemed worship of the emperor.
It is likely that hostile Jews acted as "watchdogs" for the
officials, and were thus responsible for bringing much
persecution upon the church.
Thus, these "watchdog" Jews "say they are Jews, and are not, but
are the synagogue of Satan." This should be understood in the
light of Romans 2:28-29: "For he is not a Jew, which is one
outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the
flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision
is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose
praise is not of men, but of God."
The hostile Jews of Smyrna were only Jews according to the flesh,
but were not true Jews - not Jews inwardly - for their
adversarial behavior was completely contrary to the standard of
conduct God had given to the descendants of Abraham.
Now, consider this:
A Christian is a "spiritual Israelite" (or "spiritual Jew"),
regardless his lineage (see Galatians 3:7, 29).
But if one who professes Christianity preaches a doctrine of
hatred, then he is teaching a FALSE and DANGEROUS doctrine - a
doctrine completely contrary to the great Law revealed through
Moses and magnified by Jesus Christ - and is therefore not a true
Israelite. In effect, he says he is a Jew, but is NOT! (Note:
Though all Israelites are not Jews - i.e., not descendants of the
House of Judah - the terms "Israel" and "Jews" are often used
interchangeably in the New Testament.)
Which group, then, best fits the description of those who "say
they are Jews, but are not": the many thousands of Jews who are
pleased to live side-by-side with people of ethnic and racial
origins different from their own? Or the fanatics who call
themselves "Christian Israelites," yet preach a doctrine of
virulent hatred and a "gospel" of salvation by race?
The preacher who said that it's time Christians engage in "fruit
inspection" to find out "who's who, and who's Jew" should take a
long, hard look at his own produce - he might find that he's been
cursing the wrong tree!
EXPLODING THE SEEDLINE MYTHS
Literature and taped messages produced by "seed of Satan"
preachers are usually filled with ridiculous, monstrously false
statements and interpretations of Scripture. Myths are used to
support myths!
In numbers "1" through "7" below, you will find statements (in
quotations) that are either directly quoted from seedline
material, or are representative of the kinds of statements
commonly made by advocates of the doctrine.
(1) "He [Satan] did not have the power of Creation but he did
have the power of Pro-Creation" (The Two Seeds of Genesis 3:15,
p. 40).
If the Devil had no power to create, then how did he procreate?
In order to do so, he had to transform himself into a physical
being with functional reproductive organs. Since spirit beings do
not have such organs, Satan, in becoming a physical creature, had
to CREATE them (i.e., make them; bring them into existence). He
had to create living sperm cells, or he would not have been able
to procreate. If he could do all that, surely he could create a
whole man, or even a multitude of men, all made in his own image!
(Does this sound like an idea for a brand new doctrine?)
The truth of the matter is that there is not the slightest
indication in Scripture that the Devil ever had the power to
create or to procreate! So why not reject the idea as the
ridiculous nonsense that it is?
(2) "God's law of 'kind after his kind' was broken when Cain was
begotten."
God put within each of the creatures He created the capability to
reproduce "after its kind" (see Genesis 1). But this "kind after
his kind" law is not a law that can be broken! In reproduction,
frogs require frogs, cats require cats - but frogs CANNOT
crossbreed with cats! Sperm cells from one will not fertilize egg
cells from the other.
Statements such as the one above (number "2") exemplify the
absurdity of seedline "theology."
(3) "Today the entire world wanders after this counterfeit
spurious seedline and worships them as the CHOSEN PEOPLE OF GOD
when in truth they are the anti-Christ Canaanite Jews descended
from Satan" (The Two Seeds of Genesis 3:15, p. 7).
The world worships the Jews? Is that why the Jews have been
driven from one country to another? Is that why they have been
hated, persecuted? Is that why hate-mongers have tried to
exterminate them?
Seedline preachers claim, on the one hand, that the fact that the
Jews have suffered so much rejection is proof that they are
Cain's descendants, for Cain was to be a "fugitive and a
vagabond" (Genesis 4:12) in the earth. Yet, on the other hand,
some of the same people make statements like the one above,
claiming that the world worships the Jews. What a contradiction!
(4) "The Hebrew and Greek words translated 'Gentile(s)' in the
Holy Scriptures actually mean 'nations,' or 'people,' and these
words can, and sometimes do, refer to the people of Israel. The
'Gentiles' Paul preached to were Jacob's true descendants - the
so-called 'lost ten tribes' of the House of Israel. Salvation was
never promised to any race other than the holy seed descended
from Adam."
In Romans 11, Paul shows that with ISRAEL'S "fall," salvation
came unto the GENTILES. He says that "blindness in part is
happened to ISRAEL, until the fullness of the GENTILES be come
in." Read the whole chapter, and you will - provided you drop all
prejudice - see clearly that the Gentiles in the church were not
Israelites by lineage! You will note that Paul did not speak of
Jews and Gentiles; he spoke of Israel and the Gentiles. If the
"Gentiles" were Israelites, then who was "Israel"?
The above argument is right about one thing: Salvation was never
promised to any race but Adam's. Of course, all families and
races came from Adam - yes, including the Jews! Moreover, if
salvation were for only one of the races of man, John 3:16 would
be,to say the least,a gross exaggeration. The passage reads,
"For God so loved the WORLD, that He gave His only begotten Son,
that WHOSOEVER believeth in Him should not perish, but have
everlasting life."
(5) "In I John 3:12,the apostle John said plainly that 'Cain ...
was of that wicked one.' Try to spiritualize that one away!"
Let's not "spiritualize" the verse away; rather, let's try to
understand what it means. If we say it means that Satan was the
father (literally) of Cain, then we are reading into the passage
an idea that is not there. In context, John is speaking of the
"children of God" and the "children of the Devil" (verse 10). Did
he mean "spiritual children" in one case and "fleshly children"
in the other. Obviously not; the expression "of that wicked one"
is synonymous with "of the world" (I John 4:6), just as "of God"
(4:4,6) is synonymous with "of the truth" (I John 3:19). It is
abundantly clear that none of these expressions have anything to
do with genetics!
(6) "The Book of Enoch was accepted as authoritative by the
Church Fathers. This book tells of how the angels took wives of
the daughters of men and engendered offspring."
The First Book of Enoch, or Ethiopic Book of Enoch, is a JEWISH
pseudepigraphal work which, according to The New Encyclopedia
Britannica. ".....is a compilation of several separate works,
most of which are apocalyptic," and "...may have originated with
or been influenced by the Essene community of Jews at Qumran. No
fragments of the longest portion of the work (chapters 37-71),
however, were found among the Qumran writings. This has led
scholars to theorize that this section was perhaps written in the
2nd century AD by a Jewish Christian who wished to imbue his own
eschatological speculations with the authority of Enoch, and
added his work to our older apocryphal Enoch writings" (Volume 4,
p. 506).
The visible church of the second century - or a portion of it may
have accepted the work as authoritative, but it was not added to
the Canon of Scripture. Several of the theological views of its
author, whose true identity is unknown, do not agree with the
teachings of Christ and His apostles - so there are no good
reasons to accept the document as canonical text, and plenty of
good reasons not to accept it.
It is interesting that those who point the finger of condemnation
at the Jews are willing to accept an ancient JEWISH document
containing JEWISH fables - in spite of Paul's admonition to avoid
"giving heed to Jewish fables" (Titus 1:10).
Doubtless, had "Enoch" not included the fable about unions
between angels and women, seedline proponents would not accept
the work as a authoritative.
(7) "There is an inborn enmity between Jews and true Christians."
No, the enmity that exists between some Jews and some Christians
is not inborn - it was learned! Fortunately, the enmity can be
removed; but unfortunately, few people, once infected, ever
recover from this malignant disease. We do not expect this
brochure to cause the "seed of Satan" preachers to stop spreading
their hate-mongering doctrine - but perhaps we can prevent them
from transforming a few unwitting little ones into "twofold more
the children of Gehenna" than themselves:
BEWARE OF FALSE TEACHERS!
The Bible is replete with warnings against false teachers who
come proclaiming a doctrine or way of life contrary to the
teachings of Christ and His apostles. Some come teaching an
antinomian doctrine, claiming the Ten Commandments have been done
away. Some come proclaiming a Christ who never claimed divinity,
or who preexisted as an archangel.
Some come proclaiming a "Christianity" sprinkled with pagan
myths.
And some come preaching MUCH TRUTH! These, no doubt, are the most
dangerous to the Church of God - for the truth they hold is their
doorway into the sheepfold!
Believe it or not, some "two seeds" and "Israel identity" groups
observe the seventh-day Sabbath, the annual feasts and holy days;
reject pagan holidays; believe in the laws of clean and unclean
meats; believe that the Anglo-Saxon, Celtic, and Kindred peoples
of the United States and many Western European nations are the
descendants of the "lost ten tribes" of Israel.
Yet, along with all this truth, they preach a doctrine of hatred,
and make God out to be a racist!
The Church of God, International REJECTS the "seed of Satan"
doctrine and all the abominable nonsense that goes with it! We
believe - on the AUTHORITY of the infallible WORD OF GOD - that
the true church is made up of people from all races! We welcome
into our fellowship people from a great diversity of racial,
ethnic, and cultural backgrounds; and will not tolerate the
circulation of false doctrines such as the one described in this
brochure within our congregations.
It is true that we believe that the lineal descendants of the
"lost ten tribes" are to be found in the countries of the Western
world, but this is strictly a PROPHETIC matter, and is entirely
unrelated to your salvation!
We do not mean to imply that all seedline preachers deliberately
incite hatred; nor do we think that everyone who holds the "seed
of Satan" concept is a White supremist. In fact, there are a few
Black racists who claim that all light-skinned people are the
genetic progeny of the Devil. And, no doubt, there are some
Jewish racists who attach similar labels to people not of their
own kind.
Regardless their racial or ethnic heritage, the time will come
when all hate-mongering racists will be cast into the same
"pot" - and in that place they'll all look alike!
HOW TO AVOID BEING DECEIVED
After seeing just how senseless the "seed of Satan" doctrine
is, and how easily it can be refuted, it may come as a surprise
that some of the people involved in the spreading of this
doctrine are otherwise intelligent people! No doubt, some of them
are capable of scoring exceedingly high on an IQ test, and have
earned impressive degrees from colleges and universities.
Yet, as we have seen in this brochure, the doctrine is so
blatantly contradictory to the simple truth of God's Word that
anyone of average ability should be able to refute it!
How, then, do intelligent people come to embrace such a teaching?
The answer is vital to our understanding, and can help us avoid
falling blindly into the trap of deception.
The reason intelligent people sometimes fall for hatemongering
doctrines such as the one described herein is this:
Powerful feelings such as hatred, jealousy, and resentful
bitterness, completely overshadow intelligence! No matter how
high your IQ; no matter the degree of your academic excellence,
the powerful emotions involved in bigotry and prejudice can bring
on spiritual blindness and LEAD YOU DOWN THE PATH OF DESTRUCTION!
If, therefore, there is any bitterness, any feelings of hatred or
resentment toward any other human being or any other ethnic or
racial group, it's time to take control of those feelings; it's
time to lay them aside!
"Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil
speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind
one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God
for Christ's sake hash forgiven you" (Ephesians 4:31-32).
..................
Church of God International
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