I saw this man and others on TV last year, and was so hurt for these dear souls that I had tracts sent to this area of Middlesboro, Kentucky. I wonder what he said about the message we sent, or if he ever got the tracts at all.
God have mercy.
jdc
Hi John,
I was wondering if you could help me to better understand those scriptures in Mark16:16 – especially the part that says, “They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them.” – and how they relate to the little Pentecostal groups over the last several decades who have participated in snake-handling.
Why do some of God’s people feel they are supposed to handle snakes and drink poison? Is this something God has commanded some of His people to do as a demonstration of His power? or are they misunderstanding the scriptures?
Thank you.
Vince
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Hi, Vince!
My father told me that in the early 20th century, when God was pouring out a revival of life in the Spirit (which Christianity later quenched, of course,) God would send snakes to the meeting of His saints if He wanted one handled. My father talked about specific instances of deadly serpents crawling into a gathering.
The most impressive to me was the story he told the time a minister was preaching and a deadly serpent crawled down to isle to him. The preacher took him up, laid him across the Bible, and kept on preaching. My father said the preacher had to roll the snake over on its side to finish reading the verses he was reading from the Bible. Then, the man of God carried the serpent out and turned him loose.
We don’t have to go looking for serpents and poison; God will create true situations we need, as we need them. I was told that I drank poison when I was two, and when my mother cried out, my father came in and laid hands on my little head, and the poison came back up, and I went back outside to play. It was not a ritual we went through; it was a time when we needed the power of God. I am thankful that my father had it!
jdc