Someone in my ministry recently asked if there is any meaning behind a snake crawling out of a crack in the Western Wall, (one of the remains of the ancient Jewish temple) an event that has made big news in Israel.
Yes, there is something to the snake crawling out of the Western Wall.
It means a snake crawled out of the Western Wall, nothing more, nothing less.
People are claiming it is a sign of the second coming of Jesus, but no such sign is in Bible prophecy. In fact, Jesus Himself said, “Nobody knows the day or the hour” (Matt. 24).
He also said, “It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has fixed by His own authority,” (Acts 1).
Don’t misunderstand me. I do believe that Jesus will return. I also acknowledge some prophecy associated with His return such as the Anti-Christ profaning the temple, sitting in the Holy of Holies, and claiming to be God (2 Thess 2) several years before Jesus comes back, slays him, and rules the world. Of course, for that to happen, the temple will first need to be rebuilt inasmuch as the prophecy is about an entire temple, not merely a wall.
And until we see this temple incident, we are admonished not to become “easily unsettled” (2 Thess 2). I am always amazed when people try to tell us when Jesus will return. Jesus Himself said He didn’t know (Matt 24). I’m sure He knows now, now that He’s returned to heaven and restored to His position in the Godhead, but when roaming Israel, having emptied Himself of the form of God (Phil 2), He said He didn’t know. And yet so many people today presume to know something Jesus didn’t know.
There IS a different book of Jewish Mysticism called The Zohar. This book does talk about the snake from Eden making a showing before the Messiah returns, but I do not take The Zohar seriously. It is not inspired Scripture and did not surface historically until the Middle Ages.
There ARE many verses in the Bible, and many about snakes. I have no doubt that somebody, somewhere, can take some such verse out of context to read into it an alleged prophecy about the return of Christ. I do believe that the entire Bible is the inspired word of God. Just remember, not everything is meant to have symbolism. Not everything has hidden meaning to be uncovered.
As somebody once put it, “Sometimes the purpose of the Old Testament tent pegs was to hold up the tent.”
