KING'S BUSINESS PROPHECY FEATURE
The First Messianic Prophecy
by Professor John C. Whitcomb, Jr. Grace Theological Seminary, Winona Lake, Indiana O n e o f t h e s u r e m a r k s of the God-breathed nature of Scripture is the way in which prophetic seed- thoughts are planted in its most ancient books, and are progressively unfolded in the centuries and millenniums that follow. The original prophecy may seem brief and even mysterious, but its final fulfillment, in all of its manifold aspects, reflects back upon that original pro phecy and reveals those shades of meaning that could never have been understood completely by men of ear lier ages. An acorn may seem utterly simple and in significant to the casual observer, but every distinctive aspect of the great oak lies hidden within it, inviting the careful study of those who are thrilled at its final de velopment. Genesis 3:15 The very first prophecy of the Bible concerning the coming Redeemer of the world is no exception of this rule. In fact, it sets the pattern for all Bible prophecies. As we study Genesis 3:15, then, we learn not only that God knows all about the future, and that He planned from the beginning to send our Saviour into the world to defeat Satan, but also we learn something of God’s marvelous method of revealing such truths to early patriarchs for their hope and encouragement without at the same time confusing them with details they could not have understood. For the sake of clarity, let us set forth a literal translation of the prophecy from the original Hebrew text, and arrange it into its three main parts: (1) “ And enmity will I place between thee and the woman; (2) and between thy seed and her seed; (3) he shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” Who are the persons involved in this prophecy? A glance at the pre ceding verses reveals that the speaker is none other than the Lord God; the one spoken to is the serpent (or, rath er, Satan who used the serpent); and the woman is Eve, “ the mother of all living.” One other person appears in the prophecy, of whom we shall speak shortly.
Satan and Eve We must dismiss as absurd the interpretation that this verse is nothing more than a continuation of verse 14, and is therefore a pronouncement of hatred and fear between human beings and serpents! How could this view (advocated by some critics) fit in with the tre mendous solemnity of the occasion? Would such a pro phecy hold forth any hope for our first parents? No, the serpent of 3:1-14 fades out of sight in verse 15, and “that old serpent” behind the mere animal instru ment, “ called the devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world” (Rev. 12:9), comes into full focus. The main point of the first part of the prophecy is this: God must put enmity between Satan and Eve, because her natural inclination as a sinner is to love sin and dark ness. So God must teach her to hate the true enemy of her soul — not snakes, but Satan, the first murderer and the father of lies (as Christ described him in John 8:44). Seed of Eve and Seed of Satan Turning now to the second main idea of the prophecy, we discover a new realm of thought. It is no longer Eve, but “ her seed” which is seen to carry on the conflict, and the enemy is not only Satan now, but also Satan’s “ seed.” To what can these two seeds refer? Franz Delitzsch gives us the answer: “ The seed of the woman cannot be the entire human race, for Satan is a foe who can only be met with spiritual weapons, and none can defeat him apart from the possession of Spiritual weapons. So the idea of ‘the seed’ is modified by the nature of the foe.” The seed of the woman, then, must be the chosen race of true believers, culminating in Christ who is the head of that race. And the seed of Satan must therefore be unbelievers. Speaking to the unbelievers in His day, our Lord said, “Ye are of your father the devil” (John 8:44; cf. Matt. 23:33 and I Jn. 3:8). When Cain slew Abel, he demonstrated thereby that he “ was of that wicked one” (I Jn. 3:12), and was thus the first seed of Satan. When
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