Re: The serpent on the pole -- Mamusz' Restoration Forum

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Date Posted: 00:10:03 03/20/11 Sun
Author: George
Subject: Re: The serpent on the pole
In reply to: Mamusz 's message, "The serpent on the pole" on 22:02:22 03/19/11 Sat

>
>�. . . But the people grew impatient on the way; they
>spoke against God and against Moses, and said, "Why
>have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the
>desert? There is no bread! There is no water! And we
>detest this miserable food!"
>
>Then the LORD sent venomous snakes among them; they
>bit the people and many Israelites died. The people
>came to Moses and said, "We sinned when we spoke
>against the LORD and against you. Pray that the LORD
>will take the snakes away from us." So Moses prayed
>for the people.
>
>The LORD said to Moses, "Make a snake and put it up on
>a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live."
> So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole.
>Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at
>the bronze snake, he lived.�
>
>[Hel 3:47] Yea, did he not bear record, that the Son
>of God should come? And as he lifted up the brazen
>serpent in the wilderness, even so shall he be lifted
>up who should come.
>[Hel 3:48] And as many as should look upon that
>serpent should live, even so as many as should look
>upon the Son of God, with faith, having a contrite
>spirit, might live, even unto that life which is
>eternal.
>
>[Alma 16:191] Behold, he was spoken of by Moses; yea,
>and behold, a type was raised up in the wilderness,
>that whosoever would look upon it might live. And many
>did look and live.
>[Alma 16:192] But few understood the meaning of those
>things, and this because of the hardness of their
>hearts.
>[Alma 16:193] But there were many who were so hardened
>that they would not look; therefore they perished.
>[Alma 16:194] Now the reason they would not look, was
>because they did not believe that it would heal them.
>[Alma 16:195] O my brethren, if ye could be healed by
>merely casting about your eyes, that ye might be
>healed, would ye not behold quickly, or would ye
>rather harden your hearts in unbelief, and be
>slothful, that ye would not cast about your eyes, that
>ye might perish?
>
>Mamusz

Mamusz, I note that the Restoration scriptures go out of their way to point out that merely looking at the brass serpent was insufficient. A contrite heart was also required. I seriously doubt that the snake being a foreshadowing of the healing by Jesus, that those who approach Jesus for resolution of their difficulties with sin would be healed if they were not contrite, and repentant of (not "sorry about the consequences of") the things they had been doing.

One who was arrogant and not contrite could stare at the brass serpent all day long, and end up dying of his snakebite. Looking at the serpent would be to no avail for someone who thought that Moses wrote a bunch of oppressive human laws to keep him under, and that the living serpents biting him for breaking them was just downright unfair to begin with. What we have been dealing with for the last 25 years is a group of men who teach that the consequences of sin are very bad, because they make people sorrowful; thus the consequences must be removed, not the sin.

There are a lot of people who are secure enough in their own spiritual authority to pontificate to the saints, but who question the authority of their predecessors to to the extent that they feel perfectly free to challenge the authority of those predecessors. What is still more amazing is that those of this sort challenge the authority of those upon whom their own authority is dependent. That's a neat trick. Kind of like sawing off the limb one is sitting on because one dislikes the tree. Does one float in midair on one's own personal, inherent authority? Exactly what kind of power does lack of contrition confer?

George

If I have seen farther than others, it is because I have stood on the shoulders of giants.
Newton

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Replies:

Re: The serpent on the pole --

Mamusz, 10:48:38 03/20/11 Sun

Re: The serpent on the pole -- George, 22:14:38 03/20/11 Sun