First, to read Scripture literally is to read it as literature. This means that we are to interpret the Word of God just as we interpret other forms of communication—in the most obvious and natural sense. Hank Hanegraaff, the host of the broadcast and the podcast, notes that when Moses uses the symbolism of a snake, we do violence to his intentions if we interpret him in a woodenly literal fashion. A literalistic interpretation does as much violence to the biblical text as a spiritualized interpretation that empties the text of all objective meaning. If the historical Adam and Eve did not eat the forbidden fruit and descend into a life of habitual sin, resulting in death, there would be no need for redemption. If, on the other hand, Genesis were reduced to an allegory conveying merely abstract ideas about temptation, sin, and redemption, devoid of any correlation with actual events in history, the very foundation of Christianity would be destroyed. When the prophet Moses describes Satan as an ancient serpent and the apostle John describes him as an ancient dragon, they do not intend to tell us what Satan looks like. Moses used the symbol of a snake to communicate the wiles of the evil one who deceived Eve through mindtomind communication—precisely as he seeks to deceive you and me today.


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