: a messianic
interpretation of a text (as Gen 3:15 RSV) presaging man's
ultimate triumph over sin through a coming Savior —used as the first
anticipation of the gospel.
Mirriam-Webster.com, accessed 14 Feb. 2013
“And
I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her
seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel” (Gen. 3:15,
KJV).
Is this verse really the “Protevangelium”?
In his book, Theology for Today, Elmer
Towns weighs in on this question in
the affirmative. He discusses Messianic prophesies recorded in the Old
Testament and claims that all of these prophesies were literally fulfilled in
His first coming; therefore, we can know that those prophesies concerning His
second coming will also be literally fulfilled.[1] He
says, “Some of these are recorded in obscure or figurative language (cf. Gen.
49:10; Isa. 11:1). Even though predictive in nature, these prophesies were
normally written in the past tense. Because prophesies are written horizontal
and not vertical in nature, often they may include aspects of Christ’s first
and second advent (cf. Isa. 61:1-2).”[2]
Towns says that when we interpret messianic prophesies, we have to remember two
principals. He states, “One prediction may be fulfilled in two intervals. When
Christ read from Isaiah 61:1-2, He stopped in the middle of verse 2 because the
next part referred to His second advent.”[3]
Towns states that the second principle is double fulfillment, meaning a
prophecy may be fulfilled more than once. He then lists two pages of such
prophesies and Genesis 3:15 is first
on the list.[4]
John MacArthur
agrees that this passage refers to Christ. In The MacArthur Bible Handbook, he states, ”Jesus’ entrance into
humanity was planned from before the beginning of time. God softened the
punishment of the curse that resulted from the sin of Adam and Eve by offering
a promise that someday a Seed would rise up to crush the serpent (3:15).”[5] He
tells that while death came through Adam, Christ, in His coming, brought life
to mankind. He goes on to describe how Genesis traces God’s blueprint for
Jesus’ birth. God chose Abraham to father a nation and God protected that
nation all the way down to Jesus.[6]
Another
advocate for the protevangelium is
John Davis. He describes this verse as Satan’s ultimate defeat and says God’s
attention was directed more towards Satan than the serpent because he was the
one behind it all. Davis writes,
“Interestingly enough, the ultimate victory of Messiah is given not as a
promise to man but as a judgment upon Satan.”[7] He
says that not all commentators believe this to be a Messianic prophecy but that
the traditional Christian interpretation accepts it as the first direct
expression of the gospel. It recognizes the ongoing conflict between Satan and
God, which also involves the followers of Satan and the children of God.[8] Davis
continues, “The seed of the woman is a clear reference to the Messiah, the Lord
Jesus (cf. Rev. 12:1-5; Gal. 3:16,
19), who came ‘to destroy the works of the devil’(Heb. 2:14; 1 John 3:8). The protevangelium prophesied that
Christ would deliver a death blow to Satan, but in so doing would suffer death
Himself.”[9]
If this verse
were not Messianic in nature, it really has little significance. It might be
construed to mean simply that man will kill snakes and snakes will bite men
when given the opportunity. If this is the case, how does this curse differ
from man’s plight with wolves, tigers or bears? It is better to see it for what
it is, a prophetic response to Satan’s deception of mankind and rebellion
against a holy God. When we study the whole of Scripture, we not only see
multiple prophesies concerning Christ, we see a loving God that had already
made provision to reconcile fallen man back to Himself. We also see references
to Satan’s impending demise. We can trace God’s grace from the beginning
(Genesis) to the end (Revelation). When Christ died and rose from the grave,
conquering death, He defeated Satan judiciously; when He casts Satan into hell,
He will have carried out the sentence, thus, crushing his head.
Bibliography
Davis,
John J. Paradise to
Prison: Studies in Genesis. Salem:
Sheffield Publishing Company, 1998.
MacArthur,
John. The MacArthur Bible Handbook: A
Book – by – Book Exploration of God’s
Word. Nashville: Thomas Nelson,
2003.
Mirriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Mirriam-Webster.com.
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/protevangelium.
(accessed 14 Feb. 2013).
Towns,
Elmer. Theology for Today. Mason: Cengage Learning, 2008.
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