When we get to Heaven and have clear thoughts without the stain of a sin nature, when we are able to ask God all the questions that have haunted us as Biblical Christians, there will be revelation after revelation about the hidden intricacies contained in the Bible and how they have been replicated and revealed in the world around us. This, perhaps, is just one small example of what to expect on the other side of the grave.

Anit-Venom in the Natural World

The blood of lambs has been the primary source for the production of anti-venom for the bites of “rattlesnakes, copperheads, cottonmouths, and other pit vipers” for many years. The process is not as simple as drawing blood from these animals and converting it into a product called CoFab, which is the trade name for the anti-venom. Instead, the lamb has to be injected with live venom in a controlled way that allows their blood to build antibodies over time. It is reported that the doses are so small that they do not cause harm to the animal, but enough to trigger his immune system. The blood containing these antibodies is then extracted in small doses, processed, and the end product “offers a critical lifeline for individuals suffering from venomous snakebites.” Finally … “while some traditional remedies may offer supportive benefits, there are no scientifically proven natural alternatives that can effectively neutralize snake venom. Anti-venom remains the only life-saving treatment for snakebites.”

Anit-Venom in the Spiritual World

The words “snake” and “serpent” are terms found over eighty times in the Bible, with the most well know passage in …

Genesis 3:1 – Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”

In nearly all cases, they are depicted as evil and associated with poison and deceit (details here). Often they are a reference to Satan himself.

In the Old Testament, God commanded the Israelites to make sacrifices of various animals, especially sheep, as a way of repenting of their sins. However, this was only a temporary act of contrition, to be repeated over and over again. But, the final solution to the sins of man (past, present, and future) was predicted to come later ….

Isaiah 53:7 – He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.

In the New Testament God made it clear that these rituals were a foreshadow of the final sacrifice, His Son, Jesus Christ. Christ, both fully God and fully man, lived a sinless life and then sacrificed His life for our sins (Hebrews 10:10), allowing those who believe in Him to have eternal life in Heaven (Romans 10:9). He was a perfect and absolute substitution for the sins of all mankind and was referred to in Scripture as the Lamb of God as a reflection back to the Old Testament sacrificial system ….

John 1:29, 36 – The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” … and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!”

John 3:14-15 – And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

The Lamb, the Venom, the Serpent

The innocent lamb of today that takes on the venom of the snake in order to build life-saving antibodies is an illustration of Jesus Christ who took on the sin nature of mankind as well as Satan, the snake himself. Like the innocent lamb, Jesus produced the anti-venom by way of the cross. When a believer accepts Christ as their Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit is injected into the heart as a seal (Ephesians 1:13) of our faith and trust in God who holds us in His protective hands on Earth, and will welcome us into Heaven at the end of our lives (2 Corinthians 5:8).

The lamb who saves the lives of those bitten by the snake is a beautiful illustration of the eternal life-saving work of Christ for those who have faith in the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!