The "Seed of Satan;" Does the Devil Have Offspring on This Earth?

It's shocking but true! There are "ministers" right here in the United States of America (and Canada) who hold high the banner bearing the name of Jesus Christ, and, at the same time, propagate a venomous doctrine of hatred not unlike the one espoused by Adolph Hitler and his band of hate-mongering madmen! The Jew, they say, is the spiteful enemy of all that is good, right, decent, and Christian.

Many of these preachers claim that the Jews of today are descendants of Cain, who they say was the "bastard son" born to a direct union between the "serpent" (Satan, or Lucifer) and Eve. This belief is called the doctrine of the "serpent's seed," often called "two seedlines" or "seed of Satan."

"Seedline" preachers claim that today's Jews are counterfeits of the true descendants of the house of Judah; that rather than being a blessing to the world, as the true people of God were intended to be, these counterfeits keep a stranglehold on the economy of the Western world through their corrupt, usury based banking systems, and are behind the production of all forms of "entertainment" containing pornographic filth and anti-Christian messages.

We are told that these "children of the Devil" cannot help but perpetrate the lies of their father; it's in their nature, as part of their genetic programming.

One of their greatest lies, we are told, was the Holocaust, said to be the greatest hoax of the twentieth century-a lie concocted and perpetuated by the Jews in order to win the sympathy of the world, as they plot toward world dominion.

It's no secret that there are despots and fanatics in this world who would like nothing better than the utter destruction of the Jews. Hitler tried it; Saddam Hussein has threatened it. But now, incredibly, we are seeing so-called "Christian ministers"-right here in the United States!-advocating a doctrine of hatred against these same people!

And, believe it or not, some of the more fanatical of this lot are suggesting that the true Christian should be willing and ready to wage war against the Jews!

One particularly outspoken "seed of Satan" preacher stated in a message before a live audience: "I can never love a Jew, not in a million years; and he'll never love me. There's an inborn enmity between us. We hate each other with a purple passion. I've read the last chapter of this book [the Bible], and we win, we win, with ... a purple hatred, a purple-passion hatred."

The preacher boasted of how he is not afraid to curse the Jews. "I call them the bastard sons of Satan that they are," he said; "kinky-haired, beady-eyed, forked-tongued little bastards...."

He told of how he had said to his wife: "I doubt seriously if I die of old age.... I'm going to die in a bloodbath, gun battle, some day, but I'm going to take a lot of them damn' Jews down with me when I go."

He even seemed to suggest that wielding the sword against Jewry is a Christian duty. He stated: "I pity the minister who stands before Yahweh God with a clean, shiny, polished sword in his hand. When I stand before Him, I want notches on my sword, lots of them. And I want blood on it, enemies' blood."

The preacher adamantly insisted that Jews cannot become Christians, and will never enter the Kingdom of God. He stated that God Himself has promoted and perpetuated the hatred that supposedly exists between the Jews and White ("Adamite") Christians.

You may find it hard to believe that a professing-Christian minister could stand up in a pulpit somewhere in the United States and spout such hate-mongering nonsense; nevertheless, it's true! The above quotations were taken from excerpts of two taped messages given in October and November of 1990.

Some seedline preachers seem less malevolent than the one quoted above, though their doctrine still appeals to the prejudices of certain people. Dan Gayman, for instance, of the "Church of Israel," headquartered in Schell City, Missouri, writes: "Remember that God created all the races separately and distinctly, that He has a plan and purpose for every race, and that you should harbor hatred toward none of God's creation" (The Watchman, Summer, 1989, p. 26).

This seems to be in line with the teachings of genuine Christianity. Yet, notice what the same author wrote in the Summer, 1988 edition of The Watchman: "Is it not plain now for you to see that those people who have the Talmud as their Bible and the Synagogue as their temple, who have Lucifer as their God and usury as their economic weapon in this world, are indeed an evil people because they come from the fountain head of evil? Are you not able to see that they have always been a vagabond and fugitive race because they inherited these genetic qualities from Cain? ... Do you not understand why they have always been the shopkeepers, merchants, and bankers of all the nations and not the farmers and tillers of the land? When you build the genetic link to these people back to Cain, you have all the answers just as close by as your nearest Bible" (p. 27).

Such a teaching can only arouse bigotry, hatred; give people with anti-Semitic inclinations an "excuse" for their prejudice. But, hopefully, all will admit that if the teaching is not true-if the "seed of Satan" doctrine is not in agreement with the Word of God-then it obviously has NO PLACE in Christianity! It should be-must be-cast out as the ungodly, hate-mongering, DAMNABLE HERESY that it is!

Herein you will find undeniable proof that the "serpent's seed" teaching stands in bold contradiction to the clear and simple TRUTH of your Bible! But first, let's briefly review the basic premise of this doctrine.

"...Thy Seed and Her Seed"

Seedline preachers claim that Genesis 3:15 lies at the very foundation of scriptural truth. It is held up as "probably the single most important verse in the Holy Scriptures" (Charles Lee Mange, The Two Seeds of Genesis 3:15, p. 4), and is said to be "the KEY to the grand truth of the Holy and Sacred Scriptures" (ibid.). It is called "the seed plot of all scripture," and its "proper understanding" is said to be "vital to the total pattern of discerning all scripture" (ibid. p. 12), and necessary "to a mature understanding of Scripture or the World Situation" (ibid. p. 13).

In Genesis 3:15, God says, "And I will put enmity between thee [the "serpent," or Satan] and the woman [Eve], and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel."

Seedline proponents argue that if "her seed" (Eve's legitimate posterity) is a literal, flesh-and-blood race, then "thy seed" (Satan's progeny) must also be a literal, flesh-and-blood race. We are inconsistent in our interpretation, we are told, if we say that one "seed" is literal and the other is spiritual, or symbolic.

Thus, two races came from Eve-one by Satan, the other by Adam. Adam's descendants, through Seth, are said to be the "holy people" who have proclivities toward righteousness and good deeds; while Satan's descendants, through Cain, have the characteristics of the father of their race.

As you might imagine, the "forbidden fruit" (Genesis 3:6) Eve partook of was not an apple! It was, we are told, illicit sexual relations with the Devil.

According to the teaching, the "tree of the knowledge of good and evil" represents the serpent, or Satan; the Hebrew word translated "eat" can be rendered "lay"; the word "food" refers to sex; "fruit" implies offspring, or the "seed" that produces offspring.

Thus, Genesis 3:6 may be interpreted this way: "And when the woman saw that Satan was good for sex, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a serpent to be desired to make one wise [note: sex and wisdom are related in pagan religions], she took of the seed thereof, and did lay..."

Cain and Abel (Genesis 4:1-2), we are told, were twins, but had different fathers. Satan was the father of Cain; Adam was the father of Abel. "Two seeds" proponents point out that it is possible for twins to have different fathers.

The serpent's seedline began with Cain, survived the Flood through one or more of Noah's daughters-in-law, and continued through the Canaanites and related peoples. In the time of Jesus, they were found among the Pharisees, and in the world today, they are known as Jews, who seedline preachers say are counterfeits of the true House of Judah.

Proponents of this doctrine play hop-scotch through the Scriptures, seeking out words and phrases that seem supportive of their belief. They point to Matthew 3:7, where John the Baptist calls the Pharisees and Sadducees a "generation [race] of vipers [serpents]"; to Matthew 23, where Jesus calls the scribes and Pharisees "serpents," a "generation of vipers," and "children of them which killed the prophets."

They frequently cite John 8:44, where Jesus, speaking to a group of Jews, says, "Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do." They claim that it was this "counterfeit bastard seedline" who cried out, "Let Him [Jesus] be crucified!" (Matthew 27:22-23), and who said, "His blood be on us, and on our children" (verse 26).

One of the most frequent scriptural references appearing in seedline publications is I John 3:12, which speaks of "Cain, who was of that wicked one...." Another is John 10:26, where Jesus says to the Jews, "But ye believe not, because you are not of my sheep...."

They also trace the Devil's seedline through the Old Testament. They seem especially fond of passages such as Zechariah 14:21, which foretells the time when "there shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of the LORD of hosts"; and Obadiah 18, which speaks of a time when "there shall not be any remaining of the house of Esau."

To this latter verse, the afore-mentioned preacher added his commentary: "Praise God," he said; "when this thing finally goes down, you'll search this kingdom over and you will not find one single solitary Jew left anywhere, because God has spoken it."

We could cite many other scriptures seedline preachers commonly use as proof texts, but the above should give you a sufficiently clear picture of their doctrinal position and of the prejudice and hatred that so obviously underlies their position.

Prejudice and hatred are by no means rare in the world in which we live. Chances are, some of you reading this article have had, at one time or another, negative feelings toward people of racial or ethnic origins different from your own. Perhaps some of you have feelings strong enough that you could be easily influenced by the "seed of Satan" teaching. If so, realize that such feelings can actually blind you to the truth of the revealed Word of God!

So lay aside whatever prejudices you may have, now, as we put this seedline doctrine to the acid test of Holy Scripture! It's time we stopped allowing our feelings-our prejudices, our animosities, our biases-to shape and form our beliefs! It's time we start letting the Bible give us our beliefs, and stop trying to read our own ideas into the Bible!

It's time we understood the TRUTH of this matter!

Who was Cain's Father?

As stated above, seedline preachers claim that Cain and Abel were fraternal twins begotten of different fathers. Cain, said to be Satan's son, was begotten first, before his twin brother Abel, the son of Adam. Advocates of the doctrine say that this agrees perfectly with Genesis 4:1-2.

But first, before we examine this passage, let's define two important terms: exegesis and eisegesis. Simply stated, exegesis is the use of those interpretational principles whereby one derives information from a specific text. Eisegesis, on the other hand, is the reading of one's own concepts and ideas into a specific text.

As anyone should be able to see, the use of eisegesis in interpreting the Scriptures can only lead to blatant error!

With this in mind, let's see if we can determine what Genesis 4:1-2 really says.

"And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD. And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of the sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground."

Notice that this passage does not tell us that Cain and Abel were fraternal twins. Just as we are not told how much time passed before Cain and Abel took up their occupations of "keeper of sheep" and "tiller of the ground," we are not told how much time passed between the births of the two boys. The "fraternal twins" theory is just that-a theory!

The passage does tell us that Cain was the son of ADAM! Notice that (1) Adam "knew" Eve (all biblical scholars agree that the word "knew," in this case, denotes a sexual union), (2) Eve conceived, and (3) Eve gave birth to Cain.

Eve conceived after Adam "knew" her, and a male child, Cain, resulted from that union! This is what the passage clearly says, and this is the ONLY natural way to understand it! (The same sequence-(1) sexual union, (2) conception, (3) birth-is found in verse 17, and all agree on who is the father!)

The only way to make Cain the son of anyone other than Adam is to read into the passage something that is not there! This is eisegesis, and, as we have noted, eisegesis is a sure road to FALSE DOCTRINE!

Now, let's see yet another example of how seedline preachers pervert the true meaning of the Holy Scriptures.

As we have noted, seedline preachers claim that the "tree of the knowledge of good and evil" represents Satan the devil. We have also noted that they insist upon "consistency" in interpreting the symbols and terms we find in the Scriptures. Yet, they are notoriously inconsistent in applying their own rule!

Notice how the word "tree[s]" is used in Genesis 3:1-3:

"Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every TREE of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the TREES of the garden: But of the fruit of the TREE which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die."

If the "tree which is in the midst of the garden" represents something other than a tree, as seedline preachers claim, then shouldn't they stick to their rule of "consistency" and insist that all the "trees of the garden" represent something other than trees? In fact, doesn't "consistency" demand that the fruit bearing trees of the garden represent living beings on the same order as the Devil?

And what of the word "fruit"? If the "fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden" is interpreted as the serpent's offspring-producing "seed," shouldn't all other references to "fruit" in this section of Scripture be interpreted accordingly?

Further, if "eat" means "lay"-thus carrying sexual connotations-then what are we to do with Genesis 2:16-17, where God tells Adam that he may "freely eat" of "every tree of the garden" except the "tree of the knowledge of good and evil"? And what are we going to do with the third chapter, where this word appears fifteen times?

Why not look this word up in a concordance, and see how it is used in the second and third chapters of Genesis? You will find that it cannot possibly mean anything but "eat"!

Surely any unbiased student of the Holy Scriptures can see the folly in the seedline preachers' interpretational methods!

There can be little doubt that some amount of symbolism can be found in the Genesis account, but the idea that Genesis 3:6 is a description of an illicit sexual relationship involving Eve and the Devil is a classic example of eisegesis-reading one's own ideas into a specific text!

A natural reading of the text leaves no room for the idea that the "serpent" and the "tree" are one and the same; no room for the idea that Eve's affair with the serpent in any way involved sex.

Clearly, the "seed of Satan" finds no support in the Genesis account. We can only conclude that the doctrine is the bastard offspring of those seduced by the malignant HATRED that comes in the guise of "righteousness"!

According to seedline preachers, the unfortunate progeny of the "spurious counterfeit seedline" behave wickedly because they have been genetically programmed to behave that way. They are utterly helpless to behave any other way.

The "holy" seedline-beginning with Adam, and continuing through Seth, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, etc.-on the other hand, have an inborn proclivity toward righteousness and good works. They are the true, genetically "pure," Israelites (or "Adamites") who accepted Christianity, who recognized the voice of their Shepherd and followed Him. Today, they are the White, Anglo-Saxon, Celtic, Lombardic, Germanic, Scandinavian, Slavonic, and Kindred peoples.

The outspoken preacher quoted near the beginning of this article described this group as God's "...royal priesthood, his prize possession, his dynasty of priests." He advised his audience to engage in "fruit inspection" in order to find out "who's who, and who's Jew"-for the two seedlines, we are told, can be distinguished by their "fruits."

Gayman writes: "Just as the true seed of Abraham, descended through Isaac and Jacob-Israel, has always displayed a proclivity toward acceptance of Jesus Christ, confirmed a belief in the Bible, has sought to build churches and embrace the faith of Christianity, so have the children of Satan, the seedline of evil sought to battle against Jesus Christ, wrestle and fight against the Bible, wear down and destroy Christianity, and seek the ruin and demise of Christian culture from this earth. A bit of simple logic will tell you that if good and positive things have been sought by the true seed of Abraham, then negative and evil programs have been the inspiration of those who are the counterfeit seed of Abraham" (The Watchman, Summer, 1988, p. 25).

The "genetics" message comes across loud and clear. We can determine who the genetically defective "seed of the serpent" are by simply looking at their "fruits"-their works, or deeds. And, we are told, we must realize that they cannot "change their spots," cannot turn to God in true repentance. Their "genetic incoding"-inherited from their father the Devil-simply will not permit it.

If this is true, then we should not be able to find any evidence in Scripture that Cain or any of his descendants could have changed for the better. But we do find such evidence!

Notice Genesis 4:3-7: "And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: But unto Cain and of his offering He had no respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.

"And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted [margin: lifted up]? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him [margin: resist sin]."

The New American Standard Bible renders the latter portion of verse 7 this way: "And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it."

If Cain could not help but commit sin--if he was bound by his "genetic incoding," and could only do what he had been programmed to do-then WHY did God admonish Him to DO BETTER, and to MASTER ANY DESIRE TO COMMIT SIN? If Cain had no choice in the matter, then God's admonition would have been pointless!

Clearly, Cain was not locked into some pattern of behavior predetermined by his "genetic incoding"! True, he went on to murder his brother, but he did have a choice in the matter-it was not a matter of genetics!

Moreover, if the so-called "holy seed" have proclivities opposite those of the "wicked seed," then why did the House of Israel fail so miserably? Why did the descendants of Jacob-Israel turn to evil time after time?

You would think that a people with proclivities toward righteousness would respond positively to God, especially after having seen the mighty miracles He did in Egypt, and after having escaped into the wilderness by way of a miraculous opening in the Red Sea. But after witnessing these marvelous miracles, hardly any time had passed before they turned to idolatry (Exodus 32).

It would seem that a people with a natural inclination toward faith and good works would delight in hearing the voice of God, and would be overjoyed to receive His commandments (see Deuteronomy 5). But such was not the case with the "holy seed" of Israel. Their negative attitude and lack of faith brought a most revealing response from God: " O that there were such an heart in them," He said, "that they would fear me, and keep my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever!" (verse 29).

If the true descendants of Jacob-Israel always had a proclivity toward accepting Christianity, building churches, and believing the Bible, then why did the vast majority of them stumble at the "Stumblingstone" (Romans 9:31-33); why were they called a "disobedient and gainsaying people" (Romans 10:21; Isaiah 65:1-2); why did the majority of them "fall," leaving only a remnant (Romans 11) to form the foundation of the New Testament church?

And if the Israelites have always had a greater proclivity toward accepting Christianity than non-Israelite races, how do we explain the fact that once Paul's ministry was well underway, more non-Israelites than Israelites were converted to Christianity? And why do we find, in the very end of the age, the conversion of 144,000 Israelites, compared with an innumerable multitude-perhaps hundreds of thousands-"...of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues" (Revelation 7:4-9)?

Where is the evidence of this so-called "genetic incoding" that causes Shem's descendants to behave one way and Canaan's descendants to behave another way? The truth is, no such evidence exists! Throughout much of their history, the children of Israel seemed all too eager to embrace the ways of the heathen-to erect idols, commit whoredom, forget God's holy law!

It may be true that different races have (to some extent) different inborn proclivities, but when measured against the standards of God's law of righteousness, every race comes up short! And if not for the GRACE OF GOD, none of us would stand a chance!

That's why Paul could say, "For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon Him" (Romans 10:12).

Can Angels Marry?

Seedline advocates often point to Genesis the sixth chapter as "proof" that angelic beings can (or could, before the Flood) cohabit with women and engender children.

Let's read a portion of the text, and see if the theory holds up.

"And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose" (verses 1-2).

Seedline preachers tell us that the "sons of God" were angels-in this case, fallen angels, or demons, who were merely following along in the talon-tracks of their diabolical leader. They assume that because the expression "sons of God" is used of angels a few times in the Old Testament, it must be speaking of angels in this passage.

However, they entirely overlook the fact that the expression "sons of God" (or "children of God") is used far more often of HUMAN BEINGS-particularly God fearing human beings-than of angels. Further, it never seems to occur to seedline proponents that "sons of God" is hardly an appropriate expression for demonic spirits!

If we understand "sons of God" to mean God-fearing human beings, then the major theme of the chapter becomes crystal clear: God-fearing men married the daughters of men who did not fear God. This led to less God-fearing and more of the opposite-until, finally, there were no God-fearing people left, except for Noah (please read the entire chapter).

The origin of the "giants" (Hebrew: nephilim) mentioned in verse 4 is not clear. The verse seems to say that they were on the earth before the "sons of God" took wives of the "daughters of men." Whether this is correct or not, there is certainly no reason to believe that the nephilim were half-human/half-angel creatures. A simple concordant study of the word will show that nephilim-"giants"-were still on the earth long after the Flood.

After considering the facts-after accepting what the text does say, and dismissing what it does not say-we find no support for the "angels married women" theory. Our position is further strengthened by Jesus' statement that the "children of the resurrection" shall be "like the angels" in that they "neither marry, nor are given in marriage: Neither can they die anymore" (Luke 20:35-36). Angels are "asexual" in nature.

Clearly, Genesis the sixth chapter provides no support for the "seed of Satan" doctrine!

Seedline preachers claim that the "spurious counterfeit seedline" survived the Flood-apparently through one or more of Noah's daughters-in-law-and later made its presence known in the descendants of Canaan and related peoples.

But there are some major problems with this theory!

First, if genetic corruption and its resultant spread of wickedness was the primary cause of the Flood, as some seem to think, then why did God allow the wicked seedline to find its way aboard the.ark?

Second, since Noah and his wife and sons were genetically "pure," the serpent's lineage had to have been carried on through Noah's daughters-in-law (which means that they were genetically "impure"). But, unfortunate for seedliners, this theory crumbles in the light of Genesis 9:1:

"And God BLESSED Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth."

In verse 7, He again states, "And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein."

Now, had Noah's sons been in unlawful marriages (unlawful according to the seedline doctrine) with descendants of Cain, then surely God would NOT have BLESSED them; would not have commanded them to be fruitful and multiply in the earth-for GOD DOES NOT BLESS UNLAWFUL UNIONS!

In spite of the evidence, seedline advocates still find a way to trace the serpent's lineage through the Flood and into the line of Canaan, son of Ham. Their time could be much better spent by following a simple piece of advice:

"[Do not] give heed to fables and [Greek; "in"] endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith" (I Timothy 1:4).

Seedline preachers point to the curse Noah placed upon Canaan (Genesis 9:25-27), and to the many scriptures carrying unfavorable remarks about the Canaanites, as evidence that the Devil's seedline emerged on this side of the Flood in Canaan's lineage.

As stated previously, Zechariah 14:21 seems to be a favorite scripture of certain seedline proponents.

The latter part of the verse reads, "...and in that day [when the Kingdom of God is established on this earth] there shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of the LORD of hosts."

Does this mean that the descendants of Canaan will be exterminated?

In verse 16, same chapter, God says, "And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations [the non-Israelite peoples] which came up against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles."

Here we find that non-Israelite peoples-including Egyptians (verse 18)-will worship the true God in the true Way once the Kingdom of God is in place in this earth. But what about the descendants of Canaan? Does verse 21 rule out the possibility that Canaanites will be among the true worshipers? Are Canaanites incapable of repentance, as seedline preachers claim? Or is there scriptural evidence that God will hear the prayers of Canaanites, and will respond positively to their faith?

We find the answer in Matthew 15:21-28:

"Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto Him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil [demon]. But He answered her not a word. And His disciples came and besought Him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us.

"But He answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Then came she and worshipped Him, saying, Lord, help me. But He answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs.

"And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table. Then Jesus answered and said unto her, 0 woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour."

Seedline preachers naturally focus on Jesus' declaration that He was sent only to the House of Israel, and on His use of the word "dogs."

But did Jesus' comments have anything to do with "genetic purity"?

No! He was simply showing that the "children" to which the promises were given came first-that is, the Gospel of the Kingdom of God must go first to the "children of the kingdom," the people of Israel. But many other scriptures show that the promises given to Abraham were not to be restricted to Abraham's physical lineage.

Doubtless, Matthew included this account in his Gospel in order to show his Jewish readers-many of whom were biased toward Gentiles-that Christ responds positively to the faith of anyone, regardless of race or lineage, and that the grace of God knows no genetic boundaries.

Notice that Matthew used the word Canaan. Interestingly, he could have used some other word, but he chose this one. Why? Since the Canaanites were the age-old enemies of Israel, Matthew must have known that the inclusion of this word would magnify the lesson of God's grace and willingness to respond to true faith.

This account should lay to rest once and for all the idea that Canaanites cannot express true faith.

Zechariah 14:21, then, does not mean that God will destroy all the physical descendants of Canaan. Evidently, the expression "Canaanite," as used in this passage, was a term used of idolatrous people, regardless of lineage just as "Sodomite" was used of something other than "citizen of Sodom," and just as "Babylon" and "Egypt" were used metaphorically of nations and peoples having characteristics similar to those of the ancient cities. (See Deuteronomy 23:17; Revelation 11:8; 14:8.)

The "Canaanites" spoken of in Zechariah 14 are described in Revelation 21:27: "And there shall in no wise enter into it [the holy city] any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life"-and that has nothing to do with genetics!

Let's now turn our attention to those passages in the New Testament that are commonly used by seedline proponents to "prove" that many of the Jews of Jesus' day were part of the spurious seedline extending all the way back to Cain.

In view of what we have seen thus far, it is obvious that expressions such as "serpents" and "generation of vipers" (see Matthew 3:7; 23:29-35) have nothing to do with lineage. Rather, these terms describe certain behavioral characteristics.

Yet, seedline advocates seem completely blind to the clear and simple truth.

They point to Matthew 27:22-25, for instance, and insist that those Jews who cried "CRUCIFY HIM!" and who said, "His blood be on us, and on our children," were the counterfeits whose father was the Devil-the descendants of Judah through Shuah the Canaanite.

But notice what the apostle Peter said to the assembled crowd on the Day of Pentecost: `Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom YE have crucified, both Lord and Christ" (Acts 2:36).

Who crucified Jesus? Was it the counterfeits of the true Israel, the "spurious bastard seedline"?

No! The REAL descendants of Jacob-Israel did it, or at least had a part in it! Some of the very same people who had shouted "Crucify Him!" REPENTED on that Day of Pentecost, and received God's Holy Spirit! They became members of the New Testament Church of God!

Notice their response to Peter's powerful message:

"Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

"For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.

"Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls" (verses 37-41).

Prior to that time, these Jews had been duped by the political minded religious leaders, who had accused Jesus of being a blasphemer who had threatened to destroy the Temple, and a revolutionary who intended to lead a bloody revolt against the Romans. When they learned the truth about Jesus-learned of His true identity as the promised Messiah-they were "pricked in their hearts," having realized what they had done.

The fact is, these people did turn to God in heart-rending repentance; they did accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior; and they did continue in the faith, even in the face of persecution. The idea that they were a race of genetic freaks incapable of repentance flatly contradicts the Word of God!

The same kind of absurdity is found in the seedliners' interpretation of John 8:44, where Jesus said to a group of Jews, "Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do." These are said to be the "genetically programmed" progeny of the Devil who could not help but imitate their father.

But notice verses 31-32: "Then said Jesus to those Jews [the same group] which believed on Him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."

Obviously, if repentance and conversion had been completely impossible for these people, Jesus would not have spoken these words to them. It is quite possible that some of them later became members of the New Testament church. This seems to be suggested in Jesus' statement, "And ye shall know the truth...." Perhaps some of them were converted on the Day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was given.

Counterfeit Jews

If you have carefully read the above material, having checked each scriptural reference along the way, you should be able to see clearly that the Jews of Jesus' day-including the scribes and Pharisees-were real Jews. They were for the most part descendants of the southern kingdom, the House of Judah.

But we are told of a group of counterfeit Jews, who lived in Asia Minor during the latter part of the first century. We read of them in Revelation 2:9:

To the church in Smyrna, Christ said, "I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan." (see also Revelation 3:9.)

Who were these people? Were they Canaanites in disguise? Are they still with us today?

It is not possible to identify these people precisely; we are not given enough information about them. However, we do know that Satan the Devil was behind their evil deeds (verse 9), that it was a time of intense persecution upon the church (verses 9-10), and that Satan was the source behind the persecution of the saints at Smyrna.

We also know, through history, that Smyrna was a wealthy city; yet, the church there was impoverished (verse 9). This poverty may have been the result of sanctions against the Christians in the city-perhaps because of their refusal to engage in the highly esteemed worship of the emperor.

It is likely that hostile Jews acted as "watchdogs" for the officials, and were thus responsible for bringing much persecution upon the church.

Thus, these "watchdog" Jews "say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan." This should be understood in the light of Romans 2:28-29: "For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God."

The hostile Jews of Smyrna were only Jews according to the flesh, but were not true Jews-not Jews inwardly-for their adversarial behavior was completely contrary to the standard of conduct God had given to the descendants of Abraham.

Now, consider this: A Christian is a "spiritual Israelite" (or "spiritual Jew"), regardless his lineage (see Galatians 3:7, 29). But if one who professes Christianity preaches a doctrine of hatred, then he is teaching a FALSE and DANGEROUS doctrine-a doctrine completely contrary to the great Law revealed through Moses and magnified by Jesus Christ-and is therefore not a true Israelite. In effect, he says he is a Jew, but is NOT! (Note: Though all Israelites are not Jews-i.e., not descendants of the House of Judah-the terms "Israel" and "Jews" are often used interchangeably in the New Testament.)

Which group, then, best fits the description of those who "say they are Jews, but are not": the many thousands of Jews who are pleased to live side-by-side with people of ethnic and racial origins different from their own? Or the fanatics who call themselves "Christian Israelites," yet preach a doctrine of virulent hatred and a "gospel" of salvation by race?

The preacher who said that it's time Christians engage in "fruit inspection" to find out "who's who, and who's Jew" should take a long, hard look at his own produce-he might find that he's been cursing the wrong tree!

Literature and taped messages produced by "seed of Satan" preachers are usually filled with ridiculous, monstrously false statements and interpretations of Scripture. Myths are used to support myths!

In Numbers "1" through "7" below, you will find statements (in quotations) that are either directly quoted from seedline material, or are representative of the kinds of statements commonly made by advocates of the doctrine.

(1) "He [Satan] did not have the power of Creation but he did have the power of Pro-Creation" (The Two Seeds of Genesis 3:15, p. 40).

If the Devil had no power to create, then how did he procreate? In order to do so, he had to transform himself into a physical being with functional reproductive organs. Since spirit beings do not have such organs, Satan, in becoming a physical creature, had to CREATE them (i.e., make them; bring them into existence). He had to create living sperm cells, or he would not have been able to procreate. If he could do all that, surely he could create a whole man, or even a multitude of men, all made in his own image! (Does this sound like an idea for a brand new doctrine?)

The truth of the matter is that there is not the slightest indication in Scripture that the Devil ever had the power to create or to procreate! So why not reject the idea as the ridiculous nonsense that it is?

(2) "God's law of `kind after his kind' was broken when Cain was begotten."

God put within each of the creatures He created the capability to reproduce "after its kind" (see Genesis 1). But this "kind after his kind" law is not a law that can be broken! In reproduction, frogs require frogs, cats require cats-but frogs CANNOT crossbreed with cats! Sperm cells from one will not fertilize egg cells from the other.

Statements such as the one above (number "2") exemplify the absurdity of seedline "theology."

(3) "Today the entire world wanders after this counterfeit spurious seedline and worships them as the CHOSEN PEOPLE OF GOD when in truth they are the anti-Christ Canaanite Jews descended from Satan" (The Two Seeds of Genesis 3:15, p. 7).

The world worships the Jews? Is that why the Jews have been driven from one country to another? Is that why they have been hated, persecuted? Is that why hate-mongers have tried to exterminate them?

Seedline preachers claim, on the one hand, that the fact that the Jews have suffered so much rejection is proof that they are Cain's descendants, for Cain was to be a "fugitive and a vagabond" (Genesis 4:12) in the earth. Yet, on the other hand, some of the same people make statements like the one above, claiming that the world worships the Jews. What a contradiction!

(4)  Salvation was never promised to any race other than the holy seed descended from Adam."

The above argument is right about one thing: Salvation was never promised to any race but Adam's. Of course, all families and races came from Adam-yes, including the Jews! Moreover, if salvation were for only one of the races of man, John 3:16 would be, to say the least, a gross exaggeration. The passage reads, "For God so loved the WORLD, that He gave His only begotten Son, that WHOSOEVER believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

(5) "In I John 3:12, the apostle John said plainly that 'Cain ... was of that wicked one.' Try to spiritualize that one away!"

Let's not "spiritualize" the verse away; rather, let's try to understand what it means. If we say it means that Satan was the father (literally) of Cain, then we are reading into the passage an idea that is not there. In context, John is speaking of the "children of God" and the "children of the Devil" (verse 10). Did he mean "spiritual children" in one case and "fleshly children" in the other. Obviously not; the expression "of that wicked one" is synonymous with "of the world" (I John 4:6), just as "of God" (4:4, 6) is synonymous with "of the truth" (I John 3:19). It is abundantly clear that none of these expressions have anything to do with genetics!

(6) "The Book of Enoch was accepted as authoritative by the Church Fathers. This book tells of how the angels took wives of the daughters of men and engendered offspring."

The First Book of Enoch, or Ethiopic Book of Enoch, is a JEWISH pseudepigraphal work which, according to The New Encyclopaedia Britannica, "...is a compilation of several separate works, most of which are apocalyptic," and "...may have originated with or been influenced by the Essene community of Jews at Qumran. No fragments of the longest portion of the work (chapters 37-71), however, were found among the Qumran writings. This has led scholars to theorize that this section was perhaps written in the 2nd century AD by a Jewish Christian who wished to imbue his own eschatological speculations with the authority of Enoch, and added his work to four older apocryphal Enoch writings" (Volume 4, p. 506).

The visible church of the second century-or a portion of it-may have accepted the work as authoritative, but it was not added to the Canon of Scripture. Several of the theological views of its author, whose true identity is unknown, do not agree with the teachings of Christ and His apostles-so there are no good reasons to accept the document as canonical text, and plenty of good reasons not to accept it.

It is interesting that those who point the finger of condemnation at the Jews are willing to accept an ancient JEWISH document containing JEWISH fables-in spite of Paul's admonition to avoid "giving heed to Jewish fables" (Titus 1:1014)!

Doubtless, had "Enoch" not included the fable about unions between angels and women, seedline proponents would not accept the work as authoritative.

(7) "There is an inborn enmity between Jews and true Christians."

No, the enmity that exists between some Jews and some "Christians" is not inborn-it was learned! Fortunately, the enmity can be removed; but unfortunately, few people, once infected, ever recover from this malignant disease. We do not expect this brochure to cause the "seed of Satan" preachers to stop spreading their hate-mongering doctrine-but perhaps we can prevent them from transforming a few unwitting little ones into "twofold more the children of Gehenna" than themselves!

The Bible is replete with warnings against false teachers who come proclaiming a doctrine or way of life contrary to the teachings of Christ and His apostles. Some come teaching an antinomian doctrine, claiming the Ten Commandments have been done away. Some come proclaiming a Christ who never claimed divinity, or who pre-existed as an archangel. Some come proclaiming a "Christianity" sprinkled with pagan myths.

And some come preaching MUCH TRUTH! These, no doubt, are the most dangerous to the Church of God-for the truth they hold is their doorway into the sheepfold!

Believe it or not, some "two seeds" and "Israel identity" groups observe the seventh-day Sabbath, the annual feasts and holy days; reject pagan holidays; believe in the laws of clean and unclean meats; believe that the Anglo-Saxon, Celtic, and Kindred peoples of the United States and many Western European nations are the descendants of the "lost ten tribes" of Israel.

Yet, along with all this truth, they preach a doctrine of hatred, and make God out to be a racist!

The Church of God, (The British-Israel Church of God as well) REJECTS the "seed of Satan" doctrine and all the abominable nonsense that goes with it! We believe-on the AUTHORITY of the infallible WORD OF GOD-that the true church is made up of people from all races! We welcome into our fellowship people from a great diversity of racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds; and will not tolerate the circulation of false doctrines such as the one described in this brochure within our congregations.

We do not mean to imply that all seedline preachers deliberately incite hatred; nor do we think that everyone who holds the "seed of Satan" concept is a White supremist. In fact, there are a few Black racists who claim that all light-skinned people are the genetic progeny of the Devil. And, no doubt, there are some Jewish racists who attach similar labels to people not of their own kind.

Regardless their racial or ethnic heritage, the time will come when all hate-mongering racists will be cast into the same "pot"-and in that place they'll all look alike!

After seeing just how senseless the "seed of Stan" doctrine is, and how easily it can be refuted, it may come as a surprise that some of the people involved in the spreading of this doctrine are otherwise intelligent people! No doubt, some of them are capable of scoring exceedingly high on an IQ test, and have earned impressive degrees from colleges and universities.

Yet, as we have seen in this brochure, the doctrine is so blatantly contradictory to the simple truth of God's Word that anyone of average ability should be able to refute it!

How, then, do intelligent people come to embrace such a teaching? The answer is vital to our understanding, and can help us avoid falling blindly into the trap of deception.

The reason intelligent people sometimes fall for hatemongering doctrines such as the one described herein is this: Powerful feelings such as hatred, jealousy, and resentful bitterness completely overshadow intelligence! No matter how high your IQ; no matter the degree of your academic excellence, the powerful emotions involved in bigotry and prejudice can bring on spiritual blindness and LEAD YOU DOWN THE PATH OF DESTRUCTION!

If, therefore, there is any bitterness, any feelings of hatred or resentment toward any other human being or any other ethnic or racial group, it's time to take control of those feelings; it's time to lay them aside!

"Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tender hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you" (Ephesians 4:31-32). After seeing just how senseless the "seed of Satan" doctrine.

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