DAILY TEXT, From today Saturday, January 6, 2024, I will cause enmity between you and the woman (Gen. 3:15).

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Saturday January 6

I will cause enmity between you and the woman (Gen. 3:15).

Shortly after Adam and Eve sinned, Jehovah gave hope to their descendants through a remarkable prophecy. We can find what he said in Genesis 3:15: “I will cause enmity between you and the woman, and between your descendants and her descendants. He will crush your head, and you will bruise his heel.” This prophecy is found in the first book of the Bible. And somehow all the other books relate to her. Just as the spine of a book holds all its pages together, the words of Genesis 3:15 hold all the books of the Bible together and convey the same message. What message is that? That God would send a Savior to put an end to the Devil and all his evil followers. This message is wonderful for those of us who love Jehovah! Studying the Bible will allow us to see how this prophecy has been fulfilled and how it helps us today. w22.07 14 paras. 1-3.

Who is “the serpent,” and how do we know?

In Genesis 3:14, 15 there is mention of a “serpent”, the “offspring” of that serpent, a “woman” and the “offspring” of that woman. Thanks to the Bible, we can know the identity of these characters.c Let's start with “the serpent.” It couldn't be a real snake because it wouldn't have understood the sentence that Jehovah passed in the Garden of Eden. He had to be an intelligent being. And the Bible shows us clearly who he is. Revelation 12:9 says that “the original serpent” is Satan, the Devil. And who is the offspring of the serpent?

Who forms the offspring of the serpent?

When the Bible uses the word “offspring” in a symbolic sense, it refers to those who imitate the thinking and behavior of their symbolic father. So the offspring of the serpent are made up of spiritual beings and humans who oppose Jehovah and his people, just as Satan does. Among them are the angels who abandoned their post in heaven in the days of Noah and evil human beings who act like their father, the Devil (Gen. 6:1, 2; John 8:44; 1 John 5:19; Jude 6).

Why can't Eve be “the woman” of Genesis 3:15?

Let's now find out who “the woman” is. Could it be Eve? No. Let's think about this. The prophecy says that the woman's offspring would crush the head of the serpent. As we already saw, the serpent is a spiritual being, Satan. Therefore, it is impossible for an imperfect human being, a descendant of Eve, to destroy Satan. So something more is needed.

How does Revelation 12:1, 2, 5, 10 help us identify the woman of Genesis 3:15?

The last book of the Bible tells us who the woman in Genesis 3:15 is (read Revelation 12:1, 2, 5, 10). She is not a woman of flesh and blood. She has the moon under her feet and on her head she wears a crown of 12 stars. Furthermore, she gives birth to a very special son, the Kingdom of God. Since the Kingdom is heavenly, women have to be too. She represents the heavenly part of Jehovah's organization, which is made up of faithful spiritual beings (Gal. 4:26).

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