It’s not surprising to find so many people laughing at some of the things Christians believe. When you consider that a serpent spoke to Eve, the idea seems almost fairy tale like, a story for children. How about a talking donkey? And the existence of unicorns? This article is beginning to read more ridiculous by the sentence, some may wonder surely these accounts can’t be real.
The Bible warns: 2nd Peter 3:3 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts. What so many non-Christians seem to miss is that the Bible is inspired of God, it’s not humans simply writing down their own thoughts and ideas, they were chosen and directed by the Creator of everything; a supernatural being with powers that our minds can’t even begin to comprehend, a God Almighty. Secular education promotes the idea that everything came about from a big bang, and that the supernatural is a myth, so it’s no wonder Bible scriptures are hard to swallow when they have been taught these things.
Let’s first consider the ‘talking snake’ in the Garden of Eden. This creature has been the butt of many jokes, and no wonder people laugh at the idea, a talking snake does sound like good comedy. Various translations of the Bible call this creature a serpent, some a snake. The fact is the serpent (or snake) was not so much talking, it was being used by a controller and manipulated. But whether it was a snake or serpent, it was Satan who deceived Eve. We don’t know what type of serpent or snake Satan used, maybe it was a kind that has since long become extinct, or is still with us today but looks nothing like it did in Eden (because God changed parts of its physical form when He cursed the creature), during the time when the first lie was recorded in the Bible. One thing is certain, this moment in the earliest part of human history changed everything, through one man sin entered into the world and sin brought death: Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
It’s interesting that when God learns of what this serpent, used by Satan, did to Eve and Adam, He said: Genesis 3:14 So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, “Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. The fact that God curses the creature from that point on, and states that it will crawl on its belly is very curious. Does this perhaps mean that this animal did actually walk on legs before it was cursed? Interestingly, there have been found fossils showing certain snakes had legs, one in particular was found in Brazil (now extinct) and is called Tetrapodophis amplectus (four legged snake). It’s believed this was a type of lizard/snake, that walked on four limbs. The problem with this fossil is the claim of it dating back millions of years, but in Biblical creation terms it would be from a period of approximately 6000 years ago, and likely fosilised in the flood of Noah.

Today you can find lizards that very closely resemble snakes, and they have four limbs, with many snakes still retaining hind legs (although these are claimed to be vestigial). The Italian Skink, which is a very snake-like lizard, has four legs; but these limbs are pretty much useless for walking on. There are other types of lizards with similar limbs too, the Three Toed Skink being another kind. Apart from the issue regarding snakes with legs before the curse from God, what about the talking?

Most people have heard a parrot speak, and anyone who’s heard the Lyrebird would have likely been in awe as they listened to it mimic closely, almost exactly like, the sounds from it’s environment. These birds have been created with an amazing ability to copy sounds ranging from other birds it shares the forest with, to forest workers using chainsaws, the bleeps and mechanical sounds from cameras being operated when the birds are photographed, voices of humans, and pretty much anything they can hear. It’s a truly remarkable talent, and brings up the question, how did such an ability evolve? It didn’t, there’s no way.

Apart from the more commonly known speaking birds, many others can surprisingly mimic sounds and human voices very well. A UK police constabulary were recently amazed by a blackbird that was living near their fleet of cars, copying the sounds of the sirens, close enough to fool some officers into thinking they’d left them on. Starlings are another common bird that can mimic humans voices very well, there are plenty of genuine online videos showing this talent.

But what about a serpent/snake that talks? Birds have a vocal organ named a syrinx, snakes have these too, as do turtles, crocodiles, and lizards. Could it be that the kind of serpent used by Satan had its syrinx manipulated in a way that birds can mimic a human voice, and knowing this he was able to use the creature to ‘speak’. That’s one idea, but it’s more likely that Satan used his powers to use the serpent as a way to communicate, even if it could not produce human voice sounds alone. Whatever happened back in Eden, Eve was tricked and then Adam; Satan had told them they could be like God, the first recorded lie in human history.
If a ‘talking snake’ doesn’t stir up interest in how the supernatural can be used, how about a donkey that spoke? Yes, this does sound insane, but when you consider the power of God and His angels, nothing seems impossible. The account of the donkey speaking is recorded in Numbers 22 from 21-39. The account is worth reading to make sense of what happened, and for help with this article please study that chapter. Whatever happens, the account is clear that the animal spoke, and not in a symbolic way. Once again this was due to supernatural influence, a power we do not understand, even if we have experienced the effects of it in person. In the film Shrek, the donkey talks a lot. The character voiced by actor and comedian Eddie Murphy was likely inspired from the passage of scripture in Numbers. But is it possible for a real donkey to have spoken?
The are clearly no talking donkeys found anywhere today, and they are known to make just six common sounds only. We won’t find a talking donkey but how about a talking elephant, does that sound plausible? There are two elephants who can greet their owners with a hello and say their names. Sounds fake? Well, take a look online at the Korean elephant who used its voice to greet its keeper at a zoo. The same situation happened to an elephant kept in a Russian zoo, although there is very limited information about this. The Korean elephant does have a lot more information about the ‘speaking’ and there are plenty of online videos of this taking place; many well respected publishers of science have confirmed this as genuine. The name of the Korean elephant is Koshik, search Google and you’ll be amazed at this talent. The story was so big that even National Geographic had the story on the front page and featured a large section of this in an edition of their world-wide selling magazine. Koshik apparently uses its trunk to put inside his mouth and somehow create vibrations that mimic human speech. People believe this because it can be seen, demonstrated as genuine, and is happening in our time. If it was in the Bible alone, and today could not be seen, non-believers would laugh at the idea; just like the donkey speaking, with the help of supernatural beings (unlike our talking elephant) is laughed at. The double-standards of the scientific community and scoffers where the Bible is concerned simply points to: Romans 1:22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools.

So how about one more creature that today mostly resides in the world of fantasy and mythical creatures; the unicorn. This creature is named in the Bible several times, eight times in fact. So what is this creature that today is seen as a horse with a single horn on its head, with rainbow colours and magical powers? To put it simply, the Unicorn derives from the scientific name of the Indian Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros Unicornis) and is the largest of three Asian rhinoceroses; there’s also the Greater One Horned Rhino too. It’s not rainbow coloured, has no wings, and no magical powers. The Bible does, however, speak about this creature with respect, and views it as a powerful majestic animal. Here you will find unicorns in scripture: Numbers 23:22 Numbers 24:8 Deuteronomy 33:17 Job 39:9-12 Psalm 22:21 Psalm 29:6 Psalm 92:10 Isaiah 34:7

To an outsider the Bible sounds, in many scriptures relating to the supernatural, mythical at best. But when you examine these passages inspired of God in more detail, and with an open mind, you soon discover that what can at first sound like pure fantasy, is in fact a reality. When studying the scriptures there has to be a level of trust from the reader, a faith in what they read and come to believe. Critics will argue that faith is blind and unscientific, and is something a Christian needs because without this it’s almost impossible to believe many, if any, biblical accounts. This attitude is adopted by those who believe that over millions of years we evolved, with no intelligent direction, everything coming together with no evidence, now that really would take a lot more faith to believe than a book written by God, one that has to date been correct about science, prophecy, the best way for us to live, and much more. What does evolution have to offer us? Nothing, it’s hopeless. It’s true that a Christian, or a person new to Bible study will require faith: Hebrews 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for the one who comes to God must believe that He exists, and that He proves to be One who rewards those who seek Him. But consider the points in this article, the unicorn and talking donkey, and serpent, are laughed at by those who doubt scripture as true, but when these accounts are investigated it’s not too difficult to see there are often answers to explain seemingly impossible ideas.
If you would like to know more about the Bible, feel welcome to contact Mark for a free study.
mark@truthministry.co.uk