Snake Bitten

By Dennis Allen

Have you been wrestling with some deep emotion battles, plagued by some painful memories, or just can't seem to forgive yourself because of a few bad choices or circumstances you've encountered throughout this life? If you or someone you know, are emotionally or mentally scarred by life's tough events, lessons, or misfortunes, then Snake Bitten is written with you or them in mind. It is not just an ordinary book, it's also a survival tool to help us identify and deal with some of the root causes of those unvoiced, unattended, and untreated pains and poisons that have molded us into the person we have become today. Unfortunately, there are many of us who are battling with bitterness, jealousy, fits of rage, substance abuse, or even suicidal thoughts because we have not been made aware of or equipped to deal with something called spiritual poisoning. Snake Bitten helps us discover how to properly recognize and respond to spiritual snakes well before we are bitten and become their next victim or meal, just as Jesus did. It also helps identify the nine symptoms of spiritual poisoning when we are bitten.We will look at the importance of knowing how to properly react after being bitten by treating the poison first instead of making the sometimes fatal mistake of trying to pay the snake back first, for biting us. We will discover the brave and victorious journey of going down the road to recovery. Lastly, we will learn the importance of rest after the journey. Rest is a part of God's will for our lives and many of us must learn the fact that it is not a sin to receive it. If this sounds like something you need or want to add to your library or life, then do yourself or your loved one a favor, and grab a copy of this life-changing message.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Oct 28, 2020
• ISBN: 9781098041014

Book preview

cover.jpg

Snake Bitten

Dennis J. Allen

Copyright © 2020 by Dennis J. Allen

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Recognition

Response

Reaction

The Road to Recovery

Rest

Dedication

I dedicate this book to my Marvelous Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the Supreme Author and Finisher of our faith. To my wonderful yet former congregation at the Disciples House of Prayer; my two beautiful children, Mahalia and Daniel; Henry, my beloved Father; Vikki, my dear mother; to my Father in the faith; the late Bishop Nate Holcomb and his wonderful wife Pastor Valery Holcomb and the entire congregation at the Christian House of Prayer; to Pastor Steve and his wife Becky Riggle; and their wonderful staff and congregation of Grace Church in The Woodlands, to the late Pastor David Williams and his loving wife Karole; and their entire membership of the Fellowship of the Remnant; to my brothers, Terry, Henry III, Mario, Jonathan, and Elliot. Finally, to my dear friends Samaria & Tamir Rice and family, Wanda and her late Mother; Doris Good, Kristina Terry, and TiaMarshae Johnson.

Thank you all for your love and support on my new endeavors in Christ. Your knowledge, wisdom, inspiration, and input have been priceless to me. It took me a few years since I first started this project, but with the love, help, and strengthening of the Holy Spirit, I was finally able to complete my mission. I also dedicate this book to every member of the Body of Christ worldwide, Members of the US Armed Forces and especially to those of you who feel like you may have been "Snake Bitten" and are hurting right now.

Lord, I thank you for this excellent and blessed opportunity to serve both you and the Kingdom of God here on earth. I thank you for calling and inspiring me to write this book for your name, purpose, and glory. All that I am and all that I’ll ever be, I owe it all to you.

It’s truly all about Him!

Introduction

Throughout life, we all have faced dangerous or hazardous situations in our past, which has a direct effect on the way we live our lives in the present. One of those experiences for me was becoming a soldier in the United States Army. The Army taught me many enjoyable and meaningful truths about survival in life both on and off the battlefield. One of the most enjoyable times in my Army career was Basic Training. While in Basic Training, there were many courses we were required to take as part of our training program.

One of those dreaded courses we studied was called NBC (nuclear, biological, and chemical) warfare. I still get a shiver down my spine when I think of wearing that gas mask and tactical chemical resistant clothing for hours at a time, all in the name of training. Even though it was not my favorite course of training back then, it certainly is one of the most memorable ones now. There is a portion of that particular course that stood out most to me; it was called the Nine Symptoms of Severe Nerve Agent Poisoning. (We will discuss this subject later on in chapter 3.)

The best way we learned those symptoms was through a unique method that still sticks with me today. We memorized these symptoms by singing them along with the old Brady Bunch theme. I thought to myself, Man, this is corny to say the least; but oh, how powerful it is right now, especially in the spiritual sense. I guess this is why 1 Corinthians 1:27 teaches us, But God chooses the foolish things of the world, to shame the wisdom of the wise. It’s funny how we can see something so meaningless then, become something so meaningful now.

In the later part of 2009, the Holy Spirit pressed upon my spirit to start teaching in the Book of Revelation to the Church that I pastored. As I began to do this, the Lord began to show me a more profound revelation of Him and the spiritual state of many in the Body of Christ in today’s time. He also showed me how many things are coming to pass on earth like never before.

He also revealed that many of us are suffering from spiritual poisoning. The truth is, many of us have been Snake Bitten, and we are not receiving the proper treatment and training on how to neutralize the spiritual venom that has been injected and are secretly still at work in our lives.

There are those of us who are attending church and Bible study regularly, and others who are singing in choirs. Some of us are bishops, elders, CEOs, CFOs, VPs, small business owners, government worker, GS-8s, mayors, managers, counselors, councilmen, military, doctors, lawyers, entertainers, various artists, scientists, engineers, professors, etc. There is an overwhelming amount of people from all walks of life; who are still battling with the virulent sting, stench, and stain of Satan’s untreated venom working deep within our hearts and earthen temples.

Even though many of us may know the nature of the Serpent as being crafty and cunning (Gen. 3:1, 2 Cor. 11:3), yet the majority of us may not know or understand how to recognize, respond, react, and recover from past or present bites from him. Because of this, many of us are missing and will continue to lose our well-needed peace and rest.

As I spent more time in my studies and devotionals preparing to write this book, there was something that became more evident to me also. I, too, have been Snake Bitten on many occasions in my not so perfect life as well. From having an extremely rough and difficult childhood to suffering abuse in a broken family. I also had a few marriages that failed, suicidal thoughts, and dealing with PTSD after my wartime deployment to Bosnia. Many of these issues were the undetected and untreated poisons that were killing me softly from within me. Some of these were the result of having a lack of knowledge that is found in Christ as well. "But thanks be to God who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere, the fragrance of the knowledge of Him" (2 Cor. 2:14).

Before I continue; I want to personally take this moment to thank you for your interest in reading this book. It is my hope and prayer that His words are amplified and His Grace is magnified through your willingness to receive more of His truth. If you are willing, it will bring forth a manifestation of God’s authority, power, deliverance, and healing into your life. Remember this: The Word of God works best when it is applied. (Reference: James 1:22–25.) Though faith comes by hearing, miracles happen through faith and workings.

It is not by accident, incident, or coincidence but certainly by His providence that you are receiving this work of Him in your life at this time. I know that some of you may have been suffering from the devastating effects of the serpent’s poison for many years of your lives and your Christian experience, but God’s Word speaks very clearly You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. So if the Son (Jesus, The Christ) has set you free, you are free indeed (John 8:32, 36).

As long as you have a will along with the willingness to receive and apply God’s prescription for your life, then it’s never too late. Probably one of the most potent questions Jesus would ask many of us today is, "Will thou be made whole?" It’s time for you to come out of the dark, degrading, disappointing, and destructive mental prison of your past right now; and enter into His marvelous, life-giving, and life-changing light so that you may be healed, healthy, and whole again. The ultimate choice is yours alone to make. In Jesus’s Mighty Name!

Amen, amen, and amen!

Chapter One

Recognition

One of my favorite cartoons that I enjoyed watching when I was growing up was GI Joe. Believe it or not, I used to always cheer for the enemy who just so happened to bear the name Cobra. One of my favorite video games was called Metal Gear; oddly enough, the main character’s name is Solid Snake. While I was in high school, I was the team captain of our track team. Strangely enough, one of our school’s rival schools had a guy on their team who we called the Snake Man because he made a hissing noise while he was running. He, too, was a team captain like I was. Of course, none of that mattered to me while I was young and in ignorance. However, in the course of our lives, snakes have always been around us. One of the biggest problems that we face though is, recognizing the culprit when it shows its head in our lives.

In the Book of Genesis (chapters 2 and 3), we can see this lesson being taught right before our eyes. Adam and Eve were in perfect unity with God and dwelled in the Garden of Eden with Him upon the earth, yet the snake showed up stealthy and caused them to fall openly. Did that catch the Lord off guard? Was the serpent itself wrong for being in the garden with God? Certainly not! God instructed Adam, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it, you will surely die."

The word "when" emphasizes certainty in time. It shows us the omniscience (the all-knowing attribute) of The Lord. Therefore, the Lord knew what He was doing when He fashioned Adam and Eve after His image and likeness. The Lord also understood the nature and power of Satan, whom He created and cast out of Heaven as well. Yes, God made snakes just like He created you and I. The serpent itself was not evil, but it was the spirit of Satan at work in the serpent that made it wicked and thus the Lord cursed it. It was cursed because it was the tool of choice that Satan’s spirit embodied and used for his evil scheme.

We have our place in this world, Satan has his place in this world (though his time is running out), and the snakes have their place in this world just as the Lord has ordained it to be. So if you are a former member of DHOP, you would know what’s coming next; the snakes aren’t going "nowhere." So now that we have a better understanding concerning the natural order of things between us, the snake, and Satan. Now we can begin to learn a bit more on how to properly recognize the nature of the snake both naturally and spiritually.

Snakes as a whole are very diverse, stealthy, and unique creatures. They can survive on all types of land—desert, forest, wetlands, grasslands, plains, mountainous regions, and even bodies of water great and small. Contrary to popular belief, snakes regardless of how terrifying they may appear, are almost always more afraid of us than we are of them. There are a few types of snakes; however, that will act aggressively toward humans. For example, the king cobra and the eastern brown snake. All snakes have no limbs, yet they are all dust and meat-eaters, thus making them some of the world’s best hunters because of their smooth, silent, and stealthy nature.

Now; there are a few things to take note of here. First, is the fact that snakes can dwell just about any and everywhere. Spiritually speaking, they are present in all walks of life. For example, the king cobra could be mighty and evil people, to the garter snake a petty little thief that appears to be harmless and innocent. Secondly, we know now that they are more afraid of us, then we are of them. However, we should not take them lightly. Otherwise, we are setting ourselves up to be Snake Bitten.

The Book of Jude (verses 8–10) says, "In the very same way, these dreamers pollute their bodies, reject authority, and slander celestial beings." Satan spiritually speaking; is a celestial (from the sky) being. Anytime our thinking and reasoning have its foundation outside the Will of God, then we are very likely to become one of these dreamers.

The Greek word for dreamers is enypniazomai, which means to have supernatural dreams and visions. Joel 2:28 speaks in favor of the ones that come from the power of the Lord. However, the Apocryphal Book of Ecclesiasticus 34:1–7 (this is one of the fourteen books that were taken out of the Bible in the early 1600s by the Founding Church Fathers in Westernize Christianity) disputes false dreams.

Verse 7 says, "For dreams have deceived many, and they have failed; those who put their trust in them." These are dreams that do not have their origin in the Lord. Now Jude the half-brother of Jesus Christ writes his letter with some of these scriptures in mind. So having said all of that, we can see that dreams can come from Spirit (Holy Spirit), self, or Satan. Some of us have been Snake Bitten in this area, because we have chased after dreams that were not from the Lord, and we allowed them to draw us out of God’s Will and into Satan’s will or a lot of times, even our own. Satan lures us away through his supernatural power of charm (to whisper) and suggestion; that comes as one of the traits of his fallen celestial nature.

Another area I would like to discuss for a moment is the rejecting of authority. This attitude is the main reason Lucifer was cast out of God’s presence and from Heaven in the beginning; because he rejected God’s power and authority (Isaiah 14:12–17). In the same light, Adam and Eve lost their place from God’s presence in the Garden of Eden because they were Snake Bitten and did the same thing. King Saul lost God’s Favor upon his life as King of Israel and lost his position as Israel’s King because once again; he rejected God’s authority. The list goes on and on in this area. Do you see the pattern here? Do you see how serious this is to God when it comes to His