Flora and Fauna in the Bible

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Permalink Reply by Reginald Jay Townes on September 22, 2009 at 7:00am

1. The serpent in the Garden of Eden which is a symbol of evil and the curse. The serpent on the pole that Moses was instructed to have all the people to gaze upon so that they would be healed-- a symbol of the coming Christ that would also hang from wood that would bring healing to the world and this symbol of the serpent on the wood is still used as the universal symbol for medicine and physicians.

2.The dovewhich makes its first appearance with Noah when Noah sends it out to see if there was dry land, life, and if in deed the storm had subsided. The dove returned with an olive branch in its beak-- symbol we use today for peace, hope, and newness of Life. The dovemade its second great appearance at Christ's baptism when the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in the form of a dove. This form that the Spirit chose was a symbol of the New Life we receive after the waters of baptism calling to mind the events of the Flood and the evidence of New Life the Dove brought back to Noah.

3.The locustmakes its first appearance in Exodus as one of the plagues sent by Yahweh (God) to wipe out the Egyptian's food source for not letting His people go. And again in the New Testament this insect that was a curse in the Old Testament is now a a blessing, becoming a source of food and nourishment to St. John the Baptist, who like Moses, proclaimed the coming of God's salvation in the desert.

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Permalink Reply by Reginald Jay Townes on September 23, 2009 at 9:42pm

I am only going to mention one type of animal from each group (insect, bird, fish, reptile, etc...) to give other people an opportunity to continue this interesting Bible Trivia Forum. There are many more. Search them out. You will be very surprised!

4. The Big Fish [whale] that God sent to swallow up Jonah when he ran from Him and refused to deliver His warning to the evil people of Nineveh. Jonah stayed in the belly of the whale for 3 days symbolizing the coming Christ's stay in the grave for 3 days.

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Permalink Reply by Reginald Jay Townes on October 4, 2009 at 4:08am

lamb- which was the preeminent animal of sacrifice, especially during the Feast of the Unleavened Bread (Passover) and the Atonement (Rosh Hashannah). Both a symbol of Christ being our true and spotless sacrifice, and his followers over which he is shepherd. Also a symbol of St John the Baptizer with the inscription "Joannes est nomen ejus" (John is his name), as seen on the great seal of Puerto Rico which was once called San Juan (St. John) whose capital city retains the name.

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