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From my reading of the bible they only ones that would be safe from the bites were the Apostles. Namely Paul, Paul knew he would go to Rome, therefore he was not concerned about the bite of that snake. Others should think twice. This is the problem of some of these offshoot denominations, they tend to focus on the minuet.

From my reading of the bible they only ones that would be safe from the bites were the Apostles.

That turns out not to be the case:

He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well." --Mark 16:15-18

Obviously I'm not advocating snake handling (why don't those folks drink poison, too?) but the Apostles were not the only ones.

From my reading of the bible they only ones that would be safe from the bites were the Apostles. Namely Paul....

NIV Mark 16:15-18
15. He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.
16. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.
17. And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues;
18. they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well."

NIV Luke 10:17-19
17. The seventy-two returned with joy and said, "Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name."
18. He replied, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.
19. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.

NIV Acts 28:1-6
1. Once safely on shore, we found out that the island was called Malta.
2. The islanders showed us unusual kindness. They built a fire and welcomed us all because it was raining and cold.
3. Paul gathered a pile of brushwood and, as he put it on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand.
4. When the islanders saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to each other, "This man must be a murderer; for though he escaped from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live."
5. But Paul shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no ill effects.
6. The people expected him to swell up or suddenly fall dead, but after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god.

From a simple reading of the Book, many other than the Apostles would be safe.

Smug- I was thinking more about the old testament Jews who had to look toward the Staff of Moses or Aaron (can't remember which one now) & they would be saved if bit by poisnon. The Mark 16:15-17 verses talk about a specific time where it was necessary for miracles to happen in order to confirm the gospels- it was a short period of time for the verification of God's word & that time has passed- 'Faith healers today do NOT do the miracles that the Apostles did- I'm talking about TRUE miracles- not this "Halleluai my aching back has been 'cured'" nonsense. We're talking about the apostles raising the dead, healing incurable diseases, restoring body parts etc- TRUE miracles- these things are NOT being done today because we are in the church age and not the early miracle confirmation age- God has given us all the proofs necessary for salvation now. These snake handlers are are NOT following God's word and are misleading people and again- putting an unnecessary burden of a 'works based salvation' on them- IE: THEY must prove their faith by handling snakes- this is flato ut wrong and deceitful. God saves, we don't 'prove' anything- espceially to other people. Our salvation is all God's work and not ours.

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