Part 1 of 3
Crushing Snakes 2 and Crushing Snakes 3
My wife and I have this rule that if you like a song, do not watch the music video. Whatever imagery comes to your head when you hear a song you like will be crushed by the imagery of the artist or director of the music video. It seems like over the past decade music videos are trying to make a name for themselves because they have to stand out to be seen in this hyper-internet, music streaming industry era. Things become weird, or they simply have nothing to do with the song. There is an ulterior message that is being told visually that may or may not be connected to the song. The other video making trend is to outdo any other video in shock factor, which just makes it another pile of provocative gyrating nonsense. On a side note, the only thing that saved the internet this past week was Inauguration Bernie Sanders Memes.
The loophole to this music video problem is to watch the music video of the new song before listening to it; but that rarely happens. The other option, which is more coincidental, is if you stumble upon a music video to a song you didn’t know existed either by an artist you like, do not like, or have never heard of.
This brings me to this gem of a music video I stumbled upon, probably thanks to “Big -Tech” Brother’s knowledge of what I have viewed before, over the past fifteen years. The Facebook algorithm revealed to me a video that I have come to name, “Anime Jesus.” I’m not sure if it knows I have been watching Anime recently as my guilty pleasure…this is my confession to the world…but it certainly knows that I love Jesus. “Isn’t Anime full of terrible content?” you ask me. Yes, yes it can and so does pretty much all of Netflix, Apple+, Hulu and any other streaming service. The only thing safe, for now, is Disney+, until they decide Deadpool is a necessity for their family viewers. If the internet matrix doesn’t know you love Jesus then you haven’t been doing enough research and studying about your faith.
To my point, you may have heard this song by Crowder, “Crushing Snakes: Showdown ft. TAYA..” I’m not sure if I had until the music video showed up in my video feed. I haven’t listened to Crowder much since he dropped the David Band part of his name. The songs I do hear are always amazing, probably because they remind me of his previous music. My wife and I took our oldest child to the Hits Deep Tour with TobyMac featuring Crowder as one of the openers last year. Just in time for lockdowns and the end of the world to begin. My response to Crowder’s opening performance was, “Meh, I don’t feel more inclined to go buy a cd or even stream it.” No offense to Crowder fans, but I say this to emphasize the quality and meaning of this music video.
The end of the world among Christians and theologians will forever be debated until it actually happens. Someone once told me, “Plan for the worst but hope for the best.” Meaning, maybe the end will be swift, Jesus comes and no Christian has to suffer. However, if the end of the world brings much suffering for Christians and non-Christians alike, trust in the victory Jesus will bring. I don’t find any reason as to why God would spare Christians from suffering whatever doomsday scenario we might find in scripture because we do not see God sparing people from suffering. He might spare them from death at times, but there is always suffering that comes with following Jesus.
I haven’t even started to talk about if there is a rapture or not. It will be a hard pill for some people to read that statement, “No rapture.” The minority viewpoint of all of Christendom is a pre-tribulation rapture and even the statement of tribulation can be a point of confusion for some. Why would God allow people to suffer, or allow Christians to suffer? If it is of any conciliation I believe our suffering is not in vain.
For a broader perspective of viewing our current events in light of end times, check out my four part series called Dystopia Now.
What I love about this music video is that because there are so many ways to depict what it will be like when Jesus returns, this video adds another element to the discussion. There are subtle hints tied directly to scripture and some are very literal. If you want to hear about this video from Crowder himself, go here.
In my next post we will explore the specific correlations between the video elements and the scriptures’ that are referenced. For now I will leave you with this, the meaning of the title. In Genesis 3 we find that God is looking for Adam and Eve after they had eaten from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. As the events unfold, God curses the man and woman but before that he curses the serpent.
14 So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this,
“Cursed are you above all livestock
Genesis 3:14-15
and all wild animals!
You will crawl on your belly
and you will eat dust
all the days of your life.
15 And I will put enmity
between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
he will crush your head,
and you will strike his heel.”
Verse 14 describes the punishment for the serpent alone. This imagery has two meanings, one is the literal visualization of a snake. However the second is more interesting, we see the comparison above and below. The serpent is the highest cursed among all creatures and will therefore be the lowest and the only nourishment is dust. It will never be satisfied.
Verse 15 is the part of the curse with more ramifications for all people. There will be enmity between the serpent and the woman but more importantly the woman’s offspring and the serpent’s offspring. The serpent will have offspring? Does the snake procreate and make more snakes? No I think it’s those who will stand against God whether it be physical or spiritual. The idea is that it isn’t just the serpent who is being fought against, but all of God’s people, the offspring of the woman, and everyone else, the snake’s offspring.
Then it says, singular “he” will crush your head, and you “the serpent” will strike his heel. Some people see this as a foreshadowing of Christ. From Eve’s offspring, will come the Christ, the son of God. The order is intentional, the serpent’s head will be crushed even before he is able to strike. As if to say to the serpent, “You will strike him, but know that the battle is already decided.” You serpent are destined to be crushed, destroyed, defeated.
Thus the imagery of this video is birthed from this story in Genesis of this snake and all snakes, of all who stand against God, who will find themselves crushed by the future second coming of Jesus, this warrior king (We will talk about this happening at the cross as well). Jesus, at the final showdown, will be crushing snakes. Jesus, and his host of heavenly angels, will play a victorious part in Armageddon.
Watch the video to prepare for my next post. What do you see in it as direct parallel to scripture? Leave a comment to help me find them all.
In Truth & Love,
Matthew J. Diaz
Crushing Snakes is thr 91st Psalm. The meaning and lyrics are taken from that Psalm which David Crowder has often repeated to fans. Do not be afraid of terrors i the night or the arrows that fly by day. The promise of God can never be torn away, double vaccine or not.