by Dorcas Kulwa | 31 July 2025 08:46 am07
Question: What does it mean that the offspring of the woman will crush the serpent’s head, and the serpent will bruise the heel of the woman’s offspring?
Answer: To understand this, we must go back to the first prophecy in the Bible, given immediately after the fall of mankind.
Genesis 3:14–15 (NKJV)
So the LORD God said to the serpent: “Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all cattle, and more than every beast of the field; on your belly you shall go, and you shall eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.”
This is often called the Protoevangelium (the “first gospel”), because it is the very first announcement of the coming Redeemer. It reveals two parallel realities—physical and spiritual—that have echoed throughout human history.
From the earliest times, the serpent has been one of mankind’s most feared creatures—more feared than lions or crocodiles. Instinctively, when a person encounters a snake, they aim for its head to kill it. This universal reaction reflects the ancient word of God: “He shall bruise your head.”
Likewise, the snake instinctively aims for the foot or heel when it strikes. Crawling on its belly, it can easily reach the lowest part of the body, but rarely the upper body.
This physical reality serves as a living reminder of the deeper, spiritual truth God embedded in creation.
Spiritually, the “Seed of the woman” refers to Jesus Christ. Unlike every other human being, Jesus was conceived without the seed of a man—born of a virgin by the power of the Holy Spirit (Isaiah 7:14; Luke 1:34–35). He had a human mother, Mary, but no human father.
This miraculous birth fulfills the prophecy that the Deliverer would come through a woman alone, making Him uniquely “the Seed of the woman.”
Galatians 4:4–5 (ESV)
But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.
The “seed of the serpent” refers to all who reject God’s truth and align themselves with Satan’s rebellion. Scripture directly identifies the serpent as Satan himself:
Revelation 12:9 (NKJV)
So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
Jesus confronted the Pharisees with this truth:
John 8:44 (NKJV)
You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him.
John the Baptist called the religious hypocrites “brood of vipers” (Matthew 3:7, ESV), linking them spiritually to the serpent’s lineage.
When Genesis 3:15 says the Seed of the woman will bruise (crush) the serpent’s head, it speaks of total victory over the authority and power of Satan. Crushing the head signifies destroying leadership and dominion.
The serpent bruising the heel of the woman’s Seed speaks of suffering and opposition—real harm, but not fatal to the Messiah’s mission.
At the Cross, Jesus delivered the crushing blow to Satan’s authority:
Colossians 2:15 (ESV)
He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in Him.
Yet in doing so, His own heel was bruised—His body pierced, His feet nailed—fulfilling the prophecy.
Believers, as those united to Christ, share in this authority over the works of darkness.
Luke 10:19 (NKJV)
Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
However, just as the serpent strikes at the heel, Satan still seeks to wound God’s people through persecution, temptation, and trials (1 Peter 5:8). These are real attacks, but in Christ, they cannot ultimately defeat us.
The promise of Genesis 3:15 will reach its ultimate fulfillment at the end of the age. Paul assured believers:
Romans 16:20 (NKJV)
And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.
What began in Eden will conclude when Satan is cast into the lake of fire forever (Revelation 20:10).
Every person is either part of the seed of the woman (through faith in Christ) or part of the seed of the serpent (remaining in rebellion against God). There is no neutral ground.
If you are not born again, you remain in the serpent’s lineage and under the judgment of being “crushed.” But by receiving Christ as Savior, your nature changes, and you are brought into His victorious family.
1 Samuel 2:10 (ESV)
The adversaries of the LORD shall be broken to pieces; against them He will thunder in heaven. The LORD will judge the ends of the earth; He will give strength to His king and exalt the horn of His anointed.
The prophecy of Genesis 3:15 is both a warning and a promise. To those outside of Christ, it warns of certain defeat. To those in Christ, it promises certain victory.
The question is—which side are you on?
Today is the day of salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2). Receive Jesus Christ, be born again, and share in His authority to trample the serpent underfoot.
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