You know, being a serious Bible student, I can say with complete certainty that the scripture quoted is a lie.
In the original Christian Greek scriptures { the New Testament } that verse is absent. It was added by a group of men who later founded the Pentecostal faith, as a way to claim their pagan practices were indorsed by the Bible.
But as much as modern Pentecostal followers might not like it, the Bible writer who wrote what is now commonly called the book of Mark, did not include that verse in his original writings. So, this ridiculous notion that God commanded them to handle snakes and drink poison, is not a true Bible based idea. This is strictly a verse concocted by fanatics for fanatics, to justify their unscriptural practices.
Rather like people who claim the Bible condemns drinking wine. Which is in itself a pretty far fetched idea, otherwise why would Jesus have turned water into wine as His first miracle ?
Gale
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