Roger Kovaciny
Sometimes there is a creature that creates problems for both creationists and evolutionists to explain. One such is the king cobra. You have seen cobras on television, but the king cobra is a whole different breed of cat:
The king cobra is a large and powerful snake, averaging 3.6-4 m (12-13 feet) in length and typically weighing about 6 kg (13.2 lb.). A particularly large specimen was kept captive at the London Zoo, and grew to 5.7 m (18.8 ft) before being euthanized upon the outbreak of World War II. Despite their large size, king cobras are fast and agile. (Wikipedia) And there are historical reports of far longer ones.
Sometimes it is necessary for zookeepers to actually get into the cage with this animal–the prize specimen at the San Diego Zoo, for example, had a scar on its eyelid and needed help shedding its skin:
With a nod of his head, the curator signaled for the door to be opened. Seconds later the king cobra appeared. As soon as he saw us, he stopped, spread his cape, and raised to full stature. The cage was two feet offthe ground, so we were all looking at the snake at eye level. The cobra was trembling with excitement as he, in turn, stared at each of his five enemies. He seemed to be choosing who would be his prey. The curator was chosen, and with shocking quickness the snake plunged forward, hissing and growling with malevolent rage. With lightning speed, the skilled keepers placed sheer nets over the snake’s head. And as he pushed to get through, the curator firmly grasped its neck just behind the venom sacs. The keepers grabbed the writhing body…
“Get a wad of paper towels, quick,” he followed in a strained voice. I did so. “Now, put it in the cobra’s mouth.”
The king watched the paper towels as they were carefully positioned to allow him to bite them. He bit down violently and began to chew. The towels became yellow with venomuntil they began to drip….
The curator continued, “Did you know several elephants die every year from king cobra bites?”‘ Gary Richmond: View from the Zoo (Waco, TX: Word Books, 1987, ISBN 0-8499-0632-6), pp. 44-45.
“This snake’s venom glands contain enough poison to kill one thousand adults.” p. 44.
The question is, why? Why is it so over-engineered? The king cobra eats neither elephants nor armies–mostly smaller snakes–nor, for that matter, dinosaurs, which it seems to be “loaded” for. Except that it couldn’t have gotten its fangs through a dinosaur’s scaly hide. No creature living or dead requires as much poison to kill as the king cobra has. Evolution theory demands that creatures only evolve what is useful to them–but enough poison to kill a whole battalion? Why?
Add this one as a Leap Year’s present to “365 Ways to Drive a Liberal Crazy”: The king cobra may have been Satan’s vehicle in the Garden of Eden, and part of its curse was to remind us forever that what comes from Satan’s jaws will kill a whole congregation. A huge one could have communicated with Eve almost at eye level. How did it speak? I theorize that Adam and Eve had gifts of communication that were almost paranormal. Science fiction gave one possible explanation. Asimov’s protagonist in Nemesis was so good at reading body language that she was practically telepathic. Even today the devil works mainly by the power of suggestion, calling attention to temptations we wouldn’t have thought of on our own.
When God cursed the ground, what usually happened was that creatures were weakened. Biologists will tell you that thorns are rudimentary leaves, parts of leaves, and twigs that never developed. In Eden, snake fangs and venom could have served to inject a predigestive fluid to soften tough or unripe fruits so they could be digested. In our fallen world, venom seems to be commoner in snakes that have a less adequate respiratory system, and the venom often works by affecting the respiratory systems of its victims. The king cobra may have been stronger before the Fall, and have moved on its long tail with its body in upright position whenever it was on the ground. But the curse weakened it so that it would crawl on its belly and inevitably swallow some of the dust through which it now has to slither.
I can’t prove that the king cobra was the serpent in Eden, but it seems likelier than any other candidate. After all, since the Fall, snakes have one function and one function only–to kill. They can’t make nests or dig their own burrows or store food or do anything that other animals do. And the king cobra is so good at killing that it even eats ordinary cobras. I suspect that hell is not a nice place even for the devils themselves. Incidentally, where did we come up with the idea that the wicked are tormented by demons in hell? Why should they be allowed to do the one thing they enjoy?
Satanic lies are just as poisonous today as ever. One of them is that the king cobra evolved accidentally through time and random chance. I hope this article helps protect you against it.
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